The Hat that Won the West Might Surprise You

An image hangs on my mother’s wall. A young girl in a cowboy vest sits on a spotted pony, a six-shooter by her side. Freckles dust her nose, and her wide smile reveals a missing front tooth. The cowboy hat perched on her head fails to suppress a riot of blond ringlets. When I posed for that picture, I could count my age in single digits. Although it’s been a while since that moment, memory returns me to it in vivid color. The heat forces the photographer into the dappled shade on the side of the house. He reaches for me, but I back away. My mother tells me that it’s all right to let him lift me. The saddle is warm from the sun. The chin strap of the cowboy hat chafes my tender skin as I transform into a cowgirl riding the range.

At seven, I was already in love with the western mythos. I suppose that was only natural for a daughter of the American West. I began life in Stockton, California—a location made famous by “the Big Valley” television show. Tumbleweeds, sagebrush, rodeos, and powwows were a usual part of life. Never mind wooden acting and bad camera angles that betrayed feinted punches, vintage western movies captured my rapt attention. I had no inkling at seven that I would one day write the historical romance novels that would inspire my search for the true Wild West.

 

Western movies made even dust storms seem romantic. When one caught me by surprise while walking home from school, it stiffened my hair with grit. Maybe that was when it sank in that frontier living wasn’t so glamorous. Curiosity took me to ghost towns, museums, gold fields, and vintage hotels. My research also focused me on pioneer diaries and other original accounts. I found some interesting contradictions. Take, for example, the hat that won the West. We all know which one that was, right? Not so fast.

The John B. Stetson Company patented the first cowboy hat in 1865. The “Boss of the Plains” featured a high crown and wide brim but didn’t much resemble the cowboy hat of today. At the time, the sun was setting on Oregon Trail emigration and rising on the cowboy era.

"Boss of the Plains" image courtesy of GoldTrader CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Cattlemen were slow to adopt the Stetson. Some questioned its practicality, since the wind could snatch the wide-brimmed hat away. It was hard to justify shelling out between $5 and $30 dollars, which represented a whole lot of cash to someone making $10 to $15 dollars a month. Besides, most cowboys already owned a good hat. They wore a variety of styles, from slouch hats to top hats, but favored one in particular.

Public domain image from between 1880 and 1910, showing seven cowboys at a chuck wagon. Can you spot the hat most are wearing?

The bowler (also called a bob hat, billy coke, billycock, bombin, and derby) originated in England. In 1849, Edward Coke, younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester, requested that Lock & Co. of St James's design a close-fitting hard hat with a low crown. Coke wanted to protect his gamekeepers from low-hanging branches. This resulted in a durable and inexpensive hat that had stood the test of time.

Cowboys weren’t the only western men who favored bowlers. Vintage pictures show businessmen and other townsfolk wearing them. They covered the heads of lawmen and outlaws alike, including Bat Masterson, Butch Cassidy, Black Bart, and Billy the Kid.

Bat Masterson; Library of Congress image; no known restrictions on publication

Who wore Stetsons, then? Those with the means to buy a hat that cost four times more than a bowler—Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane, Will Rogers, and Annie Oakley, to name a few. And yes, cowboys eventually came around, but not until the end of the 19th century, when the Wild West era was near its end.

Butch Cassidy (far right) and the Wild Bunch; circa 1900; public domain image

Which hat won the West? The answer varies, depending on who you ask. Stetson hat sellers tend to further the Western mythos, while others refute this. The Ripley website claims that early cowboys favored the bowler. Plenty of early pictures show just that. Differences aside, let’s just say that a case can be made for the humble bowler.

