Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w. d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a . c o m 81 Driving a U.S. Postal Service stagecoach is the role Mary Fields is most famous for. She was only the second woman employed by the U.S. Postal Service, and the first black woman. Regardless of whether she was aware of it, Mary was a pioneer for women's expanding societal roles. Most of the women's suffrage movement was taking place back on the East Coast, but women out West were pioneering a different kind of independence. Mary was too busy was running stage- coaches and wielding pistols 50 years before women were even allowed in the polling booths. She didn't have time to stand on a soapbox. Driving a U.S. Postal Service stagecoach is the role Mary Fields is most famous for. She was only the second woman employed by the U.S. Postal Service, and the first black wom- an. When envisioning a career in high-risk, labor-intensive fields, working for the U.S. Postal Service isn't the first thing that springs to mind. But in the Wild West, Stagecoach Mary wasn't driving a truck along suburban streets and handing out dog treats to the neighborhood pooch. The weight of an empty nine-passenger Concorde — the typical Western mail coach — was 2,400 pounds. Aside from maneuvering a massive wagon and controlling a team of six flighty horses, postal drivers had to fight both the weather and the outlaws. Montana is not known for consistently good skies, and Mary drove her coach through blizzards, snowdrifts, baking heat, and across swollen rivers. Driving a stagecoach filled with valuable goods through lawless ter- ritories wasn't for the faint of heart, but attempting to rob Mary's stagecoach wasn't either. Her skills with her .38 Smith & Wesson were legendary, and she bragged her gun "could cut a man in half at close range." Dressed in a man's overcoat with a pistol under her apron and a jug of whiskey by her feet, Stagecoach Mary would clang into tiny frontier outposts. With her knack for driving horses and her don't-mess-with- me attitude, the mail on Mary's coach always got where it was going. One famed night, a pack of wolves frightened Mary's team of horses, and the coach flipped on its side. Taking shelter behind the overturned vehicle, Mary held the wolf pack off all through the night, armed with her pistol and shotgun. When daybreak hit, Mary was still alive, and the mail deliv- ery intact. S e rv i c e S • prepare residence for sale & moving coordination • Home selection or redesign • selection of furnisHings • interior finisHes r e S i d e n c e S c o m p l e t e d cHicago • b o z e m a n • new York citY • sarasota san francisco • tuscon • carmel • cHarlotte 1035 Hull terrace • evanston, illinois 60202 • 312.943.7464 • mgelis@madelinegelis.com madelinegelis.com CONTINUED

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