May 5, 1913
☆ August 3, 2011
– Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (great book, if you can find it; one of those instances where you just wish the author was your friend in real life)
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45 Responses to “May 5, 1913”
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August 3rd, 2011 @ 9:16 am
Holy smokes.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 9:40 am
holy smokes is right! formidable lady! if my finger had to go, i would hope to have it go like that. the anticipation would be awful!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 9:41 am
Project Gutenberg is not my site, but I’m including it as the URL in case names are linked in the comments. Letters of a Woman Homesteader is available there.
Just do a search for the title of the book, author, or Project Gutenberg.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 9:48 am
Dang.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 9:58 am
Free ebook available here: http://www.manybooks.net/titles/stewarte1662316623-8.html
August 3rd, 2011 @ 10:46 am
She sounds tough as an old boot.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 11:00 am
I AM ALSO READING THIS RIGHT NOW!
Sorry for shouting.
LOVE it.
It speaks to the pioneer in me.
x
August 3rd, 2011 @ 11:04 am
kathy~thanks for the link! it’s going to be 109 today here and now i know EXACTLY what i’ll be spending my time reading indoors this afternoon until the sun goes down a bit.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 11:16 am
So I skipped to the end and read the part about bundling the wound and thought, well that sounds interesting, let me go back and read the rest.
Then:
WHOA!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 11:23 am
Zowie! No fainting spells allowed for some women!
I love books written like this. Have you read “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” recently? It sort of reads like that. These diaries are what I call “road stories”. However, I just (finally) read “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac and — not so much. I get it and I see why it’s iconic for its generation but — it does not speak to me.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 11:47 am
I adore this book, I read it years ago. There was also a movie made from it, and as I recall it was well done, very understated and quiet.
If you haven’t read it, I would highly recommend Isabella L. Bird’s ‘A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains,’ published in 1879 but still available. (Later known as Isabella Bird Bishop.) She was a delightful English woman with a truly adventurous spirit who traveled the world on her own terms.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 11:58 am
The movie from Letters of a Woman Homesteader is called Heartland, stars Conchata Ferrell and Rip Torn, was filmed in Montana, and was released in 1979.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 12:16 pm
“If I could only take them from whatever is worrying them and give them this bracing mountain air, glimpses of the scenery, a smell of the pines and the sage…”
Shreve, you do this for me with every post! You have alot in common with this woman.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 12:47 pm
I can’t imagine weak women fared very well in those days. At first I though it would be something from John Muir, and then like the others have said…whoa!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 12:57 pm
Many people seem to have an idyllic concept of the pioneers. But the truth is that they systematically destroyed the people who lived here before they did and stole the land. And then proved themselves to be rather poor stewards of it, IMHO.
Want to learn about resourceful, strong people who lived in the west? Read Empire of the Summer Moon.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 1:03 pm
if i needed a tooth extracted i’d just tie some fishing line around the tooth and the other end to one of charlie’s toys.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 1:10 pm
Re: land stewardship
I think the environmental problems we’re facing are the result of thinking land is something to own, control and subjugate – instead of thinking of it as a part of yourself and your people.
The monotheistic religions, concentrating on the life after this one, give people the idea that this world is unimportant. They give the impression that man is above nature.
Here is what First Nations peoples knew so long ago: the earth supports humanity.
“Only when the last tree has been cut-down; only when the last river has been poisoned; only when the last fish has been caught. Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.” – FN proverb
August 3rd, 2011 @ 1:41 pm
I read this book earlier in the year. It is a free download available for the Kindle app on my phone. It thought it was a great book!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 1:41 pm
Yeef! as my brother would say.
I thought I was kind of a tuff cookie but NO WAY!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 2:46 pm
I read this book. It’s on Kindle either for free or a minimal cost. I really liked it!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 4:46 pm
A variation on this theme: Anne LaBastille, the Adinrondack “Woodswoman” recently passed away.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 4:47 pm
Ditto to what Dana said…you do the same for me!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 6:21 pm
Heck yeah. I dare anyone to say that women are all shrinking violets who faint at a bit of blood. I just about screamed out loud at the point where she put mercury (II) chloride on the patient’s wound, though.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 6:24 pm
Oh, and phenol as well! Glad things have changed.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 7:05 pm
Gee, someone you’d like as a friend in real life? Now who else could that define?
