At Fort Russell, in 1870, Martha became a scout for General George Cook. She went with him to Arizona on the “Indian Campaign”. It was then that Martha began dressing like a man, donning the uniform of a soldier. Her uniform was not only best suited for her military role, but it allowed her to be accepted by men. Between 1872-1873, at the age of 20, Martha claimed to have received her nickname. Martha was riding ahead of her party as they returned to their post, when a group of Indians ambushed them. Captain Egan was shot and began to fall from his horse; Martha immediately rode over to Egan and caught him as he fell. She took him all the way to the post on her horse, and he exclaimed, “I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains”. She kept the name for the rest of her life. Martha journeyed to Big Horn River in 1875 with her party. She became extremely ill and had to recover at Fort Fetterman for two weeks, it was there that she met Wild Bill Hickok. A year later, Martha took off with Wild Bill to work as a pony express rider, after that, she ended up in Deadwood, South Dakota. Soon after, however, while Wild Bill was gambling, he was shot in the back of the head and killed. Calamity Jane was extremely angered by her friend’s death. Eventually, the murderer, Jack McCall, was tried, sentenced, and hung. Martha remained in the Deadwood area until 1878.
