Trailblazer and Cowboy List

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During the next two decades she would drive stages for a number of stage lines, including Wells Fargo on its stage run from Santa Cruz to San Jose. She wore gloves in both summer and winter to hide her small hands and pleated shirts to hide her figure. Over one eye she wore a patch, giving her a tough looking appearance. One of her unknowing companions would say of her: "she out-swore, out-drank, and out-chewed even the Monterey whalers." In 1868, she was a registered voter, making her the first woman to vote in California.

After giving up driving, she worked at lumbering, cattle ranching and raising chickens before retiring to a quiet life in Watsonville, California. When she died on December 18, 1879 of cancer, her true sex was revealed for the first time to an abundance of startled friends. The San Francisco Morning Call said of her upon her death, "the most dexterous and celebrated of the California drivers, and it was an honor to occupy the spare end of the driver's seat when the fearless Charley Parkhurst held the reins."

Charles "Charlie" E. Parks (18??-1907) - In the early 1860's Parks was one of 80 Pony Express riders who served Utah , Nevada and California, where he was regarded as one of the most capable and faithful men of the western division. After the Pony Express came to an end, he worked for Wells-Fargo as a "shotgun messenger." In this capacity, it was his duty to guard the treasures that were contained in the iron boxes in the boot of the stagecoach. In his seat beside the driver, he carried his "sawed-off" weapon ever ready for use as encounters with road agents were plentiful in the early days of placer mining in California. Parks won undying fame as a defender of the trust over which he watched, carrying to his grave more than a score of bullet wounds. After Wells-Fargo he made his home in San Francisco where he was in the insurance and brokerage business. He was about 70 when he died in San Francisco on March 27, 1907.

Pawnee Bill - See Gordon William "Pawnee Bill" Lillie

William Pickett, aka: Bill, Will (1870?-1932) - Of black and Indian descent, Bill Pickett was one of the first great rodeo cowboys and is credited with inventing the sport of bulldogging.

Charles Angelo Siringo (1855-1928) – One of the most famous detectives of the Pinkerton National Detectvie Agency, Siringo also served as a lawman for many years and became an author. More ...

Charlie Utter (1838-??) -  Charlie Utter was born near Niagra Falls, New York in 1838, and spent his childhood in Illinois. When he grew up he moved west and in the 1860s he was earning a living as a trapper and a prospector in Colorado. Over the years, Charlie was a hunter, a trapper, gold prospector, mine owner, express rider and transportation businessman. Though the vast majority of men holding these kinds of professions at the time were unkempt, this was not the case for Charlie Utter, who took a lot of pride in his appearance, often dressing in hand-tailored suits and keeping his long blonde hair and mustache meticulously groomed. Even more unusual for the times, he insisted on taking a daily bath. Long before Utter  ever arrived in Deadwood, he had become a true friend to Wild Bill Hickok. After leaving Deadwood, Utter headed to Leadville and Durango, Colorado areas exploring the many mining camps. Later he was known to have operated a saloon in Socorro, New Mexico. Beyond New Mexico,  Charlie's trail is virtually lost in history and it is  unknown where or when he died.  More ...

Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, © Updated, July, 2007

Strap on your chaps, boys, and tie on your slicker;

Before the day's over, you'll wish you had some licker.

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