Chris Enss's Blog - Posts Tagged "frontier"

Something wicked is on the way. Enter now to win a copy of the new book Wicked
Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West

“A man dressed in overalls and heavy shoes, with faded hat and bony hands are not to be feared unless he is drunk. Such a man will not steal and will work if he has work to do. It is the slick gentlemanly sneak, who tries to dress well, smokes cigarettes and opium, gambles when he has a stake, associates with soiled doves by day, living off their shameful earnings, and burglarizing residence by night. A proper distribution of muscle and a little birdshot would be the best treatment for such depraved men and their wicked women.”
The Daily Californian – October 29, 1882

To learn more about the wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

National Book Launch on February 21, 2015.

It’s a wicked giveaway. Enter now to win a copy of the new book Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

Early review of Wicked Women from NetGalley.com. When one thinks of the Wild American West, one likely thinks of names like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Wild Bill Hickock. Only slightly less remembered are names like Calamity Jane and Big Nose Kate. In most saloons across the Western States women called many of the shots at the card tables and many ran the brothels as Madams. In Chris Enss' new book, Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous and Wayward Ladies from the Old West the tales of some of the most scandalous women of the day come forward to take their place at the table.

Enss compiles tales from San Francisco to Deadwood, and all the places in between. Women like Squirrel Tooth Alice (named for her pet prairie dogs), Tessie Walls and Belle Cora lead houses of ill repute and gambling better than any man of their day. What they all seemed to succumb to was the love of a wicked man. Many of the women started out as mothers and homemakers, only to be left completely alone when their man skipped out on them or died at the hands of the law. These women took matters into their own hands, and by doing so their incomes.

Enss' writing is comprehensive, as well as sympathetic. While she never hides the crimes of these women, she does tell of them in an entertaining way that finds the reader nose deep in the book and unable to turn away. It is difficult to put down Wicked Women and even more difficult not to talk to those around you about it.

Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous and Wayward Ladies from the Old West is a delightful look into the Old American West for those who want to read a history that isn't just menfolk at the OK Corral.

To learn more about the wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

National Book Launch on February 21, 2015.

Take a chance. Enter now to win a copy of the new book Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.


From the February 4, 1875 edition of the California Alta News comes a warning to men to safeguard themselves from wicked women. The article is referring to women gamblers and soiled doves, several of which are included in the book Wicked Women.

“There have been desperately wicked women in this world of ours, from the days of sacred story to the present moment. They have shown sometimes the cool and calculating villainy of the poisoner and forger, but more often the rabid, eccentric, self-destroying wickedness of the weak. "You men know what an enraged lamb will do," said a keen, observer. Women are not lambs always, but a certain amount of wickedness appears in the most desperate of them. In the first place, that type of woman "staying power" — but the absence of the inertia of strength, whichever prevents such females from rising to successful eminence, that inability of the muscles to serve the exactions of the brain— is real. Conscience and decency come back in a woman after they‘ve lied and snared their prey; her courage in all scenes of danger is proverbial; and it is pathetic to read of the last hours of the most desperate female criminals, to see the womanly virtues appearing as the crust of an unworthy life is being broken, to hear their prayers, witness their generosity, admire their fortitude, and notice then determination to be well or decently. But it is not real - they are wicked.”

To learn about wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

National Book Launch on February 21, 2015 from Noon to 2 p.m. at the Nevada County Railroad Museum in Nevada City, California.

A most wicked giveaway. Enter now to win a copy of the new book Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

According to the July 19, 1897 edition of the Woodland Daily Democrat, the soiled doves and wicked women of Hillertown have finally come to the conclusion that the officers mean business in attempting to rid the city of their class, and the afore mentioned doves have agreed to leave at an early date. This morning District Attorney Hopkins and Officers Lee, Hughes, and Dawson went down to Hillertown and told the damsels that if they would leave their cases of vagrancy against them would not be prosecuted. All the landlords and the inmates of their homes said they would go except Annie Goodrich, who became quite dignified and told the officers that she would think about it. The officers agreed to take her to a cool place to meditate over the matter and placed her under arrest. She was taken before Judge Lampton and after thinking the matter over, concluded to plead guilty. She was removed to the county jail to await sentencing. The Judge issued a statement warning all wicked women against visiting Hillertown again.

To learn about wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

National Book Launch on February 21, 2015 from Noon to 2 p.m. at the Nevada County Railroad Museum in Nevada City, California.

It’s a most wicked giveaway. Enter now to win a copy of the new book Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

What people are saying about Wicked Women.

Carmen Blankenship
What a fascinating look back at some of the most rebellions and independent women in history. Chris Enss does an amazing job of research and presenting these women's story without judgment. I was so fascinating by these madams, gamblers, and hard living women. How brave to take their destiny in their own hands during a time when there were over little options for women in businesses. At times sad, I couldn't tear myself away.

Shonda Wilson
This was a fun and engaging book, when at work I will recommend it for someone who is a dabbler in history who likes fast and fun reads, loved the breakdown of the book and how it is accessible.

Diana Belchase
What a great look at the wicked women of the West. Educational and highly entertaining! Why has no one thought of writing this before?

To learn about wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

National Book Launch on February 21, 2015 from Noon to 2 p.m. at the Nevada County Railroad Museum in Nevada City, California.

