by Enss, Chris
Belle made a number of trips to Arkansas to see Jim and had plenty of opportunity to mix with his circle of friends, which included Tom Starr’s son, Sam. Although she was loyal to Jim, Belle found Sam irresistible. Sam had feelings for her, too, but knew better than to cross the line.
Wanting to be near her husband and thrilled by life on the run, Belle accompanied Jim on several robberies. Jim and his gang traveled from Kansas to New Mexico stealing horses. On February 22, 1871, in the midst of the thievery, Belle gave birth to a second child. The Reeds named their son James Edwin. While Jim stole his way across the West, Belle watched over her children and oversaw the ranch back in Texas. In the evenings she played piano and cards at a popular Dallas saloon.
Jim’s criminal activities graduated from highwayman and cattle rustler to murderer. During the first few years of his son’s life, Jim had a $4,000 bounty on his head. When Belle suggested he reign in his workload a bit, he began an affair with a less demanding woman named Rosa McCommas. In August 1874 Reed’s illegal endeavors came to an end when a fellow rider shot and killed him.
Two years after Jim was gunned down, Belle’s father died. Alone, destitute, and anxious to be on the move, she started making plans to follow in her husband’s footsteps. She sold her property in Texas and sent her daughter to boarding school in Arkansas and her son to her mother’s in Missouri. She took up with members of the group of renegades Jim rode alongside. At first she merely acted as a fence or tipster in their various crimes, but eventually she helped do the actual stealing.
Her first arrest for horse thieving occurred in 1879. She was released from jail after she managed to charm the owner of the thoroughbreds into not pressing charges.
The band of outlaws she was associated with grew to include fifty men. Among them were well-known western cutthroats Jim French, Blue Duck, and Jack Spaniard. Together they picked up mavericks in Texas’s Atascosa territory, rustled stampeded cattle from trail drivers on their way to Kansas, and robbed banks and stagecoaches. When they weren’t engaged in dastardly doings, Belle was schooling her partners in crime in faro and five-card draw. She was such an accomplished player that her cohorts called her “the best lady gambler in the West.”
When Belle and her partners were feeling particularly daring, they ventured out of hiding to enjoy an evening on the town. Some of their favorite arenas for entertainment were the saloons around Fort Dodge, Kansas. During one of their visits, Blue Duck lost all the money he had borrowed from the gang in a crooked poker game. Belle not only retrieved the funds but also a few thousand dollars more. After that incident the outlaws headed for the Starr Ranch in Adair, Oklahoma, to lay low for a while.
During the brief rest Belle became romantically involved with Sam Starr. The two were married on June 5, 1880. They spent their honeymoon in Ogallala, Nebraska, rustling cattle. A yearlong stealing spree resulted in a substantial herd of cattle and stock horses. Belle and Sam decided to drive the animals to a thousand-acre spread they purchased in Oklahoma. Once they were settled in, Belle sent for her daughter to live with them. She also bought herself a new wardrobe and a piano.
Belle didn’t have much time to enjoy her fineries or renew her relationship with Pearl before federal marshals arrived on the scene. She and Sam were arrested in 1883 and escorted to Fort Smith, Arkansas, to stand trial for stealing horses. Judge Isaac Parker, the hanging judge, sentenced both Belle and Sam to a year behind bars. The pair was released after serving nine months.
The Starrs returned to Arkansas and rustling. Belle went back to dealing cards and limited the number of horses she stole. Sam robbed stages and mail hacks. He spent most of 1885 running from the law. Hard living and friendships with homicidal bandits aided in Sam’s death. In 1886 he was shot and killed at a Christmas party while his cohorts looked on.
Belle was arrested two times for various crimes during a three-year span, 1886 to 1889. Each time she was released for lack of evidence. She had numerous lovers during the same time period. Among them were Cole Younger, Jack Spaniard, and Jim July. She eventually married July.
