Waleczne serca. Kobiety Dzikiego Zachodu

by Katie Hickman, Tomasz Bieroń (Translator)

Wyruszyły w poszukiwaniu lepszego świata – ale same musiały go sobie stworzyć.
W XIX wieku serce Ameryki biło na Zachodzie. Kusił wizją nowego życia, mamił obietnicą złota, tylko czekającego, by po nie sięgnąć. Miliony ludzi ruszyło za horyzont, tysiące kilometrów w nieznane.

Żony i matki miesiącami podróżowały przez pustkowia w poszukiwaniu nowego domu. Niektóre oszalały w drodze. Inne liczyły groby rozsiane po preriach. Niewolnice wbrew swojej woli musiały podążyć za swoimi „właścicielami”. Rdzenne Amerykanki zakopywały żywcem swoje córki, by schować je przed białymi braćmi. Wywiezione siłą z Chin kobiety i dziewczynki z rozpaczy skakały ze statków w mroczną toń, a te, które przetrwały podróż, były sprzedawane w dokach San Francisco.

Zachód nie był łaskawy dla swoich córek. Ale one się nie poddały i zbudowały nową Amerykę.

Przez góry i równiny, ku zachodzącemu słońcu – śladami odważnych kobiet, które oswoiły Dziki Zachód

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns, Womens, Audiobook, American History, Biography

464 pages, Hardcover

First published May 26, 2022

About the author

Katie Hickman was born into a diplomatic family in 1960 and has spent more than twenty-five years living abroad in Europe, the Far East and Latin America. She is featured in the Oxford University Press guide to women travellers, Wayward Women.

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly inspiring account of The American West, told from the perspective of the womenfolk. There are some truly heartbreaking stories here, whilst other tales leave you in awe of their utter determination against dreadful odds, to make a new life for themselves and their families, and help shape the American Frontier.

What a tough bunch of ladies they were - the journey alone was utterly miserable, and fraught with danger. Not all of them survived the gruelling journey of thousands of miles, but it’s a testament to those who did, to their grit and determination and resilience that they finally reached their destination - and even then, they had to set about building a new home from scratch, whilst also building a new life, so far removed from their old one, both in terms of geographical location and culture. Absolutely fascinating!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Spiegel and Grau for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *

[TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

About the book: “"Myth and misunderstanding spring from the American frontier as readily as rye grass from sod, and - like the wiry grass - seem as difficult to weed out and discard."

The true-life story of women's experiences in the 'Wild West' is more gripping, more heart-rending, and more stirring than all the movies, novels, folk-legends and ballads that popular imagination has been able to create.”

This synopsis pretty much says it all. Inside these pages, I found true stories rivaling all the best hist fic and movies I’ve encountered. It’s not just about the women who traversed thousands of miles to unestablished settlements. It’s also about the Native American women and their families who were displaced by those migrations. The Chinese women bought and enslaved to work tirelessly in laundries. The edgy poker players, the brothel workers, and everyone in between; survivors, all.

While not narrative nonfiction, these are compelling and important accounts, especially considering men are often the symbol of the “Wild West.” This book certainly answers where the women were and what they were doing; how they were living and surviving.

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The American 'Wild West' is usually told from the viewpoint of the cowboys, miners, prospectors, gunfighters, soldiers, etc, but what about the women who sometimes went with them or even migrated west on their own? What about their stories & the unique challenges they would face? This book examines the experiences of some of those women, often in their own words from surviving diaries & letters. From the women who gave up everything to accompany their husbands on the long journey which took months through harsh & unforgiving territory, the former slaves who moved to Free states, to the Native American women whose lives were changed beyond all recognition by the mass migration which accompanied the land grab & gold rush.

