One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd

This notebook, written by May between May 12 and May 22, 1875, chronicles her first days in the Cheyenne camp. May describes the laborious life inside the lodge of her husband, Chief Little Wolf. She shares the space with his hostile senior wife, Quiet One, and his friendly second wife, Feather on Head. The difficult labor assigned to the white women causes tension; Phemie refuses the work and asserts her independence. May notes that her own efforts to fit in are met with a mix of amusement and skepticism. May is troubled by nightmares of Quiet One.

During a swim, Cheyenne women mock May’s bathing costume, but she impresses a group of men by diving gracefully, which earns her the name Mesoke, meaning Swallow. Later, Phemie reveals she wears a chastity string to protect herself. The women argue with Reverend Hare and Narcissa over religious matters. May’s tone toward the missionary grows increasingly ironic. May tries to help her friend, Martha Atwood, obtain a more respectable Cheyenne name, but Martha’s attempt to prove her bravery fails.

The women are prepared for a mass wedding ceremony, combining Christian rites with Cheyenne customs, followed by a feast and dancing.