Essays

Dozens of anecdotes about the early days of Montana are available to us from historical sources. I wove those anecdotes into my story, "Calamity Jane: How the West Began" as often as possible.  One of my favorite anecdotes is the account of a trial in Alder, from Langford’s "Vigilante Days and Ways" (pp. 208-210): “A miner’s court for the trial of a civil case was in session the following morning near the bank of the creek fronting the town.  To the observation of a person unaccustomed to … [Read more...] about A Trial on the Montana Frontier- the Nonsuit Backstory

(Spoiler alert- do not read this prior to reading “Calamity Jane- How the West Began”) What set of circumstances and innate personality traits made Henry Plummer who he was?  How could a man’s outward persona be so the opposite of who he really was?  Seeming so refined and civilized; how was it that he turned to a life of crime, and the leader of the outlaws at that?  Men who knew him and wrote of him all puzzled over this question.  Calamity herself asks him this question in my story, and … [Read more...] about Henry Plummer- A Most Enigmatic Individual

There were men who traveled to mining camps primarily to experience the atmosphere of it all.  This was a phenomenon well enough known that there was a term for it- “going to see the elephant” (Dick Pace’s "Golden Gulch," p.25).  My favorite source describing the circus-like atmosphere in frontier Montana is "The Exploits of Ben Arnold," edited by Lewis F. Crawford (p. 91).  Mr. Arnold (his real name was Benjamin M. Connor; the alias was because he deserted from the army) was not himself one of … [Read more...] about “Going to See the Elephant” in Frontier Montana

The first chronicler of frontier Montana was Professor Thomas Dimsdale, the local schoolteacher.  In his book, "The Vigilantes of Montana," he wrote that one of the root causes of the violence at this time was the lack of women (p. 8): “The absence of good female society, in any due proportion to the numbers of the opposite sex, is likewise an evil of great magnitude; for men become rough, stern and cruel, to a surprising degree, under such a state of things.” A reasonable estimation of … [Read more...] about Female Companionship and the Scarcity Thereof

Doctor Glick did indeed have a dog, a fact we know from a passage from the book "Ghost Towns of Montana," by Donald C. Miller (pp. 155-156), who references The Hardin Tribune Herald, September 19, 1930, when he writes: “Plummer’s body was thrown into a pit which already contained the remains of George Ives.  Then, through the efforts of Dr. John (sic) Glick of Bannack, Plummer’s remains were partially exhumed.  The physician had treated the sheriff at gunpoint, for a bullet wound.  The … [Read more...] about Doctor Glick’s Dog, or an Alternate Ending to “Calamity Jane- How the West Began”

Of all the individuals involved in the historical events that are the basis of "Calamity Jane- How the West Began," Dr. Jerome Glick may have been the most controversial.   Plummer is controversial today, but his character wasn’t much argued back then.  Glick is not much noted today, but his character was controversial in his own time, at least in his younger years. The most detailed description of Dr. Glick comes from Langford in "Vigilante Days and Ways," (pp. 157-161).  In the first couple … [Read more...] about Doctor Glick: from the Words of his Champions and Detractors

Could there have been a Chinese Mason as depicted by Lo in my story "Calamity Jane: How the West Began"?  To answer that, let’s first outline the Chinese community in the Montana Goldfields.  The following is from "Montana Pay Dirt" by Muriel Sibell Wolle (p.38): “Virginia City, like other western camps, had its Chinese population.  It was fortunate for the prospectors that the Orientals, most of whom had drifted east from California, followed the stampede to the gulch as soon as they did, … [Read more...] about Chinese Masons in Frontier Montana

In 1860’s frontier Montana, a good horse could make the difference between life and death when its rider needed to outrun bullets or arrows.  Combine the great value of a good horse with the gambling nature of the populace in general, and one can see why horse racing was a frequent pastime.  Langford, in "Vigilante Days and Ways" (p. 296) gives us a vivid example of the great proclivity men had to horse racing. While the arresting party was escorting the outlaw Ives back to town for trial in … [Read more...] about Calamity Jane’s Horse

The inspiration for the character of Cecil Jones in "Calamity Jane- How the West Began" is a single sentence in Nathaniel Langford’s "Vigilante Days and Ways" (p. 362).  The setting is the ominous preparation for Sheriff Plummer’s execution: “A negro boy came up to the gallows with ropes before the arrival of the cavalcade.” Perhaps this was a youngster being referred to, but as most readers know, it would have been common for an African American man to be referred to as a “boy” in years … [Read more...] about African Americans in Frontier Montana

My historical fiction Calamity Jane- How the West Began, includes a minor character, Ben Ezekial, a Jewish Mason and vigilante.  Jews as Masons?  Sure.  Jews as Vigilantes in frontier Montana?  That might take some explaining.  First, some background from A guide to Historic Virginia City, by Marilyn Grant, (pp. 14-16). “Among the early merchants in western mining towns were European Jews, many from Prussia, Bavria, and Poland, who had immigrated to California during the 1848 gold rush.  They … [Read more...] about A Vigilante of the Jewish Persuasion