A Chicago Divorce "Shyster."-- Hosford found.-- His pathetic
Narrative.-- More Facts.
Mr. Bangs was in no hurry to leave Sheboygan Falls, as he found that he
was in a fruitful field for information, and he continued garnering it
in and stacking it away industriously.
It appeared that Hosford's wife, not content with disgracing his name,
had soon developed her old and never-satisfied greed for money and any
sort of power that might be wielded mercilessly; and it was evident that
she had money, for she immediately began dressing with much elegance and
travelling about the country extensively. The probability was that she
had still retained the money stolen from Bland, and had also, during her
years of economy, carefully added to it until she had secured a large
sum, as she had occasion to use a good deal of money in a certain
transaction, which quite thoroughly illustrated her unprincipled and
revengeful character.
When Hosford had removed from Indiana to Wisconsin, he had purchased a
larger and a finer farm, and had been obliged to give a mortgage upon it
for several thousand dollars, to be used in making necessary
improvements. This had been paid off with the exception of about three
thousand dollars, which amount, as soon as Mrs. Hosford had begun making
it lively for her husband, and had left him for the purpose of wedding
Spiritualism and all that the term implies, she immediately produced and
bought up the mortgage, placing it in ex-Senator Carpenter's hands for
foreclosure; but poor Hosford, struggling under his heavy load of
desertion, disgrace and persecution, managed to raise the money and take
it up, thus preventing the villainous woman from turning him out of his
own home, which she had deserted and desecrated.
This had proven too much for even the patient Hosford to endure, and he
had set about getting a divorce. But this was a harder thing to do than
he had anticipated. Although he was in possession of nearly as much
information as Bangs had secured, it was impossible to obtain definite
evidence against her. Her terrible temper, her unscrupulousness, her
unbounded and almost devilish shrewdness, and the swift and sudden
principle of revenge that seemed only equalled by her greed for money,
compelled thorough awe and fear among those from whom Hosford had
expected assistance, and the result was he did not get it, and he was
obliged to let the suit for divorce go by default. After this every
petty annoyance that could occur to the woman's mind was visited on him.
She would write him threatening letters; forward him express packages of
a nature to both humiliate him and cause him fear; run him in debt at
every place where she could force, or "confidence," merchants into
trusting her; hire a carriage and secure some male companion as vile as
she, with whom she would proceed to her old home, and in the presence of
her agonized husband and helpless, innocent children, threaten him with
every conceivable form of punishment, including death, and engage in
profanity and drunken orgies that would have disgraced the lowest
brothel in the land.
Mr. Bangs learned that after this sort of procedure for a considerable
period, she suddenly disappeared. Hosford took this opportunity to
dispose of his farm and remove with his motherless family to Iowa. Mr.
Bangs could not learn at Sheboygan what the woman's history had been
during that period, but vague rumors had floated back to the place that
she had become an army-follower, which was quite probable; but at the
close of the war she had assumed the _rôle_ of an abandoned adventuress,
and had wandered about the Pacific Slope until she had made too
extensive an acquaintance for her safety in that section, and from
thence had wandered through the country towards the East, seeking for
any kind of prey; and being hunted from place to place, under countless
_aliases_, until she had in a measure retrieved herself, as far as money
matters were concerned, and being careful of herself physically, had
regained her good looks which her former terrible dissipation had almost
destroyed, and had eventually so insinuated herself into the affections
of a rich somebody that she had been furnished money with which to
secure a divorce from Hosford, which had been granted in Chicago about
a year and a half previous; when she had come on to Sheboygan Falls and
while there made her boasts that she would soon marry one of the richest
men in New York State, as soon as his wife died, which wouldn't be very
long she had hoped and believed. Besides this, the rumors went, she had
failed to marry that richest somebody in New York State, and papers had
been seen containing an account of the woman and Lyon, her suit against
him, and the fact, which particularly interested her old neighbors, that
she had engaged no lawyer whatever, but had drawn and filed the bill of
complaint herself.
In fact, the entire community were in a state of great excitement over
the woman who was also creating much excitement in the East, and each
person had his or her story to tell of some striking peculiarity or
previous adventure of the madam's, and it required a great amount of
sifting and careful work for Mr. Bangs to secure what he came for.
After a few days, however, he had worked so judiciously that he had got
pledges from several responsible citizens that they would give their
depositions as to her general character and reputation for chastity, or
rather, want of it, whenever a commission should be forwarded to a
certain lawyer of the city whom he engaged to take them.
