Indians in Service

Forming relationships for mutual support with the Indians, frontier women exchanged good and services.  Native Americans brought butter, eggs, potatoes, corn, pumpkins, melons, strawberries, blackberries, vension, fish, and dried salmon to trade.  A welcome relief from a diet of salt pork, beans and bread.

Women also grew skilled at bargaining for buffalo hides and robes, antelope and elk clothing, moccasins, baskets, and beadwork.  Bargains and good deals were not easy to come by as on woman said in 1864 Montana "They not only recognized the difference between coins and greenbacks, but would only take the latter at 50 cents on the dollar."

Indians began to be hired to perform services such as guides, herders, wood cutters, shoveling, drawing water, nursemaids who taught children their native customs, dialects, games and food.  In exchange for working for the white man, the Indian expected to be well-treated, properly paid, and left free.

When it came down to it, individuals had more to do with it than anything else.  There are records of women calling for Indian doctors and nurses to tend their children. When one child's Indian nurse died, "we mourned him as though he were a member of the family".

So Indians became more desired as purveyors, assistants, and guides far more than they became enemies.  Settlers who were confident and realistic of their own roles, contributions and strengths became more secure and sympathetic in the relations with the American Indians.

Next time...Interactions of Men and Women Settlers

Frontier Society Beginnings

Women are social creatures - it's just our nature.  Frontier women were no different.  They liked to visit with neighbors and talk of things women today talk about - parenting, fashion, recipes, crafts, marriages, education, religion and most certainly settlement politics.  Women attempted to dress in style even on the frontier, as a symbol of their intention to remain feminine on a frontier where femininity was not an easy thing.

When friends did visit, they stayed. Nearby neighbors stayed at least through a meal and if they had to travel far, for the night.  It was good manners.  Visits provided relief from work and offered the opportunity for mutual support and sharing of experiences.  Women on the frontier might go weeks between neighborly visits, and years between family visits.

Women attempted to attract friends and family to come out west for a visit to aid in the task of building a frontier society, but in reality it was just too costly, and too stressful  to make the trip very often, so societies were built on whoever settled down the road.

Pioneers were beginning to compare their new life on the frontier to their old life on the frontier.  The East was starting to  fade in their memory and a "lady" as the heart of the home was surviving, but along with that - the role as a helper and partner was emerging.  The Western Frontier was becoming civilized!

Next time...Women Contribute to the Community