No matter what good intentions the historian has... its truly impossible to get it down right. Historical accuracy, like the life of Calamity Jane herself, is a delicate balancing act between legend, fact, memory, myth and lie. Was she beautiful, or ugly... or somehow both? Witnesses report Calamity Jane as the roughest looking human being I ever saw, and also extremely pretty. Was it red hair or raven black tresses, a degenerate alcoholic whore or angel of mercy? She definitely was at various times a wagon driver, cook, laundress, prostitute, nurse, prospector, and scout. Was she really Wild Bill Hickoks lover? She was a woman who dressed and passed as a man, a dead eye pistol shot who chewed tobacco and cracked her bull whip in Deadwood saloons. But did the name Calamity come from notorious behavior? Black Hills brothel madam Dora DuFran said that whenever there was illness or calamity at the mines Jane was there to nurse and help. Even her birthdate is disputed. It was around 1850. Some biographers believe she was bi-sexual. Others say playing a male role was the only way to get work and experience the wild west frontier. During the smallpox epidemic of 1878 she was a doctor, cook, preacher and undertaker for men most others wouldnt go near. Claims that she was married many times have produced no record or proof of any marriage. On one point all the historical records agree. Calamity Jane was a versatile, habitual, and outrageous liar... who either couldnt tell the truth from fiction, or, more likely, came to believe her own stories true.