☞ “I do not fear man or devil; it is not in my blood, & if they can shoot any straighter or quicker than I, let them try it, for a .44 equalizes frail women & brute men, & all women ought to be able to protect themselves against such ruffians.” — Ellen “Captain Jack” Elliot, Queen of the Rockies.
☞Today in History — On today’s date 103 years ago, Friday, June 17, 1921, noted Old-West Anglo-American gold prospector & Indian fighter Ellen “Captain Jack” Elliott (1842-1921) met her earthly demise at the age of 78 when she died from the effects of “leakage of the heart” at the town of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado.
☞Requiéscat in Pace, Captain Jack Elliot.
☞The following text is an excerpt from the website of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City:
Ellen Elliott Jack was born in New Lentern, Nottingham, England, on November 4, 1842. As a young girl, Ellen encountered a gypsy queen who foretold of a life of tragedy & treasures. Who would have believed these predictions would come true? Ellen met her future husband, Charles E. Jack, in 1860 whilst aboard the steamer, James Foster. Once married, Ellen settled with Charles in New York, but soon he left the city & became a Navy captain during the Civil War. While he was gone, Ellen gave birth to their first daughter & soon after the war gave birth to a son. Tragedy struck when both children were lost to scarlet fever. Later, Ellen had two more daughters, losing one to scarlet fever. It was not long after these deaths that Captain Jack died of an enlarged heart.
Ellen decided that she would head west & placed her surviving daughter in the care of her sister-in-law. She established a thriving boarding house in Gunnison, Colorado & began her search for treasure in the mines of Colorado. During one of her trips into the mountains, Ellen discovered the very profitable, Black Queen silver mine. The mine provided Ellen with happiness as well as heartache. Several men proclaimed their love for her, but Ellen did not return that love until she met a man named Walsh. It turned out that Walsh was a con man & he tried, & failed, to steal all of Ellen’s wealth.
Accomplished at handling pistols & rifles, Ellen had to use these weapons more than once throughout her life. The boom towns she traveled through required that she be ready to defend herself & face arrest for doing so. Of the numerous times she was arrested, Ellen was always justified in shooting the man or men who tried to steal, cheat, or kill her. Ellen spent the rest of her life prospecting in the Colorado area. It is said she always carried her pistol & her pick-ax with her no matter where she traveled.
☞The photograph, from a 1906 picture postcard, depicts Captain Jack Elliot, Queen of the Rockies, at around the age of 64 holding her British Bull Dog double-action .44 calibre revolver.
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