Page 187 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

F R O N T I E R PLAC E : G E N D E R M A TT ERS

producing soap and butter, and directions f o r constructing basic yet
f a shionable clothing.30 Catherine Haun described women walking
along in dust and heat, sharing gossip and recipes.3 I Unlike men who
recorded in a fe w words their bread baking, women went on at great
length. For instance, Kitturah Belknap offered a complete sketch of her
"salt rising" bread.32
A comparison of men's and women's documents fr om the same
f a mily dramatically illustrates gender differences. Although childbirth
and child care were of crucial importance to women, men apparently
accepted pregnancy, childbirth, and even infant mortality as natural
f u nctions to which they accorded little notice. If men mentioned such
matters, they did so with brevity . The terseness of the f o llowing diary
entry was typical:
Feb. 25, 1868-T a cy, m y wife, had a new daughter this A.M. at
6 1 1 2 o'clock.
Sat. March 7th-I went to Salem and paid Dr. Siveter $ 1 0.00.
I had expected him to charge only $5.00.
Sun. May 3 - B aby diedP3

A stark contrast emerges when this is set beside the statement that
Kitturah Belknap made after her baby died f r om lung fe ver. It was, she
wrote, the "first real trial" of her life, When another of her children died,
she noted in her diary: "I have to pass thru another season of sorrow.
Death has again entered our home."Within f o ur days, Kitturah lost her
"dear little John" to "dropsy on the brain." She concluded, "We are left
again with one baby and I f e el that my health is giving way."34
This is not meant to suggest that men cared nothing about the
birth, care, and death of their children. Men were, after all, expected to
project an image of strong males and f a mily providers. The first pre­
vented them f r om expressing emotions, whereas the second riveted
their attention on matters important to providers. Thus, men were likely
to mention f a mily matters in offhand remarks.When Dr. Thomas White
delivered a baby on the trail fr om Indiana to Oregon in 1 8 52, he simply
stated that "the rule of multiplication, will go on, on the plains, as well
as in other relations of life."35 Y e ars later, in 1865, a prospector com­
mented, "The Indians are still camped near us. There are a good many

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