Lozen
A powerful shaman, healer and warrior, Lozen rode with Geronimo. She served as an important advisor to her brother, the Apache chief Victorio.
She was revered for helping her people evade the encmy and for her exceptional skill and bravery in battle."
Excerpt from Her Narrative
“Sun, I am not a man,
But you have given me a strong body, a courageous heart, and a powerful spirit.
For this I thank You.
I am Lozen – your Sun-blessed, far-seeing warrior woman.
Water, though I am only a woman,
You have given me the power of healing,
the power of vision and the power of plants.
For this I thank You.
I am Lozen – your Water-blessed, far-seeing medicine woman.”
Many men were disappointed by my determination not to marry. They couldn’t do anything about it. Victorio was their chief. And Victorio supported my decision. He said, “Lozen is my right hand, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen will not marry because she was chosen by Ussen to be a shield to her people.”
My brother always put the needs of his people before his own desires. He tried to avoid getting into conflicts with the Americans because he hoped they’d let us stay on our own land if we didn’t cause them any trouble.
That changed when soldiers murdered Red Sleeves while he was carrying a white flag of truce.
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Emma Lee
Emma Lee was the 17th plural wife of John D. Lee, the only man to be convicted and executed for the massacre of settlers in a wagon train at Mountain Meadows in Utah. She did many heroic things during her turbulent life, including running Lee's Ferry
and saving lives in a tragically ill-timed handcart caravan.
Excerpt from Her Narrative
When the soldiers arrived about noon the next day, the commanding officer didn’t seem surprised to find John absent. The captain just shook his head and asked the three of us who were outside if we knew why the army wanted to arrest our husband. When we didn’t answer, he said, “John D. Lee is a murderer.”
He went on to tell us that John’s Mormon Militia and Indian allies had slaughtered over 120 unarmed men, women and children. He said they had killed almost everyone in a wagon train that was passing through southern Utah on the way to California.
He asked us if we were proud of the way John had participated in the bloodbath at Mountain Meadows, and of the way the head of our household and his cohorts had slaughtered everyone except the tiniest of their children.
. . .
That was it. I couldn’t listen to any more of the government man’s hateful lies. I turned and made my way down to the creek as fast as my pregnant belly would allow. When I got there, I bent over and splashed water on my face over and over again. I wanted the water to wash away the memory of what I had just heard. But it didn’t.
My distress turned into dizziness, which made me fall on a jagged rock and bruise my unborn baby.
John came back and comforted me after I gave birth to a stillborn son a month later.
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Minnie Guenther
When she was only 20, Minnie left her comfortable Wisconsin home to marry a missionary and head for the wilds of Arizona. She lived on the Fort Apache Reservation for 61 years. Minnie played a crucial role in helping members of the tribe survive horrific epidemics, and raised nine children, becoming National Mother of the Year.
Excerpt from Her Narrative
They really appreciated our visits. In fact, we were able to perform our first baptism because a little boy’s heart was opened by one of those simple acts of kindness.
It happened after I told a child stricken with TB that I couldn’t bring him food as often as I wished because it took me such a long time to walk the seven miles to his family’s remote camp. You see, in those early days, Edgar and I didn’t have any form of transportation other than our legs. We didn’t even have horses.
Well, the consumptive boy and his family laughed and teased me about being too skinny to walk that far. After that, the boy became quite a friend of mine. He looked forward to having us read him Bible stories.
But one day he interrupted my husband’s story with a loud whisper. He said, “I not be here long. Baptize me quick.”
When Edgar agreed and turned to explain the ceremony to several adults who were sitting by the fire – just waiting for the child to die – the boy called out, “Come here. Baptize me now. You can talk to them anytime after I am gone.”
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The poignant stories told from the point of view of each of the three historical figures have been performed as a highly successful play in venues throughout Arizona.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Act One: Emma Lee
Act Two: Minnie Guenther
Act Three: Lozen
The Life Journey of
Emma (Batchelor) Lee (French)
Emma Lee Timeline
Mormon Religion
Polygamy
Handcarts
Mountain Meadows
Lee’s Ferry
Minnie Guenther’s Move
To Her Missionary Field
Minnie (Knoop) Guenther Timeline
Lutherans
Rev. E. Edgar Guenther
Apache Reservations
Journey of a Warrior Woman
Lozen Timeline
Apaches
Apache Wars
Victorio
Apache Religion
Cibecue Uprising
Geronimo
Imprisonment
Acknowledgements
Selected Bibliography
About the Authors
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Illustrations
The Three Strong Women
Emma Lee
The Life Journey of
Emma (Batchelor) Lee (French)
The Handcart Song
John D. Lee
Lee’s Ferry
Minnie Guenther
Minnie Guenther’s Move
To Her Missionary Field
Rev. E. Edgar Guenther
Chief Alchesay “A-1”
Lozen
Journey of a Warrior Woman
Apache Burden Basket
Nana
Victorio
Skull of Mangas Coloradas
Geronimo
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About the Authors
Carol Sletten is an illustrator and writer who has studied and continues to study Apache culture and the history of the West through scholarship, interviews, friendships and community projects.
Her husband, Eric Kramer, is a successful journalist who rose to supervisory and managerial positions at the Associated Press, United Press International and Dow Jones &Co. while maintaining ties to rural Arizona.
They live and work in a cabin a mile from the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona’s White Mountains.
Carol’s forthcoming project is a novel called The Apache Jesus, the story of a religious leader accused of murdering his wife after authorities began to fear his growing power.
Their Arizona Centennial Project was Story of the American West, Legends of Arizona. The book traces the pre-history and history of the White Mountains and surrounding area from the formation of the geology to the eve of World War II, recounting the lives of the Apaches, Mountain Men, Hispanics, Soldiers, Mormons, Cowboys, Blacks, Outlaws and others who struggled in one of the last untamed regions of the West.
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