Sweethearts Of The West: San Antonio River

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Texas Through Their Eyes

Today I’d like to share some quotes from Texas frontier women. These ladies told it like they saw it – and lived it.

“The Texas frontier dared its women to adhere to society’s rules and then threw in their way every conceivable obstacle: Indians, heat, blue northers, bugs, wind, isolation, and violence.” ~ Sherrie S. McLeroy

Lonely: “She used to tell how when they finally came to the homestead and the wagon stopped, she felt so lonely. There was emptiness as far as the eye could see. How could a human endure?” ~ Odessa Wilmon, West Texas pioneer

Molly Goodnight

Desolate: “No one can ever know how much pleasure and company they [three gift chickens] were to me. They were someone I could talk to. They would run to me when I called them and follow me everywhere I went.” ~ Molly Goodnight, living with her husband on an isolated ranch in the Texas Panhandle

Friends: “We learned almost all that we ever did know about practical living from our friends on the prairies of Texas.” ~ Seigniora Russell Laune

Beautiful: “There was sufficient water here for a city of one quarter league, and the scenery along the San Antonio River is very beautiful, for there are pecan trees, grape vines, willows, elms and other timbers. . . . Fish were caught in abundance for everybody.” ~ Captain Domingo Ramón, exploratory expedition into Texas, 1716 (Okay, he’s a guy, err, was a guy, but I simply couldn’t leave this one out.)

San Antonio River; photo by Billy Hathom; Creative Commons Attribution Share alike 3.0

Austin Women: “Taking all things together, the life lived by the women of Austin at that date [1856] was a joyous, genial existence . . . Their chief employment appeared to be an endless tucking of fine muslin and inserting lace in same . . . Some of the women chewed snuff without cessation and such women neither ‘tucked’ nor ‘inserted.’” ~ Amelia Barr, British novelist & early Austinite

Amelia Barr, ca. 1915

Texas Women: “The Texas woman was, when I knew her, more than a half a century ago, brave and resourceful, especially when her environment was anxious and dangerous. They were then nearly without exception fine riders and crack shots, and quite able, when the men of the household were away, to manage their ranches or plantations, and keep such faithful guard over the families and household, that I never once in ten years, heard of any Indian, or other tragedy occurring.” ~ Amelia Barr

A Woman with Attitude: “Foolish modesty lags behind while brazen impudence goes forth and eats the pudding.” ~ Eleannor Brackenridge, early Texas suffragist

And from a modern Texas woman I greatly admired.

Barbara Jordan; public domain photo

Mighty: “I get from the soil and spirit of Texas the feeling that I, as an individual, can accomplish whatever I want to, and that there are no limits, that you can just keep going, just keep soaring.” ~ Barbara Jordan, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, U.S. Congresswoman