Captured by the Indians: 15 Firsthand Accounts, 1750-1870

This is a short collection of some of the most famous Indian captivity narratives written during the late 18th and 19th centuries when warfare raged between white settlers and the native Indian inhabitants of North America. These narratives are not only interesting and entertaining as drama, but are invaluable to historians and ethnographers as they provide some of the best first-hand accounts of life among the native tribes of the United States at a time when they were being wiped out by white expansion. These narratives show what life was like as an Indian, including all the blood and horror as well as the genuine kindness and devotion inherent in any human society. You will note that many captivity accounts were in many ways positive experiences for the captives who were adopted into a tribe and treated with the love and respect they would accord any of their own people. Such is the case with men like James Smith who spent five years living with the Ohio Indians along Lake Erie. These tales were popular in their own time for providing an entertaining escape for people who were both fearful yet fascinated by the Indians and their "savage" ways. From these accounts we learn much about Indian lifeways, food, culture, and religion. We also learn of the cruel barbarities that the Indians could inflict on their enemies, as we see in the tale of Dr. John Knight who witnessed the horrific torture and death of Col. William Crawford in 1782, or the daring escape of John Slover, who had spent many years among the Shawnee and Wyandot as a captive and who later escaped and returned to wage war against his former captors, only to be retaken after the Battle of Sandusky. A slow and terrible death awaited any escaped captive who fell back into Indian hands. But what is really interesting is the number of captives who spent many years living, happily in many cases, with the Indians, showing that they were not the totally savage heathens protrayed in many boosk and movies, but a society of human beings who could love and hate as equally as any other. This is a valuble introduction to a fascinating genere of litereature and is an important part of history that should not be overlooked. To anyone interested in delving deeper into this subject I would also recommend checking out Archibald Loudon's "Indian Narratives" as well as "A History of Jonathan Alder".

. An amazing amount of material on the wildlife of North America and, the "wild" lives of American Indians and captured settlers. The book includes firsthand accounts of Indian life, gruesome conflicts, brutal torture, spectacular escapes, and spirited pursuits. The Indians killed, tortured, and sometimes adopted white settlers. Some were made into slaves, some fully adopted as family members, and other slated for, and escaped sure death. I was particularly facinated by descriptions of the wildlife. The size and age of trees. The abundance of wild animals--particularly the bears. I've read this book twice and found every story interesting. Not often do we get glimses of the past through ordinary people, placed in extra-ordinary situations. Many of these people could not read or write but told their stories which were dutifully recorded. The feeling of authenticity of the stories is strong.Everyone should read this book to fully understand the capabilites of humans, both in brutality and in kindness and understanding.An unforgettable book.

This is a fantastic read - hard to put down. These actual accounts of people taken hostage by Indians provides a rare glimps into indian culture. It brilliantly illustrates the curious mixture of sophistication, honor, order, and savagery of ancient Native American culture. These accounts span several generations and several different tribes, yet we see clear similaries among all American Indians.

This was definitely a good read, no doubt about it. I'm sort of surprised that other people say it gives insight into the daily lives of the indians though, because I didn't get that at all. More what I got was insights into the way indians generally treated their captives (the ones who ran away and told their stories) and the way things were seen and the life of the settlers maybe (only by how they told the story). The book is all firsthand accounts from escaped captives and is sometimes gruesome but always very interesting. People back then knew how to tell stories.