Estelline Bennett was a little girl in Deadwood, South
Dakota (Sioux Territory) in the late 19th century. She saw it transform from
a rough mining camp into a real city with three-story buildings and laws to
uphold. An inquisitive and observant young woman, Bennett took note of all
the important events that affected the town's residents. Her story is lively
and absorbing, and it gives an unparalleled glimpse into many aspects of
life in the west.
Bennett's father was the town judge, so she had an inside
view into crime and punishment in Deadwood, which was a classic wild west
mining town:
Close-built log cabins faced each other from behind
pathetically important square false fronts across a rough road in the
building of a Main street never intended for permanence. Ten thousand
venturesome, excited gold seekers panned gold in the streams and crowded
into the cabins.
As a female, Bennett had a different perspective from most
other chroniclers of the American west. Her anecdotes of community life in
the town are unique and interesting; she describes in detail the
interactions between Chinese, whites and Indians and between the different
levels of the social order. Bennett seemed particularly fascinated by
Deadwood's prostitutes, and her book is often concerned with their shadowy
lives and deaths.
Deadwood was certainly full of activity: men made fortunes
in placer mining, gamblers and prostitutes enjoyed piano music and whiskey
in the saloon, respectable ladies did their shopping on Main Street, outlaws
were hung, and 'bullwhackers' passed through on their way from place to
place. Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok were locals, and the residents had
names like Buckshot Bill and Blonde May.
Her meeting with Calamity Jane, Deadwood's most famous
resident, was one of the high points in Bennett's early life:
I was walking along Main street dawdling along as much
as possible on an errand for my mother hoping something interesting would
happen, when Father overtook me. He said my uncle the General, was looking
for me. He wanted to introduce me to Calamity Jane…If I had been
summoned to meet Joan of Arc or Alice in Wonderland or the Ice King's
Daughter, it would not have been more marvelous or unreal…
Bennett goes on to narrate some of Calamity Jane's local
exploits, and follows her story to the end of Jane's life. She intertwines
her own and her family's adventures with those of more famous people.
Bennett is an excellent writer, and if you have any interest in the wild
west in general or Deadwood specifically, this is a terrific book.
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