Calamity Jane and Stagecoach Mary

 Two Women Who Proved the Wild West Wasn't Just a Man's World

Stagecoach Mary and Calamity Jane didn't play by society's rules.

Women today wear jeans without giving it a second thought. But imagine being a woman in the 1800s and deciding that men's clothes were more practical, smoking a cigar, carrying a firearm, and telling people exactly what you thought.

Stagecoach Mary and Calamity Jane did just that. And they became legends.

Mary Fields, better known as Stagecoach Mary, was born enslaved and eventually made her way west to Montana. In her sixties, she took on a job carrying mail along a rugged 34-mile route between Cascade and St. Peter's Mission. Snow? No problem. When her wagon couldn't get through, Mary reportedly continued on foot. She became known for her toughness, independence, and kindness to local children.

Then there was Calamity Jane, born Martha Jane Canary. She worked a string of frontier jobs, including cooking and laundry, traveled through the rough mining towns of the West, and became associated with Deadwood and Wild West showman Buffalo Bill Cody. She also became famous for her colorful stories about her own adventures including claims that she worked as a scout and even helped nurse victims during a smallpox epidemic. The tricky part? Calamity had a talent for storytelling, and not every tale can be proven. Separating Martha Canary from the legend of Calamity Jane is part of what makes her story so fascinating.

Mary and Calamity couldn't have been more different, but they had something important in common. They worked hard. They survived tough circumstances. They made their own choices. And they proved that women could carve out a place for themselves in the Wild West.

I love writing about strong women in my romance books. Maybe that's why women like Mary and Calamity Jane fascinate me. They remind us that a heroine doesn't have to wait for someone to rescue her. Sometimes, she's the one holding the reins.

 

	Stagecoach Mary	Calamity Jane
Real name	Mary Fields	Martha Jane Canary
Born	c. 1832, Tennessee	1852, Missouri
Known for	Mail carrier, ranch hand, laundress, gardener	Scout, frontier performer, entertainer
Where she became famous	Montana	Deadwood, South Dakota
Her reputation	Tough, independent, hardworking	Wild, adventurous, outspoken
Career	Star Route mail carrier	Performer, entertainer, occasional scout
Personality	Independent and no-nonsense	Larger-than-life and unpredictable
Historical record	Some facts are well documented; many colorful stories grew later	Her life is heavily mixed with stories she told about herself and later legends

Buried.                    Cascade, Montana,                                 Deadwood, South Dakota                                                                                   December 5, 1914                                   August 1, 1903

Stagecoach Mary (Mary Fields)

National Park Service: Mary Fields

National Postal Museum: Stagecoach Mary Fields

Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary)

National Park Service: Calamity Jane

Encyclopedia Britannica: Calamity Jane

 

Humor ~ Julie Lence

Most of us enjoy a good laugh. Clutching your sides… tears seeping from the corners of your eyes… a hiccup or two; laughter is good for the soul. This month, let loose a few giggles at unique phrases and housekeeping/life hints from the olden days.

Phrases:

Airin’ the lungs: cussin’

Blow-pipe: a rifle

Fodder-forker: Cowboy jargon for a hay hand or farmer

Educated thirst: a man who drinks champagne or fancy mixed drinks

Greasy-sack ride: a group of riders sent to scour the country-side for stray cattle without a chuck wagon

Huckydummy: baking powder bread with raisins

Idaho brain storm: a twister

Paint the tonsils: to drink whiskey

Ranny: a top hand

Scratching gravel: climbing a steep bank on horseback

Housekeeping and life:

Early rising is one of the secrets to successfully managing, but never exit the bed from the left side. It’s unlucky.

While painting, keep the room ventilated, and eat acid fruits.

If you have clothing that smells bad, bury items in the ground for a day or two

A good husband will eat a cold dinner without complaint on wash day

When at the butcher, be a good judge of chicken. If the butcher doesn’t twist the wing in front of you, do it yourself & pork is unfit for female food. Never trust your stomach with its digestion.

Once must always be pleasant at basket socials, even if the one bidding on your basket is an oaf.    

Blow in the ear to remove a foreign object from the throat.

 

 

 

Peach Season

 

Happy first day of September

When I think of September, I think of autumn and all the wonderful scents, flavors, aromas, and sights it brings to mind. 

But, in our corner of the world, we're enjoying fresh peaches and still enjoying summer-like days. 

If you like peaches and quick bread, I hope you'll enjoy this recipe!

Peach Quick Bread

INGREDIENTS:

Bread

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups diced fresh peaches

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/3 cup finely diced peaches

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cream


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix together sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend until just combined.

Fold the peaches gently into the batter then pour into a greased 9″x5″ bread pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the bread cools, make the glaze by mixing powdered sugar, melted butter, diced peaches (drain any liquid from them), extract and cream in a bowl. Add more cream if needed to get the glaze to a good consistency for drizzling.

Store bread in an airtight container in the fridge.

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield grew up on a farm where her childhood brimmed with sunshine, hay fever, and an ongoing supply of learning experiences.

Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

When this award-winning author isn’t writing or testing out new recipes (she loves to bake!), Shanna hangs out at home in the Pacific Northwest with her beloved husband, better known as Captain Cavedweller.

