Integration Among Early American Settlers and Native Indians
Integration Among Early American Settlers and Native Indians
The book The Unredeemed Captive is a story about the French-Indian raid on the small town of Deerfield Massachusetts. The raid is not a total surprise to the people of Deerfield, they find out a few days prior to the incident. They hear of towns east of them being attacked. The town of Deerfield did not feel that they were to be affected by the Indians. These few extra days to prepare for the “Savages”, did not help out, in protecting the town. The Indians came, and wreaked havoc on the small country town. They basically came in, and did as they pleased. They attacked many homes, killing family members who did not want to cooperate with them. The ones who did cooperate, were taken with the Indian’s, on their journey to Canada. One of the family’s, that were taken, was the Williams’s. “The Williamses know they are destined for a march into a strange land” (19). John Williams was the minister in Deerfield, and was a very well respected man. The journey was very long and treacherous, and many died. The weak, or the lame were taken and killed, so they would not slow down the pack. The ones who did survive, were usually the teenagers, because they were young, and could take the harsh climate. Once the Indians reached Canada, they released many of their captives, such as the Williams family. I should say all but two of the Williams’s were returned to Deerfield. Williams’s wife was killed during the long journey, and John’s daughter Eunice. John never did find out why his daughter never returned to him, and this hurt he very deeply. “Eunice still remained captivated in Canada” (54).
It was very disturbing to John, and the town, that his daughter, either did not want to return to her hometown, or was not allowed to return. Eunice never did return to her family again. She had a good life back in Deerfield, before the raid. Or maybe so they all thought. When Eunice was exposed to the Native American heritage, something in her changed. We have to keep in mind though, that she was only a young child when she was taken,...