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Remarkable Rogues: The Careers of Some Notable Criminals of Europe and America

<h2 class="vspace">CHAPTER III BELLE STAR, THE GIRL BUSHRANGER</h2> When the American Civil War came to an end it set free from discipline thousands of rough, lawless men, many of whom subsequently adopted crime as a profession. Amongst them was the father of Belle Star. He was a tall, powerfully-built man, with rugged features and gorilla-like arms, a crack shot and a fearless horseman, and during the four years Star had fought on behalf of the Southern against the Northern States he had revelled in the conflict. Peace had no charms for him, and when the rival parties settled their differences he decided to make war on both. In other words, he took to the bush with half a dozen tried and trusted comrades, and for several years the gang, which steadily grew in numbers, terrorised the country-side. Belle, his only child, was born near a battlefield and within sound of the booming of the guns. The mother did not long survive her birth, but, although nearly always on the march, Belle was well looked after. She was a pretty, fairy-like child, with blue eyes and an engaging manner, and she was the pet of the camp. The Southern soldiers called her their mascot, and before she was five she could handle a pistol, and by the time she was ten she was expert in the use of the lasso, carbine, bowie knife, and revolver. When Star turned bushranger Belle was only twelve, but she was already well qualified to be a prominent32 member of his gang. Only her father excelled her as a shot, and in horsemanship she was without a rival. Wild and apparently untamable steeds that Star himself dare not mount became docile as soon as Belle took them in hand. Animals loved her; men feared and respected her. She grew into a beauty, slim and fragile-looking, yet in reality very strong, intelligent, audacious and clever. When she was only fifteen she was once left in charge of the headquarters of the outlaws for a whole day whilst they rode to a certain town and held up the bank. During their absence a tramp attempted to rob the camp, but although he took Belle by surprise she soon had him on the defensive, and instead of killing her she killed him with her small white hands, slowly forcing the thief backwards with her hands around his throat; then down on his knees, and, finally, left him a corpse at her feet. On the return of the outlaws she told her father what had happened, and he there and then named Belle as his successor in the leadership of the gang, and every man present swore to obey her when her turn came to reign over them. Reared amid bloodshed, taught every day to regard human life as anything but sacred, and educated to believe that it was no sin to rob, it is not astonishing that at the age of eighteen Belle, for all her beauty, was a thorough-paced criminal. She had already shot down at least half a dozen men; like her father she feared nothing, and flying along on a swift horse she was capable of hitting any human target within sight. More than once her marksmanship had saved the gang from being surrounded and overpowered, and during the last two years of her father's life it was really her brain that guided the band of outlaws. But the inevitable day came when Star, the terror of Texas, was slain in a running fight, and Belle succeeded to the vacant leadership. 33 Only those who knew what she really was could have taken her seriously in her new capacity. She was eighteen, with refined, delicate features, lovely blue eyes, a pair of rosy lips, and a slim figure. By now the gang consisted of twenty men, all veterans in vice and crime, big, brawny, evil and coarse. Not one of them would have hesitated to cut the throat of his own mother, yet Belle during her reign held them in the hollow of her hand. They never dared to disobey her. There was never any talk of mutiny, as there had been in her father's lifetime, and animated by this perfect loyalty the gang went on from success to success, and Belle Star, the greatest of all female bushrangers, kept in subjection scores of villages and towns. One of the first acts of the bloodthirsty spitfire was to "avenge," as she called it, the death of her father. Star had sent to their last account at least forty men and women, but Belle would have it that his death had been undeserved, and that because he had never robbed the very poor the Sheriff had no right to shoot him for trying to evade arrest. So she marked down the Sheriff for execution, and with six of her followers set out for the lonely farm belonging to the county official. Despite the fact that she knew that the Sheriff was keeping a sharp watch for her, Belle did not hesitate to wreak vengeance on him. It was in the early hours of a June morning that she and her six followers rode out of the camp, and for five hours they travelled, only stopping when within half a mile of the Sheriff's residence. Then they dismounted, carefully tethered their horses in a wood, and did the remainder of the journey on foot, Belle leading the way, revolver in hand. It was a lovely day, and as the Sheriff inspected his farm workers, a score of sturdy men devoted to his interests, he could hardly have suspected danger. He was fully protected and well armed in