Wild Women Of The West: Maggie McDermott

Maggie McDermott peered into the grimy windows of the Mascott Saloon and eyed the faces huddled around the bar. When she didn’t see who she was looking for, she removed the note tucked in her pocket, tilted it toward the lit oil lamp hanging outside the door, and studied the message. It read, “Frank and I are at the Mascott. Come on. Austie” Maggie exchanged a knowing glance with her friend Hattie Rice as she wadded the note in her hand. Hattie nodded to her, and the women proceeded inside. 

The pair weaved through the rowdy patrons in search of Frank and the author of the invitation. The business was crowded. Men and women on a congested dance floor flitted about to a lively song a piano player was pounding out on an instrument badly in need of tuning. Occasionally, the women were stopped and propositioned by men who recognized them as prostitutes from the Gem Variety Theater. After inviting the potential customers to visit them later, Maggie and Hattie continued with their hunt. They asked a busboy for help, and he directed them to a room in the back of the busy tavern.

A gambler named Frank DeBelloy and his date Austie Trevyr a sixteen-year-old soiled dove employed at Madam Belle Haskell’s house of ill repute, were waiting on the other side of the door when Maggie and Hattie entered. The couple was seated at a table, drinking whiskey. Frank offered Maggie a smile, and, before he opened his mouth to speak, a bartender carrying a tray of glasses and a bottle of wine pushed past the two women. When the bartender left the room, Austie set a glass in front of Maggie and poured her a drink. “You have your nerve to ask me to drink with you and Frank when I have more claim on him than you,” Maggie barked at the teenager, “We having been together for the past three years.” Maggie then removed the note Austie wrote that she had wadded up and shoved in her pocket and tore it into pieces. 

Austie glared at her rival, cursed at her under her breath, and drank down the last of wine she had poured for Maggie. She then pushed her chair back and stood up, her eyes fixed on Maggie. She reached into the top of her dress and removed a gun. Frightened, Hattie grabbed Maggie’s arm and tried to pull her out of the room. Maggie watched as Austie leveled the .32 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver at her and cocked the weapon. “Well, if I can’t have him you can’t,” she spat. The report of the gun was loud. Hattie screamed, and Maggie grabbed her chest and staggered backwards. Austie was about to shoot Maggie a second time when Frank grabbed her arm and hand. In the scuffle, the gun went off again. 

Maggie sank into a chair, crying, “she shot me.” Hattie rushed to her side and tried to help Maggie get to her feet and escorted her to an adjoining room. She barely made it across the doorsill when she fell to the floor screaming, “Oh! Hattie! Oh! Hattie! I’m gone.” Frank quickly picked the injured woman up and laid her on a sofa. Moments later, Maggie was gone. She died on December 17, 1893. 

Austie raced out the room and asked one of the owners of the saloon to get the police. She was gone by the time the authorities arrived. She ran to Belle Haskell’s house to grab her hat and shawl. After letting her employer know she’d shot a woman, she returned to the Mascott and confessed her crime to the investigating officer at the scene. When asked where she got the gun, she bragged that Frank had given it to her as a present. On her way to jail, Austie told the police she had intended shooting Maggie, her friend Hattie, and Frank, and that the second shot she fired was meant for Frank. The arresting officer noted in his report later that day that when he placed Austie in the cell she didn’t break down or exhibit any remorse. In his estimation, Austie seemed almost happy she’d killed Maggie McDermott. 

Frank was arrested shortly after Austie was placed into custody and subsequently released once his $2,500 bond was paid. 

News of the murder spread quickly throughout the Black Hills, and several articles were written about the crime and the parties involved. According to various newspaper articles, Maggie McDermott came west from Sioux City, Iowa, and settled in Deadwood in 1891 after she was hired by Al Swearingen to work at the Gem as an entertainer. Maggie and Frank became romantically involved the same year she arrived in South Dakota. She had been out of town for a few months prior to the shooting. She returned to Deadwood in late October and she and Frank had seen one another briefly during that time. 

