The Bull Whip Breed

They met in a New Orleans alleyway in the dark days following the Civil War. His name was Philippe St Andre-a peace officer-and he was in the process of being beaten up by a gang of hardcases. Her name was Martha Jane Canary, and with a few unladylike tricks she dispersed the thugs with an ease that belied her boyish appearance.That meeting proved providential for the good citizens of New Orleans and fatal for the maniacal killer who had been terrorizing the streets of the city. Already seven girls had fallen into the clutches of the notorious "Strangler". What the police needed was a girl with courage enough to act as bait for the killer, and who better, thought St Andre, than the slim girl who had saved his life and who was known throughout the West as Calamity Jane. J.T. Edson brings to life the fierce and often bloody struggles of untamed West. His colorful characters are linked together by the binding power of the spirit of adventure -- and hard work -- that eventually won the West. With more than 25 million copies of his novels in print, J.T. Edson has proven to be one of the finest craftsmen of Western storytelling in our time. Calamity (Martha Jane Canary) is acknowledged by the author not to be the historical character of that name. As presented in the books, she is a young woman in her late teens or early twenties who fled a convent school to join a freight-driving crew led by Dobe Killem. Initially she made herself useful by stepping in for their drunken cook, but soon learned how to manage a team of heavy horses, fight with a whip, and shoot competently with either a .36-calibre Navy Colt or a Winchester carbine (both chosen to suit her smaller, less muscular frame). She has several adventures of her own in addition to intermittently associating with the Floating Outfit. While enjoying an on-off physical relationship with Mark Counter, it is mutually understood that they are only what a later century would call "Friends with benefits", and she enjoys other male company routinely, including on one occasion the Ysabel Kid (in White Stallion, Red Mare).