This is an absolutely captivating book. There's so much information here but it's written in such a way that it rarely becomes academically dry to read. The author steers away from the more well-known personalities such as Calamity Jane (who is briefly mentioned but just the once) & concentrates on the everyday life of ordinary women. When I say 'ordinary, I don't mean any disrespect, these women gave birth along the trails, they worked to keep their families together after their husbands died or left., they opened businesses & many thrived in a overwhelming male environment. The author has obviously done a great deal of careful research on a subject they care about & it shows. I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone interested in the history of the 'Wild West'.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Little, Brown Book Group UK/Virago, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

To była naprawdę fascynująca historia Dzikiego Zachodu - autorka często w centrum opowieści stawia kobiety, choć tak naprawdę to znacznie szersze spojrzenie na kolonizację, cierpienia rdzennej ludności oraz na rolę kobiet w świecie, który biali Amerykanie postanowili sobie zbudować. Książkę czyta się naprawdę wspaniale i każdy, kto interesuje się historią USA z pewnością nie będzie zawiedziony.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spread of women across the American western frontier: immigrant groups along the Oregon Trail and California Trail, women in the red light districts catering to miners in San Francisco, captives living with Indian tribes, wives at military camps, and stories of Indian and Black women who were leaders in their communities.

[John David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The settling of the American West is dominated with mythological and oversimplified stories of outlaws, vengeance, and those out for a sense of pioneer renegade freedom. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that many narrations of this history are dominated with the actions of men. Over the past few decades, the unearthing of women’s unique contributions to history has spilled over from the halls of academia and are gaining more popularity with broader audiences. In “Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West,” Katie Hickman looks at these often-treacherous journeys through the eyes of a broad swath of women, from Christian missionaries to businesswomen to sex workers.

Focusing on the years in the middle third of the nineteenth century, one of the book’s fortes is the breadth of women’s experiences that are included. She opens the book with the harrowing story of Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spaulding who along with their husbands and “an abyss of cultural misunderstanding” wished to cross west of the Rockies to proselytize to the native people. Whitman along with her husband and physician Marcus eventually settled among the Cayuse Indians. When an epidemic of measles broke out among the native population, Cayuse leaders believed that Marcus was purposefully trying to infect them. I want to urge you to read the book, so I won’t mention how it turns out, but it doesn’t end well for the Whitman family. The story of the Donner Party, which Hickman also retells, doesn’t need to be recounted and has a better-known but just as unfortunate outcome.

Maybe the most wonderful recounting in the book is that of Biddy Mason, one of the very first African American slaves to make the trek west. Mason “belonged” to Robert Smith, a follower of Brigham Young. She followed him there in a wagon train – the whole time nursing a newborn, tending to two other children, and taking care of Smith’s livestock. Under the false pretense of winning freedom for her and her children, Mason followed Smith first to Texas then to California where she was promised freedom. Only after a long, protracted legal battle did she finally win her case. Afterward, she parlayed her knowledge of midwifery, nursing, and herbal medicine into an enormous sum by going into real estate, deciding to give much of it away in generous acts of philanthropy. She also cofounded Los Angeles’ First African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The book ends on the tragic but inevitable note that readers all saw coming: the destruction of Native American populations, perpetrated by actions of both settlers and the American government, particularly the Grant administration. Through the systematic decimation of tens of millions of American buffalo and the wars waged on Native populations, by 1880 their numbers were as low as 20 percent of what they were just a few decades before; the few that remained had been permanently pushed onto reservations. To add insult to injury, their children were forced to attend Christian schools that aimed to “civilize” them.

Despite the grit, desperation, and desolation that pervades many of the figures Katie Hickman discusses, there is nevertheless a sense of resilience and determination about them. Women were always present in the American West, despite the way these stories are sometimes told, but it’s refreshing to read a book that gives them their rightful place of prominence. Hickman’s history as a writer of fiction is clear throughout the book. She narrates each of these women’s stories with the flair of a novelist. I’ve spent many years as a reader uninterested by histories of the West for reasons mentioned above. I was always put off by the machismo and the gung-ho attitudes that were read into the major historical players. By evening out that balance, this book has singlehandedly made me want to learn more about the U.S. expansion westward.

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This well-researched book seemed to lose its focus at times, wandering far afield with historical details and then pulling itself back to its primary topic. Every page, every chapter is interesting, well-written, and certainly they contain details that will surprise most of us. The chapter entitled "Gold Fever" was horrifying in its descriptions of exploitation and violence. The account of Chinese women brought to the US as sex slaves--also horrifying. There isn't much glory in this book and certainly much to reflect upon. Worth the read, but be prepared for plenty of digression. Adult.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Książka Katie Hickman "Waleczne serca. Kobiety Dzikiego Zachodu" jest oparta na ponad 800 dokumentach pisemnych – dziennikach, listach i wspomnieniach – sporządzonych przez kobiety, które braly udzial w kolonizacji północnej Ameryki, głównie terenów zwanych niegdyś dzikim zachodem. Autorka prezentuje historie kobiet z różnych środowisk i klas społecznych: białych pionierek z Europy, rdzennych mieszkanek Ameryki, Afroamerykanek, które uzyskały wolność po zniesieniu niewolnictwa, oraz chińskich kobiet zmuszanych do pracy seksualnej w Kalifornii.

