The West Old & New Vol. III Issue II February 2014 | Page 6

the U.S. Mail. It was a rough and rugged route and would require a person of strong will and great survival skills to maneuver the
snowy roads and high winds. Mary immediately applied at the ripe age of 60 years old. It was rumored that she could hitch a team
of horses faster than the boys half her age and due to her toughness, she was hired! Mary became the first African American mail
carrier in the United States and the second woman. Mary was proud of the fact that her stage was never held up. Mary and her
mule Moses, never missed a day and it was during this time that she earned the nickname of “Stagecoach,” for her unfailing reliability. The townspeople adopted Mary as one of their own. They celebrated her birthday twice a year since she didn’t know the
exact date of her real birthday. Mary Fields was known as Black Mary and Stagecoach Mary. She was considered an eccentric
even in these modern times. She was six feet tall and over 200 pounds. By the time she was well known in Central Montana, she
had a pet eagle, a penchant for whiskey, baseball (which was a new sport at the time) and a heart as big as the gun she was famous
for carrying. Mary wore a buffalo skin dress that she made herself – you might say she drew attention wherever she went – even in
a small western pioneer town. Mary was a local celebrity and her legend and tales of her adventures were known by surrounding
communities and neighboring states. Gary Cooper (the actor) had his mail delivered by Mary as a young boy in Cascade County.
As an adult, he wrote about her for Ebony Magazine in 1955. Her wrote of her kindness and his admiration for her. The famous
western artists Charlie Russell drew a sketch of her. It was a pen and ink sketch of a mule kicking over a basket of eggs with Mary
looking none to happy. Mary retired her post in 1901 and passed away in 1914. She is buried at Highland Cemetery at St. Peter’s
Mission. Her grave is marked with a simple cross.

niknaR gnirekciP ettennaeJ
niknaR gnirekciP ettennaeJ
niknaR gnirekciP ettennaeJ
niknaR gnirekciP ettennaeJ
(June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973)
Rankin was the first woman in the United States Congress, elected in Montana in 1916 and again in 1940. After being elected
in 1916 she said, "I may be the first woman member of Congress but I won’t be the last."
A lifelong pacifist, she was one of fifty members of Congress who voted against entry into World War I in 1917, and the only
member of Congress who voted against declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Rankin was born on June 11, 1880 near Missoula, Montana, to schoolteacher Olive Pickering Rankin and Canadian immigrant, carpenter, and rancher John Rankin. She was the oldest of six children including five girls, one of whom died in childhood.
As a child, Rankin gained a reputation for doing things most other girls didn't. She often helped ranch hands with machinery, and
once single-handedly built a sidewalk to help her father rent a building.
She graduated from high school in 1898, and in 1902 graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelor of Science
degree in Biology. Undecided about what to do next, Rankin tried dressmaking and furniture design but neither suited her. She
also turned down several marriage proposals.
Rankin attended the New York School of Philanthropy (later part of Columbia University) from
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