The Oatman Massacre: A Tale of Desert Captivity and Survival

For those of us who read on the history of the west, this book has long been waited for. Before this study the most accepted history of that event was one published in the late 1800s which omitted much, and made up as much, with much bias against Indians in general. This book page by page, passage by passage, should now become the standard text of our times. The author allows the book to progress as if it were an investigation into all things historical and cultural that focus on that event of 1851. One of the more revealing aspects of the book is his focus on the fervor of the religous climate of the day, especially the turmoil of the Mormons seeking a person to replace Joseph Smith. Many things become clear as to why the Oatman family from Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, ended up alone on the Gila River the day the Indians struck. That Olive and Lorenzo did not perish with the other members of the family is a small miracle. As usual the University of Oklahoma has issued a valuable addition to our western history in general and one family in specific. Well done. Semper Fi.

The Oatman Massacre: A Tale Of Desert Captivity And Survival by Brian McGinty is the historical study of the killing and capturing of the Oatman family at the hands of Native Americans. Motivated by his religious beliefs as a dissident Mormon, Roys Oatman set off for Gila and Colorado rivers' intersection with his family of nine and followers seeking to settle in a fertile country he called the "Land of Bashan". The Oatman Massacre is the descriptive story of what came to be called the "Oatman Massacre" in the mid-nineteenth century when all members of that doomed family were killed except for eight-year-old Mary Ann and thirteen-year-old Olive Oatman, and their wounded fourteen-year-old brother Lorenzo Oatman. The young women's captivity amidst the Mohaves tribe, and the experiences of Olive throughout the eight years prior to her rescue is ably recounted. The Oatman Massacre is a remarkable account and a welcome contribution to understanding the Mohaves culture, Mormon history, and a particularly harrowing event on the American frontier.

Mr. McGinty's book is a must read for anyone interested in American history and the complex relationship between whites and Native Americans in the 19th Century. The author has a talent for writing that makes for an easy read, and has obviously spent years researching the subject. I would also highly recommend this book to those who normally read fiction because Olive Oatman's life fits into the category of a life that is more fascinating than fiction. Interesting information is provided about the Oatmans' trek west, the early Mormon church, and the Native Americans of the Southwest. The portions of the book dealing with Olive's life among the Indians and the speculation that she probably had children while among the Mohave Indians were particularly interesting. Equally remarkable is how Olive delt with her return to white society. The underlying issues of the clash between cultures, the role of women, religion, and popular culture prompt the reader to think critically about these issues.

Olive Oatman entered adolescence as a typical pioneer girl on a westbound wagon train and ended it as one of America's most curious anthropological flukes--a white Indian with a facial tattoo, suspended between cultures. Though much has been written about her, this is the most thoroughly researched treatment of her saga published to date. McGinty brings new information on Oatman to light (including that the Reverend who wrote her biography was probably a fraud), poses provocative questions and sorts out the various Indian tribes involved in her story. The book is cleanly written (it contains none of the recycled phrases that afflict so much Oatmanalia) and strikes a nice balance between conclusions based on new research and theories that are avowedly speculative.