Historians and the Tradition of Pioneer Hardships

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9Ilfr e d 9 . Black

A d is s e r t a t io n subm itted in p a r t ia l f u lf illm e n t o f the requirem ents fo r the degree o f Doctor o f P h ilosop h y, in the department o f H isto r y , in th e ciraduata C o lleg e o f th e S ta te u n iv e r s ity o f Iowa May, 1942

ProQuest Number: 10831751

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uest ProQuest 10831751 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). C opyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C o d e M icroform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346

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T his study was done under th e su p e r v isio n o f P r o fe sso r L ouis P e ls e r to whom the w r ite r i s ind eb ted fo r n ot only encourage­

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ment but many worthy s u g g e s tio n s .

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I ll

CONTENTS Chapter I II III IV

Page

An Approach to th e T r a d itio n o f P ion eer H ardships

1

...................

14

Westward H o i .........................................................................

35

The Mining B'rontier

54

The A b o rig in a l Menace

. . . . . . .

. ♦ . .

*

V

L ife on th e A g r ic u ltu r a l F r o n t i e r ........................

72

VI

The Concept o f P io n eer H ardships In the P u b lic S ch o o ls . . . . . . . . . . ....................... . .

100

The Concept o f P ion eer H ardships in Higher Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

117

VII V III

C r y s t a lliz a tio n o f th e T ra d itio n o f P ion eer ........................... H ardships . . . . . . . . . .

•

F o o tn o tes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B ibliograp hy

......................

136 149

.

169

Appendix A

Chronology o f Standard H is t o r ie s . . . .

177

Appendix B

N in e tee n th and T w entieth Century Textbooks ..........................................................

181

Appendix C

Early Textbooks and Indian T ortu res

. .

183

Appendix D

A n a ly sis o f th e I l l u s t r a t i o n s in Ralph . Henry G ab riel The Lure o f th e F r o n tie r .

185

1

In tro d u ctio n C hapter I AS APPROACH TO THE TRABITIOH OF PIOSEER HARDSHIPS

The co n sc io u s lit e r a t u r e o f f r o n t ie r days was o f two main k in d s i what was w r itte n from f r o n t ie r communities — alm ost in v a r ia b ly a f f e c t e d , unre­ v e a lin g o f anything e x cep t th e d e s ir e o f w r ite r s to compose th e kind o f th in g approved by t r a d it io n ; and what was w r itte n about th e f r o n t ie r by more or l e s s c a r e le s s * . .and unscrupulous o b serv ers and so jo u rn ers who put in w r itin g a s e n tim e n ta liz e d and r a p id ly c o n v e n tio n a liz e d account to be marketed in th e o ld e r country. — P* H. Boynton «**««* For Indian te e p e e s , w ith t h e ir tr o p h ie s o f bow, la n c e , s h ie ld , and dan glin g s c a lp - lo c k s , we have towns and c i t i e s . . . • The b u ffa lo i s g o n e ... « Tame c a t t l e and fe n c e s o f barbed w ire have sup­ p la n ted h i s v a st h erds and bou nd less g ra zin g grounds. . . . The slow cavalcade and horsemen armed t o th e t e e t h has disappeared b e fo re p a rlo r c a r s . . . . The Wild West i s tamed, and i t s savage charms have w ith e r e d . I f t h i s book can h e lp t o keep t h e ir memory a l i v e , i t w i l l have dene i t s p a r t. Thus F ra n cis Parkinan sounded h i s p la in t iv e w ish th a t bygone days on th e American fr o n t ie r should not be fo r g o tte n .* ’ Two y e a r s e a r l i e r th e fe d e r a l census rep ort had proclaim ed th e p a ssin g o f th e f r o n t ie r and the c lo s e o f th e chapter which I t had dominated.

J u st as o ld age r e c a l l s

th e au d acity o f youth , so have many Americans sought to reca p tu re memories o f f r o n t ie r days. Many o f them t r i e d , most o f them s u c c e s s f u lly , to p erp etu ate memories o f e a r ly days.

Soon a f r o n t ie r t r a d it io n

2

arose*

As y ea rs m u ltip lie d In to d ecad es, th a t t r a d it io n

g a in ed e v e r -g r e a te r fo llo w in g u n t i l now one can hardly se p a r a te tr u th from legend*

J u st a s sc h o o l c h ild r e n c h e r ish

Washington and h i s cherry t r e e , so t h e i r e ld e r s r e v e l in c o lo r f u l s t o r i e s o f In d ia n s, p rosp ectors* cowboys, and fro n tiersm en , th a t p io n e e r s ex p erien ced h a r d sh ip s, th e re i s l i t t l e q u e stio n ;

b oth sou rce m a te r ia ls and common sen se

confirm t h i s popular con clu sion *

The p resen t study i s b ein g

undertaken w ith no in t e n tio n o f debunking th e r ig o r s o f f r o n t ie r l i f e *

As a t r e e surgeon removes a fungus which

slo w ly d e str o y s th e v i t a l i t y o f a b e a u t if u l elm , so i t i s th e o b je c tiv e o f t h i s study t o e f f a e e some o f th e t r a d it io n whleh fo r more than a cen tu ry h a s surrounded p ion eer hard­ s h ip s ,

M oreover, t h i s can be ach ieved w ithou t d e str o y in g

th e drama and c o lo r o f l i f e on th e fr o n tie r *

At the same

tim e, th e t r e a t i s e may c h a lle n g e one t o regard p ion eer hard­ sh ip s in a more f i t t i n g p e r s p e c tiv e .

I f he d oes t h i s , he

w i l l have a t h i s command a sto ry c h a r a c te r iz e d n ot only by tr u th and r ea lism but one which i s j u s t a s c o lo r f u l and b e a u t if u l as th e rom an ticized co n cep ts which have a r ise n among g e n e r a tio n s f a r removed from th e p io n eer scene* At th e o u ts e t one must rec o g n ize th a t such an approach i s d i f f i c u l t because he i s d e a lin g w ith the l i f e o f a former e r a .

The more removed one i s from a h i s t o r i c a l

scen e, th e more d i f f i c u l t i s th e ta s k o f r e c o n str u c tin g th a t sc e n e .

I f th e f i e l d o f a c tio n i s surrounded by p o l i t -

l e a l and c o n s t it u t io n a l e v e n ts , r e s to r a tio n i s n ot so d i f f i c u l t a s though th e e v e n ts are o f a s o c i a l nature* T h is accou n ts t o a la r g e e x te n t f o r th e l a t e appearance o f s o c i a l h i s t o r i e s o f th e American p e o p le . There are only th r e e so u rc es t o which th e in ­ v e s t ig a t o r o f a su b je ct l i k e t h i s ean g o .

The a c tu a l

hardship as exp erien ced by p io n e e r s must be d isregard ed s in c e th e f r o n t ie r no lo n g e r e x i s t s .

The n e a r e st one can

approximate f r o n t ie r h a rd sh ip s i s to an alyze sou rces lik e memoirs, d i a r i e s , r e c o l l e c t i o n s , l e t t e r s , jo u r n a ls , and p e r so n a l n a r r a tiv e s — f i r s t hand e v id e n c e s l e f t by th o se who p a r tic ip a te d in th e w estern drama.

Assuming such

record s t o be a c c u r a te , l a t e r h is t o r ia n s have based t h e ir n a r r a tiv e on them. Thus, whether i t was th e a c tu a l hardship i t s e l f , a record o f th e h ard sh ip l e f t by someone who exp erien ced i t , or someone1e account o f what was supposed t o have been a h ardship , c o n sid e r a b le d e v ia tio n from what was a r e a l it y i s in e v it a b le .

A su r p r iz in g degree o f erro r i s tra c e a b le

t o record s which were l e f t by p io n e e r s th e m se lv e s.

T h is

elem ent o f human e rr o r la fr e q u e n tly d isregard ed by th o se who make use o f sou rce m a te r ia ls . th o se who were th e f r o n t ie r found unemot lo n a l 1 zed w r itin g d i f f i c u l t , i f n o t Im p o ssib le .

Boynton says th a t

th e c o n sc io u s l it e r a t u r e o f f r o n t ie r days was o f two main k in d s: what was w r itte n from f r o n t ie r com m unities — alm ost in v a r ia b ly a f f e c t e d , unr e v e a lln g o f an yth in g ex cep t th e d e s ir e o f th e

4

w r ite r s t o compose th e kind o f th in g approved fey t r a d it io n ; and what was w r itte n afeout th e f r o n t ie r fey iso re or l e s s c a r e le s s and. .* unscrupulous ob­ se r v e r s and sojou rn ers who put in w r itin g a sen­ tim e n ta lis e d and r a p id ly c o n v e n tio n a liz e d account to fee marketed in th e o ld e r co u n try . Only a few o ld -tim e r s who liv e d on th e f r o n t ie r remain, and th e t i n t o f th e s t o r i e s th ey t e l l becomes deeper w ith each su eo e sa lv e n arration *

F requ en tly th ey weave in t o t h e ir

sto r y e v e n ts which e it h e r happened b e fo re t h e ir tim e or never tran sp ired *

So grows th e f r o n t ie r le g e n d , m agn ified

a lik e fey th o se who l iv e d i t and th o se who t e l l it *

As

s t o r i e s descend from one g e n e ra tio n t o another t h e ir drama in c r e a s e s , and th e leg en d grows*

An im p ressive array o f

secondary accou nts based upon th e rem in iscen ces o f p io n e e r s h a s stren gth en ed th e f r o n t ie r t r a d it io n . F oreign t r a v e l le r s v i s i t i n g th e U nited S t a te s in th e n in e te e n th cen tu ry were shocked fey some o f th e th in g s they saw, and i t i s on ly n a tu ra l th a t t h e ir recorded im pres­ s io n s d e p ic t w estern l i f e in i t s cru d est a sp ects*

Coming

from th e upper c la s s e s o f European s o c ie t y , many o f th e se t r a v e l le r s were(unacqualnted w ith f r o n t ie r manners and custom s. Their w r itin g s dram atize f r o n t ie r c r u d i t ie s , and Europeans 3 drew exaggerated Im p ression s o f th e American W est. B iograp h ers, t o o , have woven undue and o fte n tim e s in a ccu ra te l o c a l c o lo r in t o t h e ir s t o r i e s .

Among th o se so

rom an ticized are D an iel Boone, K it Carson, David C rock ett, " B u ffalo B i l l ," "Wild B ill" H lckok, J e s s e James, and "Calamity Jane."

L i t t l e wonder th a t th e se c h a r a c te r s have become

5

h e r o e s fo r many c h ild r e n —* b ig and l i t t l e ? The n o v e l is t h a s p ortrayed v iv id ly th e r ig o r s o f f r o n t ie r l i f e *

What you n gster h as n ot shuddered a t h a ir*

r a is in g t a l e s from Barnes Feniraore Cooper* a The l a s t o f i t e MohtcanBt Sfho h as n ot boon aovod by B ret H arte' s The OutS t ?700 wagons,

105*000 c a t t l e ,

4 8 ,0 0 0 daeep,

and 15*000 men, women, and ch ild ren had been r e g i s t e r e d .^ Nor did hardship cease a f t e r p ro sp ec to rs a rriv ed a t t h e ir d e s t in a t io n .

Once the s tr a in o f the Journey was

over* new t r i a l s and t r ib u la t io n s fa ced m iners.

Bancroft

was h im s e lf an a c to r in t h i s s e t t in g when he jo in ed h i s fa th e r in Sacramento* M iners found th a t t h e ir problems had only begun when th ey staked ou t c la im s which th ey found d i f f i c u l t t o se c u r e .

Much h a s been w r itte n about jumping c la im s, g u n fir e ,

bloody fe u d s , stacked c o u r ts , and la w le s s p roceed in gs on th e m ining fr o n tie r *

While R oosevelt was p rim a rily concerned

w ith th e se cu rin g o f land t i t l e s , Bancroft was fa s c in a te d by th e d a lly l i f e o f m in ers.

Great was th e a n x ie ty o f

p r o sp ec to rs during many hours o f d ig g in g and d e lv in g o fte n ­ tim es up t o t h e ir w a is ts in w ater and in a l l kinds o f w eather.

T h eirs was a sturdy c la s s th a t dug in to "the dark

and s w e lte r in g b ow els o f th e earth" — knowing th a t a t e r ­ r ib le f a t e might overtak e them any moment.

Temperatures

v a ried a t d if f e r e n t d ep th s: 100 f e e t . . . . 5 0 .5 d eg rees 500 * . ♦ . . 68 1 .0 0 0 * . . . 8 1 .5 " 1 ,5 0 0 * . . . 101 " 2 .0 0 0 * . . . I ll * 2 ,1 0 0 * . . . 1 1 9 .5 As a r e s u lt

o f changed clim a te and modes o f l iv i n g

upon system s str a in e d by h a r d sh ip s, m iners f e l l v ic tim s to

d ise a se *

Bad d rin k in g w a te r, poor fo o d , le e k o f v e g e ta b le s ,

and poor s h e lt e r s weakened t h e ir r e s is t a n c e .

In te r m itte n t

and r e m itte n t f e v e r s , rheumatism, ca ta rrh , s y p h i l is , scurvy, d la r ro h ea , and dysen tery were common a f f l i c t i o n s .

ly in g on

th e hard e a r th or r o ll i n g in agony on th e she If-b e d o f h i s c a b in , th e miner* s thou ghts freq u en tly d r if t e d to the de­ v o ted w ife back home.

S u c c e ssfu l and Joyous in t h e ir under­

t a k in g s , a few returned home in good h e a lth , but the bones o f a g r e a te r number la y alon g th e way "unburied over th e w ild e r n e ss o f d is ta n t h i l l s . "

B ancroft a s s e r t s th at "not

o n e ...b u t th o u sa n d s.. .th u s liv e d and d ied ."

11

In drawing

such a co n c lu sio n B ancroft tem p orarily abandoned sch o la r­ sh ip fo r th e sake o f c o lo r , ex a g g era tio n , and g e n e r a liz a tio n . I t should have been n e a r ly as d i f f i c u l t fo r Bancroft to say th a t thousands liv e d and d ied th u s a s fo r contemporary h is t o r ia n s t o make such a p o s itiv e statem en t. There i s l i t t l e doubt th a t c o n d itio n s were de­ p lo r a b le , and MoMaster, d e p ic tin g th e Colorado g o ld rush o f 1059, r e v e a ls th a t m iners who were unable to obtain employment and who had r e a liz e d th a t nobody was making a fo rtu n e a t th e d ig g in g s headed back t o M isso u ri.

On th e

return t r i p th ey met westward-bound em igrants to whom they r e la te d t h e ir t a l e s o f woe.

The Colorado-bound were soon

"in f u l l r e t r e a t , f l e e i n g a s i f chased by an enemy*"

A

number o f th e more d e s t i t u t e so ld t h e ir wagons and o u t f i t s and h u rried homeward on f o o t .

I t was rep orted th a t 20,000

men who lack ed money and food contem plated burning Omaha,

Leavenworth, and St* Joseph “because o f the fraud p r a c tic e d on them by th e p eople o f th e s e o u t f i t t i n g towns."

^cilaBter

drew h i a inform ation from th e Hew-York Dajily Tribune which in turn quoted i t from th e S t . L ouis Democrat.

12

I t i s d i f f i c u l t to determ ine to what e x te n t m iners were menaced by w ild b e a sts*

Although i t was probably to

no marked degree* R oosevelt n a r r a te s one dram atic in sta n ce where a p ro sp ecto r encountered a b u ll moose*

Although th e

animal had been wounded, i t rushed F in g rec, knocked him down, and began t o pound him w ith i t s f o r e f e e t . His ch est 1** beaten in , F ln gree d ied in a couple o f hours. The on ly government which e x is t e d on th e mining f r o n t ie r was th e r e s u lt o f n e c e s s it y , but Bancroft exag­ g era ted c o n d itio n s when he d eclared there was never any p a r e n ta l r e s t r a in t or guidance *** no p erio d o f format ion or childhood*

Every community had i t s uprighteoue and

honorable c i t i z e n s as w e ll as I t s s o c ia lly un desirables* Cursing C a lifo r n ia , m illio n s o f croakers sa t on th e ir haunches l i k e fr o g s around a pond.

I d le n e s s , sw earing,

in t o x ic a t io n , s p e c u la tio n , a v a r ic e , gam bling, and d u e llin g were in vogue*

Emerging from th e m ines w ith a l i t t l e bag

o f hard earned g o ld d u s t, many p ro sp ec to rs f e l l v ic tim s t o s lig h t-o f-h a n d sh ark s.

P ro fa n ity became an a r t, and from

dawn t o dusk men "mouthed t h e ir oath s and then swallowed them*"

So r e fin e d did blasphemy become th a t numerous

d i a l e c t s and idiom s produced a new tongue 'w ith d e lic a t e

o shades b e f i t t i n g th e id io s y n c r a s ie s o f in d iv id u a l sw earers.

In such an atmosphere d rin k in g was ca rr ie d t o e x c e s s , and h a l f th e members o f raining camps went on p e r io d ic a l sp rees w hich la s te d two or th r e e days.

“Thousands every day were

a s drunk a s b ir d s o f p arad ise — so drunk th a t an ts n ig h t e a t th e ir l e g s o f f ."

Saloons were a common s ig h t , and in

th e more la w le s s d i s t r i c t s b a rrica d es o f sand bags and oth er b u lle t - p r o o f m a te r ia ls were lo c a te d in s id e the bar under th e c o u n te r.

Hundreds o f In h ab itan ts went mad, and lu n a tic s

roamed th e s t r e e t s a t la r g e .

Uproarious was th e h o r r ib le ,

d is o r d e r ly laugh o f men and fie n d s .

D u ellin g was common,

and B ancroft devoted a number o f pages to newspaper accounts o f t h i s means o f s e t t l i n g d iffe r e n c e s over t r i v i a l m a tters. A mania In 1854, d u e llin g exempted n e ith e r e d it o r , law yer, Judge, d o cto r, nor lo a f e r .

Even the le g is la t u r e o f th at

year was d e sig n a te d a s "the fig h tin g le g is la t u r e ."

“...I f

a week or two p assed w ithou t th e n o tic e o f a h o s t il e meet­ in g In th e p u b lic Jo u rn a ls, men looked a t each other as i f som ething were wrong.“

In th e mornings m edical men did a

p r o f it a b le b u s in e s s by mending broken heads and s e t t in g d is lo c a te d j o i n t s .

Such I s C a lif o r n ia 's mining f r o n t ie r as 14 d e p ic ted by B a n cro ft. L aw lessn ess p r e v a ile d everyw here, and highwaymen and b a n d it ti I n fe s te d th e roads.

Men were c o n sta n tly in

danger o f b ein g murdered fo r t h e ir money or t h e ir p roperty. D i f f i c u l t i e s over claim s were r e sp o n sib le fo r frequ en t v io ­ la t io n s o f the p e a c e.

Under th e p r e v a ilin g system o f squat­

t e r ! sra th e e x is te n c e o f eou rta was ignored because j u s t ic e

was d elayed and cla im a n ts became Im p atien t.

Courts ad­

m in iste r e d th e law to th e b e st o f t h e ir a b i l i t y , and J u r ie s reached v e r d ic t s on th e b a s is o f whether th e accused deserved t o be k i l l e d ra th er than whether he had committed th e crim e.

He dr e s s o f g rie v a n c es was a tta in e d when men

to o k i t upon th em selv es to mete out j u s t i c e .

Of C a lifo rn ia n s

B ancroft w ro te, "In e a r ly tim es rum, exposu re, and d is e a se not b ein g s u f f i c i e n t , they a l l used to carry r e v o lv e r s to k i l l each o th e r w it h .”

15

Bueh a d e sc r ip tio n sounds more l i k e

th e w estern movie than th e con clu sion o f a h is to r ia n who has stu d ied th e m ining fr o n tie r o b j e c t iv e ly . B a n c r o ft's r e lia n c e on h i s aides* research and w r itin g to g e th e r w ith h i s p erson al c o n ta ct w ith mining com­ m u n ities produced a p ic tu r e w ith deep h u es.

J u st as many

Chicagoans have n e ith e r seen nor heard th e r a t t lin g o f machine guns, i t i s moat l ik e l y th a t most C a lifo rn ia n s never w itn e ssed such a s t a t e o f s o c ie ty a s th a t ju s t d es­ c rib e d ,

The p revalen ce o f such la w le s sn e ss appears in

B a n cro ft’ s h i s t o r i e s o f o th er w estern s t a t e s . B a n c r o ft's emphasis i s on th e constan t r o llin g o f wagons which c a r r ie d p l a s t i c s o u ls westward to be molded In to som ething honorable and a l t r u s t le or e l s e fash ion ed in t o something unscrupulous and s e l f i s h .

Most o f h is

s u b je c ts were lu red westward by th e hope o f acquirin g fo r tu n e s — v i r i l e em igrants who were g r u ff and unrefined — impetuous em igrants la c k in g v i s i o n . human b e in g s a t t h e i r w o r st,

In Bancroft one se e s

fie s e e s men w i l li n g to r eso r t

to any recou rse when th e i n s t i n c t o f s e lf-p r e s e r v a tio n i s evoked*

Over B a n c r o ft's p io n eers hangs a sen se o f doom and

impending d is a s t e r .

J u st as th e Indian lurked in th e shad­

ows o f Parkman*s and R o o s e v e lt's n a r r a tiv e , B a n cr o ft's re­ l e n t l e s s , form idable u n iv er se i s ever ready to clu tch p ion eer v ic t im s . Even S ch ooler m inim ises much o f th e depravity which B ancroft a t t r ib u t e s t o th e mining f r o n t ie r .

M Jior

could i t be sa id ," claim ed S ch ou ler, "that th e se camps o f co m p etition fo r th e n u ggets made men cold -b lood ed and ava­ r ic io u s ; f o r , on th e con trary, though l i a b l e t o crime in moments o f h ot p a s sio n , th ey were u su a lly r o llic k in g , l i v e l y , and f u l l o f good humor, w h ile thrown to g eth er in t h i s un­ c o n v en tio n a l fe llo w s h ip , exposed to sic k n e ss and v l c l s .,16 s lt u d e . th u s , th e re are se v e r a l ou tstan d in g fa c to r s which have encouraged a tr a d it io n o f p ion eer hardships on th e min­ ing f r o n t ie r .

I t i s f o o l is h to claim th a t h ard sh ip s, law­

le s s n e s s , and c u p id ity were not p r e se n t, but i t i s absurd and even somewhat un just to conclude th a t the worst in man c h a r a c te r ise d l i f e In mining communities.

Schouler saw th e

good in mankind, and I t i s t o h i s c r e d it th a t he minimized th e a b je c t, c o lo r f u l scen es which B ancroft d e p ic ted . J u st as some Americans have v is u a liz e d Chicago ru led by g a n g ste r s and r a c k e te e r s, so have o th ers regarded th e m ining f r o n t i e r .

How many read ers o f B a n cr o ft's and

Mcl*aster* s m ining f r o n t ie r *— w ith i t s p e r il s o f overland

t r a v e l and d i f f i c u l t i e s o f secu rin g land t i t l e s , w ith i t s v i g i l a n t e s and han gings, w ith i t s sa lo o n s and sh ootin g f r a c a s e s — how many read ers pause long enough to view the p ic tu r e from oth er angles?

Although th ere was co n sid erab le

la w le s s n e s s in m ining communities, th ere was Just as much good, although th e l a t t e r did not r e c e iv e a s much a tte n tio n by h is t o r ia n s .

