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*i 
 
 NINE YEARS A CAPTIVE 
 
 OR 
 
 JOHN CiYLES" 
 
 KXPKRIl'.NCK AM<<M; IHI'. 
 
 MALICITE INDIANS, 
 
 ,.^ 
 
 From 1689 to 1698, 
 
 V 
 
 
 l/" 
 
 ^ 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 Introduction and Historical Notes 
 
 BY 
 
 
 JAMES HANNAY. 
 
 ! 
 
 — »/i » ,\ — 
 
 SAINT JOHN, N. B.: 
 
 DAILY IKI.F.GRAPH STEAM JOB PRESS. 
 1875- 
 

INTRODUCTION. 
 
 
 The following narrative of the captivity of John Gyles among the 
 Indians of the St. John River, independently of its interest as a tale 
 of human suffering and endurance, is of great value as a means of 
 illustrating the manners and customs of the Indian tribes of Acadie. 
 It is this consideration which is mainly the cause of its republication 
 now, for it is the only authentic narrative that is known to exist of 
 any lengthened residence among the savage tribes of Acadie during 
 the seventeenth century, the period of their greatest power and 
 greatest activity. Without it we might form a tolerable conjecture 
 of the mode of life of the aborigines of our country, but the narrative 
 of Gyles, in its simple and truthful qua'.ntness, introduces us to those 
 barbarous people as they actually were, tells us how they lived, 
 what priv^ations they endured, shows us, in short, the Ind'an stripped 
 of his paint and feathers and without those romantic surroundings 
 amid which writers of poetry and some historians have delighted to 
 depict him. By the light of such a narrative, we are able to perceive 
 how wretched was the lot of an Acadian Indian, even during the 
 period when his very name carried terror to the hearts of the settlers 
 of New Hampshire and Maine. Modern civilization may have de- 
 graded him in some respects, but it has elevated him in others. It 
 has rescued him from the danger of starvation to which in his pristine 
 state he was constantly exposed, and also from the cruel necessity of 
 abandoning the aged and feeble of his kindred to perish, when unable 
 longer to supply their own wants or endure the constant journeys 
 necessitated by the nature of their nomad life. 
 
 A vast deal of nonsense has been written about the North Ameri- 
 can Indians, and perhaps on no point have the w-riters who conceive 
 their vague fancies to be solemn facts, exhausted their rhetoric to a 
 greater extent than in regard to the supposed inevitable doom of the 
 Red Man, which they conceive to be his utter extinction. If, as ap- 
 pears to be the belief in some of the Western United States, the proper 
 thing to do with every Indian is to shoot him, then of course the ex- 
 tinction of the race would seem to be inevitable, but fortunately this 
 simple policy is not likely to be universally adopted. There is no 
 
4 IN' rkouiJcrioN. 
 
 reason whatever why the I'ndians of tin's continent sliould perish from 
 the face of the earth, unless it is to be found in the lawless brutality, 
 treachery and bad faith of white men. In New Brunswick and Nova 
 Scotia, thanks to a policy of justice which protects men from murder 
 and violence, no matter what their color, the Indians are increasing in 
 numbers. I am firmly convinced, after a pretty thorough investi- 
 gation of every available original authority, that there arc more 
 Indians in New l^run.swick and Nova Scotia now than there ever 
 were during any part of either the seventeenth or eighteenth cen- 
 turies. It is doubtful if both the Malicites and Micmacs together 
 ever could have brought 800 warriors into the field during the his- 
 torical period. In point of fact, that number of warriors never v/as 
 as.scmbled together in Acadie at any one time. When Mcmbertou, 
 the Micmac, in 1607 collected all his forces to attack the Armouch- 
 quois at Chouakoet, (Saco) his whole force amounted to only 400 
 men, and there were never more than 300 Malicites engaged in an)- 
 of the numerous raids they made on the English settlements. Even 
 the Iroquois or five nations, which included the Mohawks, the mo.st 
 formidable Indian Confederacy in North America, never numbered 
 more than 2,500 warriors..,,, <- . , , . .-..,,, ,,,,.. ,,„^,, . 
 
 The Indians of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, two provinces 
 which formed a part of the ancient French Province of Acadie, all 
 belonged to the great Algonquin family or nation, but were divided in- 
 to two tribes. The Souriquois or Micmacs occupied the vvhole of the 
 peninsula of Nova Scotia and the Gulf Shore of New Brunswick as 
 far North as Gaspe. The Etchemins or Malicites po.ssessed the 
 whole of the line of the St. John River and inland as far as Riviere 
 du Loup, and along the sea shore westward to the Penobscot. The 
 people now known as the Penobscot Indians, the Passamaquoddy 
 Indians, the Abenaquis of the Province of Quebec and the Indians 
 now living on the St. John River are all Etchemins or Malicites and 
 regard themselves as one people. The Malicites were a warlike race, 
 as subtle and savage as any tribe on the continent, and lying, as they 
 did, on the flank of the New England settlements, which they con- 
 stantly attacked, their destriction was a consummation devoutly 
 prayed for but never accompli.shed by the descendants of the Pilgrim 
 fathers. Even the laurels which Capt. Church had gained in King- 
 Philip's war withered when he came to Acadie, and his triumphs were 
 restricted to the burning of the dwellings and barns of the inoffensive 
 P^rench liabitauts of Chignecto and Minas. The Micmacs of Acadie 
 
 
tNTR()I)UCTl()>^. 
 
