WEBVTT - The Wild West 10: Women’s Work 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:10.080 She looked quite impressive considering the world that she lived in. 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:13.160 In an eighteen sixty five photo of her, Pauline Cushman 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:15.440 looks like a lot of other women of her day, 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:19.120 wearing a military style outfit to show support for their 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.239 particular side of the Civil War. But while most were 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:26.880 unofficial copies, Pauline wore the real deal because she was 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:30.680 a Union spy. Her real name had been Harriet Wood, 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:33.519 but at seventeen she changed it when she moved to 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:37.000 New York City to pursue acting. There, she met her husband, 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:40.760 Charles Dickinson, in eighteen fifty three, and the couple had 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:45.200 two children together. Unfortunately, her husband died in eighteen sixty two, 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:47.960 and Pauline left her children with her in laws while 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:51.519 she continued her career. While performing a play at the 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:55.640 Woods Theater in April of eighteen sixty three, Confederate officers 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:58.240 paid her three hundred and fifty dollars to make a 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:02.360 toast to the Confederacy during themance. So Pauline approached a 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:06.399 Union officer named Colonel Orlando Hurley Moore and asked what 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.399 she should do. Surprisingly, he told her to accept the 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:12.320 offer and then report to his office the next day, 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:15.560 her toast brought the house down, but it also cost 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:18.920 Pauline her job. She reported to Moore's office, though, and 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:22.880 soon accepted a new position as a Union spy. In 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.200 the summer of eighteen sixty three, she left on an 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:28.840 assignment to Nashville, Tennessee. There, she pretended to search for 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:33.080 a missing brother in Confederate camps. Of course, the real 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:36.640 goal was to determine each camp's size, fortifications, and what 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:39.880 sort of supplies they had. Every visit required her to 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:43.600 recall the information by memory, since taking notes would get 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:47.920 her cut. At one camp, though, she came across fortification maps. 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:52.000 Realizing their importance, she tucked them into her boots. But 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.880 her frequent trips across Union lines had raised suspicions, and 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:59.800 Confederate officers stopped her. Naturally, they found the maps and 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:03.240 promptly arrested her. Soon afterward, they found her guilty of 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:07.760 spine and sentenced her to hang, but Pauline fell ill, 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:11.320 and as luck would have it, the Union soon captured Shelbyville, 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:15.480 forcing the Confederates to flee and leaving her behind. She 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.240 briefed her superiors before retiring from the spy business, and 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:22.519 many years later. After her death in eighteen ninety three, 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:25.720 she was given a full military burial in the Officer's 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:29.799 Circle in the San Francisco National Cemetery. It's a powerful 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:33.640 story of one woman doing work that sat far outside 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.160 the expected norm for her day. But Pauline's story, as 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:40.800 surprising as it might be, was not unique because the 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:46.400 West you see wasn't just a man's world. I'm Aaron 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:59.720 Mankee and welcome to the wild West. Remember the ladies. 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.680 Those were the words that Abigail Adams wrote to her 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:06.239 husband on March thirty first of seventeen seventy six. It 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:11.080 was before the Constitutional Convention. Unfortunately, John Adams ignored his 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:15.359 wife's request. Back then, women were often seen as subservient. 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:18.520 We've touched on this before. Women had little to know 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:22.000 rights when it came to owning property, making contracts, or 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:25.800 working in a male dominated job. Men controlled the household 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:29.440 and the money. Without support from fathers, husbands, or other 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:33.680 men in the family, earning a living was difficult to make. 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:37.400 Matters worse, women were not usually granted the same educational 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:41.720 opportunities as men. For perspective, only about two percent of 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:45.000 those aged eighteen to twenty four went on to college, 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.280 and just one third of those were women. By the 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:51.840 eighteen thirties and eighteen forties, though things began to change. 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.800 Equal rights, equal pay, custody, divorce, and property rights all 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:00.200 came under fire. In eighteen thirty seven, an activist name 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:04.360 Sarah Grimkey wrote, men and women were created equal. Whatever 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:07.200 is right for men to do is right for women. 