Hickman ukazuje codzienne życie tych kobiet, ich zmagania z trudami podróży na Zachód, przygotowania do wyprawy – od przetwarzania lnu na płótno, z którego szyto osłony wozów, po organizację życia w nowych, często nieprzyjaznych warunkach. Książka porusza również temat wpływu ekspansji osadniczej na życie rdzennych społeczności, dokumentując utratę ziem, tradycji i tożsamości przez rdzennych Amerykanów.

"Waleczne serca" to wielowątkowa narracja, która rzuca nowe światło na historię Dzikiego Zachodu, prezentując ją z perspektywy kobiet – często pomijanej w tradycyjnych opracowaniach historycznych. Dzięki bogatej dokumentacji i wnikliwej analizie, Hickman przywraca głos tym, których historie zasługują na pamięć i uznanie.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up watching "Calamity Jane" and have always been fascinated by "The Wild West"... Poor Calam only gets one tiny piece of this book though, and it's probably not what you'd expect if you've only seen the Doris Day movie! Katie Hickman has delivered an incredible insight into the lives of "ordinary" women, their journeys into the unknown, and what they found when they got there. Prior to reading this book, I had no clue that the personal accounts related in "Brave Hearted" existed... I am very happy, very grateful, and amazed at the courage shown by these women.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

[Laurie Moreland · Rating 4 out of 5]

How fun that this came up on my Libby account on International Womens Day! A very appropriate read!
Maybe 4.5. I thought it might be a collection of biographies telling the story of women from the time of the settling of the Great American West. It was that and so much more. It was a narrative of the broad experience of various groups of pioneers and immigrants as seen through the eyes of women. I learned so much. It was, at times, exciting, haunting, terrible, hopeful, every-day ordinary, embarrassing, poignant and awe-inspiring. It read more like a fiction book--no dry history textbook here. Quotes from journals, diaries and reports of the time were woven together by the author to create a very engaging book.
I am very familiar with the Mormon exodus across the great plains (which was only briefly spoken of in this book.) But reading the account of the lives of missionaries, those with both Oregon and Gold Fever, shrewd businessmen and women, Chinese slaves, African-American pioneers, Native Americans, wives of military men, explorers, etc. has fleshed out my knowledge of the time period and I am a better-informed person because of my reading of this book.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The women of the American West” is a gigantic topic, and this book dabbles in various stories of all sorts of women. Native American women, enslaved African American, white pioneer women, immigrant women brought here against their will. I definitely was intrigued by many of the stories, but the sheer weight of the history fought against the book, I think. There was too much to tell and not enough book to tell it in. That said, there are some fascinating women here who were strong and brave hearted. Crossing the US in a covered wagon - or a handcart! - was an excruciatingly difficult trek. Watching settlers take over the land you had lived in for a thousand years, equally excruciating. Being an enslaved person entering into the free state of California and suing for your freedom - incredibly brave. The book ends with Custer’s Last Stand told through the eyes of a half Native/half white woman, and also tells about Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a female warrior who, in Cheyenne legend, is the fighter who killed Custer. I suppose “The west” ended with Custer and was a good enough place to end the book, but I thought there were still stories to tell. “The West” didn’t stop - it just changed. All in all, a good book.

[_Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad! Unbelievable tragedy. Unbelievable conditions. Westward expansion proved/s terrible for Indigenous people. Against some of their own wills or through naivety, white and African American slave women travelled west basically walking to their own deaths. The part about the Chinese sex slaves was something I didn’t know about and am now traumatized by :) this book is so well researched and written!! I rarely read non fiction but am growing to appreciate it and I’m glad this book helped! “Females are strong as hell.” The level of endurance and strength women showed in this time period is something I am in awe and horror of.

