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Calamity Jane's may have been second only to Buffalo Bill in exaggerating her early life exploits into something that only a dime store novelist would believe. Many of those exciting adventures came from Calamity herself, and most of them could not be corroborated by others. With this is mind, it is difficult to determine which stories should be retold as fact. "Calamity" was born in Princeton, Missouri, on May 1, 1852. Her maiden name was Martha Cannary. Her parents were natives of Ohio, and she had two younger brothers and three younger sisters.
In 1865, the family immigrated from their homes in Missouri by the overland route to Virginia City, Montana, taking five months to make the journey. During the trip, "Calamity" spent most of her time hunting with the men and hunters of the party. By the time the party reached Virginia City, "Calamity" was considered a remarkably good markswoman and a fearless rider for a girl of her age (and most men her age).
"Calamity's" mother died at Black Foot, Montana, in 1866 and the family left the territory soon after, heading for Utah. Her father died in 1867, and the surviving children moved to Wyoming. "Calamity's" role in taking care of the family became vital, and she took whatever job was available in order to provide food and shelter to her brothers and sisters. Most of the jobs entailed long hours and hard tasks that many men were not able to do.
In 1870, she joined General Custer as a scout in his campaign through the Arizona territory. "Calamity" considered herself the most reckless and daring of Custer's scouts and was eager to brag to anyone of those facts. In 1872, she returned to Fort Sanders, Wyoming, where she was ordered out to the Muscle Shell Indian outbreak. That campaign, in which Generals Custer, Miles, Terry and Crook were engaged, lasted until the fall of 1873. It was during this time that "Calamity Jane" reportedly earned her name.
As Calamity told the story, it happened at Goose Creek, Wyoming, where the town of Sheridan is now located. Captain Egan was in command of the Post and the troops were ordered out to quell an uprising of Indians . The soldiers were heading back to camp, after a couple of days, when they ambushed by a large group of Indians . Captain Egan was the first to be shot and fell from his horse. "Calamity" was riding in advance. Upon hearing gunfire, she turned in her saddle and saw the Captain fall. She galloped back, lifted him onto her horse and got him safely back to the Fort. Captain Egan on recovering, laughingly said, "I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains.''
Afterward, she was ordered to Fort Custer, where she arrived in the spring of 1874. In the spring of 1875, her troop was ordered to the Black Hills to protect miners. This area was controlled by the Sioux, and the government had to send the soldiers to protect the miners and settlers in that area. She remained there until fall of 1875 and wintered at Fort Laramie. In spring of 1876, she was ordered north with General Crook to join Generals Miles, Terry and Custer at the Big Horn River. During this march, she swam the Platte river near Fort Fetterman to deliver dispatches from General Crook to a local outpost., She contracted a severe illness during that ride and was sent in General Crook's ambulance to Fort Fetterman, where she was hospitalized for a couple of weeks.
When she recovered, she went to Fort Laramie where she met William Hickock, better known as Wild Bill. They were both heading for Deadwood, South Dakota, and arrived there in June of 1876. Many stories have been told about the relationship between Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane, but there is no proof that they were ever married or had a lasting, intimate relationship.
During the month of June she worked as a pony express rider carrying the U.S. mail between Deadwood and Custer, a distance of fifty miles, over one of the roughest trails in the Black Hills country. She remained around Deadwood all that summer visiting all the camps within an area of one hundred miles. On the August 2, 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was sitting at a gambling table in the Bell Union saloon, in Deadwood, when he was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall. Hickock was holding a pair of eights and a pair of aces when he was killed, which would forever be known as a "dead man's hand."
Jack McCall left the saloon, but was captured later that day by a local citizens and jailed.
Calamity Jane's version of the story is quite a bit different, "Upon hearing of the shooting, I made my way to the saloon and found "Wild Bill" dead on the floor," she said. "I started to look for McCall and found him at Shurdy's butcher shop and grabbed a meat cleaver and made him throw up his hands." Jack McCall was later convicted and hanged for the murder.
Calamity left Deadwood in the fall of 1877, and went to Bear Butte Creek with the 7th Cavalry. In 1878 she left the command and went to Rapid City where she tried her hand at prospecting, but that was not very profitable. In early 1879 she went to Fort Pierre where she drove mule trains from Rapid City to Fort Pierre and then drove the teams from Fort Pierce to Sturgis.
In 1881 she went to Wyoming and returned in 1882 to Miles City. She bought a ranch on the Yellowstone where she raised stock and cattle. She also kept a way side inn, where weary travelers could be accommodated with food, drink and lodging. Calamity went to California in 1883, but left for Texas in 1884. While in El Paso, she met Clinton Burk, a native of Texas, whom she married in August 1885. On October 28, 1887, she became the mother the of a baby girl.
They left Texas in 1889 and went to Boulder, Colorado, where they ran a hotel until 1893. During the next three years, the Burk family traveled through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and South Dakota. For the next few years, Calamity tried to sell her life story to anyone who would listen. She made any real money from the stories and died a poor woman in 1903. Before her death, she insisted she was really the wife of Wild Bill Hickock and should be buried next to him. Her last wish was granted.
Photo courtesy of South Dakota State Historical Society
Wild Bill Hickok was a lawman, a stagecoach driver, a sharpshooter, and maybe even a spy during the Civil War. He ended up in Deadwood in 1876. There he was shot in the back of the head by gambler Jack ("Broken Nose") McCall in the Number 10 Saloon. Wild Bill is buried beside Calamity Jane in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood. He is the hero of many books and movies.
Photo courtesy of South Dakota State Historical Society
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