Painted Ladies of the Old West

In the annals of the American West, a landscape forged by ambition, opportunity, and often, desperation, a distinct social stratum emerged, one that defied the rigid Victorian mores of the East. The "Painted Ladies of the Old West," as they were often called, occupied a unique, sometimes reviled, yet undeniably present space in the burgeoning towns and settlements that dotted the western territories. Unlike their more constrained counterparts back east, these women, often labeled "disgraceful" by the "proper" society ladies, carved out a niche for themselves, their existence generally tolerated as a "necessary evil" in the rough-and-tumble world of cowboys, miners, and fortune seekers.

The colorful nomenclature used to describe these women reflected the varied perceptions and attitudes towards them. In California, the ’49ers, driven by gold fever, referred to them as "ladies of the line" or "sporting women," while the cowboys, with their more rustic sensibilities, dubbed them "soiled doves." Across the trails of Kansas, they were known by a plethora of names: "daughters of sin," "fallen frails," "doves of the roost," and even the somewhat romantic "nymphs du prairie." Regardless of the moniker, these women were as integral to the tapestry of the Old West as the outlaws, cowboys, and miners, earning nicknames such as "scarlet ladies," "fallen angels," "frail sisters," "fair belles," and "painted cats," among a host of others.

One of the most significant departures from the social norms of the East was the prevalence of women in saloons. This was a rare sight east of the Missouri River, except in German beer halls where the owner’s daughters or wives often worked as barmaids and waitresses. In the West, however, the presence of women in these establishments was a common feature, albeit one that carried its own set of complexities and social distinctions.

Within this social landscape, two distinct categories of "bad girls" emerged. The first, and most condemned by "proper" society, were the Painted Ladies of the Old West who practiced prostitution in the brothels, parlor houses, and humble cribs scattered throughout the western towns. These were the women who openly traded intimacy for income, often operating on the fringes of society. The second category, and one often misunderstood, comprised the saloon and dance hall women. Contrary to popular assumptions, these women were generally not prostitutes, although this might occur in the seedier establishments. While the "respectable" ladies might have considered them "fallen," most saloon girls would have been aghast at the prospect of associating with a prostitute.

Saloon and Dance Hall Girls: Entertainers and Entrepreneurs

The primary role of the saloon or dance hall girl was to brighten the evenings of the often-lonely men who populated the western towns. In the Old West, the ratio of men to women was significantly skewed, sometimes as high as nine to one, as was the case in California in 1850. In such an environment, the Painted Ladies of the Old West who worked in saloons provided much-needed female companionship, singing, dancing, and engaging in conversation, all with the goal of encouraging patrons to stay longer, buy more drinks, and participate in the various games of chance offered.

However, not all saloons employed these women. For instance, in Dodge City, Kansas, the north side of Front Street was considered the "respectable" side, where saloon girls and gambling were prohibited, and entertainment focused on music and billiards to accompany the drinking.

Many saloon girls were refugees from farms or mills, lured by promises of high wages, easy work, and fine clothing. Others were widows or women of good morals who were struggling to make a living in a time when opportunities for women were limited.

Saloon girls could earn as much as $10 per week, a substantial sum at the time, and they also received a commission on the drinks they sold. The markup on whiskey was significant, ranging from 30-60% over wholesale prices. Often, drinks bought for the girls were merely cold tea or colored sugar water served in a shot glass, but customers were charged the full price of whiskey, which could range from ten to seventy-five cents a shot.

The attire of the saloon girls was intentionally provocative for the era. They wore brightly colored, ruffled skirts that were considered scandalously short, reaching mid-shin or knee-length. Underneath, they sported colorful petticoats that barely reached their kid boots, often adorned with tassels. Their arms and shoulders were frequently bare, their bodices cut low to accentuate their figures, and their dresses were embellished with sequins and fringe. Silk, lace, or net stockings were held up by garters, often gifts from admirers. The term "painted ladies" stemmed from their daring use of makeup and hair dye. Many even carried concealed pistols or jeweled daggers in their boot tops or between their breasts to maintain order among the boisterous cowboys.

