Page 155 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915
P. 155

F  R  O  N  T  I E  R    P  R  O  C  E S S :   H  U  MAN I Z  I N  G


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             getting something out  f   s   if they could."94  o men complained might­
             ily, using  such phrases  as "thieving people," "somewhat troublesome,"
             and "troubled by  begging  Indians."9s  Even  though  Indians  asked  fo r
             basics, including sugar, meat, flour, coffee, other f o odstuffs, and tobacco,
             white women seldom questioned why once self-sufficient groups were
             in such dire economic straits. Instead, they referred to Indians as sly, dis­
             gusting, or pesky.96  One  woman wrote, "They are the greatest beggars
             I  ever  saw .  I  do  wonder if they  are  hungry."97  Others  called  Indians
             "born beggars" and "awful  thieves."98  Some were  even more stinging
             in their remarks. "The  better  Indians  come  to camp  to pay us a visit,"
             Mary Jane Guill wrote in 1 8 60. "Always stay till after supper I suppose
             it is  f a shionable  f o r them to  stay."99  In  1864, Mallie  Stafford scoffed:
             "Two large powerfully built warriors, in all the glory of red paint, buck­
             skin, beads, f e athers, dignity and general magnificence, condescended to
             honor our humble camp with a call-a call long enough to eat up and
             devour everything we had cooked, that being an immense pot of beans
             and bacon."Ioo
                 Without a second thought, women condemned such behavior.  101
             From the Pawnees to the Sioux to the "Diggers," Indians were reputed
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             to take anything they could lay their hands  on. 02 W o men were espe­
             cially annoyed that Indians ran off the stock that was so vital to whites'
             lives and livelihoods. In truth, there were minor and major conflicts all
             over  the  western  f r ontier,  f r om  Minnesota  and  Iowa  to  Montana,
             Wyoming, Colorado, and into the Far West, that erupted over horses and
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             other  animals 1 03 A  closer  examination of these  interchanges  indicates
             that American Indians were typically f a r more interested in taking live­
             stock than taking human lives. 104 Time after time, Indians wanted horses
             and cattle, not captives or scalps. 105 In 1863,  o r example, while moving
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             to California, Mattie  a lker mentioned that the "men were kept on the
             alert on account ofIndians who made several attempts to drive the stock
             off."106  Referring to W e st T e xas  of the  1 8 70s, Mary Jane Bell  insisted
             that "the Indians didn't molest anybody, as all they seemed to want was
             to steal the horses."I07 Other women who worried about horses, mules,
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             cattle, and sheep often suspected Indians  of" eyeing" their animals. 08
                 Even though native fo rays on white people's livestock could escalate
             into violence, such raids were often more annoying than life threatening.



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