case of attack,34 and, feeling secure, he wandered aimlessly towards the most remote corners of his property. He was idly sauntering in the direction of a tool-shed, when two men sprang at him, and before he could utter a sound had him on his back, gagged and bound. Half an hour later the Sheriff was led before Belle Star, who was standing under an old tree waiting for him. There was very little beauty in her face now. Her eyes shone like a tigress', and her small white hands were clenched. Belle was smelling blood and gloating in the coming murder of the man who had executed justice upon her father. The outlaw chieftainess called it a "trial," but the Sheriff was doomed from the first. As they were out of earshot she allowed the gag to be removed from his mouth, and then he was mockingly asked if he could suggest any reason why he should not be suspended from the tree under which they had assembled. The Sheriff was a brave man, and he knew that his fate was sealed. He did not, therefore, make any plea for mercy, but in the curtest tones told Belle that he was merely one more victim of hers, but that in time his murder would be avenged. He was proceeding to taunt her with her disgraceful life, when she flushed angrily, and ordered him to be strung up. Her commands were obeyed, and Belle's last act was to scribble on a piece of paper, "Executed by Belle Star," and pin it to his coat, before she rode away with her six ruffians. The murder of the Sheriff aroused the country, and it seemed that Belle's career must be a short one. Rewards were offered for her death or capture amounting to more than ten thousand dollars. All classes organized to hunt down the notorious female criminal. Respectable citizens enrolled themselves as patrols to guard their homes, and for miles around there35 was not a town or village without its special defence. But Belle had her own system of obtaining information, and she learnt early all about the preparations that were being made to capture her, laughing and derisively boasting that she would outwit all her foes. It was her fearlessness and audacity allied to success that held the gang in subjection. Belle could do no wrong. When any of them attempted a job on their own account they invariably failed. Thus when Belle injured her arm, and had to travel two hundred miles disguised in order to see a doctor, four of her followers thought they would rob a jewellery establishment and keep the "swag" for themselves. They found courage in drink, and proceeded to attack the shop, but everything went wrong from the start. They were surprised by a patrol, and a fight ensued, in the course of which two of them were shot dead. The others escaped, and reached the camp in an exhausted condition, and when Belle returned she punished them by making them do all the dirty work of the camp for a month, and fined the discomfited scoundrels by refusing to allow them to participate in the results of the next expedition. That a young girl could dominate a gang of bloodthirsty ruffians in this manner would be incredible if the story of Belle Star's life was not fully authenticated. With her usual cunning Belle waited until the enthusiasm of the numerous Defence Committees was cooled by inaction before resuming hostilities. For several weeks nothing was seen of her gang, and rumours began to circulate that she had fled with her followers to a less highly organized district, having realized that the good people of Texas were too clever for her. Disguised as a man, Belle would visit various towns, and in the market places and hotels listen to legends about herself. She would laugh the loudest when the leading citizens eloquently depicted her fate if they got her into their hands. She had a sense of humour, and36 she could stroll into a local Court and watch petty thieves being sentenced, and applaud moral sentiments uttered by the presiding judge, who could not know that the notorious female bushranger was sitting a few feet away from him! But her greatest exploit, apart from her many crimes, was the winning of two races on the same day in full view of thousands of spectators. It happened that a town which had often suffered from her depredations decided to hold a special race meeting, and amongst several prizes two large sums of money were offered to the winners of two particular races, one being for male and the other for female jockeys. Belle, realising that she was an expert rider, determined to enter for both events, and as the one for men took place an hour before that for the ladies, she assumed male attire, and as a handsome young man rode on to the racecourse. After giving a false name she was permitted to take her place at the post, and as her horse was the fleetest, and she was the most skilful jockey, victory followed as a matter of course. She received the stakes from the local mayor, made a speech of thanks, and then retired. When she reappeared she was dressed as a country girl, and this time she was leading another horse. She looked so simple and sweet that the stewards were only too delighted to accept her entry for the race for female jockeys, and loud was the applause when the young beauty came in an easy first. Once more Belle attended before the élite of the town to receive a considerable sum of money, and she was cheered to the echo