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Description edit
One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- May Dodd: The main character and author of the journals. She joins the brides program to escape the asylum her family has placed her in
- John G. Bourke: Captain of the Army detachment at Fort Laramie who is responsible for the brides
- Little Wolf: Chief of the Cheyenne tribe that the women are sent to and husband to May.
- Gertie McCartney: A Muleskinner and friend of May's. She acts as a messenger between May and Captain Bourke
- Martha Atwood Tangle Hair: May's friend from the Asylum and companion in the brides program
- Gretchen Fathauer: A Swiss girl who signs up for the Brides program
- Helen Elizabeth Flight: A brilliant painter and ornithologist who signs up for the brides program for the opportunity to explore the plains area wildlife.
- Euphemia Washington, "Phemie": A Negro woman and former slave who joins the brides program for its opportunity for freedom
- Meggie Kelly: One of the redheaded twin Irish girls who join the brides program to get out of prison
- Harry Ames: May's unmarried partner in Chicago and father to her two children
- Sara Johnstone: A young girl from the Chicago asylum who is signed up for the brides program
- Brother Anthony: A Benedictine monk who accompanies the Cheyenne and ministers to them
- Susie Kelly: One of the redheaded twin Irish girls who join the brides program to get out of prison
- Miss Dodd: One of May's children and also the name of her sister
- Jules Seminole: A half-breed Cheyenne and bad character who makes passes at May and causes trouble among the tribe
- William: May's son in Chicago
- Daisy Lovelace: A southern woman who joins the brides program
- Lydia Bradley: Captain Bourke's fiance
- Narcissa White: An evangelical woman who joins the brides program to convert them to Christianity and looks down on the other women for their lack of religious faith
- Reverend Hare: An Episcopalian Priest who accompanies the Cheyenne for a time
- Mesoke: May's Native American name, means "Swallow"
- Ulysses S. Grant: The President of the United States
- Quiet One: Little Wolf's first wife and mother to Pretty Walker
- Feather on Head: Little Wolf's second wife and Quiet One's sister
- Mr. Benton: Add a description of this character.
- Fern Louise: Daisy Lovelace's poodle
- Jimmy: Gertie's alter-ego
- Pretty Walker: Little Wolf's daughter by his first wife
- Dr. Sidney Kaiser: May's doctor at the asylum
- Marie Blanche de Bretonne: A French girl who signs up for the brides program
- White Bull
- Ranald S. Mackenzie
- Mr. Tangle Hair
- Missy
- Mother
- Antony
- Custer
- Fetterman
- Ada Ware
- Harold Wild Plums
- Crazy Horse
- General Crook
- Franz
- Maheo
- Mr. Hog
- Julia Dent Grant
- Jeanette Parker
- Black Coyote
- Hump
- Wren
- Wesley Chestnut
- Mrs. Ann Hall
- Mrs. Little Wolf
- Yellow Wolf
- Crowley
- Cyrus McCormick
- Louis Baptiste
- Sara Now Martha
- William Cronon
- darlin
- Dodd Little Wolf
Setting & Locations edit
- Chicago: May Dodd's home and city of her departure on the Union Pacific.
- Fort Laramie: The Fort where the brides departed from the meet their Native American husbands
- Sioux: Large group of western Indians, larger by far than the Cheyenne.
- Washington: Washington D.C. First trainlload of white women left from D.C.
- Seano: The Native American heaven
- Cheyennes: Small group of western Indians who had been reduced in number due to white man's sickness.
- Black Hills: territory given to the Cheyenne and Sioux by the US Government, who reneged on the deal after gold was found.
- Tongue River: River nearby where the Cheyenne camped
First Sentence edit
I leave this record for my dear children, Hortense and William, in the event that they never see their loving mother again and so that they might one day know the truth of my unjust incarceration, my escape from Hell, and into whatever is to come in these pages . . .
Table of Contents edit
Notebook 1 - A Train Bound for Glory
Notebook 2 - Passage to the Wilderness
Notebook 3 - My Life as an Indian Squaw
Notebook 4 - The Devil Whiskey
Notebook 5 - A Gypsy's Life
Notebook 6 - The Bony Bosom of Civilization
Notebook 7 - Winter
Codicil
Epilogue
Series & Lists edit
This book is in Book Lover's Cook Book, The. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Jim Fergus (Author) - i was suprised that a man wrote such an intimate account of a womans feelings and thoughts. it took some insight.
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: March 15, 1998
ISBN: 0312199430
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: March 15, 1998
ISBN: 0312199430
Page Count: 320
Awards edit
- Mountain and Plains Bookseller Award (1999: Fiction)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
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