What’s New With Janalyn Voigt

“I’m trying to arrange my life so I don’t have to show up,” an actor (whose identity I’ve forgotten) quipped in a television interview. While the audience laughed, I thought it was a great idea. I’ve tried to automate my existence as much as possible, ever since. Harnessing the power of routines, rosters, and daily habits helped mindless tasks go by. It annoyed me that I could never quite achieve a perfectly-running schedule. People kept intruding. My daughter begged me to go thrift-store shopping, my husband wanted to go hiking, or my mother called to chat when I should be doing something else. Catastrophes struck. The refrigerator broke down, I put my toe out of joint, wildfire smoke prohibited me from working in the garden. Writing deadlines limited my time. The morning after you are up until midnight or later to turn a manuscript in on time, it's hard to spring from bed at 6 AM.

I’ve finally admitted defeat. Schedules, to-do lists, and goals help focus my efforts, but life is a work-in-progress. We’re not meant to live by rote, and that’s a good thing.

Note: instead of reading the same author bio each month, regular readers might like a current update. If you're new or just want to know more about me as an author and the books I write, the welcome mat is out at the Janalyn Voigt website.

About Montana Gold

While researching the Montana Gold series, I uncovered some interesting questions. Although several found answers, for others the truth is buried on boot hill. In those cases, I relied on logic and probability to paint the truest image of the Wild West in the Montana Gold books. Learn more about Montana Gold.

Western Cattle Queens: Calamity Jane

The Wild West had a way of producing tough women, and none grittier than the cattle queens who rode, roped, and endured the privations of the trail as well as any man. Facing challenges, hardships, and perils—sometimes with children at their side—they garnered grudging respect in an era of shifting cultural roles. Some accrued wealth, while others paid with their lives. These women overcame cultural expectations to live on their terms. The halls of history must ring with applause.

This blog series celebrates the cattle queens mentioned in The Whispering Wind, the final installment in the Montana Gold western historical romance series.

Martha Canary (aka) "Calamity Jane" (1852-1903), full-length portrait, seated with a rifle as General Crook's scout.

Calamity Jane has gone down in Wild West history for her horsemanship and courage. Jane did most things well, including running a ranch during the cattle queen phase of her life. Afflicted by the restlessness common to western emigrants, she lived a wild life, used rough language, and was no stranger to whiskey.

Jane penned much of her own legend, mixing fact with fiction. This makes it difficult to discern truth from fabrication. We do know that she was born Martha Jane Cannary in Missouri on May 1, 1852. She was a young teen in 1865 when her family migrated to Virginia City, Montana. Unfortunately, Jane’s mother died of pneumonia shortly after the journey. Her father took Jane and her five siblings on to Utah, where he died later that year (1866).

Calamity Jane, circa 1885-1890, 
DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University

After Jane became head of her household, she returned with her younger siblings to Wyoming. In Fort Bridger, Jane worked at a variety of jobs—including ox-driver, cook, waitress, dishwasher, nurse, dancehall girl, and—according to some, a prostitute.

Jane had become a good marksman and excellent rider during her family’s five-month trip from Missouri to Montana. These skills led to her becoming an army scout under General Armstrong Custer in 1870. Women’s clothing wasn’t well suited to her new line of work, so Jane donned men’s clothes instead. Maintaining a masculine appearance helped her gain acceptance from the men with which she worked.

The story behind Jane’s nickname is lost in history. Jane insisted that an officer she rescued during an Indian attack bestowed the moniker on her. Since other details of that story remain in doubt—including whether she ever fought Indians, it’s hard to know what to believe. Another story claimed that Jane had stated that any man who crossed her would meet with calamity. It may have simply come from her penchant of getting into trouble.

Jane hit it off with James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, and traveled with him and friends in the mid-1970’s. to Deadwood, South Dakota. She became a pony express rider and carried mail through treacherous country.

Some believe that Jane and Wild Bill were lovers, but there is no clear evidence of that. Jane may have been in love with Bill, but he was already married and was probably not interested in Jane. After Wild Bill was shot while playing poker, Jane chased his killer. Wild Bill’s murderer escaped her wrath but eventually hanged for the deed.

