The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-03-16
NOTES RECORD
TRAGIC STORY
OF BABY DOE
Cryptic ScribbIings Reveal
Loneliness, Suffering
of Final Days.
BY CLARA A. SHEPHERD
United Press star Correspondent

LEADVILLE. Colo, March 10
Ia cryptic. penciled notes scrawled
on the pages Of two calendars, Baby
Doe Tabor. once the celebrated and
beautiful queen Of the silver empire
OF H A. w. Silver Dollar Tabor,
recorded the tragic story Of the clos
ing months OF her lonely life beside
the Matches mine.
The calendars came to light today.
the final records Of a unique life.
In 1888 a beautiful blond 2l-year-
old girl, the wife of Harvey Doe. ar
rived in the pioneer mining camp Of
Leadville where Tabor already had
amassed a fortune. Tabor lover her
at first sight. She divorced her hus-
band and he divorced the wife Of his
poverty.
Tabor was appointed Senator and
with President Arthur among the
guests, he and the blond girl, whom
admiring miners had named Baby
Doe" were married. For a number
OF years she had jewels and man
sions and clothes worth fortunes.
Then Tabor lost his money. When
he died in 1899 he told her to keep
the AIatchless silver mine because
some day it would make her rich
again.
Lived in Direst Poverty
From that year until last week.
Baby Doe lived in a shack beside
the mine. in direst poverty, fighting
of persons claiming the mine,
fighting of even sight-seers. Last
week she was found dead of pneu-
mOnia. She was 70 years old. Yes
terday she was buried and today
came the calendar records Of her
last pathetic years.
The calendars revealed that to-
ward the last. Baby Does mind was
growing dim. It reconstructed the
years Of her glamour in dreams Of
golden horses and Of silver. On
March s. 1884. she wrote:
% terrible. no food left. need
bread. Alone. Went down to Lead
vile from Matches mine in snow
so terrible I had to go down on my
hands and knees and creep from
cabin door to 7th-st. Mr.. Zaits'
driver drove me TO our get-off place
and he helped pull me to cabin, I
falling down through snow every
minute God bless him"
Dreamed of Daughter
Baby Doe had two daughters by
Tabor. One was called Silver Dol
lar, in cOmmemOration Of the basis
Of the then Tabor fortune Silver
Dollar died but she was in her moth
er's last thoughts. On June Is,
1884. she wrote: Dreamed Of Baby
Silver and a gold horse" On the
back Of the sheet. was written: To-
day I dreamed of Honeymaid and
gold red big horse, o so big, as big
as four or five horses facing south.
From the first entry, written Jan.
%. 1884. 10 the last, inscribed after
her last trip to Leadville, a mile
from The lonely cabin, the calendars
told Of an aging. lonely. destitute
woman. haraSSed by visions Of dew
lis. delighted by visions of lovely
spirits" pleased by calls from true
friends. and Infatuated by the visits
OF curiOSity-SeekerS.
That first entry told Of visions
which were to recur to her more and
more frequently in the IA months
before neighbors found her dead.
her body frozen, on the floor Of the
cabin
It read:
"A wonder vision. and talked with
two spirits. one bad. but the bad one
fled"
Talks With Spirits
Perhaps a hundred times there
after she recorded talks with spir-
its" or tells Of seeing visions"
Some times hundreds" of the
spirits appeared to her at once. and
she talked TO them. Some she de-
scribed as purple. gold and pink.
Again she wrote Of purple on the
wall. deep purple"
And one notation told a vision
Of death in purple. writing my Wis
ion" Shortly after this entry Oc-
ours one saying only. attacked by
devils and again little later she
wrote. Two deathly times. something
in nv nose and mouth. Devils"
Once she saw "a dragon in my
coffee cup" and four days later. says
the calendar. something terrible
happened today"
Through the winter of 1884. there
were frequent entries such as ter
rible cold awful deep snow" the
water and everything frozen up.
and little records OF her trips to
Leadville for supplies. her battle
through the deep drifts. her frequent
falls.
Lonely in Winter
TIE winter DAYS made her con-
scious OF loneliness. Such entries
as o so cold. alone" terrible snow,
alone terrible blizzard. alone" oc-
CURED increasing.
Other entries told of sunshiny
skies. and Of the visits Of lovely
people" Those who came out CT
curiosity were devils"
Lots Of awful folks. I did not let
them in" and men. did not like,
came in" are recurring entries.
When her friends came. she re-
corded their names II she knew
them. II not. they we're entered as
lovely man or lovely girl. with
white earrings
one visitor she did not like re-
ceived more than usual mention. He
was elegant dressed man. lots OF
white shirt open at neck, black
clothes, not q good man"
Visited by Priest. Nuns
Gifts Of wc0d. food. clothing,
from friends are mentioned. always
with the notation. lovely man." or
lovely woman" Sue Is written
beside many dates. apparently re-