How did a petite tomboy become the “Maid of the Western Plains”?
Phoebe Ann Moses was born in western Ohio. Her family was poor, and her daddy died when she was only five. So, unlike most other girls, “Annie” learned to hunt.
She helped support her family by shooting animals for food and selling the game to nearby hotels.
But soon Annie found a much better way to make a living. Nearly everbody loved watching shooting contests. The best sharp-shooters could make a good living traveling around the country entertaining folks with their talents. When she was 15, she changed her name to Annie Oakley. She challenged one of the sharpest shots around. Frank Butler had lost only a handful of shoot-outs in his day. The contest was close, with both sides hitting more bullseyes in one round than most people could shoot in a week! The competition lasted until the very last shot. Annie won by a single bullet. If Frank was disappointed, it wasn't for long: He married Annie a year later.
Annie and Frank took their talent on the road, putting on shows for audiences in towns across America. In one routine, Frank held up a playing card with the ace of hearts—and Annie shot a hole straight through the heart!
Off stage, Annie dressed like most other ladies of the time: long dresses and neatly tied-back hair. But on stage, Annie wore just the opposite: skirts that came up to her knees—and loose red hair that flashed in the afternoon sun.
Soon Frank and Annie joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, the greatest Western act in America. They even toured Europe, where Annie shot a cigarette out of a German king's mouth!
Her shooting—and her spirit—made Annie a sensation. She was one of the first great American entertainers, and she even starred in one of the first Western movies ever made!