The dram atic, th e sp e c ta c u la r , and the

g ro tesq u e have g r e a te r a p p ea l.

Proof o f th e e x is te n c e o f

th e good and la w -a b id in g elem ents o f s o c ie ty i s t h e ir ex­ p u lsio n o f u n d e sir a b le s from t h e ir m id st.

Too many p o l i t i c a l

h is t o r ia n s concluded t h e ir sto ry at th a t p o in t and u n lik e s o c i a l h is t o r ia n s were n ot in te r e s te d in cu ltu re and r e f in e ­ ment which g ra d u a lly p en etrated communities from which law­ l e s s elem en ts had been e v ic te d .

Had n in e te e n th century

h is t o r ia n s paused lon g enough to observe a r t, l it e r a t u r e , m usic, ed u c a tio n , and r e lig io n t h e ir c o n clu sio n s would have been more v a l id .

Such e v e n ts — not having th e appeal o f

ly n c h in g s, v i g i l a n t e s , han gings, drunkenness, feu d s, and a l l o f t h e ir accompanying e v i l s — are om itted a t the ex­ pense o f h i s t o r i c a l accu racy.

By fo s te r in g a tr a d itio n o f

p io n eer h ard sh ip s on th e m ining f r o n t ie r , standard h is to r ia n s have encouraged th e cinema In i t s d e p ic tio n o f the Wild West. S u rp rizin g i s th e use which t h e a t r ic a l producers have made o f recorded h is t o r y . Readers o f v i g il a n t e days fo r g e t some phases o f contemporary American s o c ie t y .

R ecen tly an a n ti-ly n c h in g

b i l l was in trod u ced in C ongress, and in a report on th a t

b i l l , Senator F red erick Van Nuys noted the presence o f *a

d istu r b in g In crease in

tu b es

v io le n c e by groups

end

o r g a n iz a tio n s . . .which take the lew in to th e ir own h a n d s.. . ." Even though contemporary America I s nearly a century removed from th e mining f r o n tie r o f 1849, th ere were tw en ty -eig h t ly n c h in g s in th e U nited S ta te s in 1933, and the American I n s t i t u t e o f F u b lle Opinion *The Oallup P o ll3 revealed in January o f 1937 th a t seventy percent o f th e n a tio n favored 17 a n ti-ly n c h in g l e g i s l a t i o n . Although undercover organ i­ z a tio n s o fte n take th e law in to t h e ir own hands, few Americans are w illin g t o

admit th a t such p r a c tic e s are

r e p r e se n ta tiv e o f th e American

way.

Crime, combination c o n tr o ls , gambling c ir c l e s , n a r c o tic s r in g s , and loan-ahark ra ck ets blossomed during th e days o f p r o h ib itio n . a g a in st each o th er;

Mobs in th e la rg e r c i t i e s warred

mock t r i a l s were staged in which gang­

s t e r s were t r i e d by t h e ir p e e rs.

The time f i n a l ly a rrived

when s t a t e s aided l o c a l a d m in istra tiv e u n its in suppress­ ing such a c t i v i t i e s and th e n a tio n a l government made kid­ napping a fe d e r a l o ffe n s e punishable by death or im pris­ onment.

The f o r ld Almanac shows th e fo llo w in g rate o f 18 hom icide in the U nited S t a te s between 1920 and 1938: 1920 . . . . . 6 ,2 0 5 1925 . . . . . 8 ,8 9 3 1930 . . . . . 10,617 1933 . . . . . 12,124 1935..................... 10,587 1938..................... 8,7 9 9 Unpleasant a s th e s e th ou gh ts a rc, Americans resen t the

f e e l i n g abroad th a t the U nited S ta te s i s the most la w le s s o f c i v i l i z e d c o u n tr ie s .

They are quick t o cou n ter, nWere

John B illln g e r and 'P r e tty Boy* Floyd and a l l they repre­ se n te d t y p i c a ll y American?”

I f only th e s e elem ents o f

American s o c ie ty are recorded by h is t o r ia n s , and i f American c u lt u r e , p h ila n th ro p y , and s o c ia l reforms are o v erlook ed , a person w i l l have a badly warped p ic tu r e o f tw e n tie th century American s o c ie ty one hundred years from now.

S im ila r ly , contemporary Americans have a d is to r te d

concep tion o f l i f e on th e mining f r o n t ie r . Sometimes the unsaid i s more important than the s a id , although a l l o f th e l a t t e r may be tr u e .

In d e p ic tin g

s o c ie ty fo r any given p e r io d , th e h is to r ia n must take care to p resen t an accu rate c r o ss se c tio n i f

h ie p ictu re i s to

be a r e l ia b l e one.

he says may be tr u e ,

Although everyth in g

i f he om its e it h e r w i l f u l l y or u n w ittin g ly part o f the p ic tu r e , he im m ediately d is t o r t s the f a c t s .

In th e ir

enthusiasm most h is to r ia n s have overemphasized some o f the more c o lo r fu l ph ases o f h is to r y at the expense o f h i s t o r i c a l accuracy.

Thus, Hubert H. B an croft, who was imbued w ith

the s p i r i t o f th e m ining fr o n t ie r , was so eager to p ain t in red c o lo r s the roughness and crudeness o f l i f e on th a t fr o n tie r th a t he fo rg o t to apply shades

o f green, y e llo w ,

and b lu e .

o f the good in those

As a r e s u l t , one se e s l i t t l e

who were the m ining f r o n t i e r . Even more remarkable has been th e in flu en ce o f one h is to r ia n .

Much o f what B ancroft r e la te d has been r e to ld ,

and much o f what he om itted has been om itted by many o th er h is t o r ia n s .

Many o f h i s e x a g g e r a tio n s, h i s un­

documented n a r r a tiv e s , and h i s h asty g e n e r a liz a tio n s as w e ll as much o f th e c o lo r , th e overem phasis, and the t r a d it io n surrounding h i s mining fr o n t ie r have been re­ produced by o th er h is to r ia n s in much th e same manner and d e g r ee .

The p rep aration o f a t h ir t y -n in e volume h isto r y

was a h ercu lea n ta s k , and was done by a id e s .

For t h i s

type o f h isto r io g r a p h y B ancroft has been reprimanded s e v e r e ly by many s c h o la r s .

I t I s I n e v ita b le th at error

should creep in to B a n c r o ft's fin is h e d product, c a r e fu l and m eticu lo u s as B ancroft was.

The profound in flu e n c e o f

t h i s one h is to r ia n has done much to fo s t e r th e tr a d itio n o f hardship on th e m ining f r o n t ie r .

Chapter V LIFE CU THE AGRI COLTURAL FRONTIER Ho co n tin e n t l a ever r e a lly conquered, or thoroughly ex p lo red , by a few le a d e r s , or e x c e p tio n a l men, although such men can render g rea t se rv ic e* The r e a l conquest, th e thorough e x p lo r a tio n and s e ttle m e n t, i s made by a nam eless m u ltitu d e o f sm all men o f whoa the most Impor­ ta n t a r e , o f c o u r se, the home-makers. Each tr e a d s most o f th e tim e In th e f o o t s t e p s o f h i s p red e ce sso r s, but fo r some few m ile s , a t some tim e or o th e r , he breaks new ground; and h i s house i s b u ilt where no home has ever sto o d b e fo r e . Such a man, th e r e a l p io n ee r, must have no stro n g d e s ir e fo r s o c ia l l i f e and no need, probably no knowledge, o f any luxu ry, or o f any com­ f o r t save o f th e most elem entary kind. The pioneer who i s alw ays lo n g in g fo r the comfort and luxury o f c i v i l i s a t i o n , i s no r e a l pion eer a t a l l . — R oosevelt ****** In d e sc r ib in g l i f e on the a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r , h is t o r ia n s have overem phasized the hardships o f c o lo n iz a tio n , th e d i f f i c u l t i e s o f tr a n sp o r ta tio n and communication, the d isp u te s a r is in g from c o n f lic t in g land cla im s, the ab ject poverty o f fro n tiersm en , the crudeness o f homes and u t e n s ils , th e dangers Involved in hunting and trap p in g, the speedy d isp e n sa tio n o f j u s t i c e , th e hardshness o f n a tu re, the fo r ­ titu d e o f G olon ial woman, and th e low standards o f h e a lth , e d u ca tio n , and th e a r t s .

In so d oin g, they have misrep­

r ese n te d f r o n t ie r e x p erien ce by l i f t i n g p io n eer hardships out o f p e r sp e c tiv e and comparing them, e it h e r by im p lica tio n or d ir e c t n e s s , w ith th e standard o f l iv i n g enjoyed by tw e n tie th cen tu ry Americans*

Most h is to r ia n s have f a ile d to

p o in t out th a t in d u s t r ia l la b o rers g e n e r a lly experienced

th e same or perhaps a low er standard o f l i v i n g than frontiersm en* Hardships and h ea rta ch es atten d ed c o lo n is a tio n when th e f i r s t f r o n t ie r was only a th in lin e o f settlem en t along th e A tla n t ic seaboard.

Even sc h o o l ch ild ren are

fa m ilia r w ith th e s u f fe r in g s o f th e Jamestown and Plymouth c o lo n is ts .

I t was n a tu r a l th a t c o lo n iz e r s c a st on t h e ir

own r e so u r c e s in a stra n g e and d is ta n t w ild e rn ess occupied by a b o r ig in e s should undergo hardship when, wrangling among th em selv es over p e tty d if f e r e n c e s , shunning manual la b o r , and seek in g an easy road t o w ealth and s e c u r ity , they sought t o b u ild homes a t unfavorable s i t e s to o la t e in the season t o h arvest crop s which no van had plan ted in a n tic ip a tio n o f t h e ir a r r i v a l.

S ta rv a tio n and d is e a se thinned th e ir

numbers and som etim es th reaten ed se ttle m e n ts w ith e x tin c t io n . As one w r ite r s a id , w r ite s Chancing, tt 'th e hand o f God was i heavy on th e e n t e r p r i s e .1 Hardships l i k e th e se should have been expected by th o se who l e f t th e Old fo r Id to brave the u n c e r ta in tie s o f a f r o n t ie r s o c i e t y .

Much o f the danger they experienced

was th e r e s u lt o f t h e i r f a ilu r e to plan fo r the fu tu r e . Although p io n e e r in g e n t a ile d s u ffe r in g and hardship, there was a b r ig h t sid e*

S e t t l e r s n ot only had momenta o f pleasure

and r e c r e a tio n , but th e v a s t reso u rces o f th e Hew fo r Id o ffe r e d them o p p o r tu n itie s t o b e t t e r t h e ir economic and s o c i a l w e ll- b e in g .

The s e c u r ity o f organized se ttlem en ts

was more assured than th a t o f lon e s e t t l e r s who penetrated

7* th e in n er d epth s o f th e w ild ern ess*

The l a t t e r a n tic ­

ip a te d danger and a d v ersity * P r o v isio n in g fo r t h i s westward th r u s t, the lone t r a v e l l e r , accord in g t o R o o sev e lt, allow ed h im se lf and h i s h orse t h i r t y pounds o f f lo u r , o n e -h a lf buBhel o f cornmeal, and th r e e b u sh e ls o f oats* him f r e s h m eat.

Wild game which he shot fu rn ish ed

Western t r a i l s were had*

The o ld er boys

whose Job i t was t o d r iv e th e c a t t l e had t o tak e care not t o brush a g a in s t y e llo w -ja c k e t n e s t s l e s t swarming hordes o f b ees cau se a stampede*

Fords and mountains were freq u en tly

im p assab le, and t r a in s o fte n remained in one p la c e fo r weeks a t a time*

I f th e re was l i t t l e game in th e m ountains,

p io n eers escap ed sta r v a tio n only by k i l l i n g t h e ir c a ttle * James Robertson and John Doxielson le d a party in to th e T ennessee country during the "hard w inter o f *79-60**" When they were h a l f way a c r o ss th e fro sen Cumberland, the ic e Jarred, and a crack extended m ile s up and down th e riv er*

One member o f th e p a r ty , D aniel Dunham, o ffe r e d h is

b ro th er, John, *€100 t o d riv e h i s liv e s t o c k overland.

Refus­

in g t o fo llo w th e t r a i l , the anim als broke away in c e s s a n tly , sc a tte r e d In th e b ru sh , and stampeded at nigh t*

Nearly

"driven mad by th e drove," John abandoned i t in the w ild e r n e ss. A ccording t o Done Is o n ’ s jo u r n a l, th o se who went by w ater s u ffe r e d even g r e a te r p e r i l and hardship*

At one

lan d in g p la c e a member o f th e party went out to hunt*

He

became l o s t , and th e "four pounder" aboard th e Adventure was f ir e d "to f e t c h him in ."

At numerous p la c e s Indians

a tta ck ed from ambush.

One o f th e b o a ts c a r r ie d tw enty-

e ig h t men* women, and c h ild r e n who were a f f l i c t e d w ith sm allp ox.

To p r o te c t o th e r s a g a in st in f e c t io n t h i s boat

was kept w e ll t o th e rear*

Indians who saw i t s d e fe n s e le s s

p o s it io n e it h e r captured or butchered a l l on board,

A

t e r r i b le r e tr ib u tio n b e f e l l them, and for months smallpox raged among th e Creek and Cherokee t r i b e s . A sudden on slau gh t o f In dian s wounded four members o f m o th e r b o a t’ s crew.

Taking th e helm , Haney

dower s te e r e d d e s p ite her exposure t o the f i r e o f the sa vages.

A b a l l p en etra ted one o f her th ig h s , but she

never flin c h e d or u tte r e d a cry*

Hot u n t i l the danger was

over did her mother see th e blood which had soaked through her c lo t h e s . 2 wards.

Haney recovered and liv e d f i f t y years a f t e r -

On one o c ca sio n Parkman r efer r ed t o the d i f f i c u lt y o f urging a h orse "through th e t h ic k trunks and undergrowth, or even to r id e at speed alon g th e narrow Indian t r a i l s , where a t every yard th e impending branches sw itched him a c r o ss th e fa c e ." In h i s treatm ent o f f r o n t ie r problem s, R oosevelt m aintained a b e t t e r se n se o f p e r sp e c tiv e than Parkinan.

The

form er, who was more v e r s a t i l e , d escrib ed th e major ex p eri­ e n c es o f p io n e e r s from .th e time th ey l e f t th e eastern coast u n t i l th ey lo c a te d in th e West.

Parkman, on th e other hand,

was p rim a rily concerned w ith th e Indian menace.

At tim es R o o se v e lt’ s enthusiasm gave way to ex a g g er a tio n and h a sty g e n e r a liz a tio n w ith a subsequent l o s s o f h i s t o r i c a l accuracy t o h is n arrative*

He elaim ed

th a t a stran ger who ventured a hundred yards from th e beaten t r a i l became h e lp le s s ly l o s t .

One could tr a v e l

fo r weeks "as i f in p erp etu a l tw ilig h t* never once ab le t o see th e sun through th e I n te r la c in g tw ig s th a t formed a dark canopy above h i s head."

Bo d i f f i c u l t and hazardous

was e ig h te e n th century tra n sp o rta tio n th a t i t required th r ee months fo r one t o t r a v e l from C onnecticut to the Western R eserve in n o rth ea stern Ohio.

A journey over

f o r e s t roads to a town n ot f i f t y m ile s d is ta n t was under­ taken on ly once a year*

Even w ater tra n sp o rta tio n was

none to o se c u r e , and w h ile th e Spanish c o n tr o lle d the M is s is s ip p i p io n e e r s ran th e r is k o f se e in g t h e ir goods c o n fisc a te d * * As l a t e a s 1650 t r a v e l on th e M is s is s ip p i was hazardous because o f sn a g s, saw yers, and th e f lo a t in g trunks o f t r e e s .

Mclfa s te r record s th a t f i f t e e n hundred

b u sin e ss men o f S t . L ou is once complained t o Congress th at n ea rly every steamboat engaged in r iv e r t r a f f i c had been damaged by sn a g s.

In 1841 tw en ty -th ree out o f one hundred

were l o s t , and In September and October o f th e fo llo w in g year e ig h t went down between S t . Louis said the mouth o f the Ohio*

Between 1843 and 184? one hundred and t h ir t y -

e ig h t had sunk in th e r iv e r w ith a l o s s o f over $ 3 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .

(7

During th e same period th e overland m ail and stage coaches which operated between Independence and Bant a Pe were guarded by e ig h t men f u l l y armed:

a t th e s id e o f e&eh was a C o lt's

r e v o lv in g r i f l e which was fa ste n e d to the coach; h o l s t e r hung a C o lt 's lon g r e v o lv e r ;

in a

in th e b e lt o f'e a c h

was a sm all C o lt 's r ev o lv e r and a hunting k n if e .

The guards

were th u s a b le t o d isch arge one hundred and t h i r t y - s i x s h o ts w ithout havin g t o reload*

Sometimes h o s t il e n a tu ra l

phenomena Jeop ard ised w ild e r n e ss t r a v e l , c a se s where h a ils t o n e s stampeded m ules.

McMsster rep o rts Coaches o ften

o v e r s e t , and t r a v e l le r s were forced " to a lig h t and h elp h o ld down th e coach l e s t a b liz z a r d should sweep i t away. In adequ acies o f communication did not work to th e d isadvan tage o f only fron tiersm en .

A ll o f America — urban

and r u r a l» m erchants and farmers — su ffe r e d such incon­ v e n ie n c e s,

Contemporary Americans are prone to regard

c o lo n ia l tr a n sp o r ta tio n in th e lig h t of tw e n tie th century a n n ih ila tio n o f sp aee.

They fo r g e t th a t what today may

appear t o have been a p ion eer hardship may not have been con sid ered one by fron tiersm en , R o o s e v e lt's treatm ent o f th e a g r ic u ltu r a l fr o n tie r u n v e ils s e r io u s o b s t a c le s which atten ded th e establish m ent o f government and l e g a l ownership o f land*

F ev erish land

sp e c u la to r s and ad ven tu rers who made "tomahawk claims" by b la z in g a few t r e e s so ld land t o s e t t l e r s at sm all sums, S p ecu la tin g companies which in tr ig u e d w ith Great B rita in

and Spain were even w illin g to promote the dismemberment o f th e Union*

From such schemes the s e t t l e r su ffe r e d most*

Sometimes unscrupulous men who claim ed land under d e fe c tiv e t i t l e or p reten se o f o r ig in a l J u r is d ic tio n attempted to oust o r b lack m ail s e t t l e r s who had c le a re d th e land and t i l l e d th e s o i l in good f a i t h .

Such d e sig n s were th e source o f

numerous la w s u its and bloody a ff r a y s .

" S ettle r s* t a lk ran

ever on land t i t l e s and land l i t i g a t i o n , and schemes fo r se cu rin g v a s t t r a c t s o f r ic h and w ell-w a te re d country." Danger from anarchy was g r e a t, and one o f the f i r s t ta sk s o f s e t t l e r s was t o e s t a b l i s h c i v i l government a s p ro tectio n a g a in st In d ian s and d is o r d e r ly w h ite s.

6

McMaster r e l a t e s th a t numerous sq u a tte rs s e t t le d on th e p u b lic domain w ithout le g a l t i t l e .

During the e a rly

days o f th e N orthw est T e r r ito r y , General John Armstrong rep orted th a t f a m ilie s lo c a te d on th e Hockhocklng, S c io to , and Miami R ivers "would, u n le s s driven o u t, f i l l the country w ith a b a n d itti whose a c ts would d isg ra c e human nature." Congress thereupon au th o rized th e e v ic tio n o f "unauthorized persons on th e u n sold la n d s o f th e U nited S ta te s ,"

Troops

p a ssin g through th e Ohio V alley burned every cabin in sig h t and drove th e s e t t l e r s in to V ir g in ia and Kentucky.

Undaunted,

th e sq u a tte r s retu rn ed year a f t e r year only to be e v ic te d . In h is to u r o f th e Northwest In 1787, Harmar found s e t t l e ­ ments a t La B e lle F o n ta in e , Grand R u lsseau, Cahokla, and Mew Design where n o t one man had l e g a l t i t l e t o the s o i l !

7

Frontiersm en found i t d i f f i c u l t t o purchase land* Seldom fr e e from d e b t, p io n ee rs clamored fo r paper money as a means o f a m elio ra tin g t h e ir poverty*

Indian tr o u b le s,

s ic k n e s s , and drought so Jeopardized th e ir se c u r ity th a t by 1819 th ey owed th e n a tio n a l government more than § 24,000,000* Responding t o ap p eals fo r f in a n c ia l a id . Congress granted e x te n sio n o f c r e d it no few er than th ir te e n tim es and en act­ ed no few er than th ir te e n p r e ls p tio n acts.® These were some o f th e f o r c e s which made i t d i f ­ f i c u l t fo r p io n e e r s to e s t a b lis h homes in th e .Vest.

Many

contemporary Americans b e lie v e th a t l i t i g a t i o n and feuds over land t i t l e s were a r e s u lt o f d ep lorab le c o n d itio n s on th e fr o n tie r *

They have thus u n n e ce ssa rily accentuated

th e h ard sh ip s which p io n ee rs had t o endure*

One should

regard such c o n d itio n s a s normal ones which accompanied th e f r o n t ie r p r o c ess in i t s gradual westward extension* Should n ot p r o sp e c tiv e fr o n t ie r hom ebuilders have expected I s s u e s to a r is e over c o n f l ic t in g land claims?

P ion eers

were not the only v ic tim s o f hoaxes and sp eculation*

£ven

in c i v i l i z e d s o c ie ty d is p u te s a r is e over th e ownership o f la n d .

In contemporary America p a r t ie s have been known to

r e so r t t o v io le n c e In s e t t l i n g sim ila r d isp u tes*

Against

such a background p io n ee r hardships a r is in g from c o n f lic tin g land cla im s should n ot stan d out in pronounced r e lie f * A fte r p io n e e r s had q u it ea ster n se ttle m e n ts, ou t­ f i t t e d fo r th e w estern t r i p , tr a v e r se d the w ild ern ess, and secured l e g a l t i t l e t o a new s i t e , they had to construct

OL

s h e lt e r s — crude, m odest, or commodious, depending on t h e ir means and th e season o f the year*

F requently they

cut s a p lin g s from which they h u ilt Bh a lf - f a c e camps."

These

were th r e e -s id e d sh ed s, and the fo u r th sid e was open ex­ cep t in rainy weather when i t was c lo s e d hy deerskin cur­ ta in s .

S e t t l e r s liv e d in such s h e lt e r s u n t i l th ey had time

and means t o h u ild more s u b s ta n tia l on es. The b e tt e r ca b in s were con stru cted o f lo g s , th e s id e s o f which were smoothed w ith an axe, and the fa c e s o f which n e a rly touched when p la ced on top o f each oth er. S a p lin gs were made in to r a ft e r s on which were fa sten ed s h in g le s or plank l a id in clapboard fashion*

The heavy door

was hung on le a th e r h in g es or sometimes on ones which had been made from an o ld wagon t i r e . or b o l t .

There was no knob, lo c k ,

On th e In sid e was a wooden la tc h which could be

l i f t e d from th e o u ts id e by a le a th e r s tr in g p a ssin g through a h ole in th e door*

When th e s tr in g was drawn on the in sid e

no one eould e n te r w ithout knocking.

The f lo o r was made o f

puncheons or p la n k s, l a id w ith the round sid e down;

th e se

had been s p l i t and hewn w ith an axe from th e trunk o f a tre e.

The chimney was always on th e o u ts id e .