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:11.120 Men push back, but they weren't the only ones. Ladies 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:15.280 with traditional roles believe that for them politics were improper. 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:19.159 As incredible as it sounds, some claimed that voting would 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:22.640 cause women to grow beards. Imagine their surprise when this 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:27.000 didn't happen in eighteen ninety six when Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:30.920 and Utah allowed them the right to vote. The popularity 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:34.240 of women's clubs fighting for equality continued to rise in 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:38.400 the US. Advocates push for child labor laws, unions for women, 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:42.200 and prohibition, and the number of women employed grew from 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:45.719 about two point six million to around seven point eight million. 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:49.679 Most found employment in the domestic servant sector, and sadly, 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.520 men continued to earn more from those same jobs. But 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:55.920 as more and more factories went up around the country, 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:59.640 the need came from more workers, including men, women, and children. 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:04.000 Just imagine the long hours, the unsafe conditions, and repetitive 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:07.240 tasks day in and out for barely enough to survive on. 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:11.479 Most factory workers were immigrants. The largest employers for women 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:15.520 and children were textile mills. Given the bleak conditions, though, 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:19.080 word of open land and opportunities in the West lured 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:23.240 more than just men. Opportunities to own land, to run businesses, 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:26.560 and a chance to gain their independence looked pretty good 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:28.640 to a lot of women, and when the men began 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:32.680 moving west, so did the ladies. During the late eighteen hundreds, 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:35.839 slightly over ten percent of homestead grants in North Dakota 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:39.160 and Wyoming were awarded to women who moved westward. By 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:42.560 the early eighteen hundreds, this number had almost doubled. But 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:46.720 opportunity did not mean an easy life. Working farms and 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:50.320 ranches was difficult in the Western Frontier. Supplies were hard 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:53.559 to come by, neighbors were sometimes a great distance away. 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:57.760 Add in droughts and locust plagues, all while raising a family, 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:00.680 and it's easy to see how depression set in for many. 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:05.440 Life in relatively uncharted territory came with other problems too. 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:10.040 A harsh life led to accidents, deaths, and bankruptcies. When 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:13.320 it came to women suffering from depression and anxiety, they 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:17.919 called it shackwacky. Still, considering their choices in cities back East, 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:22.240 freedom and opportunity made it worthwhile. Stories of success gave 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:25.320 them hope. Sure, most of the available jobs were in 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.440 shops or small hotels, but there were other ways to 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:31.480 earn a living. A woman called poker Alice earn her 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:35.280 fortune you guessed it, playing poker. Ellen Jack became a 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.919 successful prospector in areas where other men had failed, and 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:41.919 on the rodeo circuit, Bonnie McCarroll made a name for 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:46.200 herself as a star. Women were realizing that the possibilities 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:50.400 were endless. All it took was some imagination and a 0:06:50.440 --> 0:07:00.400 whole lot of grit. Marketing is often a lie. Despite 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:03.400 narratives depicting a frontier full of promise to those willing 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:07.040 to work the land, there was a harsher reality. Opportunities 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:10.520 were scarce for women, especially for those of Chinese, Native 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:15.320 American and African descent. Impover's families in China found themselves 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:18.440 compelled to sell their daughters. These women arrived in San 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:21.800 Francisco and were quickly trapped in the dreary confines of 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:26.160 laundries and saloons in the unforgiving mining camps scattered across 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:30.360 California and the Rocky Mountains. They toiled away in filthy conditions, 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:33.520 and those destined for sex work were held in pens 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:37.800 before being sent to brothels. Native women also witnessed their 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:42.280 people ravaged by disease and saw their traditions systematically dismantled 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:46.160 in the name of forced assimilation. As the twentieth century dawned, 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:50.520 Indigenous women were trapped in poverty and cultural genocide. Yet 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:55.160 their determination and strength allowed tribes to survive, and life 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:58.800 out west wasn't much different for African Americans. Even though 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:01.400 California entered the year Union as a free state in 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:05.440 eighteen fifty, slaveholders still flocked there, assuming that the laws 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:10.680 prohibiting