Condition: Good. Packed in a BOX with cardboard backing and padding. (See Photos!) First Edition, 1995, with full number line, 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 . Size: 11" x 12.5". Pages: not written on, clean, bright, odor free, fine edges. Dust Jacket: clean, bright, light bumping to edges, several light scuffs, fade spots mostly to back. Same or next day shipping (weekdays and Saturdays)! Ships from California.  ABOUT: The role of women in the settlement of the West has been generally ignored until the   last few years. Women were a necessary and powerful element in the migration to and settling of the West in the "civilizing" of the frontier. Pioneering, like ranching, is usually viewed as the province of men, but the westward migration was definitely a family affair, as is ranching today. The women were absolutely essential, for not only did they perform their traditional tasks, which on the trail required a great deal of heavy work, but they also took over the men's work when necessary. Most of the women did not want to make the journey west. The trip was marked by a lack of security and comfort as well as an uncertain future at best. Pioneers endured all kinds of weather with little or no shelter; the days were long and arduous; the women had to cook over open fires regardless of the weather; they had to care for the children who came with them as well as those they bore on the trail. On foot the road was long and dusty. Riding in a wagon (with no springs), perhaps a less comfortable option for a woman with child, was cold and jarring. But these women were survivors. As a matter of fact, more men died on the trail than women, even with the difficulties and dangers of childbirth. For those of us born in the West, these pioneering women and men are our forebears, whose genes, passed down through the generations, collectively have resulted in a western spirit celebrated for its resourcefulness, toughness, and tenacity.