How important is a name?

A Name of Her Own –by Jane Kirkpatrick

Fiction, Historical

402 pages / 1435 KB

5 Stars

Ms. Kirkpatrick has written an engaging novel about the life of an extraordinary woman and Ioway Indian, Marie Dorion.

The author is a master storyteller, and will pull you into the story as you follow along in the footsteps of this courageous woman, as she journeys first by river boat, then across land by horseback and walking, and eventually by canoe.

You will easily and effortlessly become involved in this woman’s story as told by Kirkpatrick.

Although this is a novel, Marie Dorion was a real woman, and I think she would be extremely pleased at having her story told by Jane Kirkpatrick

Disclaimer: I should tell you that Ms. Kirkpatrick was kind enough to endorse my book:  Madame Dorion - Her Journey to the Oregon Country.  

Astoria –by Washington Irving

History

Publisher: Echo Library

326 Pages

Footnotes/Endnotes: A few

Suitable for eReaders: Yes

4 Stars

Written circa 1835, this book is, quite literally, living history. Unfortunately, the publisher did not list an original publication date, though they published it in 2007. There are no endnotes, and very few footnotes. My biggest complaints were lack of index (which I think could have been added with modern technology) and no maps.

I bought this book primarily as a reference on the life of Marie and Pierre Dorion, and because of the lack of index, I had to read it all. Hmmm, maybe I'm a little glad there was no index. The book was well written, though one must give patience for some of the wordage (Indian women are 'squaws' if mentioned at all, and all Indians are 'savages,' but such was the vernacular of the day).

The descriptions of the trip the Hunt party made from St. Louis to Astoria is spectacular in areas. Their trip covered 3500 miles. As the crow flies today, it is 1800 miles. Mr. Hunt lead a party of trappers across the continent in 1811 for his boss, John Astor. Hunt made several decisions along the trek, costing lives and time.

If you are interested in the history of the opening of the Oregon Territories, the mountain men, the fur trappers and hunters, this book reads more like a well-written novel than a history book. It is an exciting book, about exciting people. One would almost think Irving made the trip.

The descriptions of the Natives and how they lived are wonderful. The description of how the French Canadians and Mountain Men dressed is delightful.

It would be helpful if this book is ever reprinted to have an editor go through it and tell us what the places mentioned are either called today, or where they are located on today's maps. The Great Falls of the Columbia no longer exist, well, that's not quite true, they do exist, they are just covered by Celilo Lake, made when The Dalles Dam flooded the Columbia River. (When I was a girl, they were known as Celilo Falls, and I remember not only the falls, but the Indians fishing from them.)

Madame Dorion

Madame Dorion –by Jerome Peltier

Nonfiction / Biography

Publisher: Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, Washington

43 Pages

Footnotes / Endnotes: Yes

Illustrations: Yes, black ink drawings

Suitable for eReaders: Yes (but not available)

5 Stars

Marie "Madame" Dorion was the second known woman to cross the Great Divide into the Oregon Territory, following in the footsteps, more or less, of Sacajawea. Except Marie had two children, and gave birth to a third on the trip.

Not a great deal is known about this woman, other than she was a member of the Iowa Indian Tribe, and married to a French Canadian, Pierre Dorian, who spoke a few Indian languages, and when hired by the Hunt expedition to guide and interpret took his wife and two young sons along.

Marie did not slow the party down, even though her sons were 4 and 2 years old, and the 2 year old had to be carried. She carried her child, and her share of the packs and chores. She had a third baby along the way, who lived 9 days, and was buried near the Powder River in Oregon.

When Pierre was killed, she was offered passage back to her homeland, but refused, and stayed in the Oregon country where she remarried. There are church records of her being in the Okanagan country, mentions of her visiting Narcissa Whitman, and settling near what is now known as Salem, Oregon.

Although there are no known records of what all she did, she must have been a stellar woman to have not only been given the honorific of "Madame" but when she died, she was buried under the steeple of her church, rather than in the graveyard with everyone else.

When she married John Toupin in the Catholic Church, all her children became "legitimized" according to the Church, and her descendants are still found today, usually with the last name of Turpin.

I don't know how accurate this booklet is, but I'm guessing fairly accurate. Written in 1980, there is very possibly more information available now, through church records that were either not available or not known at the time of this writing. Mr. Peltier treats the Indians as human, not savages.  If you can find a copy, and are interested in the history of the Oregon Country, I recommend it.