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

women are so dang cool :')

[martyna • podkreslenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

wielką zaletą tej książki jest ukazanie historii kobiet z różnych grup społecznych, nie tylko białych emigrantek!!

[Ginebra Lavao Lizcano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating account of some of the many stories of the women that traveled through the North American west during the 19th century. Reading about the experiences of the Native Americans, black ladies and sister missionaries can only make one grateful about having been born a woman in this time in history. I don't know how keen I would have been about having to use gunpowder as medicine or being exchanged back and forth between different tribes and groups of people.

[Brynn Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not saying it’s a bad book… I’m just saying I was bored

[Wciągam Książki Nosem · Rating 4 out of 5]

To jest ciekawa książka, ale chyba czegoś innego się spodziewałam. Bardziej całościowego ujęcia, a to bardziej reportaż historyczny z koncentracją na historiach konkretnych kobiet niż jakaś ogólna analiza. No i okładka zupełnie nie odzwierciedla treści. Jeśli więc spodziewacie się herstorii buntowniczek w kapeluszach i ostrogach z gunami u pasa albo jakiejś Calamity Jane czy Annie Oakley, to niestety nie ma (któraś z nich, teraz już nie pamiętam która, pojawia się tylko pod postacią niewielkiej wzmianki).
Za to porywająco napisana pierwsza część o zasiedlaniu, czy raczej kolonizacji Dzikiego Zachodu, z perspektywy biorących udział w tych pionierskich wyprawach kobiet (sporo jest w tej książce fragmentów z listów, wspomnień, pamiętników itd.). I tu cały czas czuje się, a przynajmniej ja czułam, moralną ambiwalencję.
Hickman sporo uwagi poświęca też sytuacji rdzennych Amerykanów, opisuje, w jaki nieuczciwy i okrutny sposób obchodzili się z nimi kolonizatorzy oraz amerykański rząd (wszystkie zapisy traktatów zawieranych przez rząd z przedstawicielami społeczności rdzennej, były przez tych pierwszych łamane).
Bardzo wciągająca jest też część o białych kobietach, które w wyniku różnych okoliczności zostawały członkiniami plemion i żyły wraz z nimi zgodnie z tradycyjnymi plemiennymi zasadami (jedna kobieta miała nawet wytatuowane na twarzy znaki plemienia Mojave, a po paru latach wróciła do białych).
Ogólnie warto przeczytać, ale jak ktoś potrzebuje pełniejszego obrazu, to trzeba poszukać innych lektur. Bo nie przypomina to takich "Chłopek" Joanny Kuciel-Frydryszak, w której to książce częściom traktującym ogólnie o życiu kobiet (np. jak wyglądało dzieciństwo, edukacja czy zamążpójście, kwestie związane z cielesnością czy porodem etc.) towarzyszyły liczne świadectwa konkretnych chłopek, takie właśnie jak fragmenty listów, dokumentów, pamiętników. "Waleczne serca" przede wszystkim bazują na jednostkowych historiach.

[Sarah Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Having no political power, and, generally speaking, no public voice, in the past women have always stood obliquely to what are generally thought of as the great moments in history-treaties, war, government and Tribal negotiations-the moments that usually make it into the history books. And yet it is precisely because of this that they are important."

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Imagining the lives of these women and the hardships they had to overcome as young wives and mothers was, at times, unbearable. The author comprised several years of their stories, all from various backgrounds, traveling across the Oregon Trail and on to California. The stories come to life and paint an incredible picture of not only the importance of women in the Wild West, but also the many things women have overcome since that time.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why, but I love reading about the history of the American west. I'll not look too hard into it and assume it's from my Oregon Trail days in middle school... that said, I rarely get to read something quite this compelling, with plenty of meat on its bones. There were excellent first-hand accounts from women on the trail, white, black, native American... plenty of information I had no idea existed because I rarely get to see what was going on with the women (outside of Laura Ingalls Wilder which is problematic in its own ways.) I was in turns appalled at what happened to them and rooting for some of the women who were able to make the best of bad situations. An enlightening and compelling read about the final American frontier.

