Since Olive was given her tattoos in 1858, body art has become an ubiquitous part of modern life in the UK, with an estimated 20 million Brits believed to have one. But romantic as it sounds, the rumours were never substantiated.
Fairchild, she never had children although the couple did adopt a daughter, Marnie, in 1877.Īfter she died aged 65 in 1903, rumours surfaced of a previous marriage to a Mojave chieftain which was said to have produced two sons. Although she later married, to cattleman John B. Oatman remained with the Mojave until she was 19, when the authorities at nearby Fort Yuma belatedly found out that a white girl was living with the tribesmen.Ī messenger from the Yuma tribe was sent to negotiate with the Mojave for her release and eventually, they agreed to part with her in exchange for horses and blankets.Īt Fort Yuma, Oatman was reunited with her brother Lorenzo. 'The tribe tattooed lines on her chin because they believed it would ensure her passage to the afterlife.'
'She was raised by Mojave Indians after her family was killed on a trip from Western Illinois,' recounts Margot Mifflin, author of Bodies Of Subversion.
The pair were swiftly moved to a Mojave village on the Colorado River, where they were taken in by one of the village families and treated as full members of the tribe.Īlthough both girls were tattooed by the Mojave, Mary-Ann sadly didn't live long enough to be photographed - dying of starvation during a famine that hit the region a year after their arrival. But their luck changed when a group of Mohave Indians arrived in their kidnapper's village and persuaded the Yavapais to give up the girls in exchange for two horses and some blankets.