The Boy Captives An Incident of the Indian War of 1695
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The Boy Captives
An Incident of the Indian War of 1695
by John Greenleaf Whittier
The Boy Captives An Incident of the Indian War of 1695
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THE township of Haverhill, even as late as the close of the
seventeenth century, was a frontier settlement, occupying an advanced
position in the great wilderness, which, unbroken by the clearing of a
white man, extended from the Merrimac River to the French villages on
the St. Francois. A tract of twelve miles on the river and three or four
northwardly was occupied by scattered settlers, while in the centre of the
town a compact village had grown up. In the immediate vicinity there
were but few Indians, and these generally peaceful and inoffensive. On
the breaking out of the Narragansett War,(1) the inhabitants had erected
fortifications, and taken other measures for defence; but, with the possible
exception of one man who was found slain in the woods in 1676, none of
the inhabitants were molested; and it was not until about the year 1689
that the safety of the settlement was seriously threatened. Three persons
were killed in that year. In 1690 six garrisons were established in
different parts of the town, with a small company of soldiers attached to
each. Two of these houses are still standing. They were built of brick,
two stories high, with a single outside door, so small and narrow that but
one person could enter at a time; the windows few, and only about two and
a half feet long by eighteen inches wide, with thick diamond glass secured
with lead, and crossed inside with bars of iron. The basement had but
two rooms, and the chamber was entered by a ladder instead of stairs; so
that the inmates, if driven thither, could cut off communication with the
rooms below. Many private houses were strengthened and fortified.
We remember one familiar to our boyhood,--a venerable old building of
wood, with brick between the weather-boards and ceiling, with a massive
balustrade over the door, constructed of oak timber and plank, with holes
through the latter for firing upon assailants. The door opened upon a
stone- paved hall, or entry, leading into the huge single room of the
basement, which was lighted by two small windows, the ceiling black with
the smoke of a century and a half; a huge fireplace, calculated for eight-
feet wood, occupying one entire side; while, overhead, suspended from the
timbers, or on shelves fastened to them, were household stores, farming
utensils, fishing-rods, guns, bunches of herbs gathered perhaps a century
ago, strings of dried apples and pumpkins, links of mottled sausages,
The Boy Captives An Incident of the Indian War of 1695
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spare-ribs, and flitches of bacon; the fire-light of an evening dimly
revealing the checked woollen coverlet of the bed in one far-off corner,
while in another--
"The pewter plates on the dresser Caught and reflected the flame as
shields of armies the sunshine."
(1) The "Narragansett War" was a name applied to that part of King
Philip's War which resulted from the defection of the powerful
tribe of Narragansetts, formerly allies of the English, to the
standard of the Indian chief.
(2) Longfellow's *Evangeline,* lines 205, 206.
Tradition has preserved many incidents of life in the garrisons. In
times of unusual peril the settlers generally resorted at night to the fortified
houses, taking thither their flocks and herds and such household valuables
as were most likely to strike the fancy or minister to the comfort or vanity
of the heathen marauders. False alarms were frequent. The smoke of a
distant fire, the bark of a dog in the deep woods, a stump or bush, taking in
the uncertain light of stars and moon the appearance of a man, were
sufficient to spread alarm through the entire settlement and to cause the
armed men of the garrison to pass whole nights in sleepless watching. It
is said that at Haselton's garrison-house the sentinel on duty saw, as he
thought, an Indian inside of the paling which surrounded the building, and
apparently seeking to gain an entrance. He promptly raised his musket
and fired at the intruder, alarming thereby the entire garrison. The
women and children left their beds, and the men seized their guns and
commenced firing on the suspicious object; but it seemed to bear a
charmed life, and remained unharmed. As the morning dawned, however,
the mystery was solved by the discovery of a black quilted petticoat
hanging on the clothes-line completely riddled with balls.
As a matter of course, under circumstances of perpetual alarm and
frequent peril, the duty of cultivating their fields, and gathering their
harvests, and working at their mechanical avocations, was dangerous and
difficult to the settlers. One instance will serve as an illustration. At the
garrison-house of Thomas Dustin, the husband of the far-famed Mary
Dustin (who, while a captive of the Indians, and maddened by the murder
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of her infant child, killed and scalped, wit the assistance of a young boy,
the entire band of her captors, ten in number), the business of brick-
making was carried on. The pits where the clay was found were only a
few rods from the house; yet no man ventured to bring the clay to the yard
within the inclosure, without the attendance of a file of soldiers. An
anecdote relating to this garrison has been handed down to the present
time. Among its inmates were two young cousins, Joseph and Mary
Whittaker; the latter a merry, handsome girl, relieving the tedium of
garrison-duty with her light-hearted mirthfulness and--
"Making a sunshine in that shady place."
