1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: In the tumultuous era of the Russian Revolution, a battalion 7 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: emerged from the shadows, capturing the imagination of all who 8 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: bore witness to their indomitable spirit. They were an awe 9 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: inspiring force, feared by their adversaries and revered by their comrades. 10 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: Led by a commander of legendary reputation, they etched their 11 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: mark upon the annals of World War One. Clad in 12 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: uniforms that spoke of discipline and strength, they exuded an 13 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: air of confidence that permeated the world around them. Their 14 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: helmets gleamed beneath the sun, reflecting their relentless determination. These 15 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: soldiers possessed a resolute gaze, eyes piercing through the fog 16 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: of war with unwavering focus. With each step, their boots 17 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: resounded with purpose, the sound echoing through the battlefields as 18 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: a testament to their steadfast resolve. Their presence alone struck 19 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: fear into the hearts of their enemies. They were a 20 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: force to be reckoned with, unmatched in their bravery and 21 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: unparalleled in their skill. Yet it was not just their 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: ferocity and combat prowess that set them apart. Within their ranks, 23 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: a bond stronger than steel bound them together. Comradeship flowed 24 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: through their veins, serving as a lifeline amidst the chaos 25 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: of war. In the darkest moments, they found solace in 26 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: each other's unwavering support, lending a helping hand or a 27 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: comforting word when the weight of the world threatened to 28 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: crush their spirits. One name stood out among the rest, 29 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: whispered in hushed reverence by both allies and foes alike. 30 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: Butch Karova. This revered commander led a fierce battalion with 31 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,679 Speaker 1: an iron will. Every decision was guided by a clarity 32 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: of purpose that demanded respect. It ignited a fire within 33 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: the warriors, fueling their valor in the face of insurmountable odds. 34 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: Such respect and leadership hadn't always been granted to the 35 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: commander As a soldier in the early days, Butch Karova 36 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: had been mocked and harassed, but in nineteen seventeen, during 37 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: World War One, something happened to change the young soldier's course. 38 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: As the war continued and the fighting dragged on, many 39 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: soldiers on the Eastern Front abandoned their posts. Butch Karova 40 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: proposed a solution to the Minister of War, Alexander Kerensky. 41 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: The minister listened intently and agreed to fund the Battalion 42 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: of Death. The decision had been an easy one for 43 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: the soldier. In a later memoir, Butchkarova wrote, my heart 44 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: yearned to be there in the boiling call of war, 45 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: to be baptized in its fire and scorched in its lava. 46 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: And so began the select recruitment and training of some 47 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: of the most determined soldiers in Russia. Nearly two thousand 48 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: answered the call for recruits, only five hundred were selected. 49 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: Residents far and wide gathered to watch the battalion board 50 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: trains to the Eastern Front. Before long, the battalion captured 51 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: the attention of world leaders, journalists, and activists. Butch Karova 52 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: met with England's King George and US President Woodrow Wilson. 53 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt shared some of his nobel Peace Prize money 54 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: with the commander. But it wasn't until the smoke cleared 55 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: and the battlefield fell silent that the truth was unveiled. 56 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: As the world marveled at the gallantry of this extraordinary battalion, 57 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: they discovered a revelation that shattered their preconceived notions. Butch Keova, 58 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: you see, had once been a peasant who had fled 59 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: an abusive marriage to a violent alcoholic. The commander of 60 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: the Battalion of Death was a woman. But that wasn't 61 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: all hidden. Beneath the armor and determined gazes of Maria 62 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: butch Kova's Battalion of Death, the soldiers all shared something 63 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: in common. While the men had fled their posts, it 64 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,119 Speaker 1: had been the women who had taken up the call 65 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: on the Eastern Front, an act that was both courageous 66 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: and curious. Everyone has at least one thing they're good at. 67 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: One person might be an excellent piano player, while another 68 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:42,839 Speaker 1: could be a skilled painter. It could take time to 69 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: figure out what a person's talent might be, but eventually 70 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: everyone figures out that they have a skill that's all 71 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: their own. Like Helen Gibson. Helen was really good at 72 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: risking her life. She was born Rose August Wenger in Cleveland, Ohio, 73 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety two to fred Annie Wanger. With four 74 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 1: other sisters in the family. Her father had hoped that 75 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,840 Speaker 1: he'd have at least one boy, but when Helen arrived, 76 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: he pushed her to be the son that he'd always wanted. 