The Blue Tattoo--#37 finished

The Life of Olive Oatman.  I had probably seen Olive Oatman's photo at some point in my life but the memory hadn't stuck.  She was captured by Apache Indians in AZ/Mexico area in the late 1840s.  Her family was moving from Illinois to AZ or California as part of a wagon train.  At a late stop and only about 200 miles from their destination, her father decided to push on, while the few wagons/families with them decided to wait for provisions.  Those remaining 200 miles were tough miles & the family was struggling to get through them, when the Apaches came upon them wanting food and ended up killing nearly the whole family.  Olive & her younger sister Mary Ann were captured, one brother Lorenzo was left for dead but somehow survived, rest were killed.   Sisters were with Apaches for a year as slaves and then were sold to the Mohave Indians.  This writer, I think, did an excellent job of giving a feel for that life and how the sisters were accepted and part of the tribe of Mohave and not slaves.  Mary Ann died at a time of extreme famine in the area and about a year later Olive was returned to an army fort.  Then started the 2nd part of her life where the story of her captivity and the tattoos she had from then thrust her into the limelight.  Writer brought out how Olive was at first used by the first writer about her life with the Indians as a story of white over natives and how his story followed in lines of other captivity stories.  Both gain fame & money from this and Olive was able to eventually establish her own life as a speaker traveling the country earning her living. This was a really interesting story about Olive & I think the author did a very good job of talking about how it fit into the mindset and history of the time.

There are 61 WL for the book so I will get it mailed off at some point on PBS.