Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Belle Starr, 1848-1889


After the 1886 death of Sam Starr in a gunfight, Belle and one of his relatives, Jim July Starr (also known as Bill July), began living together and announced their common-law marriage under Cherokee custom. Some sources say Belle decided to do this to maintain ownership of her property on Cherokee land.

At first, she was suspected whenever neighbors’ horses and cattle turned up missing or when it was believed she was harboring criminals, but she was not convicted. She settled into a relatively quiet life, announcing that fugitives were no longer welcome at her home, and was known to help her neighbors when they were ill. She often visited Fort Smith, posed for one of her several photographs there, and told the Fort Smith Elevator, “I regard myself as a woman who has seen much of life.”

Starr’s life of crime ended when she was shot in the back as she returned from a general store to her ranch. She died on February 3, 1889. Though suspects included an outlaw with whom she was feuding, a former lover, her husband, and her own son, the killer of Belle Starr was never identified.

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2406

10 comments:

taminator013 said...

Okay, that was interesting. Are you thinking of emulating her or something?

hiswiserangel said...

Who says I haven't already?

Unknown said...

she was also rumored to have had several husbands during her life. One of them was a person that I thought to be a fictional character from Lonesome Dove until I did a little looking. Belle was apparently married to Blue Duck.

Anonymous said...

She won't make the Monday post at Wirecutter's. :)
Terry
Fla.

hiswiserangel said...

Tough. Fucking. Shit.

Anonymous said...

Probably didn't shave her legs either. French?
Terry
Fla.

Anonymous said...

Shaving your legs is overrated. Especially when it's cold, you're wearing jeans, or life is too crazy.

-CM

Angel eyes said...

“I regard myself as a woman who has seen much of life.”

What a way to go, I say.

Heisenbug said...

If I were such a coward as to shoot a woman in the back I'd do my best to remain anonymous, too.

RabidAlien said...

+1 to what Heisenbug said.