slavery could be conveniently ignored. Tragically, their assumptions often 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:15.600 proved correct. Slaveholders kept there enslave workers there uninformed. They 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:18.240 were kept isolated on the property so they'd have no 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:21.360 knowledge that they actually lived in a free state. But 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.080 the struggle for freedom was ongoing, and it took the 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:26.880 ravages of the Civil War for black men and women 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:30.119 to be emancipated. In the years following the war, many 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:33.560 freed individuals chose to make the West their home, believing 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:38.120 it held greater promise and opportunity. Mary Fields was determined 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:41.079 to live her life on her terms. Her journey began 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.760 in Hickman County, Tennessee. She was approximately thirty one years 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:47.640 old at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, and she 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:51.160 traveled north along the Mississippi River with her new found freedom, 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:55.240 earning a living as a servant and a laundress. Fate 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:57.920 led her to the banks of the Mississippi River, where 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:01.000 the steamboats beckoned with the promise of it adventure, and 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:03.880 it was her work as a chambermaid aboard one particularly 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:06.280 well known boat that allowed her to witness one of 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.280 the most famous races in the history of the Mississippi, 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:13.479 the famous robert E. Lee against the challenger the Natchez. 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:17.520 Both ships left New Orleans heading north towards Saint Louis. 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.960 Ever the adventurer Mary loved, telling how she helped the 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:24.800 Roberty Lee win the race. The crew tossed unnecessary items 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:28.240 overboard to lighten the load as the two steamships vied 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.840 for the lead, and they supplied the ship with fuel, 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:34.319 using everything from barrels of resin to wooden chairs, and, 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:38.080 if the legends are true, even sides of pork. How 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.920 much Mary Fields helped is unknown, but her enthusiasm for 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:46.160 life's thrilling escapades only grew stronger from there. But her 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.600 time aboard the Roberty Lee also led to a fresh opportunity. 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:51.679 It was there that she met a man named Judge 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.520 Edmund Dunn and took a position within his household Sadly, 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.000 a short time later, tragedy struck and Dunn's wife died 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:01.760 from pneumonia, so he sent his children to live with 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.680 his sister at the Ursuline Convent in Toledo, Ohio, along 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:08.320 with Mary Fields to look after them. And as it 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:12.440 so happened, Mary Amedeus Dunn wasn't just any nun. She 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:16.360 was the mother superior. When she showed Mary to hercorders, 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:19.800 she asked if she needed anything. To mother Amadeus's surprise, 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:24.240 Mary Fields responded yes, a good cigar and a drink. 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:29.439 Despite her unusual demeanor, Mary Fields and the sisters forged 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:32.920 a deep bun. She quickly became indispensable to the daily 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:35.960 operations of the school and the convent. She was a 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:40.679 master of trades, seamlessly transitioning from washing laundry and purchasing 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:44.320 supplies to managing the kitchen and nurturing the growth of 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:48.000 the garden. Mary Fields was a force to be reckoned with. 0:10:48.200 --> 0:10:50.920 Whenever she spoke her mind, which I'm happy to say 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.480 was very often. Students were in awe of her fiery temper, 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.040 and no one dared to walk on the freshly cut 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.760 lawn after she had meticulously tended to it. And through 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.440 and all, Mother Amadeus remained Mary's closest friend, but the 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:07.840 chance to participate in missionary work out in Montana led 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:10.880 the Mother Superior to pack her things and set off, 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.560 partnering with Jesuit priests to establish a school there. Not 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.080 long after her departure, though, word arrived that Mother Amadeus 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:21.600 had become ill. Desperate to do something about it, Mary 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:25.240 Fields immediately set off to help. No amount of wild 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:29.280 frontier would stand between her and caring for a friend. 