:)
August 3rd, 2011 @ 7:18 pm
I LOVE this book. You can also get it as a book on tape for free from librivox.org It’s pretty awesome! There are a lot of books like this recorded by volunteers on there! :) Love to see that your up to!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 8:07 pm
Let’s hope Mike is really diligent about hangnails and slivers….
August 3rd, 2011 @ 8:14 pm
I am completely with Dana and LisaAR….that is what you do for me too, every day.You,being transplanted from NYC and now living in a trailer with your animals in wild country.
Definitely *pioneer woman*.
And yes,also,to what sybann said, a friend like YOU in real life. A dream come true.
Reading some good books soon suggested by all.
Thanks everybody. Love you all!!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 8:52 pm
Wow. Seems a bit like vengence. Not telling someone you need to whack their finger off, then drug them and lance them? Hmmmm, at least she left the main member in tack.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 9:21 pm
Don’t miss the Adventures of a Woman Homesteader and Letters from an Elk Hunt. More insight. More letters. And next time you need some reading… try anything by Kate Morton. wow. I’m impressed. No pioneers, but strong women and great storytelling. Signed, your favorite librarian. (At least, I think I am!)
August 4th, 2011 @ 12:05 am
Now that is living without pretense; less waste, more action, and cool, collected women.
August 4th, 2011 @ 3:37 am
Why, the mercury poisoning must have been true fun! With friends like that — who needs enemies.
August 4th, 2011 @ 6:25 am
There was actually a low-budget film made from this book. I also like “Letters from an Elk Hunt”.
August 4th, 2011 @ 8:38 am
It’s a wonder our ancestors ever survived what passed as “frontier medicine”, back in the day.
Re Project Gutenberg– this is a volunteer project to take out-of-copyright books and get them into digitial format so modern readers can not only read the classics, but lesser-known works of the past. Our community college library has access to over 400 titles, all available for free download to a variety of devices. Many public libraries are also providing access to PG titles– investigate! Take it from this Colorado librarian, you’ll be glad you did.
August 4th, 2011 @ 9:42 am
Whoooaaa!
August 4th, 2011 @ 12:13 pm
And a novel, along the same lines (but with lots more trees) – Jump-Off Creek, by Molly Gloss.
kcb – yes, yes, and yes. Thanks for the book suggestion, I will be checking it out.
August 4th, 2011 @ 5:45 pm
I have read this book one of my favorites. We never know what we might be capable of when necessary.
August 4th, 2011 @ 7:34 pm
I have had this book many years and read it regularly. It is one of the only books I will never loan out for fear of never getting it back.
August 4th, 2011 @ 10:06 pm
many thanks to Kathy…I downloaded and transferred to my Kindle. This is a great story.
August 5th, 2011 @ 12:30 am
Gah!
I’m no shrinking violet, but I haven’t had quite the same opportunities….
August 13th, 2011 @ 6:35 pm
Also another good “pioneer woman” read….historical fiction based on the family memoirs of the author: These is My Words by Nancy Turner.
August 13th, 2011 @ 7:18 pm
My mother gave that book to me after she read it for her book club several years ago. Another book she gave me that she read for club is “Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage” Volume 1: 1877-1880 by Carrie Adell Strahorn. It is out of print, but I have found copies on Amazon.
August 26th, 2011 @ 7:35 am
I read this book this summer!!! It is DELICIOUS!!! I loved every chapter and had to pace myself not to read it too quickly… I loved her adventures, even with children!!!
Delicious……
August 30th, 2011 @ 9:15 am
My library has this only in audio format, read by Kate Fleming, who, in my opinion, has the perfect voice for this remarkable story. All day yesterday, I had a terribly sore neck (probably from sitting in front of a computer all day), so I went to bed with the heating pad and started listening. Truly fascinating. I admire Elinore’s courage, gumption, and work ethic, but, at the same time, felt extra grateful for my comfy bed, heating pad, ibuprofen, and the technology to listen to her story on a Playaway!
Thanks for a great recommendation!
September 2nd, 2011 @ 10:25 am
Wow! This looks like a fantastic read; thank you so much Shreve! As always, you’ve made my morning.
After reading this section you posted, I quickly realized I am now (probably have always been) a wimp concerning the medical emergencies I’ve stumbled upon; I’ve got no improvised amputations under my belt!
I can only imagine what people could have done 100’ish years ago with good antiseptics and vet wrap…