The 1840s ushered in the beginning of the largest migration in US history. People in crowded Eastern cities and Missouri River towns were feeling the pull of the Western frontier. It was the dawn of a new era of expansion, and over the next few decades, the making of a new kind of pioneer. It was the birth of the cowgirl!

Welcome to the world of nimble equestriennes, hawkeyed sharpshooters, sly outlaws, eloquent legislators, expert wranglers

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What are the true hidden stories behind the mythical and most notorious women of the Wild West days, including Calamity Jane, Cattle Kate, Belle Starr, Lola Montez, Pearl Hart, Madame Moustache, Carrie Nation, and Bridget Grant? In his 1927 book, "Calamity Jane and the Lady Wildcats," journalist Duncan Aikman (1889-1955) through meticulous research has uncovered the often-amazing hidden stories behind the glamorous myths of these matrons of the Old...