77 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: She got her first taste of danger when she was 78 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: seventeen years old. She'd attended a Wild West show that 79 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: had come to Cleveland, which had enthralled her with all 80 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: the roping and horseback riding the performers demonstrated. But it 81 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: was while reading a copy of Billboard magazine when she 82 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: noticed an ad looking for female writers to audition for 83 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: a ranch in Oklahoma. Helen answered the call, and one 84 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: year later she debuted at her first Wild West show 85 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: in Saint Louis, Missouri. Unfortunately, her employment with the ranch 86 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,359 Speaker 1: didn't last long. The show closed down in nineteen eleven 87 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: while its performers were still in California. But Helen wasn't 88 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: out of work for long. She found a new job 89 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,919 Speaker 1: in Hollywood, where she rode horses as an extra in 90 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: Western Pictures, her first on screen appearance. If You're curious 91 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: was in a nineteen twelve silent film called ranch Girls 92 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 1: on a Rampage. Tinseltown was also where she met her 93 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: future husband, Edmund Hoot Gibson, and by nineteen thirteen the 94 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 1: pair were performing in rodeos across the Western US, and 95 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: these weren't just shows, they were contests too. They swept 96 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: one rodeo in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they took 97 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: home the prizes for trick riding and won all the 98 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,600 Speaker 1: races that there were. But this wasn't just a hobby. 99 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: Helen's true career was back in Hollywood. Western films were 100 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: getting more dangerous and daring, putting Helen in high demand. 101 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: Around nineteen fifteen, Gibson took over as the lead for 102 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: a long running serial called The Hazards of Helen, named 103 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: for its star Helen Holmes. But during the middle of 104 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: the series, Holmes fell ill and Gibson stepped in as 105 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: a substitute for two films. Gibson took home thirty five 106 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: dollars a week. The bosses back in New York liked her. 107 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,919 Speaker 1: She was rough and tumble, and her stunts looked great 108 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: on screen. One film had her grabbing hold of a 109 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: rope dangling from a bridge as she stood atop a 110 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: pack of running horses, then used that rope to swing 111 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: onto a passing train. Impressed with her capabilities, the studio 112 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: decided to keep her for the remaining sixty nine episodes 113 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: of the serial run, which concluded in February of nineteen seventeen. 114 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: This led to another series, The Daughters of Daring, with 115 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: Gibson back in the saddle. For one of her most 116 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: dangerous stunts ever captured on film, Helen had to ride 117 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: a motorcycle through a wooden barricade while pursuing a runaway train. 118 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: She then steered that motorcycle up to the station platform, 119 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: threw a box car of one train, and onto the 120 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: flat car of another passing train. It was the kind 121 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: of stunt that required expert timing and a lot of skill, 122 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: and Helen nailed it. Eventually, the studio was sold to 123 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: another production company called Vitagraph, at which point Helen jumpship 124 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: to Universal for three years, making one hundred and twenty 125 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: five dollars a week. After her contract was up there, 126 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: she went to Capitol Film Company for more than double 127 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: her rate, although that didn't last long. Capital went belly 128 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: up in May of nineteen twenty. That year, she created 129 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: her own production company called Helen Gibson Productions, but its 130 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: first picture practically bankrupt her. She was forced to go 131 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: back to contract work, although this time she earned a 132 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:18,559 Speaker 1: substantial increase to four hundred and fifty dollars a week. 133 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: And then her career took a hard left turn. A 134 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: ruptured appendix put Helen in the hospital for weeks, during 135 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: which time she was replaced with another actress. Once she 136 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: finally recovered, she got back to work, but injured herself 137 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: bad enough to wind up right back in the hospital. 138 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: She had to sell a good deal of her jewelry 139 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: and personal assets just to stay afloat. But Helen Gibson 140 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: never stopped working. She continued to perform in rodeos and 141 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 1: circus shows for a number of years after that, and 142 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: she appeared in films until her retirement at the age 143 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: of sixty nine. Her last film was the nineteen sixty 144 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: one western classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, starring 145 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: John Wayne. Helen Gibson was a trail some might even 146 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: say that literally, and the work she did gave women 147 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: a leg up in Hollywood. But she wasn't just a 148 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: silent film star. She was America's first professional Hollywood stunt woman. 149 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 150 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 151 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 152 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 153 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 154 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 155 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 156 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 1: Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.