[Anne Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written and well researched examination of the role women played in westward expansion of America, from early missionary and pioneer women crossing the plains and mountains to railroad and mining towns to first hand accounts of the fast changing and shocking destruction of the Native American's way of life. Instead of one woman's story in each chapter, this is a full and wide ranging account, following multiple women and showing how they might often intersect with each other's lives; how white, African American, Mexican, Chinese, and Native American women were affected by the changes in thinking and technology and how they, in turn, often effected others. Diaries and letters are well used sources, allowing women's own voices to be heard instead of guessing or interpolating what their feelings might have been, but not overused to the point where it feels like the book is just a string of quotations. Author Katie Hickman puts experiences into historical and social context for modern readers to understand in excellent fashion.

An excellent book for those interested in American history, women's history, and the Native American experience of the times. Hickman does not shy away from violent and negative encounters, and the American government and Army in particular come on for their fair share of commentary when covering Native American experiences.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An original and in-depth perspective on a segment of history. The author makes an effort to include as many different voices as possible while acknowledging that systemic oppression makes hearing diverse perspectives difficult. For example, many white settlers wrote letters and or journals that were first possible because those women were educated and then survived because those records were valued.

The ending felt abrupt, but if the author intended to mirror just how quickly colonization succeeded, she also succeeded.

The only hole I saw was Stagecoach Mary. How can a history of the west not include such an iconic groundbreaking person?

Other than that and minor plot threads I kept hoping would be resolved but had to remind myself that history doesn't always resolve itself, I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot.

[Luanne Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book. Using personal journal entries and well-researched exposition Hickman presents the story of the westward expansion (1830-1880) through the experiences of women. She includes the well-known stories, like Narcissa Whitman and the Donner Party. But she also includes lesser known histories of Native American and African American women. The author is able to weave the stories of many diverse women so that the reader understands how all their experiences are related to the historical events of the age.

[Emma Engel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feminist book club pick for April 2024. It was a very informative read and definitely had some important information. I struggled with the number of people and dates introduced— I had a hard time keeping it all straight. I would’ve loved to hear more stories about non-white women but understand the historical documentation was severely lacking. I did appreciate that she did include (probably more than many other books) stories about Native, Black, and Asian women. I thought it was cool that this book focused on both the area where I grew up and the area I’m now living in. Overall, a good read, but it read a little textbook-y for me.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

{3.5 stars}
I enjoyed this! I did expect something different I guess, because I found that most of the chapters were stories that happened to include women instead of stories about women. But, there were a few chapters and stories that I found to be especially interesting, including those about Olive Oatman, Mrs. Nash, Biddy Mason, and Lalu Nathoy. It’s nice to hear about the West from so many different perspectives and get a better idea about the history :)

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was closer to a 4.5 for me. I loved how the author pulled you into each of these women's lives. This book gives a whole different and real perspective of the pioneers traveling west. It also gives an honest look at the women already living there when settlers showed up. I love the honest and full scope of this book!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I thought this book was extremely well researched and found each story of the brave hearted women interesting. Unfortunately, it felt more like a reference book hitting each chapter. It read in a solid timeline order but it still felt unattached for some reason. If you’re a historian you will be fulfilled.

[Reilly Figenscher (figgyreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ An informative and interesting read. A little dry and boring in places (not sure if that’s the writing or the narrator of the audiobook). I felt the majority of the first 60% or so was just stories women were part of rather than about or centered on women. I enjoyed the diary entries that were incorporated. I liked the last 40% a lot!

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Left me wanting more. Some of the most interesting tidbits were in the footnotes so don’t skip out on those. Loved the weaving in of so much first person narrative with the history of politics and culture in the country at the time.

[Felicia Roff Tunnah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and researched but focus on women going west at some point turned into the destruction of the Native American population. I would have liked the focus to have stayed on the hardships of women traveling west.

[Lindsey Geddes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gritty epic synopsis of females from different backgrounds that pioneered the west. This Pioneer tale is full of horrific stories. I would never want to be a trailblazer to unknown lands especially as a woman.

WHAT I LIKED

Not all white women stories

True

histories of the west

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE

The book read like a text book at many points

Author digresses too much

It was redundant losing its shock factor

Overall, a good book and probably ghastly for those that know nothing of the American westward expansion.

For me it was boring because I have read about 95% of the female & male figures in the book making me jaded towards the series of tragic events that this book presented.