'Legend' is a word tossed around too easily and misused too often. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a legend is 'an unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical.'

In titling his latest book, James D. McLaird demonstrates he knows what the word means. Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane: Deadwood Legends explains that much of what we think we know about Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane in Deadwood is, in fact, the stuff of legend.

An emeritus professor of history at Dakota Wesleyan University and author of an earlier biography on Calamity Jane, McLaird wastes no time conveying his point. On the first page of the introduction, he tells the reader that Wild Bill and Calamity Jane 'accomplished little of significance to deserve their prominence' in the history of Deadwood. Still, the goal of Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane: Deadwood Legends isn't to demolish the celebrity of Wild Bill -- whose real name was James -- or Calamity Jane -- whose real name was Martha Canary. Instead, as a historian is inclined to do, McLaird examines their lives using facts, not mythology.

Essentially, Wild Bill and Calamity Jane become their era's equivalent of mass media darlings. Hickok garnered his national reputation thanks to a February 1867 article in Harper's New Monthly Magazine and ensuing dime novels. McLaird notes, though, that the magazine article's tales of Hickok's derring-do 'bore little resemblance to actual events, and some episodes were entirely fictionalized.' Similarly, the connection between Hickok and Calamity Jane is more tenuous than commonly thought.

The two met for the first time in July 1867, when Calamity Jane hooked up with a group heading to the Black Hills that included Hickok. Less than a month later, Hickok was dead. Although known in the area because of previous trips there and as a dance-hall girl, Calamity Jane's national fame didn't begin until after Hickok's death. Like Hickok, a magazine article and, more important, a series of highly popular dime novels published between 1877 and 1885 featuring 'Deadwood Dick,' in which she was a character, pushed her into the spotlight.

McLaird approaches each individual's life story separately, which is easier than popular belief might think. McLaird argues with some credence that no intimate connection between the two arose in the public eye until Calamity Jane was buried next to Wild Bill in Deadwood's Mount Moriah Cemetery in 1903. Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane: Deadwood Legends examines how each gained their national reputations and compares the mythology built around them during and after their lives to more historically accurate accounts. McLaird also explores their lives once the spotlight of fame fell upon them, as well as Hickok's brief period of time in Deadwood and how the two ultimately became even bigger cultural icons and a joint part of Deadwood lore and tourism.

McLaird relays their stories concisely, pointing out the heavy varnish that at times was used to polish their character. His book illustrates what gave rise to differences of opinion that existed about them during their time. To some, they helped personify the lure and individualism of the west. To others, they were simply 'scum,' undeserving of attention. Yet where McLaird pokes holes in popular versions of their lives, he does so recognizing that it is the folklore that means so much to popular American history and culture, helping make the book an interesting combination of biography and cultural/historical study.

No one can doubt that Wild Bill and Calamity Jane live on into the 21st Century, whether in popular culture, such as the HBO television series Deadwood, or by helping make the actual town of Deadwood a popular tourist attraction to this day. In exploring both the fact and fiction of their lives, McLaird establishes that, individually and collectively, Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are legends in the true sense of the word.

(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie)

A slender book, but one that is really densely packed with information. Much has been made (and created!) about the relationship between these western icons. Mr. McLaird does excellent work in teasing out the truth from the heavily shoveled fiction.

Both characters had their movements widely reported in real time. The author meticulously documents every item, every report, every mention, to figure out the truth (or not) of their lives. The result is as factual as is possible for a modern author. "Bill" and Jane do not always emerge as fully-realized people. There are times when all the facts and citations sort of suck the fun out of the narrative. But I did finish with the feeling that I knew as much as possible about the events of the subjects' lives, and had a fair idea of their characters. I would recommend the book to those interested in the time period. ( )

I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book because I have visited Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood and have seen the actors strolling the streets dressed as Wild Bill. It's great tourist kitsch, but so far from reality that you yearn for someone to break down the falsehoods and tell you the real tale. This book does that.

Published by the SD State Historical Society, this book explains the relationship between two of the most famous western characters, who just happened to be in the same town at one particular moment. McLaird does a wonderful job of separating the myths from the little reality that can be documented. He explains why this myth continues to remain in our consciousness and describes media's role in perpetuating it. With footnotes and an extensive bibliography, this book will give you the truth behind the stories, which is long overdue. ( )

A fascinating slender tome addressing the real lives behind popular legends Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

McLaird neatly strips away the legends, tracking both individuals through archival documents, newspaper accounts, and interviews. He addresses the origin and growth of these two characters in legend and folklore, reminding us that both Hickok and Calamity owe their celebrity to the media, not unlike current celebrities. In addition to the facts, we are witness to the evolution of their celebrity and key moments where fact dissolved into fiction. Their weaknesses for gambling (Hickok) and alcohol (Calamity) are laid open for the reader. Though popular legend unites Hickok with Calamity, in truth the two only knew each other for just under a month during their travels from Fort Laramie to Deadwood.

If you’ve enjoyed the legends, movies, or television series, this is a must read for anyone interested in knowing fact from fiction about the two. Be forewarned, the truth isn’t pretty, which accounts for the romantic glorifying of their lives.
( )

I have always enjoyed The Old West and it's legendary cast of characters (both good and bad) so I found this to be an interesting read. It was very well researched and well written. Part is devoted to Wild Bill and the other part is devoted to Calamity Jane. These two, along with other legends of the west, were the celebrities of the time and the book shows how a lot of the stories about them were exaggerated or untrue. The book is loaded with great historical information from newspapers and diaries. If you like this period, you'll probably like this book. ( )