Calamity Jane (born Martha Cannary) was an American frontierswoman of the 19th century http://www.deadwoodmagazine.com/archivedsite/Archives/Girls_Calamity.htm. Born in Princeton, Mo. around 1852, she moved as a child to Montana and eventually settled in Deadwood, South Dakota. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWcalamity.htm The actual facts of her life are not always easily confirmed, and a life story that some consider partially fictionalized developed during her lifetime and has continued since her death. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88770/Calamity-Jane

She is often linked with Wild Bill Hickok, and according to her autobiography, was during her lifetime a United States Army scout and pony express rider among other occupations. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/9/490/490.txt She toured with wild west shows throughout the midwestern United States in the 1890's, but died in 1903 in Deadwood, S.D. poverty-stricken. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88770/Calamity-Jane

Martha "Calamity Jane" Cannary earned her nickname by saving the life of Captain Egan while posing as a man and working as a U.S. Army scout. According to Calamity Jane, the Captain was ambushed a mile and a half away from their post, and Jane managed to pull him across her horse in front of her saddle and make it back to the post in time for his life to be saved. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/9/490/490.txt Captain Egan named her "Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains" upon his recovery. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/9/490/490.txt

At an early age her parents died and left her to fend for herself in the frontier era west. She managed to do this by pursuing a variety of occupations, including cook and dance-hall girl. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88770/Calamity-Jane She eventually settled in Deadwood, South Dakota and found work as a bullwhacker - hauling supplies to camps outside of town. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88770/Calamity-Jane According to a report by Buffalo Bill Cody, part of Jane's fame grew from an incident where she rescued a stage coach from an Indian ambush, jumping aboard the stagecoach from her horse and driving it safely to it's destination. http://www.cowgirls.com/dream/cowgals/calamity.htm Calamity Jane toured in wild west shows and appeared at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, but was dismissed for alcoholismand erratic behavior. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88770/Calamity-Jane She died two years after returning to her Deadwood, South Dakota home in 1903, and is buried there near Wild Bill Hickock. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88770/Calamity-Jane

1852: Born, Princeton, Mo.

1865: Moves to Virginia City, Montana

1870: Joins United States Army as a scout

1873: Receives nickname of "Calamity Jane"

1903: Dies in Deadwood, S.D.