Page 156 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

C H APTER FOUR

Because of the belief that Indians would steal animals if given "half a
chance,"I09 train members circled their wagons at night to fo rm a corral
f o r animals and posted guards. Even at the trail's end, vigilance could not
be relaxed. Men and women stood guard over barns, outbuildings, and
fields to thwart stock-hunting American Indians. IIO As a result, the vast
majority of white setders completed their trips and established setdements
in relative safety.
Women also remained oblivious to Indian rituals involving
horses. III The same women who congratulated themselves f o r making
"sharp deals" or" good buys" in trading with Indians resented the effort
ofIndians to strike a f a vorable horse trade.Women accused such Indians
of being out to bedevil emigrants and setders, drunk, or thieves at
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heart. II Moreover, when Indians returned wandering stock to whites,
women were skeptical. "That they were honest enough to be bringing
the lost horses to us we could hardly believe," remarked one young
trail woman. 1 I 3 In other words, white women kept Indians in a no­
win position.
Clearly, women's anti-Indian prejudices hung on. Convinced of
their moral mission to help "depraved" Indians, women were hesitant
to give up their preconceptions regarding America's native population.
Whether curious, amused, or decidedly negative, women were not easily
dissuaded. Adding women's belief in white superiority to the mix makes
even more understandable women's stubbornness and difficulty in
seeing Native Americans as legitimate human beings. As one woman
tellingly remarked in 8 5 3 , she and her party never tired of watching the
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Indians, f o r "they were equal to a circus in interest to us."1 I 4This woman
was not the first to condescendingly compare Indians to performers in
a carnival or other entertaining show. Although Indians were not
consulted about their fe elings, their actions made it clear that they f o und
white invaders a source of wonder. Certainly, Indians spent hours gazing
through the doors and windows of white homes, churches, wagons, and
other structures. T o white women, however, this habit was one more
disconcerting and vexing characteristic of natives who already seemed
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to be largely worthless as people. IS