Announcements

10 Year Anniverary & New Releases Winners: Carrie Fancett Pagels' Butterfly Cottage - Melanie B, Dogwood Plantation - Patty H R, Janet Grunst's winner is Connie S., Denise Weimer's Winner is Kay M., Naomi Musch's winner is Chappy Debbie, Angela Couch - Kathleen Maher, Pegg Thomas Beverly D. M. & Gracie Y., Christy Distler - Kailey B., Shannon McNear - Marilyn R.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Interview with Shannon McNear by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Shannon McNear


What got you interested in the colonial time period?

Well, if a decade or two of breathing the air of Charleston, South Carolina, won’t do it ... :-) Seriously, what really fired my imagination was attending my first Revolutionary War reenactment in 2006, the 230th anniversary of the Siege of Charleston. From that day, I was seriously hooked—and this in an area probably best known for Civil War history.


What inspired your latest colonial work?

Story after story of the conflict between Americans who fought for independence and those who chose loyalty to the king.


Do you have a favorite colonial place you like to visit and why?

Old Fort Dorchester State Park, now known as Colonial Dorchester. It’s one of the few local sites that hasn’t been built over, which means there’s a wealth of archaeological finds just twelve inches or so down. Also, since it’s one of the lesser-known area attractions, it tends to be quiet and peaceful—a great place I can let my family run and play. And I love the fort and church ruins, and the cemetery.


If you care to say, you can tell readers where you live and what colonial places you have in your state or your home state if different.

We live on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina, and there are too many places to list! Seriously, Charleston was the busiest seaport on the southern coast during colonial times, possibly the richest. We have plantations, town homes, forts, churches (some ruined and some not), buildings of commerce, and old jails. Inland and upstate are battlefield sites in various states of upkeep (one is half under water now). Kings Mountain, which I wrote about in Defending Truth, is right up on the state line.

Do you have a favorite colonial recipe you enjoy and would like to share with readers?

Just one?? I suppose johnnycakes would be the obvious choice since they figure so prominently in Defending Truth.

Johnnycakes—or journeycakes—are essentially cornmeal pancakes. I can’t find serious provenance for the use of baking soda or powder before the early 1800’s, so the main leavening agent would have been eggs. Here’s the basic recipe as I recently tested it:

 Johnnycakes
2 cups cornmeal (stoneground is best, I grind my own with a Nutrimill, which makes the meal more “thirsty” than commercial, aged cornmeal)
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ c. milk, more or less

Stir dry ingredients together, beat in eggs, then add milk to make a pourable batter. Fry like pancakes—best on a hot, oiled cast iron griddle—and drench in butter. :-) Or butter and syrup, or butter and jam.

This is a very flexible recipe. You can substitute flour for half the cornmeal, or change up the sugar for honey or molasses. Definitely don’t hesitate to adjust the amount of milk to make your batter the desired consistency—a thicker batter makes for a thicker cake. Also, make them a little smaller than you think you should, since they tend to be very filling.


Story overview/blurb

On the frontier of western North Carolina, which will someday become east Tennessee, Truth Bledsoe keeps her family fed while her father is away fighting the British. When she discovers a half-starved, fugitive Tory, she’s not above feeding him, but to go past simple Christian charity to forgiveness seems impossible. To love would be unthinkable.

Micah Elliot has fled capture after the massacre at King’s Mountain, heartsick, battle weary, and ashamed of the cowardice that sent him westward over the mountains instead of eastward to home. Groping his way through a crisis of faith, he must discover and embrace what might finally be worth laying down his life for.


Author bio

Shannon McNear has been writing one thing or another since third grade and finished her first novel at age fifteen—but it would be more than thirty years before she’d receive her first book contract. In the meantime, she graduated from high school, attended college, met and married her husband, birthed nine children, lost one, taught five to drive, revised that first story innumerable times, and completed six others.

Her writing experience includes former interview coordinator and review editor for Christian Fandom, founding contributor of Speculative Faith, and founding member of the Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog Tour. She has also served as area coordinator, southeast zone director, and local chapter founder and president for American Christian Fiction Writers. She's an active member of ACFW, RWA, and My Book Therapy.

At the 2012 ACFW conference, to her shock and delight, she was awarded a first-time author contract from Barbour Publishing for her historical romance novella Defending Truth. It released September 2013 as part of A Pioneer Christmas Collection.

