Doing Everything to Get By
In the late 1800s, it was common for young women to work as escorts to support themselves and their families. Martha Jane was no different.
Sure, she also may have had a killer shot, but when she needed to put food on the table, she had no issues getting her hands dirty. Calamity Jane was not a woman who apologized for doing what she needed to do to get by.
The Provider
Luckily, Jane was able to support herself and her family through a series of odd jobs. She would do anything she had to do to care for her brothers and sisters.
Typically, it meant things like cleaning glasses at the cantina or driving oxen, but it’s also been speculated that she occasionally worked in a brothel as a teen, as well.
A Real Sharpshooter
But in her spare time she liked to hang out, shoot guns and ride horses with soldiers. In fact, she described in her book that she became known for having a “remarkable good shot” and being a “fearless rider” for being a teenager, and a woman.
If Jane was telling the truth, General Custer himself was so impressed with her shot that he recruited her into the US military.
Meeting Wild Bill
In 1870, Jane worked as a count alongside General Custer, at Fort Russell in Wyoming. But perhaps even more infamous was her time at Fort Laramie.
It was around that time that she first met Wild Bill Hickok. The two hit it off almost instantly, probably thanks in large part to the fact they both drank like fish.
The Legend Was Born
But it wasn’t until a few years later that she would become the person everyone knows her as through her writing.
It was then that she would earn her name. It was in 1873 that Calamity Jane was officially born.