Calamity Jane Tells Own Story of Her Life
in Diary Found Among Freighter's Effects
Amour the effects of the late Willis
Sanderson, old-time Musselshell county
frelchter who died rrrently. was fonnd
a small pamphlet entitled. "The Life and
Adventures of Calamity Jane," written by
that famous frontier character herself. It
is believed to hare been written by
Calamity while she was on tour with a
circus. It is known to have been riven
to Sanderson by her while she was run
ning a restaurant in old Conlson. the »11
lare that preceded the city of Biilines. It
Is presented here as an interesting human
document from the pen of one of the
strangest characters in the early history
of the west.
Y maiden name was Mar
, _ . .
thy Cannary, was born in
Princeton, Mo., May 1st,
toco „„a
1852. Father and mother natives
of Ohio. Had two brothers and
three sisters, I being the oldest of
,, ' . y ,
the children. As a child I always
had a fondness for adventure and
j i
outdoor exercises and especial
fondness for horses which I began
to ride at an early age and con
. J ®
tinued to do so until I became an
expert rider, being able to ride the
most vicious and stubborn of horses,
In fact the greater porfion of my life
In early times was spent in this
manner.
In 1865 we emigrated from our homes
in Missouri by the overland route to
Virginia City. Mont., taking five
months to make the journey. While on
the way the greater portion of my
time was spent in hunting along with
the men and hunters of the party, in
fact. I was at all times with the men
when there was excitement and ad
venture to be had. By the time we
! , ..
reached Virginia City I was considered
a remarkable good shot and a fearless
rider for a girl of my age I remember
many occurrences on the journey from
Missouri to Montana. Many times m
crossing the mountains the conditions
of the trail were so bad that we fre
quently had to lower the wagons over
ledges by hand with ropes for they
were so rough and rugged that horses
were of no use.
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
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have lost horses and all. Then we had
many dangers to encounter In the way
I of streams swelling on account of
; heavy rains. On occasions of that kind
I the men would usually select the best
! places to cross the streams, myself on
j more than one occasion had mounted
I my pony and swam across the stream
several times merely to amuse myself
and have had many narrow escapes
from both myself and pony being wash
ed 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.
Goes to Utah
!
Mother died at Blackfoot, Mont.,
1866, where we buried her. I left Mon
I tana in the spring of 1866 for Utah,
arriving in Salt Lake City during the;
| summer Remained in Utah until 1867,
, where my father died, then went to
' E° rt
we arrived May 1, 1868. Remained
around Fort Bridger during 1868, then
j went to Piedmont, Wyo., with the U. P.
railway. Joined General Custer as a
scout at Fort R US sell, Wyo., in 1870,
and started for Arizona for the Indian
£S 1 I ? pa jfIL 1 U fhi° nf 1 mv d .pi'
ways worn the costume of my sex.
when I joined Custer I donned the
; uniform of a soldier. It was a bit awk
ward at first but I soon got to be
perfectly at home In men's clothes.
Was in Arizona up to the winter of
1871 and during that time I had a
great many adventures with the In
; dians, for as a scout I had a great
; many dangerous missions to perform
; and while I was in many close places
; always succeeded in getting away safe-I
; ly for by this time I was considered
j the most reckless and daring rider and
\ one of the best shots in the western
country,
After that campaign I returned to
j Fort Sanders, Wyo., remained there
until spring of 1872, when we were
j ordered out to the Muscle Shell or i
Nursey Pursey Indian outbreak. In that
; war Generals Custer, Miles, Terry and j
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! Crook were all engaged. This campaign
: lasted until fall of 1873.
It was during this campaign that I
! was christened Calamity Jane. It was
I on Goose creek, Wyoming, where the
' town of Sheridan is now located. Cap
I tain Egan was in command of the post,
i We were ordered out to quell an up
j rising of the Indians, and were out
for several days; had numerous sklr
; mishes during which six of the soldiers
! were killed and several severely wound
i ed. When on returning to the post we
! were ambushed about a mile and a
t half from our destination. When fired
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The Late WQIls Sanderson, Early-Day
Musselshell Country Freighter.
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Calamity Jane, above, for years a character in western mining camps and
military posts, as she looked when employed as a scout by General Crook in a
campaign against Indians in Wyoming.
upon. Captain 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.
Goes to His Rescue
I turned my horse and galloped back
with all haste to hls side and got there
j in time to catch him as he was falling,
I lifted him onto my horse in front of
! me and succeeded In getting him safe
: covering, laughingly said
I I name you Calamity Jane, the
; heroine of the plains."
j I have borne that name up to the
; present time. We were afterwards or
j dered to Fort Custer, where Custer
i City now stands, where we arrived in
! ^
Fort Custer 3.11 summer snd were or
dered to Fort Russell in fall of 1874.
where we remained until spring of,
1875; was then ordered to the Black
Hills to protect miners, as that country
was controlled by the Sioux Indians
and the government had to send the
soldiers to protect the lives of the
i miners and settlers in that section. Re
mained there until fall of 1875 and
wintered at Fort Laramie. In spring
of 1876, we were ordered north with
General Crook to join Generals Miles,
Terry and Custer at Big Horn river,
During this march I swam the
Platte river at Fort Petterman as I;
was the bearer of important dispatches.