Jane stayed on in Deadwood and offered her services as a nurse during a smallpox epidemic that broke out during the winter of 1878. She returned for another stint with the army, hired on to drive freight wagons, and finally showed her prowess at ranching.

Jane was 33 when she married Clinton Burke in 1885. Jane gave birth to a daughter, but it is unclear what became of the child.

By now a legend in her own time, Jane followed the advice of friends to use her fame to make money. She began touring with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and made other public appearances. Ill health forced her return to South Dakota, where she died. The year was 1903, and Jane was 51. She is buried, by her request, beside “the only man I ever loved”—Wild Bill Hickok.

Martha Canary (aka) "Calamity Jane" (1852-1903), full-length portrait, seated with rifle as General Crook's scout.

Calamity Jane is one of the strong women that Phoebe Walsh, heroine of The Whispering Wind, mentions while persuading her uncle to hire her as a ranch hand. Much like Calamity Jane, Phoebe is independent, courageous, a skilled rider, and a sharp shooter. The only problem with working for her uncle is that Will Canfield—the man who kissed and then rejected her—will be her boss.

The Whispering Wind is available for pre-order. Learn more.

What's New with Janalyn Voigt

The past month has been a whirlwind. Offering The Whispering Wind for presale is like preparing two consecutive book launches spaced a month apart. For an author, it involves communicating with a launch team, writing guest features at blogs, keeping track of giveaway winners, obsessing over sales ranking while advertisements run, and telling people about the book on social media. By the end of it all, most writers are sick of thinking and talking about their books.  I believe in this story, and that makes it all worthwhile.

About Janalyn Voigt

Janalyn Voigt's unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and fantasy creates worlds of beauty and danger for readers. Writing in the historical romance and medieval epic fantasy genres, Janalyn is represented by Wordserve Literary. When not writing, she loves to discover worlds of adventure in the great outdoors.

Learn more about Janalyn Voigt and her books.

Part Calamity - All Jane

By Kathy Kovach

The other day, I walked through the room as my husband had the Western Channel on. Some of the TV shows and movies in the western genre are, shall we say, less than accurate. I mean, come on. Playing cards with numbers on them? The wrong train whistles? Rough and tumble women with coral lipstick, false eyelashes, and pearls?

Yep, that last one really got to me. The actress was Judi Meridith in The Raiders (1963) and she was playing Calamity Jane.

Of course, when it comes to unlikely actresses taking on the iconic role, Doris Day and her tiny waist comes to mind. Other bombshell actresses to play the frontier woman include Jane Russell in The Pale Face, Yvonne de Carlo (The Munsters) in Calamity Jane and Sam Bass, and Anjelica Huston in Buffalo Girls. The latter played her closer to the vest.

With all the singing, hair flipping, and doe eyes for Bill Hickok, it made me wonder who the real Calamity Jane was.

Much of her life is shrouded in mystery and tall tales, some told by the woman herself. Let me be clear. Any truths about Calamity Jane have been blowing like ash from a long dormant campfire and many “experts” disagree on certain points. One seemingly accurate researcher tackled the subject and believes he was able to separate the truth from the myth. James D. McLaird refutes just about everything you’ve ever heard. But the larger-than-life legend is so much more interesting. If you wish to learn what he found, I suggest you visit Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok (historynet.com)

Born Martha Jane Canary on May 1, 1856 in Princeton, Missouri, she died on August 1, 1903 at the age of 47. It’s said she looked twice her age at 30 due to a hard life.

That hard life started with her father who was a farmer (or gambler. . .or perhaps a gambler turned farmer,) and her mother, a prostitute. Both died leaving pre-teen Martha, the oldest of six, to take care of her siblings. It was on the wagon train with her family that Martha learned how to be a teamster, driving a team of oxen, using a 30-foot bullwhip to spur them on.

