"Crazy" Cora Cobb (1852-) was an American woman from Texas who acquired a negative reputation for herself after her estranged husband stranded her in Australia during the late 1870s. In 1880, she returned to America with the help of the American cowboy and gunslinger Matthew Quigley, whom she entered into a relationship with during his vendetta against the Australian landowner Elliott Marston.
Biography[]
"Crazy Cora" in 1880
Cora Cobb was born in Texas, United States in 1852, and she described herself as a "native-born Texican" who was raised knowing how to shoot a gun. She married Roy Cobb and lived with him on a farm, where she bore him a son, Roy Jr. One day, while her husband was out hunting hens, a band of drunken Comanche warriors raided their farm, and Cora hid in the basement with her infant son, whom she accidentally smothered to death with her hand to stop his cries from alerting the Indians. The Indians ultimately found her after hearing her son's cries, but, as they were only at the farm to steal alcohol, they did not harm her. When Roy Cobb returned home to find his son dead, he buried their son, put Cora on a wagon, and drove her 70 miles to Galveston, where he put her on the first ship out of town and never turned back once she was gone. The ship set sail for Australia, leaving Cobb stranded at the Australian port of Fremantle without family, friends, or a job.
Quigley, Cora, and a dead Coogan laying in the Outback
Cobb suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her abandonment, waiting at the docks for Roy to return, and acquiring a reputation among the locals as "Crazy Cora". In 1880, when the American cowboy Matthew Quigley came to Australia to work as a hired gun for the rancher Elliott Marston, Cobb's mind associated the tall American cowboy with her husband, and she obsessively followed him, calling him "Roy"; occasionally, she would snap out of her PTSD and treat Quigley as a stranger, but, other times, she would flirt with him and bring up old memories. She first encountered Quigley when he rescued her from Marston's henchmen, who were harassing her at the Fremantle docks in an attempt to bring her back to the ranch as a prostitute, and she and Quigley ultimately joined the henchmen in returning to the ranch after the henchmen discovered that they had been fighting with the man they were supposed to bring to their boss. After Quigley fell out with Marston over the latter's intent to commit genocide against the native Aborigines, Marston had Quigley and Cora dumped in the Outback without food or water, but Quigley killed Marston's henchman Jerome Coogan and shot the wagon driver from a distance, ensuring that he and Cora could escape.
The Aborigines rescuing Quigley and Cora
After days of walking, Cora collapsed, and, while Quigley initially intended to walk off without her, he ultimately decided to carry her until he, too, collapsed. Quigley and Cora were rescued by Aborigines, who woke Quigley that night with a clap. Quigley was surprised to see that the Aborigines had given him water and allowed him to keep his gun and ammunition, and he told an awoken Cora of the Aborigines' kindness, in spite of the fact that every white man with a rifle was trying to kill them. They were then joined by an Aboriginal woman and a few children, and they were handed grub worms to eat. Quigley politely smiled after putting the worms in his mouth, although he told Cora that he didn't eat living things. Over the next few days, Quigley and Cora bonded with the Aborigines, with Quigley showing the Aborigines how to use a lasso. That night, Cora joined Quigley by a campfire and commented how a small Aborigine baby was such a darling, but not as much a darling as "Roy Jr.". Quigley expressed his exasperation that there was another "Roy", and, after a moment of silence, Cora reluctantly told Quigley of how she came to be in Australia.
Cora rescuing the orphaned baby
The next morning, Quigley and Cora woke to find that the Aborigines had left without saying goodbye, and, while Cora compared them to the Johnsons from her church social (returning to believing that Quigley was Roy), Quigley noticed five white riders in the distance and concluded that the Aborigines were fleeing from them. Quigley killed two of the whites with his rifle, while another was impaled by an Aboriginal javelin. Quigley then ran over to Cora, who had run into the fray to try and prevent a massacre, and he chastised her for nearly getting herself killed. However, he found Cora kneeling over the body of a young mother to whom she had gifted a button from her dress, and she told Quigley that anyone who believed in magic was crazy. She then picked up the baby and decided to adopt her, even though Quigley said that they had one horse and two canteens. He also lamented that Marston would know where the two fugitives were, as one of the riders got away.
