The Captivity of the Oatman Girls Among the Apache and Mohave Indians (Dover Books on the...

The Captivity of the Oatman Girls Among the Apache and Mohave Indians (Dover Books on the American Indians) | Lorenzo D. and Olive A. Oatman | Interesting--if One-Sided--Captive Narrative

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The Captivity of t...

	The Captivity of the Oatman Girls Among the Apache and Mohave Indians (Dover Books on the American Indians) Lorenzo D. and Olive A. Oatman Dover Publications, 1994 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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Riveting true-life story of two sisters taken by Indians, their life in captivity, and their brother's search for them.

Permanently Changed My View of American History

I found this book in a Souix Indian Tribe Bookstore in the Dakotas a long time ago. (For the reviewers who think it is racist, why do Indian bookstores feature this book then?)

After reading the amazing story of the Oatman family and what happened to them, I understood the reason why Americans rose up and insisted that the government squelch Indian uprisings in the West and Southwest. This book destroyed many popular myths in my mind about Indian culture and American English culture in the 19th century. It also reveals a lot of detail about the way these two sub tribes of the Apache & Mohave Nations lived. The good and the bad are depicted side by side. For example, the Oatman girls were apparently never molested by the Apache or the Mohave, but they were treated pretty harshly at times (not to mention the unprovoked murder of their parents).

It shows that the tribes varied quite a bit, and that America was reluctant to send out the Cavalry. But this book may have been the trigger that changed the reluctance into a righteous indignation.

I think it also reveals something about one Mormon family who travelled (or tried to travel) to California...and what happened to them on the way.
The spirituality of the family (if the account is accurate) is remarkable.

This book shows how the US government was slow to rescue our own people who were captives...and how the power of the free press turned that around. For when this book was first published, it was a best seller in the USA. Apparently it created a groundswell public outcry that the military provide safer passageways across this vast land.

I think every American should be required to read this as part of a US History class. I'm sure some of the accounts are hyped a bit...but one cannot help but feel they are looking into history from the authentic eyes of a 19th century history shaping author.

I highly recommend this book!

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Interesting--if One-Sided--Captive Narrative

This book is a "captive narrative" about two children abducted by a breakaway (p. 105) tribe. While some reviewers have classified it as "racist," it's only reasonable that Olive would feel resentment toward her kidnappers and the people who killed her family, regardless of race or creed. Olive, as the narrative progresses, chides herself for originally lumping all Indians together as one, because she learns that each person is an individual (p. 147). However, because some of the language is harsh, and this is a one-sided account, it would be helpful to read this in conjunction with an Indian narrative. The author (the book wasn't written by the Oatmans), when narrating, does come across as racist and as trying to make a point--the conclusion is especially biased and an illustration of "Manifest Destiny."

As another reviewer mentioned, the language and writing style can be difficult to follow (and Dover's text spacing is somewhat difficult to read, as can be witnessed in the preview) but once you catch the flow of how three voices have been combined (that of the narrator, Olive, and her brother Lorenzo), it becomes easier to read . . . and quite fascinating.

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A decent read for those of you interested

I liked the book somewhat, but it dragged on so at some points I just had to skip paragraphs at a time. It actually was very boring at some points and very very drab at others. I would have a hard time recommending this book to others but I wouldn't say it was that bad. Just didn't have a good flow and it was very hard to get into. It was the type of book that you read 4 pages a night and fall asleep without remembering anything if you can identify with that...

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