The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-31
"CALAMITY JANE"
ONE OF THE MOST DAREDEVIL.
WOMEN IN THE WEST.

Iut She Possessed "a Womnn's Heart
and DIR. Hancher Tells How the
ing WOmanIy Deed.
From the Kansas City journal
Every small boy in America for two
generations past has read of the daring
exploits of Calamity Jane" the story of
whose early life historians have printed
on yellow paper and sold at a price within
reach of everybody's poclketbook. Until
late years, few people have known much
of the geography of the Black Hills of
South Dakota, except those portions de-
scriptions of which were necessary TO a
proper portrayal of the deeds in which
Calamity Jane figured.
This heroine of many an encounter with
redskins in the wild and woolly West,
who won her way into the hearts of Young
America by stalking about the plains with
a brace of revolvers strapped about her
waist, Summed the usual articles of wom-
ans attire as the average representative
of her six does a serpent and found the
kind of garments sold in the mems de-
partment of furnishing goods emporiums
indispensable to her business. When it
came to bringing down a savage at long
range she had all the men in the Black
Hills bested, and neither Buffalo Bill nor
any Texas cowboy could come within sew
eral blocks of her in managing a bucking
broncho or breaking a wild colt.
In the days when she was in her glory
Calamity Jane" was the most daring kind
of a desperate, and held up stage coaches
with as little fear as the ordinary Jack
son county train robber shows in footing
a mail car, Jane was of the devil, devilish
and herein lies her exceeding great popu-
larity with the young schoolboy who
sneaks behind the barn to read such works
of literature as do not occupy conspicu-
Gus places on the shelves of his fathers
| library.
There seemed in her character as little
of the true woman as in her appearance,
rugged out as she was In the cowboys cos
/ tune 1t would have required the most
! clever work of the late "Old Sleuth" to
! detect any Of the finer gTaces. which make
| woman a being TO beloved, in this daugh-
ter of the bad, bad West These were IN
| the days of long ago.
But as civilization has advanced, mar
/
people and the institutions of the West.
calamity Jane" is Calamity Jane" only
| in history now From a wild, daring She
| devil, she has dwindled down to a plain,
/ ordinary everyday woman, with nothing
more in her present life TO attract atten-
ton or excite comment than is contained
in the average individual of the common
+ herd of humanity. But it remained for a
minister 10 discover and break this news
| TO the world.
Rev. Dr. j. W. Hancher, pastor of the
Grand Avenue Methodist Episcopal
| Church. spent seven years in the famous
time he was president OF a Methodist col
lege and his work gave him peculiar OPP
/ portunities for studying the character and
traits OF the people living thereabouts.
As a result he has a fund Of stories
| which he occasionally relates 10 his
| friends and which depict Interestingly the
! true traits Of the people with whom ne
was thrown in contact
Not the least Interesting Of the tales
related by Dr. Hancher has Calamity
! Jane" for its heroine. This story shows
/ her IN another tight ana exhibits the true
womaniy traits which She possessed.
Here 81 the true tale Dr. Hauchor re-
/ i3tos.
Calamity Jane" as is wen known. al
/ way dr s.sd ln masculine attire ana cut
I Wardly gave no evidence ~ the possession
] of che grace common 40 Womankind. She
/ always was one of the boys No dayillsh
] rrhemc could he c0ncocted without scr ns.
I distance and ehr always was an enthuslss-
I Ne participant ln nl ihe rough experiences
I Whi,h edo mon ~ the territory enjoyed
/ 1870 people diaB't know Calamity Jane
zone eaf yfHa ago there was . despair