The Norman Daily News Presents:
May 4, 1874
Dear Diary,
I've got to get out of St. Louis and move on with my life. It's been two years, but I just can't get over losing Silas, and our baby. I'm starting to think things are never going to get better. My friend Anna has been writing me for the past couple of months, and she is begging me to come stay with her in Dodge City, Kansas. I'm thinking I might take her up on that offer.
Love Always,
Kate
August 11, 1874
Dear Diary,
It's been a while since I've written, but I've been extremely busy. Dodge City is nothing like I envisioned it to be. I expected a quiet little cow town, but it's one of the rowdiest places I have ever seen. Thanks to Anna I got a job working as a dancehall girl my first week here. Anna and I both work for a woman named Bessie Earp at the Lone Star Dance Hall. I guess you could say I like my line of work. I'm good at it and I can't say I don't enjoy it.
Love, Kate
September 10, 1874
Dear Diary,
Last night was unreal. I have never been so angry in my entire life. I had just gotten off work and was grabbing my things to go home, when this drunken idiot grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. He nearly jerked my arm out of its socket and I can still smell the stench of whiskey and cigarrettes on his breath. Of course I told him to get his filthy hands off of me and called him a few choice words which pissed him off. Then, as if I wasn't humiliated enough, he tried to kiss me against my will right in the middle of the dance hall. My temper got the best of me and I gave him a knee to the crotch and slugged him right in the nose. It hurt like hell, but it was worth it.
Love, Kate
October 2, 1874
Dear Diary,
I'm sorry I'm not being consistent with my writing these days. Business at the Lone Star has been really busy lately. Some of the girls at work have been unusually catty lately. Anna told me a few of them were going on about how crazy it was that all of the men seemed to be after me when I wasn't even that pretty and I had a huge nose. Girls can be so mean! I'm gonna have to say they are probably just jealous. I know I'm gorgeous, and that's all that matters!
Love,
"Big Nose Kate"
Editor's Note: Unfortunately most of "Big Nose Kate's" diary entries from 1875 were damaged and not legible. Luckily, Kate's most interesting adventures come from the year 1876, and that's where we'll pick up!
March 30, 1876
Dear Diary,
Well it's been a long week. Bessie told me that she was going to have to let me go because people have been accusing her of running a "Sporting House." I know those immature girls I've been working with had something to do with it. I thought I had kept my side job a pretty good secret. I don't want to be the cause of Bessie losing any business, and I've already been talking to some friends about staying with them in Fort Griffin, Texas. I get bored staying in one place too long anyways.
Love Always,
Kate
April 25, 1876
I'm loving Fort Griffin so far. It's been hard finding a place to work, so money has been a little tight. I was hanging around one of the saloons a couple of weeks ago and had a long conversation with a man named Doc Holliday. He was very nice and it was great to have a conversation with someone who wasn't trying to lure me up to his room. We had dinner the next evening and have been pretty inseparable lately.
I think I'm in Love,
Kate
Doc Holliday
Original Image
January 7, 1877
I didn't think I would ever write in this thing again, but I've recently become a felon so I had to document it! Doc and I went out about a week ago and I ended up hanging out with the girls while he gambled all evening. Doc is known for being one of the best poker players around, so I wasn't surprised when that crazy Ed Baily sat down at Doc's table. They had been playing for a while when Doc said Ed had started picking up the discarded cards and looking at them. It was obviously against the rules and Doc told him several times he better cut it out. Ed wouldn't stop cheating, so Doc collected his winnings. That really ticked Ed off and he pulled out his pistol. In a split second Doc had pulled out his knife and stabbed Ed Baily in the gut. Doc was arrested even though he killed Ed in self-defense.
They were holding Doc in a hotel in downtown Fort Griffin, and I knew he wasn't going to be released anytime soon, so I did what any woman in love would do: I busted my man outta jail! This is one of the most dramatic little towns I've ever lived in, so I knew it wouldn't take much to get everybody riled up. It was around three o'clock Sunday morning when I set fire to a storage shed right in the middle of town. I didn't think it was going to work at first, but when the buildings next to it caught on fire all hell broke loose! I waited for most of the people in the hotel to become consumed with the chaos, and then I climbed the stairs to the second floor where they were holding Doc. I had a pistol in each hand as I busted through the door. Luckily there was only one guard on duty. I told him to get rid of his guns and then I made him undo Doc's restraints. After Doc was freed, he tied the man up and we hurried out of the hotel. We stole a couple of horses, and by the grace of God we made it safely to Dodge City. I feel like such a rebel. I hope I didn't hurt anybody!
Love Always,
"Big Nose Kate"
Author's Note: When I began writing this story, I wasn't sure where I was headed with it. I thought "Big Nose Kate" seemed interesting, but I didn't really know what to think of her. By researching this woman, I found that she suffered many hardships and lived a life not many would approve of. She did what she had to do to get by, and I think that is very inspiring. It was hard trying to match the dates with all of the exciting events in Kate's life, and I didn't like skipping around because I felt like I was missing big parts of her life, but I knew It would take pages so write entries for every month. All of the stories have been written based on the way I percieved Kate, and if an important event was mentioned, the months and days are all made up, but the years are all correct. All of the dates are actually my friends' birthdays, haha! I think Kate represents women who are goal-oriented and independent. I hope you liked my version of "Big Nose Kate," and hopefully you found the Old West as entertaining as I did!
Bibliography:
Wikipedia: Big Nose Kate
Big Nose Kate: Doc Holliday's Sidekick