Heroes and Heroines of Early America:(Book; Part II)

 

A STAR WAS BORN

Frank Elias Georgalis

In the year of 1852 in Princeton Missouri a star was born. It was not a star of the opera or any known theater, it turned out to be a an Indian fighting star, who used a rowdy language, chewed tobacco and hit whatever was aimed. No, it wasn’t john Wayne, Dr. Holiday or Jessie James or Billy the Kid, the gun slinging star’s name was Martha Canary a drinking woman of hard liquor, more and faster than most main around the saloon. Yes, she was a woman who went around with a name of Martha until she was 20 years old.

The battle at Goose Camp,  S. Dakota

Chief Lazy White Bull

She was at that time in Goose Camp, South Dakota. Captain Egan was in charge of small body of men stationed there. Suddenly the Indians appeared painted ready for war. They began shooting and a fierce fighting broke out with no help in sight for the army.   

“We came out of our hiding places and went after them with the same fierce attitude”, said Captain Egan.                                                             In the midst of the fighting, Captain Egan was wounded and tilted off his horse, but Martha Canary, seeing him falling, turned her horse around, rushed to the wounded captain, just before he hit the ground, lifted him up and set him in front of her saddle and both ran out of the battle unharmed.

Captain Egan, upon recovering, spoke and laughed about the woman who saved his life and referred to her as Calamity Jane, which nickname stayed with her for the rest of her life, losing her real name. He said that by her creating a commotion amongst the Indians, showing off that she was a woman as we flying through, the Indians became so astonished, let them fly through them without a scratch while the rest the men of the camp were slaughtered.

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Calamity Jane 14 years old       Calamity Jane 51

It is worth noting that her mother died when Calamity Jane was only 14 years old. It is worth noting that she hadn’t any easy life as one may think. She worked very hard to raise the children by working in various places including saloons, as a chief, cook and bottle washer and whatever other duties seemed profitable to her she performed, including singing on the bar stage.

 

Her claim to fame was her fighting with Native American Indians in a company of men,  being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok, but also having been a woman who exhibited kindness and compassion, especially to the sick and needy.

Let me go back to her early life for a moment. Her mother died on the road while her father was taking the family to Virginia City Montana, from Missouri, leaving six children with Calamity Jane, the oldest. She was just fourteen years old when she was left with a huge load of raising 5 kids, which anyone could imagine, was more she could carry but she did. Accounts from her life and the people who had known her, she was described as a very attractive woman with black hair and sparkling dark eyes.

They finally arrived in Virginia City, Montana in the year of 1866. Here, her father began farming a 40 acre farm, but died one year later and Martha Jane took over as head of the family, loaded up the wagon once more and took the siblings to Fort Bridger Wyoming Territory. From there, in the year 1868 they traveled on the Union Pacific Railroad to Piedmont, Wyoming.

Many stories have been written and many more have been told about Calamity Jane, some are true and some have been false according to a number researchers.

It was reported in Anaconda Standard (Montana 4/19/19o4), Captain Jack Crawford (served under Generals Wesley and George Cook); claimed Calamity Jane never saw any fighting. She was simply notorious character dissolute and devilish.

Now I have come to the point and ask myself why the lies? Was Captain Egan, the man who gave her the name Calamity Jane for saving his life, lying? I don’t think so. Crawford was lying because he didn’t want the public to know that a woman was as good as he was. He was a male chauvinist man.

Apostle Peter, seeing Maria Magdalene in the company of the apostles he complained to Jesus, “What a woman is doing here in the company of men”. Jesus corrected him softly and Peter never complained again.

One verifiable story is that in the year of 1875 her detachment was ordered to the Big Horn River under General Cook. Bearing important documents to be dispatched, she swam the Platte River and traveled 90 miles on horseback at top speed while she was wet and cold  to deliver the documents.

