Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane

"Like Deadwood Dick and others, she wrote a memoir, The Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane by Herself (1896). Calamity Jane...was one of only a few rough and tough women amid the sea of males." - Pop Culture Places: An Encyclopedia of Places in American Popular Culture (2014)
"Martha, with the help of an amanuensis, published the Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane, by Herself in 1896, it is brief." -Calamity Jane: The Woman and the Legend (2011)
"The truth of the pamphlet is contained within its first couple of pages in which Jane provides confirmation of historical documentation." -Calamity Jane: The Life and Legend of Martha Jane Cannary (2018)
"Just before the tour left, Calamity...turned out a nine-page autobiography, Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane: By Herself (1896)." - Calamity Jane: A Reader's Guide (2015)

What heroic act did Martha Cannary Burk perform at Goose Creek, Wyoming, to earn her nickname "Calamity Jane"?

In 1896, Martha Cannary Burk (1852 1903), a.k.a. "Calamity Jane" published a very brief autobiography of her adventurous life as one of the few women in the Wild West, under the title "Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane."

In introducing her book, Calamity Jane writes:

"As a child I always had a fondness for adventure and out-door exercise and especial fondness for horses which I began to ride at an early age and continued to do so until I became an expert rider being able to ride the most vicious and stubborn of horses, in fact the greater portion of my life in early times was spent in this manner. In 1865 we emigrated from our homes in Missourri by the overland route to Virginia City, Montana, taking five months to make the journey."

About the author:

Martha Jane Cannary was born May 1, 1852, and died August 1, 1903. She was better known as Calamity Jane, and was a well-known American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and raconteur. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Late in her life, she appeared in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. She is said to have exhibited compassion to others, especially to the sick and needy. This facet of her character contrasted with her daredevil ways and helped to make her a noted frontier figure. She was also known for her habit of wearing men's attire.

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