Pistol Packin' Madams

<DIV>Between 1840 and 1870 hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic dreamers embarked on the 2000-mile journey into the wide-open frontier of the United States in search of free land gold adventure and a better life. Although only a few women were numbered among the very first pioneers those who did take the risk changed the face of the United States forever. The Western woman left the restrictions and conventions of her way of life behind and carried the struggle of emancipation into areas sacred to the male. She competed in business and politics bronco busting smoking drinking gambling and gun-toting. This book celebrates the stories of the non-conforming gun-toting pioneers who settled the West.<BR></DIV>