About The Double-Daring Book for Girls

Cowgirls

Fanny Seabride

As a young girl, Fanny Seabride looked out the windows of her home in Chicago and daydreamed about being a cowgirl. She just wasn’t sure how to make it happen. One day she picked up the newspaper and studied the Classifieds section. One of the listings was a job as the governess for the children at the Horseshoe XX Ranch. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted, but she circled it and bought a ticket for the next train to Texas.

At Horseshoe XX, Fanny was frustrated. The job kept her indoors with the children when she wanted to be out on the range. Soon enough, though, she had her big break. She was visiting a nearby ranch one day when a report came in that there was a hole in the ranch fence that needed mending before all the cows got out. The cowhands gathered round. All of them looked to the ground as if it were the most interesting artwork in the world, trying to avoid being picked for the job.

Fanny saw her chance. She grabbed a hatchet and saddled up before anyone could stop her, taking off for the far reaches of the ranch. She got the job done and in record time. This was how she became a cowhand, by starting at the bottom. She left her job as a governess and hired herself out as a fence mender. She also developed a sideline job as a sharp shooter and bounty hunter. While she was out on the range, she would shoot wildcats, coyotes, and wolves that threatened the cattle. Fanny earned a great deal of money doing this. Within a few years she was able to purchase her own ranch and one thousand head of cattle, making her dream come true.