The Ocoee Ranger page 2 May 2008
THE REAL WEST & THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION
THE REAL WEST – “Stagecoach” Mary Fields (1832 – 1914)
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Mary Fields was born in Tennessee in 1832, a slave on a plantation. But Mary, even as a young woman, had grit and determination. She split from the plantation, traveled to Ohio, and found work at a Catholic convent. She did good work, and the nuns grew fond of her, and she grew fond of the head nun, Mother Amadeus Dunne. Some years later, Ms Dunne and her flock of weirdly dressed cohorts, were sent to Montana to establish a school for Indian young’uns. But the good mother got sick, and Mary accompanied another head nun out West to attend to Ms Dunne. Her pal got well, and Mary stayed in Montana. |
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Now Mary wasn’t docile, like the good sisters. She took a nip when she wanted one and she smoked cigars. And she was a large woman who took no stuff from anyone, him or her. So the good priests who started and sponsored the mission school, determined that she was way too worldly to be around the Indian kids. And they told Mother Dunne she’d have to send Mary packin’. And being a good nun, she did. But she gave Mary money to set up a restaurant, which wasn’t successful. When hungry folks didn’t have money to pay, Mary fed’em anyway. That ain’t good business. Then the good Ms Dunne convinced your Uncle Sam’s bureaucrats to give Mary the contract to haul the U.S. mail in the Cascade County area and deliver mail to the mission. She soon was driving a stagecoach. Up on the driver’s seat, wearing a man’s coat, a hat, packing a six-gun and a double barrel shotgun, and smoking her cigar, Mary was a tough customer. And like Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary, she became a mythical character as “Stagecoach Mary”, although not as well known as “Calamity”.
Legends grew about Mary. They said she stood 6 feet tall and weighed 200 lbs. and on more than 1 occasion knocked out men who offended her. She carried a six-gun, drank in saloons, and nobody challenged her presence there. Her legend was undoubtedly larger than the truth, but that was common with most Old West characters we know about now.
After her stagecoach driving days were over, Mary operated various small businesses to support herself. She died in Cascade, Montana in 1914.
THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION – El Carrera
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Sometimes we shoot with folks with names that we really don’t know how to pronounce, or what they mean. Have you ever found yourself in that position? If you’ve shot with El Carrera, you might have. So, let’s consider him. Yeah, he’s a classy cowboy. And he looks spiffy in his shootin’ duds. And he don’t shoot too bad, for a 1-handed shooter. But, what else do you know about him? Let’s fill in a few gaps. He started cowboy shootin in 2000, sorta. Well, that’s when he formally started. But way back when he was in high school, back when mentioning the words student and guns in the same sentence wasn’t politically incorrect, El Carrera lived south of Wichita, Kansas, near the Chisholm Trail. And he and his high school |
chums shot single action revolvers. No, they didn’t take guns to school and do outlandish stuff that’s done now a days. That was back when folks were civilized. Years later, he found himself in this part of the country. 1 day, he and Shootin’ Sue went to Greeneville, TN to a historical reenactment. Not long after that, they both got carry permits. Then they heard about SASS and discovered the Smoky Mountain Shootists, the Knoxville cowboys & cowgirls. And they joined: both groups.
El Carrera started out shootin’ Traditional. Then he switched to Double Duelist, then Gunfighter and then Classic. Why Classic? “I started shooting Classic because I enjoy the historic period costuming and the type of firearms used.” (Classic cowboys don’t shoot little calibers. They use real guns: 44’s and .45’s. And their rifles can’t be later than ’73 Winchesters. And their shotguns have to be double barrel hammer type or lever action.)
Now the big question: El Carrera. What the heck does that mean? “The literal translation in Spanish means Race. Being a Porsche enthusiast and member in the Porsche Club of America for 38 years, I wanted to find an alias that was different and thought the Carrera name would combine both hobbies. The Porsche name Carrera came from the Carrera Pan Americana Race in the 1950’s. Porsche was so successful in those races that they named all of their fast competition cars from that point on, Carrera.” That was simple. Too Tall knew that, didn’t he?
Here’s what he says about cowboy shootin’: “I like the diversity of the people who shoot, American history, and the history of and working on the guns. When Shootin Sue and I go to conventions and meetings across the US, I enjoy shooting with other SASS groups. In San Antonio, I shot with the overall national champion, unbelievably fast. In Phoenix, I shot with cowboys from all over the country, using a local shoot to warm up for Winter Range. I enjoy bringing those stages back and incorporate them into our local shoots.”
What would he change? “I would create the Classic Cowboy Gunfighter category. It would be really cool to shoot gunfighter and use the classic cowboy firearms in classic attire.”
What are his shootin’ irons? “I shoot Rugers and USFA in .45 Caliber and 1866 and 1873 Winchesters in .45 Caliber. My shotguns for Classic are a hammered double 12 gauge and an 1887 Lever shotgun in 12 gauge. When I shoot Gunfighter, I use the 1897 Winchester pump manufactured in 1908 and 1932.”
What kinda stuff does he do for the Smoky Mountain Shootists? “Being an architect by training, I helped design the Pigeon Forge and Oak Ridge range facilities. I’ve been involved in writing stages for the local shoots and the annual Smoky Mountain Shoot-out. Also I can weed-eat and shovel rock as necessary. I help coordinate the Shoot-Out facility with the City of Oak Ridge.” All that, and he likes Clint Eastwood: “My favorite (movie cowboy) is Clint Eastwood. I’ve seen all of his movies, as well as most of the other cowboy movies.”
Shucks, El Carrera is ……. Well, he’s a classy feller to shoot with.
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