Despite their unconventional occupation, saloon girls were often regarded as "good" women by the men they interacted with, and they frequently received lavish gifts from admirers. In many places, treating saloon girls as "ladies" was strictly enforced, both because Western men tended to revere women and because the women themselves and the saloon keepers demanded it. Any man who mistreated these women risked social ostracism and even death.

The saloon girls, in turn, often held a dismissive view of the "respectable" women, struggling to understand why they chose to work themselves to death by bearing children, tending animals, and assisting their husbands in the fields.

During the California Gold Rush of 1849, dance halls began to emerge and spread throughout later settlements. These saloons usually offered games of chance, but their primary attraction was dancing. Customers typically paid 75 cents to $1.00 for a dance ticket, with the proceeds split between the dance hall girl and the saloon owner. After the dance, the girl would steer the gentleman to the bar, where she would earn a commission on any drinks he purchased.

Dancing usually commenced around 8:00 p.m., with dances ranging from waltzes to schottisches, each "turn" lasting about 15 minutes. A popular girl could average 50 dances a night, sometimes earning more in a single evening than a working man could make in a month. As a result, it was rare for dance hall girls to also work as prostitutes; in fact, many former "soiled doves" found they could earn more money as dance hall girls.

The dance girls were a profitable asset to the saloon owner, and gentlemen were discouraged from paying too much attention to any one girl, as dance hall owners lost more women to marriage than any other cause.

Although most patrons respected the girls, violent deaths were a significant occupational hazard. While more than a hundred cases were documented, the true number was undoubtedly higher. In one instance, a saloon girl who had rejected the advances of a drunken customer was brutally beaten. When a cowboy approached her, she famously retorted, "I don’t mind the black eye, but he called me a whore."

The Real Shady Ladies: The World of Prostitution

The reasons women entered prostitution during the Wild West era were often as complex and varied as the women themselves. With limited opportunities in the nineteenth century, many had little choice when they were abandoned by their husbands or stranded in Old West towns when their spouse was killed. Some simply lacked the skills necessary to earn a living through other means. Others were the daughters of prostitutes, already immersed in the trade. Tragically, some were seduced by unscrupulous men, lost their virginity, or were victims of rape. At the time, these women were deemed "lost," with little hope for redemption, effectively forcing them into prostitution.

While the "proper" ladies might have ignored the existence of brothels, they realistically admitted their necessity to divert the attention of men from pursuing their daughters and relieving them of their "obligation."

Victorian prudence dictated that "decent" women view the sexual act solely as a means to bear children. They were taught not to respond in any way and to indulge their husbands from time to time, but ideally to avoid it whenever possible.

In contrast, the men of the West were often intimidated by the "decent" women who laid down the moral law and found themselves much more comfortable with the Painted Ladies of the Old West who allowed them to be who they were.

Virtually every Old West town had at least a couple of "shady ladies" who were the subject of much gossip. Sometimes they would "hide" behind the guise of taking in laundry as a seamstress or running a boarding house. However, often, they would flaunt their profitable bordellos by parading through the streets in their fine clothing, much to the dismay of the "proper" women of the town. Such was the case of Pearl de Vere of Cripple Creek, Colorado.

By the 1860s, prostitution had become a booming industry. Although illegal almost everywhere, it was impossible to suppress, so the law generally did little more than attempt to confine the parlors and brothels to specific districts of the community. Others regularly fined the brothels and painted ladies as a form of taxation. But otherwise, the businesses thrived with little intervention from the law.

Shady Ladies were so numerous in some frontier towns that some historians have estimated that they comprised 25% of the population, often outnumbering the "decent" women 25 to 1. As the Old West towns grew, they often had several bordellos staffed by four or five women. Usually, painted ladies were between the ages of 14 and 30, with an average age of 23.

Some high-class courtesans often demanded as much as $50 from their clients; however, rates on the frontier generally ranged from $5 at nicer establishments to $1 or less for most ladies of the night. Sometimes they would split their earnings with the madam of the parlor house, while others paid a flat fee per night or week.

As in most occupations, there was a pecking order, with the women who lived in the best houses at the top, scorning those who worked out of dance halls, saloons, or "cribs." However, the majority of prostitutes did work out of parlor houses, the best of which resembled respectable mansions. To signal the building’s true purpose, red lanterns were often hung under the eaves or beside the door, and bold red curtains adorned the lower windows. Inside, there was usually a lavishly decorated parlor, hence the name "parlor house." The walls were lined with sofas and chairs, and often a piano stood in attendance for girls who might play or sing requests for customers.

