470

Olive Oatman CDV

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,500.00 USD
Olive Oatman CDV
If you want to see an enlarged image, click on the thumbnail image in the lower left of the main image.
You can download a higher resolution image by clicking on the title below the enlarged image.
You can request extra images to be added by contacting HWAC at uwe@fhwac.com or by calling 775-851-1859
Photograph is c1856 just after Olive Oatman was released from captivity by Indians. The photograph shows Olive with the blue tattoos that she was given during her captivity. Photography by Powelson of Rochester, New York. 2 1/2" x 4". Olive Ann Oatman was born in Illinois in September of either c1838. When Olive was 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. 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. 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 became a celebrity in her day, writing books and giving lectures on her captivity. (See accompanying book)City: County: State: AZDate: