Martha Jane Canary - Calamity Jane
D
uring her 51 years, Martha wandered and settled in various locales, some more
special to her than others. Later in life, her reputation preceded her, and she
never traveled to any place where her presence was not remembered, and did
not become part of local legend. She had no intention of that, it just happened. Much
of her life and adventures are conjecture, products of the imagination, and the subject
of dime novels of the day. Whatever you choose to believe however, this we know
for sure Martha was born May 1, 1852 in Princeton, Missouri. She was the oldest of six
children born to Robert and Charlotte.
Harriet Chalmers
H
arriet Chalmers was born on October
22, 1875 in Stockton, California. Harriet’s
family owned Chalmers Brothers Dry
Goods and Carpets in Stockton.
Harriet inherited a love of reading from her
mother and her passion of exploration from her
father. “Our summers were spent in the saddle.”
At the age of eight, she and her father traveled
through California. “That journey made me over.
From a domestic little girl to one who wished to
go to the ends of the earth and to see and study
the people of all lands.”
Their travels included riding horseback from
the Oregon border to the Mexican border! This
exploration seasoned Harriet as an equestrian
and explorer.
On October 5, 1899, Harriet married Frank
Adams. As a surveyor, Frank’s profession provided opportunities to travel. Expeditions quenched
her desire to learn in all fields of the outdoors,
including archaeology and photography. She
kept journals that would eventually be used as
aides for the articles and books that she would
write. Her writings would captivate the culture of
each country.
In March 1904, sailing the open seas to South
America took Harriet and Frank to La Paz,
Bolivia where very few “outsiders” had experienced. Their journey included riding the second
highest railroad in the world to Lake Titicaca-the
highest lake in the world!
Harriet Chalmers Adams has been recognized as
America’s greatest woman explorer. From 19071935, accounts of her journeys were published
in over 20 articles of the National Geographic
Magazine. Ironically, as a woman, she could not
become a member of the National Geographic
Society. Her adventures, in the treacherous terrain of the world, included 40,000 of South
America. Realizing the importance for women
to have professional guidance and knowledge,
she helped to launch the Society of Women
Geographers in 1925; she served as the Society’s
first president.
Harriet died July 17, 1937.
Accept No Limits | outdoorwomenunlimited.org
At age 13, the family journeyed by wagon train from Missouri to Virginia City, Montana,
a trip that saw the death of her mother in Blackfoot, Montana. The family decided to
settle in Salt Lake City, Utah until her father died there in 1867. Now being the head of
the family at age 15, Martha took the family to Fort Bridger, Wyoming. To back-up a bit,
Martha herself writes about the family’s travels to Montana when she was 13: “While on
the way, the greater portion of my time was spent hunting along with men and hunters
of the party. In fact, I was at all times with the men when there was excitement and
adventure to be had. I was considered a remarkable good shot and a fearless rider for
a girl my age.”
In 1870 she joined General George Armstrong Custer as a scout and went to Arizona
for the “Indian Campaign.” It is at that time that she began wearing men’s clothing saying, “up to that time, I had always worn the costume of
my sex. When I joined Custer, I donned the uniform
of a soldier. It was bit awkward at first, but I soon got
to be perfectly at home in men’s clothes.”
Always seeking adventure, Martha began to wander into James Butler Hickok in Wyoming. Taking
advantage of her riding ability, she worked in that
area as a Pony Express rider between Deadwood
and Custer.
After Hickok’s death, Martha worked as a
stage driver, inn keeper, and a nurse to
sick cowboys, wagon train driver and just
anything you wouldn’t expect a woman
to do.
In 1885, she married and had one
daughter. Martha kept a hotel in
Boulder, Colorado and moved back
to Deadwood in 1895. Her reputation
preceded her arrival, and she was met by
a throng of townspeople who were exuberant about the prospect of meeting her.
As the West changed, Martha struggled to keep
up. It was the people’s loss, not hers. On August
1, 1903, she passed away. All attested to the fact
that her last words were: “bury me beside Wild
Bill (Hickok), the only man I ever loved.” As so she
was. Martha Jane Canary, a.k.a. “Calamity Jane” never