smoke issuing from her stack during some few days of that time. Then a
fresh blizzard blew up, blotting out all vision for three days. When the
storm cleared, Sue Bonnie, seeing from her own cabin on the outskirts of
Leadville that Mrs. Tabor’s stack was smokeless, became worried. She
tried to reach her friend through the heavy fall of new snow but was not
strong enough to make it. Sue had to wait until she could obtain help
from Tom French to break a trail.
When they reached the cabin, all was silence. They broke a window and
forced an entry. Mrs. Tabor’s body, in the shape of a cross, was frozen
stiff on the floor.
After the couple found Mrs. Tabor’s emaciated form and her death was
broadcast to the world, fourteen trunks of her earlier belongings turned
up in a Denver warehouse and in the basement of St. Vincent’s hospital
in Leadville. But there was no other estate.
Burial posed a problem, both the question of place and the matter of
expenses. But unsolicited donations poured into Leadville, sufficient to
present a solution on both counts. The J. K. Mullen heirs, particularly
the Oscar Malos, aided munificently. An interesting sidelight, during
those days of indecision, was a bit of information given by Jim Corbett,
the mortician, who said there were almost no grey hairs on her head.
This corroborated Mrs. Tabor’s claim that the one element of beauty left
to her toward the end was her hair; for that reason she always wore the
horrid motoring cap to hide it, punishing herself for the past.
Some weeks later, Baby Doe’s body was shipped to Denver and buried in
Mt. Olivet cemetery beside that of Horace Tabor who, in the meantime,
had been moved from the now abandoned Calvary plot. At long last, after
thirty-five years vigil, peace and reunion with her adored Tabor had
come to Baby Doe’s troubled soul.
And there, she rests today. On the edge of the plains where, a few miles
beyond, the rampart of the Rockies bulks protectingly against the fair
blue sky, little Lizzie McCourt of Oshkosh has found her final defense.
Despite the dazzling chapters and the story’s consistent flamboyance,
hers is a tragic tale. Although she epitomized a roistering era and a
swashbuckling way of life made possible by the mining frontier of
Colorado, the granite gloom of those powerful mountains has forever
lowered the curtain on her dramatic period and on the valiant, if
mistaken, spirit of Baby Doe Tabor. In relegating both, and their final
evaluation, to the pages of history, the lines inscribed on the stage
drop of the Tabor Opera House recur, ever again, emphasizing their fatal
prophecy:
So fleet the works of men, back to the earth again,
Ancient and holy things fade like a dream.
Postscript to Seventh Edition:
Twelve years ago the first edition of this booklet appeared—on June 26,
1950. Five thousand copies sold in four months, and a second edition
appeared before the end of the year. Since that time the editions have
consisted of ten thousand copies each. The original edition was in the
nature of a real gamble. In my mind the Tabor story had already received
more than adequate attention in three books and countless articles, not
to mention many fictional treatments and one movie. My work seemed
rather supernumerary.
But this booklet had two virtues. In the other histories Baby Doe had
been given the brush-off; as a floosy, when young, and a freak, when
old. The other authors gave their sympathy to Augusta, and their
research was not too painstaking. My booklet was based on what reporters
call “leg-work.” It was slow but it led me to an entirely different view
of the second Mrs. Tabor and to a closer approximation of the probable
truth. The general public liked my two contributions.
Among certain sectors, however, I was very much criticized for daring to
defend Baby Doe and for writing fictional passages in this booklet for
which I still have no proof. But oddly enough in some instances
documentation later turned up for scenes that began as invention.
In 1956 the late John Latouche was chosen to write the libretto for an
opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe. He read all available treatments of the
Tabors but preferred this booklet (as he said in Theatre Arts magazine).
His lyric telling of the story follows fairly closely the same line and
found audiences across the United States and in Europe, where the opera
has had a number of productions.
During the intervening years I have received fan mail from as far away
as Yokohama, Japan, and Stuttgart, Germany, and the booklet continues to
have wide appeal. It had been my intention to write a definitive
large-size book on Baby Doe but I am not certain if there is sufficient
interest for such a work. I should be glad to have the opinion of
current readers.
Caroline Bancroft, 1962
_Acknowledgments_
(reprinted from the fourth, fifth and sixth editions)
For Research Aid:
Father F. M. McKeogh of St. Peter’s, Oshkosh, James E. Lundsted of the
Oshkosh Public Museum, and J. E. Boell of the State Historical Society
at Madison have supplied masses of Wisconsin data. Their courtesy and
unusual interest in running down many obscure points in the last three
years have amplified and verified my knowledge of the Doe and McCourt
families. In Denver, The Western History Department of the Denver Public
Library—Ina T. Aulls, Alys Freeze and Opal Harber—have suffered with me
intermittently for the eighteen years that I have been working on the
Tabor Story, lending aid and enlightenment. At the Colorado Historical
Society, Agnes Wright Spring and Dolores Renze have been phenomenally
generous and helpful.
For Criticism:
Marian Castle, author of “The Golden Fury,” has made pertinent
suggestions for clarifying captions and improving the general style.
