Annie Oakley, born as Phoebe Ann Moses (1860 – 1926) , is a mythical character in the Conquest of the West. She stood out for her skill and great precision in shooting.
An early talent for shooting
Phoebe Ann, or Annie, was born on August 13, 1860 in a rural community on the Ohio border. His parents, Susan Wise and Jacob Mosey, are Quakers. They will have nine children, two of whom die in infancy. Caught in a blizzard in 1865, Jacob suffered from hypothermia and died of pneumonia the following year, when Annie was not yet six years old.
The family then falls into poverty and Annie, out of school, begins to set traps and then to hunt and shoot from the age of eight, to feed her brothers and sisters. Very quickly, she turns out to be exceptionally good at shooting.
Wolves
But the situation of his family remains very difficult. Unable to provide for her children, Susan entrusts Annie and her older sister to the Darke County Infirmary, under the care of the Edington couple. In this institution for the sick, Annie learned sewing in particular before being placed as a servant with a couple in the region.
There, Annie is treated so harshly and endures such harsh physical and psychological treatment that she calls the couple "the wolves". Far from receiving the promised salary and education, she had to do heavy physical work and exposed herself to cruel punishments for the slightest mistake:one day, the mistress of the house forced her to stay outside, in the snow, without shoes, for falling asleep while sewing. After several years of this mistreatment, Annie fled from "the wolves" and returned to her mother's home, who had remarried in the meantime.
The shooting contest
Annie resumes hunting. Selling its prey skilfully killed with a bullet in the head, and not a volley of pellets in the body, its talents for shooting are known and appreciated in the region. When renowned sniper Frank E. Butler produces his show in Cincinatti, a hotelier organizes a contest between Annie and him.
Accustomed to competing against local shooters, 25-year-old professional shooter Frank Butler doesn't expect to face a 15-year-old girl. Convinced of beating her, who is competing for the first time, with a rifle that is not hers, he makes fun of her. Under the gaze of the crowd, they compete in pigeon shooting, until the first one misses a shot. As Annie takes aim for the 25th time, Frank misses his shot, and loses the competition.
The Buffalo Bill Wild West Show
Frank and Annie were married shortly after the competition, in August 1876, and Annie joined the show of her husband. It was during this period that she chose Oakley as her stage name, named after the district of Cincinatti where they settled. Both perform in various circuses, where Annie does not always appear as a shooter.
In 1885, the couple joined the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show . Impressed by Annie's talent, Sitting Bull, a member of the troop, nicknamed her Watanya Ciciliaou:the little one with a sure shot. Annie is recognized there as an ace of the trigger and Frank, in front of his talent, fades and stops shooting himself to devote himself to preparing his wife's numbers.
Annie Oakley performs spectacular numbers and accumulates exploits:she cuts a playing card in two by the edge, she extinguishes the flame of a candle, she pulls the ashes of a cigarette out of Frank's mouth... Her talent attracts crowds and, charismatic, she became very popular and received many visitors and compliments.
The Western Girl
In 1887, the recruitment of a new sniper, Lillian Smith, generated some tension and Annie Oakley and her husband went on tour in Europe for a while. With Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, she performs the trick of the cigarette but asking him to hold it in his hand. After this solo tour, Annie and Frank return to the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show .
In 1901, Annie was injured in a train accident but she quickly recovered from temporary paralysis and resumed her career. The following year, she starred in The Western Girl , a play written especially for her where she can demonstrate her shooting skills.
Philanthropist
Alongside her career in show business, Annie Oakley is dedicated to teaching young girls how to shoot. She believes that it is crucial for women to learn how to shoot, not only for physical and mental exercise but also for self-defense. During her life, she would have trained 15,000 women in this way. A philanthropist, she is also committed to women's rights and works in particular to support many young women she knows.
As time passes, Annie loses none of her shooting skills and continues to live from her shows and her participation in competitions. In 1922, at the age of 62, she was able to hit one hundred clay targets at a distance of 15 meters. In 1924, she was still breaking records.
Annie Oakley died in November 1926, at the age of 66. Frank is so affected by his death that he stops eating and dies in turn eighteen days later.