From here he at once proceeded to Iowa, only stopping at Chicago long
enough to secure a transcript of the divorce which had been granted in
that city so noted for divorces, that one shyster alone secured seven
hundred and seventy-seven of these desirable instruments from the period
between the great fire and the close of the year 1875, from whence he
immediately proceeded to Oskaloosa, where he soon became acquainted with
parties who had known the woman, though under as many different
_aliases_ as she had visited cities of that State.
She had invariably advertised herself as a medium and female physician,
and had swindled every one with whom she had come in contact, from the
editor to errand-boy, from one end of the State to the other, and had
gained even a worse reputation there than in Wisconsin. He ascertained
that Hosford was not living at Oskaloosa, and before going through the
same experience in listening to countless tales of the woman's depravity
as he had in Wisconsin, he decided to proceed to his place, which was
near Monroe, twenty-nine miles distant. He procured a conveyance and
drove out to Hosford's farm, arriving at the place about dusk, where,
after he had stated his business, he was invited to remain over night,
and made comfortable.
Although a farmer, Hosford had everything cozy and pleasant about him,
had married into a very respectable family, and had secured a most
agreeable wife, who was caring for his children--two bright girls and a
boy, from twelve to fifteen years of age--with almost the tenderness and
affection of an own mother. After supper Hosford sent his family into
another part of the house, and expressed himself as ready to give any
information in his power.
He had not yet heard of the suit against Lyon, and when Mr. Bangs told
him, he seemed astonished beyond expression, and after a little time
said that he had often tried to think of some Satanic scheme that the
woman _would not_ dare to undertake if it occurred to her, but he had
failed to imagine any. But with the record, especially for personal
purity, behind her that Mrs. Winslow possessed, he could not but be
particularly startled and surprised at her supreme self-possession and
audacity. After a little further desultory conversation, Mr. Bangs told
him that the Agency had all the necessary information regarding their
early career, and of their subsequent history up to the time when they
left Terre Haute, and probably a great deal after that time, and asked
Hosford if he would be willing to go over the whole matter, giving the
outlines of their troubles, what brought them about, and what had been
their result.
He was the same old Dick Hosford--abrupt, kind, generous, with perhaps
some of the old "forty-niner" roughness worn off and a toning-down of
his whole nature, that his keen sorrows had given him; but he was quite
as impulsively reckless, and just as impulsively tender, and he began
his story in a kind of weary way, that, to one knowing his history, was
really sad and touching.
"Well, sir," said Hosford, "I knew the gal had been doing wrong at
Detroit, but for all these hard years in Californy I had been working,
savin', and goin' through danger with the purty pictur ahead that the
bright girl I had left by the river would one day make me a happy home.
I worked like a nigger, and it was sometimes up and sometimes down with
me out thar--mostly down, though. But I struck a good lead one day, and
worked close till it panned dry. I didn't have much aside some of them
fellows out thar; but instead of runnin' it down my throat, givin' it to
cut-throat gamblers, or flingin' it away on vile women, I started full
chisel for the States. I come to Terre Haute, as you know, and spent
nearly all my dust buyin' a little farm. Then I started fur Nettleton's,
whar I expected heaven--but found hell!
"It bust me all up like, and I wandered about the old place jest as
though I had went to sleep happy and waked up in a big grave that I
couldn't get out of. The old folks themselves wasn't any more cut up
than me; but I thought as how I wasn't doin' anything to help matters,
'n only making _them_ more trouble. So I thought and thought what to do,
and finally made up to go a-huntin' her, 'n told the old folks I
wouldn't come back 'thout her.
"It all come over me then what she was doing; but I only thought to get
her back for the old folks' sake. Well, sir, I went to Chicago, and hung
around that doggoned city fur a week 'r two; but no Lil. Then I come
back, lookin' everywhere, askin' everybody, an' peerin' into every
place; but no Lil. Finally, I got to Detroit, and I went into every one
of those places where I feared she _might_ be; but no Lil. Do you know
where I found her?"
Mr. Bangs told him he did, and how.
"Well, sir," continued Hosford, "I was utterly discouraged, 'n was goin'
to go back and sell the place, and get away from the country altogether;
but when I saw her all so rosy, fixed up so gay, and got to be such a
grand sort of a woman, I just caved in altogether and wanted her for
myself more 'n ever. I thought she had a good heart, and that I loved
her enough to always be kind to her--as God knows I was--and thought
_that_ might keep her right. I never asked her a question, 'n wouldn't
let the old folks. Everybody makes mistakes, ye know, and it kind of
makes people wild to let 'em know _you_ know it, and to badger 'em with
questions. Well, she had lots of good sense, and took off her finery
before we got to the old folks', who were 'most crazy with joy that we
had come back together as man and wife. We stayed at Nettleton's a few
days, then went direct to Terre Haute. I don't believe a man ever had a
better wife 'n she was to me while we lived there. We never mentioned
the old times, and were very happy, as the children kept comin' along.
