Before I start discussing today’s book, I have a bit of a funny story to tell. It first came to my attention when my mom mentioned it a while back, so when I saw it at the library I decided to check it out thinking that if my mom is mentioning it then it is probably pretty good. The funny part is when I said something to my mom about reading it, I discovered why she had mentioned it. Apparently, she had picked up a copy somewhere and was planning to read it and then pass it on to me. Oops. The book in question One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus. This book is essentially telling a historical what-if story, meaning it is historical fiction. Shortly after the Civil War, a Cheyenne tribal chief named Little Wolf traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak to the president, Ulysses S. Grant. His goal, to request that they send one thousand white women to intermarry with the various Cheyenne tribal groups. His reasoning, children belong to the tribe of the mother and white mothers would help raise the Cheyenne children to understand and belong to the white culture. In his mind this would mean cultural assimilation and the end of conflict between the two in just a couple of generations. Now in real life the Grant administration denied Little Wolf’s request and turned him away. As I said before, this book is a what-if piece of historical fiction. It’s basic premise is what if the Grant administration had said yes. The book is written in a journal format and tells the story of May Dodd. She was a young woman who had been sentenced to an asylum, by her family, on charges of promiscuity. It is there that she is approached with an opportunity for freedom but only participating in a government program. The program in question, sending a thousand white women west to marry Cheyennes. They book follows May’s recruitment and journey west with several other participants, her various interactions with the soldiers acting as escort, and her time with the Cheyennes where she marries Chief Little Wolf.
I know I said before that this was a piece of historical fiction. Here’s the thing though, it didn’t read like one. I could have very easily mistaken it for a true story if I wasn’t careful. It pays careful attention to the nuances of the interactions between the whites and the natives and careful attention to the interactions between different groups of natives. In doing so, it refuses to turn a blind eye to just how derogatory the whites, especially the soldiers and traders, were to the natives. At the same time it highlights how other whites were accepting and even willing to integrate and adopt native ways. This provides an interesting perspective not always seen in literature based in this time frame. Paralleling this it also shines a light on other, often overlooked, aspects of the time. The narrator and protagonist, May Dodd, had been sentenced to an asylum for promiscuity. What really happened is that her wealthy parents disapproved of her shacking up with, but refusing to marry, a lowly factory worker. This may sound rather shocking to modern readers but this kind of thing probably really did happen. Another one of the women had volunteered because she had almost no other choice. She had been a mail-order bride only to arrive at her future husband’s town and be turned away because she wasn’t pretty enough. Yet again, something else that was present but if often overlooked. I know this book is probably not an entirely accurate depiction of the culture and time frame it portrays. It is however, a compelling depiction in that it really makes you want to sit up and actually think about what life was like then. I would give this book three out of five stars.
Overall, it was a pretty good book and well worth the read. If you enjoy historical fiction, especially books based during Westward Expansion, or if you enjoy westerns then I recommend you consider trying it. I do not recommend this book for younger readers as it contains a decent amount of mature content, both violent and otherwise. This content does not detract from the story as this would have been mostly authentic to the time period but it is something to be aware of before you consider reading it. As always feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.