Belle Starr: Queen of bandits of the Wild West

The bandits and the Wild West are almost synonymous. Shooting, cowboys, hats, revolvers — all this dangerous "world of men". But were among the criminals and female daredevils, who ran the whole bandit gangs.

Belle grew up not in a marginal family as one would think. She was born in 1848 in Missouri, her parents were well educated, and she went to a girls ' school and learned to play the piano. But during the Civil war in her native city was attacked by soldiers and his father moved the family to Texas.

Later there were rumors that it was in Texas still quite young Belle made the acquaintance of Jesse James, famous American outlaw. Soon as the war ended, in 1886, and Belle married a man named Jim reed, gang member Jesse James. They had a daughter with the delicate name of pearl is "pearl". According to another version, the girl called Rosie Lee.

Young bell carried himself well in the saddle and shoot straight — married, she continued to Polish their skills. The couple lived well until then, until Jim was accused of murder. It remains a mystery whether he was innocent or caused someone's death. Anyway, Jim and Belle were forced to leave their homes and move to California as long as the case will not close. There was born their second child, Eddie.

After living some time in California, the family returned to Texas. Jim tried very hard to live honestly: he was engaged in farming and sold saddles, but soon engaged in less than honest business. He began to plunder. Started by Jim one, but Belle soon joined him and together they "liberated" the people from the extra weight of goods and horses.

In 1869, the pair was traveling in the southwest USA, where they managed to get hold of about $ 30 000. In the end, the couple came to the conclusion that working alone is dangerous, and joined the family of the Cherokee Indians by the name of Starr. Jim already had their band together, they resell the alcohol and livestock. In 1874, Jim was killed in Texas in the heat of an argument. In recent years, Belle has already not lived with him, and the kids settled separately.

After her husband's death, six years later, Belle married Sam Starr. But with this guy, the happy life did not work out. In 1882 they were in the dock for stealing two horses. They were sentenced to a year in prison. And then Belle Starr was in trouble: it caught on attacking farms and stealing horses. In 1886, just six years of marriage, her husband was killed by a U.S. Marshal. In order to save the earth, 40-year-old Belle married 24-year-old Billy, her husband's brother.But barely a year has passed and on the morning of 3 February, the Belle was shot near her home. Who did it, remained a mystery. Some said that it made her daughter pearl in revenge for the fact that the mother was upset with her marriage. According to another version, was guilty of her son Eddie, recently she beat him with a whip because he abused horses. A third version, Belle had killed a neighbor with whom she had a conflict over land. This version was considered the most likely.

The funny thing is that famous Belle acquired only after death, when the publisher of "National Police Gazette" (National Police Gazette) Richard C. Fox has written and published a book "Bella Starr, the Bandit Queen, or The Female Jesse James". Took it for a real biography of the "Queen of bandits", although this book was only fiction, having a very vague resemblance with the real life of Starr.About Belle Starr was spoken of as "the beautiful southern woman who went to the crime to avenge the death of his brother, a gallant officer of the Confederate army". The reality was much more mundane.

Belle's son Eddie also became a bandit, and when he was put in jail, sister pearl was forced to engage in prostitution to save money and to rescue the brother. When she did, pearl opened her own brothel and gambling house, whose symbol was a red star, surrounded by pearls. Pearl died at the age of 53, and the assurances of her daughter, killed her own brother.