She was excited by the rough environment in which she lived. She had no interest in sewing circles and quilting bees. She hung around her father's shop and he spoiled her. She had big dreams and considered becoming an actress. She flaunted rules and disregarded protocol. When 16, she shocked everyone by competing in a male-only ice skating contest and daring to show her calves. During the competition, she got the attention of Harvey Doe, who began courting her. He was considered a good catch since his family had large mining and timber investments. They married in 1877 and moved to Colorado.
They moved to Central City and began working the Fourth of July mine owned by Harvey's father. Unfortunately Harvey wasn't cut out for physical labor. Elizabeth had to constantly push her husband to get things done. Harvey was ready to quit when Elizabeth suggested they started digging new shafts. She pitched in and helped, which outraged the locals. As usual, she didn't care what anybody thought. It was during this time that she got her nickname. A miner called her a "beautiful baby." The name stuck and no one called her Elizabeth except her family.
The Does used up their money so Harvey started working someone else's claim. Baby was furious that he was giving up on their claim. When her in-laws sent money for Christmas she insisted on investing it in new claims rather than pay off debts. Ultimately Baby went to Denver and sued for divorce. Afterward, she moved to Leadville, which was experiencing a huge new boom from silver mining.
Baby had heard of the silver king Horace A. W. Tabor and sought him out. That he had a wife back east made no difference. Horace started out his career as a stonecutter in New England. Then he and his wife Augusta moved to Kansas to try farming. While there, he heard of the gold strikes in Colorado and he moved there. He made a living running a boardinghouse and operating an express line and gold exchange. His big break came when he grubstaked August Rische and Theodore Hook in April 1878. Soon their Little Pittsburgh mine was yielding $20,000 per month. Within a few months, he was a millionaire through profits and wise investments.
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