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:39.200 It's important to alter your assumptions. On the frontier. Medical 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:43.040 practices were rudimentary at best, leaving people at the mercy 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:46.400 of their limited knowledge and resources. In a world before 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:51.320 accessible doctors and advanced medical technologies, the responsibility for caring 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:56.560 for the ill fell upon the shoulders of women, wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, 0:11:56.679 --> 0:11:59.880 and friends. In eighteen eighty five, when Mary fields A 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:03.640 arrived in Montana, the mission housed a sparse population of 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.960 maybe one hundred and fifty individuals. The mission, or what 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.240 it passed for, lacked a physical structure to shield its 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:13.040 inhabitants from the harsh elements, and it was there that 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:18.000 she found Mother Amadeus battling pneumonia. Mary became a devoted 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:20.560 caregiver and decided to help get the mission up and 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.080 running to her own standards. She cultivated a garden there 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.920 and hunted wild game to put enough food on the table, 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:29.880 And on top of all of that, she coordinated the 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:34.480 delivery of essential supplies to their isolated outpost while she 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:37.640 nursed her friend back to health. Mary hall building supplies 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:41.280 to the construction site. She proved adept at maneuvering horse 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:44.880 and wagon through Montana's rocky landscape, and for a while 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.839 all seemed well. But life in Montana wasn't like life 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:54.120 back in Ohio. Her bold personality and unconventional ways clashed 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:57.600 with the expectations of some of the residents, and rumblings 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:01.600 of discontent reached the bishop. While the sisters recognized and 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:08.000 appreciated Mary's invaluable contributions, the Bishop had reservations Mary's defiance 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.360 of traditional gender norms, like her preference to dress in 0:13:11.400 --> 0:13:15.320 men's clothing, along with her determination to take physically demanding 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:18.520 tasks that were usually reserved for men. It just didn't 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.600 sit well with him. Rumors that she had participated in 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:24.600 a duel proved to be the final straw, and as 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:28.840 a result, the Bishop banned her. After that, Mary Fields 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:32.840 moved to Cascade, Montana, where Mother Amadeus assisted her in 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.920 trying to launch two different restaurants. Unfortunately, neither of them 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:39.360 took off. So, despite being on the cusp of her 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:42.720 twilight years, she took on a new job as a 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.640 mail carrier. Remember, in the vast expanse of the wild West, 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:50.280 the United States Postal Service was like a lifeline, bridging 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:53.520 the gaps between remote communities and the rest of the nation. 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:57.679 So Mother Amadeus bought Mary a wagon to help kickstart 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:01.240 her new career, and in doing so, she became only 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:05.160 the second woman to have a postal route, affectionately known 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.560 as stagecoach Mary, She began working with the post Office 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.800 as a star route carrier in eighteen ninety five. Her 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.440 duties were to deliver mail to sparsely populated areas that 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:19.480 didn't have regular routes. Western films might obsess over who 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:22.600 had the fastest gun, but Mary could apparently harness a 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:26.720 six horse team faster than anyone else around. Her job 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:29.200 was to meet the trains to collect the mail, and 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:33.000 then skillfully navigate the treacherous landscape and the inclement weather, 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.360 and she handled the job easily until one day when 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:40.400 her horses bolted, leaving her injured. But despite her wounds, 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:44.440 she persevered and fulfilled her delivery duties. When she was done, 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:46.560 she found herself back at the convent that she had 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.640 once been expelled from, according to the stories, when the 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:52.800 nuns extended an invitation for her to attend mass that day, 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:56.240 it resulted in the rare sight of Mary Field's wearing 0:14:56.440 --> 0:15:01.480 a dress. She resumed mail delivery, confronting wild animals, thieves, 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:05.400 and the unforgiving elements. When the snow accumulated too deeply 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:08.920 for her horses or even her trusty mule named Moses. 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.760 Mary would simply put on snow shoes and carry the 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.880 heavy mail on her shoulders. But time catches up with 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:18.880 all of us. After eight years as a postal writer, 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:22.880 Mary Fields retired. She chose to stay in Cascade, though, 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:26.600 with the townsfolk who adored her, especially the children. And 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:30.160 although she metaphorically rode off into the sunset, she left 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:35.280 behind an amazing story, one of success and perseverance on 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:45.120 the American frontier. In the rustic town of Cascade, Montana. 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.720 Mary Field's life unfolded like the captivating pages of a 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.560 Western novel. Like the heroes of the Old West, she 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:55.880 knew no bounds and possessed an untamed spirit. But retirement 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:58.360 wasn't a decision that she had come to lightly. She 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.040 loved the work, but it was such a demanding and 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:04.240 dangerous job that it simply posed too significant a risk 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:07.240 for a seventy year old woman. But even then she 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:11.440 wasn't done. Honestly, restless spirits never are, are they. Mary 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:14.920 established a busy laundry business as well as a quaint eatery. 