The silks and jewels she got at Detroit were all put away, 'n I never
saw 'em, till one day I come home unexpected and found the children shut
out in the yard, and my wife afore the lookin'-glass, all rigged out in
her old finery, an' lookin' herself over and over, while countin' a big
pile of money that I had never seen before. I got a good look at her,
but went whistlin' about the house for a long time, so as to let on that
I didn't see her, and to give her time to get her old clothes on agin.
"It seemed as if right there and then the clouds begun hangin' over the
house. I didn't say a word about it, and made everything as cheery as I
could; but begun tryin' to think what had set her goin', and after a few
days found that she had been attendin' some of those Spiritual meetings
down to town, and one of the Doctors come up to our place and stayed a
few days, representin' himself as a good Methodist.
"I knew it wouldn't do to stay there any longer, an' so we moved to
Wisconsin, I makin' her think it was healthier 'n where they had no
ager. Well, sir, after we got there everything was pleasant and happy
agi'n till the Spiritualists begun overrunnin' that country too, and she
commenced her tantrums at once. I didn't oppose her goin' to them
meetin's, but told her I hoped she wouldn't get mixed up with 'em too
much; but 'twas no use. The devil had come into the house in that shape,
and though I prayed hard that it might leave, it got worse and worse,
till the children were 'most crazy with fright and sorrow. I didn't know
what to do. She run me in debt, slandered me, disgraced me. She would
not only run about the country with those terrible people, but she took
to her old life, which was worse than everything else. I tried every way
to reform her; but she was bound to go her vile way, and I could stand
it no longer.
"You know the rest up there. After she had been gone some time and had
got the divorce in Chicago, I come here with the children, to try and
get away from it all. You have seen my wife. She ain't a purty woman.
She is pure and good though, and I prayed to God that the shadder would
never come here. But 'twasn't any use. It seemed as though my prayin'
never helped things much! We hadn't more 'n got settled here, when I
heard of her travellin' through the country--you know how. Some way she
found me out here, and I haven't had much peace since.
"One time she came here and left a trunk full of nice silk dresses and
things. After a time, wife and I looked into it and found over two
hundred keys of all kinds, besides pistols and knives. She came and took
it away soon after, accusin' us of stealin' some of her things, and
threatened to have us arrested. A few months afterwards she went up to
Newton, the county-seat, and swore out a warrant for our arrest on the
charge of assault and battery, and got subpoenas out for all the folks
across the way. The Sheriff came down here to serve his warrant and
subpoenas, and at Monroe learned something about the woman, so that by
the time he got here and talked it over with us, I come to the
conclusion she wanted to get us away and then steal the children; so we
took them all along, left one of the neighbors to take care of the
house, and went to Newton to stand trial. Sure enough, she didn't appear
agin' us, but did come here in a carriage fur the children, awful drunk,
and come near shootin' the man that was taking care of the place!"
Bangs here asked Hosford whether he had ever seen her since or had heard
from her.
"I have seen her but once," he replied. "But I have heerd about her
doin's, time and time again. She come here one day in a carriage,
dressed fit to kill; and the first I see, she was tryin' to get the
children into the carriage with her. I ordered them to come in, when,
with an oath, she put her hand to her bosom as if to draw a pistol.
"I got mad at this, and told her that if she had come to that agin,
_I'd_ have a hand in too; and as soon as I turned into the house as if
to get a pistol--I only had an old rusty one with a broken lock, but had
an idea that I could some way use it--she blazed away at me, the ball
going through the front door and driving the splinters into my clothes.
As she didn't know whether she had hit me or not, she drove away at full
gallop, and I've never sot eyes on her since."
The poor fellow seemed to say this with an inexpressible sense of
satisfaction and relief. He had had more than his share of her general
depravity forced upon him, and the respite from it, though short, was
very dear to him.
Bangs got from Hosford the names of parties in contiguous towns who
could give him definite information about Mrs. Winslow, while he offered
to come to Rochester himself, if his presence was required; and after a
good night's rest and an early breakfast, Mr. Bangs returned to Monroe.
After a few days' travel and inquiry he secured a thousand times more
information than necessary to compel the retiracy of the splendid Mrs.
Winslow from her then public and profitable field of operations, after
which he returned to New York, well satisfied with the result of his by
no means pleasant labors.