wild women

Bitterly cold snow flurries pelted the determined features of twenty-one-year-old Ethel Berry’s face as she drove her dog sled over the Chilkoot Pass in Alaska. Clad in a pair of men’s mackinaw breeches and moccasins, she cracked her whip over the team of animals hauling an enormous mound of supplies behind them. Ethel was slowly...

A hush fell over the large crowd at the rodeo arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, in July 1938 as daredevil rider Alice Sisty raced into the arena atop two English jumpers. She was standing on the backs of the animals with one foot on one horse and the other foot on the second mount,...

When twenty-four-year-old Mildred Douglas rode a steer in the Garden City, Kansas, rodeo in 1919, it was a big deal.  Never before had a woman ever ridden a steer in competition, but Douglas was no ordinary woman.  Born in Philadelphia on August 21, 1895, Mildred knew at the age of seven what she wanted to...

Shakespearean actor Edwin Forrest rifled through the desk drawer in the sitting room of the New York home he shared with his wife, socialite turned actress and theatre manager Catherine Norton Sinclair.  The contents of the drawer belonged to Catherine, but Edwin wasn’t interested in maintaining her privacy.  In his frantic search, he uncovered a...

More than 150 years have passed since President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed at Ford’s Theatre.  Tragedy ensued for many people with Lincoln that night in April 1865.  For example, Lincoln’s guest Major Henry Rathbone was cut savagely with the knife John Wilkes Booth unsheathed after emptying his Derringer at Lincoln.   Laura Keene, the...

The green, silk robe shimmered in the light of the dressing room.  Adjusting the neckline, Lillian Russell glanced into the mirror and considered the interviewer’s question about beauties never appreciating their good looks.  “I think they do,” she countered.  “They are glad to have it, as they are grateful for any other gift.  I am...

The pliant figure leaned over the ship’s rail, expressive eyes intent on the blue-green waters of the harbor.  A mass of wavy, light brown hair with tints of gold lifted and curled with every breeze, its arrangement a matter of complete indifference to the angler.  Suddenly the slender form froze, breath held, and then, with...

The pilgrimage West was an arduous undertaking.  Emigrants hurriedly loaded their wagon trains with as many personal belongings as they could, and if they were unable to make what little they had fit, it was left behind.  Limited space forced many to wear all the clothing they owned on their backs.  The basic outfit for...