A Midwestern farm girl transplanted more than 20 years ago to Charleston, South Carolina, she loves losing herself in local history, especially the colonial era. When not homeschooling, sewing, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she finds joy in worship, women’s ministry, and encouraging whoever God brings across her path.



Friday, September 27, 2013

Linsey Woolsey - Before Cotton was King -


Since my junior high days I've been fascinated with the idea of growing your own fabric - cotton, wool and flax--probably since Social Studies class introduced me to the term linsey-woolsey.  A few weeks ago I discussed how plain cotton fabric became printed cotton with the use of hand carved blocks and a lot of patient and underpaid artisans.  Today I want to share a bit on what the common folk wore before cotton was an option.

Linum usitatissimum  -- the FLAX plant

In many areas of Europe and the UK, wool was a cash crop for the benefit of the estate owners (they raised sheep). The poor were allowed to use what wool they found  (caught on bushes or fences when sheep had pastured in that area) or what they could afford -- probably wool that was of the least quality. Obviously this wasn't much to make yarns for knitting and weaving, so it was combined with the fiber from the flax plant. 

I enjoy flax as an ornamental  because I like the lovely blue flowers of this ancient plant. It is grown around the globe in areas with loamy soils (rich brown, not rocky) and is harvested for flax seed, linseed oil and the fiber used to make linen. I imagine a majority of Americans have never seen it growing, unless you are near some of the large farms raising it commercially.

Nothing I could describe will explain the process better than this video (created about Canadian Pioneers).  I find it all fascinating and would love to try the whole process myself, first-hand. Looks like a lot of work; certainly no less work than the production, harvesting and work involved in taking wool from sheep to sweater, or cotton from seed to shirt for the thousands of years everything was a non-mechanical process!


Linsey Woolsey fabrics combined the yarns of both wool and flax in what used to be the fabric for the masses! Note-- the soft fibers of flax and golden color is the source for the term 'flaxen'  describing lustrous light blond hair!  Flax has been used for so long that the term linen began to encompass many other fabrics --the 'linens' department in a store is any collection of home accessories such as sheets and towels.  Today's linen clothing is often 'upscale' rather than for the poor and the majority of clothing quality flax is grown in western Europe.

Have you ever seen a garment made from linsey-woolsey?


Thanks for visiting!
Debra

Debra E. Marvin
Dark Tales Brimming with Light
Winner, 2012 Phoenix Rattler, Semi-finalist, 2013 Genesis
www.inkwellinspirations.blogspot.com/

http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/
www.facebook.com/debra.e.marvin

www.debraemarvin.com    and...twittering @DebraEMarvin 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Making Pens from Quills

In preparation for "Spies in Early America" class I'm teaching my home school group, I decided to get some quills. After all, if one is pretending to be a Revolutionary-era spy and will be writing secret messages in homemade invisible ink, obviously one ought to use a quill pen to do it! Right? Right. =)

The only problem is that, well, finished quill pens are a bit pricey. And since I listed my classes as "free," I wanted to keep costs to a minimum. As I perused the quill options online, something soon became clear--if I was going to provide quills to 14 students, I needed to buy them uncut, hence cheaply.

Sure. No problem. I could learn to cut quills. I mean, every person who knew how to write for centuries trimmed their own quills. This isn't a big deal. I'm a smart girl. I can figure it out. Right? Right?? LOL

So I ordered my nice set of a dozen black quills. And as I waited for them to arrive, I read up on the process online, visiting several sites to get the full scope of my project. And the more I read...the more I realized that 12 quills ordered for 12 students gave me absolutely no margin of error. Insert Roseanna taking a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics.

I ended up with 6 colored quills for $2, the 12 black ones for $7, and a precision knife made by Fiskars. (Colonial folks would have used a pen knife. I, however, have not a pen knife. So I went with a sharp blade that still allowed for control.) And I no sooner got home than got an email saying my class size had increased to 14, so it was a good decision. ;-)

My Fiskars Precision Knife
Then I set up my area. I was working on my old wooden desk, which I didn't want to score with my blade, so I put a cutting board down. Then I got to work preparing the quills. The first step is to shave off excess feathers, as you can see from the mound of colored fluff in the above picture. The idea is to make sure it sits comfortably in your hand without the barbs annoying you. I have tiny hands, so I didn't have much to worry about. But men would have to shave off more, for sure. And most people from days bygone would have stripped the quill entirely. For ascetics, I didn't do that here.