On February 3, 1889, Belle headed for Fort Smith with her new husband. July needed to be at a hearing to defend himself against a horse-stealing charge. While he was in court, Belle was going to busy herself with some shopping at the post store and then play a game of poker at the local saloon. Midway through the journey, she changed her mind and decided to return home. An unknown gunman shot the outlaw gambler off her horse. Once Belle was on the ground, the assailant shot her again in the neck and breast.
Authorities never determined the identity of Belle’s killer. Some historians maintain that it was a wanted man named Edgar Watson who pulled the trigger. Others believe it was her seventeen-year-old son, Edwin. He had an explosive temper and, like his parents, was a criminal. Belle and Edwin had quarreled in public the day before she was killed. Edwin was humiliated and embarrassed by the display and vowed never to forgive her.
Belle’s daughter buried her mother near the Starr homestead in Eufaula, Oklahoma. The marker over the grave includes a short verse and the usual dates of importance. Belle Starr was forty years old when she died.
Jessie Reeves and Cad Thompson
Scarlet Ladies in Texas and Nevada
“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
John 8:4-5
On July 12, 1900, several well-dressed guests filtered into a giant Salvation Army tent in New York City and found seats among rows of wooden crates. A steady breeze rustled the sides of the canvas enclosure but offered no relief from the oppressive summer heat. Few allowed themselves to be distracted by the uncomfortable conditions. They had come to hear a message from the former prostitute Jessie Reeves, and nothing could drive them from the setting. Once the audience was settled, the speaker approached the pulpit area.
Jessie was an attractive but hard-looking woman. The creases around her dark features made her look every bit her forty-plus years. Her eyes, though tired, reflected an inner peace. The congregation closely watched her every move. Jessie placed a well-worn Bible on a lectern and stared out at the eager crowd.
For more than an hour she shared the details of her sordid past, describing her days as a prostitute turned madam in an area known as Hell’s Half Acre in Fort Worth, Texas. She described her sinful deeds and the shady characters in her association with rich detail. After painting a bleak picture of a vile past, she shared how her life had been transformed.
“I was out for my mid-day constitutional when I happened by the open doorway of a small house,” she explained. “I heard someone inside singing hymns, and I was drawn to the sweet message in the music.” Jessie entered the home and met the gospel minister who lived there. He told her about God and how he forgave sins. “I took the Savior into my soul that day,” she happily proclaimed, “and I turned over a new leaf.”
The audience was riveted by her tale of change. Hurting, troubled men and women rushed the pulpit at the conclusion of the service. Her words had turned their hearts.
Given the fact that historians have been unable to determine her real name, little has been uncovered about the early life of Jessie Reeves. Prostitutes had a habit of changing their names, in part to avoid revealing their true identity.
According to a handful of historical records, Jessie was born and raised in Spain. She arrived in Fort Worth in 1881 with her sister. Once in the United States, Jessie took on a variety of jobs, including work as a circus performer and faro dealer. Her faro-dealing days were marred with violence and injury. After losing all of his money gambling one evening, an angry cowboy shot Jessie in the chest. He accused her of dealing off the bottom of the deck. It took fifteen months for the wound to completely heal, but Jessie did survive the ordeal.
By 1885 Jessie was operating her own parlor house located across the street
from the home of another famous Texas madam, Mary Porter. It was here that Jessie and her staff saw to the needs of many respectable and prominent citizens. Among the notable members of society that frequented her business was a well-known rancher and oilman who was romantically linked to Madam Reeves for many years.
Jessie was arrested several times over the course of her career. The charges ranged from operating a disorderly house to vagrancy. She was required to pay more than $600 a year in fines.
Madam Reeves’s reputation was not solely tied to her profession; she was also known for being generous to the homeless, destitute children, police officers, and firemen. In the summer of 1888, a boardinghouse across from her business caught fire and threatened to destroy the entire town. Jessie sent supplies of food and blankets to the firefighters to help sustain them in their efforts. Many buildings surrounding her house burned to the ground, but Jessie’s home was spared.
