Calamity Jane Biography

Calamity Jane was a woman of the Wild West renowned for her sharp-shooting, whiskey swilling, and cross-dressing ways – but also for her kindness towards others.


Calamity Jane’s fame grew even more in 1895 when she joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show performing sharpshooting skills astride a horse. For several years, she toured the Midwest, bringing a commercialized version of the rip-roaring west to American audiences. The work was never steady, as she reputedly got drunk and disorderly throughout the tours. Wherever she performed, she brought copies of her greatly exaggerated autobiography, which she sold to fans for pennies.

By the turn of the century, her hard life was catching up with her. She suffered from severe alcoholism and poor health. In July 1903, she arrived at the Calloway Hotel in Terry, near Deadwood, where she died on August 1 or 2 at age 51. She was buried next to Wild Bill Hickok at Mount Moriah Cemetery in South Dakota.

Source