The Amphawa Floating Market Of Benefit Tourism Essay Essays

The Amphawa Floating Market Of Benefit Tourism Essay Essays The Amphawa Floating Market Of Benefit Tourism Essay Essay The Amphawa Floating Market Of Benefit Tourism Essay Essay Heritage cultural touristry defined as the nostalgia touristry that places particular accent on heritage and cultural attractive forces. Cultural touristry began to be recognized as a distinguishable merchandise class in the late seventiess when touristry sellers realized that some people traveled specially to derive a deeper apprehension of the civilization or a heritage finish This paper concentrates on the country of Amphawa community. This community is composed of many cultural features and subjects which relate to the history of the country, civilizations and life style of Amphawa community, current state of affairs jobs and effects of touristry. Even though the benefits from touristry brought the development of substructure and the income from tourer s outgo, rapid development of community touristry may take to problems and struggles. Many people who came from Bangkok and neighbour had been interested in this country, so the local community had been adapted for new touristry. Cultural touristry with local people take parting would do them recognize the touristry direction which could take the community to existent cultural touristry. Tourism has become the universe s largest industry as the touristry market place has become increasing dramatically, there has been a tendency toward increased specialisation among tourers with cultural touristry has going the fastest turning section of the industry ( Huh, Uysal, and McCleary, 2006 ) . Cultural touristry began to be recognized as a distinguishable merchandise class in the late seventiess when touristry sellers realized that some people traveled specially to derive a deeper apprehension of the civilization or a heritage finish ( McKercher and du Cros, 2002 ) . Sigala and Leslie ( 2005 ) specify heritage and cultural touristry as the section of the touristry industry that places particular accent on heritage and cultural attractive forces The Travel Industry Association of America ( Domestic Travel Market Report, 2003 ) besides listed sing historic finishs as one of the top five activities for tourers in North America. Furthermore, Andersen, Prentice and Guerin ( 1997 ) identified the of import properties of cultural touristry in Denmark as being palaces, gardens, museums, and historical edifices, when tourers made a determination to see the state. In a similar in China, Sofield ( 1998 ) identified history, civilization, traditional festivals, historical events, beautiful scenic heritage, historical sites, architecture, common people humanistic disciplines ( music, dancing, craftwork ) and folk civilization small towns as the properties of significance. Therefore, the increasing figure of tourers and the corresponding tendency towards cultural touristry that action must be taken to cover with the issues associated with quality touristry and the protection of a state s cultural heritage topographic points from improper and over-use. Furthermore, the cultural touristry demand to awareness of the assortment of cultural heritage topographic points and the saving of environmental equilibrium in order to develop a compatible touristry ( An Ethical motives Charter for Cultural Tourism, 2000 ) . Tourism may beef up some facet by utilizing civilization and diminish others, even to the point of disappearing. The changing has relationship between cultural looks under the influence of a alteration doing agent, such as touristry. However, it is possible that under the influence of an agent of cultural alteration, an look will be substituted or adopted. The consequence can be no consequence on other cultural looks or changing grades of consequence ( Carter and Beeton, 2004 ) . In this paper, Amphawa community is located in Samutsongkhram state. It is an interesting instance to analyze because of its existent properties of local colony and community and their development through clip from the early Rattanakosin period ( the tardily seventeenth century ) to the present. This community is composed of many cultural features and subjects which relate to the history of the country, ways of life, and ways of life. The purposes of this paper are to analyze and analyse both positive and negative impacts of cultural touristry to Amphawa drifting market finishs in countries of local history, attractive forces, economic system and community. In add-ons, the paper looks for some solutions to decide jobs of cultural touristry to force touristry will go existent cultural touristry that offer a batch of benefits to local community. Cultural Tourism For cultural touristry in India, it is predominating factor of the touristry section, because India has the land of ancient history, heritage, and civilization. The authorities of India has launched the Incredible India run and this has led to the growing of civilization touristry in India. One can see the influence of assorted civilizations in dance, music, celebrations, architecture, traditional imposts, nutrient, and languages. This profusion in civilization goes a long manner in projecting India as the ultimate cultural touristry finish given encouragement to touristry in civilization in India. Rajasthan is