by the huge crowd, amongst whom there were hundreds of men who had sworn to capture Belle Star alive or dead. The funds proved very useful to the gang, but, better than that, the men were so surprised and delighted by her double exploit that they became more slavish in37 their devotion to her. Belle was supreme. She knew now that if she led them into the very jaws of hell they would not draw back or complain. Owing to her father's depredations having created a reign of terror amongst the country banks, a rule had been made requiring all cashiers to keep a fully loaded revolver on their desks, whilst if any suspicious stranger entered the premises one of the other clerks was to cover him unostentatiously with a revolver, and shoot at the first sign of danger. This innovation having reduced considerably the number of bank "hold-ups," it created a belief that it had succeeded in frightening away Belle Star's gang, but Belle proved that that was a great mistake. Adopting her usual disguise of a young farmer, Belle went alone to Galveston to pick up gossip, and she was fortunate enough to overhear at one of the principal hotels a conversation between two merchants which revealed the interesting fact that a week later the National Bank was due to receive a consignment in gold amounting to one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. That was the sort of thing that fired Belle's imagination, and although she knew that the National Bank was well guarded, and that the manager and cashier transacted business fully armed, she resolved to capture that consignment of gold. She returned to her headquarters to give final instructions to her followers, and then she went back to Galveston, but this time she had assumed the character of a little old woman with a thin voice and a hesitating manner. She "fluttered" in the approved fashion of nervous old ladies, and more than one polite citizen of Galveston hastened to help her across the road when they saw her shrinking from lumbering cart horses. It was exactly ten minutes before closing time when Belle timidly entered the National Bank and presented a cheque, which she asked the cashier to change for her.38 She looked so pathetic in her black clothes, and was so apologetic and yet friendly, that the cashier felt quite sorry when he had to tell her that he could not oblige her for the simple reason that the cheque was drawn on the bank's branch at Austin, the capital of Texas. Perhaps some of his politeness was inspired by a glance at the signature on the cheque, which was that of a well-known United States diplomat. The poor old lady looked greatly distressed, and when at last she fully understood that she was not to have the money she showed signs of collapsing. The cashier and one of the clerks hastened to come to her assistance, and they assisted her into the manager's office, where she sank on to a chair, and huskily whispered that she would be all right in a few moments. Manager, cashier and clerk were glancing at one another when they were startled to hear the command—"Hands up!" The next moment the "little old lady" was covering them with her revolver, whilst six of the outlaws under her command entered the building, closed the door of the bank, and made all the officials prisoners. Then they visited the vaults and the strong-room, and, having waited until darkness had fallen, took the gold out and packed it in the van brought for the purpose, eventually riding away leisurely. It was not until the early hours of the following morning that the trussed-up and gagged bank staff were discovered and released. By then Belle Star was far away, and for the next two days the gang were busy changing their quarters in case they had been tracked to their camp. This single exploit made them all rich, but, of course, there was no limit to their greed, and no sooner was it accomplished than Belle began to plan others equally daring. But she had a woman's vanity, and she brooded over insults and taunts which a man would have ignored,39 and she sometimes risked her own safety and that of her followers to avenge a petty slight. She once happened to be in a populous town near Austin, when she heard the local judge declare that he knew Belle Star by sight and that he would shortly arrest her, and have her publicly whipped before handing her over to the Lynchers. The girl brigand and the judge were actually seated next to one another at the table d'hôte dinner at the hotel when he said this. Belle smiled at his delusion, but when he proceeded to speak of her in opprobrious terms and gave her credit for more crimes than murder and robbery her anger nearly led her into revealing her identity. But she maintained control of herself, and after a little reflection decided to wait until the following morning before punishing the boastful judge. Next morning after breakfast—she had registered as a man, and, of course wore male clothes—she mounted her horse in front of the hotel, and then sent a servant to tell the judge that a stranger wished to speak to him. At this time of day everybody was at work, and the hotel staff were busy indoors and in the stables. When the judge appeared he and Belle were practically alone, as she knew, and without hesitating she blandly informed him that she was Belle Star, and then raised her whip and