Skip to main content

Indian Captive


I have decided to write about a book called the Indian captives written by Lios Lenski.I read this book few months ago during my leisure and I should say that it is one of the few books which really impressed and inspired me.Lios Lenski once again proved that she was the master in writing stories and it can be seen from the popularity of her book"The Strawberry girl" published in mid 1930's.The Indian Captives is related to the life of Mary Jemison also called as Molly and her struggle with the Seneca Red Indian tribes.Mary was a young girl(aged 15 yrs when she was captured)captured by Seneca Indians from her family’s farm in eastern Pennsylvania. After a long journey by foot with her kidnappers, Molly is sold to two sisters, Shining Star and Squirrel Woman, as a replacement for their brother who was killed in battle. The two women begin to introduce Seneca life to Molly, but she is broken-hearted in her new situation, and attempts to run away.

The two women begin to introduce Seneca life to Molly, but she is broken-hearted in her new situation, and attempts to run away. After a journey to Fort Duquesne in which Molly is almost reclaimed by the white settlers, Molly is taken on another long journey, this time to a Seneca village on the Genesee River. Molly is depressed and in ill health, so a kind Seneca woman named Earth Woman nurses her back to health and gives her hope for her future with the Senecas. Gradually Molly becomes friends with many of the Seneca and grows accustomed to their ways. After about two years with the Seneca, Molly learns that her family is dead, and she must make a choice to stay with the Indians or return to the world of white men. She chooses to stay with the Seneca, who have shown her much love and kindness, and whose ways she has grown to understand and respect.I really liked this story much as I was a bit emotional when I read the last part,where she expects her family to take her back .But unfotunately ,the seneca indians kill them when they captured Molly.Their culture used to be like they capture a white when any one in their community is killed or die so that the new captive will be a replacement for the person who died.I would like to appreciate the imagination of the author.She has done a perfect job here.Mary was captured by the seneca Indians in 1777.

About Writer:
Lois Lenski was born in 1893 in Springfield, Ohio, to a Lutheran minister and his wife.Though Lenski’s father wished for his daughter to become a teacher, Lenski instead moved to New York City to study art and soon began to make a living with her illustrations. In 1921, she married Arthur Covey, one of her former teachers. Lenski decided to write her own stories and illustrate them after several publishing companies told her that although they liked her drawings, they did not have suitable books for her to illustrate. In her long career, Lenski wrote and illustrated more than ninety books, including Strawberry Girl, a Newberry Medal winner, and Phebe
Fairchild: Her Book and Indian Captive, both of which were Newberry Honor books.Lenski died in 1974 at the age of eighty.

Comments

Post a Comment

Also read

Cutting people off isn’t strength—It is a trauma response

Your ability to cut people off and self-isolate is not a skill you should be proud of—It is a trauma response Cutting people off and self-isolating may feel like a protective shield, but it is often rooted in unresolved or unhealed trauma and an inability to depend on others. While these behaviors seem like self-preservation, they end up reinforcing isolation and blocking meaningful connections. Confronting these patterns, seeking therapy, and nurturing supportive relationships can help break this unhealthy cycle. Plus, a simple act like planting a jasmine plant can symbolise the start of your journey towards emotional healing. Why do we cut people off and isolate? If you’re someone who prides themselves on “cutting people off” or keeping a tight circle, you might believe it’s a skill—a way to protect yourself from betrayal, hurt, or unnecessary drama. I get it. I’ve been there, too. But here’s the thing: this ability to isolate yourself is not as empowering as it may seem. In fact, i...
1 comment
Read more

Spill the Tea: Ira and the quiet exhaustion of being watched

Ira comes for tea and slowly reveals a life shaped by emotional surveillance. Loved, watched, and quietly evaluated by her parents, she lives under constant explanation. Through food, posture, and confession, she names the exhaustion of being known too well and finds nourishment not just in eating, but in finally being heard. Ira arrived  five minutes early and apologized for it. The way people do when they are used to taking responsibility for time itself. She said it lightly, as if time itself had offended her. She wore a white A-line shirtdress, clean and careful, the kind that looks chosen for comfort but ends up signaling restraint. When she sat down, she folded herself into the chair unconsciously. One leg rested on the floor, the other tucked underneath her, knees visible. It was not a pose meant to be seen. It slipped out before her body remembered how to protect itself. I noticed the brief softness of it, the quiet vulnerability, before she settled and forgot. I was still...
Post a Comment
Read more

Not Quite Dead Yet- Holly Jackson- A review

Is Not Quite Dead Yet all hype and no heart? A review of Holly Jackson’s thriller You pick up Not Quite Dead Yet expecting a clever, grown up thriller, but you are handed melodrama dressed as urgency. This long form review questions the hype, critiques its shallow characterisation, and asks whether a ticking clock can replace emotional depth, moral consequence, and believable storytelling. Why do you pick up a book that promises a woman will die in seven days? You know this feeling. You walk into a bookshop or scroll online, tired after a long day, and you want certainty. You want a hook that grabs you by the collar and says, “This will matter.” A countdown does exactly that. Seven days to live. A woman solving her own murder. The premise feels urgent, cinematic, and engineered to keep you turning pages even when your better judgement whispers otherwise. Publishing statistics support this instinct. According to data shared by The New York Times and NPR , thrillers with ...
Post a Comment
Read more