Rose Vastine ~ "Timberline"

In describing Creede, Colorado Cy Warman once wrote, "It's day all day in the daytime, And there is no night in Creede!"

Silver was discovered in huge quantities in Colorado's Rocky Mountains in 1889, attracting more than 10,000 people hoping to strike it rich. More than half of Creede's population was made up of bunco artists, pick pockets, thieves, gamblers and mining sharks ... as described by one writer, "a community born in violence."

Saloons, dance halls and women were in such high demand that tents were thrown up as soon as ladies of the night began to make their appearance. One of those soiled doves, Rose Vastine, was popular in the mining camps, and her height of over 6'2" earned her the nickname "Timberline."

For reasons unknown, Rose attempted suicide on at least three occasions: On one, doctors revived her after an intended overdose. In another attempt, she allegedly climbed up into the hills over Creede one cold evening and shot herself (not once, but reportedly six times). She made a second attempt to shoot herself in the chest in 1893. "Medical attendants were at once summoned and the would-be suicide is in a fair way to recovery," said the newspaper. What became of Rose is unknown.