Mary Yusta, better known as Austie Trevyr, came to Deadwood from Lincoln, Nebraska, and was the daughter of one of the best known and wealthiest families in the region. The family farm was situated between Crete and Wilbur. She left home in 1892 and began working at a brothel in Lincoln where she went by the names of Birdie Bailey and Babe Lamont. She moved to the Black Hills in August 1893 and took a job at Belle Haskell’s house. Frank DeBelloy was one of her regular customers, and their relationship blossomed from there. According to Madam Haskell, Austie was “well-behaved, excepting at times when she would break out into a series of most startling acts.” In Belle’s opinion, the young woman was mentally unbalanced. “She was a girl who evidently had seen better times, possessed intelligence to a fair degree and was fairly educated, but odd. She possessed a handsome face, figure, and manner.” 

The December 21, 1893, edition of the Weekly Pioneer Times noted that Frank DeBelloy was considered a manly, honest, straightforward man. He minded his own business and had a wide circle of friends. From the evidence adduced at the coroner’s jury, he was blameless and had no idea the fatal affair would occur. “His presenting the gun to the girl a day or so before the shooting, while it looks bad shows nothing against him,” the Weekly Pioneer Times article read. “It does not look reasonable that a man would give a girl a gun and then accompany her in broad daylight to a saloon and decoy an enemy to the room for the express purpose of killing that one. 

“His presenting the gun to the woman might have occurred this way: She found it in his pocket and took it and he probably let her keep it. His indiscretion was in allowing both girls to think him in love with them. Had he dismissed the deceased, the affair might not have occurred. As she [Maggie] told him a few days before, ‘If you love Austie better than you do me, I will return to Sioux City and leave you,’ but instead of saying he preferred Austie as he should he told her he cared for her.”

According to the coroner’s report, the bullet that killed Maggie entered “an inch from the right nipple, penetrated the sixth rib, penetrated the right lobe of the liver and severed the descending aorta or the large main artery from the heart which supplied the entire system with blood, and lodged in the spleen, death was caused by the filling of the lower cavity of the body with blood.” 

The coroner’s jury took the testimony of eight witnesses. Frank DeBelloy refused to give testimony because he said he didn’t want to incriminate himself. Among those who did agree to give statements was Officer O. C. Lackous. He explained to the jury that he was the one who arrested Austie and that on the way to jail he asked her if she did the shooting, and she admitted she had. Dr. Howe testified that he assisted another doctor in performing the postmortem examination and confirmed they found an opening in the right breast, apparently made by the bullet. He told the jury that he believed Maggie was in an upright position at the time she was shot, which the course of the bullet indicated. He also noted that Maggie’s arm might have been raised. 

The verdict of the jury was that Maggie McDermott came to her death by a shot from a pistol in the hands of Austie Trevyr and that the shooting was premeditated. 

Several months would pass before Austie would stand trial for murdering Maggie McDermott. During her incarceration in the Deadwood jail, she was allowed visits from friends and Christian ladies’ groups who ministered to her spiritual needs. Women from various churches in the area reported to the congregation at large they believed Austie’s heart had undergone a change for the better. By the time the case was brought before the circuit court in March 1894, public sympathy was with Austie who was now being referred to by her real name. 

Attorney General Hastings of Nebraska, assisted by Captain Murfin and Henry Frawley, were hired to defend the accused. The state was represented by attorney Jonathan Meer who promised to “strain every nerve to secure a conviction.” 

The trial of Austie Trevyr for the murder of Maggie McDermott began on Thursday, March 1, at nine in the morning. Before the doors of the courtroom were opened, crowds began congregating, awaiting anxiously to rush into the room and secure seats. The jury, made up of twelve men, took its appropriate place at 9:30 A. M., and Judge Jeffrey W. Plowman, who was presiding over the hearing, gave them their instructions. All witnesses were excluded from the courtroom. Nick Saragen, a witness for the prosecution, was the first to take the stand. He testified that he worked at the Mascott Saloon at the time of the killing and that he delivered a note for Maggie from Austie to Hattie Rice.

Michael Donovan testified that he was one of the proprietors of the Mascott and that he found writing paper for Austie, that he saw her write the note and then instructed him to get the note to Maggie. He witnessed Maggie and Hattie come into the saloon and go to the wine room where Frank and Austie were waiting. Shortly afterwards, Donovan heard two shots. He dropped the tray of glasses he had in his hand and went into the room where he saw Hattie and Maggie coming out. He testified that Frank and Austie were on the opposite side of the room, scuffling. Donovan shouted for Frank to grab Austie’s gun. He heard Maggie announce that she’d been shot and watched her stagger to another room where she collapsed onto the floor. Donovan sent for the doctor. Austie asked him to call the police, too.

