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Divine forgiveness at the end of a double-barreled shotgun

By: David Soma, Deadwood Alive

Obscurity - often the gift that history bestows upon the lives and daily existence of those people who lived it.
Living history is an opportunity to revive the historical record and bring to life those whose words and actions were instrumental in shaping the world as we know it. Since history is largely compiled by the people who conveniently honor themselves, a far more accurate picture of a bygone era can be drawn by resurrecting those characters whose colorful lives spoke for themselves and who it might be more convenient for the chroniclers to forget.

One such character was Deadwood's Madame Henrico Livingstone - the Gulch's first clairvoyant, magnetic healer and fortune teller to the men and women who flocked to this early gold camp. A seamstress from Baltimore, Maryland, Livingstone came to the Black Hills of Dakota Territory in the summer of 1876, one of the first women to file a mining claim in the Gulch. She defended her claim by offering all jumpers the divine forgiveness of her ever present double-barreled shotgun. At a time when the small number of ladies who settled in Deadwood were considered by the dominant male population as objects of entertainment and service, Madame Henrico demanded respect from the characters who found themselves in Deadwood seeking not only a monetar fortune but perhaps a spiritual fortune as well.

When James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok wrote to his wife Agnes about a premonition of his death in Deadwood, perhaps he was hinting at his encounter with Livingstone who legend indicates read Wild Bill's cards. Hickok naturally told the clairvoyant he did not read cards he played cards. But it may have been Madame Henrico who first dealt him the 'Deadman's Hand' randomly dealing from her deck of poker cards a black Ace, followed by a black eight and a ten, telling him that he was the Ace, who would meet his infinity (the eight) at the Ten.

Hickok's fate in Deadwood is well documented, while Madame Henrico Livingstone's is limited to only a few newspaper references detailing her various encounters with the town's authorities. Had Madame Henrico had her way, every Miner would have had absolute undisturbed rights to his claim forever, not subject to the vagaries of and limits of the law which took away more benefits than it gave. Instead of welcoming Madame Henrico's fiery words she was imprisoned and declared insane, thus making it easier for men like George Hearst to swallow up individual claims and wrest control of the gold wealth.

Like many of Deadwood's early residents Madame Henrico is buried on Mount Moriah where her historical obscurity continues through the lack of a permanent tombstone. As the Homestake Mine is again opened up for new discoveries, what a fitting time it is for the town to replace her tombstone and ensure her rightful place as one of Deadwood's true pioneers.