See how the feathers hit my hand at first?
After trimming, the feathers don't start until after my hand.
You'll also want to shave the feathers from the middle section of the quill, where they're really fluffy. I actually found that with the feathers I was using, if I took off all the fluffy looking ones from middle and sides, that was a good rule for how far to shave.

Shaving fluffy feathers from inside the rib

 I then cut off all the tips of the feathers. This has to be done at some point, and one of the articles I read said to do it before tempering. Others said after. I see no big difference when you do it, so...whenever, LOL.

Quill with tip removed
Then comes the tempering--this is when you harden your quill. The quill wears away with use, so if you start with a harder shaft, it'll last longer. You can soak them overnight in water to really help the process, but since these are for recreational use, I went straight to the heat tempering.

For this part of the process, you fill a can with sand and pop it in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes. Since I was doing so many quills at once, I used a cake pan. Once the sand is heated, pull it out of the oven and bury your quills in as far as they'll go.

Quills getting their heat treatment in 350-degree sand
Leave them in there until the sand has cooled. I did this part in the evening and left them until morning when I was ready to start working on them again.

Next comes the part I feared messing up royally--cutting. Getting out my handy-dandy precision knife again, I studied the diagrams and descriptions on the various websites and distilled it down to a few main steps.

1. Make a slice at an angle to take away about half the diameter of the quill.

The first slice.
2. Once you've opened the shaft, you can see that inside is a series of circular membranes. Get those out with the tip of your blade and, in the section beyond your cut, some little pokey thing. I used a cuticle shaper from a pedicure set, LOL.

Removing the membrane
3. Then you do the slices to form your nib. Start by making a slit parallel to the shaft and centered, from the tip up about 1/4 inch. This helps the ink flow to the point

Making the slit
4. Then you start shaping the point into a nib. Here are some pictures from various angles.


5. The final step is to work the point. I just pressed my blade to the tip, perpendicular to the shaft, to square it off. Then took it at an angle from both top and bottom to get the best edge.

As I practiced using them, I trimmed a bit here and there until I found the shape that made the ink flow best. And of course...

Monday, September 23, 2013

Horses, Endurance and Distance

By Susan F. Craft
Author, A Writer’s Guide to Horses
        The Long Riders' Guild is the world's first international association of equestrian explorers, and is an invitation-only organization. It was formed in 1994 to represent men and women of all nations who have ridden more than 1,000 continuous miles on a single equestrian journey. Members currently reside in 45 countries.
        Because they constantly receive all manner of questions from writers about how to depict horses in their works, the Guild asked me to collaborate with them to compile A Writer’s Guide to Horses.
       
One question that authors ask quite a lot is, “How far can a horse travel in a day?”
Here’s an excerpt from the Guide that addresses that question.

Endurance of Horses
        Endurance depends on a wide variety of issues – condition of the animals prior to their departure; the season; that day’s weather; geographic challenges they face that day; proper fit of the riding and pack saddles; how often and accurately the animals are fed, and how talented the riders are.
        Based on a loose “ideal” situation, a Long Rider can hope to average between 15 and 25 miles a day.
        You don’t ride a horse cross country like you drive a car. That means the Long Rider usually rides for five days and then takes two days off to rest himself and his horses.

Scottish Long Rider, Catherine de Bourboulon,
rode from Shanghai to Moscow in the
mid-nineteenth century.
Gait or Pace
        Walk – 3 to 5 mph (four beat movement or gait)
        Trot – 8 to 10 mph (two beat movement)
        Canter – 15 mph (three beat movement)
        Gallop – 25 to 30 mph (A two-beat stride during which all four legs are off the ground simultaneously. This is a four-beat movement)
        A team of six horses pulling a light carriage will go faster and farther than a single horse pulling a very heavy wagon.

Distance
    “Every mile traveled is a mile survived. Distance is measured in time, not miles.”        
 How far a horse can travel in a day depends on –
• size of the horse
• age of the horse
• how much the rider weighs
• how talented the rider is
• how much gear, including saddle, bridle, saddle bags, etc., is the riding horse carrying in addition to the rider
• weather and what time of year the trip is being taken • geographic conditions – flat roads winding across pastures in Maryland; snake infested switchback trails in the Rocky Mountains; swamps, canebrakes, sand hills of South Carolina, the Steppes of Central Asia, the Himalayas, the marshes of France’s Camargue
• Writers should be aware of how the weather affects equestrian travel. Horses (like people!) find it very hard and tiring to struggle through mud or deep snow, which sometimes pull their shoes off. If there is a very sharp, cold wind, all horses will try to turn their backs to it, which can be maddening for the rider if they are trying to travel into the wind! • time period/era – i.e. late 19th century with accommodations for horse and rider found along all major roads in the eastern part of America; or early 21st century when you can’t find a horse shoer or a barn if your life depends on it; mid-1700s in back country US with little chance of equestrian services being offered at outposts or settlements.

