An Account of the Captivity of Elizabeth Hanson, Now or Late ofKachecky, in New-England: Who, with Four of her Children andServant-Maid, was taken captive by the Indians, and carried intoCanada. Taken in Substance from her own Mouth, by SamuelBrownas.Elizabeth Hanson was taken captive with her four children and amaidservant at Kachecky, in Dover township, on August 27, 1724.She was redeemed by her husband, John Hanson, the following yearafter five months' captivity among the Indians and one monthwith the French. Three of Mrs. Hanson's children and the maidwere ransomed with her, but the eldest daughter (Sara Enneson)was not given up and later married a Frenchman (Sabourin). Shewas taken by the Indians from Maine or Eastern Canada, andcarried to Port Royal, where her husband found her.On the 27th of the Sixth Month, called August (England and theAmerican colonies adopted the New Style calendar in March 1752,consequently August was considered the 6th month) 1725, myhusband and all our men-servants being abroad, eleven Indians,armed with tomahawks and guns, who had some time before beenskulking about the fields, and watching an opportunity of ourmeans absence, came furiously into the house. No sooner werethey entered, than they murdered one of my children upon thespot; intending no doubt, by this act of cruelty, to strike thegreater degree of terror into the minds of us who survived.After they had thus done, their captain came towards me, withall the appearance of rage and fury it is possible to imagine:nevertheless, upon my earnest request for quarter, I prevailedwith him to grant it.I had with me a servant-maid and six children; but two of mylittle-ones were at that time playing in the orchard. Myyoungest child was but fourteen days old; and myself, ofconsequence, in a poor weak condition, and very unfit to endurethe hardships I afterwards met with, as by the sequel willappear.The next step they took was to rifle the house; which they didwith much hurry and precipitation; being apprehensive in allprobability of a surprise. And as it was late in the afternoon,they pack'd up what linen, woollen, and other things they liked,and forthwith turned us out of the house.Being now at the door, my two children who had been playing inthe orchard (the one six, the other four years of age) came insight; and being terrified at the appearance of the nakedIndians, they cried aloud. On which one of the Indians ran up tothem; and taking one under each arm, brought them to us. My maidprevailed with the biggest to be still; but the other would notbe pacified by any means, but continued shrieking and cryingvery much. Wherefore, to ease themselves of the noise, andprevent the danger of a discovery that might arise from it, theymade no more to do, but knock'd out its brains before my face.I bore this as well as the nature of so mournful a circumstancewould permit; not daring to discover much of my uneasiness, lestit should provoke them to commit the like outrage upon the rest:but could have been glad they had kept out of sight till we hadbeen gone from the house.The Indians having now killed two of my children, the next thingthey did was to scalp them; a practice common with them wheneverthey kill any English people. This they do by cutting off theskin from the crown of the head; which they take with them asevidence of the number they have slain, receiving sometimes areward for every scalp.This being done, they prepared to leave the house in greathaste, without committing any other violence than taking whatthey had packed up, toghether with myself and little babefourteen days old, my little boy of six years, one daughterabout sixteen, and another about fourteen, and my maid-servant.It was now, as I said before, but fourteen days since mylying-in; and being very tender and weakly, and turned out froma warm room, with every thing suitable to my circumstances, itincreased the severity of the hardships I underwent exceedingly.Nevertheless I found the case was such, that I must either go ordie; for I could make no resistance, neither would anypersuasions avail.Accordingly we began our journey, each having some of theplunder to carry, and I my infant: the other three were able totravel alone. But my new master, the Indian captain, wassometimes humane enough to carry my babe in his arms; which Ilooked upon as a singular favour, because he had besides a veryheavy burden, and considerably more than he could take upwithout the help of his men.We passed through several swamps and brooks; carefully avoidingall beaten paths, and every track that looked like a road, lestwe should be surprised by our footsteps.We travelled that night I suppose near ten miles in a directline, and then we halted. The Indians kindled a fire, and wetook up our quarters by it. They took it in turn to restthemselves, while a party of them kept watch, in order toprevent a surprise. For my part, I was very wet, as well asweary; and having no other lodging but the cold ground in theopen