Cora walking with Quigley
That night, Cora invited a cold Quigley to share her blanket, flirting with him. Quigley initially went along with it, as he had grown close to Cora, but, after she called him "Roy", he turned away a kiss, saying that he would not share a bed with her until she knew who was in it. The next day, as the two of them walked, Quigley invited Cora to join him in taking off their clothes and go swimming after Cora remembered his name, "Matthew Quigley", but, when Cora said that there wasn't any water and Quigley grinned, Cora realized his flirtation and shamed him. Quigley then asked her about the night before, when she had flirted with him, but she was oblivious to what he was talking about, so Quigley told her to forget it, deducing that her PTSD had kicked in the night before. Meanwhile, at Marston Water, the survivor returned to the ranch and reported that Quigley had killed his comrades from around three-quarters of a mile away, and an exasperated Marston promised £50 in gold to whoever could bring Quigley in.
Cobb coming upon the many dead Aborigines
Some time later, as Quigley and Cora rode aimlessly, they came across several mounted white settlers whipping Aborigines who had been trapped against a cliffside, sending several of them to their deaths. Quigley intervened with his rifle, killing several of the horsemen, and also shooting Connor Hobb as he attempted to flee with the others. Cora then cried for the Aborigines whom she had just watched die, and Quigley joined her in lamenting the murder before interrogating Hobb about the location of Marston's ranch and the nearest town. That night, Cora suggested that Quigley could ride off without her and the baby, as she could take Quigley's spare rifle and pistol; when Quigley asked if she knew how to use a shooter, she bragged that she was "a native-born Texican". Quigley said that she had enough water for two days if he was not there drinking it with her, and, when he asked Cora what she thought, she laughed and said that Quigley was the only man on the continent who would ask her what she thought. The next morning, Quigley left Cora with two lizards he had killed with a boomerang, and he checked her guns three times. He also asked Cora to give "Little Bit" back to the Aborigines if she ran into them, and she responded by asking him to buy her a red dress in town if there was one that wasn't too costly. Quigley told Cora that he would be back in two days, and he proceeded to ride off.
Cora returning the child to the Aborigines
That night, Cora shot dead several dingoes who attempted to attack her and the baby, and Quigley came across the site of the attack when he returned the next day. He gifted her a new blue dress he had purchased in town, and the two of them rode off together. Cora warned Quigley that Marston would kill him if he insisted on going after him, and Quigley jokingly told the baby to urinate all over the new dress if Cora talked like that again. The two of them then rode into Meekathanga, where they found Mr. Grimmelman and his son talking with some Aboriginal traders. Quigley told Cora that she had every right to her happiness, and he persuaded her to hand the baby to the Aborigines, after which they retired to their hotel room for sleep.
Cora and Quigley kissing for the first time
The next morning, Quigley set out on his quest for revenge against Marston, having convinced the German gunsmith Ronald Grimmelman to ensure that Cora could leave Australia safely. Cora was saddened to think that she might never see Quigley again, and Quigley held her head and said that she looked pretty in the morning sun. He then turned and left on his horse, riding to Marston Waters. A day later, Quigley returned to Fremantle, having killed Marston and the last of his men, and he rendezvoused with Cora, who was waiting for him. Quigley booked himself and Cora two tickets back to San Francisco, telling the clerk that his name was "Roy Cobb", pretending to be Cora's husband, as Quigley was a wanted man. The two then left the building, and, as they walked down the street, Cora reminded Quigley of his promise to make love to her if she said two words to him. Quigley asked what she would say, and she then said, "Matthew Quigley", apparently recovering from her PTSD. Quigley proceeded to stop in his tracks, turn around, and kiss and embrace Cora for the first time, and the two returned to America safely, leaving behind their troubles in Australia.