Shortly afterwards she became ill with pneumonia. In year in year of 1876, having recuperating from her sickness, she rode to Fort Laramie and ran into Wild Bill Hickok, who walked by as if she weren’t there. Many people were astonished seeing Wild Bill walking by a beautiful woman and never blinking an eye.  According to  her, he didn’t acknowledge the fact that he knew her. He didn’t only know her, but he was also married to her. Three years before then and in 1873 and had a child and the father Wild Bill. The child was born in September 25, 1873.                                                  Many so called writers who have written about Calamity Jane regard that story as false because they claim they found no record to support her claim. I have some bad news for those writers; they never thought of the fact that many children were born and were never registered, because they were not born in a hospital or a city that kept records, but I have some more bad news for those writers. They claim that while Calamity Jane stated that she had given birth to a girl was who was  given away in a form of adoption to Jim O’Neil and his wife and the couple was told that the father of the child was Wild Bill Hickok.

The writers claim the story is not true because during the period the alleged child was born, Jane was working as a scout for the army. My readers should understand that the first legitimate paying job Calamity had, was in Fort Russell near Fort Laramie, having worked there for some time before any payment was given to her. Let us stop and think for a moment: isn’t possible  she hid the pregnancy not wanting to lose her job?                                                                           However, in September 6, 1941, an old lady walked into the U.S. Department of Public Welfare threw some papers looking like documents on the counter and said loudly and clearly. “My name is Jean Hickok Burkhardt McCormick; McCormick is the name of my third husband”. she said, loudly and clearly.                                                                                                                                                                    ”Congratulations, So what?” responded the arrogant clerk, “My name is Joe Blow, does that ring a bell?”                                                                                                                                                                                                       “I am sorry it don’t, but my name should ring a bell. I am the legal daughter of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane and here are the papers to prove it It took me ten years working hard on the proof of the documents.” The clerk, overwhelmed by what he had just heard, picked up the documents reverently, studied them briefly”.                                                                                                                     “My Lord, I never thought that I would see the day meeting the daughter of Calamity Jane not along my hero’s, Wild Bill Hickok.”

According to the records of the US Department of Welfare verified the lady to be the legal offspring of Martha Jane Canary and James Butler Hickok (Wild Bill’s real name). Jean Hickok Burkhardt McCormick presented evidence that her mother Calamity Jane was married to Wild Bill Hickok at Benson’s Landing, Montana Territory on September 25, 1873, at the very day the little girl was born. The marriage documents was written on a Bible, (It was common those days inserting the Holy Union in a Holy Bible), and it was signed by two reverends and numerous witnesses which were verified to be true signatures of all.

It is quite possible that Wild Bill married Calamity Jane just to give a name to the infant. After all they did not call him Wild Bill for being tamed.

It took the daughter several years to certify  the evidence. It was a well known fact that Calamity Jane was madly in love with Wild Bill Hickok and it is also known after his death by a gunshot wound in a poker game on August 2, 1876, Calamity Jane went after the killer with a meat clever, having left her guns at home that day, but the law beat her to the punch by hanging him after a brief trial.

She finally settled in Deadwood South Dakota in the Black Hills.

Calamity Jane visiting Wild Bill’s grave at the old grave

Second photo is the modern

Third photo is Wild Bill Hickok

At one point while she was going from Deadwood, South Dakota to Wild Birch in a wagon filled with six men, the Indians popped out of the forest and went after the wagon, firing their rifles, shooting their arrows and screaming their lungs off The driver, Jack McCall, a well known stage stage and horse handler with nerves of steel, was wounded by an arrow. None of the six men passengers lifted hand or a foot to take the ribbons. Calamity seeing the situation jumped on the driver’s seat, grabbed the ribbons and brought the wagon, driver passengers to Wild Birch safe and on time. Calamity being a devilish woman with a lot of spark and contempt for cowards got down and instructed the sheriff not to let out the passengers until she returns, because she was going to press charges on them for being cowards. The Sheriff reluctantly obeyed. When Calamity returned she threw six lady dresses and six lady hats into the wagon and ordered the men passengers to wear them and if they didn’t she would have taken them back to the Indian territory and leave them there for Indians to have with them. The story goes that everything happened as she planned it.

Calamity Jane who was in habit of often traveling from Arizona to Dakotas and more often  in the Black Hills South Dakota territory.

In July of 1903 Calamity Traveled to Terry, South Dakota. While there, she stayed at the Callaway Hotel, on August 1, 1903 she became sick with pneumonia and died August 1, 1903 at the age of 51, leaving behind with her few belongings, a bundle of letters addressed to her daughter, but they were never mailed.

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