woods, could get but little rest. Nevertheless, whenday-light appeared, we set forward again, and travelled veryhard all that day, passing through several swamps, rivers, andbrooks, and still avoiding all beaten paths, for the reasonalready mentioned.When night came on, I found myself again very wet, and heartilytired, having the same lodging, the cold ground and open woods.Thus did we travel for twenty-six days successively, and ingeneral very hard; though sometimes we were helped a little bywater, over lakes and ponds. We climbed up abundance of highmountains; some of which were so steep, that I was fain to crawlup them on my hands and knees: But when I was under thesedifficulties, my Indian master would for the most part carry myinfant: and this I esteemed as a favour from the Almighty, inthat his heart was so tenderly inclined to assist me. Nay, hewould sometimes take my very blanket; so that, having noincumbrance, I was enabled to give some assistance to my littleboy, and now-and-then carry him in my arms.When we came to any difficult place, my master would lend me hishand: or if it were steep, he frequently used to push me upbefore him. In all which he discovered more civility andhumanity than I could have expected; and for which I wasthankful to God, as the moving cause.We had now some very great runs of water and brooks to pass; inwading through which we sometimes met with great difficulty,being frequently up to our middles, and some of the children totheir shoulders and chins. But the Indians carried my babe (thatis, my little boy) through them on their shoulders.At the side of one of these rivers, the Indians would have hadmy eldest daughter (Sara Enneson) sing them a song. Whereupon apassage in the cxxxvii Psalm was brought to her remembrance; towit, By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down. Yea, we wept,when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps on the willows inthe midst thereof. For they that carried us away captive,required of us a song; and they that wasted us, required of usmirth.When my poor child had given me this account, it affected megreatly, and my heart was filled with sorrow. Yet on her accountI rejoiced that she had so good an inclination; which she stillfurther manifested, by wishing for a Bible, that we might havethe comfort of reading the Holy Text at leisure times, for ourspiritual consolation under the afflictions we then suffered.Next to the difficulty of crossing the rivers, were theprodigious swamps and thickets, which were very hard to passthrough. But here also my master would sometimes lend me hishand; and as they passed through quickly one after the other, itbecame pretty tollerable for the hindmost. But the greatestdifficulty of all, and which deserves to be named, was out wantof proper sustenance: for we were now reduced to very greatextremity: having often nothing to eat but pieces of oldbeaver-skin match-coats (mantles or loose coverings of fur wornby New England Indians), which the Indians, in their journey toour settlement, had concealed (for they came naked to us naked,as I said before), but now, in their return, took along withthem. They were used more for food than raiment, but cut out inlong narrow straps, of which they gave us some little pieces.These, after their example, we laid upon the fire till the furrwas sindged off, and then ate them as dainty morsels,experimentally knowing, that to the hungry every bitter thing issweet.Of this diet, mean as it was, we had but a scanty allowance. Andwhat still further increased my affliction, was the complaintsand moans of my poor children. Sometimes indeed the Indianscaught a squirrel, or a beaver; at others, we met with buts,berries, and roots; and sometimes we ate the bark of tress; buthad no corn for a long while; till a party of the youngerIndians went back and brought some from the English inhabitants,of which they gave us a very short allowance. But when they hadkilled a beaver, we lived high while it lasted; as their customwas to allow me the guts and garbage for myself and children;but they would by no means suffer us to wash and cleanse them;which occasioned this kind of diet to be very loathsome; andindeed nothing but pining hunger would have made it in the leastdegee tolerable.My distresses did not all center here. I had yet anotherafflication no less severe than the former; and this is was. Bydaily travel and hard living, my milk was almost dried up; andhow to preserve my poor babe's life, was a matter of no littleconcern to me; having many times no other sustenance for it thancold water; which I took into my mouth, and dropped it on mybreast for it to suck in when I gave it the teat, with whatlittle milk it could draw from thence. At other times, when Icould procure any broth of beaver's guts, I fed it with that: bywhich means, and keeping it as warm as I could, its life waspreserved till I came to Canada, where I met with better food.When we were pretty far advanced in our journey, the