Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2011. 408 pages.
Maps, index, notes, bibliography. 8¾” x 5¾”. $35 paperback. The
varying voices of Colorado’s courageous women pioneers speak in
this collection of short narratives collected by the Civil Works
Administration in 1933 and 1934. Most of the women are unknown
except for a few like that of Sara Chivington Pollock, who
defends the role her grandfather, Col. John M. Chivington,
played in the Sand Creek Massacre of November 1864. Of course,
the voices of the men who came with these women to Colorado, as
well as the stories of women who gave up and went back home, are
missing. The book is arranged by regions of the state with
extensive notes by Lee Schweninger, who provides brief
introductions. Some major areas, such as Denver, are omitted.
The stories of the pioneer women have many similarities. Often
the men traveled west first seeking economic prosperity or
searching for a better climate for their health. During their
westward migration many of the familie