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Stagecoach Mary Fields: America’s First Black Postwoman & Gunslinging Legend
💪 “The Toughest Woman in the West”
Born into slavery around 1832, Mary Fields became a 6-foot-tall, cigar-chomping, whiskey-drinking pioneer who delivered mail through blizzards, wolf packs, and bandits—all while packing a shotgun and two revolvers.
🔫 Why She Was a Badass
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First Black Woman U.S. Mail Carrier
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Hired in 1895 (at ~60 years old!) to deliver mail by stagecoach in Montana, a job only given to the toughest men.
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Never missed a day, even when snowdrifts blocked the roads—she’d walk the mail 10+ miles if needed.
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Fought Off Wolves & Thieves
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Once shot a would-be robber mid-ambush, then finished her route like nothing happened.
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Carried a .38 Smith & Wesson and a 10-gauge shotgun—because “one gun ain’t always enough.”
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Banned from Saloons (For Fighting)
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Got into fistfights with rowdy cowboys and won.
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When a man insulted her, she knocked him out cold—leading to her (temporary) ban from local bars.
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Loved by Her Town
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When snow trapped her stagecoach, the whole community dug her out.
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The mayor exempted her from Montana’s “women’s curfew” because, as he put it: “Mary’s no ordinary woman.”
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🎂 Her Unconventional Retirement
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Fired at ~70 years old for “drawing her gun on a customer” (he deserved it).
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Opened a laundry business—but still drank and smoked with soldiers at the local fort.
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Died in 1914, beloved as “Black Mary”—with her funeral attended by hundreds.
🔥 Why History Forgot Her (Until Now)
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Racism and sexism erased many Black pioneers from Western lore.
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But modern books/films (like “The Harder They Fall”, 2021) are finally honoring her.
“She broke more noses than laws.” —Local Montana paper, 1890s
📚 Want to Learn More?
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Read: “Black Women of the Old West” by William Loren Katz
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Watch: “Stagecoach Mary” documentaries (YouTube)
Mary proved the West wasn’t just won by men—it was won by grit. 🤠✨
Think you’re tough? Mary hauled 100 lbs of mail uphill in a blizzard. At 60.