Indiansdivided; and, to our great sorrow, divided us amongst them. Myeldest daughter was taken away first, and carried to anotherpart of the country, far distant from us. And we had nottravelled far before they parted again, and took from me mysecond daughter and my servant-maid; so that I had now only thebabe at my breast and my little boy of six years old. We threeremained with the captain; but my daughter and servant underwentvery great sufferings after they were taken from us; travellingvery hard for three days together, without any sustenance butcold water; and on the third day the servant fell down in aswoon as dead; at which the Indians seemed surprised, and beganto show some signs of tenderness; not being willing to lose anyof their captives by death, after they had brought them so neartheir own home; hoping, no doubt in case they lived, to obtain aconsiderable price for their ransom. Accordingly, in a few daysafter this, they drew near their journey's end, where they foundgreater plenty of corn and other food; but flesh often fell veryshort, as they had no other way of procuring it but hunting.It was not long before my daughter and servant were parted also;and my daughter's master falling sick, he was thereon disabledfrom hunting. All their corn was likewise spent; and so greatwere their distresses, that they were compelled to feed on thebark of trees for a whole week, being almost famished to death.In this sore extremity it was providentially ordered, that someother Indians, hearing of their misery, came to visit them (forthey are very kind and helpful one to another) and brought withthem the guts and liver of a beaver; which, as they were butfour in number (viz. the Indian and his wife and daughter, andmy daughter) afforded them a good repast.By this time my master and our company got to their journey'send; where we met with better entertainment, having corn,venison, wild fowl, and whatever else the Indians took inhunting. But my master's family being fifteen in number, itsometimes occasioned us to have very short commons, especiallywhen game was scarce.Our lodging was still on the cold ground, in a poor littlewigwam, which is a kind of small shelter, made with the rinds oftrees and matts for its covering, after the manner of a tent.These are so easily set up and taken down, that they oftenremove them from place to place. Our shoes, stockings, and otherclothes being worn out in this long journey through bushes andswamps, and the season coming on very sharp and cold, we werepoorly defended from the injuries of the weather; which now grewto severe, that one of my own feet, one of my babe's, and bothmy little boy's, were frozen with the cold. But although thisbrought no small exercise upon me, yet through mercy we all didwell.Notwithstanding we were now come to the end of our journey, theIndians abode not long in one place; but often removed from onespot to another, carrying their wigwams, which were not a littletroublesome, whithersoever they went. These frequent removalswere made for the sake of hunting; but were attended with greatinconveniences, by reason of the dampness of the ground whereonth wigwams were pitched; which rendered our lodging much moreunpleasant and unwholesome than if we had continued in oneplace.At length we arrived at the Indian fort, where many of thepeople came to visit my master and his family, and congratulatehim on his safe return, and the success of his expedition.Publick rejoicings were made upon it (which in their way perhapswere a kind of thanksgiving); and these were attended withdancing, firing of guns, beating on hollow trees instead ofdrums, shouting, drinking, and feasting for several daystogether with much excess.But while the Indians were in their mirth and jollity, my mindwas earnestly exercised towards the Lord, that I, with my dearchildren, who were now separated from me, might be preservedfrom repining against God under our present affliction. Butthat, on the other hand, we might have our dependence upon him,who rules in the hearts of men, and can do what he pleases inthe kingdoms of the earth; knowing that his care is over thosewho put their trust in him. But I found it very difficult tokeep my mind under that patient resignation, so necessary to befound in such sore trials and allictions as then fell to my lot:Being under various fears and doubts concerning my daughters,who were separated from me, which greatly increased my troubles:so that I can say my afflictions were not to be set forth bywords to the full extent of them.We had not long been arrived, before my master went abroad tohunt for provisions for the family, and was absent about a week.Before he set out, he ordered me to procure wood, and gathernuts: in doing which I was very diligent, during the time of hisabsence, cutting the wood, and putting it up in order. But nosooner was he returned, than I quickly perceived he was verymuch displeased; for he had net with no success in his huntingexpedition; and so strongly did his