Much of the rest of her story is filled with adventure as she is said to have fought Native Americans, worked on the railroad, and according to her, rode for the pony express, though one or more of these accomplishments are probably just sensational tall tales. At one point, she became a scout at Fort Russell in Wyoming, something McLaird refutes. She also worked in saloons, and for a brief time followed the family business (the world’s oldest profession.) She did anything needed to take care of her brothers and sisters. Again, McLaird believes her siblings were farmed out to family. He also claims that she often wore dresses and did women’s work. But, of course, we also know that besides the mundane, she also dressed like a man, shot like a man, and rode a horse like a man. Not to mention her penchant for alcohol, smoking, and, shall we say, colorful words.

Calamity and Bill Hickok rode into Deadwood in June of 1876 in the same wagon train party. They became friends, but probably not lovers. A woman claiming to be their daughter surfaced, but it was proven fraudulent. Later, Jane supposedly married a man named Burke around 1885 and they did have a daughter. . .some think, others say no. Calamity Jane's history is so sketchy! Hickok and Calamity shared similar interests as both were dime novel celebrities and no doubt drank together. They’re buried near one another in the Deadwood cemetery, which fuels the imagination as to their relationship. If one were to weed through the sensational stories, one would find that the two only knew each other for a couple of months. Hickok was murdered while playing poker on August 1, 1876 by a man who was avenging his brother's death. Apparently, the lawman killed him in another town. Hickok was holding two pair: black aces and eights. This has been dubbed the dead man’s hand as a result. Twenty-seven years later, Jane was on a train and became ill. She made it to the Calloway Hotel in Terry, near Deadwood where she died on August 1, 1903, on the anniversary of Hickok's death. Her demise was most likely from her life of hard drinking.

At the grave of Bill Hickok in the 1890's

Deadwood, Dakota Territory

Somewhere along the way, she earned the name Calamity Jane and embraced the fitting moniker, even writing her own dime novel of her (ahem) true exploits. No doubt most of it was a work of fiction, but she read it aloud to eager audiences, I imagine performing some of the action.

To capitalize her notoriety, by 1893 she became employed in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show run by Bill Cody. In 1901, she traveled with the troupe to Buffalo, New York and the World’s Fair Pan-American Exposition.

In her kitchen with a cigar

Livingston, Montana 1901

Among the wild tales, Martha Jane had a heart of gold. It's been said that she exhibited compassion to the sick and needy. She worked as a nurse during a smallpox outbreak in Deadwood, volunteering to work where the fainthearted dare not go. 

Tall tales aside, Martha Jane Canary turned out to be a colorful character in our nation’s history. She may not have been your run-of-the-mill pioneer woman, but if she had been, she never would have carved her name, Calamity Jane, into our hearts.

MissAdventure Brides Collection
Seven daring damsels don’t let the norms of their eras hold them back. Along the way these women attract the attention of men who admire their bravery and determination, but will they let love grow out of the adventures? Includes:
"Riders of the Painted Star" by Kathleen E. Kovach

1936 Arizona
Zadie Fitzpatrick, an artist from New York, is commissioned to go on location in Arizona to paint illustrations for an author of western novels and falls for the male model.

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother, though much too young for that. Kathleen is a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

Website

Blog With A Giggle
CraftCinema

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Martha Jane Cannary--and a Giveaway

May 1^st marked the birthday of a woman by the name of Martha Jane Cannary—eldest child of a gambler father and a prostitute mother. She had two brothers and three sisters. As the family traveled from Martha Jane’s birthplace in Missouri to Virginia City, Montana, her mother fell ill with pneumonia and died. A year later, her father also succumbed to death, leaving Martha Jane, who was just fourteen years old at the time, to take charge of her five younger siblings and support her family. The six siblings settled in Piedmont, Wyoming, where Martha Jane took whatever jobs she could find—from dishwasher, to waitress, to nurse, to ox team driver, to sometimes prostitute. She would have turned 167 this year.

Why am I telling you about an obscure woman who died long ago?

