Frontier Legends | Annie Oakley | 5

American History Tellers - Audible

This episode of American History Tellers explores the early life and rise to fame of Annie Oakley, one of the most iconic figures of the Wil

Key takeaways

• Annie Oakley's exceptional marksmanship was developed through necessity and self-teaching, not formal training.
• Her early life was marked by hardship, including abuse from foster parents and poverty, which shaped her resilience and independence.

Main topics

• Annie Oakley's early life and upbringing in rural Ohio
• The pivotal shooting match against Frank Butler in 1875

Notable quotes

"I've never lost a shooting match in my life. Well, there's a first time for everything, you know."

"She can't be more than 15 years old, no taller than an apple barrel. How's she even going to lift her gun?"

Conclusion

Annie Oakley's journey from a struggling rural girl to a celebrated sharpshooter and cultural

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. Speaker 2 (0:18) Imagine it's November 1875 in Cincinnati, Ohio. You're a traveling sharpshooter, and for several months now, you've been making your way across the Midwest vaudeville circuit. If there's a crowd and prize money involved, you'll take part in just about anything that involves a gun, from trick shot displays to exhibitions to shooting matches. Today, you're at the local shooting hill, where you're expecting to impress the crowd by skillfully shooting down clay pigeons more quickly and accurately than your opponent. before collecting your winnings and moving on. Your match is about to start, so you find a seat on a nearby bench and begin methodically cleaning your shotgun. You notice a man approaching, and as he gets closer, you recognize him as Jack Frost, a local hotel owner and the organizer of today's event. He claps his hands together, excited for the match he set up for you. Oh, how are you feeling? Nervous? Jack, I've never lost a shooting match in my life. Well, there's a first time for everything, you know. Not today. You stand and confidently snap the barrel of the shotgun closed. Honestly, I still can't believe you're offering me $100 for this match. That's enough for me to keep traveling for another six months. Well, that's assuming if you win. Don't underestimate me. These local boys don't stand a chance. Oh, sounds like your audience is awaiting. You straighten your vest and start walking in the direction of the crowd. Oh, by the way, your opponent, it's not a local boy. You stand and look at him. His grin worries you. Oh, yeah? Who is it, then? Oh, you'll see. Speaker 2 (1:52) You arrive at the other side of the hill where hundreds of people are gathered. Across the way, you see a young girl in a plain dress, no more than five feet tall, with a shotgun in her hand. And who's that? That, my friend, is your competition. She can't be more than 15 years old, no taller than an apple barrel. How's she even going to lift her gun? Are you joking me? I never joke when it comes to money. Speaker 2 (2:17) Frost pats you on the shoulder before disappearing into the crowd. You turn back to the girl, trying to shake off your confusion. You give her a polite nod as you step up to take the first shot. As the clay pigeon is released, you aim your shotgun high and pull the trigger, easily managing to hit it. Then you step back. The next clay pigeon soars through the air and you watch as the girl raises her shotgun and hits it with a perfect shot. You're surprised at how effortlessly she handles her weapon. but then just chalk it up to beginner's luck. Still, as the contest proceeds, the girl hits her target again and again, and you have to admit, not only is she incredibly accurate, she's actually quicker than you. A flutter of nerves seizes you as you realize you're about to lose to a teenage girl, but at the same time, you find her captivating. You've never seen anyone like her, and before long, you're no longer worried about the prize money. you're more interested in getting to know this remarkable young sharpshooter. Speaker 5 (3:20) Police in Irvine, California are investigating the double murder of a young couple in the parking lot of their apartment complex. A double homicide grabs the public's attention by the throat. We Speaker 2 (3:29) have identified Christopher Dorner as a suspect in this double homicide. Speaker 5 (3:34) A former cop and still on the loose. Considered armed and extremely dangerous. And scariest of all, he left something behind. A particular interest is a multi-page manifesto. This Speaker 1 (3:47) manifesto on Facebook is 11 pages long. Speaker 4 (3:50) Trace, this manifesto from this suspect who's targeting cops, it's stunning. Speaker 5 (3:55) Listen to the show The New Yorker calls one of the best podcasts of the summer, Dan Taberski's Manifesto. Speaker 2 (4:01) And I tell you, this manifesto, it scares the hell out of me. Speaker 5 (4:04) Listen to Dan Taberski's Manifesto wherever you get your podcasts or binge the entire series right now only with Audible. Speaker 2 (4:22) From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers. Our history, your story. Speaker 2 (4:47) On a cold November day in Cincinnati, Ohio, a precocious young woman effortlessly outshot her unsuspecting opponent, the older professional marksman Frank Butler. She'd later be known to the world as Annie Oakley, and from that day forward, the trajectory of her life would change forever. Oakley