Calamity Jane

Throughout the history of the frontier many people have claimed their fame through numerous ways. One name among these that peaks interest is Martha Jane "Calamity Jane" Cannary. There are many legends, truths, and lies surrounding this wild woman, but one thing we know for sure is that she was not afraid to explore and see where life could take her. She was a very bold woman for her time, and her life adventures prove this.

What made Martha Jane become the wild women she was? When she was a child she always had a love of outdoor adventures, but this was not the only thing that led her to become this woman. One big contributing factor was the death of her parents, her mother died in 1866 and her father later died in 1867. Martha, being the oldest of six children, was now the head of the family. She had to learn how to be an orphan child, and caretaker to five other children at the tender age of fifteen. She had little, if any, education; the only things she knew how to do well were ride horses and hunt. Needless to say, living on the frontier, trying to take care of five other children as well as herself was one cause of her learning to work like a man.

Calamity Jane's life began in 1868 in Wyoming territory, where she was a woman who cussed and drunk like a man. She was an alcoholic to say the least. She would drink in the Saloons, which was not considered acceptable for a woman to do in this time period. She had an acceptance among the men though and did fit in very well with them. It was 1870, however, when Calamity would start to dress like a man. She claimed to join General George Custer's regiment. There is no proof that this happened, however, and it is more likely that she joined General George Crook, where she served as an Army scout in the campaign against the Arizona Indians. Even though there are causes for disbelief in these cases, history does tell us that this is when she took on the Army uniform and started to dress like a man. It was believed that, in 1872, she got the nickname, "Calamity Jane." The story goes that Jane rescued Captain Egan by pulling him on her horse in front of her during a run in with Indians. Captain Egan named her calamity, because she showed up while he was in a calamity. There were other stories of how she got this nickname, however. A couple of stories say that she was named this because her life was such a calamity, or whenever she was around she caused a calamity.

It was not until 1876 that Jane would meet the man of whom her fame is most credited to. She went to Deadwood, South Dakota during this time where she befriended, Wild Bill Hickok. There were rumors of a romantic relationship between these two famous western characters. However, this was never proven, and many say they were just friends. It was also during this time that Jane was a pony express rider, carrying mail between Deadwood and Custer. This was a very dangerous 50 mile ride, to which