Many cabins

were w ithout windows, and o ften greased paper, which admit­ ted l i g h t but preven ted one on th e in s id e from look in g o u t, served as a s u b s titu te fo r g la s s . U t e n s ils , n e c e s s a r ily crude, sym bolized pioneer in g e n u ity . and b ru sh es.

Corn husks o fte n served the purpose o f brooms Axes were freq u en tly sharpened w ith a homemade

g r in d sto n e , a th ic k wooden d isk in to whose circum ference when green had been driven p a r t i c l e s o f g r a v e l and sand. Cooking s to v e s were unknown, and game was u su a lly ro a sted over an open f i r e .

Balding was done in "Dutch ovens" on th e

h ea rth or in "out ovens" in the o u t-o f-d o o r e , as the name im p lie s .

The Dutch oven was a huge iron p o t, th e l i d o f

which was turned up a t th e ends;

when in use the pot was

b u rled in a sh es and h o st c o a ls were p ile d on th e l i d . Each home was a s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t u n it.

The pioneer

made h i s own sh oes from le a th e r o f h i s own tanning;

he

c lo th ed h i s fa m ily in 4eans o f h is own manufacture and in lin e n grown on h i s own lan d , " p u lled , r o tte d , broken, hack led , spun, and bleach ed by th e members o f h is house­ hold .*

Corn was e ith e r hauled to the neighboring m ill or

pounded in t o hominy.

Sometimes i t was ground in a hands! 11

c o n s is tin g o f one f l a t stone la id on a tr e e stump and another "hanging over i t in such w ise th a t the upper stone o could be rubbed around and around on th e lower." One must not become ad versely im pressed w ith such hardships because a low standard o f liv in g was not confined to th e f r o n t ie r . fo r ts o f l i f e .

Few la b orin g men in c i t i e s had many com­ Moreover, poverty promoted e q u a lity and

democracy on th e f r o n t ie r , and what today may appear to have been a p io n eer hardship may n ot have been regarded one by fro n tiersm en .

S im ila r ly , one must not compare fr o n tie r

homes and u t e n s i l s w ith th o se o f today in th e ev a lu a tio n o f pioneer h a r d sh ip s.

Such comparisons have dona much to f o s te r

th a t t r a d it io n . R o o sev e lt* s p io n ee rs liv e d the strenuous l i f e o f which he was h im se lf an advocate, and only the f i t t e s t o f h i s p io n e e r s su rvived v i c i s s i t u d e s .

I t i s not d i f f i c u l t

to fin d R o o sev elt p e r s o n ifie d by th e p io n ee rs o f h is nar­ r a t iv e .

F a m ilie s were freq u en tly compelled to l iv e on the

b o ile d to p s o f green n e t t l e s .

L int was made from the bark

o f dead n e t t l e s u n t i l f l a x could be grown.

S e t t le r s worked

hard, liv e d ro u g h ly , and "had l i t t l e beyond coarse food, coarse c lo t h in g , and a rude s h e lte r ."

They su ffered from

cold and hunger in w in ter and from fe v e r s and sic k n ess 10 during the summer. R o o se v e lt, who b e lie v e d th a t the h is to r ia n should d ep ict th e d a lly l i f e o f the common p eo p le, was concerned w ith the str u g g le o f p io n ee rs a g a in st p overty, a more f r e ­ quent v i s i t o r a t t h e ir door than the red man. l i t t l e money in backwoods a r e a s.

There was

I t was so scarce in

Tennessee th a t one could ob tain cash only be s e llin g pro­ v is io n s to fe d e r a l g a r r is o n s .

C red its were lo n g , and pay­

ments were u su a lly made in k in d .

F lu ctu a tin g v a lu e s o f

currency and wide d if fe r e n c e s in charges make i t d i f f i c u l t to determ ine what p r ic e s rep resen ted in contemporary v a lu e s. B arter was th e u su al form o f exchange, and p e l t r i e s were common c ir c u la t in g media — "a beaver, o t t e r , f is h e r , dressed buckskin or la rg e bearskin b ein g reckoned as equal to two fo x e s or w ild c a ts , four coons, or e ig h t minks."

Ad­

v ertisem en ts s p e c if ie d goods which were a ccep tab le and the

d if f e r e n t v a lu e s at which they would be r e c e iv e d .

The

p lo n e e r f s s tr u g g le a g a in st poverty was c o n sta n t, and hs en v ied th o se who made more money than he and whose l i v e s were e a s ie r .

R esen tin g merchants who did not work as hard

a s he but who made more money, he freq u en tly boycotted them u n le s s he could make purchases w ith a r t i c l e s which he had t o exchange.

O cca sio n a lly he r efu sed to pay h i s d eb ts. 11 Whatever course he ch o se, he was in v a ria b ly the lo s e r . The l o t o f in d u s tr ia l la b o r e r s was u su ally harder than th a t o f fron tiersm en who were a b le to r a is e th e ir food and whose c o s t o f l i v i n g was low er.

K oosevelt has

n oth in g t o say about th e Incomes o f urban groups or about American s o c ie ty a s a w h ole.

Without t h i s knowledge one

cannot o b j e c t iv e ly ev a lu a te the standard o f liv in g on th e f r o n t ie r .

S o c ie ty has never been ab le to o b lite r a te

d e s t it u t io n from I t s m id st.

One might compare economic

c o n d itio n s on th e f r o n t ie r w ith th o se o f contemporary America where moro than o n e -th ir d o f the population i s ill- h o u s e d , I l l - c l o t h e d , and i l l - f e d *

In what i s reputed

to be "the most com plete p ic tu r e ever p resen ted o f the n a tio n a l income among the American people," i t has been rev ea led th a t In 1955-36 the lower th ir d o f American fam­ i l i e s r e c e iv e d Incomes under § 760, th a t the middle group earned from $ 760 t o | 1 ,4 5 0 , and th a t the upper th ir d 12 r eceiv ed # 1 ,4 0 0 or over. p io n eers could always go west and tak e up new la n d s , but today th e fr o n tie r i s no more. Americans have become t h e i r brothers* k eep ers.

”Common h ard sh ip s, common p o v erty , common igno­ r a n c e, and th e u tt e r I n a b ilit y to g et anything more out o f l i f e than co a rse fo o d , coarse c lo t h e s , and a rude s h e lt e r , reduced a l l t o a l e v e l o f a b so lu te e q u a lity which e x is te d nowhere e ls e ,"

Wealthy and d e s t i t u t e , in d u str io u s and i d l e ,

judge and c r im in a l, preacher and drunkard — a l l were mem­ b e r s o f one common fa m ily .

An i r r e s i s t i b l e longing drove

fron tiersm en ev er westward, and a s p i r i t o f r e s t le s s n e s s dominated them,

t r a v e l l e r s in th e Genesee V alley o f western

Sew York rep o rted th a t th e y could fin d no man who had not changed h i s abode a t le a s t s i x tim es,

th e moment such a

s e t t l e r b u i lt h i s ca b in , c lea red an a c r e , and sowed a hand­ f u l o f g r a in , he was anxious to be s t ir r in g again .

He

enjoyed no peace " t i l l h i s l i t t l e farm was so ld and he had plunged in to th e f o r e s t , t o seek a new and temporary home." Schouler cla im s th a t w ith each su c c e s siv e move the odds were more a g a in st him.

Undoubtedly Schouler exaggerated con d ition

when he w rote, " I f i d l e or d is s ip a te d in h a b its he degenerate in to a dem i-savage;

h ie scanty c le a r in g i l l supports th e

w ife and ch ild re n huddled in t o th e chlnky h u t, and they must sow and reap fo r th em selves or p e r is h , w h ile he wanders the f o r e s t fo r d ays, w ith no company but h i s hound, h is r i f l e , and th e f a t a l f l a s k .

n 13

Parkrosn’ s rea d ers w i l l lon g remember a b o r ig in a l a t r o c i t i e s because th e In d ian , not th e p io n eer, was th e cen te r o f h i s n a r r a tiv e .

R o o se v e lt, on th e oth er hand,

was concerned w ith p io n ee rs who triumphed over o b s ta c le s c o n fro n tin g th en — backwoodsmen who "won and kept th e ir la n d s by f o r c e , and ever l iv e d e ith e r a t war or in dread o f war# . . . Every a c r e , every rood o f ground which they claim ed had t o be c le a r e d by th e axe and h eld w ith the r ifle .

Backwoodsmen's "grim, h arsh , narrow l i v e s were y e t

str a n g e ly f a s c in a t in g and f u l l o f adventurous t o i l and danger. •• .

T h eir Iron surroundings made a mould which 14 turned out a l l a lik e In th e seme shape." th e p io n eer spent con sid erab le time hunting and trap p in g in th e woods.

During th e se tim es he liv e d w ith

no food but meat and no s h e lte r except a rude le a n -to or hollow sycamore.

Hunte rs and tra p p ers, whether adventurers

or p io n e e r s, have become a su b ject around which many yarns have been spun.

When th e trapper was a t th e rendezvous,

Perksan claim ed th a t h i s n a tiv e a p p e tite s broke lo o se "in mad e x c e s s , in deep ca ro u se, and d esp erate gaming.

Then

fo llo w c lo s e th e q u a r r e l, the c h a lle n g e , the f ig h t , — two ru sty r i f l e s and f i f t y yards o f p r a ir ie ." Speaking from h i s e x p erien ces on the Oregon T r a il, Parkman d ram atises th e dangers Involved in b u ffa lo hunting. His horse was alm ost gored in one attem pt to run down a b u f f a lo .

Parkman*e d e s c r ip tio n o f a b u ll which had been

m ortally wounded s t i l l remains a c l a s s i c :

"Foam end blood

flow ed to g e th e r from h i s n o s t r i l s a s he la y b ellow in g and pawing th e ground, te a r in g up g ra ss and e a rth w ith h is h o o fs .

H is s id e s ro se and f e l l l ik e a v a st p a ir o f b e llo w s,

the b lood sp o u tin g up in J e ts from th e b u lle t - h o le s .

Sud­

d e n ly , h ie g la r in g eyas became l i k e a l i f e l e s s J e lly ."

Sear

B 8n tf s F o r t, Parkman s a t a man who had been attack ed by a g r iz z ly which had given him "such a blow w ith h i s paw th a t he l a id h ia forehead e n t ir e ly b a r e , clawed o f f th e fro n t o f 15 h i s s c a lp , and narrowly m issed one o f h i s e y es." So h is to r ia n has d e p le te d the p en etra tio n o f tra p ­ p ers and h u n ters in backwoods a rea s any more v iv id ly than Theodore R o o s e v e lt.

Hardships which R oosevelt experienced

on a hu ntin g t r i p in 187? r e f l e c t some o f the dangers o f th e f r o n t ie r then in i t s l a t t e r s ta g e s .

His party endured

th e u su al hardship o f p la in s tr a v e l w ith weather a lte r n a tin g between extrem es o f h eat and c o ld .

Lack o f rain r e su lte d

In a s e r io u s shortage o f w ater, and the party su ffered t e r ­ r ib ly from t h i r s t , goin g w ithout water fo r fo r ty -e ig h t hours on one o c c a sio n . Hunters who went w ithout meat fo r days always welcomed new f le s h - f o o d .

General Wade Hampton, who

probably k i l l e d Wore b la ck b ears than any man in th e United S t a t e s , fr e q u e n tly used a k n ife , and he i s sa id to have s la in t h i r t y or fo r ty in t h i s fa sh io n .

O ccasion ally hunters

rushed b ears w ith dogs and at an opportune moment stabbed th e ir prey behind th e sh o u ld er.

Dangers o f the hunt some­

tim es r e s u lte d in s e r io u s in ju ry or even d eath . "Old Ephraim" or "Moccasin Joe," a s the g r iz z ly was known, was th e h a b itu a l enemy o f p io n e e r s .

T his

s p e c ie s made no d isc r im in a tio n between humans and liv e s t o c k .

U

In one o f R o o s e v e lt's encounters w ith a g r iz z ly the f i r s t sh ot from h i s gun p ie rc ed one lung o f th e hear which thereupon charged.

A second shot took a b ig n ic k out o f

th e lower end o f th e b e a s t 's h e a r t.

Bloody foam flow ed

from i t s mouth, and R oosevelt was ab le to se e i t s w hite fangs*

Although a th ir d d isch arge p en etrated i t s c h e s t,

th e g r iz z ly kept advancing.

R o o s e v e lt's l a s t shot smashed

th e a n im a l's low er jaw and en tered i t s neck. had reload ed h i s gun d id the bear f a l l .

Not u n t i l he

Each o f R o o s e v e lt's

f i r s t th r ee sh o ts had i n f l i c t e d a m ortal wound.

16

C o lo r fu l though th e se s t o r ie s a r e, they are probably none to o r e p r e se n ta tiv e o f ex p erien ces o f h u n ters, tra p p e rs, and p io n e e r s .

I t i s lik e l y th a t R oosevelt gave

them undue c o lo r when he p ro jected h im se lf so fo r c e fu lly in to b ig game h u n tin g .

Such i s in accordance w ith h i s

g en era l ph ilosoph y th a t h i s t o r i c a l w r itin g must be v iv id and capable o f e x c it in g the im agin ation . Contemporary Americans are unduly Impressed by v is io n s o f la w le s s n e s s and fr o n tie r j u s t i c e ,

standard

h is to r ia n s co n trib u te d much to t h i s p r e v a ilin g n o tio n . J u stin f in s o r a t t r ib u t e s t o fron tiersm en th e q u a lity o f being a law unto th em selv es and sometimes unto th e au­ th o r itie s .

"Men who d i l i g e n t l y read t h e ir B i b l e s .. .c o u ld

te a r s c a lp s from th e heads o f In d ia n s.

The government was

p ow erless t o p r o te c t the f r o n t ie r s excep t through the agency o f v o lu n te e r s , and they in turn were able at any moment s e r io u s ly t o co m p licate th e s it u a t io n .

According to R o o sev e lt, law yers did a th r iv in g b u s in e s s in backwoods communities where la w le ssn e ss was pronounced.

O ff ic e r s o f j u s t ic e were kept busy p u ttin g

down c r im in a ls who r e s is t e d th e law . l i v e s o f abandoned w ickedness;

The " la w le ss le d

they hated good for good 's

sak e, and d id t h e ir utmost t o d estroy i t . ' 1 Large gangs o f h o r s e -th ie v e s and highwaymen, given t o gambling and f ig h t ­ in g , in f e s t e d th e co u n tr y sid e .

F orcing a reign o f te r r o r

on com m unities, h a lf - s e c r e t o r g a n iza tio n s e x p e lle d min­ i s t e r s and m a g is tr a te s .

To suppress such o u tra g es, p io n eers

formed bands o f r e g u la to r s and v ig ila n t e s which enforced t h e ir own law through ly n c h in g , hanging, and sh ootin g. Government did l i t t l e fo r in d iv id u a ls , and p io n ee rs found i t n ecessa ry to cooperate in important d a lly ta s k s l i k e huskings and b a m -r a is in g s .

These were

"a most welcome break t o th e d rea rin ess o f l i f e on the lo n e ly c le a r in g s In th e m idst o f the fo r e s t,"

On such

o c c a sio n s e x c e s s iv e ind ulgen ce in whiskey freq u en tly pro­ duced o r g ie s which ended in b r u ta l braw ls.

The same s p i r i t

o f b r u ta lity m a n ifested i t s e l f in savage f i g h t s where com­ b a ta n ts, surrounded by r in g s o f in te r e s te d sp e c ta to r s, 18 r eso r ted t o s t r ik in g , k ic k in g , b i t i n g , and gouging. ScM aster contends th a t a t th e beginn in g o f the n a tio n a l p erio d o f American h is to r y , more was known about China than th e American W est.

I t was commonly b e lie v e d

th at w estern ers "dw elt in the rudest kind o f lo g -c a b ln s, and knew no o th e r money than whiskey and the sk in s o f

w ild b e a s t s . . . . B ut, l e f t to th em selv es, th e people ad m in istered a prompt and rude j u s t ic e w ith th e k n ife and th e gun." The a d m in istra tio n o f j u s t ic e was crude and w e ll adapted t o a f r o n tie r s o c ie t y .

McMaster r e fe r s to a con­

t e s t e d e le c t io n which came b efore the le g is la t u r e o f I l l i ­ n o is .

The v o te s had hardly been counted when one o f the

c a n d id a tes, form erly the s t a t e tr e a su r e r , "entered the chamber, took o f f h i s c o a t, and soundly th rash ed , one by one, fou r men who voted a g a in st him.

Both fr ie n d s and op­

pon en ts con sid ered t h i s no more than th e occasion req u ired , and he was promptly made the c le r k o f the C ircu it Court." In th e account from which Mchaster drew h i s m a te r ia l, Thomas Ford m erely s t a t e s th a t th e u n su ccessfu l candidate "admin­ is t e r e d p e rso n a l chastisem ent" on fou r o f th e opponents who had v o ted a g a in st him. "X knew a judge," sa id one man, "who when asked fo r I n s tr u c tio n s would rub h is head w ith h i s hands and say t o th e la w y ers, 'Why, gentlem en, th e Jury understand the c a se ;

they need no in s tr u c t io n .

J u s tic e between the p a r t ie s .'"

No doubt they w i l l do In another c a se , " 'Ju d ge,'

sa id th e foreman o f a Jury th a t f a i le d t o a g ree, ' t h i s i s th e d i f f i c u l t y : The Jury want t o know whether what you to ld us when we f i r s t went out r e a lly was the law , or whether i t was only Ju st your n o tio n .'"

19

W hile such e p iso d e s may have had t h e ir precedent, one cannot assume th a t th ey were tr u ly r e p r e se n ta tiv e o f

fr o n t ie r j u s t i c e .

Although Mc&aster does n ot claim th a t

they w ere, h i s om ission o f t r i a l s conducted in accordance w ith le g a l procedure le a v e s an unfavorable im pression. I f c a se s o f f r o n tie r J u s tic e such a s th o se c it e d were t y p ic a l, M lasfcer would have s ta te d so .

That he does n o t, and records

only a few should lead one to conclude th a t court procedure was n o t a s crude a s many b e lie v e . Nature a s a h o s t i l e fo rce a g a in st which f r o n t ie r s ­ men had to s tr u g g le has been overemphasized in the tr a d itio n o f p ion eer h a rd sh ip s.

George Bancroft envisaged an a u stere

sev en teen th century America ch a ra cterized by melancholy grandeur o f sombre f o r e s t s , dense growths o f f o lia g e , wanton gra p ev in es w ith le a f y c o i l s , r e p t i l e s sp ortin g in stagnant p o o ls , and decaying v e g eta tio n which fed the “e x h a la tio n s w ith th e seed s o f p e s t ile n c e , and made the balmy a ir o f the summer’ s even in g as deadly as i t seemed g r a te fu l." In harmony w ith t h i s untamed scone, men d isp u ted "with the w olves and bears the lo r d sh ip o f the s o i l , . .

."

An e x c e lle n t

testim ony to the lit e r a r y powers o f B an croft’ s pen! Nature was man’ s master and n ot h ie servan t.

By

1800, according to Henry Adams, f iv e m illio n American& who stru g g led w ith the untamed con tin en t “ seemed hardly more competent to t h e ir ta sk than the beavers and b u ffa lo which had fo r c o u n tle ss g e n e ra tio n s made b rid g es and roads o f th e ir own."

Schouler sp e c u la te s on the g r ea t su ffe r in g

which "must have been caused" in c o lo n ia l days by extremes

o f h eat and c o ld .

A lte r n a tio n s o f wind, r a in , snow, sp rin g

f r e s h e t s , and h ig h t i d e s not only endangered p e o p le ’ s l i v e s hut im paired means o f communication and tr a n sp o r ta tio n . Roads were seldom t r a v e lle d , and d w ellin g s were fa r ap art. Moreover, p io n ee rs had few conveniences fo r r e s is t in g th e elem en ts.

Crudely con stru cted lo g cabin8, w ith th e ir

chinks and c r a n n ie s, w ith sto o d the elem en ts in v a in .

20

McMaster r e a l i s t i c a l l y d e sc r ib e s the widespread d e v a sta tio n in th e Wyoming V alley which was wrought by the flo o d o f 1784.

S chools o f shad were p r a c tic a lly the only

a v a ila b le fo o d .

D e sirin g t o ex p e l C onnecticut claim ants

in th e in t e r e s t o f land s p e c u la to r s, the Assembly dispatched tr o o p s.

Farmers were forbidden to hunt and f i s h , draw water

from w e l ls , cut tim b er, and b u ild s h e lte r s fo r flo o d v ic tim s. S o ld ie r s shot p o u ltr y , in s u lte d women, and prodded men w ith t h e ir b a y o n ets.

S e t t l e r s r e s i s t e d , but s o ld ie r s se t f i r e

t o the homes o f on© hundred and f i f t y f a m ilie s whom they had e v ic t e d .

More than f i v e hundred men, women, and c h i l ­

dren were driven toward th e Delaware, and a number who f e l l by the w ayside "were bu ried under lo g s and fa lle n tr e e s whence th e w olves dug up and a te them." Others died o f ex21 poeure and f a t ig u e . D epressing and p ictu resq u e as t h i s account I s , i t must n ot be in te r p r e te d as r ep re sen ta tiv e o f p ion eer h a r d sh ip s.

Furthermore, one must n ot lim it the

ravages o f nature t o on ly f r o n t ie r com m unities.

Older areas

lik e w is e s u ffe r e d . The years 1850-51* 1863-64, and 1876-77, w ith t h e ir th ir te e n year i n t e r v a l s , were ones o f drought in C a lifo r n ia .

Crops a ls o f a i l e d in 1855-57 and 1862-64.

Curing th e l a t t e r

p e r io d c a t t l e d ied from sta r v a tio n and were slau gh tered by the hundreds o f thou san ds.

P a sto r a l d i s t r i c t s were changed

t o farm ing com m unities, ana sto c k r a is in g su ffer ed a s t a r t lin g c u r ta ilm e n t.

According to B an croft, storm s, h a i l , f r o s t ,

e x c e s s iv e r a i n f a l l , wheat r u s t, p o ta to b lig h t , apple worm, 22 orange s c a l e , and c a t t l e d is e a s e s jeop ard ized farm ing. Droughts and In d ia n s impeded the r a is in g o f c a t t l e . One i s l i k e l y to th in k o f th e p a s to r a l f r o n t ie r , g l o r i f ie d by so many w r ite r s , In only I t s g ayest a s p e c ts .

Theodore

R o o se v e lt, whose background was beyond th at o f mere academic tr a in in g and book le a r n in g , was e x c e p tio n a lly w e ll q u a lifie d to w r ite about ran ch in g. i*

R oosevelt d e p ic ted the l i f e o f

cowboys w ith!am azing r e a lism .

R eferrin g to th e se r id e r s o f

th e range, he w rote, " P e r il and hardship, and years o f long t o l l broken by weeks o f b r u ta l d is s ip a t io n , draw haggard l i n e s a c r o ss t h e ir eager f a c e s , but never dim th e ir r e c k le s s ey es nor break t h e ir bearin g o f d e fia n t s e lf-c o n fid e n c e ." Cowboys su ffe r e d broken c o lla r bon es, arms, and le g s from f a l l s w h ile r id in g a t f u l l speed over dangerous ground.

How

and then th ey were r o lle d on by bucking or rearin g h o r se s, and sometimes th e y were gored to death by fig h tin g s t e e r s . O cca sio n a lly they met death w h ile handling w ild h orses or attem pting t o check a stampeding h erd .

F requently when they

searched th e c o u n try sid e fo r c a t t l e which had strayed , they became l o s t in snow storm s and fr o z e t o d eath . Ranching was n o t always p r o f it a b le .

In the Bad

Lands, fo r example, g rea t l o s s e s were Incurred when severe w in te r s th in n ed herds o f young c a t t l e .

Sometimes Texas-

c a t t l e fe v e r and oth er d is e a s e s , s tr ik in g without warning, exterm in ated e n tir e h e r d s. r eco v ered .

Often strayed s t e e r s were never

Reducing p r a ir ie s to a blackened d esert as fa r

a s th e eye co u ld s e e , f i r e s destroyed fe e d which would have su sta in e d thousands o f c a t t l e during th e w in te r .

Sheep

owners drove t h e ir f lo c k s over th e la n d s, and the g ra ss was c lip p ed so e lo s e th a t o th er anim als sta rv ed .

Often grangers

moved In , e n c lo se d v a st ran ges, snd t i l l e d th e s o i l . L osses 23 from th e ravages o f w ild b e a s ts were g r e a t. Although R oosevelt t e l l s o f the jo y s and p le a su r e s o f ranching, h is accou nts o f hardship conform b e tte r to h i s philosophy o f th e strenuous l i f e and the su r v iv a l o f the f i t t e s t . Hundreds o f p io n eers f e l l v ic tim s to exposure, fe v e r , ague, and stom achic d is o r d e r s.

Frequently people

sickened on a steady d ie t o f b u f fa lo - b u ll b e e f which had been cured in smoke and without, s a l t .

Many ailm en ts were

a ttr ib u te d to Jtarge a rea s o f exposed sod and decaying humus, "As to r em ed ies,’1 w r ite s Channing, "the p io n eers had vigorous c o n s t it u t io n s , oth erw ise th ey could hardly have survived the com bination o f d is e a s e and ’ cure;*

and under th e c i r ­

cumstances th e re was l i k e l y to be r e so r t t o slc o h o l e ith e r in the form o f a beverage or in th e more in s id io u s g u ise o f 8 m edicine." Swarms o f d e e r f l l e s , m osq uitoes, and midges added t o th e d isco m fo rts o f summer.

R a ttlesn a k es and copperheads

were co n stan t sou rces o f d eath .

" S olves and bears were

in c e s s a n t and in v e te r a te fo e s o f the l iv e sto c k , and the cougar, or pan ther, o c c a s io n a lly attack ed man as w e ll! More t e r r i b l e s t i l l , w olves sometimes went mad, and the men who then encountered them were almost c e r ta in to be b it t e n and t o d ie o f hydrophobia." Hygenic c o n d itio n s were unknown.

O ffa l and dead

b e a sts which la y about Boonesborough and Harrodsburg p o i­ soned th e a ir and w a ter.

D octors were none to o common,

and in th e K n o x v ille (gazette cJune 19, 1794j a p h y sic ia n 's advertisem ent announced h is In ten tio n to se t up p r a c tic e " 'w ith a la rg e sto c k o f genuine m ed icin es. *"

Schouler

cla im s th a t c h ild ren and a d u lts o ften ate poisonous b e r r ie s , r o o ts , and v e g e ta b le s which proved f a t a l .

Newspapers warned

in vain a g a in st t o a d s t o o ls , hemlock, iv y , ond. strange growths o f lu x u ria n t n a tu r e . P io n eers su ffe r e d d a ily mishaps seldom mentioned by h is t o r ia n s .

On© man was asp hyxiated when he se t a pot

o f burning ch arcoal in h i s bedroom at n ig h t and shut the windows to keep out the c o ld .

Trying to e x tin g u ish a f i r e

which had caught from h i s kitch en chimney, another broke h i s neck when he f e l l from th e roof o f h is house.

"Pioneer

l i f e b r in g s i t s p e c u lia r c a s u a lt ie s , and many a ccid en ts o f t h i s age were due, undoubtedly, to carryin g on o n e 's oc­ cupation a t home in th e presence o f the fa m ily .

So, once more,

w ith a la r g e wood f i r e l e f t on th e ample h earth , a h e lp le s s o ld grandmother or young c h ild would be burned t o death in

i t s embers while l e f t unwatched," L est one ov erestim a te the e x ten t o f fr o n tie r c a s u a l t i e s , he should remember th a t epidem ics stru ck a t c i t i e s , th a t th ere was a gen eral la ck o f m edical knowledge, and th a t th e r e were few d o cto rs in both urban and ru ral a r e a s.

Not u n t i l th e realm o f the in v i s i b l e world o f

b a c te r ia was r ev ea led by P asteur and the d iscovery o f a n t is e p t ic s was announced by X.ister could any degree o f competency be expected o f p h y sic ia n s. I t cannot be d enied th at i t was woman who paid most d e a r ly on th e f r o n t ie r .

There was an e x c e ssiv e number

o f in fa n t d e a th s, and even today o ld tom bstones rev ea l the fec u n d ity o f c o lo n ia l Yioaan.

Vfomen assumed t h e ir f u l l

r e s p o n s ib ilit y on th e t r a i l , in the home, and in the f i e l d s . T heir l i v e s were f u l l o f s a c r i f i c e , t o i l , and devotion to th e ir f a m ilie s ,

Women worked a s hard a s men and on many

o c ca sio n s performed m asculine chores in a d d ition to carrying on t h e ir own household d u t ie s .

They p o ssessed the same iron

temper as t h e ir husbands and f e a r le s s ly confronted every danger a s nobly a s men.

F ro n tier women planned for th e ir

ch ild ren a f u l l e r and r ic h e r l i f e th&n th a t which had been th e ir s .

"They p rized th e knowledge and lea r n in g they them­

s e lv e s had been fo rc ed t o do w ith ou t; and many a backwoods woman, by t h r i f t end in d u str y , by the s a le of her b u tter and c h e ese , and th e c a lv e s from her cows, enabled her husband to 25 g iv e h is son s a good sch o o lin g ." There was hardly any form al sch o o lin g in backwoods

a r e a s, and c h ild r e n learn ed l i t t l e core than read in g, w r it­ in g , and c ip h e r in g .

According to R o o se v e lt, schoolh ouses

were "dark, mean lo g -h u te ."

Mc^aster says th a t the t y p ic a l

1'lchigan sch ool in th e f o r t i e s was a lo g cabin eigh teen by tw en ty -fo u r f e e t .

There were only one window, one door,

and n continu ous board sea t and w r itin g ta b le around the w a lls ,

There was no passage through th e d e sk s.

The s to v e ,

when th ere was one, was in th e cen ter o f the room. b u ild in g and equipment c o st f 100,

In a l l ,

The b e tte r sch ool b u ild ­

in g s , u s u a lly o f frame str u c tu r e , were evalu ated at $ 250. These had h a lf d esk s or lon g desks w ith spaces between which served a s passage ways. Male te a c h e r s who were u su a lly engaged during the w in ter months when they could earn l i t t l e at farming were g e n e r a lly p a id f i f t e e n d o lla r s a month.

Sometimes women

taught in order t o escape th e " 'd isg r a c e and drudgery of the k it c h e n ,** but they r ec eiv ed only | 1 .2 5 a week. compensation was o fte n u n c o lle c ta b le .

The

D is t r ic t s changed

te a c h e r s an n u a lly , and m asters were driven "'from place to p lace l ik e so many b ir d s o f p a ssa g e, w ith t h i s d iffe r e n c e , th * t w h ile the b ird returned to i t s wonted la t it u d e , th e schoolm aster ta k e s g r ea t care never to be caught in the 26 same d i s t r i c t a second tim e.*" F r o n tie r women were ever ready to s a c r if ic e them­ s e lv e s fo r th e s a f e ty o f t h e ir c h ild r e n .

P artem r e la t e s

th at during Q,ueer> Anne's War some Indians rushed the house o f Joseph Bradley along th e fr o n t ie r o f Maine.

"The woman

o f the house was b o ilin g soap, end in her d esp eration she snatched up th e k e t t le and threw the c o n ten ts over them w ith such e f f e c t th a t one o f th em ...w as scald ed to death." N e v e r th e le s s , she was overpowered and com pelled to fo llo w her ca p to rs through th e w ild e r n e s s.

"A fter a time she was

s a f e ly d e liv e r e d o f an In fa n t in th e m idst o f the w inter fo re st;

but the c h ild pined fo r the want o f su stenan ce,

and th e In dian s hasten ed i t s death by throwing hot c o a ls 2T In i t s mouth when i t c r ie d . Of the standard h is to r ia n s , none a ttr ib u te d any h ig h er t r a i t s o f character t o womanhood than Theodore R o o se v e lt.

In th e backwoods o f Kentucky, he r e la t e s , a

Mrs. Bozarth heard her ch ild ren sound the warning that Indians were coming.

Taking refuge in s id e the cabin, she

k i l l e d one o f the savages w ith en axe end ripped open the body o f an oth er.

Upon h earin g h i s y e l l s fo r h e lp , h is

comrades rushed to th e sc en e, and £ r s . Bozarth c l e f t open th e s k u ll o f the f i r s t w ith her bloody weapon,

when the

o th ers f e l l back, Mrs. Bozarth barred the door o f the cabin. Before they departed , th e In dian s k i l l e d the children who had been p la y in g in th e yard. In th e same backwoods country the cabin o f John M e r r ill was a tta ck ed one n ig h t.

M e r r ill was sh o t, and h is

w ife barred th e door, but th e In d ian s cnopped a hole in th e plank and t r ie d t o crawl through,

stan ding at one s id e ,

she stru ck at th e head o f each as i t appeared.

She was

s u c c e s s fu l in d isp a tc h in g th e f i r s t t.?o or th ree to the

happy h u n tin g ground.

The red sk in s then clim bed on the ro o f

o f th e cabin and prepared to drop down th e chimney.

Lira.

M e r r ill thereupon flu n g a fea th e r bed on the embers which hed been allow ed to smoulder fo r the n ig h t.

Flames and

s t i f l i n g smoke leaped up th e chimney, and in a moment both In d ian s came down — b lin d ed and h a lf smothered.

Before

th ey could r e c o v er , "the b ig r e so lu te woman" k i l l e d them. At t h i s p o in t R oosevelt a s s e r t s th a t "many hundreds o f th e se t a l e s could be gathered t o g e t h e r ... • "

28

Perhaps!

Although R oosevelt b e lie v e d th at h is t o r ia n e should record the d a ily e x p e rien ce s o f p io n ee rs, i t i s very probable th at he s e le c t e d th e more sp ecta cu la r and c o lo r fu l ep isod es as t y p ic a l o f th o se experien ced by fr o n tie r women. Seldom did standard h is to r ia n s d escrib e the b r ig h t­ er phases o f l i f e on th e a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r — how, for example, work was o fte n combined w ith p le a su re .

Husking

and q u ilt in g b e e s , bam r a is in g s , and h a r v e sts brought p io n eers to g e th e r .

H unting, trap p in g, f is h in g , and n u ttin g

were fre q u e n tly turned in to c o n t e s ts .

Independence Bay,

T hanksgiving, C hristm as, e le c t i o n s , b irth d a y s, weddings, and even fu n e r a ls were o c ca sio n s fo r great f e s t i v i t y .

The

county f a i r , box su p p ers, and granger p ic n ic s brought i s o ­ la te d f a m ilie s to g e th e r .

The coming o f a c ir c u s , always a

s p e c ia l e v e n t, drew la rg e crowds o f backwoodsmen. Frontiersm en knew how to p la y . shot mark;

th ey played b a ll;

They danc6d;

they imbibed f r e e ly .

f ig h t in g , w r e s tlin g , r a c in g , and games were popular.

they CockPioneers

l i v e d , laughed, and. even d is s ip a te d on numerous o c c a sio n s. They were not th e s p e c ia l o b je c ts o f a tta c k by s e c r e tiv e m alignant fo r c e s a w a itin g an opportunity to pounce upon them.

These human and joyous a sp e c ts o f fr o n tie r e x p e ri­

ence were long overlooked by the, o ld er sch ool o f h is to r ia n s . As a r e s u lt o f a d is t o r t io n o f the r ig o r s o f fr o n tie r l i f e and © n e g le c t , or even more frequent om ission , o f the b r ig h te r phases o f l i f e on the a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n tie r , the o ld e r h is t o r ia n s did much to f o s t e r a tr a d itio n o f pioneer h a rd sh ip s.

100

$2gi

H istory and th e Sch ools Chapter VX

THE CONCEPT OF PIONEER HARDSHIPS IS THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS I t i s hard t o r e a l i s e today th a t the men and women who fa ce d th e p e r i l o f th e w ild e r n e ss in f a r - o f f c o lo n ia l tim es were a c tu a lly f l e s h and blood crea­ tu r e s lik e o u r s e lv e s , — Leonard and Jacobs ****** S in c e t h e ir volumes were w idely read by the g en era l p u b lic and were commonly r e fe r r e d to in American s c h o o ls , th e standard h is to r ia n s were in f lu e n t ia l in la y in g the b a s is fo r a tr a d it io n o f p ion eer h ard sh ip s.

Today one

can hardly s e l e c t a textb ook w ithout encountering th e names o f B an croft, Psrkman, R o o sev e lt, and Mc&aster. In r e p r e se n ta tiv e textb ook s o f th e n in eteen th century th e f r o n t ie r concept o f American h is to r y i s not p r e se n t.*

L ikew ise con sp icu ou sly absent are the s o c ia l and

o u ltu r a l a sp e c ts o f American c i v i l i z a t i o n — a r t, lit e r a t u r e , p a in tin g , s c u lp tu r e , a r c h ite c tu r e , custom s, and manners. Prominence i s giv en t o p o l i t i c a l , c o n s t it u t io n a l, and m ili­ ta ry h is t o r y , and whatever p ion eer hardships are p resen t, they are se t in such a background,

N in eteen th century h i s ­

to r ia n s co n sid ered In dian s and n a tu r a l phenomena the main enemies which con fron ted p io n e e r s . and cowboys seldom appeared.

Em igrants, p rosp ectors,

The gold rush o f 1849, for

example, i s c it e d only t o show i t s r o le in preparing C a lifo rn ia

i-'JX

fo r the Compromise o f 1850 and e v en tu a l sta teh o o d ,

ia r ly

h is t o r ia n s a s s o c ia te d the fr o n tie r w ith the v ir g in w ild e rn ess, a b o r ig in e s , and th e lon e cabin along th e border o f c i v i l i ­ s a t io n .

L iv in g th e rugged and strenuous l i f e , p io n eers were

not meant to enjoy the p le a su r e s o f l i f e ,

f h e i r s was an

e x is t e n c e c h a r a c te r iz e d by t r i a l , t r ib u la t io n , and the sur­ v iv a l o f th e f i t t e s t . Almost u n b eliev a b le are e a r ly h is to r ia n s * s t o r i e s o f Indian a t r o c i t i e s — n a r r a tiv e s which must have shocked the s e n s i t i v i t i e s o f young readers u n le s s they p ossessed the same ch a ra cter which h is to r ia n s a ttr ib u te d to th e ir grand­ p a r e n ts.

A rare example o f such an account tAppendix CJ

is

th a t r e la te d in Richard Snowden's h isto r y which was published in 1813«

His d e sc r ip tio n o f Indian to r tu r e o f c a p tiv e s sur­

p a sse s th e n a r r a tiv e s which Psrkman was to record l: te r in the century*

G enerally speaking, the e a r lie r the h is t o r ic a l

scen e, th e g r e a te r were th e d e t a i ls o f Indian a t r o c it ie s ; the c lo s e r the w r ite r was to the Indian f r o n t ie r , the more colored was h i s n a r r a tiv e . L in gerin g on th e Anglo-French c o n f l i c t , early h is to r ia n s d e lig h te d in n a rra tin g the more sp ectacu lar ev en ts o f th a t s tr u g g le .

Prominent in e a rly h i s t o r i e s were the

H a v e r h ill, th e Schenectady, and th e D e e r fie ld m assacres. Amusing i s th e approach o f Samuel Goodrich who, in r e fe r r in g to Indian b r u t a l i t i e s p erp etrated during iking W illiam 's War, w r ite s ,

“th e h is to r y o f th e se th in g s i s too

p a in fu l fo r my l i t t l e rea d ers;

1 w i l l th e re fo re only t e l l

their one sto ry o f t h i s c ru el w ar.1' th e a tta c k on H a v e r h ill. f o r titu d e o f a Mr. Bust in . he c a l l s "Dunstan,"

Goodrich then r e c o n str u c ts

The o b ject o f h is a tte n tio n i e the Psychoanalyzing D ustin, whom

Goodrich c o n tin u e s,

"But which should

he ta k e , which o f h i s seven ch ild ren should he leave to the savages?

He could not d e c id e , and th e r e fo r e t e l l i n g the

ch ild ren to run forward, he placed h im se lf between them and the I n d ia n s .’1 P a llin g t o mount Dustin on h is h orse, other e a r ly h is t o r ia n s d ep ic ted him, r i f l e in hand, standing h i s ground w h ile Mrs. Dustin and the o ld e r ch ild ren took to flig h t.

These dramatic ev en ts and the courageous manner in

which Hannah Dustin met th e lo t which was in store for her presen t ”a stran ge sto r y » H w r ite s Goodrich, but one which "I b e l i e v e . . . i s p e r fe c tly t r u e .”

Although Goodrich had

intended t o record only one such e p iso d e, he follow ed i t w ith the h a ra ssin g e x p e rien ce s o f the Reverend John W illiam s 2 during the D e e r fie ld m assacre. t see p. 19* Like Goodrich, a number o f e a rly h is t o r ia n s wrote in the f i r s t person when r e la tin g Indian a t r o c i t i e s i n f l i c t e d on fr o n tie r se ttle m e n ts. Most sch ool ch ild re n responded w e ll to such an approach. D escrib in g the Dustin e p iso d e , John C. Rldpath r e la t e s th a t w h ile the Indian cap tors were a sle e p at n ig h t, Mrs. Dustin and two o f her companions a r o se, s i l e n t l y armed th em selv es w ith tomahawks, and w ith one deadly blow a f t e r another crushed in the tem ples o f the s le e p in g sa v a g e s, u n t i l ten o f them lay s t i l l in d e a t h ... . Mrs. Dustin c a r r ie d home w ith her the gun and tomahawk o f the savage who had destroyed her fa m ily , and a bag co n ta in in g the sc a lp s o f her n eig h -

bors* I t I s n o t o fte n th a t th e mother o f a murdered babe has found such ample vengeance* D escrib in g th e D e e r fie ld m assacre, th e same author wrote, "The deadly h a tc h e t hung ever above the heads o f the fe e b le and th e sick *

Eunice W illia m s, the m in is te r 's w ife , fa in te d

by th e w aysid e;

in th e p resen ce o f her husband and f i v e

c a p tiv e c h ild r e n , her b r a in s were dashed out w ith a toma«3 hawk* As a m atter o f f a c t , Eunice was not the w ife but the daughter o f Reverend W illiam s, and in stea d o f being k i l l e d by th e sa v a g e s, a s Rldpath s u g g e s ts , she chose to spend th e remainder o f her l i f e among the In d ia n s, one o f whom she l a t e r m arried. Another e a r ly h is to r ia n r e la t e s th a t in the Pennlcook a tta c k on Dover, one o f the v ic tim s was Major Waldron £Richard W alderae*, a m a g istra te , who a fte r being placed on a t a b le , was asked to "judge Indians*"

"Those

indebted t o him fo r good s, drew gash es on h i s b r e a st, sayin g, 'here I c r o ss ou t my accou n t.*

4

Such ep iso d es aB th ese

i l l u s t r a t e tb s way in which e a r ly h is t o r ia n s s a c r if ic e d sch olarsh ip to n a r r a tiv e . O cca sio n a lly e a r ly h is to r ia n s recommend sup­ plementary readings*

in clu d ed among th o se c it e d by Seudder

are Parkman's The D iscovery o f th e Great West. Montcalm and W olfe. and The Conspiracy o f P on tiac a s w e ll as James 5 Fenlmore C ooper's The L ast o f th e Mohicans* I t i s not lik e ly th a t c o n s c ie n tio u s In such readings*

p u p ils r e c e iv e d any su p ervision

104

M. E. Thalheim er m aintained th a t a number o f French o f f i c e r s regarded Indian a l l i e s "w ith a horror alm ost equal to th a t o f the v ic tim s .

The savages to r ­

mented, h i l l e d , and a te t h e ir E n g lish c a p tiv e s , in s p ite o f th e e n t r e a t ie s and commands o f the French. . . .

’Their

p aradise was to be drun k,* and, when mad w ith liq u o r , ’ they grappled and to r e one another w ith t h e ir t e e t h lik e 6 w olves,*" Yet Thalhelm er f a l l s t o t e l l how the savages procured liq u o r . The d e fea t o f Br&ddock was alm ost always a fa v o r ite s u b je c t.

Any c o lo r which th a t catastrophe may

have lack ed was su p p lied by e a r ly h is to r ia n s .

So e f f e c t iv e

ly was t h i s done th a t even the p io n eers who p a r tic ip a te d in th a t b a t t le would hardly recogn ize the environment in which they have been p la c e d .

Henry Sabin, one time S ta te

Superintendent o f P u b lic In str u c tio n o f Iowa, gave the fo llo w in g d e s c r ip tio n o f Braddock’ s d e fe a t: S t e e l f la s h in g and c la s h in g , f l a g s waving and f l u t ­ t e r in g , o f f i c e r s c a llin g and sh ou tin g, ste e d s pranc­ in g and n e ig h in g , drums b eatin g and f i f e s w h is tlin g , e p a u le ts o f y e llo w and sa sh es o f crimson, c o a ts o f s c a r le t and tra p p in g s o f b r a ss , shoulder to shoulder and knee to knee in t o the ford sp la sh th e B r itis h tr o o p s. Golden su n sh in e, green f o r e s t s , azure sky and r ip p lin g w ater — what a s ig h t fo r the d esp ised V ir g in ia ran gers a s , in t h e ir coon skin caps, buck­ skin j a c k e t s , fr in g e d leg g in a and w e ll worn moc­ c a s in s ; w ith t h e ir lon g b a r r e lle d r i f l e s , rude powder horns and s o ile d b u lle t pouches, they stood drawn upjon one s id e o f the road w h ile passed t h is cavalcad e! . . . Crack! From the wayside a s in g le r i f l e speaks, and an o f f i c e r r e e ls in h is sa d d le. Crash! From every bush and rock and tr e e f la s h flame and smoke, a s Indian r i f l e s , aimed w e ll and tr u e , speed t h e ir b u l l e t s s tr a ig h t to th e mark. The s ta r tle d

s o ld ie r s w aver, • •* Crash! Now a v o lle y i s poured in t o th e fo r e s t* Crash! crash! —- v o lle y fo llo w s v o l le y , *.* Englishmen are dropping, k i l l e d and wounded, on every hand, Not an enemy has been seen* I t i s more than f l e s h and blood can stan d. I t i s apparent th a t Sabir* added a l i t t l e extra fo r good measure*

N e v e r th e le s s , i t i s good read in g, and a t the 7 same tim e i t s tim u la te s th e im agin ation . O cca sio n a lly a w r ite r commented on th e so litu d e

which confronted p io n e e r s ,

Henry W illiam Elson recorded,

"Often at n ig h t th e s t i l l n e s s was broken by th e sh riek o f a panther, or th e m elancholy moan o f th e ow l. day tim e th e s o lit u d e was o p p r e ssiv e . unknown in th e p r im itiv e f o r e s t ;

Even In the

Song b ir d s were

but the gobble o f the

w ild tu r k e y , th e tapp ing o f the woodpecker on

0

hollow

tre e o fte n r e lie v e d th e monotonous s t i l l n e s s o f the woods."

8

American h is to r ia n s p rio r to 1900 did not conform to the standard o f h i s t o r i c a l o b j e c t iv it y which has c h a ra cterised tw e n tie th century American h isto rio g ra p h y . Early w r ite r s gave l i t t l e a tte n tio n to d e t a i l;

fo o tn o te s

added fu rth er c o lo r to what was already in th e te x t;

un­

usual statement© were seldom documented, and b ib lio g r a p h ic a l data were r a r e .

In th e absence o f h i s t o r i c a l o b j e c t iv it y ,

tr a d itio n and legen d played an e v e r -in c r e a s in g ly important r $ le .

C o lo rfu l f ig u r e s l ik e John Smith, Pocahontas, D aniel

Boone and a heavenly h o st o f o th e r s came to occupy a space far out o f proportion t o t h e ir d eed s. P rior t o th e Turner concept — th a t o f su cc essiv e

f r o n t ie r s ranging from hu nters ana trap p ers to m iners, cowboys, end farm ers *— e a r ly h is to r ia n s , r e a liz in g th ere was l i t t l e romance In p o l i t i c a l h is to r y , found color in th e In d ia n -m ilita r y f r o n t ie r .

I l l u s t r a t i o n s in old

h i s t o r i e s supply any c o lo r th a t may be la ck in g in su b ject m a tter.

F eatured are Indian b ra v es, war dances, scen es o f

to r tu r e , c a p tiv e s running th e g a u n tle t, a tta c k s on fr o n tie r v i l l a g e s , attem p ts o f savages to break in to a cabin by smashing th e door or hacking away a p ortion o f the r o o f, and red men "burning p io n eers out" by sh ootin g flam ing ar­ rows in to th e lo g s id e s or th e dry ro o f o f the cabin.

There

are many sc en es o f sm all groups o f backwoodsmen f le e in g through th e w ild e r n e ss or tramping b arefoot through wlntery snows.

P ic tu r e s o fte n bear no la b e ls , and the d e t a i ls do

not always conform t o f a c t s .

I llu s t r a t io n s o fte n d ep ict

sp ectacu lar scen es which were not tr u ly r ep r e se n ta tiv e o f fr o n tie r e x p e r ie n c e .

Chess e a rly h is to r ia n s were not fa r

removed from th e Indian f r o n t i e r , and unbiased w ritin g was d iffic u lt. A change in American h isto rio g ra p h y i s evid en t in the illu s tr a t io n © o f contemporary h i s t o r i e s .

Fewer scen es

are devoted t o the a b o r ig in a l menace, but one o c c a sio n a lly encounters a p ic tu r e which p ortrays the more barbarous a sp e c ts o f Indian c h a r a c te r .

Even then t h i s i s done in ­

d ir e c t ly by le a v in g much t o th e im agination o f the reader. One o fte n s e e s s ilh o u e t t e d Indian w arriors crouching In wooded groves or behind hug$ b o u ld e r s, although the cen ter

o f I n t e r e s t may be a p rosp ector a t th e d ig g in g s , a caravan o f wagons on th e t r a i l , or a p ion eer at h i s d a ily work.

The power o f su g g estio n i s always g r e a t.

Moreover,

contemporary h is to r ia n s are more in c lin e d t o d e p ic t the c i v i l i z e d and dom estic t r a i t s o f Indian ch a ra cter — c h ie fts m s , m edicine men, and braves in f u l l r e g a lia ; a b o r ig in e s engaged in horsem anship, h u n tin g, or fa sh io n in g Implements;

red men smoking peace p ip e s and making t r e a t i e s

w ith th e w h ite s.

Old h i s t o r i e s seldom portrayed th e se a t ­

t r ib u t e s o f Indian c h a r a cter . I l l u s t r a t i o n s in contemporary h i s t o r i e s r e v e a l a b e tte r sen se o f p e r sp e c tiv e than th o se o f the n in e te e n th century which le d one t o conclude h a s t ily th a t th e Indian menace was th e c h ie f p io n eer h ard sh ip . d ep ict o th er p h ases o f f r o n t ie r l i f e .

Recent h i s t o r i e s Westward m igration

has come to be sym bolized by th e covered wagon.

There are

numerous i l l u s t r a t i o n s o f caravans r o ll i n g a c r o ss the p r a ir ie s , winding t h e ir way over th e sharp a c c l i v i t i e s o f the R ock ies, craw lin g a c r o ss d e se r t san ds, or creaking through mud a x le -d e e p .

Not n e g le c te d are th e em igrants

th em selves — women r id in g on th e s e a t , c h ild re n p eerin g out o f th e rear o f th e wagon, d r iv e r s la sh in g th e h o rses onward, and haggard lo o k in g t r a v e l le r s gathered around th e cam pfire a t n ig h t . The m ining f r o n t ie r r e c e iv e s i t s Just ohare o f a t t e n t io n .

Here one s e e s th e lo n e p rosp ector sta k in g out

h is claim or panning g o ld under th e b r o ilin g sun o f

C a lifo r n ia ;

p resen t are the sa lo o n , gambling den, dance

h a l l , d esp erad oes, and v i g i l a n t e s .

3 ;u a lly c o lo r f u l are

scen es from th e c a ttlem a n ’ s f r o n t ie r — cowboys, bucking broncos, th e roundup, and th e lon g d r iv e ;

cowboys are

o fttim e a d e p ic te d In moments o f d is s ip a t io n .

L ife on th e

a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r i s rep resen ted by p io n e e r s b u ild in g lo g c a b in s, f e l l i n g t r e e s , c le a r in g th e la n d , c u lt iv a t in g the s o i l , and fa sh io n in g some o f the n e c e s s i t i e s o f l i f e —* c lo th in g , f u r n itu r e , and im plem ents.

O ften th e hardship s

o f t h i s f r o n t ie r are sym bolised by th e axe* r i f l e , or wooden plow. I l l u s t r a t i o n s in The Lure o f the f r o n t ie r t Pageant o f America a e r ie s 3 b rin g a l l o f th e se p o in ts in to fo c u s.

Approxim ately o n e -fo u r th o f the p ic t u r e s d ea l w ith

a b o r ig in e s, and th e remainder d e p ic t o th er p h ases o f the westward movement. * Consult Appendix D fo r an a n a ly s is o f t h i s volum es.

a study o f th e f e e t in p ic t u r e , in both

old and contemporary te x tb o o k s, r e v e a ls a s ig n if ic a n t tre n d . F ollow ing the c lo s e o f th e f r o n t i e r , th e t r a d it io n o f pioneer h ardship s s h if t e d from the concept o f th e a b o r ig in a l menace to th a t o f th e Wild West o f m iners, desp erad oes, v i g i l a n t e s , and cowboys.

P o ssib ly w ith th e p a ssin g o f

another cen tu ry , some o f t h i s l a t t e r t r a d it io n w i l l be e f ­ faced j u s t a s tim e has made the l i n e s o f th e Indian menace le s s d is tin c t. The tendency t o minimize the s e v e r i t i e s o f the a b o r ig in a l menace and t o rom an ticize westward m igration ,

th e mining f r o n t i e r , and the c a ttlem a n ’ s f r o n t ie r in p ic tu r e i s lik e w is e r e f l e c t e d in th e su b je ct m atter o f contemporary textb ook s*

In p la c e o f Indian a t r o c i t i e s

one more commonly reads in contemporary t e x t s , " It i s hard t o r e a liz e today th a t th e men and women who fa c e d the p e r i l s o f th e w ild e rn ess in f s r - o f f c o lo n ia l tim es were a c tu a lly f l e s h nnd blood c r e a tu r e s l i k e o u r se lv e s ."

In another,

p u p ils are le d t o b e lie v e th a t "danger surrounded tho c h ild r e n , as w e ll a s the grown-ups, on every s id e .

Often

In d ian s would hide among th e t r e e s , w a itin g fo r a chance to carry o f f th e c h ild r e n or to add a young sc a lp to th e ir

„9

hunting belts.**

I t i s not l ik e l y th a t te a c h e r s d is c r e d it

such a s s e r tio n s by p o in tin g out th a t th e a c q u is itio n o f c h ild r e n ’ s

3

c a lp e was no r e a l mark o f d i s t i n c t i o n .

S ca lp in g

was supposed t o sym bolize a warrior*© courage, bravery, and s k ill. Even th e West which th e cinema h as p op u larized i s p resen t in contemporary te x tb o o k s.

One author w r ite s ,

"In a ’Wild te s t* o f cowboys and sheep ran ch ers, mining camps, an ?2 d e s e r ts w i l l d evelop a flo u r is h in g and prosperous region bound to th e o ld e r s t a t e s o f th© ^ a st by the s t e e l 10 bonds o f the r a ilr o a d . R eferrin g t o th e overland Journey,

Barker, Webb, and Dodd exaggerate c o n d itio n s when

they a s s e r t , "At b e s t , th e Journey exposed the t r a v e le r : t o great hardship and s u f f e r in g , and, a t w o r st, i t brought hi® death by t h i r s t or by th e arrow and sc a lp in g k n ife o f h o s t i l e In d ia n s.

The h e r o ic p io n ee rs fa c e d death at

every sta g e o f the lon g jou rn ey.*

to o fre q u en tly

n oth in g but h ard sh ip s are c it e d , ?n& the reader seldom s e e s th e t r a v e lle r in h is more J o y fu l moments. Another author c i t e s only the more ominous e x p e r ie n c e s o f the f o r ty -n in e r s which A* Delano d escrib ed

m e an ifca ilaias &MMans £M Sis£dass>

asme

au th or, in d e sc r ib in g l i f e in m ining com m unities, reco rd s, “I f th e In d u str io u s, hard-working man who c o lle c t e d by industry and t h r i f t a co n sid er a b le amount o f gold was not robbed o f a l l he p o s se ss e d , he was l i k e l y t o be murdered. . . . The l i f e and property o f no man were s a f e . "

1 2

N ic h o ls , B a g ley , and Beard w r ite , “Saloons and gambling h a l l s abounded, and on m inors’ Saturday n ig h ts th e l i d was o f f .

In f a c t i t was never on .

D rinking,

gambling, v ic e oi, a l l s o r t s , q u a r r e lin g , sh o o tin g , and sudden death were common»“

13

F o llo w in g i s 3tcCluref s and Yarbrough's c h a r a c te r i14 z a tlo n o f a phase o f the development o f th e »Vect: H ard -rid in g, q u ic k -sh o o tin g , fu n -lo v in g co w b o y s... c a t t l e 'barons' carryin g on a land war w ith sheep r a is e r s o r hom esteaders; mining p r o sp ec to rs e x u lt ­ ing in bonanza s t r i k e s or hu ntin g on e n d le s s ly w ithout s u c c e s s ; rough mining towns ob servin g only th e law o f th e s ix - s h o o t e r ; In d ian s making a la s t d esp erate stand a g a in st the in v a sio n o f w h ite men; covered wagons r o l l i n g slow ly a c r o ss the p la in s b rin gin g permanent s e t t l e r s ; p io n eer f a m ilie s b a t t lin g a g a in st grassh opp ers and d r o u g h t... . F requ en tly auth ors o f grade t e x t s v iv id ly r e ­ co n stru ct th e p a st by w r itin g in th e f i r s t p erso n .

This

i s e sp e o i& lly tru e in the case o f th e a b o r ig in a l, m ining, and ranching f r o n t i e r s .

When accompanied by a p ictu resq u e

vocabulary and a f lu e n t s t y l e , such an approach conjures exaggerated mental im ages, and o c c a s io n a lly u n la b e lle d i l l u s t r a t i o n s augment such im p r essio n s.

Some t e x t s are

p ro fu sely i l l u s t r a t e d w ith m arginal woodcuts and s ilh o u e t t e s which serve as a con stan t reminder o f th e dangers a tten d in g p ion eer l i f e . Although contemporary grade tex tb o o k s have d is ­ pensed w ith much o f th e legen d which form erly surrounded pion eer h a r d sh ip s, t h e ir g r e a te s t weakness i s p r o je c t work and student a c t i v i t i e s .

C a refu lly su p erv ised p r o je c ts are

w orthw hile, but the many demands p laced on tea c h e rs o fte n render such su p e rv isio n im p o ssib le .

Casner and G abriel

in s tr u c t t h e ir p u p ils to make a model o f the door o f the Sheldon ta v e r n , “ showing marks and h o le made by Indian tomahawks.*

T h is was th e tavern which w ith stood the raid

on D e e r fie ld in 1704.

Of a l l a tta c k s on f r o n t ie r s e t t l e ­

ments during the c o lo n ia l p e r io d , few have occu pied any more a tte n tio n than th a t on D e e r fie ld .

parkman d ev o tes an

e n tir e chapter in 4 H alf-C entury o f C o n flic t to t h i s e v e n t. Much o f h i s n a r r a tiv e I s based on th e s t o r i e s r e la te d by two v ic tim s o f the D e e r fie ld m assacre, th e Reverend John W illiam s and h i s e le v e n year o ld son, Stephen.

Chancing*s

p ictu resq u e account o f th e massacre i s drawn from C h arlotte 15 B aker's True S t o r ie s o f Hew England C a p tiv e s:

For a tim e , th e w e ll b u i lt and firm ly b o lte d door o f John Sheldon rs house proved an e f f e c t u a l b a r rier a g a in st the savage a. Sacred h i s t o r i c door.’ Poor of th e ark o f th e covenant wert thou t o our fa th e r s in th e olden tim e. B u ilt o f no c o s t ly m a te r ia l, thy, p o s ts were n o t in la id w ith s h e l l ; no g o ld adorns thy p a n e ls . Heart o f oak a rt thou , f i t typ e o f the h ero es who framed th e e ; sturdy and stro n g in th e ir d efen ce as th e y , in d efen ce o f t h e ir l ib e r t y , — ye y ie ld e d never! More to u s than G recian sc u lp tu re s are thy c a rv in g s by Indian tomahawk, tnd thy wrought s p ik e s , more p r e c io u s than b o s se s o f s l i v e r and g o ld . I t I s t h i s famous door, now p reserved in Memorial H a ll a t D e e r fie ld , to which Casner and G abriel refer*

A l­

though th ere i s no In d ic a tio n th a t th ey were acquainted w ith th e Baker a cco u n t, they were aware o f a l l th e tr a d itio n th a t had ev o lv ed around th e D e e r fie ld massacre*

Both had

a c c e ss t o Parkman and Charming, and in t h e ir textb ook they devote th ree pages t o th e "Story o f D e e r fie ld ."

Here i s an

o u tstan d in g example where o r ig in a l co lo r and p reju d ice were u t i l i s e d by standard h is to r ia n s whose works, in tu rn , have in flu e n c e d l a t e r h is t o r ia n s to the e x te n t th a t the o r ig in a l c o lo r and p re ju d ic e are c a rr ie d in to th e classroom . One might w e ll wonder how many te a c h e r s have unmasked t h i s tr a d itio n in th e classroom .

Oasner and G abriel su ggest

th a t p u p ils not only make a model o f the Sheldon door but th a t th ey use the in c id e n ts o f th e story t o "work out a d ram atisation e n t i t l e d *Boy and G ir l C ap tives in Old D e e r fie ld .* P u p ils may rep resen t th e c a p tiv e s , Eunice W illiam s, Stephen W illia m s, Remembrance Sheldon, Thankful S te b b in s, and A b ig a il Kims.*

For the p u p ils* b e n e f it , an

I l l u s t r a t i o n shows th e tomahawk marks in th a t hallow ed door

o f which C h arlotte Baker speaks. In o th er stu d en t a c t i v i t i e s , fo r example, a p u p il i s asked t o r e la t e a story which an Indian has to ld him about th e red man*a e x p e rien ce s on the w estern p lain B , to w r ite a fe a tu r e a r t i c l e fo r the newspaper on the d iscovery o f g o ld in C a lifo r n ia , or t o prepare a diary d e sc r ib in g h i s Journey t o Oregon,

L ikew ise th e p u p il, im agining th a t

he i s a Watauga pioneer* i s t o w r ite a l e t t e r in which he d e sc r ib e s c o n d itio n s on th e f r o n tie r to fr ie n d s in the * a s t. Some tex tb o o k s propose th a t p u p ils prepare a pageant dram­ a t i s i n g th e development o f th e West,

Another su g g ests th a t

th e c la s s i n v i t e an o ld -tim e r to r e la t e s t o r i e s o f h is IT ea rly d ays. A pparently w r ite r s o f tex tb o o k s f a i l t o r e a liz e th a t c h ild r e n ’ s im agin ation needs but l i t t l e stim u la tio n . Although te a c h e r s and w r ite r s j u s t i f y stu dent a c t i v i t i e s on the ground th a t th ey m otivate g r ea ter in t e r e s t In h i s ­ to r y , th ey f a l l t o see th a t o fte n the m otivation i s d e fle c te d by th e more c o lo r f u l and dram atic e p iso d e s o f h is to r y , sm all and unimportant though th e y may be*

H istory can be made

v iv id and d e l ig h t f u l w ithou t ro m a n ticizin g In d ian s, cowboys, and p r o sp e c to r s,

Moreover, i t need not be a mere enumeration

o f fa c tu a l and s t a t i s t i c a l m a te r ia l. Contemporary w r ite r s o f grade tex tb o o k s have d i s ­ pensed w ith much o f th e t r a d it io n o f p io n eer hardship s which c h a r a c te r iz e d n in e te e n th century h i s t o r i c a l w r itin g . At th e same tim e they have m otivated g r e a te r in t e r e s t in

114

American h isto r y * have been made

N e v e r th e le ss , w orthw hile begin n in gs

toward g r ea ter h i s t o r i c a l o b j e c t iv it y .

S t i l l some w r ite r s have assumed, perhaps somewhat er­ r o n e o u sly , th a t as c h ild re n become more mature, th e ir In creased knowledge e f f a c e s much o f the t r a d itio n surround­ in g p io n eer hardships* J u st as grade t e x t s are being c o n tin u a lly improved so are th o se on th e high sch o o l l e v e l , and an amazing degree o f o b j e c t iv it y now c h a r a c te r iz e s th o se tex tb o o k s.

L ittle

o f the t r a d it io n o f p ion eer hardships remains w ith in t h e ir pages*

I l l u s t r a t i o n s are c a r e fu lly s e le c t e d , and one seldom

encounters the typ e which ch a ra cterized th o se o f n in eteen th century h i s t o r i e s .

U sually c a r e fu l la b e ls and ex p la n a tio n s

accompany th e I l l u s t r a t i o n s .

More su rp rizin g I s the in c r e a s­

in g number o f p ic tu r e s devoted t o th e l a t t e r f r o n t ie r s .

The

p ic tu r e s are u su a lly w e ll b alan ced , and no f r o n tie r o c­ c u p ies e x c e s s iv e space a t tho expense o f another.

At the

same tim e th ere i s a g r e a te r tendency fo r c r e a tiv e p r o je c ts to invoke the stu d e n t’ s sen se o f h i s t o r i c a l c r it ic is m .

In

W lrth, for exam ple, th e student i s asked to compare th e ev en ts o f Cooper’ s Last o f th e Mohicans w ith the a c tu a l 18 h is to r y o f th e fren ch and Indian f a r . The mining f r o n t ie r has become most rom anticized in high sch ool h i s t o r i e s .

Of the thousands who went overland

t o C a lifo r n ia , w r ite Tryon, L in g le y , and Morehouse, " a ll o f them £wer«3 doomed to s u ffe r from heat and cold and hunger, and many o f them t o le a v e t h e ir bones on the wide

p la in s or among th e Rocky f o u n t a in s .”

Unlike most oth er

tex tb o o k w r it e r s , th e s e auth ors r e fe r r e d to the Dormer tra g e d y .

David S. Huzzey, whose hook s t i l l en joys great

p o p u la r ity in h ig h s c h o o ls , r e l a t e s th a t thousands o f fo r ty n in e r s ’’came by wagon a c r o ss the p la in s , braving sta r v a tio n , th e fe v e r o f th e a l k a l i w a ste s, and the a tta c k s o f the In d ia n s, and le a v in g a t e l l - t a l e tra c k o f broken wagons, 20 dead an im a ls, and human b on es. D escrib in g l i f e in mining com m unities, C an field and W ilder r e f e r to the attem pts of gam blers, tr a d e r s , and v i l e men and women to g e t g o ld . ” *Kot a day or n ig h t p a s s e d ,’ ” they record , ” *which did not y i e l d i t s f u l l f r u it io n o f f i g h t s , q u a rr e ls, wounds, or murders. The crack o f th e rev o lv er was o fte n heard above the merry n o te s o f the v i o l i n . * ”

Faulkner, Kepoer, and b a r t le t t r e s -

eu reet th a t same Wild West when they a s s e r t , “Svery one ca rried a gun, and law and order was a matter o f who was the 21 b e st s h o t .” In r e c o n str u c tin g the West o f f a c t and r e a l i t y , Adams and Vannest d e c la r e th a t ”th e ’West* o f legend and story and p ic tu r e i s n o t , as i t should b e, th a t o f the hard ta in ted

pion eer farmer and h i s w if e , f ig h t in g d u st,^ d rou gh ts, g r a ss­ hoppers, and l o n e li n e s s , in too o fte n slo v e n ly , drab, and p o v e r ty -str ic k e n homes, but th a t o f the sta g e coach, the w ild In dian s on horseback, and the cowboy rounding up h is 22 herds on th e *long d r iv e* * ” A ttem pting to correct the concept o f th e Wild W est, th e se two authors s u b s titu te fo r i t a West th a t i s j u s t as removed from r e a l i t y .

Commendable b ib lio g r a p h ic a l data arc c it e d in most contemporary h igh sch o o l h i s t o r i e s , many o f the read in gs b e in g the same as th ose used in c o lle g e ,

i'hue, one may

conclude th a t a r e v o lu tio n has taken p la ce in the w r itin g o f tex tb o o k s and th a t many o f the e r r o rs and m isconceptions c h a r a c t e r is t ic o f o ld e r h i s t o r i e s have been removed.

11h i l e

the a b o r ig in a l menace has been la r g e ly e ffa c e d by con­ temporary te x tb o o k s, th ere has a r isen a new t r a d it io n , that o f h ardship s on th e m ining, ranching, and a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r s .

117

Chapter VII THE CONCEPT OP PIONEER HARDSHIPS IN HIGHER EDUCATION G e n e r a liz a tio n s about the w estern people have always been popular and u su a lly o n e -sid e d . Eastern contem­ p o r a r ie s o fte n overemphasized the la w le s s and even v ic io u s c h a r a cter s who found t h e ir way to the border co u n try . — £ . B. Greene «*•*«** Like p u p ils in secondary ed u ca tio n , c o lle g e stu d e n ts have been su b jected to the tr a d itio n o f pioneer hardships*

Even the charm o f the u n iv e r sity environment

does not in su re stu d en te again st th at t r a d it io n , for n e ith e r w r ite r s o f c o lle g e h i s t o r i e s nor p r o fe sso r s can r e s i s t the tem p tation to rom an ticize the fr o n t ie r .

Ab­

o r ig in e s , fro n tiersm en , overland em igrants, and miners are e x p lo ite d t o e n rich h igh er education*

G n e r a lly , the

su b ject rom an ticized changes w ith th e variou s lo v p ls o f education*

Grade p u p ils are more in tr ig u e d by In dian s,

v i g il a n t e s , and cowboys, but c o lle g e stu d en ts

r*.: more

freq u en tly exposed to th e h ardship s o f overland tr a v e l 1 and the r ig o r s o f the a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r . Ju st a s th e Indian I s slow ly v an ish in g from th^ American scen e, th e a b o r ig in a l menace, c en te r o f much of th e drama in e a r ly h i s t o r i e s , has alm ost disappeared from c o lle g e h i s t o r i e s ,

f h i l a the c o lle g e student i s aware thr-t

Indians retard ed th e advance o f c i v i l i z a t i o n , h~ seldom encounters the gory d e t a i l s o f the tomahawk and the e erlp in g k n ife .

There are o c c a sio n a l r e fe r e n c e s to the a b o r ig in a l menace in g e n e ra l h i s t o r i e s o f the United D ta te s.

In h i s

h i s t o r i c a l and somewhat lit e r a r y n a r r a tiv e o f the great American e p ic , James Truslow Adams contends th a t p io n eers, or as he c a l l s them, ”raen o f d e s tin y , * 1 loath ed Indians and no th er vermin” th a t impeded th e ir westward advance.

George

Stephenson a g rees w ith W elter P r e sc o tt febb th a t p ion eers learn ed to save one b u lle t fo r them selves when d ea lin g w ith p la in s In d ia n s, and H ockett concludes th a t th e fron tiersm an ’ s l i f e was a “prolonged adventure w ith danger ever eear.

Any

nigh t h ig h t b rin g th e savages to bum , sc a lp , and t o r t u r e ... Although th e se are not r e p r e se n ta tiv e oi contemporary h is to r ia n s * c o n c lu sio n s , they ore & v e s tig e o f Parkmanesque

a

h isto rio g ra p h y *

W riters o f c o lle g e textb ook s have m agnified beyond proportion the r ig o r s o f the a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r , p io n eers th ey d e p ic t t o i le d from dawn to dusk.

the

One se e s

them f e l l i n g t r e e s , c le a r in g and c u lt iv a tin g sm all tru eto o f land , and f ig h t in g In d ian s, p r a ir ie f i r e s , b liz z a r d s , lo c u s t s , and drough ts.

One i s reminded th at frontiersm en

liv e d in ca b in s which o ffe r e d l i t t l e more than sh e lte r and th a t numerous Kansas and Nebraska p io n eers liv e d in sod houses and du gouts.

Hacker and Kendrick claim that f r o n t ie r s

men “met d e fe a t a t every turn when they sought to overcome human o b s t a c l e s ,” and Stephenson odds t : a t some “experienced v i c i s s it u d e s and h ardship s th a t convinced them that th e ir venture was a m ista k e .”

Ignoring sim ple f;?,cts o f tim e • nd

sp a ce, t-.'uzzey and Krout r e c a l l th a t during the a- rsrian crusade th e p ion eer enjoyed no te le p h o n ic communications or r u r a l m ail s e r v ic e .

There was no Model T to carry him

° in an hour or two to th e county sea t w ith i t s gen eral s t o r e , i t s th e a t e r , i t s lib r a r y , ?jnd I t s r a ilr o a d s t a t i o n . . . The fron tiersm an had no rad io to "bring the v o ic e s o f noted s in g e r s , p reach ers, and le c tu r e r s to h is own p arlor."

It

was h i s l o t to t o i l in th e f i e l d from seed time to harvest "in the e v er -r e c u r r in g str u g g le a g a in st the manifold enemles o f n a t u r e ... , Such a p ic tu r e rep re sen ts only one phase o f pioneer life .

These w r ite r s have d escrib ed the r ig o r s o f l i f e on

the f r o n tie r at the expense o f the jo y s and p lea su res which frontiersm en e x p erien ced . grim r e a l i t y .

P ion eers were human b ein g s;

danced, sang, and p la y ed . c o n t e s ts .

A ll was nor, work, poverty, and they laughed,

They v ie d w ith each other in

Whether th ey assembled fo r r e lig io u s s e r v ic e s ,

m arriages, fu n e r a ls , or f e s t i v i t i e s , lau gh ter brightened even the most w rinkled and w eather-beaten f a c e .

I s o la tio n

and r e s tr a in t gave way t o fr e e ex p ressio n on opportune oc­ c a s io n s .

Much o f th e work o f the a g r ic u ltu r a l fr o n tie r was

th a t o f co o p era tiv e e n te r p r is e .

R e lig io u s r e v iv a ls , barn

r a is in g s , q u ilt in g b e e s, barn d an ces, husking b e e s, co n ten ts, h o lid a y s , w eddings, p o l i t i c a l e le c t i o n s — a l l o f th ese were as much a part o f f r o n t ie r l i f e as f ig h t in g Indians and t i l l i n g the s o i l .

i. d ' J

To in s in u a te th a t the absence o f the telep h on e, r a d io , or autom obile worked a hardship on p io n eers i s to m isrep resen t the fa c ts *

Such convenien ces were not known

in th o se dteys, and t o in te r p r e t f r o n t ie r experien ce in the l ig h t o f tw e n tie th century p ro g ress i s not only t o abandon h i s t o r i c a l o b j e c t iv it y but t o make comparisons which were not w ith in th e realm o f f r o n tie r experience* Muzzey and Krout contend th a t p ion eer hardships and p r iv a tio n e s ta b lis h e d a tr a d itio n th a t a s i f t e d people 4 founded th e American n a tio n . Many authors convey the im­ p ressio n th a t of th e s h i f t l e s s , la w le s s , in d o le n t, and d i s ­ con ten ted p eople who went w est, only the f i t t e s t su rvived, buch w r ite r s fo r g e t th a t i t was the abundance o f cheap, f e r t i l e land which lured men westward. The more d esira b le elem ents o f s o c ie t y went w e st, and the r i f f - r a f f was only a m in o rity .

P ion eers were not long in i n s t it u t in g some

form o f government;

they b u ll

sm all country sch ools ond

otherw ise sought to improve the gen eral w e lfa r e ,

Bomc o f

the most ou tsta n d in g and most revered lea d ers in American h isto r y have been produ cts o f the f r o n tie r . Overland m igration i s not g r e a tly rom anticized in c o lle g e h i s t o r i e s . Bonner tra g ed y .

Only a few authors r e ie r to the

*ven th e n , asr.ong o th e r s , Beard and Beard

omit th e gory d e t a i l s c ite d by o ld e r h is to r ia n s lik e Hubert H. B a n cro ft.

On the other hand, few w r ite r s o f

c o lle g e tex tb o o k s can r e s i s t rom an ticizin g the mining f r o n t ie r .

In h is c h a r a c te r iz a tio n of t h i s f r o n t ie r , h-rlo/j

co n clu d es th a t s o c i a l l i f e “ cen tered in the sa lo o n , the gambling h ou se, end the dance h a l l , w hile the revolver and the noose were s u b s titu te d fo r regu lar j u d ic ia l process.*' Although r ec o g n izin g t h i s as only a temporary s t a t e , S c h le sin g e r p o in ts out th a t n early every th ir d cabin in V ir g in ia C ity in 1859 was a saloon and that "not a day or n ig h t passed which did not y ie ld i t s f u l l f r u it io n o f v ic e , q u a r r e ls , wounds, or murders."

Beard and Beard a s ­

s e r t th a t in 1854 the " r e la tiv e ly p e a c e fu l city " oi Los 5 A ngeles could rep ort "a murder a day on the average." Al­ though the cinema v e rsio n o f the mining f r o n tie r s t i l l p r e v a ils , ste p s are b ein g taken in c o lle g e to correct th at m iscon cep tion .

B a sse tt ca u tio n s h i s readers that the

m ajority o f em igrants were "average Americana, strong in the in s t in c t o f self-g o v ern m en t, and the r e s u lt showed th a t they were not w i l li n g to allow th e unruly element to dominate the country."

S im ila r ly , Clreene w r ite s that

" g e n e r a liz a tio n s about the w estern people have always been popular and u su a lly o n e -sid e d ,

e a ster n contem poraries

o ften overemphasized the la w le ss and even v ic io u s ch aracters „6 who found t h e ir way to th e border cou n try. buch are the pion eer hardships which g e .e r a l c o lle g e h i s t o r i e s d e p ic t .

Even more in tr ig u in g are th o se

which h is to r ia n s o f th e West r e su r r e c t when they in te r p r e t American h is to r y in th e lig h t o f f r o n tie r ex p erien ce.

The

textb ook s o f f i v e o f th e s e h is to r ia n s w i l l form the b a s is 7 o f the second part o f t h i s ch ap ter. Although one might

ex p ect h is t o r ia n s who con cen trate on th e ’.Vest to presen t p io n eer h ard sh ip s in h o tte r p e r s p e c tiv e , they sometimes become so absorbed w ith t h e ir su b je ct m atter and so eager t o recapture the c o lo r and rea lism o f the fr o n tie r th a t t h e ir dram atic i n s t i n c t s overcome th e ir sc h o la r sh ip .

In

some r e s p e c t s , th e se "doctors o f th e West” have uninten­ t io n a lly co n trib u ted t o th e tr a d itio n o f p ion eer hardships because t h e ir read ers accept the f i n a l i t y o f t h e ir Judgment. H isto r ia n s o f th e West have done much to e ffa c e the t r a d it io n a l a b o r ig in a l menace, but In d e p ic tin g the more repugnant t r a i t s o f Indian c h a ra cter, Clark w rites n ea rly a s mueh as h is contem poraries combined.

In that

au th or’ s treatm ent o f the Anglo-French wars, one encounters "the t e r r i b le Indian war whoop" which te r r o r iz e d s e t t l e r s whose burned ca b in s and "dead and m u tilated b od ies were many tim es l e f t t o mark th s s i t e s o f th r iv in g s e t t le m e n t s .. . Sraddoek's f ia s c o was preceded by a s ile n c e which was sud­ denly "broken by the t e r r ib le war whoop," and many o f the men were " v ictim s o f th e sc a lp in g k n ife," w hile the remain­ der " fle d in th e w ild e s t con fu sion ."

r e c a llin g a b o r ig in a l

a t r o c i t i e s during P o n tia c ’ s Har, Clark a t tr ib u te s the cause o f p ion eer hatred o f In d ian s to "the f ie r c e c o l l i s i o n s , the midnight m assacres and c r u e l d e v a sta tio n s which are fa m ilia r t o us In a thousand t a l e s o f our in fan cy." Clark ig n o r e s n e ith e r th e capture o f J 6 mima Boone and her two g i r l companions by Indians nor t h e ir rescue by 8

party le d by none o th er than D aniel Boone snd h is fr ie n d

John F loyd .

In 1778, two years fo llo w in g th a t e v en t,

much o f th e Susquehanna V alley was " la id w aste and o ld men, women, and c h ild r e n were tomahawked and sca lp ed ."

Clark

lik e w is e reminds h i s read ers th a t th r ee h o rses f e l l beneath S t . C la ir whose c lo th in g was " rep eated ly p erforated by b u lle t s ."

Apparently he a g rees w ith F e lix Grundy whom he

q u o tes, "*X can w e ll remember...when death was in alm ost ©very buah, and every th ic k e t concealed an ambuscade.*" t h u s , Clark h as done h is share in p erp etu atin g memories o f th e tomahawk and sc a lp in g k n if e .

8

One o f the more c o lo r fu l w r ite r s o f the West, £»• Douglas Branch, does not r e v iv e Farkmanesque memories o f Indian character*

N e v e r th e le ss , he does r e la t e the

anecdote o f James D a v is, a r e la t iv e o f D aniel Boone who was captured by th e Oto and str ip p e d o f e v ery th in g . Abandoned in th e w ild e r n e ss w ith only an o ld musket co n ta in ­ in g a s in g le ch a rg e, D avis found a h ib ern a tin g bear, a g a in st whose foreh ead he p laced the muzzle o f h is gun. K illin g h i s prey he used th e f l i n t o f the musket to s t r ip o f f th e h id e w ith which he covered h is own body.

Davis

succeeded in reach in g c i v i l i s a t i o n se v e r a l days l a t e r . The reader ©f Hafen and R ls te r , Paxson, and H ieg el i s hardly aware o f the Indian th r e a t .

At one p o in t,

R ieg el w r ite s , " K illin g Indiana was l ik e k i l l i n g snakes — e n t ir e ly d e s ir a b le ex ce p t fro© th e stan d p oin t o f the victim ." While he r e a l i z e s th a t p r iso n e r s were sometimes enslaved and a c a p tiv e now and then to r tu r e d , H ie g e l d e c la r e s th at "such

in c id e n t s were s u f f i c i e n t l y unusual t o be worthy o f p a r tic u la r n ot l e e /

1

In The Last American F ro n tie r

Pax son r e f e r s to one woman who was "pinned to the earth by a stak e th r u s t through her p erson , in a most r e v o ltin g manner#**

S im ila r ly , he record s an in sta n c e where a g i r l

o f f i f t e e n , havin g been knocked s e n s e le s s w ith a tomahawk and her arms and l e g s p ie r c e d w ith arrows, was abandoned fo r dead#

The v ic tim l a t e r regained c o n scio u sn ess and

found her way home over t h ir t y m ile s o f mountain p ath s. Pax son admonishes th a t th e v iv id p ic tu r e o f the scalped and m u tila ted p io n eer i s " le s s c h a r a c t e r is t ic than th e lon g s u ffe r in g In d ian , a c ce p tin g the in e v it a b le , and moving to l e t th e w h ite man in ."

9

Like w r ite r s o f g e n e ra l te x tb o o k s, h is to r ia n s o f the West have m agnified th e hardships o f the a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r .

Always I n te r e s te d in s o c i a l h is t o r y , Branch

o b serves th a t th e backwoodsman was "at war w ith the e a r th , manpower matched a g a in st th e stubbornness o f the w ilderness" and th a t th e r e was alw ays a c e r ta in r e s t le s s n e s s about h i s nature wherever he went* H is l i f e was one o f a lte r n a te enthusiasm and apathy, a lte r n a te energy and la z in e s s * He drank to o h e a v ily ; he knew th e t a s t e o f good whiskey but he had no o b je c tio n t o ’rotgut** In h i s z e s t t o be ’n a tu ra l,* he was c a r e le s s o f p erson al comfort and c le a n lin e s s , dosed h im s e lf to o h e a v ily w ith perhaps th e wrong th in g s whenever he became downright s ic k , and never learned th a t swamp lan d bred miasma* Paxson contends th a t h is to r y "knows l i t t l e o f the f r o n t ie r s ­ men who f a ile d * **• The h ard sh ip s o f th e p ion eer l i f e con-

suraed th e women and murdered the in fa n ts ."

To make h i s

p o in t , Paxsoo r e f e r s to th e fam ily graveyards which he claim s were n ea rly a s numerous as farm s.

Ke not only concluded

th a t th ere were numerous pion eer f a i l u r e s , hut that there were many men who "never fin is h e d a farm, who live.d always In sq u a lo r, and turned s h i f t l e s s as la c k o f su ccess became a habit*"

Like oth er contemporary h is to r ia n s o f the .Vest,

R le g e l r e fe r s t o th e la c k o f

ed u ca tio n a l o p p o r tu n itie s and

proper m ed ical f a c i l i t i e s on

the a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n tie r . He

liicen s surgery t o the gruesome to rtu re i n f l i c t e d by In dian s. Although the m o rta lity ra te was high on the fr o n t ie r , one must not fo r g e t th a t th e h e a lth and w e ll-b e in g o f even I n d u str ia l workers were not safeguarded

sb

today.

Thus, the

lo t o f th e p r o le t a r ia t was l i t t l e or no b e tte r than that o f frontiersm en*

Although "lark rom an ticizes the a b o rig in a l

f r o n t ie r , he r e v e a ls a sense o f h i s t o r i c a l p e r sp e ctiv e when he c a u tio n s h is read ers a g a in st much o f tne tr a d itio n which surrounds th a t f r o n t ie r : The romantic in te r p r e ta tio n o f the fr o n tie r i s to be found in the w r itin g s o f th ree main groups: th o se who had never seen i t , or only h a s t i l y , but who looked forward to i t as the l*?nd oi hope for the race or the In d iv id u a l; th o se who have given e x p r essio n to th e id e a ls and dreams and a sp ir a tio n s o f th e p io n e e r s; and th o se who have looked back w i s t f u ll y to th e vanished l i f e o f the f r o n tie r as one of c o lo r and adventure and freedom. At the same tim e he ob serves th a t frontiersm en were o p t i­ m ists and th a t th e e x p e c ta tio n o f improving th e ir w elfare im p elled them westward.

"They endured the labor and hard-

1 2 6

s h ip s o f th e e a r ly y e a r s because th ey knew th a t t h e ir la b o rs would be rewarded and th e hardship s would be fo rg o tte n in th e b e tt e r tim es th a t were sure to come*”

Such an In te r ­

p r e ta tio n I s con sp icu o u sly absent in the ordinary treatm ent o f th e a g r ic u lt u r a l f r o n t ie r .

Had p io n eers encountered

a l l th e stren u ou s hardship s a ttr ib u te d t o them, i t i s doubtf u l whether th ey could have endured th e s t r a in .

10

Like w r ite r s o f g en era l textb ook s o f American h is t o r y , contemporary h is t o r ia n s o f the West have e ffa c e d much o f the tr a d it io n o f p ion eer hardships which form erly surrounded westward m ig ra tio n .

The only n o tic e a b le d i f ­

feren ce in t h e ir treatm ent o f th a t su b ject i s in emphasis. While one c o n sid e r s emigrant t r a i l s t o C a lifo r n ia , another fo cu se s h i s a tt e n tio n on th e Mormon exodus, and s t i l l another lin g e r s on th e Santa Fe T r a il or the Bonner tragedy as examples o f th e overlan d journey. the Oregon T r a il.

However, none ignore

H eferrin g to t h i s route Clark records

th at the numerous Indian sc a r e s were seldom more than unfounded rumors, and H ie g e l adds th a t a c tu a l “bloodshed in c o n f l i c t s w ith th e In d ian s was remarkably

lit t le .*

What a d if f e r e n t p ic tu r e from th a t p a in ted by some o f th e e a r lie r h is to r ia n s i

D escrib in g l i f e in th e Oregon country,

Pax son c o n c lu d e s, “Death and b u r ia l, crime and punishment, f i l l e d out th e round o f human e x p e r ie n c e ." whether t h i s was tr u e cwilly o f Oregon.

One might ask

Hafen and R is te r ,

who lin g e r on th e Mormon m ig ra tio n , do n ot resu rr ec t a l l o f tha h ard sh ip s which th a t se c t endured.

C h aracterisin g

westward m ig ra tio n , Clark q u otes Tlootfay F lin t who wrote In

1 8 3 2

;^

S ic k n e s s , s o lit u d e , m ountains, the war-whoop, the m e r c ile s s tomahawk, w o lv es, p an th ers, and h ea rs, dear and d is ta n t homes, forsaken fo r e v e r , w i l l come over t h e ir waking th o u g h ts, and r e v i s i t th e ir dreams in v a in , t o prevent th e young, f l o r i d and unportioned p a ir from s c a lin g remote m ountains, descending long r iv e r s , and f i n a l l y s e le c t in g th e ir sp o ts in the f o r e s t s , c o n se cr a tin g th e ir s o lit a r y cabin w ith the dear and sacred name o f home. L ike h ig h sc h o o l te x ts* contemporary h is t o r i e s o f th e West ro m a n ticise th e fr o n tie r o f the prospector and v ig ila n te *

D w elling upon th e cholera scourge which exacted

heavy t o l l among overland em igrants In 1849 and

1 8 3 0

,

Hafner and U ls te r claim th a t p e s tile n c e stru ck so Suddenly th a t a stro n g man might he w e ll In th e morning hut he hurled by n ig h t fa ll*

Undoubtedly t h i s i s a s lig h t exaggeration

fo r d ia r ie s o f overlan d em igrants r e v e a l th a t v ictim s o f ch olera u s u a lly su ffe r e d two or th ree days. R iste r c o n tin u e ,

Hafen and

wYhe w ater h o le s became in fe c te d , and

the poor em igran ts, d rin k in g from th e c le a r , c o o l p o o ls in ste a d o f from th e running — though warm and muddy — water o f th e F la t t o , spread th e co n ta g io n ,

I t was e s ­

tim ated th a t t h e d eath s averaged one and o n e -h a lf per m ile fo r th e e n t ir e d is ta n c e from the M issouri R iver to F ort Laram ie.*

One might w e ll ask , Whose e stim a te was th is ?

Was i t th a t o f a lo n e t r a v e l l e r , a group o f em igrants, or th e government? estim a te made?

Under what c l r cumsta n ce s was such an

Row lon g was the m o rta lity ra te t h i s high?

The r ig o r s o f th e mining f r o n t ie r — th e t r i a l s , t r i b u l a t io n s , and disappointm ents o f p ro sp ecto rs — are d e p ic te d by h is to r ia n s o f th e West*

The sa lo o n , gambling

den, dance h a l l , and hangman's t r e e — a l l o f the c o lo r surrounding m iners, b a rcten d ers, gam blers, desperadoes, and claim jumpers —* th e se have come to sym bolise th e mining fr o n tie r *

These a s p e c ts r e c e iv e ©ore than t h e ir Just share

o f c o n sid e r a tio n at th e expense o f th e b e tte r elem ents o f so c ie ty * le c t e d .

The l i f e o f d e c en t, law -abid in g c i t i s e n s i s neg­ U ltim a te ly dom inating the scene are v ig ila n t e s

who take th e law in to their^©wn hands.

R efusing to l e t

government fu n c tio n through i t s proper chann els, s e l f appointed la w -en fo rc in g o f f i c i a l s had no le g a l b a s is fo r e x is te n c e .

J u st a s Hafen and K lster are imbued w ith th e

s p i r i t o f overland m igration , they are eq u ally fa sc in a te d by th e la w le s s n e s s which I s supposed to have ch aracterized th e © ining f r o n t i e r .

Quoting Hubert H. Bancroft who char­

a c te r is e d Washoe t a s Nevada was then known*, the fo llo w in g im p ression :

they leave

" ’Of a l l p la c e s on the p la n e t,

i t was then th e p a ra d ise o f e v il- d o e r s , a s C a lifo rn ia had been in her day.

Fro© th e frequency o f a s s a u lt s , a ss a s­

s in a tio n s , and r o b b e r ie s , to g e th e r w ith th e ©any minor mis­ demeanors and s u i c i d e s , one would th in k th a t Washoe V alley had become th e w orld*s moral c e s s - p o o l, th e r e c ep ta c le o f p rison o f f a l fro© every q u a r te r .’ *

On the b a s is o f an

e a r ly w r ite r ’ s o b s e r v a tio n , Hafen and R lste r record the t c a s u a lt ie s in C a lifo r n ia between 1849 and 1854 as 4,200

m urders,

1 ,2 0 0 s u ic id e s , and 1 ,7 0 0 In san e, and they

concur w ith B ancroft who claim ed th a t th ere were f iv e hundred and t h ir t y - e ig h t murders in 1855.

"Under the cover

oi n ig h t , mounted, armed men stru ck te r r o r in th e h ea rts o f m isc re a n ts.

’ C hief J u s tic e Birch* would se t up h is

tr ib u n a l under th e f o r e s t canopy, and examine the a c ts o f her e r r in g s u b j e c t s .11 Thus, th e mining fr o n t ie r o f Bc&aster and B ancroft has l o s t l i t t l e o f i t s c o lo r and romanticism in i t s tra n sm issio n to contemporary h is t o r ie s 12 Of the West. R ep resen ta tiv e o f g en era l r e fe r e n c e s for c o lle g e stu d e n ts o f American h is to r y are The C h ron icles o f America. A f lla t m S t O r ig a n l£ fe ,

The Ame.^^cen Nat tom

HI at or?,

4

and the works o f Hubert H. B an croft, Edward Channing, John F lsk e , J . B. Mc&aater, F ran cis Parkman, and Theodore R o o sev elt.

Xn th e s e r e fe r e n c e s tr a d it io n a l pioneer hard­

sh ip s cen te r about the a g r ic u ltu r a l and mining fr o n t ie r , and excep t fo r F ls k e , Parkman, and R o o sev elt, the bloody tomahawk and the dripp in g sc a lp in g k n ife are seldom seen . Summarising th e progress o f the seven teen th cen tu ry, Werten baker w r ite s th a t "the fr e s h scen t o f th e fo r e s t came strong w ith every b reese from th e w e st, w h ile the tomahawk and th e sc a lp in g k n ife continued m enacingly near."

On one

occasion Greene r e v iv e s Parkmanesque memories when he quotes ^ e ter Schuyler* s d e sc r ip tio n o f th e Schenectady massacre o f 1690:

"’The C r u e ltie s com m itted ...n o Penn

can w r ite nor Tongue express© :

the women b igg w ith Child©

rip*d up and the Children > liv s throwne in to the flam es, and t h e i r heads dash’ d in p ie c e s a g a in st the Doors and windows,’ " o lu tio n ,

D escribing Kentucky during the American Dev­

LIcLaughlin claim s th a t "every l i t t l e

settlem ent

had i t s t a l e o f horror, o f men murdered at t h e i r work, o f c h ild re n c a r r ie d in to c a p t i v i t y , o f the plowman shot in the f i e l d or the harvestman a s he stored h i s g rain , o f sudden a tta c k and s p i r i t e d d efen ce, o f sca lp in g and to r tu r e , h13 o f c e a s e l e s s , h ou rly, unrem itting danger. In t h e i r enthusiasm t o g iv e realism to the a b o r ig in a l menace such w r ite r s u su a lly fo rg e t the noble a t t r i b u t e s o f Indian character 'and the co n trib u tio n s which the red man made to white c i v i l i z a t i o n .

D evorthelees, great

progress has been made in a more r^ccurate presen tation o f a b o r ig in e s , and much o f th e savagery o f th e ir character which was d e p ic ted by n in e te e n th century h is to r ia n s has been e ff a c e d . This i s not tru e w ith resp ect to l i f e on the a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t i e r .

#h l l e overemphasis o f the aborig­

in a l menace i s &n i t s way o u t, s t o r i e s o f d a ily hardships endured by p io n eers are s t i l l coming i n .

hardships o f

the a g r ic u lt u r a l f r o n t i e r are more c o lo r f u l in general r e fe r e n c e s than in g e n e ra l h i s t o r i e s on the c o lle g e l e v e l . This i s e s p e c i a l l y true o f s o c i a l h i s t o r i e s . ^our

Kany w r ite r s d e p ic t almost a twenty-fourAdcy l o r p io n ee rs.

Unceasing t o i l and never-ending poverty, w ith a

consequent n e g le c t o f h e a lt h , education, conveniences, nno

c u lt u r a l p u r s u it s , rep resen t th e contemporary concept o f th e a g r ic u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r .

"The g rin d in g t o l l , " w r ite s

J . T* Adams, "the u n u tterab le d u ln ess and lo n e lin e s s , the p o v erty , end o fte n the discouraged s h i f t l e s s n e a s , broke down th e morale o f many who sta r te d w ith h igh hopes o f a new l i f e In th e new country*"

D ep letin g f r o n tie r s o c ie ty

p r io r to 1830, C arl R u s s e ll F ish r e fe r s to "the fin e code o f men alw ays In danger" and to th e day "when empires seemed t o depend on p erso n a l encounters in the f o r e s t ." Such were th e days when men were men, and, according t o F . A. Ogg, th e p io n e e r ’ s beat fr ie n d was h i s tr u sty r i f l e . Men were con sid ered poor sh o ts i f they could not f e l l a deer on th e run a t a d ista n c e o f one hundred and f i f t y yards or k i l l ducks and g e ese on the wing.

" ’Boys o f

tw elve hung t h e ir heads in shame i f d e te c te d in h it t in g a sq u ir r e l in any oth er part o f the body than i t s h e a d .’" * The p r im ltlv e n e s s o f fr o n tie r l i f e — the in ­ adequacy o f tr a n sp o r ta tio n f a c i l i t i e s , geograp h ical is o l a t io n , a b je ct p overty, cru d ity o f homes, fu r n itu r e , and u t e n s i l s , s im p lic it y o f food , and the la ck o f comforts enjoyed by E astern s o c ie t y and tw e n tie th century America — such i s th e a g r ic u lt u r a l f r o n tie r d ep icted in gen eral r e fe r e n c e s.

S o c ia l approaches l ik e A H istory o f American

L ife u n in te n tio n a lly overem phasise t h i s phase o f pioneer life .

Condition® are d e p ic ted which would affo rd pion eers

g re Fit amusement could they return to the American scen e. In such co m p ila tio n s th e r e I s c e r ta in to be grea ter du-

p lic a t io n than would be the c sse were the s e r i t i. under­ taken by one or two h is to r ia n s .

In p ortrayin g such a

s o c ie t y , most w r ite r s fo r g e t th at many tw e n tie th century con ven ien ces and com forts were unknown during fr o n tie r days.

F ro n tie r exp erien ce cannot bo in te rp re ted in terms

o f r a d io s , au tom ob iles, a ir p la n e s , tele p h o n e s, e le c t r ic r e f r ig e r a t o r s , s to k e r s, b e a u ty -r e s ts , tunning w ater, a n ti­ s e p t ic s , a n a e s th e s ia , X -ra y s, and e le ctr o ca r d io g ra p h s.

At

the same tim e, fow w r ite r s remember to p oin t out that the in d u s tr ia l la b o r e r ’ s standard o f liv in g was l i t t l e or no b e tte r than th a t o f th e p io n e e r .

T h is tendency, together

w ith the f a ilu r e o f h is to r ia n s to portray frontiersm en as human b ein g s who had t h e ir lig h te r moment8, r e s u lt s In a d is to r te d r ep re sen ta tio n o f pioneer l i f e .

There are not

enough l o g r o l l in g s , husking and q u ilt in g b e e s, barn r a is ­ in g s, community h o lid a y s , p ic n ic s , flow er and berry excur­ sio n s, m arriages, d an ces, games, songs, c o n te s ts , and lau gh ter in th e p o r tr a y a l of fr o n tie r l i f e .

Today one i s

hardly aware th a t he?vy e x e r tio n was o ften follow ed by generous refresh m en t, and he seldom se e s th e long ta b le h e a v ily laden w ith tu r k e y s, g e e se , ch ick en , grouse, v e a l, ven ison , dum plings, sid e d is h e s , and even the afterm ath «— 15 s p ir ite d refresh m en ts. Frequently hlEtorians exaggerate the n e g le c t o f sa n ita tio n and th e h igh m o rta lity r a te atten d in g the a g r i­ c u ltu r a l f r o n t ie r ..

The la c k o f tra in ed p h y sic ia n s and the

prevalence o f s u p e r s tit io n s and taboos arc made to ascumc

to o im portant a r o le on th e a g r ic u ltu r a l fr o n t ie r . F ro n tier exp erien ce cannot be in te r p r e te d in th e lig h t o f tw e n tie th century p r o g r e ss.

How much higher was the

m o r ta lity r a te on th e f r o n tie r than in urban c e n te r s, where d is e a s e and p e s t ile n c e had f u l l sweep?

H isto r ia n s,

auth ors o f tex tb o o k s, and popular w r ite r s have la r g e ly f o i le d to d ir e c t one’ s a tte n tio n t o such channels of 16 th ou gh t. Two volumes in The C h ron icles o f America which r e c a ll p ion eer hardship s are S. E. W hite’ s The Forty%lners and Emerson Hough* a The P assin g o f th e F r o n tie r . Often w r itte n w ith a sem i-popular point o f view , c h r o n icles become an appropriate referen ce fo r th o se whose in te r e s t in h is to r y n eeds m otivation*% Hence, sch o la rsh ip i s sometim es s a c r if ic e d t o c o lo r .

I. V ol. I , p . 118 he p la c e s the number at r iv e , w h ile th e discrepancy i s n o t e s p e c ia lly s ig n if ic a n t i t i l l u s t r a t e s how a., h is to r ia n often e r r s in d e t a i l s . Most h is to r ia n s g iv e the number as fo u r . C f. J u s tin f in s o r , N arrative and C r itic a l S i &gssftpff> V ol. V, pp. 498-500* John F isk e S£ S M i £ £ France, pp. 2 9 0 - 9 3 3 records that one o f f i c e r in th e th ic k e s t o f th e fig h t was so t ig h t ly wedged among f a l l i n g b od ies th a t he did not see one Indian during th e b a t t l e .

10.

The Conspiracy o f P o n tia c . V o l. I , pp. 204-07.

11*

jttg&te&Ma M American Biography. e d ite d by Dumas M alone, New York, 1934, V ol. XIV, p . 24?; Charles H. 4 ^ E p S S M t i £ t e a . Boston, 1921, p . 144; F ra n cis Farkman, th e F lon eers o f France in th e i f s . World. V o l. I , in tr o d u ctio n , p . c; wWhat F r a n c is Parkaan Has Done fo r American H isto r y ,” S s* m s& 2 ltialS B » ( 1923 ) t p . 55 0 .

12,

The w inning o f the West, V ol. I , F t. I , pp. 145-46, 1 0 0 -0 1 . These volumes achieved fo r H oosevelt the r ep u ta tio n o f a h is t o r ia n . Beginning in 1763 where Farkman concluded h is n a r r a tiv e , R oosevelt continued th e sto r y t o th e L ouisiana Purchase and th e Burr C onspiracy. He d ed icated t h i s , h i s magnum opus, to Farkman.

13.

xm

14*

Farkman n ever fo rg a v e th e Quakers fo r th e ir p a eslv en e e e . Like R o o se v e lt, men o f a c tio n were h i s heroes. See P o n tia c . V ol. I I , c h s. 2 2 , 2 4 , and 25 on th e Quaker issu e . On cwae o c c a sio n th e backwoodsmen o f Pennsylvania had sen t t o P h ila d e lp h ia "a wagon laden w ith the

a t E a a U a a * v o l . x , p p . 32 3 -2 9 . Afew months fo llo w in g th e a tta c k on th e Campau house th e r e occurred on October 15, 1763 th e Wllkesb&rre m assacre which obscured " a l l other con­ cep t le n s o f Indian c h a r a c te r ,” By th e time the red men had com pleted t h e ir work o f d e str u c tio n , "one woman and n in e men were k i l l e d and sca lp ed . . . . Their v i l l a g e s were d estr o y ed , t h e ir c a t t l e k i l l e d , and t h e ir crops la id w aste." The rem aining in h a b ita n ts, f l e e in g t o th e m ountains, pushed th e ir way through th e w ild e r n e s s t o th e n e a r est s e ttle m e n ts , but a number p e r ish e d b efo re reach in g t h e ir d e stin a tio n * Bee W insor, n a r r a tiv e and C r it ic a l H isto r y . V ol. VI, pp. 605-061

154 mangled co rp ses o f t h e ir fr ie n d s and r e l a t iv e s , who had f a l le n by Indian butchery; but the hideous s p e c ta c le had f a i l e d o f th e intended e f f e c t , and the Assembly had s t i l l turned a deaf ear t o the e n tr e a tie s fo r more e f f e c t i v e a id .1* — P o n tia c. V ol. I I , p . 147. Remaining m a ter ia l from P o n tia c . V ol. I I , p . 9 7 and V o l. I , p . 279. Between 1763 and 1765 P on tiac r a l l i e d western Indian t r i b e s , but by 1 7 6 6 h i s p r e s tig e had d eclin ed owing t o Increased w hite r e s is ta n c e . I t was then th at he o ffe r e d p e a c e . In 1769 he was a ssa ssin a te d by one o f h i s own r a c e . 1 5 *. %Mm&XVL

S t e l i g a l H isto r y . V ol. VI, p . 713.

16.

2M M m lm s i

IT*

The I te a ln g $ £ th e West, V ol. I , P t. I I , pp. 140-42, S lT 9 1; V o l. i f T P t T T , pp. 250-54; V ol. I I , P t. 11, p . 223; V ol. 11, P t. I , p . 262. Quotation from V o l. I , P t . I I , pp. 141-42.

.

fs£ t> v o l .

1

, p t.

1

, pp.

2 5 3

-5 4 .

18

John F is k e , The American R evolution. V ol. I , pp. 2778D; R o o se v e lt, The Winning o f the w e st, V ol. I , P t. I I , pp. 8 1 , 103.

19.

McMaster, V ol. I , pp. 5 , 7 ;

. 21.

The fin n in g o f the w e st. V ol. I I , P t. I I , pp. 238-39.

20

22

.

23. 24

.

c f . Vol. I I , pp. 44-46,

Theodore R o o sev e lt, H istory as L itera tu re and Other Kbsay s . few fo r k , 19 i 3 , p . 16} c f . pp. 7 , 27-28, 35. R o o se v e lt’ s conception o f h is to r y was explained in h i s p r e s id e n t ia l address before the American H is t o r ic a l A s s o c ia tio n . J u s tin f I n s o r , fffts Westward Movement, Boston, 1897, p . 421; McMaster, V o l. I I , pp. 44-46; Bchouler, V o l. I , p . 151# C f. Charming, Vol. IV, p . 141, an e x c e lle n t account o f but four sen ten ces regarding Wayne’ s v ic to r y a t F a lle n Timbers. Color end b ia s are a b s e n t. Adams, V o l. VI, p . 71* For n in e te e n th century Indian h o s t i l i t i e s see the fo llo w in g works o f Hubert H. Bancrofts Arlzqga a&£ 8 w M exico, pp. 5 7 9 -8 1 , 597; H istory o f Qregga, Vol. I ; pp . 639-68 fe a tu r e s the Whitman massacre; flls tp r j o f Oregon. V o l. I I , p . 520 on th e Rogue River War; o f SxSBSB. V ol. I I , oho. 1 5 , 1 6 , 2 1 , 22; H isto ry o f Nevada. Colorado., and Wyoming, pp. 205 O .

John W* Header, "Death on the Highway," Science D ig est. IX (1 9 4 1 ), pp. 66-71 which i s a condensation Technology Heview published by the Massachusetts In s titu te o f Technology in December, 1940; "Accident Facts," 1939 » published by the National Safety Council, Chicago - appearing In The Economic Almanac for 1940, published by the N ational Industrial Conference Board, New Work, 1940, pp. 190-91{ table of the death rate from heart d isease and cancer fro® The World Almanac* 1941, p . 517 *

F ootn otes to Chapter I I I 1*

McMaster* V ol. V II, pp. 298-99* A census taken at B ig Blue showed th a t there were 121 wagons, 6 9 8 oxen* 2 9 6 h o r se s, 9 7 3 lo o se c a t t l e , and 1 , 0 0 0 men, women, and c h ild r e n . Of th o se over six teen y e a rs o ld , th e re were 2 6 0 m ales and 1 3 0 fem ales. See F e te r H. B u rn ett, "Heco l i e ct io n s and Oolnions o f an Old F ion eer," q u art. Oreg- H is t. S o c .. V (1 9 0 4 ), pp. 6 4 -9 9 . Burnett quotation on pp. 65-66.

2.

H istory g£ Oregon, V ol. I , pp. 453-57 , 508-16.

3.

McMaster, V o l. V II, pp. 4 22-23.

4.

Hubert H. B an croft, 56 0 -6 5 .

5.

F ra n cis Parkman, fh e Oregon f r a i l . Farrar & Hinehart e d it io n , Hew York, 1931, in trod u ction by Mark Van Doren. "Bo he ignored h is in v a lid is m ,” w rites Van Doren, " e x er cise d h im se lf freq u en tly to th e p oin t o f ex h a u stio n ; ran r a c e s, boxed, rode h orses; took knocks o f every d e sc r ip tio n ." Parkman rode Pauline or P o n tia c when he could hardly remain in the sad d le, but y e t he rode msdly w ith Indians a fte r b u ffa lo . Although nau seated a t the s ig h t o f food , on many o c c a s io n s , he a te as many a s twenty bowls o f dog meat given to him by In d ian s whose h o s p it a lit y he f e l t he must n ot r e j e c t . L ei and claim ed th a t "in the e n tir e h isto r y o f American l e t t e r s there i s n ot to be found a fin e r example o f p a tie n t and enduring heroism than the l i f e o f F ran cis Parkman. He who to ld the story o f the most s t i r r i n g e x p lo it s in American h i s t o r y .. .was h im self a c r ip p le d I n v a lid , pushing h is w heelchair shout h is rose garden in a Boston suburb." — ffaldo Gt. Leland, "F rancis Parkman and the H istory o f Hew France," JjjX L ib r iS . I (1 9 2 4 ), p . 227.

6

.

7. 8

.

Hi story o f Oregon.

Parkman, th e Oregon f r a i l . 6 5 -6 7 .

V ol. I , pp.

Frontenac E d itio n , pp.

I b id . . pp. 54, 7 7 , 102, 118. McMaster, Vol. VI, pp. 249-51, 456-59; c f . Joseph Smith and H, C. Sm ith, H istory o f the Church o f J esu s Christ o f L etter Day S a i n t s . LcMsster, Vol. VII, pp. 2 0 8 -2 1 . At t h i s p o in t McMaster draws most o f h is m eto r ia l from newspapers and John C. Denr.ett’ s The H istory o f the S a in t s . For the march o f the p io n eers, the founding o f L t lt Lake C ity, th^ L.lgration o f

157

the f i r s t companies from Winter Quarters, ischaster r e lie s on Hubert H, Bancroft, History o f Utah* pp. * 268. B a n c r o ft, H isto ry o f Utah. pp. 421-22 on the George A. Smith party and pp. 4 2 9-30 on M artin’ s handcart em igration o f 1855. B ancroft based h i s n a r r a tiv e on Thomas B. Stenhouse, Rocky Mountain S a in t s , pp. 3 4 1 -4 2 . For the e x p e r ie n c e s o f the handcart em igration o f 1856 see B a n cro ft, Hi story o f Utah-; pp. 422-28 and McMaster, V o l. V III, pp. 2 7 1 -7 4 . At th is p o in t Bancroft draws f r o . C h la le tt's narrative In Stenhouse, Rocks Mountain S a in ts , young' s a i f e Jig. 2 5 1 , pp. 20621, and Siskiyou £ 2 . A ffa ir s. MS., and McMaster 2 5 3

r e lie s on W. A. Linn, 9-

Story fi£ tM ioraons.

H. B a n cr o ft, .c,al,3,forplfi l a t e r f o c u la . pp. 9 3 -1 0 9 . C f. McMaster, V ol. V II, pp. 4 2 7 -2 9 . B ancroft r e f e r s t o a summary o f th e Bonner tragedy which appeared in th e C a lifo r n ia 3 t a r . A p r il 10, 1847, and McMaster r e l i e s on the Murphy accou n t, *Across th e P la in s in the Bonner P arty," Century Magazine« XLII (1 8 9 1 ), pp. 4 0 9 -^ 6 . Another i l l u s t r a t i o n o f th e s e v e r ity o f c o n d itio n s co n fro n tin g th e members o f t h i s party was th e case o f Mrs. F osd ick whose husband hrd d ie d . Unable to r e s t r a in t h e ir hunger, th e two men who accompanied Mrs. F osd ick fo r a f i n a l glim pse at her husband’ s body cut out th e v ic t im 's h ea rt and l i v e r and then severed th e arms and le g s which they r o a ste d , £ Bancroft*

10.

M crsster con sid ered the fram ers o f the C o n stitu tio n a "most remarkable assem blage o f men, t o whom, under God, we owe our l i b e r t y , our p r o s p e r ity , our high p la ce among th e n a tio n s ." — The Marcus £ . Jerneaan S ssays in American H Istorloarap hy. p . 130.

11.

"Across th e P la in s to C a lifo r n ia In 1852," B u lle tin s i £ M E a r S seS itiS U S M te S B I. M (1 9 1 5 ), p p . 3*56 2 , Q uotation on p . 337*

12.

Sarah Eleanor Royce, "From S a lt Lake to th e S ie r r a s in Forty-W ine," l a l e Review, XX (1 9 3 1 ), pp. 7 5 4 -7 7 . Q uotation on p . 7 6 6 .

1$8

F o o tn o tes to Chapter IV 1.

Hubert H* Bancroft* C a lifo r n ia M k§X Z2SHte» chg. 6 , 7* 8 - e s p e c i a l ly pp« 133 e t . s.eq: Channing, V ol. VI, p . 44} Rhodes, V o l. I , p . 112.

2.

S oh ou ier, V ol. V, p . 337* S c h o o le r , V ol. V, p* 138; S eh ou ler, l o o , c i t .

3.

B a n c r o ft, i n t e r P o c a la . pp . 1 1 2 -2 1 , e s pe d a i l y pp. 112- I f .

Rhodes, Vol.; I , p . 112; Channing, V ol. VI, p . 45;

With regard t o Indian a tt a c k s , see B a n cr o ft’ s treatm en t on p . 29 as w e ll a s fo o tn o te 24 o f Chapter I I o f th e t h e s i s . B ancroft r e l a t e s th a t In 1849 C aliforn ia-b ou n d immigrant tr a in s were a tta ck ed In th e Humboldt V a lley and th a t between 1351 and 135? many deeds o f v io le n c e were committed by both w h ite s and In d ia n s. T h is m a te r ia l i s w e ll documented. See H isto ry o f Nevada. Colorado, and Wyoming, pp. 2 0 5 -2 3 . 4.

B a n cro ft, C a lifo r n ia In te r P ocu la. pp. 113-17; awaeplng g e n e r a liz a tio n appears on p . 113.

h la

5.

Bancroft, History a l C aliforn ia. Vol. VI, pp. 15 1 -5 4 .

6.

£ & £ ., pp. 1 4 9 -5 1 . For a g e n e ra l treatm ent o f c h o ler a ep id em ics P r o fe sso r J . S. Chambers o f the U n iv e r sity o f Kentucky h a s prepared an e x c e lle n t book which he c a l l s The Conquest o f Cholera (Hew York, The Macmillan Company, 193©). M a teria l c it e d in t e x t i s drawn from ch ap ters 2 , 4 , 8 . C on d ition s must have been d ep lo ra b le in New York C ity where, according t o Chambers, f i l t h , p u t r if ie d v e g e ta b le m a tter, d ir ty and o f f e n s iv e w ater, la r g e swarms o f f l i e s , and d ir ty w ater nsometimes escap in g fro® o v erflo w in g p rivies'* were common s i g h t s . £ p. 60*

?.

McMaster, V o l. V II, pp. 6 02-03.

S.

I b id . . pp . 6 0 4 -0 6 . The Rucker rep ort may be found in S en ate Document No. 5 2 . 31 Cong., 1 S e e s . , v o l . X I I I , p p . 96-1521

McMaster b a ses h is inform ation on th e account w r itte n by Howard Stansbury, E xp lo ra tio n and Survey o f th e V alley o f th e Great S a lt Lake o f Utah, p . ©S. Emigrants o fte n d estro y ed t h e ir abandoned prop erty l e s t i t f a l l in to th e hands o f o th e r s who might use I t .