Because she is better known as “Calamity Jane”—and she is also the historic western figure who I loosely based my heroine on in Taming Petra, one of four stories from the novella collection titled Cameo Courtships.

The Real Calamity Jane: Fact or Myth?

Calamity Jane in her buckskin trousers
and jacket, carrying a Sharps rifle.

Calamity Jane is a larger-than-life western figure who is said to have been a whiskey-swilling army scout, Indian fighter, and sharpshooter, a contemporary of Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody. Her biography is littered with fantastical stories of great exploits, though many are questioned for their factualness. For instance, Calamity Jane once said that her nickname came about in this way:

It was during this campaign [in 1872–73] that I was christened Calamity Jane. It was on Goose Creek, Wyoming, where the town of Sheridan is now located. Capt. Egan was in command of the Post. We were ordered out to quell an uprising of the Indians, and were out for several days, had numerous skirmishes during which six of the soldiers were killed and several severely wounded. When on returning to the Post we were ambushed about a mile and a half from our destination. 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.

~Excerpted from “Life and Adventures of

Calamity Jane” by Martha Cannary Burke

Many disputed the claim above as untrue, even before it was dictated into the promotional pamphlet from which it was taken (Jane was functionally illiterate, so others had to write for her). Some folks went so far as to say that she never saw a day of service with the US Army, so the veracity of the claim falls in great question. Another claim of how the moniker came to be associated with this woman is due to her threat to men that if they crossed her, they were courting calamity.

Calamity Jane

James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok

  

Another area where people have cried foul is in her association with James Butler Hickok. Some sources say she first became acquainted with Wild Bill somewhere in the early 1870s and rode into the Deadwood, South Dakota, on his wagon train in 1875. Others say she rode into the area with the Army in 1875 and met Wild Bill in Deadwood soon after. She claims to have had a relationship with Hickok and was even married to him in 1873, and that the pair had a daughter who was later given up for adoption. To date, no one has found official records of a marriage between Calamity Jane and Hickok—and others have gone so far as to say that Hickok had no use for the woman. A woman, Jean Hickok Burkardt McCormick, did present herself in the 1940s, touting herself to be the legal offspring of Jane and Wild Bill—but her claims were soundly refuted. James Butler Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried next to each other in Mount Moriah Cemetery, South Dakota, but even that is cause for dispute. Not the location of their burial plots, but the reasons they are buried in adjoining spaces. Some say Jane was laid to rest next to Hickok because of the great love they shared. Others rumor that it was only because those around her in her last moments chose to grant Jane’s final wish. Still others have circulated the idea that their close proximity was one last joke played on Hickok, forcing him to lie next to the woman he couldn’t abide in life even in his death.

Calamity Jane visiting the gravesite of Wild Bill Hickok in the 1890s.

Despite the many discrepancies surrounding the true-life figure of Calamity Jane, there are some points of her character which aren’t so disputed.

·     She was known to wear men’s trousers, surely adding to the outrageousness of her persona.

·     She was said to have had a kind and generous spirit, often helping the sick and poor she came across.

·     Whether she did all the outlandish things claimed by others, as well as herself, she was well liked in the west, for the most part.

It’s Your Turn: Do you believe Calamity Jane was all she is reported to have been—army scout, Indian fighter, sharpshooter, angel of mercy for the poor and sick, and more? Or do you believe her to be just another larger-than-life western figure whose reputation has grown into the stuff of tall tales and myth? If the latter, does it bother you that she is touted as an “Old West Hero” even today? Leave your answer, including your email address, for the opportunity to win a signed paperback copy of Cameo Courtships.

Jennifer Uhlarikdiscovered the western genre as a pre-teen when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has finaled and won in numerous writing competitions, and been on the ECPA best-seller list numerous times. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers, Women Writing the West, and is a lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, college-aged son, and four fur children.