the most popular. The ground for this is that Rajasthan is celebrated for its rich cultural heritage. The province is renowned for many brilliant castles and garrisons which showcase the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan. The assorted common people vocals and music besides reflect the cultural heritage of Rajasthan. A big figure of festivals and carnivals are held in Rajasthan such as the camel festival, Marwar festival, and Pushkar festival ( Cultural Tourism India ) . For cultural touristry in New Zealand, it provides tourists a alone experience into the autochthonal people of New Zealand. Maori people live throughout New Zealand, and many are actively involved with maintaining their civilization and linguistic communication alive. Within Maori community has focus on societal, cultural and religious life. Traditional Carvers besides help to maintain Maori civilization alive by making intricate plants that pay regard to the yesteryear. Every pieces carved Tells a narrative, which can be read by those who know how. Maori Tourism in New Zealand started over 130 old ages ago with local Maori guiding visitants through the Central Plateau part of ( Aotearoa ) New Zealand. Tourists can bask a Maori experience with a assortment of options. The Maori people are the autochthonal people of Aotearoa ( New Zealand ) and first arrived here in waka hourua ( sailing canoes ) from their hereditary fatherland of Hawaiki over 1000 old ages ago. Today, Maori has over 14 per centum of the population. Their linguistic communication and civilization has a major impact on all aspects of New Zealand life ( NewZealand Tourism Guide ) . The Maori s mask is shown in the figure 1. Figure 1 The Maori s mask Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/maori-culture.html For Thailand, it is a state of scenic diverseness and ancient traditions, of placid temples and Thai rural manner exhilaration. With independent history, it has managed to absorb a assortment of cultural influences and intermix them into something unambiguously and unforgettably Thai. Each part of Thailand offers a typical experience for the traveller in hunt of find. In this instance concentrate on the country of Amphawa community located on Samutsongkhram state. History of Samutsongkhram Figure 2 Samutsongkhram provincial Logo Figure 3 Samutsongkhram tourer map Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.tour.co.th/th/map.php Samutsongkhram state is located in the lower portion of the cardinal part of Thailand. The former name of Samutsongkhram state is Maeklong. Its name comes from the ascription of geographics, which is the location that Maeklong River runs through. This river is really of import to this state. Samutsongkhram state is about 72 kilometres west of Bangkok. It is assumed that Samutsongkhram might hold been established in the Ayuddhaya period. The modern Samutsongkham state is a small state, 416 square kilometres, and is divided into 3 administrative territories. There are Muang, Bangkhonthi and Amphawa territories. There are around 200,000 people in this state which is composed of 36 sub-districts or 278 small towns ( Samutsongkhram ) . History of Amphawa community This paper concentrates on the country of Amphawa community. Originally, Amphawa country was named Kwang Bang Chang. There is no grounds to turn out that when Kwang Bang Chang was formed. Even though it was a little community in the yesteryear, it was comfortable with commercial and agricultural activities. There was rich traditional riverbank life and classical architecture. It could be said that it was an of import beginning of nutrient and trade good for the capital metropolis as Krung Thonburi and Bangkok. Most colonies are established near a waterway, which is the traditional colony manner of nurseryman communities, although, in the present, there is more convenient transit systems such as chief roads and sub roads. This manner of colony has been preserved as a alone feature of nurseryman communities demoing that their manner of life depended on rivers and canals. There was a bunch of constructions at the side of Amphawa canal. The densest colony was in the concern country, which was the halfway portion of the town. This was located near the Amphawa canal oral cavity. Normally, a community colony was dispersed two-sides along the Bankss of the Mae Klong River, which is a major H2O path. In add-on, there are little canals, brooks and irrigation canals such as the Amphawa canal, Bangjak canal and Dow-dung canal, which all join the Mae Klong River. As in many Thai provinces the religious centre for Thais in this community has ever been the temple. On the Amphawa canal there were plentifulness of boats which sold local fruits, veggies, apparels, nutrient and merchandises necessary for life. At the oral cavity of the Amphawa canal there was a riverside individual house holding its arable country along the canal. The Amphawa community was established at the intersection of Mae Klong River and Amphawa canal which is about 20 Km. from the Gulf of Thailand ( Tourism Thailand ) . Characteristic of Amphawa drifting market Amphawa drifting market is located in SamutSongkram Province. Amphawa drifting marketA is an afternoon drifting market by the canal near Wat Amphawan Chetiyaram and brings visitants back to a rural Thai life style of old ages gone by. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, during 12.00 p.m. 8.00 p.m. , the Amphawa Canal is occupied by sellers who pack their boats with nutrient and drinks, such as fried sea mussel, noodles, java, O-liang ( iced black java ) , Sweets, etc. Visitors can bask a comfy ambiance and music broadcast by the community members, explores the market, have nutrient, and engage a boat to see fire beetles at dark ( Amphawa Floating Market, Thailand ) . Figure 4 Amphawa Floating Market, Thailand Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.amphawafloatingmarket.com/ Amphawa is the most important community in Samut Songkharm state in footings of function theoretical account for the local community s engagement in the community-based touristry that had beginning of community-based touristry ( CBT ) in Thailand since early 1990s ( Richards, 2009 ) . In 2008, there were 558,326 visitants who traveled to Samut Songkharm. Bing short distance from Bangkok, tourers can do one twenty-four hours trip to go to the Amphawa. The most preferable activities for tourer, was to remain in place stay and an eventide trip to watch fire beetles. The length of stay was mean 2.63 yearss for Thais and 4.40 yearss for aliens. The Outgos per twenty-four hours were about 2,866 Thai tical. There were 96 places stay and resorts that increased by 75 % from 2007 ( Office of Tourism Department, 2008 ) . In add-on, diverse biodiversity attracts tourers to come and go about the nature such as fire beetles that live in Lam Poo Tree along the canal of Amphawa. These natural and environment has been created as a tour plan for tourers to see and hold rubber-necking. Tourist can reach the counter to book the circuit at the drifting market themselves which cost 60 Baht per individual ( Amphawa Floating Market, Thailand ) . This community is besides important creative persons of traditional Thai humanistic disciplines and musical instruments prosper. In peculiar, it is by and large acknowledged that the best coconuts for doing fiddle are grown in this country. This is besides a celebrated centre of first-class handcrafts made in time-honoured manner. The best manner to acquire around in Ampawa is to walk or sit a motorcycle because the roads and Bridgess are narrow. Most place corsets have motorcycles available for engaging to invitees at a nominal fee. Most of tourers are Thais, and ages under 25years. The chief transit is personal auto. The intent of visit is holiday, and they are independent tourers ( TAT, 2008 ) . This is playing as the bosom of CBT, both as a motion and a shared their civilizations for hosts and invitees ( Richards, 2009 ) . Harmonizing to UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award ( 2008 ) Amphawa canal community has successfully achieved public-private cooperation in the saving of heritage constructions in Thailand. This award demonstrates acknowledgment of the cultural significance of Amphawa and an grasp of both the architectural and living heritage of the historic canal community. Figure 5 Amphawa canal community Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.unescobkk.org/index.php? id=8109 All touristry involves the ingestion of experiences and merchandises ( McKercher and du Cros, 2002 ) . Cultural tourers want to devour a assortment of cultural experience hence cultural heritage assets must be converted into cultural touristry merchandises that tourer can use. The transmutation procedure should be sustainable direction of the cultural merchandise. Cultural heritage topographic points are normally designated by communities for touristry potency. However, it is undeniable that cultural attractive forces are besides for cultural touristry. However, since the Amphawa drifting market has prospered increasingly and repute. The figure of the place stay increased each twelvemonth to back up demand of tourers. Even though the benefits from touristry brought the development of substructure and the income from tourer s outgo, rapid development of community touristry may take to problems and struggles. The advantage impact by touristry Social Advantages Harmonizing to ATTA ( 2010 ) touristry can assist communities as touristry industry provides high criterion of local people populating. As a consequence of doing the income distribution and distribution of employment chances to local people straight such as employment in assorted concern touristry industries as hotel staffs, conveyance staffs and local ushers etc. Including making calling indirectly as people who presenting newspapers to the hotel, textile workers, banker etc. Besides it provides a comfort and convenient from the development of substructure touristry. This is an of import branch that the local people will be able more comfort and convenient along with touristry such as chief route, electricity, H2O supply and coachs etc. Furthermore, more and more tourers come that are inspiration of local people for saving and care for their owe civilization as speckless status. All of Developing, managing and operating CBT ( Richards, 2009 ) helps local people to develop new accomplishments and cognition which can help them to pass on and to back up efficaciously in support of their traditional civilizations and ways of life. Economic Advantages The local touristry industry aid cut down migration of population flows to capital that the nature of the local people