Virginia City, Nevada, madam Cad Thompson found herself in a similar circumstance in 1867, but she wasn’t as fortunate as Jessie Reeves. Of course, Cad did not possess the benevolent spirit Jessie had, either.
This 1905 illustration aptly depicts one of the harsh realities of a life of prostitution. Entitled “Where’s Mabel?” it shows a parlor-house patron enquiring of the madam about the whereabouts of one of the popular girls in her employ. The brutal answer was, “She has croaked.” The upper part of the picture shows the burial of the girl in a potter’s field.
Author’s collection
Caroline (Cad) Thompson was born Sarah Hagen in Ireland in 1827. Not long after her husband passed away, Cad moved to Virginia City with her five-year-old son, Henry. As a result of the discovery of silver and gold in the area, the northern Nevada mining town was booming. Cad was a shrewd businesswoman who determined early on that she could capitalize on the lustful miners’ need for women. She purchased a large, two-story brick house, moved five attractive ladies in, and invited the public to one of the town’s most elegant parlor houses.
Madam Thompson’s house was commonly referred to as “the Brick.” It was elegantly furnished with items from San Francisco and Paris. Among the many features in the home were a piano parlor and separate rooms for each boarder.
Cad’s business was always open. She hosted a steady stream of men twenty-four hours a day. The loud, drunken noises and music emanating from the home at all hours of the night prompted neighbors to level complaints to law enforcement. Cad was subsequently arrested many times for disturbing the peace and for drunk and disorderly conduct. Many times, to protest what she felt was harassment, she refused to pay the fines associated with the conviction. She instead chose to be jailed.
Cad’s personal life was just as troubled as her professional one. In 1864 she became romantically involved with an Irish stonemason named John Dalton. John had been arrested for fighting as often as Cad had been for drunk and disorderly conduct. The violent tempers and stubbornness they each possessed made for a lethal combination. Cad had John arrested for assault a number of times but would eventually bail him out. The two would then reconcile and start the process over again.
One July 4, 1867, a fight between John and Cad resulted in gunplay. John threatened Cad’s life, and she pulled a derringer out to defend herself. He wrested the gun from her just as the police arrived at the scene. An officer entered the home and shot and killed John. Cad claimed the officer murdered her lover, but he was found to have acted in self-defense.
Madam Thompson fought not only with her customers and romantic interests but with other prostitutes as well. Mary Livingston, a popular boarder, worked for Cad. The two got into a disagreement over a minor issue, and the argument escalated into a shouting match. Cad demanded that Mary vacate the premises. When Mary refused, the pair got into a fistfight. Cad beat the young woman to a pulp and threw her out. Mary pressed charges and a trial ensued.
Members of the male jury listened to the testimony and decided to acquit Cad. However, the men in the galley who were moved by Mary’s sad tale of abuse at the hand of Cad were furious with the madam. They pledged to get even with Cad for hurting Mary. The men devised a plan to destroy Madam Thompson’s place and force her out of business; they started a blaze and then sounded the alarm. Firemen responded to the growing inferno and flooded the property with water. The interior of the house was ruined. On November 18, 1866, neighbor Alf Doten noted in his journal that Cad had been the victim of a “well calculated vendetta,” writing, “Some fellows took No. 1’s engine about 4 o’clock this morning and washed out old Cad Thompson’s whorehouse—gave her hell—created quite a consternation among the law and order portion of the community—not the end of it yet. We shall have to see who rules the city, the rough or the decent men.”
Cad rebuilt the Brick and purchased two other houses. In August 1878, eleven years after the fire, her only child, Henry—a twenty-two-year-old alcoholic—committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest. He was still clinging to life when the doctor arrived to tend to his wound. Henry shunned any attempt to save him, telling the doctor, “If I had wanted to live it is not very likely that I would have shot myself.”
Cad retired from the business in 1892. Historical records note that Madam Thompson and the Brick were two of the most popular attractions in Virginia City.
