*Discusses the myths and legends surrounding the relationship between Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, including whether they were married.
*Includes pictures of Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, and important people, places, and events in their lives.
*Explains the true origins of the nickname Calamity Jane.
*Discusses Wild Bill's most famous shootouts and his murder, explaining what's fact and what's legend.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading.
*Includes a Table of Contents.
“When fired upon Capt. Egan was shot. I was riding in advance and on hearing the firing turned in my saddle and saw the Captain reeling in his saddle as though about to fall. I turned my horse and galloped back with all haste to his side and got there in time to catch him as he was falling. I lifted him onto my horse in front of me and succeeded in getting him safely to the Fort. Capt Egan on recovering, laughingly said: 'I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains.' I have borne that name up to the present time." – Calamity Jane
"Wild Bill was a strange character. Add to this figure a costume blending the immaculate neatness of the dandy with the extravagant taste and style of a frontiersman, you have Wild Bill, the most famous scout on the Plains."" – General George Custer
In many ways, the narrative of the Wild West has endured more as legend than reality, and a perfect example of that can be found in the legend of James Butler Hickok (1837-1876), forever known as “Wild Bill”. Indeed, separating fact from fiction when it comes to the life of Wild Bill is nearly impossible, something due in great measure to the fact that the man himself exaggerated his own adventures or fabricated stories altogether. When he was killed while playing poker in the mining South Dakotan outpost of Deadwood, he put Deadwood on the map and ensured both his place and his poker hand’s place in legend. Whether Hickok’s legacy would have endured without his legendary death is anyone’s guess, but by becoming the first well known Westerner to die with his boots on, he immediately became the West’s first hero.
The most famous woman of the Wild West was also possibly the most colorful and mysterious. “Considered a remarkable good shot and a fearless rider for a girl of my age”, Calamity Jane claimed to be a veteran of the Indian Wars, a scout, and the wife of Wild Bill Hickok, all on the way to becoming a dime novel heroine. While all of those legends have stuck, it’s unclear to what extent if any they are actually true, and even her contemporaries doubted the authenticity of her statements. More than anything, people in frontier towns like Deadwood looked on with amusement at the girl who was more often than not drunk and was described by one of Wild Bill’s friends as “simply a notorious character, dissolute and devilish.” Her frequent drinking binges and her insistence that messing with her would “court calamity” had helped establish her nickname even before she arrived in Deadwood in the mid-1870s.
Ultimately, Calamity Jane’s tall tales, eccentric personality, and association with Wild Bill would all make her a popular figure in the last quarter of the 19th century, and she became so well known that she started taking part in traveling shows of the kind made famous by Buffalo Bill Cody, where spectators could hear her colorfully (and drunkenly) talk about her life in the Wild West, with each telling stretching the truth ever further. Her legacy continued to crystallize after her death and eventually turn her into a legend, immortalized in countless dime novels, books, TV and the silver screen, helping make some of her contemporaries and surroundings notorious as well.
Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane chronicle the colorful lives of the two Western legends and examines their relationship and legacies. Along with pictures and a Table of Contents, you will learn about Wild Bill & Calamity Jane like you never have before.
