Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey

Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey, Lillian Schlissel (from the TBR stacks)

Last year I read Covered Wagon Women, Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1849, edited by Kenneth L. Holmes. It is the first in a series of eleven compilations, covering different decades of emigrant women's diaries. I did check to see if my library had the later books (they don't), and I resisted immediately looking for copies on-line. When I came across Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey on the library sale shelves, I immediately picked it up.

After a brief introduction by the editor, Covered Wagon Women comprises twelve sets of letters and diaries, including several from the Donner party. I had not fully understood the horror of that tragedy before reading these. Women's Diaries on the other hand has only five accounts (diaries and reminiscences). The bulk of the book is a discussion of women's experiences on the trails. I found that part very interesting and informative. The diaries are included at the end, and they are much less interesting and comprehensive than the ones in the first book.

This book was originally published in 1982 and revised in 1992. The author's main argument seems to be that there were fundamental differences in how women and men experienced their travels, and it is crucial to understand those differences. I think this may have been one of the first books to center women's experiences, and to try to expand the history of the western pioneers to include their perspectives. From her author's notes, it seems that at the time she was writing the book, women's diaries were scattered in archives and private collections, and not well known. Covered Wagon Women (the first volume) was published a year later, which fits that timeline.

Prof. Schlissel organizes her overview by decade. I had not realized how profoundly the journey changed, from the first emigrants who pretty much just loaded their wagons and headed west, with no real understanding of exactly where they were going or what they would face along the way. By the end, people were traveling in relative comfort, even by railway rather than wagons. Among the many things I learned: most women did not want to go west, particularly when it meant leaving family behind. I was stunned at the number of women who set off on their travels while pregnant. Prof. Schlissel argues that their condition was not considered a reason for delay, nor did it excuse them from the work of the journey - work that she explains was exhausting and difficult. As dangerous as childbirth was in the 19th century in general, these women also faced delivering a child on the road, likely with no doctor or midwife if something went wrong. And then they had to get back on the trail within a day or so. The diaries of these Victorian women do not discuss any details of pregnancy or childbirth, but they do record the deaths of mothers and children. That is apparently another difference with the diaries kept by men: the women noted the deaths and the (many) graves they passed every day in great detail, while the men tended to gloss over or ignore them.

One aspect of these journeys that I had never considered is that on the flat open prairies, which went on for hundreds of miles, there were no convenient bushes or trees for bathroom breaks. This was a constant concern for the women, particularly those traveling alone in groups of men. Prof. Schlissel argues that traveling with other women could be a comfort on many levels, most basically because women in long skirts could provide privacy screens for each other. In a fascinating bit of historical theory, she thinks that is why bloomers never really caught on with the emigrant women. They wanted the skirts as shields.

I enjoyed this book very much, while realizing that I am very grateful for modern travel conveniences. Next time I am in Oregon, I want to visit the End of the Oregon Trail Museum near Portland. And I may look for one of those remaining ten volumes of diaries - or wait to see if they show up on a sale shelf.