Swiss Long Rider, Otto Schwarz, rode
48,000 kilometres on five continents in
the late twentieth century.
• if there is a pack horse in the equation; how much the pack saddle weighs; if the riding and pack mule get along
        Quote from a 1917 British cavalry manual regarding the average pace for travelers: “Distances covered in one hour, walk 4 miles, trot 8 miles, canter 9 miles, slow gallop 12, gallop 15 miles. The rate of marching should average about five miles an hour, including short halts. The rate of march will vary according to the nature of the country, the gradient of the roads and the climate.”

These excerpts from the Long Riders’ Guild Academic Foundation’s A Writer’s Guide to Horses regarding the sex, age, physical attributes, behavior, and feeding of horses. It is copyrighted material that is provided here with the permission and courtesy of the Long Riders’ Guild. Visit the website at www.lrgaf.org for more information about horses.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Adventures in Historically Accurate Colonial Costuming

[With a nod to Laura Frantz's post "Dress, Shoes, and Stays - Oh My!"]

So ... I’ve always been a perfectionist. Painfully so, and one of the lessons I’ve had to learn as a mother of many is knowing when to let go of the Quest for the Perfect.

Here is one time when I just couldn’t, quite. :-)

A participant in the 2006 Parker's Ferry event
Several years ago, when I first began research on my Revolutionary War novel, Loyalty’s Cadence, I joined a Yahoo group for researchers and living historians, called 18cWoman (18th Century Woman). That list is no longer in existence, but its replacement, 18cLife, has been fairly active. Over the years, the kindly folk there have answered my story questions on everything from regulations about British campfollowing wives to Colonial Christmas traditions. I’ve also witnessed countless discussions about proper clothing for period reenactments and living history events. These people tend to be meticulous in their research and attention to detail, so when the idea of sewing a “real” eighteenth century outfit occurred to me, I brushed it aside. Again—and again. :-)

Okay, I finally thought, IF my historical ever sells. It would be cool to wear one to booksigning events. Then came my first contract for Defending Truth, and the project lurked in the back of my mind through the months of writing and revising the novella. As a challenge to my sewing skills, it would be as much a creative endeavor as the writing, and it was just as important to me to get the research right.

So, a quick overview of 18c (eighteenth century) women’s wear from the skin outward:

  • Shift: the equivalent of 18c underwear, made of pure linen for its availability and breathability. The quality of the linen was determined by one’s station and wealth. “Chemise” is the French word, more commonly in use in the nineteenth century.


    JP Ryan stays pattern
  • Stays: basically the predecessor of a corset, which again is the French word and not in use until later. Often referred to as a “pair” of stays, referring to the two halves, or “bodies,” which is where the word “bodice” comes from (“a pair of body’s”). In the 18c and before, as much of a support garment as for shaping, like an 18c lumbar belt. In use as early as the 16th century, and worn by babies and children as well as adult females. (That scene in Pirates of the Caribbean, where Elizabeth wears stays for the first time, is inaccurate in so many ways ... )
  • Pockets: a bag or two, sewn to a cloth tape and tied around the waist for access through side slits in the skirts. Often highly embroidered, and NOT worn on the outside to attract marriageable men ... 
  • Petticoat: essentially a skirt, at least one, more often two. These were often linen, quilted cotton, silk, or wool. Working women wouldn’t bother to match the petticoat to their jacket or gown, but dressy gowns often had a matching petticoat. 
  • Gown: an open-fronted garment with sleeves, more or less embellished. Fastened down the front with straight pins (yes! it’s true!), or hooks and eyes. The open skirts are sometimes hiked “a la polonaise.” Made of linen (striped or plain), wool, silk, or a block-printed cotton (see Debra’s recent post about fabrics). In lieu of a gown, women also wore jackets, shortgowns, or bedgowns (for undress/casual wear around the house).
  • Apron: also of linen, pinned and/or tied over everything to catch workaday dirt and grime.
  • Cap: a very fine linen, of varying ruffled styles, but NOT the “gathered circle mobcap” style so often seen in ‘70’s historical dramas.