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:18.880 She even took up babysitting, and like the grandmotherly figure 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:21.680 that she was, she promptly spent all her wages buying 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:25.560 treats for the children, because, of course she did. The 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:29.520 mayor of Cascade recognized her unique character and declared that 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:32.840 Mary Fields was the only woman permitted to enjoy libations 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:36.000 in the local saloon. But while she appreciated the drink, 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:38.760 it was the company and the conversation that she actually 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:42.160 wanted more. You can almost see the motion picture version 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:44.760 of this chapter of her story come to life. A 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:48.840 dusty saloon with dark, dirty walls, maybe a piano playing 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:51.360 in the background, all while she talked to the men 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:54.880 about politics or the day's news, and all of them, 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:59.680 including Mary, would be smoking a cigar. Mary also kept 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:03.760 busy growing flowers in her garden, and when she wasn't gardening, working, 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:06.440 or babysitting, she went to the ball field to support 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:09.680 the town's baseball team, and whenever anyone hit a home run, 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:14.159 she gifted them with a bouquet. Life is short, and 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:17.680 good people die way too fast. Mary Fields passed away 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:21.040 on December fifth of nineteen fourteen. In the family she 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:25.080 left behind, the entire town of Cascade mourned the loss 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:28.080 of a friend and a hero, and in a nice 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:31.840 little poetic twist. Her grave overlooks the very same road 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:34.719 that she used to use during her time working on 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:39.480 the mail route. Maryfield's legend continues to flourish even long 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.960 after her death. She emerged as a powerful force when 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:45.680 women and people of color were denied all the rights 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:49.000 and opportunities afforded to others, and although much of her 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:53.359 story remains shrouded in speculation, her legacy transcends the boundaries 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:56.959 of time and place, serving as a beacon of inspiration 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:01.480 for those who face similar challenges. And it's a powerful 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.800 message too that even though there might be obstacles in 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.719 our way, each of us is called to roll up 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:17.520 our sleeves and knock them down. The wild West is 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:22.360 all too often depicted as a man's world. Cowboys, gold miners, sheriffs, 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:24.879 and even the outlaws, all of the men with little 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.240 room in the story for women to make a mark. Thankfully, 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:31.000 as today's journey has shown us, there were those who 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:34.080 managed to break through. And we're not done just yet. 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:37.160 Because the list is longer than you might believe. We've 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:39.440 saved one more tale of the women of the wild 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:41.760 West to share with you, and if you stick around 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:45.280 through this brief sponsor break. My teammate Ali Stead will 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:46.560 tell you all about it. 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:56.760 Pearl Heart didn't subscribe to the societal expectations of the 0:18:56.840 --> 0:19:00.159 late eighteen eighties. The idea that young ladies they were 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.560 groomed to be obedient, devout and married off to the 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:07.120 right suitors did not appeal to her. But like other 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:11.639 women of her time, what she wanted was irrelevant. From birth, 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:15.520 Pearl's future was predetermined. Her upbringing was marked by the 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:19.160 quite charm expected of young ladies. She received a well 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:22.359 rounded education in boarding schools and mastered the art of 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:26.120 needlework and committing Bible verses to heart. Her parents had 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:29.960 grand aspirations for their daughter. She would bear children, maintain 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:34.200 the household, attend church, and provide unwavering support for her 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:38.280 husband's endeavors. To them, that meant their beloved daughter would 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:41.520 have a safe and secure life. Sixteen year old Pearl 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:45.439 had other ideas, choosing to Elope with Frederick Hart, a 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:50.160 bartender instead. Her parents disapproved of his drinking and gambling 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:54.000 and reckless behavior, but Pearl envisioned a care free life. 