Pioneer ruffians would not harm a woman of proven pluck
Evidence
This man said, “There’s a bad breed of ruffians, but the ugliest among them all won’t touch you. There’s nothing Western folk admire so much as pluck in a woman.” … I hurried along, and came upon the Donner Lake quite suddenly, to be completely smitten by its beauty. It is only about three miles long by one and a half broad, and lies hidden away among mountains, with no dwellings on its shores but some deserted lumberers’ cabins. Its loneliness pleased me well. I did not see man, beast, or bird from the time I left Truckee till I returned. The mountains, which rise abruptly from the margin, are covered with dense pine forests, through which, here and there, strange forms of bare grey rock, castellated, or needle-like, protrude themselves. … This is one of the snow-sheds of the Pacific Railroad, which shuts out from travelers all that I was seeing. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 37
Categorization
- XREF: Bird’s solitude and delight in lonely mountain landscapes echo similar passages in her approach to Estes Park and the mountains - and connect to the wilderness-appreciation thread across her travels. — connects to: Frontier respect for a woman hinged on proven wilderness skill, not gender — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 543
- SEED: The image of a lone woman riding through a town notorious for a rider carrying a chopped-up body, protected by her pluck, is a powerful scene for any essay or fiction on the West’s gendered code of chivalry.
Related
- Frontier respect for a woman hinged on proven wilderness skill, not gender (similarity 0.84)
- Western frontier men prized courage in women as their main protection. (similarity 0.81)
- Backcountry Western men insisted on courteous respect toward women. (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Frontier respect for a woman hinged on proven wilderness skill, not gender
#corroborates(0.90) — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 543