Butch Cassidy (1900)
Continuing with the Old West mythology we have Robert LeRoy Parker (1866 – 1908), who most of us know as Butch Cassidy. This was a truly romantic outlaw, whose tales are somewhat taller than his true stature. John D. Barton from the Utah State University had this to share, “Operating around the turn of the century, Cassidy and his partners put together the longest sequence of successful bank and train robberies in the history of the American West.”Here we have Cassidy happily joined by his “Wild Buch” in the iconic Fort Worth Five picture. John Swartz snapped this scene in 1900 at his Fort Worth, TX, studio. Cassidy was the leader of Tall Texan, Laura Bullion, Kid Curry, Elzy Lay, the Sundance Kid, Bob Meeks, and News Carver.
Butch Cassidy
Calamity Jane (1901)
Better known as Calamity Jane, you cannot discuss the frontierswoman experience without mentioning Martha Jane Cannary (1852 – 1903), being a lauded member of the Wild West Hall of Fame. Here we have Jane pictured in her last days, during 1901, seated within her Livingston, MT kitchen. History described Calamity Jane as the kind of character whose many fables make knowing her real-life difficult to establish. Cannary, as mentioned in her colorful tale, worked at Fort Bridger washing dishes, labored under Union Pacific, served General Custer as a scout, and even spent some time as a teamster. While such details must be taken with a pinch of salt, she was certainly a phenomenal performer and intrepid traveler who led a struggle-filled existence.
Calamity Jane
