William R. Sanford - Calamity Jane. Courageous Wild West Woman

The Real Story of Calamity Jane

What was Calamity Janes real name? Was she a horse thief and a preachers daughter? Did she actually serve under General George Custer? The truth and myth are difficult to separate in the wild life of Calamity Jane. An independent spirit, she never stayed in one place for long. She worked as a gold prospector, bullwhacker, nurse, and had many other jobs. Calamity Jane refused to conform to the typical roles of a nineteenth-century woman. Authors William R. Sanford and Carl R. Green reveal the true story of this legendary American figure.

About the Author

William R. Sanford and Carl R. Green are the authors of more than one hundred books for young people. They bring over sixty years of teaching experience to the many projects they have created.

The Wild West was mostly a mans world. A woman had to be colorful, tough, and sure of herself to share center stage with the legendary male heroes. One of the women who accomplished that feat was Martha Cannary. Most people know this remarkable woman by her more colorful nicknameCalamity Jane. In her lifetime, Calamity Jane rode, shot, drank, and cussed with the best of them. Dozens of dime novels claimed to tell her story. In modern times, she has been given new life in films and on television. Most of the stories told about her stray far from the truth. Thats too bad, because the real-life saga of Calamity Jane is just as exciting. This book tells her true story.

The Wild West vanished by the early 1900s. Today it exists only in books, on film, and in the hearts of people the world over. Each year, tourists fan out across the West, drawn by that fabled era. They visit towns with names like Leadville and Tombstone. In South Dakota, they flock to the old mining town of Deadwood.

Two western legends lie in Deadwoods cemetery. An iron fence guards the grave of lawman Wild Bill Hickok. Close by, a tombstone marks the resting place of Calamity Jane.

Some visitors argue that Calamity Jane was not a real person. The tombstone is a fake, they say, put up to attract tourists. Others say they have no doubts at all. Calamitys life, they point out, touched too many people to be anything but real. Are all of the stories told about her true? Calamitys death in 1903 left us with more questions than answers.

What was Calamitys real name? Calamity lies under a tombstone marked Mrs. M. E. Burke. The M stands for Martha. Calamity herself wrote: My maiden name was Marthy Cannary. The name Burke comes from the last of her husbands. No one knows what the E stands for. That leaves the Jane in Calamity Jane to puzzle us. The best guess is that her parents named her Martha Jane. If not, Calamity may have given herself a middle name. Another guess is that it could have been a slang term for a female. In the 1800s, often referred to women as janes.

When and where was Calamity born? Martha Cannarys birth records have vanished. Researchers must work from the slimmest of clues. One group is certain that she was born Jane Dalton in 1860. They say her father was a soldier at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. A second group argues that Calamity was born in Burlington, Iowa. Her father, they insist, was a Baptist preacher. Perhaps we should let Calamity have the last word. She wrote that she was born in Princeton, Missouri, on May 1, 1852. An 1864 newspaper story supports that date. It locates a twelve-year-old girl named Canary in Montana in 1864.

Researchers believe that Calamity Janes real name was Martha Cannary. Although there are other theories about her true identity, Calamity Jane is the name that stuck. She wore her usual western garb when she posed for this photo around 1895.

What did Calamity look like? Movie fans tend to think of Calamity Jane in terms of the women who have portrayed her on the screen. They may remember her as a blonde Doris Day or a tight-lipped Anjelica Houston. The truth was less glamorous. An early photo of Calamity shows a strong, lean, dark-haired woman of twenty-three. Later photos reveal that she put on weight as she aged. When it comes to details, the experts differ. Some say her hair was a copper red when she was young. Others describe her hair as raven (black).

One old-timer who knew her said she was six feet tall and brown-eyed. A reporter of the time did not agree. He called her a small creature. Experts agree that the young Calamity was lively and high-spirited. Some add that she was a beauty. If she was, hard living in a harsh climate changed her. One observer went so far as to say, She was real tall and built like a busted bale of hay.

Why are there so many Calamity Jane stories? One woman could not have done all that Calamity is supposed to have done. Because she was famous, others copied her name and style. In time, any western woman who wore mens clothing was likely to be called Calamity Jane. In 1877, a woman in Cheyenne, Wyoming, paid a $10 fine for dressing like a man. Cheyenne also had its own Calamity Sal. In Denver, a local drunk named Mattie Young was sometimes known as Calamity Jane. No one who knew Martha Cannary confused these women with the real thing.

So, forget the legends and the Hollywood image. This is the true story of the one and only Calamity Jane.

Martha Cannary wrote that she was born on May 1, 1852. The place was Princeton, Missouri, a town near the Iowa border. Charlotte and Robert Cannary named their first child Martha. Their pet name for her was Marthy. As the years passed, Charlotte gave birth to five more children.

The Cannarys lived in a cabin that Robert built. He raised corn in fields that his father had cleared. Money was scarce. As Martha grew up, she helped take care of the younger children. No one knows how much schooling she hadif any.

The Cannarys were less than perfect parents. Robert liked to drink whiskey. Red-haired Charlotte flirted with the local men. Years later, a neighbor remembered twelve-year-old Martha. The girl was wild as a lynx kitten, she said. Thanks to Charlottes bad habits, Martha could outcuss most men. Her passions were horses and the outdoors. I became an expert rider, being able to ride the most vicious and stubborn of horses, she wrote.

In the 1850s, the debate over slavery turned violent. Raiders from Kansas burned and looted Missouris border region. In 1861, the nation plunged into the Civil War. Although Missouri was a slave state, it stayed in the Union. Clashes between Northern and Southern troops turned its fertile fields into a battleground. In 1864, with the bloody war raging on, the Cannarys left the state.

Robert Cannary drove a wagon southwest to Independence. The bustling town on the Missouri River was the starting point of the western trails. Ahead lay the Great Plains. Martha had always longed for thrilling adventure. For a twelve-year-old, the trip must have seemed like a dream come true.

The Cannarys hooked up with a wagon train. To travel alone was to invite attack by hostile bands of American Indians. Slow-moving oxen pulled the wagons over the rutted Oregon Trail. On many days, the wagon train covered as little as seven miles.