I had a 90 mile ride to make, being
wet and cold, I contracted a severe
illness and was sent back in General
Crook's ambulance to Fort Fetterman
I where I laid in the hospital for 14
; days. When able to ride I started for
I Fort Laramie where I met William
1 Hlckok, better known as Wild Bill, and
I we started for Deadwood, where we
I arrived about June.
j During the month of June I acted
as a pony express rider carrying the
United States mail between Deadwood
and Custer, a distance of 50 miles, over
one of the roughest trails In the Black
Hills country. Many of the riders ;
before me had been held up and robbed i
of their packages, mail and money that
they carried, for that was the only
means of getting mall and money be
tween these points. It was considered
the most dangerous route in the hills,
but as my reputation as a rider and
quick shot was well known, I was
molested very little, for the toll gath
erers looked on me as being a good
fellow, and thev knew that I never
missed my mark. I made the round
trip every two days which was con
sidered pretty good riding In that
country.
.
Captures Jack McCall
Remained around Deadwood all that
summer visiting all the camp? within
an area of 100 miles. My friend. Wild
Bill, remained in Deadwood during the
summer with the exception of occa
sional visits to the camps. On the 2d
of August, while sitting at a gambling
table in the Bell Union sirioon. In
Deadwood, he was shot in the back of
the head by the notorious Jack Mc
Call, a desperado. I was In Deadwood
at the time and on hearing of the
killing made my way at once to the
scene of the shooting and found that
my friend had been killed by McCall.
I at once started to look for the as
sassln and found him at Shurdy's
butcher shop and grabbed a meat
cleaver and made him throw up his
hands; through the excitement on
hearing of Bill s death, having left my
weapons on the post of my bed. He
was then taken to a log cabin and
locked up, well secured as every
thought, but he got away and
afterwards caught at Fagan's ranch
on Horse Creek, on the old Cheyenne
road and was then taken to Yankton,
Dakota, where he was tried, sentenced
and hanged.
I remained around Deadwood. locat
ing claims, going from camp to camp
until the spring of 1877, where one
morning I saddled my horse and rode
towards Crook City. I had gone about
Deadwood, at the mouth
one
r aa
12 mile* from
\ of Whitewood creek, when I met the
j overland mail running from Cheyenne
! to Deadwood. The horses on a run,
as about 200 yards from the station; upon
looking closely I saw they were pur
sued by Indians. The horses ran to the
horses ^tooned tornde «lonoSdiwrf £5
co d an ? p found 0d ihp 10 rifivpr ^inhn
slaughter ivfnîffar/»
of biÂfttîÆL £
i £° ot th ° p f Tnrfianf whi^ t
(bushes. I Immediately removed all
baggage from the coach except the
mail. I then took the driver's seat and
with all haste drove to Deadwood,
carrying the six passengers and the
dead driver,
With Seventh Cavalry
: 1 left Deadwood in the fall of 1877,
And went to bprf Ruttn rrpplr with
j ana wenc w Bear Butte cieelt wUh
of,
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i Calamity Jane's Old Horn* in Uv
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| the 7th cavalry. During the fall and
i winter we built Port Meade and the
town of Sturgis. In 1878 I left the com
mand and went to Rapid City and put
An the year prospecting.
In 1879 I went to Fort Pierre and
drove trains from Rapid City to Port
Pierre for Prank Wltche, then drove
teams from Fort Pierce to Sturgis for
; Fred Evans. This teaming was done
i with oxen as they were better fitted
for the work than horses, owing to the
rough nature of the country,
In 1881 I went to Wyoming and re
turned in 1882 to Miles City and took
up a ranch on the Yellowstone, rais
ing stock and cattle, also kept a way
side Inn, where the weary traveler
could be accommodated with food,
drink, or trouble If he looked for it.
Left the ranch In 1883, went to Call
fomia, going through the states and
territories, reached Oregon the latter
part of 1883, and San Francisco In
1884. Left San Francisco In the sum
mer of 1884 for Texas, stopping at Port
Yuma, Arizona, the hottest spot In the
United States. Stopping at all points
of Interest until I reached El Paso in
the fall. While ln El Paso I met Mr.
Clinton Burk, a native of Texas, who
I married In August. 1885. As I thought
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ingston
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"J l a ^ 5 ,',w e v,^îïl a, nfo îîî,»rî e3 iaaQ
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P 04 '.,! 8 ' JS?!'
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but who had the 1601 P er of its nrnUier.
