The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-08-04
"cALAMlTY JANE" PITCHES HER
FINAL CAMP.
HEROINE OF FICTION
Made Famous by NoveIists Who Took
Advantage Of Her Startling
Nick Name.

At last she is dead, Calamity Jane"
she Of the checKered career and un-
limited fondness for whisky, with a
mans ability to drink it.
She died at Terry, a mining camp in
the Black Hills, last Saturday. In
fammation Of the bowels killed her.
To some, perhaps it may come as
a surprise that death finally found
Jane and concluded to take her with
him, for many had begun to think
that she was destined to live forever,
a belief that the old girl herself ap-
parently. shared in and lived accord
ingly. To her there was no future.
She thought only of the present with
it's round OF what she was pleased
to designate and regard as pleasure,
and gave no heed to the morrow. So
long as there was whisky to be had,
a place in which she could stretch
her frame when nature demanded a
little rest and sleep and a few pieces
of clothing to cover her nakedness,
and Jane was as happy as any queen
that was ever surrounded by vassals
and slaves ready to do her every beck
and nod. In respect to life and the
things that go to MAKE it endurable
she was blessed with an optimism
that was really enviable. In her way
of philosophizing she reasoned that
life had come to her without her wish
es having been consulted and having
been thrust upon her, she did not per-
nit herself to worry or ponder as
to it's application. All she knew or
cared for was that she was alive. That
was enough for her to know. If others
were foolish enough to trouble their
minds with what they termed prob
lens and burden their brains with
vain speculation as to t)he future,
so much the worse for them. She
had NJ time or inclination for such
matters. The present suited her we'll
enough and the power that had given
her life and reason would have to
care for the unknown and look out
for the future.
Calamity" was eminently material
istic in all things. That was her ma
ture, and environment only intensified
and strengthened what nature had be-
slowed. Perhaps, she sometimes
thought she had a soul, but if she did
nobody knew it for she was not given
to talking of things. spiritual and
her knowledge of a deity was never
expressed, except when she delivered
herself of a string OF profanity. Then
her vocabulary was astonishing and
limited only by the number of deities
contained in her calendar, which, as
those know who have heard her on
such occasions, seemed to be as limit
less as the number of gods worship
ped by the ancients. One of James
few accomplishments was her power
as an ornate and picturesque user of
curses. Not only vas she mistress of
every accepted term of profanity, but
as an originator and improvisor she
probably had no equal, even among
the hardened sinners who were her
constant companions.
Name Gave Fame.
Calamity Jane" was one of those
persons who have fame, or at least
notoriety, thrust upon them. Had it
o been for the fact that fighting,
old, Mike Egan of the First cavalry
dubbed her by the name by which
she was best known, it is very likely
that outside of a few mining camps,
military posts and frontier towns she
would never have been heard of. That
name was SO startling, SO original
that it was bound to become known