lashed him in the face. The judge was so astounded that he was unable to escape her until she had lacerated him considerably, and, half blind and smarting from pain, his shrieks for help were unanswered until Belle had reached a place of safety. It is a well-known fact that when a woman deliberately embraces crime as a profession she is generally more brutal and merciless than the average male criminal. It was so with Belle Star. The fair-haired girl with the sunny smile and the lovely lips could in cold blood40 sentence to death a young man whose only offence was that he had tried to defend his property and his life. Belle, too, was in the habit of accepting her own suspicions as full proof. Once a well-laid scheme came to naught because at the last moment the owner of the shop that had been marked down for attack awoke to a realization of his danger and secured reinforcements. The outlaws were driven off, and Belle, savagely discontented and disappointed, came to the conclusion that her plans had been betrayed by a young farm hand who had been in her pay as a spy. She, therefore, sent two of her followers to arrest him, but the suspect gave them no trouble, for he came willingly. Then Belle coldly told him of his offence. He swore he was innocent, but she cut him short by drawing her revolver and putting a bullet in his brain, and the gang buried the suspected traitor with as much nonchalance as they would have interred a dog. It is impossible, however, to relate all her exploits. She personally led onslaughts on banks, stores, private houses, and public buildings. She had a solution for every problem and a way out of every difficulty. When one of her men was arrested and was in imminent danger of death, Belle, finding that the judge could not be kidnapped, proceeded to make a prisoner of his wife, and the judge subsequently found a note pinned to his pillow, informing him that unless the captured outlaw was allowed to go free the lady would be murdered. He was given only twenty-four hours to save her, but, as the town was in a ferment over the excesses of the gang, the judge, guessing that he dare not acquit the prisoner, had to connive at his escape in order to prevent the murder of his wife. He had a bad time of it when his fellow-citizens heard how they had been cheated of their prey, and he was compelled to resign, but as his wife was returned safe and unharmed he was not sorry that he had placated the outlaw. 41 Belle had plenty of friends who worked secretly for her. They did not take any part in the raids, but they were very useful in supplying information and warnings, and more than once the gang escaped, thanks to the timely advice of these spies. Thus when Belle was heading an expedition to rob a bank, she looked for and found a certain mark on the bark of a particular tree within a couple of miles of the town. That told her that the bank had obtained the protection of the authorities, and would be more than a match for the outlaws. She proceeded no farther, and she afterwards learned that the proprietor of the bank had planned to capture the gang. Their disappointment when she and her followers never turned up at all was a source of amusement to her, and compensated for the collapse of her plans. For a long time, however, the Government would not take any action against the marauders, maintaining that the local authorities ought to be able to deal with them. But, when within the space of a month five banks and six shops were burgled and nine innocent lives were lost, the Government realized that this was no local problem but a national affair after all. Belle Star was terrorizing the country in no unmistakable manner. Her word was law, and the State was ignored. Hundreds of small farmers paid her weekly tributes to save them from being robbed of their all, and things came to such a pass that some mean-spirited persons actually proposed that each town should pay ransom money to Belle if she would only promise to keep away! When the troops took the field against her Belle's days were numbered, although she refused to admit this, and she issued proclamations inviting the soldiers to come on. Certainly the initial encounters ended favourably for Belle. She added to her recruits, provided them with plenty of ammunition, and, setting an example of fearlessness, led them against the soldiers, and drove them off. 42 She had by now her headquarters in the midst of a forest, and it was possible for travellers to pass within a few yards of the huts without knowing that they were there. Beyond the huts was a miniature fortress which commanded the approach to the forest, and, as it could be attacked from one side only, it was easy for half a dozen desperate men, all expert marksmen, to hold hundreds at bay. Despite the fact that a regiment of soldiers was searching for her and her gang, Belle refused to lie low. Her raids continued, and when a spy of hers appealed for help she promptly responded, although it involved great risks. This spy, a woman employed as a cook in an hotel, had a husband who had been arrested for a trivial offence, but as he had a bad record it was certain that if the judge discovered it he would give the fellow a long sentence. As the prisoner had come from New York, the police of the latter city were asked for particulars of his