When we left Texas we went to
Boulder, Colo., where we kept a hotel
until 1893, after which we traveled
through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho,
Washington. Oregon, then back to
Montana, then to Dakota, arriving In
Deadwood Oct. 9, 1895, after an ab
sence of 17 years,
Gees With Museum
My arrival in Deadwood after an
absence of so many years created
quite an exciting time among my many
friends of the past, to such an extent
that a vast number of the citizens who
had come to Deadwood during my ab
sence who had heard so much of Ca
lamity Jane and her many adventures
In former years were anxious to see
me. Among the many whom 1 met
were several gentlemen from eastern
cities, who advised me to allow myself
to be placed before the public In such
a manner as to give the people of the
eastern cities an opportunity of seeing
the Woman Scout who was made so
famous through her daring career in
the west and Black Hill countries.
An agent of Kohl 8t Middleton, the
celebrated museum men, came to
Dead wood, through the solicitation of
the gentleman whom I had met there
and arrangements were made to place
me before the public in this manner.
My first engagement began at the
Palace museum, Minneapolis, Jan. 20.
1898, under Kohl and Middleton's man
agement.
Hoping that this little history of my
life may interest all readers, I remain
as In the older days.
Yours.
MRS. M. BURK.
Better known as Calamity Jan*.
FORMER MONTANA
VETERAN IN NEWS
JOHN T. EATON SURRENDERS
CHARTER OF LOS ANGELES
G. A. R. POST
As Commander, He Sounds Gavel at
Final Meeting Held When Only He
and One Other Member Survive;
5,000 Attend Ceremony.
John T. Eaton, Montana resi
! dent for 35 years, made news in
j Los Angeles recently when, as
commander of the John A. Martin
post of the Grand Army of the
Republic, he sounded the gavel to
surrender the charter of the post
which had been active for nearly
half a century in the affairs of the
veterans' home at Sawtelle, Calif.,
a suburb of Los Angeles. Eaton,
who is 92, and Lewis S. Carter, 97,
were the only survivors of the post
which at one time numbered 2,000
members.
Eaton was well known among old
timers In Great Falls. He came to
Montana in 1880 and located In Great
Falls In 1884. For a time he operated a
livery business there. Later he home
steaded on the outskirts of the town,
and had several other ranches In the
county before going to Los Angeles
about 20 years ago.
Extremely active for hls years, Eaton
plans to come to Montana some time
this spring to visit relatives, including
four sisters-in-law, Mrs. Jane Keeney,
Mrs. Emily Bickett, Mrs. Josephine
Hale and Mrs. Annie Edwards, and a
brother-in-law, David Bruneau, aU of
Great Palls.
Eaton was born In Indianapolis and
enlisted In the Union army In the last
year of the Civil war, when he was
16. Although still under age, he was
——L7--rjE
1
We Like to Get to the
BOTTOM OF THINGS
S EVENTY YEARS AGO, the founders of what is
now the Socoay-Vacuum Oil Company, Inc., first
exhibited the insatiable curiosity which character
izes every Socony-Vacuum lubrication engineer to
day. They were not, nor is he, eontent with super
ficial findings. We like to get to the bottom of
things.
That attitude is reflected in every Gargoyle In
dustrial Lubricant. In mining, in railroading, in
shipping, in manufacturing ... in every industrial
enterprise. Gargoyle Lubricants are earning a Lubri
cation Profit for their employers because they are
doing a thorough job.
MARKETING POLICY: I*,
das try almost always finds that
the controlled use of high-grade
Gargoyle Lubricants pays for
Itself many times orar and that
they actually cost lass to use
than ordinary lubricants. But
foe suck equipment as does
not justify the higfaest-grade
lubricants, Soeooy-Vacuum
gineers will recommend a
lower-priced labricant ton
E
[iUI;l
Socovv-Vu rrM Oh C
vc
m.
permitted to vote for Abraham Lin
coln for president. After his demobili
zation at Washington, D. C., hie found
he had to wait four years, until he was
21, before being allowed to vote again.
Since going to California, Mr. and
Mrs. Eaton have lived near the veter
ans' home at Sawtelle and as com
mander of the O. A. G.
active in veterans' affairs,
the last national encampment of the
G. A. R. and attended the reunion of
the Blue and the Gray at Gettysburg
on the 75th anniversary of that famous
battle of the war between the state».
The decision to surrender the charter
of the
reached
to wind up the affairs while there were
still two members living who could
complete the records and turn them
over to the veterans' administration for
preservation.
i The final meeting was attended by
more than 5,000 persons with Leo Car
j rlllo, noted stage and screen actor, as
master of ceremonies.
ist he was
e attended
post Eaton commanded
In the belief It would be best
I I
FRAZER—Ray S. Pen Hand, super
intendent of the Frazer school, has re
signed, effective at the close of this
school term, and Edwin Lerum of Hoag
land has been elected to take his place.
DO YOU WANT TO
BUILD A RIG
SKID A DERRICK
LAY A PIPELINE
BUILD A CAMP
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The GALLOPING SWEDE
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J. HUGO ARONSON
Phone
CUT BANK, MONTANA