Fearless Mary

A little-known but fascinating and larger-than-life character, Mary Fields is one of the unsung, trailblazing African American women who helped settle the American West. A former slave, Fields became the first African American woman stagecoach driver in 1895, when, in her 60s, she beat out all the cowboys applying for the job by being the fastest to hitch a team of six horses. She won the dangerous and challenging job, and for many years traveled the badlands with her pet eagle, protecting the mail from outlaws and wild animals, never losing a single horse or package. Fields helped pave the way for other women and people of color to become stagecoach drivers and postal workers.

Un personaj putin cunoscut, dar fascinant si mai mare decat viata, Mary Fields este una dintre femeile afro-americane neincantate, care au ajutat la stabilirea vestului american. Fosta sclava, Fields a devenit prima femeie afro-americana sofer de diligenta in 1895, cand, in anii '60, a invins pe toti cowboy-urile care solicitau slujba, fiind cea mai rapida care a atras o echipa de sase cai.