Enter now to win a copy of the new book Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

Lottie Goodrich, a denizen of Hangtown, California who makes her home in a house known as the Palace, attempted to poison herself by taking morphine this morning. About l o'clock this morning as Lottie
Mitchell, who occupies another house of the same character in the vicinity, was going to breakfast, she saw the Goodrich woman wandering about in an aimless sort of way in the streets. Observing that she was in distress she went to her assistance and enquired the
trouble and was informed that the Good - rich woman had taken m orphine with the intent of poisoning herself. Help was summoned, but before it arrived the woman fell in the street. A crowd of soiled doves soon congregated about her and attempted to believe her with the usual antidotes, but failed. Dr. Ward was summoned and the woman was taken into the house. After laboring with her for two hours he
succeeded in restoring her to consciousness. The doctor says if she can be kept awake she will recover. Before taking the morphine the woman wrote a note which she left in her room. It was addressed to Lou Carlton and in substance was as follows: “ Telegraph to my mother in Oregon that I have killed myself. Tell her to come down. What money I have left give to my children. I am tired of life.
Give my love to Mrs. Johnson, of Sacramento. Curl my hair before burial.” Lottie Goodrich is supposed to have money in an Oroville bank. It is said that her husband is in San Quentin. She is the mother of several children.


To learn about wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

National Book Launch on February 21, 2015 from Noon to 2 p.m. at the Nevada County Railroad Museum in Nevada City, California.

There will be a parade of more Wicked Women in February. Congratulations to Sherri Royce who won a copy of Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West. More books to be given away. Enter now to win a copy of the new book Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.

According to the December 20, 1894, edition of the Woodland Daily Democrat, “officers in a Northern California mining town raided a house of ill-repute last night. There were three soiled doves and three persons of the sterner sex who are expected to answer to the call of the court on a date hereafter to be fixed. The names of the parties directly concerned are withheld from publication for the very good reasons that the men concerned are of such a standing as to deserve protection on account of their families, if for no other reason.”

To learn about wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West. Available now wherever books are sold.

National Book Launch on February 21, 2015 from Noon to 2 p.m. at the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Nevada City, California.

Enter to win! Enter to win a copy of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon: Women Soldiers and Patriots of the Western Frontier.

Miles and miles of cactus and sand stretched out before a small caravan making its way across the Arizona Territory to an army post in Prescott. Frances Ann Boyd, a petite woman barely past twenty, cast a worried glance at her husband, Orsemus, driving their wagon. The young lieutenant kept his eyes fixed on the rugged trail. Three mounted soldier escorts led the train along the dangerous path toward a canyon in the near distance. It was six o’clock in the evening and, apart from the sound of the wagon wheels bumping along the rugged terrain and the horses’ hooves clopping over rocks, all was quiet.

Frances eyed the horizon before them then disappeared into the wagon. She picked up two sabers lying next to a trunk, unsheathed them, and thrust them out either side of the back of the wagon. From a distance she hoped it would look like they were armed with more travelers who were ready to do battle with the Apache. “Unless they come very close,” she thought, “the dim light would favor our deception.”

To learn more about Frances Boyd and other women soldiers and patriots of the Western Frontier read She Wore A Yellow Ribbon.

Enter to win a copy of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon: Women Soldiers and Patriots of the Western Frontier.

A cold sunrise greeted the soldiers stationed at Fort Cummings, New Mexico, on the first day of 1868. An eager bugler sounded a call to arms, and members of the Thirty-eighth Infantry hurried out of their barracks to line up in formation, their rifles perched over their shoulders. The enlisted African-American men who made up the regiment pulled their army-issued jackets tight around their necks in an effort to protect themselves from a bitter winter wind. Among the troops falling into place was Pvt. William Cathay. Cathay proudly stood at attention, willing and ready to do battle with the Apache who were raiding villages and wagon trains heading west. The determined expression the private wore was not unlike the look the other members of the outfit possessed.

The Thirty-eighth Infantry was just one of many black units known as the Buffalo Soldiers, a dedicated division of the U.S. Army that seemed to consistently wear a determined expression. Cathay was not unique in that manner. By all appearances Private Cathay was like the other 134 men who made up Company A. What set this soldier apart from the others, however, was her gender. Cathay was a woman disguised as a man-anxious to follow orders to overtake the Chiricahua Apache warriors.

To learn more about William Cathay and other women soldiers and patriots of the Western Frontier read She Wore A Yellow Ribbon.

Don’t miss out. Enter to win a copy of None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead: The Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer.

Elizabeth paraded proudly around a small table set with a pristinely polished silver tea service and silver dinnerware. The elegant tea service came from the men in George’s command, the 7th Michigan Cavalry. The dinnerware was a gift from the 1st Vermont Cavalry. Both were not only generous wedding presents, but also a show of support for the Boy General and his leadership skills.

Elizabeth adjusted a large, ceramic vase in the center of the table and stood back to admire the scene. Hanging over the table was a large photograph of George, resplendent in his crisp uniform. Elizabeth smiled at the image staring back at her. Eliza Brown, the Custer’s capable cook and maid, watched the delighted bride through a crack in the kitchen door as she continued to fuss with the items on the table in an effort to make everything as perfect as possible.

A myriad of troops was hustling around outside the sturdy, two-story farmhouse in Culpeper County, Virginia, near the small town of Stevensburg where Elizabeth and her new husband made their home. George rode into the winter encampment of the Union Army, barking orders at his regiment to get to their bunks and prepare for the evening meal. Hundreds of soldiers rushed about, doing their duties as ordered.

To learn more about Elizabeth Bacon Custer and how she lived to glorify her husband’s memory read None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead.