The Gentle Tamers: Women of the Old Wild West

Gentle Tamers is a wonderful study of the role of women in molding the American West during the expansion during the 19th century. The book is divided, by chapter, into studies of various aspects of life that were affected by women, everything from politics to theater to education. This book adds to the mosaic of the westward expansion - a mosaic with so many pieces that sometimes complement and sometimes contradict. It is very readable and pulls heavily from diaries kept by women during this period. Unfortunately, the book has its weak points, many of which reflect the writers of the journals. The Native American community is painted with broad brush strokes, often in an overly negative way. Also, there is absolutely no mention of the role of African American or Mexican women as a part of this migration. Both groups were represented during the period and should have been included in the writing. This omission may be because these women were less likely to keep written records, but some mention should have been included. Also, the chapter structure tends to obliterate any sense of time, with pre-Civil War and post-Civil War migrations treated almost as one. It would have been interesting to learn about the differences between these periods. Overall though, in spite of these problems, Gentle Tamers has much to recommend it.

Dee Brown is a novelist and historian best known for his masterpiece Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Although Gentle Tamers is an entertaining read, the difference in tone and style between 1958 and 1970 is remarkable. People who came to this book expecting something similar to Bury My Heart will be probably be disappointed. This is a much lighter work, and dated in a way that Bury My Heart is not. It is still a remarkably researched and well-written work, so the fact that it is different should not dissuade you from reading it. Brown looks at the different categories of women western pioneers and works out his thesis that while the men settled the western US states, it was the women who civilized it. His different chapters include: hardships of the journey; women captured by Native Americans; women of easy virtue; performers; rebels; schoolteachers; and homesteading housewives. He provides ample stories and pictures to accompany the different categories. I enjoyed reading Gentle Tamers although I did not find what I was looking for (more information about Narcissa Whitman). The stories are lively and entertaining. It reads quickly, and Brown is a very smooth and skilled writer. There are several wince-worthy moments in the very 1950s language around Native Americans and women (very surprising given that the vocabulary was totally gone by the time he published Bury My Heart). For a serious treatment of issues of women in the West, I would look elsewhere. This book is clearly more focused on well-researched and light anecdote. Would be a terrific gift for someone interested in stories of the West-- a nice halfway point between a historical treatment and a novel.

I started reading this little gem while researching material for an historical fiction novel and soon discovered that I couldn't get enough of their stories. Before reading this book, I was guilty of looking back at our history never imagining the grit and humor our ancestors possessed. A great read.