![]() ![]() ![]() She doesn’t mention it in her “memoir” but it’s possible she was in charge of her siblings, being the oldest child. Martha and her remaining family departed sometime during the spring of that year and headed to Utah where she remained until her father died in 1867. Her mother died at Black Foot, Montana in 1866, before the family reached its destination, and was buried there. On occasions of that kind the men would usually select the best places to cross the streams, myself on more than on occasion have mounted my pony and swam across the stream several times merely to amuse myself and have had many narrow escapes from having both myself and pony washed away to certain death, but as the pioneers of those days had plenty of courage we overcame all obstacles and reached Virginia City in safety. Then we had many dangers to encounter in the way of streams swelling on account of heavy rains. We also had many exciting times fording streams for many of the streams in our way were noted for quicksands and boggy places, where, unless we were very careful, we would have lost horses and all. Many times in crossing the mountains the conditions of the trail were so bad that we frequently had to lower the wagons over ledges by hand with ropes for they were so rough and rugged that horses were of no use. In her short autobiographical sketch (written for publicity purposes in 1896), Martha wrote (or dictated – she may have been illiterate) that she spent the majority of the five-month trip with the men of the party – she boasted that hunting, scouting and fording streams provided more excitement and adventure. Her father, a farmer, moved the family to Virginia City, Montana in 1865. “Calamity Jane” was born near Princeton, Missouri on to parents Robert and Charlotte. The Encyclopedia Britannica backs up that observation: “The facts of her life are confused by her own inventions and by the successive stories and legends that accumulated in later years.” She … up to look and act like a man, shoot like a cowboy, drink like a fish, and exaggerate the tales of her life to any and all who would listen. Legends of America describes her like this: Generally speaking, she was known for her “wild side” and it was legendary, based on the numerous stories in newspapers across the country beginning in the mid-1870s. Many stories have been written about today’s “feisty female”, but if based on her short autobiography, it’s debatable whether they are true or not. ![]()
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