Social Media Links:

Website: www.jenniferuhlarik.com

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Cameo Courtships

by Susanne Dietze, Debra E. Marvin, Jennifer Uhlarik, and Kathleen Y'Barbo

A Family Heirloom Inspires Romance
In 1851, a special cameo is gifted by Queen Victoria to Letitia Newton, who though considered an old maid, meets the perfect gentleman minutes after donning. Told by the Queen the cameo is to be shared, Letitia gifts the "Victoria Cameo" to a woman in her family, hoping adventure and romance will follow each of its subsequent wearers.

PINNED ABOVE HER HEART by Susanne Dietze
1851 – Pittsburgh, PA
After receiving the Victoria Cameo, aspiring journalist Clara Newton works to expose a smuggler, but reporter Byron Breaux must break the story first or lose his job. Working together is out of the question until they learn secrets that threaten Clara’s father. . .and her heart.

TAMING PETRA by Jennifer Uhlarik
1875 – Colorado Territory
Trouser-wearing frontierswoman Petra Jayne Hollingsworth has no intention of donning the heirloom cameo, but when a crooked brothel owner steals the treasure, securing its return becomes Petra’s highest priority. Assisting her, Reverend Dustin Owens is appalled to learn the price of its ransom is that Petra must work in the brothel. He may save the woman’s virtue, but can he help Petra regain her cameo and rediscover her faith?

MEET ME AT THE FAIR by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Spring 1885 – New Orleans during the 1884 World’s Fair and Cotton Exposition
It takes a Pinkerton to find a Pinkerton, and Ethan Butler has been charged with finding Elizabeth Newton. Just when he locates her, the cameo he is to deliver is stolen. It appears his previous case has discovered his presence in New Orleans, but he can’t return to that case until the cameo is found. With Miss Newton as a reluctant partner in crime fighting, can Ethan Butler locate the cameo and its thieves without losing his heart?

LENDING MY HEART by Debra E. Marvin
1895 – Pittsburgh, PA
The arrival of a handsome Scottish administrator ruins Miss Bertie Hart’s dream to oversee the new Carnegie Library children’s department. Yet bristly Mr. Russell Smart’s working-class determination and his love of books make him the perfect partner to better the lives of Pittsburgh’s poor. As for a partner in life? Not even her Victoria Cameo can narrow the social chasm he and her father keep between them.

Buffalo Bill Vaudeville

By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Last month, I shared about the anniversary of the opening of the first public library in the United States. If you missed that post, you can read it here: http://www.hhhistory.com/2018/04/first-public-library-in-united-states.html.

Returning back to a more western setting...I've always loved cowboys, horses, and the "wild west." I've also always loved the idea of the state fairs, and I featured a snippet of both in my story for the Blue Ribbon Brides collection, Front Paige Love, only that one featured Doc Carver and his traveling stunt show with diving horses, which had its height during the late 1920's and Depression-era in the US.

* * * * *

From Real Life to Vaudeville Performance!

The year is 1883, and the month is May. Just 125 years ago. The inspiration began a few years earlier, though. William F. Cody was a real-life buffalo hunter, U.S. Army scout, and guide. In 1869, author Ned Buntline wrote a "dime novel" about Cody called Buffalo Bill, the King of Border Men, after the two met on a train from California to Nebraska. In December 1872, Buntline’s novel turned into a theatrical production and launched Cody's career in live performances.

Poster showing Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress
of Rough Riders of the World, c. 1898.

After traveling and performing with notable names like Wild Bill Hickok and Texas Jack in the Buffalo Bill Connection, Cody opened "Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show" on May 19, 1883 at Omaha, Nebraska. His partner that first season was a dentist and exhibition shooter, Dr. W.F. Carver. Cody and Carver took the show, subtitled “Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition,” across the country to popular acclaim and favorable reviews, launching a genre of outdoor entertainment that thrived for three decades.