was born into poverty in rural Ohio, and as a young girl, she had picked up her father's gun to hunt and help support the family. But after the shooting match with Frank Butler, she discovered that people would pay to see her shoot. Soon, Annie Oakley was selling out tickets wherever she went. The public was fascinated by her, a young woman who defied convention and could shoot better than any man. But Oakley's legendary status was a product of more than just her marksmanship. She also knew how to sell herself and did it well. In time, the real Annie faded into the background, overshadowed by the persona she'd crafted for the masses. And in the process, she became one of the last enduring symbols of the Wild West, even as that mythic place was fading into the past. This is Episode 5 in our five-part series on Frontier Legends, Annie Oakley. Speaker 2 (5:58) Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Moses in 1860 in western Ohio. Her parents, Jacob and Susan, were devout Quakers who had come to Ohio from Pennsylvania to farm their own land. Annie was their fourth daughter, and like all her siblings, she helped around the farm to earn her keep. But unlike her older sisters, Annie didn't care much for household chores. Still, her family was poor, which meant that they had to supplement their farming by hunting, and extra eyes in the woods were always helpful. So as early as five years old, Annie went out hunting with her father, Jacob, and he taught her how to trap small animals for food. That same year, in the winter of 1865, Annie's father went into town to buy supplies and got caught in a blizzard coming home. It was midnight when he returned, and by then he was so cold that his hands were frozen solid. Three months later, at the age of 67, he died, leaving his wife Susan and their seven children with practically nothing. Newly widowed, Susan moved her large family into a smaller home where they struggled to make ends meet. Annie tried to trap like her father had shown her, but she couldn't catch enough to feed her large family. So one day, when she was eight, she went into the living room where her father's old rifle was mounted above the fireplace. She took it down, then found the gunpowder. But she didn't know how much she was supposed to use, so she simply stuffed as much as she could into the barrel of the gun. Then she went outside and balanced the rifle along the railing of the family's porch. In the yard, she saw a rabbit. She squinted with one eye, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The kickback was so intense that the butt of the gun hit her square in the nose. She yelped in pain, but it was worth it. She had gotten a clean headshot, meaning the rest of the meat could be preserved for food. On her very first shot, she proved she was a natural, and Annie soon came to love hunting. Her mother was appalled at the idea of her daughter shooting animals, but no matter what Susan said, Annie kept at it, often skipping school to go quail shooting. But money was still tight, and when Annie was about 10, her mother made the painful decision to send some of the children, including Annie, to live with other people. So Annie went to live with a couple who had a newborn and needed help with child care. But Annie soon discovered that in addition to watching the baby, she was expected to cook and clean. milk the cows, feed the farm animals, pump water, and hunt and trap game. The couple treated Annie so terribly that she would later refer to them simply as the wolves. And their treatment of her only got worse as time went on. As well as working her half to death, they were physically abusive, locking her in closets and once throwing her outside in freezing temperatures after she fell asleep while mending clothes. According to Annie, she felt like she was their slave. Unable to take it any longer, when she was 12 years old, Annie ran away from the Wolves and went to the country poorhouse where the superintendent and his wife took her in. When the Wolves came looking for her, the superintendent turned them away, and Annie vowed never again to allow herself to feel so helpless. About three years later, when Annie was 15, she returned home to her mother. Susan had remarried, but the family was still desperately poor. To help her family get by, Annie once again picked up her father's old rifle and went into the woods to hunt. As a child, she enjoyed hunting as a hobby, but now it became a way of life. She studied the habits of different animals and learned where she could find them. She became especially adept at shooting quail, no easy feat because of their small size and speed, but she enjoyed the challenge. She preferred taking her shot when her target was on the move, later saying that she wanted to at least give the animals a fighting chance. And as a bonus, it greatly improved her hand-eye coordination, leading her to develop lightning-fast reflexes. Soon, Annie was bagging so many quail that her family couldn't possibly eat them all, so she decided to try another way to earn her keep. Speaker 2 (9:59) Imagine it's just after dawn in 1875 in Greenfield, Ohio. You're a grocer, and you're restocking the shelves of your store, getting ready to open for the day. You've just finished arranging a display of canned peas when you hear a knock on the door. Speaker 5 (10:13) We're closed. We don't open for another hour. I said we're closed. Speaker 2 (10:19) You sigh as you walk