Mattie Silks

Mattie Silks, or Martha Ready (1846 – 7 January 1929), was a prostitute

It is not certain whether she immediately went to work as a prostitute upon leaving home. According to author Jan MacKell Collins, many historians are of the opinion that she may have worked as a freighter on wagon trains. She was 19 at the time. Silks placed a sign on one of her first parlor houses which read, "Men taken in and done for." She was described as a very good looking woman, with spirit and a competitive nature. According to Forbes Parkhill, Silks first visited Denver in 1869, though she did not move there until 1876 or 1877. from Nellie French for $13,000 The duel was allegedly a jealous feud over Cortez. There are many versions of the incident. One version has Mattie and Katie shooting at each other while both are topless. Another version says Mattie, who was known to carry a pistol, caught Cortez and Katie in a compromising position and challenged Katie to a duel. According to Collins, the Denver Daily Times reported thatKatie and Mattie had an argument following a footrace. Thompson won the race, and Mattie collected $2,000. A fight broke out involving several people, including Mattie, Thompson, Katie, and Katie's lover Sam Thatcher. Katie received the worst of it: During the fray she was punched, knocked down twice, and kicked in the face, breaking her nose. Afterward, as Thompson returned to Denver in a buggy, another carriage pulled up beside him and he was shot in the neck, though not fatally. Katie left town for a while but returned in September, where she had another fight with Mattie. This time Mattie punched Katie, knocking her down and injuring her nose again. In 1898, Madam Jennie Rogers opened the House of Mirrors in Denver, and quickly became more successful than any of the competition. Jennie Rogers died in 1909, after which Silks purchased the House of Mirrors for $14,000. It was alleged that Mattie bore a child with George, but there is no evidence to substantiate the rumor. By the time Silks arrived in Denver, the relationship between her and George was over.

Mattie also met Cortez Thompson while residing in Georgetown. Cortez was a well known foot racer. Mattie bet on him at one of his races and won $2,000. Mattie operated one of the five brothels on Brownell Street in Georgetown. Cortez and George both occupied a room in her brothel. When Mattie left Georgetown for Denver she was accompanied by Cortez, who had left his wife and young daughter to be with Mattie.

Silks and Cortez were lovers for years before they married in Miami County, Indiana, on July 6, 1884, four days after Cortez received news of his wife's passing. Life with Cortez was chaotic. He was described as having less than gentlemanly morals. Katy Ordway, author of Shady Dames of Denver, described Cortez as a gambler with propensity towards violence. Very few people attended her funeral. She was buried under the name Martha Ready, beside her longtime lover Cortez Thomson, in block 12-lot 31, of Fairmount Cemetery in Denver. Silks left $4,000 in real estate and $2,500 in jewels.