For Proofreading:
Mrs. J. Alvin Fitzell has graciously read and re-read galley sheets in
order to catch errors.
For Photographs:
Fred Mazzulla, collector of Western Americana, has been a beaver of
industry and ingenuity in locating unusual prints and in making gifts of
copies. The Western History Department has supplied the great majority
of prints used; generously donating these in return for my gift of many
originals. Frances Shea, Dolores Renze and Edgar C. McMechen of the
Colorado Historical Society provided ten views from the Tabor and W. H.
Jackson collections. Samuel F. McRae, Lenore Fitzell, Mary Hohnbaum,
Ralph Batschelet, Gene Hawkins, Florence Greenleaf and the Central City
Opera House Association have all contributed in large and small ways to
the final lay-out.
C. B.—1953
_By the Same Author_
Colorful Colorado: Its Dramatic History: “... a remarkable feat of
condensation ... ought to be a copy in your car’s glove locker.”
Robert Perkin in the _Rocky Mountain News_.
Historic Central City: “We could do with more such stories of
Colorado’s fabled past.”
Marian Castle in _The Denver Post_.
Famous Aspen: “It’s all here ... Aspenites should be grateful.”
Luke Short in _The Aspen Times_.
Denver’s Lively Past: “With zest and frankness the author emphasizes
the dramatic, lusty, bizarre and spicy happenings.”
Agnes Wright Spring in _The Denver Post_
Tabor’s Matchless Mine and Lusty Leadville: “Seventh in her series of
Bancroft Booklets retelling segments of Colorado’s history They are
popularly written, color-packed little pamphlets, an it’s a pleasure
to commend them to native and tourist alike.” Robert Perkin in the
_Rocky Mountain News_.
Augusta Tabor: Her Side of the Scandal: “Miss Bancroft with bold
strokes has provided the answers to ... Mr. Tabor’s philanderings.”
Agnes Wright Spring in _Colorado Magazine_.
The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown: “Caroline Bancroft’s booklets an brighter,
better-illustrated and cheaper than formal histories of Colorado....
The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown was a delightful person, and I wish I had
known her.”
John J. Lipsey in the _Colorado Springs Free Press_.
The Brown Palace in Denver: “Miss Bancroft has a sure touch and this
new title adds another wide-selling item to her list.”
Don Bloch in _Roundup_.
Glenwood’s Early Glamor: “Another triumph for Miss Bancroft—and for
Colorado.”
Jack Quinn in the _Cripple Creek Gold Rush_.
Lost Gold Mines and Buried Treasure: “Caroline Bancroft has gathered
an intriguing lot of local lore.”
Cervi’s _Rocky Mountain Journal_.
Unique Ghost Towns and Mountain Spots: “The new Bancroft numbers are
the best yet ... and pictures are excellent.”
Stanton Peckham in _The Denver Post_.
(_See back cover for prices_)
COLORFUL COLORADO: ITS DRAMATIC HISTORY
The whole magnificent sweep of the state’s history in a sprightly
condensation, with 111 photos (31 in full color). $2.00.
UNIQUE GHOST TOWNS AND MOUNTAIN SPOTS
Forty-two of Colorado’s romance-packed high-country towns have their
stories told with old and new photos, history and maps. $2.00.
THE UNSINKABLE MRS. BROWN
The rollicking story of an ignorant Leadville waitress who reached the
top of Newport society as a _Titanic_ heroine. Illustrated. $1.00.
LOST GOLD MINES AND BURIED TREASURE
Thirty romantic and fabled tales of Colorado’s misplaced wealth inspire
the reader to go search. Illustrated. $1.25.
AUGUSTA TABOR: HER SIDE OF THE SCANDAL
The infamous quarrel of the 1880’s is told from the viewpoint of the
outspoken first wife. Illustrated. 75¢.
TABOR’S MATCHLESS MINE AND LUSTY LEADVILLE
Colorado’s most publicized mine was just one facet of the extraordinary
history of the lusty camp where it operated. Illustrated. 75¢.
HISTORIC CENTRAL CITY
Colorado’s first big gold camp lived to become a Summer Opera and Play
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FAMOUS ASPEN
Today the silver-studded slopes of an early-day bonanza town have turned
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THE BROWN PALACE IN DENVER
No hotel had more turn-of-the-century glamor, nor has seen such plush
love-affairs, murders and bizarre doings. Illustrated. 75¢.
GLENWOOD’S EARLY GLAMOR
Society polo games, presidential bear hunts, and miraculous healing hot
springs made this town unique. Illustrated. 75¢.
(_Add 10 cents for mailing one copy; 15 cents for more than one_)
Also available are two popular books published by Alan Swallow:
Gulch of Gold (_full-size history of Central City_) _at $6.20,
postpaid_.
Colorful Colorado (_cloth-bound with bibliography and index_) _at
$3.65_.
BANCROFT BOOKLETS
1081 Downing Street, Denver 18, Colorado
* * * * * *
Transcriber’s note:
--Silently corrected obvious typographical errors; non-standard
spellings and dialect were not changed.
--Added roman-numeral page numbers to the “illustration” pages.