disappointment work uponhim, that he began to revenge it on us his captives. He allowedme, however, a little boiled corn for myself and child; butlooking upon us with a very angry contenance, he threw a stickat me with so much violence, as plainly demonstrated that hegrudged us the food we had received from him.Hereupon his squaw and daughter broke forth in a violent fit ofcrying; which occasioned me to fear that some mischief wasintended against us; and in consequence of this I instantlywithdrew from his presence into another wigwam. He soon followedme; and in great fury tore my blanket from my back; then takingmy little boy from me, he knocked him down as he went alongbefore him. But the poor child, not being hurt, but onlyfrightened with the fall, started up, and ran away withoutcrying.My Master then left us; but his wife's mother came and sat downby me, telling me I must sleep there that night. After this shewent out for a while, and then returned with a small skin tocover my feet; giving me to understand withal, that my masterwas now determined to kill us.I was very desirous to know the cause of this determination;urging to her that I had been diligent, during his absence, todo as he had ordered me; and in the best manner I was ableendeavoured to make her sensible how unreasonable he was;although we had no other means of making ourselves intelligibleto each other but by signs. She still continued to make signs tome that I must die; advising me (by pointing upwards) to pray toGod; and endeavouring, by other signs, and tears intermixed, toinstruct me in that which was most needful, to prepare fordeath, which now appeared to be nigh at hand from my bloodymaster; who had conceived evil against me without any justcause; but his ill success in hunting, and the scarcity ofprovisions, had made him quite outrageous.The poor old squaw, his mother-in-law, was very kind and tenderto me; and all that night would not leave me; but came and laidherself down at my feet, signifying her intention to use herendeavours to appease his wrath. For my own part, I got butlittle rest that night; though my babe slept sweetly by my side:but I dreaded the tragical design of my master, and looked everyhour when he would enter the wigwam to execute his bloodypurpose. But here again providence interposed. For being wearywith hunting, and having toiled in the woods without success, hewent to rest, and forgot to put in practice the horrid purposehe had formed.The morning being come, he went forth again to hunt. I dreadedhis return emptyhanded; and prayed in my heart that he mighttake something to satisfy his hunger, and quell his ill humour.And before he had been long gone, he returned with booty; havingshot some wild ducks. He now appeared in a better temper, andordered the fowls to be dressed speedily. For these Indians,whenever they are in possession of plenty, spent it as freely asthey take it: often consuming in the space of two days, throughgluttony and drunkenness, as much as with prudent managementmight serve a week. And thus they live, for the most part,either in riot and excess; or undergo very great hardships forwant of necessaries.As this was a time of plenty, I felt the comfort of it, togetherwith the rest of the family; having a part sent to me and mychildren; which was very acceptable. I was now ready to thinkthe bitterness of death was past for this time, and my spiritgrew a little easier; yet this lasted not long before my masterthreatened my life again. But of this I took notice, thatwhenever this ill temper predominated, he was always pinchedwith hunger; and that when success attended his hunting, he wasmuch better-humoured; though indeed he was naturally hot andpassionate, and often threw sticks and stones at me, or whateverelse may in his way, by reason whereof my life was continuallyin danger; but that God whose providence is over all his works,so preserved me, that I never received any great damage fromthis Indian; for which mercy I ever desire to be thankful to myCreator.When flesh was scarse, we were only allowed the guts andgarbage; but were not permitted to cleanse them any other waythan just by emptying the dung out of them, and afterwardsboiling them together with the broth of fowls; which would havebeen extremely nauseous, had not hunger compelled us to eat; butin time this kind of food, which often fell to our lot, becamepretty tolerable to a keen appetite; though at another time Icould by no means have dispensed with it. And this led me toconsider that none are able to say what hardships they cansuffer till the trial comes upon them. For that which in timepast I had thought not fit for food in my own family, I shouldnow have esteemed a sweet morsel, and a dainty dish.By this time I was reduced so low, through fatigue of spirits,hard labour, mean diet, and the frequent want of natural rest,that my milk had entirely dried up again, and my helpless babevery poor and weak, appearing to be little more than skin andbones; for I could