Belle Siddons
The Reformed Spy
“In one corner, a coarse-looking female might preside over a roulette-table, and, perhaps, in the central and crowded part of the room a Spanish or Mexican woman would be sitting at Monte, with a cigarette in her lips, which she replaced every few moments by a fresh one.”
Author, lecturer, and feminist Eliza Farnham, 1854
Blood spattered across the front of the dark-eyed, brunette gambler Belle Siddons as she peered into the open wound of a bandit stretched in front of her. Biting down hard on a rag, the man winced in pain as she gently probed his abdomen with a wire loop. She mopped up a stream of blood inching its way down the crude wooden table on which he was lying.
Two men on either side of the injured patient struggled to keep his arms and legs still as the stern-faced Belle plunged the loop farther into his entrails.
“How do you know about gunshots?” one of the rough-looking assistants asked.
“My late husband was a doctor, and I worked with him,” Belle replied.
“Is he going to die?” the other man inquired.
“Not if I can help it,” Belle said as she removed the wire loop. She sifted through the tissue and blood attached to the instrument until she uncovered a bullet. She smiled to herself as she tossed it into a pan sitting next to her and then set about closing the man’s wounds.
When Belle decided to go west in 1862, she envisioned a comfortable frontier home, a lifelong husband, and several children. But fate had other plans for the headstrong woman many cowhands admitted was a “startling beauty.”
Belle’s story began in Jefferson City, Missouri, where she was born sometime in the late 1830s. Her parents were wealthy land owners who made sure their daughter was well educated. She attended and graduated from the Missouri Female Seminary at Lexington. Belle’s uncle was the state’s governor, Claibourne Fox Jackson. She spent a great deal of time with him, traveling in elite circles that elevated the charming teenager to the toast of society.
When the War Between the States erupted, Missouri residents were divided between support for North or South. Belle and her family were Southern sympathizers, actively seeking ways to crush the Union’s agenda. The attractive young Ms. Siddons fraternized with Union troops training in the area, hoping to glean valuable information from them. They were enamored with her and, in their zeal to impress her, shared too much about military plans and the positions of soldiers. Belle passed those secrets along to Rebel intelligence.
Her deceptive actions were found out by General Newton M. Curtis of the Union Brig
ade from New York. A warrant was issued for Belle’s arrest in 1862, and she was apprehended fifty miles south of St. Genevieve on the Mississippi River. When Belle was captured she had proof of her duplicitous behavior in her possession: detailed plans of the stops of the Memphis and Mobile Railroad. The rail line was being used by the Union Army to transport supplies and weapons. When questioned about the crime, Belle proudly admitted to being a spy. She was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to a year in prison. She was released after having served only four months.
Belle left the Midwest for Texas shortly after being released from the Grand Street Prison for Rebels. She continued to support the Southern position from afar, and when the Civil War ended, she returned to the area where she was raised and became a successful lobbyist.
In 1868 she met and married Dr. Newton Hallett, an army surgeon stationed in Kansas City. When orders were handed down for the doctor to report for duty at Fort Brown, Texas, Belle gladly went along with him. The Rio Grande River bordered the rustic, lonely outpost on one side, and two African-American divisions guarded the facility. Belle’s husband provided medical care to the troops, settlers, and friendly Native Americans living around the camp. She assisted him during crucial operations and learned the basics of caring for the sick and injured.
One of the most accomplished and celebrated female gamblers of the western frontier was “Madam Vestal,” better known as Belle Siddons. Her lover and gambling partner, Archie McLaughlin, was eventually hanged for his involvement in illegal activites—leaving Belle a broken woman.
Searls Historical Library
The happy pair spent their off time visiting the nearby town of Matamoros, Mexico, where Dr. Hallett taught his pretty wife how to play poker. Belle found she had a talent for cards, in particular a game called Spanish monte. The Halletts’ blissful life together was cut short when Newton contracted yellow fever and died in 1875. Belle was devastated.
