Olive Oatman is not the only well-known captive who was recovered and returned to her home community, but her story does exemplify what happened to women who were captured by Native American Indians and the ongoing emotional trauma they experienced when they were returned to their families. These women lived in two worlds, and they were often rejected by both. Olive Oatman not only carried the physical scars of her ordeal for the rest of her life, but emotional scars, as well.
Massacre in Arizona
Olive Ann Oatman was born in Illinois in September of either 1837 or 1839. There were seven children in the family: Lorenzo, Mary Ann, Charity Ann, Lucy, Olive, Roland and Royce. In 1850, when Olive was 13 or 14 years old, her parents, Royce and Mary Ann Oatman, decided to join a wagon train in Independence, Missouri headed west for California. For unknown reasons, the train split up several times and eventually the Oatmans were left to travel alone through dangerous territory. Reiter's The Women claims Royce Oatman was frustrated by the constant feuding in the wagon train and decided to press on alone, but this is doubtful as he would have known that leaving the train would be reckless and dangerous. It is more logical to assume they were left behind when families left the train to stay in towns along the way then the train split due to arguments, which did happen on occasion.
Regardless of the reason for their isolation, the Oatmans were alone and traveling through the Gila River Valley when their wagon was attacked by Yavapai, possibly Tolkepayas. Olive and her sister, Mary Ann, who was seven-years-old, watched in horror as every member of their family was beaten and killed. At the time, Olive did not know her brother survived the attack. He appeared to be dead when the two young women were led away from the wagon.
Lorenzo's Search
Lorenzo Oatman was born in 1836 in Illinois, which would have made him a year or two older than Olive, and remarkably, Lorenzo did survive the attack of the Tolkepayas.
Lorenzo Oatman, courtesy of Library of Congress
One can assume that he took time to recover from his wounds and possibly buried his family, although doing so would have alerted the Tolkepayas to the fact that he had survived. He may have started out immediately to find help, and he did find help. He somehow managed to locate part of the wagon train they had lost at Maricopa Wells. He survived his wounds and, knowing his sisters were still alive, vowed to spend the rest of his life tracking them down. Lorenzo Oatman immediately began a five year search for Olive and Mary Ann.
Sold to Mojaves, and More Tragic Moments for Olive
Olive and her sister served as slaves of the Tolkepayas for a year, then they were sold to a Mojave chief for blankets, vegetables and horses. They followed their captors on foot for ten days to their encampment further north on the Colorado River near what is now Needles, California. The girls had no idea what to expect from their new captors, but discovered they were treated better, received few beatings, and were allowed to grow their own food. Their chins were marked with blue cactus tattoos. Some sources say this was a mark of their status as slaves. However, according to historians, most Mojave women at that time had tattoos on their chins.
Olive Oatman
Then in 1853, Olive experienced yet another devastating loss. A severe drought hit the area and the crops died, along with many of the tribe members and her precious sister, little Mary Ann. Olive was alone.
Possibilities for Escape
According to Margot Miflin's "10 Myths About Olive Oatman," in 1854, 200 white men met with the Mojave to mingle and trade when the Whipple Expedition came through to survey the area for the railroads. Some historians have questioned why Olive did not leave at this point. There were reportedly numerous traders who came to the Mojave encampment and she could have escaped or asked to be traded. However, she must have known that she would never again be accepted into the society of the small towns in the area because she had lived so long with the Mojave. She may have feared retribution and punishment. She knew no one would accompany her to a settlement and may have feared she would receive even worse treatment from a white man if she dared to ask for help.
Olive also believed her entire family was massacred. As you'll recall, she didn't know Lorenzo survived, and when Mary Ann died I would think she would have felt as if the Mojave was the only family she had left. According to Mifflin, Mary Ann and Olive were not treated as slaved by the Mojave. They were adopted by a family and given the family name of Oach. The Mojave referred to them as ahwe, a word that means stranger, not slave.
Rescued and Reunited
Lorenzo did survive, and he was still searching. At some point during the winter of 1855-56 the U.S. Army received word that Olive was living with the Mojave and began negotiations for