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:57.879 What she got was an alcoholic husband who squandered their 0:19:57.880 --> 0:20:02.080 savings and abused her and their two children. Their relationship 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:05.720 was marked by a cycle of separation and reconciliation, with 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:08.920 Pearl seeking refuge with her mother, only to return to Frederick. 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:12.400 To protect their children from their father's wrath, she sent 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:16.040 them to live with her family permanently. Her life was 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:18.439 changed in eighteen ninety three when the couple went to 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:22.359 the Chicago World's Fair seeking employment. Frederick found work as 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:26.320 a sideshow barker, while Pearl undertook a host of odd jobs. 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:30.120 Between work and breaks, she attended the Wild West Exhibitions, 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:37.080 where one person captivated her. Annie Oakley, symbolized strength and independence. 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:41.880 Her passionate speeches that the Women's Pavilion, advocating for women's rights, 0:20:41.920 --> 0:20:44.800 convinced Pearl to leave Frederick once and for all and 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:47.560 board a train heading to Chicago to live out her 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:51.479 own Wild West fantasy. There, she found a position as 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:55.240 a saloon singer and eagerly embraced her newfound independence. But 0:20:55.840 --> 0:21:01.480 once again fantasy and reality collided. Heroes didn't walk the 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:05.960 streets and the town was hardly glamorous. It took two 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:09.040 years for Frederick to track down his wayward wife and 0:21:09.200 --> 0:21:11.720 beg her to come back to him, and in eighteen 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:16.080 ninety five, Pearl agreed, but with one condition, he had 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:20.040 to find stable employment. To her surprise, he followed through 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:24.400 on his promise for a short time. Anyway, they soon 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:27.880 fell into financial ruin once more, and in eighteen ninety eight, 0:21:28.119 --> 0:21:32.200 Frederick beat her unconscious, abandoning her to join Roosevelt's Rough 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:36.000 Riders in Cuba. A year later, in eighteen ninety nine, 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:39.720 she found companionship in Joe Boot, a miner. When a 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:42.959 letter arrived from her brother urgently requesting funds for their 0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:46.160 ailing mother, Pearl turned to her new friend for advice, 0:21:46.720 --> 0:21:50.280 and Joe was happy to oblige. Before long, the couple 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:53.200 hatched a plan to rob the stage coach that traveled 0:21:53.200 --> 0:21:57.160 the route between Florence and Globe, Arizona. On May thirtieth, 0:21:57.200 --> 0:21:59.760 eighteen ninety nine, the two bandits leaped in front of 0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:04.200 the stagecoach. Brandishing their firearms, they commanded the driver to halt. 0:22:04.800 --> 0:22:08.880 One by one, passengers turned over all their possessions, while 0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:11.919 Pearl and Joe escaped with four hundred and fifty dollars 0:22:11.920 --> 0:22:15.600 in cash and a revolver. Yet, the pair found themselves 0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:18.960 lost in unfamiliar territory and settled under a tree to rest. 0:22:19.400 --> 0:22:21.680 When the sun rose, the sheriff and his posse had 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:26.040 surrounded them and escorted them to jail. Pearl eagerly told 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:29.520 curious onlookers her story and signed autographs from behind bars, 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:34.760 and then on October twelfth, eighteen ninety nine, Pearl escaped, 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:37.560 and the legend of the Bandit Queen began to spread 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:40.560 far and wide, but the long arm of the law 0:22:40.720 --> 0:22:43.800 soon caught up with her. During her trial in November 0:22:43.800 --> 0:22:47.760 of eighteen ninety nine, Pearl protested her lack of voting rights, declaring, 0:22:48.080 --> 0:22:51.120 I shall not consent to be tried under a law 0:22:51.240 --> 0:22:54.960 in which my sex had no voice in making. It 0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:58.120 should be noted that most of Pearl's story comes from 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:01.720 second hand gossip, no idea how much was true, but 0:23:02.280 --> 0:23:04.480 her tale of a sick mother certainly tugged at the 0:23:04.520 --> 0:23:09.000 jury's heart strings. The judge, on the other hand, remained unmoved. 0:23:09.600 --> 0:23:12.879 Pearl's second trial ended with a five year sentence in 0:23:12.920 --> 0:23:16.919 the Yuma Territory Prison. Once there, she quickly charmed the warden, 0:23:17.280 --> 0:23:21.440 securing a more spacious cell for herself. Visitors and reporters 0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:25.639 flocked to see the infamous Lady Bandit after eighteen months 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:28.880 of incarceration, Pearl was granted parole in nineteen o two. 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:32.560 She settled in Kansas City, where she continued her role. 0:23:33.000 --> 0:23:35.960 Crowds gathered to watch her production company's re enactment of 0:23:36.000 --> 0:23:40.359 her daring stagecoach robbery and exploits on the run. Pearl 0:23:40.400 --> 0:23:43.560 eventually faded from the limelight. Some say she opened a 0:23:43.560 --> 0:23:46.560 cigar store in Kansas City, while others claimed she married 0:23:46.560 --> 0:23:49.600 a rancher in Arizona. Whichever way she decided to live 0:23:49.640 --> 0:23:53.480 out her life, Pearl succeeded in changing the expectations society 0:23:53.560 --> 0:23:54.400 had assigned her. 0:23:56.840 --> 0:23:59.919 Grimm and Mild Presents The Wild West was executive produced 0:24:00.240 --> 0:24:03.920 me Aaron Mankey and hosted by Aaron Mankey and Alexandra Steed. 0:24:04.359 --> 0:24:07.199 Writing for this season was provided by Michelle Mudo, with 0:24:07.280 --> 0:24:11.199 research by Alexandra Steed, Sam Alberty, Cassandra de Alba, and 0:24:11.280 --> 0:24:14.719 Harry Marx. Fact checking was performed by Jamie Vargas, with 0:24:14.800 --> 0:24:19.200 sensitivity reading by Stacy Parshall Jensen. Production assistance was provided 0:24:19.280 --> 0:24:23.200 by Josh Stain, Jesse Funk, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 0:24:23.520 --> 0:24:25.800 To learn more about this and other shows from Grim 0:24:25.840 --> 0:24:30.240 and Mild and iHeartRadio. Visit grimandmild dot com.