Olive Oatman - Abduction and Captivity

Abduction and Captivity

Once the attack was complete, the Indians took some of the Oatmans' belongings along with the Oatman girls. The captors were either Tolkepayas or Western Yavapais living in a village nearly 100 miles from the site of the attack. After arriving at the village, the girls were initially treated in a way that appeared threatening, and Olive later said she thought they would be killed. Eventually, the girls were used to forage for food, lug water and firewood, and other menial tasks. Miscommunication resulted in beatings.

After a year, a group of Mohave Indians visited the village and traded two horses, vegetables and blankets for the captive girls, after which the girls went on a 10-day journey to the Colorado River and the Mohave village. They arrived into what today is Needles, California. Once there, their cavalry stopped for some time, as they were taken in by the family of Chief Espanesay. This tribe was more prosperous than the girls' prior holders, and the chief's wife and daughter took an interest in the Oatman girls' welfare. The girls were given plots of land to farm and were both tattooed on their chins and arms in keeping with the tribal custom.

About a year later, during a drought in the region, the tribe experienced a shortage of food supplies and Mary Ann died of starvation, at the age of ten.

When Olive Oatman was 19 years old, a Yuma Indian messenger arrived at the village with a message from the authorities at Fort Yuma. Rumors suggested that a white girl was being held captive by the Mohaves and the post commander requested her return. Blankets and horses were sent for trade, but the Indians initially resisted the terms.

In the end the Indians decided to take the trade items, and Olive was escorted to Fort Yuma in a 20-day journey. Before entering the fort, Olive insisted she be given proper clothing, as she was clad in nothing more than a grass skirt made of bark. Inside the fort, Olive was surrounded by cheering people. She soon discovered her brother Lorenzo was alive and had been looking for her and her sister. Their meeting made headline news across the West.