career, and they responded by sending a list of his previous convictions to the judge at Galveston. But the damaging papers arrived on a Friday night, and before the judge could see them Belle personally entered the post office, held up the staff, examined the correspondence, and, having found the bulging packet from the New York Chief of Police, took it away and destroyed it. The result was that the spy's husband was treated as a first offender, and let off with a nominal fine. The day after this exploit Belle was riding alone near her camp, when she was attacked by two soldiers, who suspected her identity. They followed, thinking that they could capture the famous brigand easily. But Belle's object was to separate them, and when the man on the swifter horse outdistanced his comrade Belle turned in her saddle and, despite the pace at which she was going, killed him with her first shot.43 His corpse had scarcely struck the ground when a second bullet ended the career of the other soldier. These exploits gained for her a great deal of sympathy. The Texans were essentially a sporting race, and they argued that if a regiment of soldiers could not overcome a slip of a girl and a score of brigands then they deserved to be beaten. This was extraordinary, in view of the fact that Belle had robbed and pillaged all alike. The very poor she had spared for the reason that they were not worth robbing, but it was accounted a virtue unto her, and numerous acts of benevolence by her enhanced her reputation. The fact was that Belle was as cunning as she was unscrupulous. She distributed money and provisions amongst the poor and worthless not because she had any pity for them, but because it was the cheapest way of obtaining the support at critical moments of a large portion of the population. Every gaolbird looked up to Belle as a subject does to a Sovereign, and they respected her all the more when they knew that she admitted to membership of her gang only the best experts in the criminal line. At least four pitched battles were fought between the outlaws and the Government soldiers before the final encounter. Belle seemed to bear a charmed life. She always headed her colleagues and took the greatest risks, and when she emerged without a scratch from the fiercest encounters her ignorant and superstitious followers began to believe that she was not mortal. They had often seen her ride at a troop of armed soldiers and coolly pick off the officers, while all the time a perfect hail of bullets had sung around her fair head without touching her. Whenever the battle was going against the outlaws it was Belle who revived their drooping courage, and she twice turned defeat into victory by her marvellous shooting. The outwitted and beaten commanders were44 compelled to send for reinforcements, and, so variable is human nature, when a hundred weary and dust-strained troopers entered Austin, the town they had come to save, they were jeered at by the ungrateful inhabitants, who had learnt that in a pitched battle with Belle Star's outlaws the soldiers had been worsted. Belle's end was fittingly dramatic. She was celebrating a run of success against banks and shops with a feast when news came that two hundred and fifty soldiers under the command of a major were advancing to storm the fort. Instantly she sprang to her feet and ordered every man to his place. She was sobered in a moment by the news, which was as unexpected as it was unpleasant; and there were several of her followers who had drunk too much to be of use. In vain did Belle shake and curse them and even implore them to wake up. They could only stagger forward a few paces and collapse. One man, in a fit of drunken hilarity and bravado, began to fire indiscriminately, thereby revealing the hiding-place of the outlaws, and Belle was so enraged that she brained him with her carbine. There was no time to remove the corpse, for the soldiers could be heard approaching now, and Belle, realizing that this time it was going to be a fight to a finish, put herself at the head of her garrison, and prepared to conquer or die. The outlaws were well entrenched, and had a plentiful supply of ammunition, but they were up against equally desperate men now. At last, seeing that if they remained in the fort those who were not killed outright would be captured, Belle personally led a sortie against the enemy, hoping to escape in the confusion. The men followed her gladly, remembering their previous victories, but most of them were still fuddled by drink, and in the circumstances could not be expected to show to advantage. Belle was the only one to fight at her best. She45 displayed amazing courage, time after time heading attacks on the troopers, who were so flustered as to show signs of panic. But the commander rallied them, and as by now the troopers regarded Belle Star as a demon and not as a human being they pressed forward to destroy her without being affected by her sex or age. When things were going against her she collected a few of her followers, and made one last desperate attempt to break through the ring of soldiers, but her luck failed her, and she fell riddled with bullets. It was the death she had always desired. <hr /> 47 <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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