if they could do money from the colony and business of their hometown, they will non immigrate to another 1. Besides touristry gives the calling chances in retail store with local people. This may be an independent calling such as local eating house, keepsake store and family industry. Furthermore, the plentiful resources within community can convey to use change over into keepsakes and besides back up common people wisdom. Include doing another new calling in local community. There are many tourist attractive forces that gain economical benefits from touristry. As a local occupant of Plai-Pong-Pang Thai house touristry small town, Samutsongkram state has been increased their gross and occupation chances from touristry industry after using cultural and eco touristry to advance their small town ( Wattanasukchai, 2002 and Sungwarn, 2003 ) . The disadvantage impact by touristry Environmental disadvantages The figure visitants have grown to more than 10,000 a hebdomad and the local environment is enduring as a consequence. Most of effluent job caused by wastewater from hotel or place corsets adjustment, followed by effluent from eating houses and topographic points of tourer attractive forces. Some topographic points discharge wastewater straight to local river or cannel without any intervention earlier. This is doing H2O pollution. Furthermore, the jobs of decomposing refuse, raging noise degrees and an addition in the cost of life in Amphawa ( The Nation travel, 2008 ) . All attractive forces have waste jobs as refuse in different degrees. That depends on cooperation between a host community and tourers who travel in sensible manner. Furthermore, Thai agriculture and fishing households who rely on Earth, wood and H2O to last frequently have to vie with the touristry industry for entree to land, sea and other indispensable resources. This makes life even more ambitious ( Richards, 200 9 ) . Traveling have a big figure of tourers, largely Westerners who ve taken a motor-boat drive from the Chao Phraya River to see the alien life style of those populating along Amphawa canal, which has served as a scene for the celebrated classic. This is conveying a great economic chance for the local community. However, this is the biggest job right now for local people by deafening motor-boat noise that continues all twenty-four hours long from forenoon boulder clay flushing for sightseeing fire beetle, in add-on to the want of privateness. A few old ages ago some angry villagers chose to chop down some nearby trees to chase away the fire beetles ( Bangkok Post, 2010 ) . Economic disadvantages The calling chance has altering from husbandmans to work in hotels, merchandisers or circuit operators. That generate agribusiness production will diminish dramatically while a demand increased. Due to the agribusiness less profitable than concern travels or hotels consistent with more figure of tourers come to Amphawa. That makes people turn more involvement to concerns hotels or place stay. This is a cause produces cost of populating addition. Social disadvantages Many host communities, particularly autochthonal communities, trade cultural looks for benefits that touristry can supply. As such, cultural looks are a direct and discernible nexus between a host civilization and the tourer. Tourism may move on cultural character to consequence alter the community. Cultural attractive forces have a function in a community and supply benefits such as mending economic system, religious enrichment and care of societal order ( Carter and Beeton, 2004 ) . However, there are people feel tourers have privileged that cause produce lessening friendly attitude to tourers and besides increasing societal struggle within community. Such as some people are against for sightseeing firefly touristry between boat operators that cause by touristry that could do money from tourers. This consequence demo local people lack the voice and influence needed to negociate a just trade from touristry development ( Richards, 2009 ) . Besides there is decrease local consciousness of the demand for sustainable development because even more visitants that means more income excessively. In add-on, the success in place stay concern has the impact for the community direction. Increasing figure of tourers caused the demand for the building of place stay. Land-use form changed to function for touristry, and caused addition in existent belongings monetary value in Amphawa. Without the consciousness from stakeholder, pureness of Amphawa will be destroyed. No control and standard makes community lost way to utilize touristry as a tool to better the quality of life. Environment and natural resources will be destroyed for commercial development without refering and Restoration every bit good. Populating Style Change Amphawa is crowded with people and autos on Friday-Sunday. Amphawa community is traveling to alter and its unity is threatened by touristry. However, this community still has life, comfortable entity to construe for, and present to, visitants. It is in consequence on outdoor life museum and cultural landscape. It represents populating history with all its attractive forces for visitants which is full of cultural corporate things related to Amphawa people and the comfortable clip in the yesteryear. The issue confronting the community is that of encouraging touristry and