Page 83 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

FRONTIER P H I L OSOPHY: EUROPEAN DISCOURSE

were less f r equently heard; knives were less fr equently drawn; pistols
were less f r equently fired."IOo
Others went on to say that women were the judges of decency, the
guardians of humanity , and the very glue of a society that, "without
woman, is like an edifice built on sand."IOI Sienkiewicz insisted that
women so softened the brutal habits of one f r ontier town of the r870S
that although men still argued, "Bowie knives remained in their sheaths
and revolvers in the pocket." He added that " cards were not played so
fiercely and only cocktails were drunk, instead of the usual enormous
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draughts ofwhiskey." 2
Because Europeans believed that fe male colonists were unusual
women, their descriptions of western women portrayed a superior type
of being. They also had f a ith in the redemptive power of f r ontiers. By
helping others-in this case Native Americans-white women rose to
the very heights of womanhood. As a result, despite the contradictions
and disagreements regarding specific aspects of fr ontierswomen's lives,
roles, and actions in the writings of Europeans, the overall assessment
was that f r ontierswomen had the best situation of any women in the
world. T o demonstrate this point, Europeans f a vorably compared
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American women's lives with those of women in other countries. 3
Europeans stressed repeatedly that western American women received
more respect f r om men than did women anywhere else in the world.
They also emphasized that f r ontierswomen wielded more power in their
homes and in society than did women in other parts of the world. 10 4
One Dutch traveler, T u tein N olthenius, even claimed that western
women" are different fr om our womenfolk, who are kept inferior fe male
animals fr om f o rce of habit and superstition."I0 5 Moreover, Europeans
pointed out that western women f a ced more opportunities within the
institution of marriage, in the schools and colleges, and in employment.
Once they recovered fr om their initial surprise regarding the
behavior of western women, European male visitors lauded them f o r
seizing their opportunities. In r885, the American Settler emphasized that
Anglo women made "good use" of the "free field" they f o und in the
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W e st. 6 Most seemed to come around to admiration f o r western
women. Some went so f a r as to say that western women's strengths and
skills proved women equals of men in almost every way. I 0 7 As V a rigny

7 5