The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-06-25


had been found in an unfreQuented
place on the prairie, three and Oue-half
miles from De Smet' the bones of a
man. All the parts had been heaped
together without even pretense at bur-
ial. The skeleton had been dismem-
bered and the flesh scraped from the
bones. But there was nothing in the
heap of bones which might establish
the identity of the victim. BY meas
uTement it was found that they had
been the benes Of a man about the
height of Shannon Bailey There all
clews were lost
It seemed TO me that the most prom
ising channel for Investigation from
! this point was search of the prem
/ lses formerly occupied by the BaileYs-
Ruth accompanied me In this search
and, that no unjust suspicious should
be given circulation concerning the for
mer mistress of the house. we went
about the task quietly. The house had.
of course, been dismantled of the fur
nishings used by the lawyer and his
wife. On the first and second floors
nothing whatever was found that might,
by any stretch of Imagination, lend col
, or to my suspicious.
Armed with spades we then descended
to the cellar. Carefully testing the con-
dition of the dirt floor. We again met
with failure. But one spot remained
uneXDloTed, the small area under the
wooden stairway that formed the eel
lar entrance As last resort I thrust
a spade into the floor under the stairs
It sank deep into loose dirt. Quickly
we removed the top soil. and as we did
so the awful, sickening OdOr of de-
composed flesh became almost over
Dowering.
At a depth of little more than two
feet the spade struck a mass of flesh
Although almost overcome we Complet-
ed the excavation. to find a mass of
flesh buried in quick-line. Not bone
was there to be found In this sorry
grave, There was not the slightest
doubt of the flesh being that of a hu-
man being, and the quantity indicated
clearly that it had been stripped from
the bones of a fUll-grown man. The
action Of the lime and decomposition
had done their work wei enough to
Obliterate opportunity for Identified
ton.
So
In the meantime a woman in De Smet
had been found who had had letter
from Mrs. Bailey in which the latter
said her husband had just spent some
time with her in Elgin. This indicated
two things: First that Mrs. Bailey had
really gone to Elgin: and. second. that
she believed it expedient to keep alive
in De Smet that her husband was Iiv-
ing Therefore 7 went to Elgin.
No difficulty was experienced in find
ing that Mrs Bailey had stopped with
one aunt for two days. leaving to go
1 to another aunt. with whom she had
spent six weeks. It required some eau
/ tiou9 inquiry. however. to develop the
fact that Nellie Bailey had brought
with her to Elgin her husbands jewel
Ty. among il the watch formerly carried
by him and bearing his name. reas-
oned that if Shannon Bailey had been
alive it was altogether improbable that
his wife should be In possession of the
watch. especially as she had a reliable
tmepiece Of her own Her possession
of other trinkets used by her husband
gave additional color TO the theory that
Bailey was dead.
Then this fact was learned: The aunt
with whom she was visiting had p
daughter about Mrs BaiIey's age and
one day the two had gone fishing. When
Mrs Bailey left the house she took a
package from the bosom Of her dress
and gave it to her aunt with strict in
struCtions to take good care Of it. Gu
riosity on the part Of the aunt prompt
ed her to examine the packet. which
contained several thousand dollars in
bills of large denomination. In Elgin
Mrs Bailey said her husband was IN
California. and 7 could find no trace
Of his having been in Elgi0. as his wife
claimed in her letter to her friend in
De Smet.
In the course Of Mrs Bailey's visit
to Elgin there were many minor events
all pointing in the same direction. but
with which I shall not cucumber this
narrative Ever restless the woman
went from Elgin to Waukesha. Wis,
where she at once became acquainted
with Robert Reise. the 2S-year-old son
of the proprietor Of the leading hotel
Of that place. The young man appar-
entity fell prey 10 the woman's wiles
without even q pretense Of resistance.
and in few days was secretly chained
10 the wheel of her chariot. The sud
den and ardent attachment between the
two became a matter Of general knOwi-
edge and comment. and the parents Of
the young man evinCed the bitterest
opposition to it. but without avail.
Young REESE announced that he was
going to stage a play in which the fair
Nellie was to assume the star role. Aft
er leaving Dakota Mrs. Bailey had
Travelled under her right name. deCIar-
ing in both Elgin and Waukesha that
her husband was alive Her infatua-
ton for young Geise, however, seemed
to be as sincere an affair as it was IN
her nature to harbOT. enough so. at
least, to prompt her to take the initia-
tive and entice her lover into marriage.
REESE, who was much the weaker char
acter of the two, feebly protested
against being made the instrument
through which the crime of bigamy. as
he supposed. was to be committed by
his inamorata. but his protests were
silenced by her vehement and oft-re-
peated assurances that Shannon
would never appear to bother them"
On this point she was very positive
1t is not likely that REESE had any
conception of the full significance of
these words Mrs Bailey insisted on
the marriage being kept secret until
legal separation" from Bailey could
be brought about. Reise finally agreed
and the marriage took place without
further delay. At Waukesha. as at FL
gin, Mrs. Bailey exhibited the watch
formerly worn by her husband, REESE
among others. having seen it.
The marriage at Waukesha had
placed the woman in this position: If
Bailey were alive She was a bigamist,
and if he were dead she was undoubt-
eddy Mis- nurderess. Her vigorous as
suTances to Rise that there was no
danger OF Bailey ever bothering them
had for me. of course, a grewsOme
meaning Strange as it may seem 10
those uninitiated in the ways of such
as Nellie Bailey. I finally believed her
to be a woman who could commit the
greater crime of murder rather than
place herself in her husbands power
by committing the lesser crime of big
amy. At any rate. her positive state
ments to REESE that Bailey would never
bother them was in my opinion an i'm
portant link in a long chain of circum-