Hattie Rice then testified. She stated that Maggie had been her roommate and that when Maggie received the note written by Austie the two read it together. The pair then proceeded to the Mascott where they found Frank and Austie. Hattie shared that Austie poured Maggie a drink which she refused. Maggie said to Austie, “I like your nerve of being here with Frank because you know he is my friend.” Heated words were exchanged between Maggie and Austie, but Hattie could not remember everything that was said. She recalled Austie saying, “Well, we will see if you will have him or who will have him.”  At that, Austie pulled her revolver and announced to Maggie, “You can’t have him either.”  She witnessed two shots fired at Maggie and Maggie dying shortly after being struck by a bullet. 

Officer O. C. Lackous took the stand after Hattie and told the jury that when he arrived on the scene, he had seen Maggie lying on a sofa and that her shirt was bloody. He arrested Austie who readily admitted to the deed.

The state rested its case after hearing testimony from the coroner who described the damage the bullet did to Maggie’s vital organs and how the wound killed her.

Soiled dove Dora Deane was the first witness called on behalf of the defense. She was questioned by the defendant’s attorneys about a conversation she had had with the deceased in which she threatened Austie. The defense lawyers tried to prove that Maggie communicated those threats to Austie before the shooting. The evidence was rejected by the state’s attorney as being irrelevant and immaterial. The court sustained the objection.

Frank DeBelloy then begrudgingly took the stand and testified having known the deceased and defendant. He told the court that he was at the Mascott at the time of the shooting. He testified that he was with Austie at Belle Haskell’s 400 brothel before the incident and that he and the accused walked over to the saloon together. They were there ten minutes before Maggie and Hattie came into the room where he and Austie were drinking wine. He shared that Maggie walked extremely fast and looked like she was quite angry. She spoke first, and some words ensued between them, then Maggie started calling Austie vile names. According to Frank, he invited Maggie to sit down and have a drink and to not be angry. He testified that Austie said to Maggie, “Yes, Maggie, sit down and take a drink with us. I want to tell you something.” 

Frank testified that Maggie flew into a rage, cursed at Austie, called her names, and threw a rolled ball of trash in her face. Maggie then jumped up and maneuvered around the chairs in the room, and, as that was happening, he saw a flash of something bright and heard the gun go off. He lunged at the gun, grabbed ahold of it, jerked it out of Austie’s hand, and put it in his pocket. Frank stated he thought Maggie partly rose toward one of the chairs. He said she looked as though she was in a frenzy and noted that her “eyes bulged out of her head.”

Once Frank finished with his testimony and was cross-examined, he stepped down. The defense attorneys then called Austie to the stand. According to the March 8, 1894, edition of the Weekly Pioneer Times, she was startled and nervous as she rose and walked to the witness box. “Everyone in the courtroom was taken aback by the youthful appearance of the girl and by her childlike simplicity,” the article noted. “Her testimony was given in the simple, hesitating way of a timid schoolgirl. 

“She testified that she was sixteen years old, was born in Austria, that her parents resided in Crete, Nebraska, and that she left home going to Lincoln, Nebraska, last April. She stayed there until the latter part of last August, then she came to this city. …She first became acquainted with Maggie McDermott the day Maggie arrived back in town in November 1893. Austie told the court she had become involved with Frank DeBelloy the month before and that she’d only met Maggie once prior to the shooting. The two met at Maggie’s room over Gib Stone’s store. 

“On the day of the shooting, Frank came to the 400 about 4 o’clock,” Austie explained, “and we went by the back way down the alley to the Mascott and entered the wine room by the back way. Frank ordered drinks, which were brought by Donovan, the bartender. We were in wine room No. 2. Frank and I talked for a while. I asked the bartender for some notepaper to write a note. After writing the note, I requested him to send it to room No. 3 at the Gib Stone building. Soon after that, Maggie McDermott and Hattie Rice came into the room. 

