Ever wonder what the real story of Calamity Jane was? What about Annie Oakley? Or Big Nose Kate? What exactly were the women of the west like? Were all women evil to the core in the early settlements, or were some 'legit'?
Ron Lackmann must have read many collective minds. He has compiled an entertaining, educational book about the 'Women of the West' that will leave you going, "I did not know that!" After reading the book from cover to cover, I am amazed at the amount of work he did to uncover the stories about and the pictures of the early wild western women. Let's examine this book a little bit.
The cover: A great shot of Calamity Jane at the gravesite of Wild Bill Hickok. Cool. Kind of like a shot out of history. That shot sets the tone for the rest of the book. The inset photo--Calamity from 1895. Scattered throughout the book are rare photos from collections around the US that add an incredible amount of authenticity to the information.
The information: Wow, again. Clearly, he had to focus on the two women who had the most impact on the west, and that would be Calamity and Belle Starr. Both were significant to the history of the west in different ways. Belle Starr was wife to Cole Younger, Sam Starr, and friend to Jesse James. Shot while escaping in 1889, she remained a felon to the end, and horse thieving was her game. Her children did not escape the family business either, with son Ed Reed being sent to prision in 1896. (On an associated note, the Batman episode starring Shelly Winters is reminiscient of Belle, complete with two criminal children and a mother named Ma Parker. Judge Parker sentenced Belle years before her death.) As famous as Jesse James was, Belle Starr was just as well known, and her life became a topic of conversation at tables across America in the late 1800s.
Calamity Jane, on the other hand, was a different sort of outlaw. Born Martha "Calamity Jane" Canary, she was not a notorious, horse thieving outlaw. She drifted in and out of towns across the early northern states, and worked in such varied occupations as prostitution, mining, army scouting, and nurse. Her reputation with the army and her raucous nature served her well with a score of tales about her and Wild Bill Hickok, in the Eastern pulp magazines. From 1893-1895, she toured with Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull in the Wild West Show, a move from which she would gain much of her reputation. Deadwood was her last home, where she died of alcoholism and loneliness. She is buried next to Wild Bill Hickok.
 |
Go To Page: 1 2