159

9. 10. 11

.

12 .

McMaster, V o l. V I II , pp. 5 8 -5 9 . I b i d . . pp. 6 4 -6 6 . B a n cro ft, C a lifo r n ia I n te r P o cu la . pp. 228-30; H isto ry o f C a lifo r n ia . V o l. V II, p* 703* The ta b le which s t n t e s the tem peratures at v a r io u s depths o f th e e a r th appears in B a n cr o ft’ s H istory o f Nevada* C olorado, and Wyoming, p* 130. McMaster, V o l. V III, pp. 3 9 6 -9 8 . Newspaper c it e d m erely a s New York Tribune. Too, he probably Meant IM Democrat in ste a d o f th e S t . L ouis Q lobgDemoorat which he c i t e s m erely a s th e S t . L ouis Democrat. C f. Channing tV ol# VI, p p . 50-523 who record s th a t in 1852 f i f t e e n hundred aw aited p assage from th e Isthm us t o New York. He claim s th a t l i t t l e i s w r itte n about th o se who crowded sh ip s d e stin e d fo r e a ste r n p orts* Charming v iv id ly d e s c r ib e s th e hard­ sh ip s o f P la cer-m in in g where l i v i n g c o n d itio n s were d e p lo r a b le . Scurvy, pneumonia, and f e v e r s were p r e v a le n t .

13.

Theodore R o o s e v e lt,

Edition of The larje

The W ild erness Hunter (N a tio n a l

New York, 1928, p . 18lT

TMaSsss Saassxalfc. Vo1* n i >*

B a n er o ft, C a ;ifB % ia :tnji'|f Fgctit*. PP. 299 . 22 9 -3 0 . 3 1 6 -2 1 , 381-95# 6 5 8 -8 5 , 7 3 4 - 8 5 * Q uotations from pp. 319, 664, 7 5 7 .

15.

I b id . . pp. 40 0 -0 9 ; q u otation from p . 5 7 6 . B ancroft s a id th a t C a lifo r n ia n s *cou ld d ie p r e tty w e l l, d ie c o o ly , d ie w ith t h e ir b o o ts on, a s they c a lle d v io le n t d ea th , but t h i s was n o t th e c o o ln e ss o f wisdom a n d .p h ilo so p h y .” - p . 377See B a n cr o ft, H istory o f C a lif o r n ia . V o l. V II, 609 § £ JgSSU 1§9* Tlie Thc— h . 9* Of# McMaster, V o l. V II, pp. ©09 same atmosphere o f la w le s sn e ss p r e v a ils 1in B a n cro ft’ s H isto ry fi£ WaatviBfttcm. Idaho, aad M2>ii2a»-

16.

S oh ou ler, V ol. V, p . 140.

17.

g o n a r e sa lo n s! D ig e s t,

18

1941 e d i t i o n , p . 5 1 1 .

.

XIX (1 9 4 0 ), p p . 2 0 8 -1 0 .

160

F o o tn o tes to Chapter V 1.

R o o sev elt q u o ta tio n in tr o d u cin g th e chapter from Through the B r a z ilia n W ild ern ess. New York, 1914, pp . 3 2 3-557 Channing. V ol. 1 . p . 180. D escrib in g th e “S ta rv in g Time” o f 1610, John F isk e w r it e s , "The corp se o f a s la in Indian was b o ile d and e a te n . Then the sta r v in g company began cooking t h e ir own dead* One man k i l l e d h is w ife and s a lt e d h e r , and had eaten a c o n sid era b le port o f h er body b e fo r e he was found o u t," co ld V ir g in ia and Her N eigh b ors, B oston, 1902, V ol. I , p . l6 o 7 For a c o lo r f u l d e s c r ip tio n o f th e Plymouth and M assach u setts Bay s e t t l e r s ’ s u f f e r in g se e P a lfr e y , | l | t o | ^ of^ |cw Saalanft, Vol* I , pp. 1 7 4 ,1 9 8 , 211, A s tr ik in g c o n tr a st to t h i s s t y l e o f h i s t o r i c a l w r itin g I s th a t o f C. M. Andrews, The C o lo n ia l P eriod o f American H is to r y * V o l. I fo r the p erio d o f s e t t l e w en t.

2.

The Winning o f th e W est. V ol. I I , P t. I I , pp. 15-16; V o l. I , Ft* I I , p p .1 1 6 - 2 0 ; V ol. I I , F t. I , pp. 23041 on th e Robert eon-Bon e lso n m ig ra tio n .

3.

TheConspiracy o f P o n tia c . V ol. I , p . 160.

4*

TheWinning o f th e W est. V o l. I , Pt* 1 , pp. 92-93; V o l. I l l , P t, I I , p T f S i V ol. I I , F t. I I , ch. 3 on th e S p an ish menace,

5.

McMaster, V ol. V II, p. 207 on th e hazards o f t r a v e l on th e M is s is s ip p i and V o l. V III, pp. 367-68 on th e overlan d m a ll and sta g e co a ch es. Channing tV o l. IV, p . 5a s t a t e s th a t a t the c lo s e o f the R evolu tion i t req u ired th ree weeks or a month 11t o b rin g a wagon lo a d o f flo u r or tobacco from th e V a lley o f V ir g in ia or from lynohburg t o Richmond, and a s much more t o carry back th e s u p p lie s fo r the p la n ta tio n s whence came the flo u r or th e tobacco."

6-

2 M Winning o f t£ e W est, V ol. I I , P t. I , pp. 227-28; V o l. I l l , P t . I I , pp. 18-19; V ol. I I , P t. I I , pp. lOll; V ol. I l l , F t. I I , p . 26; V ol. I I , P t . I , pp. 2878 9 , 2 4 2 -4 7 .

7.

McMaster, V o l. I l l , pp. 1 0 7 -0 8 . pp. 198-99.

C f. B ch ou ler, V ol. I ,

161

8.

f a s t e r , V ol. V* pp. 171-7* and Channing, V ol. V, pp. 4 2 -4 3 . Consult any h is to r y o f th e West fo r a d e t a ile d treatm ent o f the p u b lic land q u e s tio n .

9.

McMaster, 7ol* V, pp. 1 5 2 -5 6 . an e x c e lle n t account o f housebuilding in f r o n t ie r r e g io n s .

10.

T£e Winning q Z t^g, W est. V o l. I , P t . I I , pp. 116-20; V o l. I , ? t . I , p . 206; V ol. I l l , P t. I I , p; 78.

U .

I b id . , V ol. I l l , P t. I I , pp. 69-71; V ol. I , P t. I , p . 135s V ol. I l l , P t. I , p . 24$; V ol. I l l , P t . I I , pp. 8 3 -8 4 . The fo llo w in g ta b le g iv e s some Idas o f the p r ic e o f com m odities around 1800. An E n g lish pound s t e r l i n g i s norm ally worth | 4 .8 6 and a s h i l l i n g about 24^. A llowance rauet be made fo r v a r ia tio n s in th e r a te o f exch ange. lin e n 2d & 4d t o 3 s per y d . f la n n e l 4s to 6s 12 k n iv es and fo r k s 18a 10 pocket h an d k erch iefs 4 5 2 w orsted sh o es 8 s per p a ir b u tto n s I s per doz. new p a ir o f h orse shoes 6 s 9$ — V ol. I l l , P t. I I , pp. 6 9 -7 1 . The s'dlt works at W ashington, Va. so ld i t s s a l t a t 7 s 6d $©r b u sh el i f paid fo r in cash or prime fu r s ; th e r e t a i l p r ic e was 10s i f exchanged fo r deer s k in s , beesw ax, hemp, bacon, b u tte r , and b e e f c a t t l e . The r e t a i l p r ic e was 12s i f in o th e r trade and produce. Prime fu r s were mink, coon, m uskrat, w ild c a t, and b ea v er. c V o l. I l l , P t. I , p . 245j A h a l f peck o f s a l t or a b u sh el o f corn co st a l i t t l e l e s s than ^ 8 . £V ol. I I , P t. I I , pp. 2 3 5 -36j

12.

"Consumer Incomes in th e U nited b ta te s ," p u b lish ed by th e N a tio n a l R esources Committee, Washington, t). C ., 1938, p . 8 .

13.

McMaster, V ol. V, p* 156; i b i d . « V ol. I I , pp. 57374; S ch ou ler, V ol. I , p . 227.

14*

I he Winning o f the W est. V ol. I , P t. I , pp. 127-29,

15.

I b id . . V ol. I , P t. I , p . 144; The Consplracy o f gggtljfcg# V o l.^ 1, pp. 165-66; The Oregon T r a il, pp.

162

16.

Theodore R o o se v e lt, The Wild e r n e s s Hun t e r . Xork, 1926, pp. 1 8 3 -8 6 T 1 1 2 , 2 o * . 2 4 0 -4 £ .

17.

H a rra tlv e and c r i t i c a l m j& K g. &£. M S £ lS a . V I, p.. 608.

18.

The dinning o f th e da a t . V ol. I l l , P t . I , pp.. 2 4 7-48; V ol. I , P t . I , pp. I E P 5 4 ; V ol. I l l , P t . I I , p . 7 7 . Cf. V ol. I I , P t . I , pp. 2 4 2 -4 7 , 2 8 7 -8 9 .

19.

a& iaater, Vol. I , p . 140. A necdotes o f f r o n tie r j u s t i c e in I l l i n o i s in V ol. V, pp. 1 5 6 -5 8 . Cf. Gov. Thomas Ford, A H isto ry o f I l l i n o i s . Chicago, 1854, pp. 8 1 -8 3 .

20 .

George B a n c r o ft, Vol* I , pp. 48 5 -8 6 ; Adams, V ol. I , p . 5; S eh o u ler, Americana o f 1776. Hew York, 1906, p p . 6 5 -6 6 .

21

.

Hew V ol.

McHastar, V ol. I , pp. 2 1 1 -1 3 .

22 .

Hubert H. B a n cro ft, H istory o f C a lifo r n ia . pp. 1 5 -1 8 .

23.

Ranch h if e and the Hunting T r a il. Hew York, 1926, pp. 277-73; The W ild em ess Hunter, pp. 338-39; H n tin g T rrip i n ss o R a n o h m a n . Hew H ew Y n r» . 1926, 1 0 2 6- p r»_. 1 1 8. Huunting T o f aa Ranchman. York.

24*

B ch ou ler, V ol. IV, pp. 2 6 -2 7 ; The Winning o f th e W est. V ol. I I , P t. I I , pp. 2 3 5 -3 6 ; Channing, V ol. v’ p',§3i, s£ il)£. 2fSl, v o l . I , pt. I , p p . 142-43; I b id . . V o l. I l l , f T l , p . 241; S ch o u ler, Am ericans o f 1776. pp . 6 0 -6 1 .

25.

The »VInning g £ the .t e s t . V ol. I I , P t. I I , p . 20; V ol. I , P t . I , p . 199.

26.

I b id . . V o l. I , P t . I , p . 140; pp. 19 9 -2 0 0 .

27.

H alf- Century o£ C o n f lic t ,

26.

The 3 Inning o f th e f e e t . V ol. I I , P t . I I , pp. 81-82 V o l. I , P t. I I , p p .^ 9 0 - 9 1 . C f. V ol. I I , P t. I , p .

Vol. V II,

MeOaster, V o l. V II,

\0«M

V o l. I , p . 4 9 .

163

F o o tn o tes t o Chapter VI 1,

Consult Appendix B fo r o th e r tex tb o o k s which are not c it e d in t h i s chapter but which were stu d ied and enabled th e w r ite r to draw h is co n clu sio n s* th e l i s t in c lu d e s books o f both the n in e te e n th and tw e n tie th c e n tu r ie s .

2.

Samuel G. G oodrich, The P ly a t Book o f H isto r y . B oston , 1836, pp. 37-39*

3*

John C* R idpath, Jk Popular H isto ry o f tfce U nited S t a t e s o f America. C in ein n at£, iB o f , pp. 1 5 0 / 154. For o th e r trea tm en ts o f th e Hannah D ustin n a r r a tiv e c o n su lt J . 0* P a lfr e y , H istory Hew England. V ol. IV, p . 156 and Richard H ild re th , Th% H is tory o f th e U nited S t a te s o f America. Mew York, 1$49, V ol. I I , p . 195. P a lfr e y £?ol* IV, pp. 262-64* r e l a t e s a c o lo r f u l sto ry o f th e A ttack on D e e r fie ld and the e x p e rien ce s o f th e Reverend John W illiam s.

4.

Sana W illa rd , abridged H istory s i S M U nited S ta te a. H e. York, 1854, p . 123. The Major Waldron commonly r e fe r r e d t o in e a rly h i s t o r i e s was undoubtedly Richard W alderne. C f. J?* A. B. P a lf r e y ’ s d e s c r ip tio n o f th e treatm ent accorded "Waldron* i s one o f th e most c o lo r f u l: “Then th ey gashed h i s body w ith t h e ir k n iv e s, one sa y in g a f t e r a n o th er, ' I c r o s s out my a c c o u n t.’ They cut o f f h i s nose and e a r s , and crammed them in to h i s mouth, and a t le n g th put an end to h is s u ffe r in g s w ith h i s own sword. P a lfr e y £V o l. IV, pp. 33-34j draws h is m a teria l from Belknap’ s New Hampshire and the Mass. H is t . C o ll. . V o l. XXVI, p . 2 0 6 .

5.

Horace E, Soudder, £ H istory f i l t&£ U nited a ta te a s i America. New York, 1 8 8 4 , che. 3 0 - 3 5 . (Appendix, p . x x v l i l )

6.

T. Thalheim er, The New E c le c t ic H istory o f the H alted S t a t e s . New York, 1690, pp. 114-15.

7.

Henry Sabin and B lbridge Babin, Early American H istory fo r Young Am ericans, B oston, 1904, pp. 223-27.

8.

Henrv W illiam S ls o n . H istory o f th e America. New York, 1926, p . 386.

U nited * t ? t e s 2 i

164

9*

Arthur R* Leonard and Bertha E. Jacob s, The N a tio n *s H is to r y . Hew York* 1924, p* 100; Harold Rugg and L ouise Krueger, The B u ild in g o f America, Hew York, 1936, p* 194.

10*

L i ll i a n S* Coyle end f a l t e r P* Evans, H e r ita g e . Hew York, 1936, p . 123*

11.

Eugene C. Barker, f a l t e r P* Webb, and W illiam E. Dodd, The Growth o f a N a tio n . Evanston, 1928, p. 37 2 . C f. Coyle and Evans, o g . c i t . . pp. 1 74-76.

12.

Mabel B. Casner and Ralph Henry G a b riel, E xploring American H is to r y . Haw Xork, 1931, pp. 5 26-27, 536; Casner and G a b r ie l, The R ise o f American Democracy. Hew York, 1938, pp . 5 § 0 -2 1 .

13*

Roy F . N ic h o ls , W illiam C. B agley, and C harles A. Beard,As e r ic a Y esterday and Today. Hew York, 1938, p p . 4 2 4 -2 5 .

14.

c. H. EcClure and W. H. Yarbrough, o f Am erica.

1937«

Qur American

The U nited S ta te s

PP* 4 5 6 -5 7 .

15.

C h arlotte A. Baker, True S t o r ie s o f New England C a p tiv e s. Cambridge, 1897* P* 167*

16.

Casner and G a b riel, E xp lorin g American H isto r y , pp. 207-10. C f. Parkman, H alf- Century. V o l. I , ch. 4 and Channing, V ol. I I , pp. 5 3 9 -4 0 .

17#

Such p r o j e c t s may be fotmd in any contemporary grade te x tb o o k s at th e end o f c h a p ters. S p e c if ic example c it e d la from Edna McGuire, America Then and Now. New York, 1940, p . 214.

18.

Fremont p . f i r t h , 1936, p . 122.

19 .

R o lla M. Tryon, C harles R. L in g le y , and Frances Morehouse, The American N ation Y esterday and Today. Hew York, 193$, p . 212.

20.

David S a v i l l e Muzz®y , 4 H istory o f our Country. New York, 1937, p . 342.

21.

Leon H. C a n fie ld , Howard B. W ild er, F red eric L. Paxson, e £ . a l . , The t&titejj S t a te s in th e Making, New York, 19437 pp. 463-64; Harold Underwood Faulkner, T y ler Kepner, and H a ll B a r t le t t , The American I S i Stl L i f e , New York, 1941, p . 138.

The Development o f Am erica.

Boston,

165

22*

James Truslow Adams and C harles . S . E ussey and J . A. Krout, American H istory fo r C o lle g e s . B oston , 193S, p . 440.

4.

Kujisey and Krout, g g . e l t »«

5*

C harles A, Beard and Mary K. Beard, The Rise £ l m srlcan C i v i l i s a t i o n . Hew York, 1930* V ol. I , p . S i . On overiand t rave1 compare Muzsey and Krout, fifi. s i k * . p . 284 *nd J . S . B a s s e t t, A ahpgt Hjgtpnr ° £ the y n lto d S t a t e s . Hew York, 1933» p. 677. q u o ta tio n s are t v m R. V. Harlow, T|ts growth g f tbs U nited S t a t e s . Hew York, 1925, p . 573; AT M. S c h le s in g e r , £B& S o c ia l Growth o f t&e U nited S t a t e s , Hew York, 1933, p* 139; Beard and Beard, op . c i t . . V ol. 1 , pp. 6 1 2 -1 3 .

9

p . 14.

t

6.

B a s s e t t , on. e l t . . p . 461; 3£. B. C reene, ~yhe Foundations o f American N a t io n a lit y . Hew York, 1922, p . 5 4 4 . C f. Harlow* o n ." c it 7 . P. 421s Lynn I . P er r ig o , "Law and Order In Early Colorado l in i n g Camps,” The M is s is s ip p i V a lley H is t o r ic a l Review, XXVIII (1 9 4 1 ), pp. 41-63; Bayrd S t i l l , P a tte r n s o f M id-N ineteenth Century U rbanization In th e M iddle w est," ^he all s a l s slp.pl. V a lley H is t o r ic a l Review. XXVIII (1 9 4 1 )7 pp. 187- 207.

167

7*

£* Douglas Branch, ffg*3tward, dew York, 1930; Dan ^ • C la r k ,"* The West in American H is to r y , Hew York, 1937; LeRoy Kafen and Carl C, R ls t e r , Western America, Hew York, 1941; F red eric Li Paxson, H istory o f the American F r o n tie r , B oston, 1924; Robert ■>; R ie g e l, America Move a 3 e s t , Hew York, 1930. These b ib le s fo r c o lle g e co u rses in the Rest w i l l be r e fe r r e d to m erely by the a u th o r 's name. O cca sio n a l refer e n c e w i l l b© made to Paxson, The Last American F r o n tie r . Hew York, 1910 and When th e West I s Gone, Hew York, 1930 and to F , J . Turner, The F ro n tie r in American H isto ry . Mew York, 1931.

8.

C lark, pp* 83, 103, 113, 149, 159, 227, 222.

9*

Branch, pp*293-94; c f . p, 141. R ie g e l, pp. 54, 12; Paxson, ?he Last American F r o n tie r , pp. 250, 3o8, 245;

cf. pp. i5,

wr

10*

Branch, p . 284 and pp. 289-90; cf* pp. 8 2 -9 1 , 8 0 , 284-86* Paxson, When the West I s Gone, pp. 35-36; c f . pp. 5 2 -5 3 , 3 1 . Paxson, H istory o f the American F r o n tie r . p . 96; o f . pp. 2 2 §-27, 95, 113-14; c f . F* J . Turner, The Front ie r in American H isto ry , pp. 20 9 -1 0 , 2 6 9 -7 0 . On education and h e a l t h s e e R ie g e l, pp. 7 8 , 196. Q u otation s from Clark are on pp. 371, 379.

11*

C lark, p . 473; R ie g e l, p* 313; Paxson, The Last American F r o n tie r , p. 7 7 . C f. Paxson, H istory o f the American F r o n tie r * p . 337; Branch, p . 384; Rafen and R ls t e r , pp. 24 2 -4 5 , 350. On the handcart om igration see Hafen and R is t e r , pp. 374-75; c f . pp. 3 6 8 - 6 9 and Paxson, The Last American F r o n tie r , p. 101* Clark q u o ta tio n on th e ch a ra cter o f overland em igration on p. 239*

12*

Hsfe-n and R ls t e r , pp. 3 5 7-61. For the hardships o f overland m igration compare the fo llo w in g : Paxson, The L ast American F r o n tie r , p p .114-15 and Clark, p p . 4 8 4 -8 5 1 For ""the h ard sh ip s a tten d in g p ro sp ectin g compare Kafen and R ie te r , p . 359, Clark, pp. 531-32, and R ie g e l, pp. 3 6 3 -6 5 . For a d e s c r ip tio n o f l i f e in mining communities compare paxson, The Last American F r o n tie r * pp* 171-72 and R ie g e l, pp. 461 and 3o2. Hafen and R ls te r tfrom Hubert H. B an croft, Popular T r ib u n a ls. V o l. XXXVI o f B a n c r o ft's Works, p . 601a pp. 6 1 4 -1 5 . For the c a s u a lt ie s in C a liio r n is between 1849 and 1854 see Hafen and R is t e r , pp. 610-12; c f . Branch, pp* 4 4 1 -4 2 .

168 13.

T. J . lerto n b a k er, The F ir s t American s . I6ZQ- 1690. ( H isto ry o f American L i f e . Vo1 . X I), New York, 1929# p . 30T. 1 7 B* Crreene, P r o v in c ia l America (The American N ation s e r i e s , V ol. VI)* New York# 1905# p . 121. A. C. McLaughlin# The C onfederation and th e C o n stitu tio n (The American N ation s e r i e s , V o l.X j, 190?, pp. 1 3 0 5 1 . Cf. F . A. Ogg, The Old Northwest (Yale C h ro n icles. V o l. XIX), New Haven# 1920* p . 119# «?* B a s s e tt, The F e d e r a lis t System (The American N ation s e r i e s , V ol. X I), 1 9 0 6 , pp. 63-64} C. H* Van Tyne, The American R evolu tion (The American N ation s e r i e s , V ol. i x K I

14.

5o 57

ppi, 2 7 9 - 8 0 .

J . t . Adana, The aarch 9 ? Democracy; The R ise o f th e Union. New York, 1933* p . 210; Carl R u sse ll Fish*

ilfrfgff falrvsfrffJT^K e^Sr^lgsir^T^sf^ Ogg, .gg* c l t . .

p . 259 and 1691*1776,

pp. 120*21.

. T.» Adams# B oston ,

1 9 2 7

,

Cf. Wertenbaker,

op . c l t

IX UMM m im & >

pp. 11, 3 9 .

15*

For t h i s phase o f f r o n t ie r l i f e c o n su lt Qgg, p p . c l t . . p . 121 and C. L. Sk inn er, P io n eers o f th e Old Southwest (Y ale C h r o n ic le s. V ol. X V I I I h 1920* p . 34.

16.

For a g e n e r a l d is c u s s io n o f h e a lt h , s a n ita t io n , m edicine, and g e n e ra l p h y s ic a l w e ll-b e in g o f p io n ee rs co n su lt the fo llo w in g s S k inn er, on. c l t . . p . 33; Ogg, 22* S ll* * pp. 119-20; J . T. Adams, iE m to