alteration without destructing or overpowering the heritage value of what is at that place. The inclusive and cooperation of the local community is critical in future planning ( Amphawa District, 2006 ) . Some occupants are eager to be portion of touristry development and derive some of the benefits they are entitled to. Some proprietors modified their places to function as souvenir stores. There is an art gallery and coffeehouse, such as Baan Silapin, which is affiliated to the Association of Siamese Architects and other preservation bureaus ( Bangkok Post, 2010 ) . However, betterment of sustainable touristry wo nt go on if the inhabitants refuse to abandon Thai-style entry and have no religion in their basic rights. Somehow, they besides need aid from the jurisprudence leaders by taking the manner as local community development program . Solving manner for jobs and struggles Before it s excessively late, local community and local enterprisers should acquire together to come up with a common program and understanding on what they wish to see their communities grow into. They must pull up a list of jobs that need to be adverting both long-short term challenges. Some order is needed to salvage these sites from going excessively freely developed, which would put a menace to the really construction of the singularity and appeal of these topographic points. On the other manus, tourers must be sensitive while sing such sites and seek, every bit much as possible, to back up echt local merchandises and services ( Bangkok Post, 2010 ) It would be promoting if these tourers learn more about the alone history of the topographic point they visit and bring back whatever facets they see every bit positive to use to their ain metropolis environment. Finally, all topographic points develop and it s a challenge to guarantee these alone markets or community evolves in a manner that is sympathetic to manner of ascendant life. Local community will profit from encourage tourers more sensitive cultural touristry. Decisions Cultural touristry as nostalgia for the past grows, many tourers lead to topographic points like Suphan Buri s Samchuk market, or the Amphawa drifting market as the houses have architectural value for analyzing and going for the following coevals. They are traditional wooden Thai manner houses. An architecture manner reflects manner of life of people in Amphawa as river and canal since long clip up to show based community. It is a singularity of riverside colony of people in the yesteryear. Therefore, it is apprehensible why the longing for something less efficient and retrospective is turning. Tourism provides a benefic to local community every bit high criterion of local people populating and besides all of developing, pull offing promote local people to develop new accomplishments and cognition which can help them to back up efficaciously in support of their traditional civilizations and ways of life. The growing in the community besides helps cut down the population in the capital due to they can have life by themselves. However, largely of Thai bordering communities who rely on Earth and H2O to last frequently have to vie with the touristry industry increasingly for continuing to land and other indispensable resources. This makes life even more ambitious if no control and standard makes community lost way to utilize touristry as a tool to better the quality of life. Environment and natural resources will be destroyed for trade development without refering and Restoration every bit good. Therefore, this paper may do foreign and Thai visitants come to cognize and value cultural significance of historic scene in Amphawa community and protect traditional manner of life every bit good as cultural construction from the yesteryear to nowadays of riverside people.

Brief Biography of Sharpshooter Annie Oakley

Brief Biography of Sharpshooter Annie Oakley Blessed with a natural talent for sharp-shooting, Annie Oakley proved herself dominant in a sport that was long considered a mans domain. Oakley was a gifted entertainer as well; her performances with Buffalo Bill Codys Wild West Show brought international fame, making her one of the most celebrated female performers of her time. Annie Oakleys unique and adventurous life has inspired numerous books and films as well as a popular musical. Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Moses on August 13, 1860 in rural Darke County, Ohio, the fifth daughter of Jacob and Susan Moses. The Moses family had moved to Ohio from Pennsylvania after their business- a small inn- had burned to the ground in 1855. The family lived in a one-room log cabin, surviving on game they caught and crops they grew. Another daughter and a son were born after Phoebe. Annie, as Phoebe was called, was a tomboy who preferred spending time outdoors with her father over household chores and playing with dolls. When Annie was only five, her father died of pneumonia after being caught in a blizzard. Susan Moses struggled to keep her family fed. Annie supplemented their food supply with squirrels and birds that she trapped. At the age of eight, Annie began sneaking out with her fathers old rifle to practice shooting in the woods. She quickly became skilled at killing prey with one shot. By the time Annie was ten, her mother could no longer support the children. Some were sent to neighbors farms; Annie