The larger establishments were likely to include a game room and a dance hall. Between assignations, the women and their callers were entertained by musicians, dancers, singers, and jugglers.

The most successful landladies maintained, at least on the ground floor, a strict air of respectability and a charming home life. They also insisted that their girls wear corsets downstairs and forbade "rough stuff."

Every house had a bouncer to handle customers who got too rough with the girls or who didn’t want to pay their bill. This is likely one of the reasons the girls considered themselves superior to those who worked independently.

The girls’ rooms were always on the second floor, if there was one. Parlor houses usually housed six to twelve girls, plus the madam, who entertained only those customers she personally selected. First-class places set a good table and prided themselves on their cellars, offering choice cigars, bonded bourbon, and the finest liquors and wines. Customers could enjoy champagne suppers and sing with the girls around the piano. In very high-class parlor houses, the women could only be seen by appointment.

The women usually sent East for their finery or bought it from passing peddlers. Their gowns were generally tight, snugging them at the hips, slit to the knee on one side with deep décolletage, and decorated with sequins or fringe. In mining towns, the "girls" were often seen walking, riding, or in carriages, dressed in their eye-catching finery.

The lower grade of bordello came to be called a "honkytonk" from a common southern African-American term.

In these houses, there was very little subtlety. The direct approach was standard, with perhaps five minutes at the bar before heading off to a room.

Lower than even the saloon prostitutes were those who worked independently, living in small houses or cabins called cribs. Crib houses were usually in segregated districts with a front bedroom and a kitchen in the rear. Often, they were illuminated by red lamps or curtains. Some madams kept a string of "cribs" available for women no longer employable within the house, continuing to profit from the older Painted Ladies of the Old West.

Below even those were the streetwalkers, usually only found in the larger cities.

In a class by themselves were the women who serviced the military at remote forts. Many settlements that grew up around a fort were not large enough to support a "decent" parlor house, and most self-respecting madams would not admit a lowly-paid soldier anyway. Before long, a district referred to as "Hog Town" could usually be found near these remote forts. Here, the soldiers could find gambling, whiskey, and a few aging and degenerate women.

Black men were not allowed to patronize white brothels, but many towns had all-black houses. And in a few small towns, some houses had black and white women.

Though it may seem odd, many "painted ladies" were married, some to saloon owners or brothel operators. Others were married to managers of touring variety shows. Such men tolerated the profession and depended on their wives to help with the finances.

Inevitably, painted ladies had children, though attempts were made at birth control, which was very primitive at the time. By the 1840s, women could purchase Portuguese Female Pills (an abortion pill) or Madame Restell’s Preventive Powders, but it is unclear how effective these were. The French had already invented the condom, fashioned of rubber or skin, as they are today. In places like New Orleans or St. Louis, where there was a large French population, condoms were readily available. However, much like today, many men were reluctant to use them. After 1860 diaphragms were available, and douches compounded from ingredients such as alum, pearlash, red rose leaves, carbolic acid, bicarbonate of soda, sulfate of zinc, vinegar, or plain water. Others simply relied on the rhythm method.

But, the most common form of birth control was abortion, which had also spread as a form of birth control to even "respectable women." In the years between 1850 and 1870, one historian estimated that one abortion was performed for every five to six live births in America.

If they were lucky, a courtesan would marry well and retire with enough money for a comfortable and respectable lifestyle. Those who married would normally become instantly "respectable," as it was considered impolite in the Old West to inquire about a person’s background, and most people were too busy to care. Others used their profits to open their own sporting houses, became saloon operators, or practiced as abortionists. Inevitably, though, some often turned to alcohol or narcotics – dosing their drinks with laudanum or smoking opium. Suicides were frequent in the profession.

Women on the line were often in peril of picking up tuberculosis, called consumption at the time, or sexually transmitted diseases, chiefly syphilis. Others died as a result of botched abortions, sometimes self-inflicted. Violence also claimed its share in brawls between prostitutes, customers, and sometimes, husbands.