Background
Mary Ann Oatman was born to Royce Oatman and his wife, also named Mary Ann, in Illinois.
Mary Ann Oatman was born to Royce Oatman and his wife, also named Mary Ann, in Illinois.
Believing that they were immigrating to a divine country, the Oatmans travelled to Arizona, where they were massacred by Yavapai. Tied with ropes and forced to walk along the Arizonan desert, the girls" health suffered deeply. They became hungry and dehydrated.
Whenever they asked for rest or water, they would be poked by the Yavapai with lances.
Mary Ann and Olive were forced to hard labor, and they would be bothered by Yavapai children, who used sticks to burn them. In 1851, the sisters were traded to the Mohave tribe for a couple of horses and bags of beans.
The Mohave chief and his family welcomed the Oatman sisters with love and care, giving them food and providing them with a family life. Unfortunately for young Mary Ann, the help came too late: her body affected by the hunger and illness she suffered as a captive, she died soon after being taken by the chief"s family.
You will miss me for a while, but you will not have to work so hard when I"m gone".