b'WOMEN PASSING AS MEN IN THE WILD WESTCurly Bill andLessons Not LearnedText by Jana Bommersbach and Bob Boze Bellseveral locals areHomicide by MisadventureJanuary 9, 1881drinking it up at the Alhambra SaloonOctober 28,1880: Fresh off the trail fromsays, I am an officer of the law, give me your (also known asSanSimon,wheresomebelieveheandhispistol.AsCurlyBillreachestopullouthis Corrigans)CURLY BILLS TABLE MANNERSin Tombstone. The worstTHE ONLY FEMALE BUFFALO SOLDIER to see if he is pards treed the town and attempted to hijack apistol, Wyatt gets behind Curly Bill and wraps trick I ever knew him to do was locomotive, Curly Bill Brocius bringshis arms around him to go into a restaurant once, while the people his mayhem to Tombstone.carrying anymore weapons.Cathay Williams was born a slave in Missouri in 1842. Freed bywere at dinner. He was drunk and pulled out After a tall bucking at BrownsGrabbing the barrel of Curly Bills his two revolvers and laid them beside his plate, Union soldiers during the Civil War, she worked as a paid servant for the Union corral, the boisterous cow-boys retirepistol,MarshalWhitebarks,Now, and ordered everyone at the table to wait until After multipleArmy under General Philip Sheridan. After the war, she wanted to maintain to Allen Street and land in Corrigans he was through, as it was ungentlemanly andyou God damned son of a bitch, give drinks, the rowdyher financial independence, and in November of 1866, enlisted in the 38th saloon. The cow-boys are joined by a impolitetorisebeforeallhadfinishedtheirupthatpistol!Ashetriestojerk crew spills out ontoU.S. Infantry, known best as the Buffalo Soldiers, under the name William meal. Of course, everybody in the restaurant satthe pistol out of the cow-boys hand, local,AndrewMcCauley,cow-boy Allen Street andCathay since, of course, it was illegal for women to join the military. She and waited until Bill got done eating, but he was was a cook with the unit, stationed in New Mexico Territory. William Cathay Dick Lloyd (the tall bucker), rancherit goes off. several pull theirso full he laid down his head upon his arms and was discharged on October 14, 1868, due to repeated illnessesamazingly, Frank Patterson, Ed Collins, AndrewI am shot! says White, as he falls. pistols and shootalthough she was often hospitalized, nobody realized she was a woman. Later, fell asleep, and the folks were so afraid of him that they supposed he Ames and a Charleston miner namedThe muzzle blast sets his pants afire, was just shamming sleep as to get a chance to shoot the first one who at the moon. when she tried to get a military pension, it was refused, in part because they James Johnson. After several drinks, the partyand someone snuffs the flames.rose from the table. They all waited until he awoke, when he paid the discovered her true identity and noted shed been illegally enlisted. Her end spills out onto Allen Street, with one or moreWyattbrandishesaborrowedpistoland bill for the crowd and left.is unknown, but she was last recorded in Colorado prior to the 1900 census. of the men pulling their pistols and firing sev- clubs Curly Bill on the head, knocking him to Fresh out of jail in Tucson, Curly Bill Tom Thorton, hotel keeper in GaleyvilleShe remains the first and only woman to serve as a Buffalo Soldier!eral shots at the moon and stars. theground.WhathaveIdone?CurlyBill Brocius leads a group of cow-boys backCathay Williams became Wyatt Earp andCurlyBilltriestostoptheshooting,say- demands.Ihavenotdoneanythingtobe to the San Pedro River, where they takeWilliam Cathayhis brother Morganingaccordingtoaneyewitnessthiswontarrested for.itupstreamandstopatachurchfourCurly Bill (far left ) was arrested the next day for his church miles from Charleston. shenanigans and charged $25 for disturbing the peace. Curly hear the illegaldo, boys, but the men continue their promis- Wyattgrabsthecow-boybythecollarand shooting and runandgoinginside,Curlycuous fuselage. As locals gather on the streetMRS. MOUNTAIN MAN woodenjail, paid, Deputy Sheriff William Breakenridge reported, but said Dismountingmarcheshimovertothesmall no more church for him, it was too expensive.Bill, followed by his gang, demands theto see what all the shooting is about, three inmere feet away from the fracas. Wyatt and his to the scene. She passed herself off as Mountain parsontostophistalkorCurlyBillthecow-boycrowd,includingCurlyBill,runbrothers Virgil and Morgan round up the rest Charley and kept up the disguise for 13 will shoot an eye out.Flora Quick becamebehind a building on the south side of the road. ofthepartyandarrestEdCollins,Andrew years, until she remarried.And she wasnt Curly Bill proceeds to taunt and humiliate theCurly Bill and pards shoot up Fifth Tom King Town Marshal Fred White suddenly appearsthe only woman who found life easier ifAmes, Dick Lloyd, Frank Patterson and James pastor, making him dance like a fool in front ofand Allen in Tombstone more than once.from around the corner. Several men run up,she pretended to be a man.Johnson.his horrified congregation. includingWyattEarp,justasthemarshal Nine days later, the terror from San Simon In an arroyo (behindMrs. Mountain Man became and his pards invade Contention City, whereMountainCharliethe current location the cow-boy devils begin to tree the south end of the Birdcage) of the town. Wyatt Earp (center, with pistol) Wyatt, Morganeveryonetheycanfind,the Afterabusingand his brother Virgil (at left, and Marshal White gang gravitates to the north end where they go attempt to disarmwith shotgun) establish a in a store, rob the till of $50 and commit other outrages like shooting at a peaceable citizen. deadline around the jail and Curly Bill with Several brave citizens arm themselves andwarn everyone not to cross it.tragic results. Excerpts from the forthcoming book,come out on the street to confront the out- TREEING A TOWN HELLRAISERS & TRAILBLAZERS: The Earps and others guard the FLORA QUICK PASSES Hunters consider it a victory when theirTo learn more about thelaws, but Curly Bill and his men pay them noThe Real Women of The Wild West, by jail all night against lynching. At attention. Eventually, gunfire erupts on bothdogs chase game and run it up a tree and23 gunfights behind the O.K. Tom King, the leader of an outlaw gang, was killed during a holdupJana Bommersbach and Bob Boze Bell the time of the White shooting, sides with neither side taking any casualties.surround it. Websters definition of treeingCorral pick up Bob Boze Bellson the Mexican border south of Tombstone in 1902. Upon burial he turned Tombstone has a makeshift After a full day of bedevilment, the cow-boysis: To bring to bay. To putinto a position To learn more about the 23The book will premiere on November 4th at Classic Gunfights Vol. IIout to be a she. Further investigation revealed the robbers real name waswooden jail. Fred Dodge later finally decide to decamp and head up into theofextremedisadvantage:corner.This gunfights behind the O.K. Corralthe Phippen Art Museum in Prescott, AZ Flora Quick. Flora had an unhappy marriage back east and fled westward,describes it: This Lockup was hills toward Tombstone where they intend tobecomes a favorite pastime of the cow-boyspick up Bob Boze Bellsdonned mens attire and started her own gang around Clifton, Arizona. about 10 by 12 and made of tree that worthy town as well. as they tree towns and settlements all overTrueWestMagazine.comClassic Gunfights Vol. II You can pre-order at TWMag.com TrueWestMagazine.comthe Tombstone Mining District. 2x4one on top of the other and Each one spiked down to the otherit was quite Strong and 38 November 2022TrueWestMagazine.com Secure for the ordinary purpose.'