The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-09-12
FOR Relief
OF CALAMITY
MOVE TO PUT JANE ON PENSION
LIST.
MUST CUT OUT WHIsktY
A Provision That viii Probably BE
Resisted by the Old
Girl.

Poor old Calamity Jane is in the
public eye one more-this time in an
entirely new role. II the efforts Of
q prominent citizen of eastern Mon
tana are successful, the pension rolls
Of Uncle Sam in Washington will oon
bear the name Of the historic char
acter who has left her name in many
Of the stirring chapters Of the states
history and on the pages Of many Of
the police blotters Of the jails.
IF you know Calamity, you'll sign
this said the man in the lobby Of
the Ffnlen last night. IF you have
any doubt about the. number and i'm
portance of the old lady'ss friends,
just cast your eye down the line"
Then he showed the petition which
is being circulated for the relief Of
Montana's most notorious woman. On
ii appeared the names OF many men Of
influence and wealth, many who had
known Calamity in her palmy days,
says the Butte Inter Mountain. Form
er governors, cattle kings and mining
magnates had all subscribed to the
paper asking the government to con-
tribute to the support Of Calamity as
a scout and valued aide to the govern
ment in the days when men woke in
the morning and un~consciously ran
their fingers through their hair to
see IL they had lost their scalps in the
night.
ut is pitiable to see the old girl
now on enc of her twisters.' said the
man. she has worn ragged holes
in her credit in every saloon from
G1efdive to Kalispell and she is often
in sore straits for food. don't think
she will suffer long when We get this
petition prepared, however, for she
has friends in the nations capital az
well as in Montana.
Cannot Buy Liquor.
las you can see from the provision
of the petition, the pension will be
granted on certain conditions, SO thai
Calamity will not be able to dispose
of the money for red liquor. She viii
have a guardian just as if she were
a child, and will be given a portion O
the money only at such times as SHE
is in actual want and when she guar
antees that she will not spend it owe
the bar treating every sheep herdel
she meets.
Several attempts have been made
by philanthropic persons to get Calam
ity to go into some home where she
would be provided for and where sht
would be safe from the snare of thu
tempter, but you might as we'll try tt
make a pet out of a timber wolf. Sht
has been foot-loose all her life, ant
the quickest way to break her hear
would be to take away her. peculia
and eccentric ideas of liberty.
Calamity has not yet recovered
from the effects of her experience
with philanthropists. About tw'
years ago a woman won her heart an,
whatever apology for affections sh'
has, and induced her to go east witt
hes to a better life, where there wa
more civilization and less cactus an
barbed wire. When she got the poo
old woman back there, she opened u
a dime museum and exhibited Calam
ity for 10 cents a throw.
zone day the old girl tired of thi
form of amusement and bidding tn
museum a summary farewell, arrive
in Billings n day with a sad stor
and an unquenchable thirst"
Many Of Rutte's well known cit
zens are signing the petition which
destined ito put Calamity Jane hig
and dry beyond the pangs of penur!