Geronimo was a prominent leader from the Bedonkohe band of the Chiricahua Apache tribe. He led his people’s defense of their homeland against the United States military. Born on June 16, 1829 in Mexico, Geronimo continued the tradition of the Apaches resisting white colonization of their homeland in the Southwest, participating in raids in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Sonora. Geronimo’s raids and related combat actions were a part of the prolonged period of the Apache-American conflict, that started with American settlement in Apache lands following the end of the war with Mexico in 1848. After years of war Geronimo finally surrendered to U.S. troops in 1886. While he became a celebrity, he spent the last two decades of his life as a prisoner of war. He died of pneumonia on February 17, 1909, as a prisoner at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Martha Jane Canary (or Cannary), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman and professional scout, known for her claim of being an acquaintance of “Wild Bill” Hickok, and fighting against Native Americans. Late in her life, she appeared in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, and at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. She is said to have always exhibited kindness and compassion to others, especially to the sick and needy. This facet of her character, contrasted with her daredevil ways, helped make her a noted frontier figure. Calamity Jane was also known for her habit of wearing men’s attire. She was born on May 1, 1852 and died on August 1, 1903.
Billy the Kid, also known as William H. Bonney, was born William Henry McCarty Jr. (November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881). He was an American frontier gunfighter, thief and murderer who participated in New Mexico’s Lincoln County War. Bonney is known to have killed eight men. After murdering a blacksmith during an altercation in 1877, Bonney became a wanted man in Arizona Territory and joined a group of cattle rustlers in New Mexico. He took part in the Lincoln County War and joined the Regulators, making him a well-known outlaw in the region. After one of many prison escapes, Bonney was ultimately shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner in 1881. Over the next several decades, legends grew that Bonney had not died that night, and a number of men claimed to be him.
Jesse James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, guerrilla, gang leader, bank robber, train robber and murderer from the state of Missouri. He was the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang, who were Confederate guerrillas or bushwhackers during the Civil War. They were accused of participating in atrocities committed against Union soldiers, including the Centralia Massacre. After the war, as members of various gangs of outlaws, they robbed banks, stagecoaches and trains. The James brothers were most active as members of their own gang from about 1866 until 1876. In 1882, Jesse James was killed by a member of his own gang who hoped to collect a reward. Already a celebrity when he was alive, James became a legendary figure of the Wild West after his death.
John Wayne (born Marion Morrison) was an American film actor, director and producer. An Academy Award-winner, Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades. An enduring American icon, he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk and height. Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa but grew up in the greater Los Angeles area. His role as the Ringo Kid in John Ford’s breakthrough Stagecoach (1939) made him an instant superstar. Wayne would go on to star in more than 160 movies, primarily typecast in Western films. Among his most acclaimed films are The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), Rio Bravo (1959) and True Grit (1969). Wayne was on born on May 26, 1907.
Pecos Bill is an American cowboy, apocryphally immortalized in numerous tall tales of the Old West during American westward expansion into the Southwest. Probably invented by Tex O’Reilly in the early 1900s, Pecos Bill is considered an example of fakelore. Pecos Bill was a late addition to other “big man” characters like Paul Bunyan and John Henry.
George Custer was a U.S. Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Custer graduated last in his class from West Point, but developed a strong reputation during the Civil War. He is best known for his disastrous final battle, popularly known as “Custer’s Last Stand.” Custer and all the men with him were killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, fighting against a coalition of Native American tribes led by Sitting Bull. Custer was born on this day in 1839.
Chief Seattle was a Duwamish chief. A prominent figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with Seattle founder Doc Maynard. The city of Seattle was named after him. A widely publicized speech arguing in favor of ecological responsibility and respect of Native Americans’ land rights has been attributed to him. He died on this day in 1866.
The leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce (or Niimíipu) during General Oliver O. Howard’s attempt to forcibly remove “non-treaty” Nez Perce from the Wallowa Valley of northeastern Oregon to a reservation in Idaho during the late 1800s. For his principled resistance to the removal, Chief Joseph became renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker. He was born yesterday in 1840.
A Lemhi Shoshonewoman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States between 1804 and 1806. She either died in 1812 (historical research) or 1884 (oral tradition). Since 2000, there has been a golden dollar coin minted each year with her image (it’s almost like real money).
Since 1990, citizens in South Dakota have been celebrating Native American Day instead of Columbus Day. This makes me happy. Screw Columbus anyway. Even though Columbus was a wretched human being and wrong about everything, he was lucky enough to survive his catastrophic miscalculations and find uncharted land before his crews starved to death.
A celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician who was born on this day in 1786. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet “King of the Wild Frontier.” He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution and died at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.
Pecos Bill – No. 608
Pecos Bill is an American cowboy, apocryphally immortalized in numerous tall tales of the Old West during American westward expansion into the Southwest. Probably invented by Tex O’Reilly in the early 1900s, Pecos Bill is considered an example of fakelore. Pecos Bill was a late addition to other “big man” characters like Paul Bunyan and John Henry.
I have vivid memories of the Pecos Bill (and Paul Bunyan) books that I read at my grandparents’ house as a child. My grandfather owned a large collection of educational hardcovers for primary grades from Garrard Publishing, and several of them were Pecos Bill titles from the late 1960s and 1970s. Garrard’s American Folktales series includes Pecos Bill and the Long Lasso (1968), Pecos Bill Rides a Tornado (1973), Pecos Bill Catches a Hidebehind (1977), Pecos Bill and the Wonderful Clothesline Snake (1978) and Pecos Bill Finds a Horse (1979).