perceive every joint of it, from one end ofits back to the other; and how to procure any thing that mightsuit its weak appetite, I was at a very great loss. Whereuponone of the Indian squaws, perceiving my uneasiness, began somediscourse with me, and withal advised me to take up the kernelsof walnuts, and after I had cleansed them, to beat them up witha little water; which accordingly I did, and the water lookedlike milk. Then she bid me add to this water a little of thefinest Indian corn meal, and just boil it up together. I did so;and found it very palatable, and soon perceived that itnourished my babe, for it quickly began to thrive and look well;which gave me great comfort. I afterwards understood, that withthis kind of diet the Indian children were often fed.But the comfort I received on my dear child's recovery from thebrink of death, was soon mixed with bitterness and trouble. Formy master observing its thriving condition, used often to lookupon it, and say, that when it was fat enough, he'd have itkilled and eaten. Pursuant to this threat, he obliged me tofetch a stick, which he said he had prepared to roast my babeupon. And as soon as I had brought it, he made me sit down byhim, and undress the infant. The child now being naked, he beganto feel its arms, legs, and thighs; and having passed thisexamination upon it, he informed me, that as it was not yet fatenough, I must dress it again, till it was in better case. Butnotwithstanding he thus acted, I could not persuade myself hewas in earnest, but that he did it with a view to afflict andaggravate me: neither could I think but that our lives would bepreserved from his barbarous hands, by the overruling power ofHim, in whose Providence I put my trust both night and day.A little while after this, my master fell sick; and during hisillness, as he lay in his wigwam, he ordered his own son to beatmine. But the old Squaw, the Indian boy's grandmother, would notsuffer him to do it. Whereupon the father was so much provoked,that he seized hold on a stick, very sharp at one end, and threwit at my little boy with such violence, that it struck him sosevere a blow on the breast, as made his countenance change aspale as death, through pain. I intreated him not to cry; andthough he was but six years old, and his breast very muchbruised, he bore it with wonderful patience, not so much as oncecomplaining. So that the patience of the child restrained hisbarbarity; which it is hardly to be doubted would havetransported him further in his resentment, had he cried; forcomplaining always aggravated his passion greatly, and his angergrew hotter upon it.A short time after on the same day, he got upon his feet; butwas much out of order. But notwithstanding he was sick, his wifeand daughter let me know that he still purposed to kill us;which made me now very fearful, unless Providence interposed, inwhat manner it would end. I therefore laid down my child; andgoing out of his presence, went to cut wood for the fire, as Iused to do, hoping this would in part abate his passion; butstill I feared that before I returned to the wigwam, my twochildren would be killed.In this situation I had no way left but to cast my care uponGod, who had hitherto helped and protected me and mine. Butwhile my master remained in this feud, the old squaw (hismother-in-law) left him; but my mistress and her daughter stillremained with him in the wigwam.As soon as I returned with my wood, the daughter came to me. Iasked her if her father had killed my children? She answered meby a sign that he had not; and seemed to be pleased that he hadforborn it. For instead of venting his fury on me and mine, theLord, in whom I had put my trust, interposed in the needfultime, and mercifully delivered us from the cruel purpose he hadthreatened to put in execution. Nor was he himself without somesense of the same, and that the hand of God was concernedtherein, as he afterwards confessed to those who were about him.For a little time after he had got upon his feet he was struckwith violent pains, and such a grievous sickness, that heuttered his complaints in a very doleful and hideous manner.Which when I understood (not having yet seen him) I went toanother squaw, who was come to visit him, and could speakEnglish, and asked her if my mistress (for so I used to call theIndian's wife) thought my master would die? She answered, it wasvery likely he would; for he grew worse and worse. I then toldher he had struck my little boy a dreadful blow, without anyprovocation; and had threatened, in his fury, to kill us all.The squaw confessed that the abuse he offered to my child, andthe mischief he had done him, was the cause why God afflictedhim with that sickness and pain; and told me that he hadpromised never to abuse us in such sort again.After this he recovered; but I do not remember that fromthenceforward he either struck me or my children so as to hurtus, or with that mischievous intent as he before used to do; norwas he so passionate afterwards