“Maggie, upon entering the room, looked at me and began calling me names. I was by Frank, and, as she advanced, I retired behind him. Frank said, ‘Sit down, Maggie, and take a drink with us,’ but she continued calling me vile names. I replied that ‘I was no worse than she.’ I then asked her to take a drink, then she began calling me names again and threw some paper she had in her hand in my face and jumped and grabbed a chair. I thought she was going to brain me, and I shot her. When she grabbed the chair, I was only a few feet away from her. She was going to kill me with the chair, and, because I was afraid she would do so I shot her. She was awful mad when she grabbed the chair. She looked so, and she talked so. She was lifting the chair up when I shot her. 

“Upon being asked how long it was from the time Maggie lifted the chair to strike her and the time she fired the shot, Austie replied, ‘Only a little bit of a time, a second.’ Upon being told to take a chair and show how Maggie acted, she did so. She said she had her pistol in the bosom of her dress, which was a loose wrapper. Upon being told to show her motions in drawing the pistol, she took the pistol handed her and went through some motions, which she said she thought she did on the fatal day, but whether the same or not, she did not know positively, as on that day she was so excited, and was also scared to death of Maggie.”

Under cross-examination, Austie was asked why she had a gun with her. She told the court that she and Frank had planned to go hunting. Frank decided at the last minute that it was too damp and cold to go hunting and called off the outing. When asked to explain the two shots fired, Austie said that after the first shot had been fired Frank grabbed her arm and hand and attempted to wrench the gun from her, and in the scuffle the gun went off. As to her intentions in sending the note to Maggie to come to the saloon, the defendant said, “I had no ill feelings toward the girl. I wanted to talk to her and make up. She did not like me, and I knew it, and I wanted to tell her I did not like to have her talk about me. I was going to leave for Lincoln the next day, having telegraphed for a ticket, and I wanted to leave good friends with her.”

Closing arguments in the trial against Mary Yusta (Austie Trevyr) for the murder of Maggie McDermott were heard on Monday, March 12, 1894. Despite the sympathy the jury had for Austie given her young age, it did not allow sentiment to override its judgement. The teenager was found guilty, and she was sentenced to three years and seven months in the penitentiary in Sioux Falls. After Austie was sentenced for murder, Judge Plowman explained to her how the decision was reached. 

“In this case I feel that I should say to you, Mary Yusta, that in the opinion of the court this jury has dealt with you with all the leniency that it was possible for a jury of men to do. The evidence in the case certainly would have warranted them in bringing in a verdict of murder and fixing the penalty at death, and on the record in this case, had such a sentence been rendered, I don’t believe the board of pardons would have interfered with the decision of the death penalty. On account of your years and on account of your sex, this jury has taken it into their hands to render a verdict of manslaughter in the second degree.

“…Your counsel has asked the court to send you to a reform school, and the court has carefully considered and thought of that in this case. If I could have found anything in the record which would justify me in sending you to reform school, and if I could have found anything in the record that would show that by sending you to reform school you could be reformed and brought back to a good citizen and a good woman, I would gladly send you there.  But evidence shows you’ve been to reform school in Nebraska, and it seemed to have no effect upon you. You have left that and come here and gone into a life of shame and as I say, under the evidence, have committed a cold-blooded murder.

“…No one but yourself and your God knows what you really intended. Whether you intended to take the life of Maggie McDermott, or whether you intended to take the life of Frank DeBelloy and then your own or not. The way the case was tried, it is evident that some things were brought out before the jury. Everything that would bear a merciful view of this case was brought out before the jury. Our reform school is intended for juveniles, and with the record of your conduct as you have disclosed it yourself upon the witness stand, I don’t think I could conscientiously send you there among small children. 

“In this case I have felt it my duty to give you the greatest sentence the law permits, and you may consider that on account of the mercy of the jury you have escaped with much less than you deserve.”

On January 4, 1897, Mary Yusta (aka Austie Trevyr), was discharged from the state penitentiary after completing the full sentence issued by the court. She returned to Deadwood and her old haunts at Belle Haskell’s house. Some believed she returned to the 400 to resume her job as a prostitute, but she went back to minister to the soiled doves working there. By July 1897, Mary was on her way east to attend a seminary for young ladies. She wanted to learn about the Lord and share the Gospel to women at houses of ill repute.