Page:Women of the West.djvu/189

Rh. The old idea that woman's only place was in the home, even after the occupations of the home had been lightened by machinery, still prevailed. The spirit that subdued the frontier must break down the opposition to women in the larger housekeeping which has to do with the affairs of the country.

It is fifty years or so too soon to tell the story of that pivotal generation of women who, while rearing their families, set their faces steadily to affairs outside the home. These, too, are the pioneer women to whom we must pay homage along with the subduers of the western frontier who were their mothers and grandmothers. They deserve veneration for their bravery. For so long as civilization shall carry on we will have these unassuming pioneers who will break down barriers and subdue other than actual frontiers, and women will do their part shoulder to shoulder with men just as they did in the 1840's when the West was transformed in less than seventy years into a great commonwealth.

There is something romantic and appealing about frontier or pioneer life. The thrill of living next to nature and battling with her forces, and the wholesomeness of life in the wide spaces all have their appeal to the average man or woman. This frontier life develops a hardiness of character and staunchness of soul that has had much to do with America's miraculous and speedy ascent to her place among nations of the world.

The "49" gold rush caused the westward march of progress to leap almost from the Mississippi to the Pacific coast overnight, and in this leap the territory now included in our mountain states was almost overlooked. Hence, we find that America's last frontier, instead of being the Pacific seaboard, is rather on the high plateaus leading down from the Rockies toward our neighboring republic on the south.

This last frontier is slowly but steadily giving way before modern conditions, and we, who are a part of this colorful life, view this breaking up and crumbling of the old with mixed feelings. We rather regret that the picturesque Indian life is gradually disappearing, and we can not but sigh for the