as he had been accustomed to be.All which I looked upon as the Lord's doing, and marvellous itwas in my eyes.A few weeks after this, my master made another remove; whic wasthe largest he had ever made, being two days journey, and mostlyover the ice. The first day the ice was bare; but some snowfalling on the second, it made it very difficult to travel over.I received much hurt by frequent falls: having, besides, thecare of my infant, which increased my trouble not a little. Itwas night when we arrived at our camp; and I was ordered to goand fetch water; but having sat a while on the cold ground, Icould neither stand nor go, by reason that my limbs were sobenumbed with cold. Yet I dared not refuse; and thereforeattempted it by crawling on my hands and knees; but a youngIndian squaw, belonging to another family, being come to see ourpeople, she in compassion took the kettle; and knowing where togo, which I did not, fetched the water for me; which I took as agreat favour, in that her heart was inclined to do me thisservice.I now saw the design of this journey. My master, as I suppose,being weary of keeping us, was willing to make what ransom hecould of us; and therefore went farther towards the Frenchsettlements, leaving his family at this place; where they had agreat dance, several other Indians coming to our people. Thisheld some time; and while they were employed in it, I got out oftheir way as far as I could into a corner of the wigwam. Butevery tims they came by me in their dancing, they would bow myhead towards the ground, and frequently kick me with great fury.Divers of them were barefooted, and the rest had only mocksanson. The dance lasted some time; and they made, in their manner,great rejoicing and noise.It was not many days before my master returned from the French;but in such ill humour, that he would not suffer me to abide inhis presence. I had a little shelter made with boughs; havingfirst digged through the snow, which was then pretty deep, quiteinto the ground. In this hole I and my poor children were put tolodge; and as the weather was then very sharp, and the frostshard (it being then the month called January) our lodging wasextremely bad. But our stay was not long in this wretched place,before my master took me and my children to the French, in orderto get a chapman (buyer) for us. when we came among them, I wasexposed to sale, and the price my master put upon me was 800livres. But nobody appearing disposed to comply with hisdemands, and a Frenchman offering no more than 600 livres, itthrew him into such a rage, that he said in his passion, if hecould not have his price, he would burn me and the babe in theview of the city of Port-Royal. The Frenchman bade him make thefire; and added, "I will help you, if you think that will do youmore good than 600 livres;" called him a fool, and roughlybidding him begone: but at the same time he was very civil tome; and for my encouragement bade me be of good cheer, for Ishould be redeemed, and not go back with the Indian again. I wasobliged, however, to reture with my master that night; but thenext morning I was redeemed for 600 livres.In driving the bargain with my master, the Frenchman asked himwhy he demanded so much for the little babe's ransom? urging,that when it came to have its belly-full it would die. TheIndian said, No; it would not die; having already livedtwenty-six days on nothing but water; and that he believed itwas a devil. The Frenchman said, No; but the child is orderedfor longer life; and it hath pleased God to preserve it toadmiration. My master answered, No; that was not the case; butit was a devil; and he believed it would not die, unless theytook a hatchet, and knocked out its brains.This ended their discourse; and I was redeemed as aforesaid,with my little babe, for 600 livres. My little boy was likewiseredeemed for an additional sum. And by this means we exchangedour lodging and diet for the better, the French being kind andcivil to me beyond what I could expect or desire. The day after I was redeemed, a Romish priest took my babe fromme; and according to their custom they baptized it; urging thatif it died before, it would be damned; and accordingly they gaveit the name of Mary Ann Trossways; telling it, that if it diedthen, it would be saved, being baptized. And my landlord also,speaking to the priest who performed the ceremony, said, itwould be well if Trosswaus were to die then, being in a state ofsalvation. But the priest replied, that the child having beenmiraculously preserved through so many hardships, it might bedesigned for some great work, and, by its life being continued,might glorify God much more than if it were to die then. A veryseasonable remark; and I wish it may prove true.I had then been about five months among the Indians, and onemonth with the French, when my dear husband, to my unspeakablejoy and comfort, came to me. He was much concerned for theredemption of his children; two of our daughters, and theservant-maid, being still