The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story
She never shot a husband who didn't deserve it.
A small band of Wild West cowgirls rode into stardom around the turn of the 20th century, earning nearly as much as the cowboys in the traveling shows and often out-performing them. At a time when women were discouraged from working outside the home or exercising, the Wild West cowgirls became fabulously popular stars who drew huge audiences and fans. Women around the world admired them for their audacity to lead lives outside the norm. They are some of history's forgotten women.
Goldie Griffith was one of that group of early professional female athletes. She performed tricks and rode bucking broncos for the most famous showman of the time, Buffalo Bill. At the age of 19, she was married during one of his Wild West shows at Madison Square Garden before a crowd of 8,000 whistling and stomping fans. A few years later, she discovered that her cowboy husband had already been married when they wed, and she pulled out her gun.
A WILLA Literary Award finalist for creative non-fiction.
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"Thank heavens Goldie's story wasn't lost because she was present at many significant early day western events and knew many of the people who helped the American West become important to our history. The experiences Goldie had in show business and ranching will keep you turning pages until you finish the book and wish there were more." --Gail Woerner, rodeo historian
"A well-researched blend of fact and informed imagination that brings to life the story of a very independent and colorful woman." --Steve Friesen, Director, Buffalo Bill Museum
"After I started reading it, I could not put it down except to sleep a few hours. It was a great 'read, ' and as a western historian, I could not believe that I had never heard of Goldie Griffith Cameron...she certainly deserves to be recognized as more than a bit player in the overall story of the West in times past." --Alvin Davis
"It's frankly surprising that Griffith is not better known -- she was a boxer, fencer and wrestler who took up bronc-busting and who was "given away" in marriage by none other than Buffalo Bill Cody at Madison Square Garden. Turnbaugh's journalistic background serves her well in this lively, history-packed volume." --Clay Evans, Boulder Daily Camera
"History made delightful--Hollywood and western fiction writers have all too often underestimated how exciting the wild, wild west could be if you were a cowgirl. Actual history is not so restricting." --Amazon reader
