We have come in to the world of the Cowgirl full speed this past year. I have been contacted by numerous people seeking information regarding various cowgirls from the past and the history of cowgirls. I must admit, although I have done much research over the past twenty-some years there is always more information out there to be found. I love gathering information regarding these early day pioneering ladies of the first rodeo arenas and wild west shows. They had such spunk and were such thrill-seekers it is exciting to uncover each and every independent story. No two were alike, and often they entered a world unlike anything they had experienced before.
Just imagine what nerve it must have taken for some daredevil tomboy to mount her very first bronc. There were no chutes in those days so it was necessary for the gal to walk out in to the middle of the ‘arena’ (generally with no fences surrounding it) and while someone snubbed the bronc down by biting his ear, keeping a gunny sack over his eyes, another cowboy threw a saddle on him and cinched it up quickly, and the rider stepped in to the saddle. The forward cowboy spit out the bronc’s ear, pulled the gunny sack off his eyes, got out of the way and away she went. Some broncs broke in to a run and went as far as they could go. Ohers bucked and kicked hoping to dump the rider to the ground. Some broncs won but a few riders held their seat. My! The exhilaration that woman must have felt when she realized she had succeeded in riding a bronc to a standstill!
The first fair damsel that I have found that truly made a name for herself was Annie Oakley, whose real name was Phoebe Ann Moses (some researchers say Mosey, others say Mosley). She was not a cowgirl who rode broncs or roped, but a sharpshooter. Her early life was hard and sad, but when she learned to shoot her daddy’s rifle her life changed. Her biggest competitor at shooting matches was Frank Butler. She eventually married him. They had been with the Sells Brothers Circus, but were not happy with circus life. They went to Buffalo Bill who hired them in 1884 for the next year’s season. For seventeen years “Little Missy”, as she was called by Cody, was the opening act of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Oakley was always demure and lady-like in spite of her versatile shooting talents. She also never wore outrageous costumes as those that followed her chose to wear. Lillian Smith was with the Buffalo Bill show in 1887 also and was a great marksman with a Winchester. Cody quickly learned the audience was enthralled with the ability of the fairer sex to wield a gun with expertise.
May Manning was born to a prominent Quaker physician and his wife of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When Major Gordon W. Lillie (better known as Pawnee Bill) saw her as a schoolgirl it was love at first sight. They were married in 1886 and were blessed with a son the following year. Unfortunately he only lived a brief six weeks. When she found she was unable to have more children she began learning the ways of the ranch. It wasn’t long before her ability to ride sidesaddle and shoot with accuracy became apparent. Pawnee Bill formed his wild west show in 1888 and May joined the show. Her fine marksmanship made headlines and her equestrian acts, never seen before, gave her the title of “May Lillie Princess of the Prairie”. She performed for twenty years, but when husband, Pawnee Bill joined forces with Buffalo Bill to combine the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pwnee Bill’s Far East in 1908, she quit performing. She was never in favor of the partnership.
Annie Shaffer rode broncs for Buffalo Bill, as did her sister Lillian, in the early 1900s. They also rode for Pawnee Bill Wild West Show and the 101 Wild West Show. Annie Shaffer was raised on her father, John Shaffer’s, ranch thirty some miles from Fort Worth. In a San Antonio Light newspaper article in 1908 she said she rode before she walked, and as she grew she worked on the ranch by roping and driving. “I did man’s work,” she reported, “The love for adventure and danger was in me. At fourteen I tried my first bucking broncho. It took a good many nasty throws before I became expert. A woman broncho buster is a rarity even in Texas” She was also known to ride steers.
Lucille Mulhall walked in to an arena as a youngster in 1899 when her father, Zack Mulhall held roping and riding contests under the name “The Congress of Rough Riders and Ropers”. These events were fairly close to their home in Mulhall, Oklahoma, until he was hired to hold his event in Saint Louis at a county fair. Lucille was thirteen and could ride and rope as good as anyone. Her roping and tying of steers brought much attention to the young girl. The entire family participated in these events, but when she became a woman she began holding her own competitions and shows. She was killed in an automobile accident in 1940.
Lulu Belle Parr was raised in Ohio, and lived there until she divorced her husband, George Barrett, due to exteme cruelty. She then went west and joined Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show. She did some trick riding and shooting, but was best known for her bronc riding. Later she joined the Wild West Show put on jointly by Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill, as well as the Colonel Cummins Wild West Brighton Show that toured Europe. She was also a member of the 101 Ranch Wild West and also went to South America to perform. She was noted for her outrageous costumes, which included Indian beading from hat to boots, hair-on-hide skirts, and she carried a Colt single action revolver in a beaded holster. No reports were found of her using the gun but it was inscribed from Buffalo Bill. She was also reported to have ridden buffalo and wild steers, in addition to broncs. She died in a shack in Dayton, Ohio in 1955.
These four feminine ‘darlings’ that entered the world of wild west and an occasional rodeo met with much attention. They were unique in this rough and tumble world of the west as there had not been women in these shows before them. Spectators were amazed to see these women’s abilities with guns, ropes or broncs. Their costumes were their own designs, some elaborate and gaudy, while some chose the simple woman’s dress of the day. Fans clamored for their autographs. The world’s attention to these first feminine performers opened up new avenues for women who loved adventure and were willing to tread in to the unknown. It’s amazing what happened in a hundred plus years!
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