Story of Survival

True Story of Survival

A True Story About an Apache Orphan, My Grandmother – Little Woman  ~ Sister Wolf

My Apache grandmother told me a story about her life. When loneliness sets in, a person can do the unthinkable.  She said…

It was 1906, winter time. I lived in Northern New Mexico, in a two room cabin with my husband Antonio and my two children Ben and Helen. I was only sixteen, and had been married since age 13.

Antonio would leave with other cowboys and travel many miles on horseback, to deliver horses to other camps. That winter he left me and my children for two months, with plenty of wood and food. Down the hill was a rich gringo’s ranch; he had a wife my age, and her mother living there. He was gone a lot, so they were home.

I got so lonely that even though I knew a bad snow storm was coming our way, I wrapped my two children and myself and walked one mile to their home. They let me come in. As the day went by, they didn’t feed us or ask us to stay for the night. It was getting late, she said; and they asked us to leave.

Outside the storm was one of the worst I had seen. The windows were icing up and the sound of wind blew on my face as we left. I wrapped my kids up in my blanket and held them close to me. As we walked home in a snow storm I could not see where my home was. As we walked I prayed and I cried, “Dear Lord, what have I done!” For sure…we would freeze to death.

I barely could walk with my two children. They cried, and hung on to me. As I struggled through the snow packed path and freezing temperatures, I knew I had lost sight of my home. Mom, mom! I screamed so loud it echoed. I knew the scream was powerful and help could come. Suddenly out of nowhere a bright light came from Heaven, lighting my way, and an angel appeared – Snow Angel. But as she turned to face me, I saw her face – it was my mom, Maria. She had died when I was five, she was 23. “Oh Mom,” I cried; so good to see her once more.

As the snow parted my path became full of light all the way home, as my mother walked with me and her grandchildren. When I got home, my mother vanished back into Heaven. God had let her come, to save us.

The cabin was freezing cold. I put my two children in bed and made a fire and warmed the two room cabin.

Days later, some cowboys went from home to home, and found the two women at the gringos ranch dead between two mattresses. All their beautiful furniture was burned. They had run out of wood.

I…was saved, and my children.

 “Remember. Always be careful about what you do when you get lonely,” Grandmother told me with tears in her eyes.

I always cry when I tell this story, or when I write it.

* In Spanish we called her Grandmita which means, Little Grandmother.