Texas Women on the Cattle Trails (review)

Abstract

1 1 8 Southwestern Historical QuarterlyJuly in rudely renovated summer cabins already there. Here, thejournal notes of both men became more detailed as they made their tests and observations ofthe springs and pondered its cause. Those sections of The Forgotten Expedition that were especially impressive and interesting to me, however, were how the men were able to improvise when their own navigational and scientific instruments proved less than accurate. Also, the litde anecdotes and histories they sometimes included in their note-taking were fascinating; for example: how hunters (white and red) "deposit(ed) their skins &c often suspended to poles or laid over a pole placed upon two forked posts in sight of the river, untill [sic] their return from hunting; these deposits are considered as sacred and few examples exist of their being plundered" (p. 63). Finally, the numerous footnotes explain, clarify, define, and elaborate on locations, terms, and substances referred to throughout the book; for example: Chemin couvert is Smackover Creek in Union County in Arkansas, and "something resembling coal" discovered by Hunter is footnoted as being "possibly lignite, or a lower grade of coal" (p. 66). Although PresidentJefferson asked the men to make another expedition of the area in 1 805, both men declined—Hunter citing his neglected business affairs and Dunbar his failing health. William Dunbar died in 1810 and George Hunter died in 1823. Oconto, WisconsinBarbara Weddle Texas Women on the Cattle Traih. Edited by Sara R. Massey. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. Pp. 336. Series foreword, preface, illustrations, maps, notes, epilogue, contributors, bibliography, index. ISBN 158445436. $29-95. cloth.) Historians over recent decades have expanded their study ofWestern history to include women as never before. Their research has progressed far beyond the idea of the "gende tamer" to women who, intentionally or not, flouted contemporary notions of femininity. Included in this latter research is Texas Women on the Cattle Traih, a collection of sixteen biographies edited by Sara R. Massey, formerly with the Institute ofTexan Cultures. While not all the women discussed lived in Texas, they each found themselves there during part of their travels alongside the herds, doing anything from running the chuck wagon to leading the catde drive themselves. Their stories are widely different, but each adds an extra dimension to the emerging picture of the cowgirl, creating a human face to temper the usual stereotype. The contributors to this volume range from amateur historians to Ph.D.s, yet all provide an insightful look into their subjects, and the variety adds to the sheer entertainmentvalue ofthe work. Some even created articles where information was severely lacking, as in Allan O. Kownslar's study ofWillie Matdiews, a woman known only by the male name she took tojoin a catde drive. Kownslar takes what would otherwise be written offas myth and searches Kansas census records for the elusive cowgirl. 2oo7 Book Reviews119 Massey divides the book into three sections—the early years of the cattle kingdom, the boom years, and the period ofdecline—and shows how women were involved at all times. Some ofthe women (like Matthews) are scarcely known, while others made a name for themselves during their own lifetimes, such as Molly Goodnight , wife ofthe co-creator ofthe Goodnight-LovingTrail. Interestingly, manywere known by their contemporaries as the first woman ever to ride with the herds. This clearly indicates how valuable such a work as Texas Women is; it brings together a previously scattered wealth of information into one book. As a result, the work benefits both pleasure reader and researcher.Joyce Gibson Roach's introduction ties all the sketches together, providing the historiographical framework upon which the stories rest. Americans continue to scrutinize the American West into the twenty-first century . Its myths and its tmths will always draw an eager audience. In the ever-growing mass of Western scholarship, Texas Women provides an enjoyable exploration of a field only recendy expanded. HeritageFarmstead Museum, PianoAdrienne Caughfield Crossing the Rio Grande: An Immigrant's Life in the 1880s. By Luis G. Gómez. Translated with commentary by Guadalupe ValdezJr., introduction by Thomas H. Kreneck. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. Pp. 1 24. Map, illustrations, notes, index. ISBN 1585445142. $23.00...