Yosemite's Overhanging Rock by Zina Abbott

 I should have titled this post as "Yosemite's Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point." There are many fascinating rock formations withing Yosemite National Park--especially in the vicinity of Yosemite Valley, but this is one of the best known. It was here, in 1903, naturalist John Muir took President Theodore Roosevelt. There, the President was able to view not only Yosemite Valley, but also Half Dome and several other prominent peaks of the High Sierra, Yosemite Falls, and Little Yosemite Valley. I do not believe the President and John Muir stood on the very edge of the Overhanging Rock but close to it.

 

 

The following is what the valley below looked like from Glacier Point and Overhanging Rock;

 

 

And, if one were in the Valley, this is how the sheer granite cliffs below Glacier Point and Overhanging Rock appeared.

 

 

However, ever since Yosemite became a tourist destination, and intrepid photographers were willing to perch on precarious cliffs in order to capture the shot, enthusiastic adventurers have sought to have their images immortalized by being photographed while on top of Overhanging Rock. Some took a more conservative approach by viewing the wonders while keeping their backsides firmly rooted to the rocky ledge.

 

I am almost certain the husband of this couple, below, helped his wife situate herself to sit demurely on the edge with her feet hanging over for this formal portrait. He probably later helped her up and off her perch. Otherwise, it was a long way down.

 

Then there were those who preferred to stand--especially if they needed to make room for more than one or two. The photo says circa 1850 by a German artist. Based on the ladies' clothing, I suspect  the time frame was closer to 1880s or 1890s.

 

 

Looks like the young man in this patriotic group just had to sit with his feet dangling over the edge. 

 

Some ladies just had to see what was below--all 3,250 feet down. This tinted image was published as a postcard.

 

 

Then there are the photographs of what I call "The Dancing Ladies." Perhaps one of the most famous images of women on Overhanging Rock is the one on the left of the following collage.  Some time in the 1890s or early 1900s, Kitty Tatch and her friend and coworker, Katherine Hazelston, hiked up Glacier Point to have their pictures taken. The two worked as either maids and/or waitresses at the Sentinel Hotel, which opened in 1893. As was expected of female mountaineers in their day, they wore skirts and petticoats while climbing. Not content to be photographed while standing on Overhanging Rock, they both kicked up their heels. Others followed their example.

 

 

Kitty liked it so well, she did it again. The photographer, George Fiske, made postcards with her image, many of which she bought and autographed before selling.  

 

 Then there were the fellows who I categorize under the "more bravado than brains" department. 

 

 

Check out the formal suits, bow ties, and dress shoes of the two men on the right. I doubt most mountaineers today would consider that appropriate rock climbing gear.

 

Then, there was the handstand.

 

  

Many of these photographs were taken by George Fiske, who was the first photographer who lived in Yosemite year-round. A friend of Galen Clark, he ran a photographic concession of landscape views and custom tourist portraits.

 

  

Rain or shine, Mr. Fiske, with his trusty burro, "Honest John," traversed Yosemite. In winter, Honest John pulled the portable studio through the snow on runners. Although I only found one image of an animal on Overhanging Rock, I suspect it bears a strong resemblance to Mr. Fiske's trusty helper.

 

 

 

I suspect he was the photographer of this portrait taken of Galen Clark--a long-time resident of Yosemite since the 1850s and the first Guardian when Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were under the management of the State of California starting in 1864. Note this image was taken at a time of year when ice cycles draped off of Overhanging Rock and large patches of snow adorned the cliffs below.

 

 

I found two notable photographs of automobiles that were taken in the early days of Yosemite National Park. The first was of a locomobile--a steam-powered vehicle that one of the Washburns of Wawona Hotel and Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Company fame convinced Oliver Lippincott to bring into the park for publicity purposes. This vehicle arrived by way of Wawona in June 1900. Mr. Lippincott modified the original body and traveled with Edward E. Russell to tour the park. On the second day, they documented their presence at Overhanging Rock with a photograph.

 

Not long after Mr. Lippincott's visit to Yosemite National Park, automobiles were banned from the park. That restriction was not lifted until August of 1913. The following photograph taken in 1916 documents a later model vehicle that ascended to Overhanging Rock.

 

 In my upcoming novel, in Chapter One, my hero visits Overhanging Rock with a friend. When he returns a few years later as part of a construction crew, I imagine that if they ventured to the famous geological feature for a group photograph, it might have looked somewhat like the following:

 

As for my heroine, like many ladies to ventured to Overhanging Rock, even in 1915, she would have worn a skirt--or maybe a split skirt. In the image below, I picture her like the woman on the left. Today, the Overhang Rock today is blocked off, but the photograph on the right was taken by my husband near its location. It shows the scenery Emily might have viewed.

 

 Of course, in modern times, most people no longer hire a professional photographer to take a picture of them at Glacier Point by Overhanging Rock. They take selfies.

 

 

My next release is Emily Yosemite Bride, part of the National Park Brides series. The book is currently on preorder and is scheduled for release on September 11. To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sources:

 

Wikimedia Commons

 

California's Past on Facebook

 

Yosemite National Park websites

 

https://nhm.org/stories/steamy-trip-through-yosemite

https://racingnelliebly.com/secret-places/glacier-point-dancers-fancied-daring-photo-ops