OCR Text |
Show I hum: is hois. Prett; Winnie's Elopctnsut Years Ago Caused Final Bniu and Desertion. BUSKING UNDER HES SHAME - She Drifted Into the Lower Classes of Humanity-Left $150,000 by Her Tather. Leauvillk. Colo.. May 24. Minnie Burton, a woman of tho lower class, left the city last night for her old home in tho east, w here a fortune amounting to something like $l"0,000 awaits her. Her story is one of the strangest ever coming to light in this city of many strange stories. The woman eamo to Leadville a few months ago from one of the southern Colorado milling camps. Sh was a physical wreck, being a victim vic-tim of slow consumption. Although she rented a small house on tho south sido and was thrown in, to a considerable consider-able extent, with tho women of unsavory reputation habiting the small dives along West Second ami Pine streets, yet she did not become au intimate acquaintance ac-quaintance with them by any means, and to some was undoubtedly unknown. She was commonly called Lillie. The woman lived very quietly, aud was evidently evi-dently iu rather poor circumstances. It is known that she tried repeatedly to leave the city, but could not borrow the money to do so. In appearance she was uuylhiug but attractive, being almost a skeleton, aud walking with a feeble, tottering gait wliicli many who have seen her on the streets from time to time ascribed to drunkenness, something Unit was far frmi being the case. ()u several occasions occa-sions she could not get out of the bouse, aud had to depend on the charity of her more fortunate sisters In shame for means to purchase her meals with. In fact her neighbors stated yesterday that they were surprised she liad managed man-aged to exist in this city for as many months as she did. Information re- . it .i . ... . . . ceivoii irom uie east nisi weoa was m tho effect that tho woman's father, a wealthy merchant at Mansfield, Ohio, had died, leaving his entire fortune to bis daughter, should she bo found (luring tlie next twelve months, if not, thoro being few relatives, the main portion por-tion of It reverted ton school. This Intelligence In-telligence brought out the entire story of tlie unfortunate woman's past, which briefly was the old one of love, e.ope-incut e.ope-incut and desertion. Lillie or Winnie, became enamored of a young clerk In Mansfield. Tho match was not sanctioned sanc-tioned aud the two prlueipals ran away from home. There wus no murriuKo contract, and In a year the girl was ue-sorted ue-sorted in Oiiuibftj ua is usual lufiich cases. Sho went to tho bad, drifting all over the west and finally coming to Colorado, and ultimately Leadville, where her career would pwbuhly have ended in an unknown grave had she remained two months longer. According to tho wisli of her father, a search for his wayward way-ward daughter was instituted two mouths before his death. Ilia desire to sen her was not gratified, grati-fied, however, and all search seemed useless. Tho death occurred last March, all money going to the daiiKhter, provided she could bo found within twelve months. Her w hereabouts did not come to light until somo two weeks ago, when J. D. Cummiiigs, a Denver attorney, was advised that the Maiislield lawyers, who had the caso in hand, believed that the woman was in Ouray. Attorney dimming went to Ouray and learned she had left there for Leadville. Jtuariiveil hero Thursday of last week, and Saturday Satur-day waited on tho heiress to several hundred thousand dolhr In one of the 'worst looking "dives" in tho city. When the attorney explained his mission mis-sion the unfortunate woman burst into a historical fit of weeping and coughing. Mr. dimming had carried a small photograph of Winnie when she was 20, and the contrast of tlm blooming, healthy girl in tlie picture to the painted, thin-faced, hollow-eyed woman of reality w as remarkable and almost comprehensive. Tho woman proved lo Mr. Cummiiigs' satisfaction, however, how-ever, that sho w as tho ono for whom he was searching, and he advised the eastern lawyer to that effect. Yesterday he was instructed to furnish fur-nish her with funds and have her sent to her old home, which she will see for the first time if she lives which is Houbtful. for she could hardly walk to the train last evening, in nearly thirty years. W. D. Burton, the woman's hit lief, a reporter learned from the statement of Mr. dimming, i one of the wealthiest men of Marahlicld.Ohio, and a number of years ago wa a member of the Ohio legislature. Since bis daughter left bis home his wife and another daughter died, h aving only a few distant relatives. His fortune is estimated at .'"iO.OOO, over half rf which he left to his daughter, whom he hail practically driven from home and who has probably been on the verge of starvation and death a hundred time during her revolting career in the I west. |