THE GENTLE TAMERS: Women of the Old Wild West

Twenty five women who crossed the trails to the West and settled there are saluted here. Actually the imprint left by these women is slight: one may question some inclusions, some exclusions. Here are the stories of Narcissa Whitman, the charming wife of the missionary who went to Oregon in 1836; of Josephine Meeker, captured by Ute Indians in 1879 at the White River, (Colorado) massacre; and of Frances Grummond who spent four months at Fort Phil Kearney in 1866. A canvas of divergent types -- prostitutes, actresses, wives of gold-seekers, settlers and soldiers. The book's market is among the uninitiated and girls will be more interested than boys.