Distinctly Montana Magazine

d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a • w i n t e r 2 0 1 5 80 Mary's travels brought her to the convent where Sarah was living as a nun. When sisters from the convent journeyed west to open a boarding school in Montana, Mary's story really took off. Montana was the perfect place for this powerhouse of a woman. She enjoyed the company of gritty men over delicate ladies, drinking whiskey from the flask in her apron pocket over sipping tea, and using her ham-size fists to inform people not to cross her. There are many tall tales surrounding Mary's time at the school, and her eventual rise to crew foreman. A commonly circulated story involves an altercation with a worker, who did not appreciate working under a black woman. The argument got physical, and as the worker reached for his pistol, Mary whipped out her six-shooter and fired before his hand could leave his pocket. Aside from her proficiency with firearms, Mary was a spitfire when it came to her work. As one nun famously remarked, "May God help anyone who walks on the lawn after Mary has cut it." During Mary's time, women in the West were still battling prejudice — but they still had more freedom and duties than anywhere elsewhere in the country. The demands of creat- ing a viable life on the frontier had men (perhaps grudgingly) accepting women's expanding roles. In many outposts on the western frontier, the ratio of men to women was 100 to 1. This meant that the women were defaulted into higher responsibly than their female counterparts back East. While Stagecoach Mary was an extreme example of expanded wom- en's roles, women in the West were breaking barriers every day. With fewer people and more labor demands, these tough frontier women were expected to rise up and take on more responsibilities in a difficult new land. With the higher demand on each citizen of the frontier, a strapping woman like Mary, who can wield a six-shooter, mend a fence, and drive a horse-drawn coach through inclem- ent weather and hostile territory would have been a valuable amenity to any community. While Mary's skills and domineer- ing personality were already stoutly in place, the environment out West afforded her the opportunity not just to take on expanded roles, but to be valued and cherished for her uncon- ventional contributions to the community. Stagecoach Mary poses proudly with the Cascade, Montana, baseball team.

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