The birth of the Wild West as a successful genre was mostly a product of personality, dramatic acumen, and good timing. The golden age of outdoor shows began in the 1880s, and with his theatre experience, Buffalo Bill was already skilled in the use of the press and publicity. His fame and credibility as a westerner lent star appeal and a certain level of authenticity. Cody definitely gave the show a dramatic narrative structure. But it was the show's publicist, John Burke, who utilized innovating techniques at the time, such as celebrity endorsements, press kits, publicity stunts, op-ed articles, billboards, and product licensing, that contributed to the success and popularity of the show.

Features such as the Pony Express, the wagon train, or the attack on the stagecoach recreated specific and well-known events. Spectacles such as “cowboy fun” or the showcasing of American Indian life usually served as a prelude to a dramatic event, such as a battle scene. Skill acts such as sharp shooting (with pistol and rifle), wing shooting (with shotgun), roping, and riding not only showcased star performers, the show’s narration linked those skills to survival in the frontier West.

Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill (1885)

An orator boomed the script to the audience from an elevated platform in the arena. The circus band backed the action taking place in the arena with appropriate mood-setting music. The same skits and music later were easily adapted to film and television "Westerns." I'm sure I'm not the only one who has viewed some of those earlier westerns and considered them grossly exaggerated or quite "campy" in their presentations. (grins)

Some famous names came out of performing in Buffalo Bill's shows, or other similar ones at the time. Names like Will Rogers, Bill Picket, Buck Taylor, Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Texas Rose, Chief Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, and Geronimo.

The logistics of the show were formidable. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West carried as many as five hundred cast and staff members, including twenty-five cowboys, a dozen cowgirls, and one hundred Indian men, women, and children. They all were fed three hot meals a day, cooked on twenty-foot-long ranges. The show generated its own electricity and staffed its own fire department. Performers lived in wall tents during long stands or slept in railroad sleeping cars when the show moved daily. Expenses were as high as $4,000 per day. That's equivalent to over $100,000 today!!

Circus great James A. Bailey, of Barnum & Bailey, joined Cody and Salsbury in 1895 and revolutionized their travel arrangements. The show was loaded onto two trains totaling fifty or more cars. Strings of flat cars could be linked together with ramps for loading wagons from the back forward. Besides performers and staff, the trains transported hundreds of show and draft horses and as many as thirty buffalo. The show carried grandstand seating for twenty thousand spectators along with the acres of canvas necessary to cover them. The arena itself remained open to the elements. Advance staff traveled ahead of the show to procure licenses and arrange for the ten to fifteen acres required for the show lot, preferably close to the railroad; to buy the tons of flour, meat, coffee, and other necessities; and to publicize and advertise.

In 1899, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West covered over 11,000 miles in 200 days giving 341 performances in 132 cities and towns across the United States. Most places featured a parade and two 2-hour performances. Then the whole show would be struck, loaded, and moved overnight to the next town. I remember being impressed by traveling carnivals as a little girl, admiring how quickly they would arrive in town, set up, entertain, then tear down and be gone! Buffalo Bill's show even makes these carnivals pale in comparison.

By far, the most lasting legacy of the Wild West shows is the depiction of romance and conquest, based on real people and events created and disseminated across boundaries of race, class, and geography. Western shows generated interest for Western entertainment. This is still evidenced in western films, modern rodeos, and circuses, still employing the same events and skills as cowboys did in Wild West shows. I don't know about you, but give me a good book or movie set in the "wild west," and I'm entertained for hours!

* * * * *

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Have you ever been to a rodeo? Ever participated in one?

* If you lived during the time Buffalo Bill's shows were touring, what part would you want to see the most? Why?

* If you were to be *part* of a wild west show, what role would you love to fulfill?

* What did you like most about today's post?

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BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those childhood skills to become an author and speaker who works in the health & wellness and personal development industry, helping others become their best from the inside out. She is also an educational consultant with Usborne Books.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children and Nova, their Shiba Inu mix, in Colorado. She has sold twenty (21) books so far and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and LinkedIn.