was sent to work at the county poor house. Soon afterward, a family hired her as live-in help in exchange for wages as well as room and board. But the family, who Annie later described as wolves, treated Annie as a slave. They refused to pay her wages and beat her, leaving scars on her back for life. After nearly two years, Annie was able to escape to the nearest train station. A generous stranger paid her train fare home. Annie was reunited with her mother, but only briefly. Because of her dire financial situation, Susan Moses was forced to send Annie back to the county poor house. Making a Living Annie worked at the county poor house for three more years; she then returned to her mothers home at the age of 15. Annie could now resume her favorite pastime- hunting. Some of the game she shot was used to feed her family, but the surplus was sold to general stores and restaurants. Many customers specifically requested Annie’s game because she shot so cleanly (through the head), which eliminated the problem of having to clean buckshot out of the meat. With money coming in regularly, Annie helped her mother pay off the mortgage on their house. For the rest of her life, Annie Oakley made her living with a gun. By the 1870s, target shooting had become a popular sport in the United States. Spectators attended competitions in which shooters fired at live birds, glass balls, or clay disks. Trick shooting, also popular, was usually performed in theaters and involved the risky practice of shooting items out of a colleagues hand or off the top of their head. In rural areas such as where Annie lived, game-shooting competitions were a common form of entertainment. Annie participated in some local turkey shoots but was eventually banned because she always won. Annie entered a pigeon-shooting match in 1881 against a single opponent, unaware that soon her life would change forever. Butler and Oakley Annies opponent in the match was Frank Butler, a sharp-shooter in the circus. He made the 80-mile trek from Cincinnati to rural Greenville, Ohio in the hopes of winning the $100 prize. Frank had been told only that he would be up against a local crack shot. Assuming that his competitor would be a farm boy, Frank was shocked to see the petite, attractive 20-year old Annie Moses. He was even more surprised that she beat him in the match. Frank, ten years older than Annie, was captivated by the quiet young woman. He returned to his tour and the two corresponded by mail for several months. They were married sometime in 1882, but the exact date has never been verified. Once married, Annie traveled with Frank on tour. One evening, Franks partner became ill and Annie took over for him at an indoor theater shoot. The audience loved watching the five-foot-tall woman who easily and expertly handled a heavy rifle. Annie and Frank became partners on the touring circuit, billed as Butler and Oakley. It is not known why Annie picked the name Oakley; possibly it came from the name of a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Annie Meets Sitting Bull Following a performance in St. Paul, Minnesota in March 1894, Annie met Sitting Bull who had been in the audience. The Lakota Sioux Indian chief was infamous as the warrior who had led his men into battle at Little Bighorn at Custers Last Stand in 1876. Although officially a prisoner of the U.S. government, Sitting Bull was allowed to travel and make appearances for money. Once reviled as a savage, he had become the object of fascination. Sitting Bull was impressed by Annies shooting skills, which included shooting the cork off a bottle and hitting the cigar her husband held in his mouth. When the chief met Annie, he reportedly asked if he could adopt her as his daughter. The adoption was not official, but the two became lifelong friends. It was Sitting Bull who bestowed upon Annie the Lakota name Watanya Cicilia, or Little Sure Shot. Buffalo Bill Cody and The Wild West Show In December 1884, Annie and Frank traveled with the circus to New Orleans. An unusually rainy winter forced the circus to close down until summer, leaving Annie and Frank in need of jobs. They approached Buffalo Bill Cody, whose Wild West Show (a combination of rodeo acts and western skits) was also in town. At first, Cody turned them down because he already had several shooting acts and most of them were more famous than Oakley and Butler. In March of 1885, Cody decided to give Annie a chance after his star shooter, world champion Adam Bogardus, quit the show. Cody would hire Annie on a trial basis following an audition in Louisville, Kentucky. Codys business manager arrived early at the park where Annie was practicing prior to the audition. He watched her from afar and was so impressed, he signed her on even before Cody showed up. Annie soon became a featured performer in a solo act. Frank, well aware that Annie was the star in the family, stepped aside and took on a managerial role in her career. Annie dazzled the audience, shooting with speed and precision at moving targets, often while riding a horse. For one of her most impressive stunts, Annie fired backward over her shoulder, using only a table knife to view the reflection of her target. In what became a trademark move, Annie skipped offstage at the end of each performance, ending with a little kick in the air. In 1885, Annies friend Sitting Bull joined the