Page 185 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

FRONT I E R PL A C E : G E N D E R MATT ERS

In a typical action, the men of the Burrell party brandished their pistols
to seize an Indian-built bridge and scare away the Indian men
attempting to collect a modest toll. 1O If white men, taught to be
aggressive and profit-oriented, had swapped places with the Indians they
would have judged themselves enterprising and ambitious rather than
troublesome. For white men, however, an enterprising Indian was an
impossibility. White women, long taught to be soft and nurturing, often
derided men f o r violent behavior, whether it be against each other or
directed toward Indians. II W o men made clear their disapproval of the
means men used. Steeped in f e male virtues of the era, women did not
believe that the thud of a heavy fist on a native's head guaranteed survival
or success. Furthermore, women's lack of physical strength did not
encourage them to think in terms of belligerent action. Instead, women
pursued a softer course in their dealings with Native Americans. 12
Besides trade, another state of affairs that called f o r might fr om men
was flooded streams and rivers. These constituted a challenge to male
strength and ingenuity. "Went 6 miles to Dry Creek," wrote A.W Harlan,
while crossing the plains in 1 8 50. He added that Dry Creek had nine
f e et of water, with a swift current. "We set stakes & stretched ropes &
chains across & built a bridge of willow brush," he wrote, "rolled our
waggons over by hand, swam our teams across." Before going on their
way, he and his companions showed a cooperative spirit with other
.
white trains in lending to drivers their chains and ropes I 3
Unsurprisingly, men said little about domestic arrangements. 14
Although they mentioned cooking and washing in passing, if at all, they
occasionally helped with these tasks. Helen Carpenter remarked on a
f a ther and sons who joined "mother" at the fire and cooked their own
f o od. IS One young man noted that, after the party's cook "suffered an
accident along the trail," he did the cooking f o r "seven adults and a boy
about 3 years old." 16
Even though men in all-male parties did their own cooking and
domestic chores, they also made light of them. I7The f o rty-niner Edwin
Hillyer, f o r example, was bemused by the sight of men cooking. "Who'd
a thunk it, three months ago," he wrote, "that they would see John and
Ed away out on the plains . . . cooking over a bush fire?" Later, he noted:
"I baked bread.Yes I made and baked bread."I8 Another male migrant

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