Jim Fergus

There is a certain model for novels about the American West (or in this case, really, the Mexican West) that I've noticed lately (perhaps I'm the last one to so notice). A young male protagonist on his own in the world (orphaned, often, or running from cruel parents), making his way alone (at first), wise and capable beyond his age, with a moral compass more 21st century than late 19th/early 20th century, and well-spoken beyond his upbringing. Through his own resourcefulness, some impressive show more luck and the kindness of strangers (since he is the most compassionate fellow around, he makes friends with the outcasts and misfits and wise elders) he perseveres and thrives, at least for a while, although there is always the threat of the cold and cruel hand of authority and/or "progress," which sometimes brings about a tragic ending. Native Americans rarely fare well.

Well, OK. That's not to condemn the genre. The closing of the North American wilderness, the hounding and destruction of Native American culture, the pluck of the individual in a hostile environment . . . all these are central part of American mythology and therefore bound to be told over and over. What one needs, then, is a well-toned willing suspension of disbelief and solid story-telling. An intriguing variation on the prototype is very helpful, as well, although not, strictly speaking, necessary.

The Wild Girl: The Notebooks of Ned Giles, 1932 does have the latter two features: the interesting variation and some good storytelling. We are in 1930s Mexico, where a joint Mexican/American expedition of soldiers (Mexican) and wealthy adventurers (American) is making a foray into the deep wilderness mountains to rescue a young boy who three years earlier had been kidnapped by the last surviving wild band of Apaches who are living up in those inaccessible hills. Our hero is Ned Giles, a 17-year-old boy, recently orphaned, who wants to be a photographer and, having seen recruiting posters for the expedition, shows up hoping for a job taking pictures.

The story pivots around a beautiful young Indian girl who the protagonist first sees curled up and dying in a small-town Mexican jail. During the course of the action, Ned gathers around himself the requisite band of wise and open-minded "misfits." In this case we have a flamboyantly gay, rich college boy (whose father, a rich Northern industrialist, has insisted his son sign up for the expedition in hopes of it "making a man of him"), this fellow's English butler, a beautiful blond female anthropologist and a young Mexican boy who attaches himself to the group. Also two Native Americans, one young and one old, who have come from their reservation to act as scouts for the expedition.

So it's all a bit pat. But having said all that, the story is well told, engaging and well paced. The time and place are very interesting, and I did feel that I was getting a relatively realistic picture of what life at that time and place might have been like. The writing very good (although at no time do we really believe that we're reading the notebooks of a 17-year-old, which is the novel's narrative frame). While I was reading The Wild Girl, I was enjoying it quite a lot. So if you think you might be interested in the time and place and the story in general, I actually would recommend this book. Overall I'm rating it 3 1/2 stars. That might be a touch generous, but I am willing to "over-value" good storytelling. show less

Blown away!

A reader friend recommended the book knowing I enjoy reading historical fiction. I downloaded the title without even reading the blurb. From the first pages of the "Introduction" written by J. Will Dodd, great-grandson of May Dodd and onward to the "Prologue" I was transported back in time to the mid-1870's. Due to a presentation gap of American history in my own education experience I have received no formal education/training of the time period between the end of the Civil War show more and personal awareness of American history that began on November 22, 2963, identifying that I have only a minuscule knowledge of the creation of American Indian reservations. Reading this book opened a window to the past and as with all historical fiction illuminates humanity or the lack thereof not merely the events listed in a nonfiction book.

With unparalleled creativity Jim Fergus presents a tale in journal format of the treatment by the government of indigenous people focusing on a Cheyenne tribe. I was riveted and immersed in the storyline that evoked a roller coaster of emotions that was at different twists haunting, blunt, heartbreaking, sensitive, scary, intriguing, humorous, and tear-jerking.

Blown away all over again in absolute shock at the reveal in the "Author's Note." Even recognizing the author’s disclosure the book brings to light pivotal history of the American West that some would prefer to stay in the past and for some eliminate as though it is not true. show less

Alternate history, that literary genre in which an historical event is tweaked, removed, or reversed, can be interesting. It is always great fun to play the “what if game” with the actual events of our shared past: “what if the South had won the Civil War,” “what if the Normandy invasion had failed,” or “what if John Kennedy had not been assassinated?” Much fascinating fiction has originated from those and similar questions. Jim Fergus plays a more subtle version of the game show more in One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd.” He wonders what might have happened if, in 1875, President Grant and Little Wolf, chief of the Cheyenne nation, had agreed to exchange one thousand white women for an equal number of Indian horses.

Grant is at first shocked and disgusted by Little Wolf’s proposition, but he has to admit that the idea makes sense. Since, in the Cheyenne culture, children belong to the tribes of their mothers, Little Wolf sees the “Brides for Indians” program as the best chance to assimilate his people peacefully into the white culture that seems destined to overwhelm his own. Grant, on his part, hopes that the women can influence their husbands into accepting, or at least tolerating, white ways and religions to the point that open warfare with the tribe can be avoided. Thus is born the secret “Brides for Indians” program, a program that will require Grant’s people to scour mental institutions, debtors’ prisons, and other jails and prisons in search of the one thousand women needed for Grant to meet his part of the bargain.

May Dodd, resident of a Chicago mental institution, is one of the first women recruited to go west to meet her new Indian husband. May has been institutionalized by her father for the unpardonable sin of bearing two children out of wedlock to a man beneath her social status. To her father’s way of thinking, no woman in her right mind could do such a thing – his daughter has to be insane. Rather than spend the rest of her life locked up, May, ever the adventurer, leaps at the chance to regain her freedom by becoming an Indian bride for the required two-year commitment.

One Thousand White Women is told largely in the words of a series of journals May begins to record almost the moment she decides to make her break for a new life. Through these journals, we meet May’s colorful traveling companions and learn of their adventures and hardships as they begin their new lives as wives of men with whom they have so little in common. The women, although they will suffer the hardships of winter encampment, inter-tribal warfare, kidnappings, and one horrible night when their men succumb to the evils of alcohol, find that they are learning as much about what is good and proper in society as they are teaching. But is it all too late to save the Cheyenne from what the army has planned for them?

The audio version of One Thousand White Women is read by Laura Hicks who does a remarkable job with the various accents and languages she has to deal with: two of the characters are Irish, one is Swiss, one is from the Deep South, one is an ex-slave, and some are French. Hicks handles all of these accents well, in addition to voicing a believable version of the Cheyenne language. This one should appeal to a variety of readers, among them: alternate history fans, western fans, and those who enjoy feminist novels with especially strong female characters.

Rated at: 5.0 show less

Narrated by Laura Hicks. Chief Little Wolf of the Cheyenne proposes a peace treaty plan to President Ulysses Grant: the tribe will swap 1,000 horses for 1,000 white women who will marry into the tribe and bear children, thus helping the tribe learn the white ways and preserve the dwindling Cheyenne population. Mae Dodd, an outspoken, progressive woman for her time, volunteers for the "Brides for Indians" program and this book is her journal of her experiences. The culture clash is at times show more distressing, amusing and horrifying for the volunteer wives. This and the details of daily life and survival and the wives' acceptance of Indian culture make for an intriguing read of "what if." The audio version was much more entertaining for me than if I had read it; narrator Laura Hicks voices this story with personality and verve, creating memorable pictures of the characters and events. (She presented a very entertaining and hilarious Gretchen, the Swiss.) It would be interesting to hear Native American reader reaction to this book: how accurately is the Cheyenne culture represented? show less