Wild West Show. He would stay one year. The Wild West Tours England In spring of 1887, the Wild West performers- along with horses, buffalo, and elk- set sail for London, England to participate in the celebration of Queen Victorias Golden Jubilee (the fiftieth anniversary of her coronation). The show was immensely popular, prompting even the reclusive queen to attend a special performance. Over a six-month period, the Wild West Show drew more than 2.5 million people to the London appearance alone; thousands more attended in cities outside of London. Annie was adored by the British public, who found her modest demeanor charming. She was showered with gifts- and even proposals- and was the guest of honor at parties and balls. True to her homespun values, Annie refused to wear ball gowns, preferring instead her homemade dresses. Leaving the Show In the meantime, Annies relationship with Cody was becoming increasingly strained, in part because Cody had hired Lillian Smith, a teenaged female sharpshooter. Without giving any explanation, Frank and Annie quit the Wild West Show and returned to New York in December 1887. Annie made a living by competing in shooting competitions, then later joined a newly-formed wild west show, the Pawnee Bill Show. The show was a scaled-down version of Codys show, but Frank and Annie werent happy there. They negotiated a deal with Cody to return to the Wild West Show, which no longer included Annies rival Lillian Smith. Cody’s show returned to Europe in 1889, this time for a three-year tour of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. During this trip, Annie was troubled by the poverty she saw in each country. It was the beginning of her lifelong commitment to donating money to charities and orphanages. Settling Down After years of living out of trunks, Frank and Annie were ready to settle down in a real home during the shows off-season (November through mid-March). They built a house in Nutley, New Jersey and moved into it in December 1893. The couple never had children, but it is unknown whether or not this was by choice. During the winter months, Frank and Annie took vacations in the southern states, where they usually did a lot of hunting. In 1894 Annie was invited by inventor Thomas Edison of nearby West Orange, New Jersey, to be filmed on his new invention, the kinetoscope (a forerunner of the movie camera). The brief film shows Annie Oakley expertly shooting out glass balls mounted on a board, then hitting coins thrown up in the air by her husband. In October 1901, as the Wild West train cars traveled through rural Virginia, troupe members were awakened by a sudden, violent crash. Their train had been hit head-on by another train. Miraculously, none of the people were killed, but about 100 of the shows horses died on impact. Annies hair turned white following the accident, reportedly from the shock. Annie and Frank decided it was time to leave the show. Scandal for Annie Oakley Annie and Frank found work after leaving the Wild West show. Annie, sporting a brown wig to cover her white hair, starred in a play written just for her. The Western Girl played in New Jersey and was well-received but never made it to Broadway. Frank became a salesman for an ammunition company. They were content in their new lives. Everything changed on August 11, 1903, when the Chicago Examiner printed a scandalous story about Annie. According to the story, Annie Oakley had been arrested for stealing to support a cocaine habit. Within days, the story had spread to other newspapers around the country. It was, in fact, a case of mistaken identity. The woman arrested was a performer who had gone by the stage name Any Oakley in a burlesque Wild West show. Anyone familiar with the real Annie Oakley knew that the stories were false, but Annie couldnt let it go. Her reputation had been tarnished. Annie demanded that each and every newspaper print a retraction; some of them did. But that wasnt enough. For the next six years, Annie testified at one trial after another as she sued 55 newspapers for libel. In the end, she won about $800,000, less than she had paid in legal expenses. The entire experience aged Annie greatly, but she felt vindicated. Final Years Annie and Frank kept busy, traveling together to advertise for Franks employer, a cartridge company. Annie participated in exhibitions and shooting tournaments and received offers to join several western shows. She re-entered show business in 1911, joining the Young Buffalo Wild West Show. Even in her 50s, Annie could still draw a crowd. She finally retired from show business for good in 1913. Annie and Frank bought a house in Maryland and spent winters in Pinehurst, North Carolina, where Annie gave free shooting lessons to local women. She also donated her time to raising funds for various charities and hospitals. In November 1922, Annie and Frank were involved in a car accident in which the car flipped over, landing on Annie and fracturing her hip and ankle. She never fully recovered from her injuries, which compelled her to use a cane and a leg brace. In 1924, Annie was diagnosed with pernicious anemia and became increasingly weak and frail. She died on November 3, 1926, at the age of 66. Some have suggested that Annie died from lead poisoning after years of handling lead bullets. Frank Butler, who had also been in poor health, died 18 days later.