(1) "Her angel's face As the great eye of heaven shyned bright And
made a sunshine in the shadie place; Did never mortal eye behold such
heavenly grace."
Spenser: *The Faerie Queene,* bk. I. canto iii. st. 4.
Joseph, in the intervals of his labors in the double capacity of brick-
maker and man-at-arms, was assiduous in his attentions to his fair cousin,
who was not inclined to encourage him. Growing desperate, he
threatened one evening to throw himself into the garrison well. His
threat only called forth the laughter of his mistress; and, bidding her
farewell, he proceeded to put it in execution. On reaching the well he
stumbled over a log; whereupon, animated by a happy idea, he dropped
the wood into the water instead of himself, and, hiding behind the curb,
awaited the result. Mary, who had been listening at the door, and who
had not believed her lover capable of so rash an act, heard the sudden
plunge of the wooden Joseph. She ran to the well, and, leaning over the
curb and peering down the dark opening, cried out, in tones of anguish and
remorse, "O Joseph, if you're in the land of the living, I 'll have you!" "I
'll take ye at your word," answered Joseph, springing up from his hiding-
place and avenging himself for her coyness and coldness by a hearty
embrace.
Our own paternal ancestor, owing to religious scruples in the matter of
taking arms even for defence of life and property, refused to leave his
undefended house and enter the garrison. The Indians frequently came to
his house; and the family more than once in the night heard them
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whispering under the windows, and saw them put their copper faces to the
glass to take a view of the apartments. Strange as it may seem, they
never offered any injury or insult to the inmates.
In 1695 the township was many times molested by Indians, and
several persons were killed and wounded. Early in the fall a small party
made their appearance in the northerly part of the town, where, finding
two boys at work in an open field, they managed to surprise and capture
them, and, without committing further violence, retreated through the
woods to their homes on the shore of Lake Winnipiseogee. Isaac Bradley,
aged fifteen, was a small but active and vigorous boy; his companion in
captivity, Joseph Whittaker, was only eleven, yet quite as large in size, and
heavier in his movements. After a hard and painful journey they arrived
at the lake, and were placed in an Indian family, consisting of a man and
squaw and two or three children. Here they soon acquired a sufficient
knowledge of the Indian tongue to enable them to learn from the
conversation carried on in their presence that it was designed to take them
to Canada in the spring. This discovery was a painful one. Canada, the
land of Papist priests and bloody Indians, was the especial terror of the
New England settlers, and the anathema maranatha(1) of Puritan pulpits.
Thither the Indians usually hurried their captives, where they compelled
them to work in their villages or sold them to the French planters.
Escape from thence through a deep wilderness, and across lakes, and
mountains, and almost impassable rivers, without food or guide, is
regarded as an impossibility. The poor boys, terrified by the prospect of
being carried still farther from their home and friends, began to dream of
escaping from their masters before they started for Canada. It was now
winter; it would have been little short of madness to have chosen for flight
that season of bitter cold and deep snows. Owing to exposure and want
of proper food and clothing, Isaac, the eldest of the boys, was seized with
a violent fever, from which he slowly recovered in the course of the winter.
His Indian mistress was as kind to him as her circumstances permitted,--
procuring medicinal herbs and roots for her patient, and tenderly watching
over him in the long winter nights. Spring came at length; the snows
melted; and the ice was broken up on the lake. The Indians began to
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make preparations for journeying to Canada; and Isaac, who had during
his sickness devised a plan of escape, saw that the time of putting it in
execution had come. On the evening before he was to make the attempt
he for the first time informed his younger companion of his design, and
told him, if he intended to accompany him, he must be awake at the time
appointed. The boys lay down as usual in the wigwam in the midst of the
family. Joseph soon fell asleep; but Isaac, fully sensible of the danger
and difficulty of the enterprise before him, lay awake, watchful for his
opportunity. About midnight he rose, cautiously stepping over the
sleeping forms of the family, and securing, as he went, his Indian master's
flint, steel, and tinder, and a small quantity of dry moose-meat and corn-
bread. He then carefully awakened his companion, who, starting up,
forgetful of the cause of his disturbance, asked aloud, "What do you
want?" The savages began to stir; and Isaac, trembling with fear of
detection, lay down again and pretended to be asleep. After waiting a
while he again rose, satisfied, from the heavy breathing of the Indians, that
they were all sleeping; and fearing to awaken Joseph a second time, lest he
should again hazard all by his thoughtlessness, he crept softly out of the
wigwam. He had proceeded but a few rods when he heard footsteps
behind him; and, supposing himself pursued, he hurried into the woods,
casting a glance backward. What was his joy to see his young
companion running after him! They hastened on in a southerly direction
as nearly as they could determine, hoping to reach their distant home.
When daylight appeared they found a large hollow log, into which they
crept for concealment, wisely judging that they would be hotly pursued by
their Indian captors.
