Leonel Campbell Ross O'Bryan (1857–16 July 1938), known under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Polly Pry, was a controversial reporter for ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...

'' and later as a freelancer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She is best known for her connection to the case of Alfred Packer as an investigative reporter.

Early life

Pry was born to a wealthy family in 1857. Aged fifteen, she eloped to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with a railroad industrialist named George Anthony. Five years later, Pry left Anthony and moved to New York to become a reporter. While initially being rejected by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', she succeeded in getting a trial assignment on a recent slum fire. The article she then produced was good enough to earn her a full time job there. In 1898, Pry was hired by Frederick Bonfils for the ''Denver Post'', becoming the paper's first female reporter.

Relationship with Packer

Pry met Alferd Packer in 1901 while she was writing an article on the prison where he was incarcerated. She advocated for him in print throughout the trial, helping to win his release. After the trial, she was present during a confrontation between the attorney for Packer, and the owners of the ''Post'', who had hired him. The owners learned that the attorney had taken a double payment, and demanded he return the money. During the confrontation, the attorney, W. W. Anderson, pulled a gun and shot both of the men; as he prepared to shoot again she jumped in front of Harry Heye Tammen, trying to shield him. Anderson threatened to shoot her if she didn't move. However, she stalled him long enough for the police to arrive and used her skirt to stop the bleeding. Later, rumors began circulating that her skirts saved her publishers' lives by slowing down bullets from the gun.

Later life

When union workers boycotted ''The Denver Post'' for her stance on labor issues and

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

, she founded her own paper, ''Polly Pry''. This brought further attacks from gunmen on her, this time in her home rather than her workplace. She was a strong advocate of

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

and came to the aid of French war orphans during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Pry died on 16 July 1938, aged eighty.

In popular culture

Two film versions of the Alferd Packer story have included Polly Pry. In Jim Roberson's '' The Legend of Alfred Packer'' (1980), she was portrayed by Cynthia Nessin. The incident with Anderson (who was not named, and called "Gunman" in the credits) was included, but after she begins telling Packer's story, she does not appear again in the film, involved or otherwise, and the shooting is not mentioned again. She is depicted as a hard-drinking and forceful person.

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative part ...

's '' Cannibal! The Musical'' featured Toddy Walters in the role, which went more deeply into her involvement with the case but ignored the fact that she was married in order to make her a

love interest (; ) were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard. These dramatic and posh characters were present within pl ...

for Packer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pry, Polly 1857 births 1938 deaths 19th-century American women journalists 19th-century American journalists The Denver Post people