Page 130 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

CHAP E T R TH R E E

Eventually, Indians concluded that i t was dangerous to approach
whites, the new " other" in their land, who usually flew into a rage and
became exceedingly hostile when Indians came near. 15 2 Indians could
see that white people, especially men, were belligerent and ready to shoot
before talking. Consequently, thousands of Indians impoverished by
white destruction of their animals, grass, and water, or simply curious
about the new breed of white people, learned to draw near whites very
carefully. Again and again, bright and inquisitive Indians scared white
women beyond belief. In turn, anxiety-ridden whites insulted Indians
who, as one sympathetic migrant said, "wanted no more than to ask ques­
1
tions, to beg, or to simply visit." In 8 46, a typical botched confrontation
occurred when a large group of mounted and well-outfitted Native
American men approached an Oregon-bound party. The Indians
watched as white men hastily distributed weapons and pushed women
and children behind wagons.What did these people expect fr om Indians?
they wondered. They surprised the white men by asking only f o r infor­
mation. As one white man later remembered, despite the Indians' war­
like appearance, they "failed to molest" him and his party in any way, but
"told them that they were going to war with another tribe." Although
outright disaster was averted, the Indians seized the opportunity to make
apparent their ruffled fe elings regarding white suspicions. As a result,
white men distributed a "generous supply of tobacco" bef o re the Indians
departed, convinced that whites were high-strung indeed. 153
Indians also f a iled to understand white settlers. Such Indians as
Comanches and Apaches, who were running out of their traditional sus­
tenance of buffalo and small game, raided settlers' stock. In return, white
settlers accused Indians of theft, a position difficult f o r Indians to accept
since whites had destroyed the wild game. Indians, who had to fe ed their
f a milies, raided settlers' herds with some regularity and often caused out­
breaks of violence in the process.154 T o Indians' dismay , when they
harmed or killed a white, rumors flew with incredible speed f o r many
W
miles in every direction. o rd-of-mouth reports, letters, and newspapers
magnified the Indian threat to unrecognizable dimensions. As early as
1 8 57, f o r example, two white women settlers in Algona, Iowa, who were
buffeted by one story after another about the Spirit Lake Massacre fo r
many months, finally wrote their f a mily in Connecticut that the stories

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