(1) *Anathema maranatha* occurs at the close of St. Paul's first epistle
to the Corinthians, and in the English version is made to appear as a
composite phrase. It has so passed into common use, *maranatha* being
taken as intensifying the curse contained in *anathema*. The words are
properly to be divided, *maranatha* signifying "The Lord cometh."
Their sagacity was by no means at fault. The Indians, missing
their prisoners in the morning, started off in pursuit with their dogs. As
the young boys lay in the log they could hear the whistle of the Indians
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and the barking of dogs upon their track. It was a trying moment; and
even the stout heart of the elder boy sank within him as the dogs came up
to the log and set up a loud bark of discovery. But his presence of mind
saved him. He spoke in a low tone to the dogs, who, recognizing his
familiar voice, wagged their tails with delight, and ceased barking. He
then threw to them the morsel of moose-meat he had taken from the
wigwam. While the dogs were thus diverted, the Indians made their
appearance. The boys heard the light, stealthy sound of their moccasins
on the leaves. They passed close to the log; and the dogs, having
devoured their moose- meat, trotted after their masters. Through a
crevice in the log the boys looked after them, and saw them disappear in
the thick woods. They remained in their covert until night, when they
started again on their long journey, taking a new route to avoid the Indians.
At daybreak they again concealed themselves, but travelled the next night
and day without resting. By this time they had consumed all the bread
which they had taken, and were fainting from hunger and weariness. Just
at the close of the third day they were providentially enabled to kill a
pigeon and a small tortoise, a part of which they ate raw, not daring to
make a fire, which might attract the watchful eyes of savages. On the
sixth day they struck upon an old Indian path, and, following it until night,
came suddenly upon a camp of the enemy. Deep in the heart of the forest,
under the shelter of a ridge of land heavily timbered, a great fire of logs
and brushwood was burning; and around it the Indians sat, eating their
moose-meat and smoking their pipes.
The poor fugitives, starving, weary, and chilled by the cold spring
blasts, gazed down upon the ample fire, and the savory meats which the
squaws were cooking by it, but felt no temptation to purchase warmth and
food by surrendering themselves to captivity. Death in the forest seemed
preferable. They turned and fled back upon their track, expecting every
moment to hear the yells of pursuers. The morning found them seated on
the bank of a small stream, their feet torn and bleeding, and their bodies
emaciated. The elder, as a last effort, made search for roots, and
fortunately discovered a few ground-nuts (*glycine apios*), which served
to refresh in some degree himself and his still weaker companion. As
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they stood together by the stream, hesitating and almost despairing, it
occurred to Isaac that the rivulet might lead to a larger stream of water,
and that to the sea and the white settlements near it; and he resolved to
follow it. They again began their painful march; the day passed, and the
night once more overtook them. When the eighth morning dawned, the
younger of the boys found himself unable to rise from his bed of leaves.
Isaac endeavored to encourage him, dug roots, and procured water for him;
but the poor lad was utterly exhausted. He had no longer heart or hope.
The elder boy laid him on leaves and dry grass at the foot of a tree, and
with a heavy heart bade him farewell. Alone he slowly and painfully
proceeded down the stream, now greatly increased in size by tributary
rivulets. On the top of a hill he climbed with difficulty into a tree, and
saw in the distance what seemed to be a clearing and a newly-raised frame
building. Hopeful and rejoicing, he turned back to his young companion,
told him what he had seen, and, after chafing his limbs awhile, got him
upon his feet. Sometimes supporting him, and at others carrying him on
his back, the heroic boy staggered towards the clearing. On reaching it
he found it deserted, and was obliged to continue his journey. Towards
night signs of civilization began to appear,--the heavy, continuous roar of
water was heard; and, presently emerging from the forest, he saw a great
river dashing in white foam down precipitous rocks, and on its bank the
gray walls of a huge stone building, with flankers, palisades, and moat,
over which the British flag was flying. This was the famous Saco Fort,
built by Governor Phips,(1) two years before, just below the falls of the
Saco River. The soldiers of the garrison gave the poor fellows a kindly
welcome. Joseph, who was scarcely alive, lay for a long time sick in the
fort; but Isaac soon regained his strength, and set out for his home in
Haverhill, which he had the good fortune to arrive at in safety.
(1) An interesting account of Sir William Phips will be found in
Parkman's *Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV.* Hawthorne
also tells his romantic story in *Fanshawe and Other Pieces.*
Amidst the stirring excitements of the present day, when every thrill of
the electric wire conveys a new subject for thought or action to a
generation as eager as the ancient Athenians for some new thing, simple
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legends of the past like that which we have transcribed have undoubtedly
lost in a great degree their interest. The lore of the fireside is becoming
obsolete, and with the octogenarian few who still linger among us will
perish the unwritten history of border life in New England.
The Boy Captives