Back in Time Today
The American Wild West wasn’t just a man’s world. While history books often focus on male outlaws and gunslingers, women carved their own notorious legends across the frontier.
These fearless females defied Victorian expectations, wielding pistols, robbing stagecoaches, and outshooting the toughest men around.
Their stories reveal a different side of frontier life—one where women weren’t just surviving but thriving through grit, gunpowder, and pure nerve.
1. Belle Starr – “The Bandit Queen”
Born Myra Belle Shirley, this notorious outlaw earned her crown through ruthless ambition. She rode with the James-Younger gang, married multiple outlaws, and masterminded countless robberies across Indian Territory.
Her signature velvet riding habits and plumed hats contrasted with the six-shooter always strapped to her hip. Federal marshals chased her for years before she met her end—shot in the back while riding home, her killer never identified.
2. Calamity Jane – The Tough-as-Nails Frontierswoman
Martha Jane Cannary spit tobacco, cursed like a sailor, and could outdrink most men in Deadwood. Her buckskin clothes and unladylike habits scandalized proper society, but her shooting skills earned respect in military scouting missions.
Newspapers eagerly published tales of her adventures—some true, many exaggerated by Jane herself. Her friendship with Wild Bill Hickok became legendary, though her claim they were lovers was likely another of her colorful embellishments.
3. Pearl Hart – The Stagecoach Robber
This Canadian-born outlaw made history as one of the last stagecoach bandits in America. Disguised in men’s clothing with her hair tucked under her hat, Pearl and an accomplice held up a coach in Arizona Territory in 1899.
Her audacious defense at trial—claiming poverty drove her to crime—briefly won public sympathy. Reporters flocked to her cell where she posed for photographs and gave interviews. Her fame didn’t prevent prison time, though President McKinley eventually pardoned her.
4. Laura Bullion – The “Rose of the Wild Bunch”
“The Thorny Rose” earned her criminal credentials riding with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Half-Native American and raised around outlaws, she possessed natural talent for forgery and disguise.
Laura dressed as a man during train robberies, helping the gang steal thousands in cash and bonds. When finally captured in 1901, newspapers marveled at the attractive young woman whose hotel room contained $8,500 in stolen bank notes.
5. Big Nose Kate – Doc Holliday’s Loyal (and Fierce) Lover
Hungarian-born Mary Katherine Horony escaped a foster home at 16, working in brothels before meeting her infamous lover. Their relationship was explosively volatile—fueled by whiskey, gambling debts, and Kate’s fierce independence.
When Doc landed in jail in Fort Griffin, Texas, Kate torched a building as distraction and smuggled him a gun for escape. She witnessed the O.K. Corral gunfight and stood by Doc until near his death, proving herself as dangerous as any outlaw through sheer determination.
6. Annie Oakley – Sharpshooter Extraordinaire
Five-foot-tall Annie could split playing cards edge-on at 90 feet. Born Phoebe Ann Moses, she supported her impoverished family by hunting game, developing uncanny accuracy that later astonished audiences worldwide.
Her most famous trick? Shooting backward using only a mirror for aim. Though petite and proper in Victorian dress, she outshot military marksmen and celebrities alike.
Even German Kaiser Wilhelm II trusted her aim enough to let her shoot a cigarette from his lips—years later, she quipped she might have prevented World War I had she missed.
7. Cattle Kate – Lynched for Defying the Ranching Elite
Ellen Watson’s only crime was succeeding in a man’s world. This young homesteader legally claimed Wyoming land under the Homestead Act and built a small cattle operation—threatening wealthy ranchers who controlled the territory.
Powerful cattlemen spread rumors she traded sexual favors for stolen cattle. On July 20, 1889, a mob dragged Ellen and her husband from their home and hanged them from a riverside tree.
Her death revealed the brutal lengths men would go to prevent women from gaining economic independence on the frontier.
8. Mary Fields – “Stagecoach Mary”
Six feet tall and two hundred pounds, this former slave became the first Black woman mail carrier in America. Mary delivered mail through Montana wilderness for eight years, never missing a day despite blizzards, wolves, or bandits.
Her reputation for toughness was well-earned. When her stagecoach horses couldn’t proceed through snowdrifts, she abandoned the coach and carried mail sacks on her shoulders for miles.
Local saloons exempted her from women-exclusion policies, respecting both her deadly aim and her habit of settling arguments with her fists.
9. Lillian Smith – Annie Oakley’s Wild Rival
While Annie Oakley embodied Victorian propriety, teenage Lillian Smith flaunted convention with flashy clothes and boastful claims. Joining Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show at just fifteen, she quickly became Annie’s professional nemesis.
Billed as “The California Girl,” Lillian could hit dimes tossed in midair and outshoot many male competitors. Buffalo Bill cleverly scheduled the women’s acts far apart to minimize their intense rivalry.
Her brash personality eventually cost her fame, but for years she dominated shooting competitions with remarkable precision.
10. Rose Dunn – “The Rose of Cimarron”
Raised by outlaw brothers who taught her to ride, shoot, and survive in Indian Territory, Rose fell in love with notorious bandit George “Bitter Creek” Newcomb at just 15. Their romance became frontier legend when she reportedly saved him during a gunfight with U.S. marshals.
While Newcomb lay wounded, Rose grabbed rifles from fallen men and provided covering fire as he escaped. Her beauty and loyalty made her famous, though ironically, her brothers later betrayed and killed Newcomb for reward money.