inthe hands of the Indians; and onlymyself and the two little-ones redeemed.Accordinglt, after much difficulty and trouble, he recoverd ouryounger daughter and the maid; but we could by no means obtainour eldest from them. For the squaw to whom she was given had ason; and she intended a match between my daughter and him,hoping in time to prevail upon her to comply: for the Indiansare seldom guilty of any indecent carriage towards their captivewomen, unless much overtaken in liquor. The affection they hadfor my daughter made them refuse all offers and terms of ransom.So that after my husband had waited, and used his utmostendeavours to obtain our child, we were at last obliged todepart homewards, and leave our daughter, to our great grief,amongst the Indians.We accordingly set forward over the lake, with three of ourchildren and servant, in company with sundry other; and, by thekindness of Providence, got well home on the 1st of the SeventhMonth, called September, in the year 1725. From which it appearsthat I had been from home amongst the Indians and French, and onmy journey, twelve months and six days. In which series of time,the many deliverances and wonderful providences of God to us,have been, and I hope will remain to be, a continued obligationever to live in fear, love, and obedience to God Almighty;hoping, by the assistance of his grace, with meekness and wisdomto approve myself in holiness of life, and godliness ofconversation, to the praise of him who has called me; who isGod, blessed for ever.But my dear husband could not enjoy himself with satisfaction,because of the absence of our dear daughter Sarah, who, as Isaid before, was left behind. For which reason, not beingwilling to omit any thing which lay in his power for procuringher redemption, he concluded to make a second attempt. In orderto this he began his journey about the 19th of the Second Month(April) 1727, in company with a kinsman and his wife, who wentto redeem some of their children, and were successful enough toobtain their desire. But my dear husband was taken sick by theway, and grew worse and worse. And as he was very sensible heshould not get over it, he told my kinsman, that if it were theLord's will he should die in the wilderness, he was freely givenup to it. And at length, under a good composure of mind, andsensible to his last moments, he died, as near as they couldguess, at the distance of about helfway between Albany andCanada, in my kinsman's arms; and is, I doubt not, at rest inthe Lord. And although mine and my chidrens loss is very great,yet his gain I hope is much greater. I therefore desire and praythat the Lord will enable me patiently to submit to his will inall things - earnestly beseeching the God and Father of all ourmercies to be a father to my fatherless children, and give themthat blessing which makes truly rich, and adds no sorrow withit; that as they grow in years, they may grow in grace, andexperience the joy of his salvation, which is come by JesusChrist, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.After the death of my dear husband, my kinsman proceeded on hisjourney; and when he arrived at Canada, he used all possiblemeans to obtain my daughter's freedom, but all his endeavoursproved ineffectual; she being still in the hands of the same oldsquaw, who designed at any rate to oblige my daughter to marryher son, and for that reason utterly rejected any proposal forher redemption. But herein she missed of her aim; for whilst shewas endeavouring to bring my daughter to consent, a Frenchman(Jean-Baptiste Sabourin), who had taken a great liking to her,interposed. He spared no pains by persuasion to gain herconseng; setting before her the immediate privilege she wouldobtain by becoming his wife, to wit, her freedom from captivityamong the Indians; for in such a case it seems they have nopretence to detain their captives any longer after marrying aFrenchman; but the woman then becomes the sole property of herhusband. These remonstrances and persuasions, added to theimprobability of her being redeemed from the Indians by anyother means, at last prevailed; and accordingly she was marriedto the Frenchman, and settled amongst that people.Thus, as well as I was able by the help of memory (not havingbeen in a condition to keep a journal) I have given a short buttrue account of some of the remarkable trials, and wonderfuldeliverances that have befallen me and mine. Which I neverintended to publish, but that I hoped the merciful kindness andgoodness of God might thereby be manifested; and the readerstirred up with more care and fear to righteousness andhumility; and then will my purpose be answered.N.B. The substance of the foregoing account was taken from herown mouth by Samual Bownas. And in the Seventh Month, calledSeptember, 1741, Samuel Hopwood was with her, and received therelation much to the same purpose; at which time he saw the chid(then agrown a young woman) who was sucking at her breast whenshe was carried into captivity.