The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1912-02-29
MYSTERY IN LIFE
OF GIRL CLAIMING
HAWLEY'S ESTATE
Secret Of Margaret Cameron,
Ward, Friend and Heiress
Of Railway Magnate Is
Closely Kept.
Halls FROM KANSAS CITY
Her Parentage and Attitude Of
Hawley Toward Her Are
Things Which Public Does
Not Understand.

New York, Feb. 26.-Who Is Miss
Margaret Cameron? Is that her real
name? Where was she born? These
and dozens Of other questions are be-
Ing asked concerning the beautiful
ward Of the late Edwin Hawley, who,
at the time Of his death. controlled.
among other railway properties the
Iowa Central and the Minneapolis &
st. Louis roads.
Msis Cameron has taken possession
OF Hawley's estate at Babylon and de-
fes his heirs-at-law to 'oust her. She
claims to have a will that gives her the
Babylon mansion and an annuity to
maintain 1T. In the meantime New
York papers. court attaches and de-
tectives are trying 20 ascertain who
this girl Of mystery Is. She became
Hawley's ward 16 years ago in Kansas
City. She was Is years old e Be-
yond those two meager facts her life,
both before and after her adoption by
Hawley, Is an inscrutable blank.
She Hold His Confidence.
Miss Cameron was the one woman
who seemed able to win and hold the
confidence Of the man who was known
5ocularly In Wall street as the silent
~icicle."
Dolly" Cameron. as her patron
called her in preference to her given
name, Margaret, has been termed the
She was that. From the time she left
her humble surroundings in Kansas
City to enter the household Of Mr..
Hawley the child was absolutely mis-
tress of both the city and country man.
sions Of the railroad f%inancier.
In tho Cfnru nf Aha yirlSa 1tfn nc
CLEANED from many sources, the other
side Is revealed Of the man who made
millions behind a mask Of silence. The
first chapter Of the extraordinary tale
Of the of Hawley and his
beautiful ward was related by William
Campbell, employed at Effingham park
for eight years.
Miss Cameron Arrives.
"Mr. Hawley bought Effingham park
16 years ago." said Campbell. lone
day, a year after we moved to Babylon,
a man I knew as Baron Frank Natillie
drove UP to the house. With hin was
a 15-year-old girl in short dresses,
whom we came to know as Margaret
Cameron.
"The child did not seem to be happy
at Babylon and on one occasion at
tempted suicide. This was in the sum
mer Of 1902. Mrs. Harvey Seymour,
who acted for her brother as house.
keeper then, was seated in the kitchen
Of the big house with me, when we
heard a scream from the direction of
the lake, $50 feet away.
I'VE both rushed out. There was the
girl (she was now about 20 years old)
struggling in the water.
II leaped and seized her. She strug-
gled violently against rescue, and after
and 1 had difficulty in carrying her to
the boat house.
"She had evidently not been decided
as to just how she would commit sui
eide, for, clutched In her hand. was a
bottle of carbolic acid. She screamed
want to die! If you don't let me die
now, I will kill myself some other day!'
Miss Cameron at Effinsham.
TT is not true that Babe or Dolly
as Miss Cameron was called at various
times, was lavishly entertained at Eff
flngham Park, or that she was intro
duced as Mr.. Hawley's niece.
Instead the girl was kept in the
background as much as possible. 1t
seemed to be Mr.. Hawley's desire to
have no one know hat she was there,
or, II 1t was known, to have IT believed
that she was merely a servant To this
extent the most extraordinary precau-
lions were taken to guard her from
visitors. When guests came h was
cllllcI Ell " Tic City III Siidi &c u
Natillie or sent INTO a remote section.
Of the house.
There vas always something strange
about the young woman One Saturday
morning, l remember, during a week.
end party at Babylon. l found Miss
Cameron wandering about through the
bushes. collecting n eating berries. /
spoke to her, and she told me that she
hadn't eaten for two days. that she
was almost starved"
Secret Stairway in House.
A strange story Of a secret stairway
opening off the main hall Of the Baby
lon mansion. by means Of which Miss
Cameron escaped the attention Of
guests, was told by one OF MIR. Haw-
ley's most intimate friends.
II was a frequent visitor at Efflng-
ham park" said this man. "Once, up
on an u-nannounced visit, I was ush-
cred, by mistake ] suppose, into a
room that commanded a view Of the
driveway. In a few moments Mr.. Haw-
ley and Miss Cameron rode up and dis
mounted. The servant told Mr.. Haw-
ley I was in the house.
IT heard Mr.. Hawley n Miss Cam
eron walk up the stairs to h porch
and into the hall. MIR. Hawley walked
rapidly to tho room where / was walt
me. I looked into the hall. Miss Cameron
had disappeared. She had not had time
to walk down the long hall or up the
main staircase. Small as the incident
was, 1t puzzled me so hat later I
looked around on my WI account.
when I could find no door or pas
sage through which the young woman
coold have left the hall, I had a creepy
feeling. But 1 argued that she could
not have vanished into thin air.
An Underground Passaseway.
1.-THE truth Is this: When Hawley
built Effngham park. he had a secret
staircase and an underground passage
way constructed. This staircase, the