Summer-weight worsted wool
So, when planning this, I had to consider a few things: time, place, cost. The first event I wanted to wear my gown to was the 2013 ACFW conference, held last weekend. The main event is a Revolutionary War reenactment in early November. More historical accuracy would be appreciated at the latter than the former, so I knew I had leeway with finishing and construction to begin with. Cost was a factor because, well, 100% fiber fabrics are usually not cheap, especially for period-appropriate gown fabrics. When inquiring on 18cLife, I was told that drapery-weight cottons were the thing, not quilting cottons (and I had to be careful of the print); linen, but be careful of stripes; wool, usually a summer-weight worsted suiting, and not a twill weave; or a silk print or brocade. Just the thought of trying to choose overwhelmed me. Then, a particular wool went on sale, only to be out of stock by the time I made a decision, so I was back at square one ....

[to be continued!!!]

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Sandwich, anyone? By New CQ Contributor Amber Perry


Sign for Historic Sandwich
Sandwich, anyone?
by Amber Perry

I have been obsessed with all things colonial and Revolutionary War since I was knee-high-to-a-grasshopper. I’ll never forget the day, at the ripe old age of fifteen, when my parents told me they were taking me to Boston so I could tour the historic sites. I was jumping up and down, and squealing so much you’d have thought I’d won back-stage passes to see The Backstreet Boys in concert.
But for me, this was WAY better than that. I mean, way better.
Newcomb Tavern, known in the Revolutionary era
as Tory Tavern 
While there, on a whim we decided to visit Cape Cod, since it is just about an hour or so from the city.
Little did I know, from that day on I would never be the same.
I remember sitting in the back seat of the rental car, inhaling that new-car smell and marveling at the beauty that dashed past my window when my dad said, “This little town is called Sandwich.”
Of course that got my attention. Sandwich? Who names a place after something you eat? Well, now I can look back and say, “Oh, Amber dearest, how cute and uneducated of you.”


Hoxie House, built in 1675
Once I got over the name, I was captivated by the quaint, historic homes and the magnificent setting. I promised myself that someday, I would go back. I’m sure I’ve never seen a more beautiful little town—and one with such fabulous history that is unknown to most people, unless you’ve been there. (Though I’m sure that can be said for many towns in the U.S.) I never forgot Sandwich, and if you have ever been there, I’m sure you can’t forget it either. * wink *



Inside the Hoxie House

Sandwich, Massachusetts was founded in 1637 and is the oldest town in Cape Cod. Named after a seaport town in England, the land was originally part of the Plymouth Colony. About sixty families first settled the area, and it continued growing after that, however slowly.









Shawme Pond
The Quakers of the colonial era were often persecuted in many places, but found a bit of refuge in Sandwich and the religion began to thrive. In fact, the Monthly Quaker Meetings held in Sandwich, are the oldest continual Quaker meetings in America. So says the Sandwich “historical” website . . .




View of Newcomb Tavern across Shawme Pond




During the Revolutionary War the colonists of Sandwich were very supportive of the patriot cause, but as with most places, there were a number of Tories who insisted on making their own strong feelings known. A well-beloved proponent of the patriot cause, Doctor Nathaniel Freeman, was a fearless leader among the patriots of Sandwich and after a political rally, was attacked by three Tories in front of Newcomb Tavern. If I could, I would reeeeeaaaally like to tell you all about the drama that ensued between the Whigs and the Tories in my favorite Cape Cod town, but I will have to leave that for another post.


Dexter's Grist Mill
Mainly a farming community during the colonial era, Sandwich has a large, centrally located pond (more like a small lake) that people and livestock used on a daily basis. On the pond stands a gristmill, powered by Shawme Pond, that was originally built in 1640 and still grinds corn today!

If I could, I would visit Sandwich every year. No, scratch that—if I could, I would LIVE there, but alas, I fear that will never happen. *sigh* But I do love it and hope to go back again someday.


Inside the gristmill

Have you ever been, and if so, what did you think?

Tell me about your favorite historical town!


Monday, September 16, 2013

Warner Hall


Warner Hall

Augustine Warner
Did you know that George Washington, Queen Elizabeth II, Robert E. Lee, and Meriwether Lewis all share common ancestors and a location in America? Augustine and Mary Warner began that family, and Warner Hall, in Gloucester County, VA is the place that can make this unique claim.

