~Calamity Jane~ My homage to Calamity Jane, born in 1856 as Martha Jane Canary, a legendary American outlaw, adventurer, and sharpshooter who lived during the Wild West era. She was described as having blond hair, hazel eyes, and standing at five feet nine inches tall - a rare treat for women of the period. My depiction looks nothing like her, but hey, it's an artistic interpretation! Her life was marked by alcoholism even by early years, due to her father dying when she was just 14, putting the livelihood of her 5 siblings on her shoulders. Her mother Charlotte has died of pneumonia in 1866 when Jane was only 10. Among other things, she worked as a dishwasher, cook, waitress, dance hall girl, nurse, and ox team driver. In 1874, she finally found more stable work as a scout at Fort Russell. She spent much of her life traveling around the United States, often performing shows and demonstrations involving sharpshooting and horseback riding skills, in a similar fashion as "Wild Bill" Hickok and William Frederick "Buffalo Bill". As a matter of fact, there were numerous legends of Jane being married to the famous "Wild Bill" Hickok gunslinger, but there is very little evidence to support the claim. Nonetheless, she took a picture of herself smugging by his grave at Deadwood, Dakota Territory, in the 1890s. Contrary to popular belief, she was rejected by the Wild West Show, and she likely performed independently at various venues throughout the country, sometimes alongside members of the Wild West troupe. Nevertheless, her reputation became intertwined with that of the show, further enhancing her status as a larger-than-life figure of the Wild West epoch. Her nickname was earned in 187X, after saving the life of a military commanding officer (Capt. Egan) who was shot during a raid between rival factions at the vicinity of Bear River in Wyoming, catching him before he fell from his horse, and riding him back to the fort (possibly Fort Bridger). By Jane's own record, on recovering, Capt. Egan laughingly said: "I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains". It is unknown if "Jane" was already part of her name, or added along with her nickname. However, another officer from the area later claimed that none of this has happened, and that Jane was simply a notorious character, dissolute and devilish, but possessed a generous streak which made her popular. Being a professional storyteller, much of her stories were myths, which was common in that place and period. In 1932, at the age of 76, Jane has boarded a train to Terry, South Dakota, where she drunk herself to death. Her passing was reported to be the result of a pneumonia aggravated by an inflammation and a lifetime of alcoholism. So not only she was too tall for women of that time and place, but she has also outlived most people - even when having drinking issues from childhood. What a woman!