In 1642 Augustine Warner received a “land grant” for a six hundred-acre plantation from Britain’s King Charles I in exchange for bringing settlers to the struggling Jamestowne Settlement. Warner Hall, situated on the Severn River, was built in 1674.
Meriwether Lewis

The other family associated with Warner Hall is the Lewis family. The Lewis family entered into the plantation’s history when Elizabeth, the third daughter of Augustine Warner II, married John Lewis and inherited Warner Hall. The Warners and the Lewises, two prominent Virginia families, continued on the property well into the 19th century.

George Washington
Augustine Warner was the great-grandfather of President George Washington and the eighth great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II through her mother's Bowes-Lyons family.
 
Aerial View of Warner Hall
Warner Hall was rebuilt several times when the home was damaged or destroyed by fire. The current home, a Colonial Revival manor house, was built on the earlier foundation in the early 1900s. It and its dependency structures have been meticulously restored.

The walled Warner Hall Graveyard, site of the tombs of Augustine Warner and other members of the Warner and Lewis families is discretely located behind the manor house. It is owned and maintained by the Association for Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.
Warner Hall Graveyard

The Inn at Warner Hall

Theresa and Troy Stavens, purchased and restored Warner Hall in the 90’s utilizing their financial management and marketing skills and passion for hospitality and historic preservation, to create the Inn at Warner Hall. I first learned about Warner Hall from good friends who regularly dine and stay at this charming 38 acre country inn with eleven
The Inn at Warner Hall
guestrooms.

Center Hall Stairway
I was curious to find out more about the inn I’d heard so much about, so on Labor Day my husband and I visited Warner Hall. It was a delight to wander around this beautiful property and restored 19th century mansion, so filled with history, which continues to be enjoyed and appreciated by many.


Solarium
For more information about The Inn at Warner Hall: http://warnerhall.com/

Friday, September 13, 2013

The Blue Tattoo





Title: The Blue Tattoo
Author: Margot Mifflin
Publisher: Bison Books (non-fiction biography)
As Royce Oatman sat in his kitchen one sunny morning in the summer of 1850, he made the decision to give up farming in Illinois to join a wagon train of Brewsterites, a break-away sect of Mormons (Church of Latter Day Saints).   
On August 9, 1850, Oatman and his family, with other settlers left Independence, Missouri to follow James C. Brewster, who was bound for California where he believed Mormons would find their true gathering place, rather than Utah.
Eventually disagreements caused the group to split, and Oatman took his family to forge on alone. Royce and his wife had seven children at the time, ranging in age from 17 to one year. On their fourth day out, they were approached by a group of Indians, asking for tobacco, food and rifles. At some point during the encounter, the Oatman family was attacked by the group, and all were killed except Lorenzo, age 15, Olive, age 14, and Mary Ann, age 7. Lorenzo had suffered a severe head wound, and eventually awakened to find his family massacred with no sign of his two sisters.
Western Yavapais had taken the Oatman girls to a village about a hundred miles away from the scene of the attack, where the girls were used as slaves, frequently beaten and mistreated. After a year, a group of Mohave Indians visited the village and traded two horses, vegetables and blankets for the captive girls. They walked for days to a Mohave village at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado rivers (present-day Needles, California). The sisters were immediately adopted by the family of a tribal leader—Kohot. The Mohave tribe was more prosperous than the Yavapais, and both Kohot’s wife Aespaneo, and daughter Topeka, formed a bond with Oatman girls. Olive expressed her deep affection for these two women numerous times over the years well after her captivity had ended.
In keeping with the tribal custom, both Oatman girls were tattooed on their chins and arms, a sign for those who were tribal members. Mohave tradition held such marks were given only to their own people to ensure that they would have a good afterlife.
After her return to white society at the age of nineteen, Olive was encouraged to give lectures around the country displaying her tattoos and sharing her experiences as a white captive among the Mohaves. Author Margot Mifflin does a good job discussing  the times Olive was torn between two cultures and hid from the public when she suffered severe bouts of depression over her internal struggles.
There are numerous other stories of white captives taken by Indians during the 18th and 19th centuries; most notably the story of Mary Jemison, the “White Woman of the Genesee”. If traded or sent back to live in white society, many of these captives had a difficult time re-adjusting, especially if they’d been assimilated into Indian culture as children or young teens.
In The Blue Tattoo, author Margot Mifflin has written a well-researched book, considering the many conflicting tales told about Oatman and the Mohave culture. Well-illustrated with photographs from the period, you can purchase it from several on-line book-sellers or found in your local libraries. My rating for this non-fiction biography: 4 ½ stars.