 5 
 
 were usuall)' tlic allies of tlu Malicites and fre<|uciit!)- sent warriors 
 to take part in their expeditions against Maine. 
 
 The Indian war, in the course of which Jolin (iyles was taken, was 
 the second great Indian war in which the peoj^le of l**astern New 
 England took part. It is known in history as King William's war, 
 from the iMiglish monarch in whose reign it took place, as the first 
 Indian war is known as King rhili[)'s war from the name of the In- 
 dian Sagamore who banded his countrymen against tlie whites. 
 King William's war was commenced in 1688 and lasted ten years. 
 It was a ruinous contest. All the Indian tribes eastward of the 
 Merrimack, including the Micmacs, took part in it. l-Acr)- town and 
 settlement in Maine except Wells, York, Kitter)- and tlie Isle of 
 Shoals was over-run. A thousand white people were killed or taken 
 prisoners and an untold number of domestic animals destroyed. Like 
 nearly every other war, which the Indians have waged against the 
 Whites, the latter were responsible for its origin. Several cau.ses, some 
 remote and .some immediate, combined to invest this contest with a 
 more than ordinary degree of ferocity. One of the former illustrates in 
 a remarkable manner that long remembrance of an injury whch is 
 characteristic of savages. In 1676, towards the close of King IMiilip's 
 war, Major Waldron. the Commander of the Militia, at Dover, had made 
 a peace with 400 of the Eastern Indians and they were encamf)cd 
 quietly near his hou.se, and regarded him as their friend and father. 
 Two companies of troops, under Captains Sill and Hawthorne, soon 
 afterwards arrived at Dover and they together with Major Waldron 
 contrived a treacherous .scheme to make the Indians prisoners. 
 Waldron propo.sed to the Indians to have a review and a sham fight 
 after the Engli.sh mode; and summoning his own men, they in con- 
 junction with the two companies formed one party, and the Indians 
 another. After manoeuvring for .some time Major Waldron induced 
 the Indians to fire the first volley, and the instant this was done they 
 were surrounded by the .soldiers and the whole 400 of them n">adc 
 pri.sonens. About half of them were afterwards set at liberty, but 
 more than 200 Indians who had taken part in the war were sent to 
 Bo.ston, where a number of them were hanged and the remainder 
 .sold into slavery. This despicable act of treachery the Indians 
 never forgot or forgave. It was a base deed which in after years 
 brought its own punishment. The Indians learned the le.s.son and im- 
 j)roved upon it. Thirteen years later Major Waldron was slain by 
 the Indians, under circumstances which involved a breach of faith and 
 
in 
 
 It : 
 
 6 [NTKOUUCTION. 
 
 of tlic laws of hospitality equal to his own, and, after the lapse of 
 nearly ninety years, the Ottawas captured Machilmackinac by a de- 
 vice exactly modeled on Waldron's exploic; thus the evil seed sown 
 by liim bore its legitimate fruit. 
 
 The war was, hov/ever, precipitated by another needless outrage 
 the infamy of which belongs to Andross the Governor of New Eng- 
 land. In 1667 the I^aron de St. Castine, who had been an officer in 
 the Carignan Regiment in Canada, settled on a point of land on the 
 eastern bank of the Penobscot River, near the town which now bears 
 his name. He married a daughter of the MaMcite Sagamore Madock- 
 awando and built a trading house where he did a large and profitable 
 business with the Indians, among whom he was regarded with a de- 
 gree of reverence that almost amounted to worship. It would have 
 been prudent to have kept on good terms with such a man, but An- 
 dross, in April, 1688, thought proper to land with a party of men 
 from the Rose frigate and rob Castine's house and fort, an act which 
 so provoked the latter that he very soon gave the people of New 
 England cause to curse the folly of their Governor. In a short time, 
 mainly owing to his influence, the tribes of Acadie and Eastern 
 Maine were allied and in arms against the English and the war com- 
 menced, one episode 01 which is described in the narrative in the fol- 
 lowing pages. I have given it in the exact language of the writer, 
 but have added such notes as appeared to be necessary to the pro- 
 per understanding of the interesting story of Mr. Gyles, 
 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 iMlcr. 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 UV ODD ADVKNTURES, STRANGE DEI.IVKRANCKS, K'lC, IN 1 UK ( Al' 
 TIVITV OF JOHN (lYMOS, KSg.. COMMANDER OF THE GARRISON ON 
 ST. GEORGE RIVER, IN TIH. DISTRICT OF MAINE. WRITTEN liV 
 HIMSELF.* .-u ": i> ■• 
 
 Introduction. — These private memoi'-s were toilet ted frt^ni my minutes, 
 at the earnest reciuest of my secontl t t)nsort, for the use of our family, that 
 we might have a memento ever ready at hand, to excite in oursehes urati- 
 tude and thankfulness to God; and in our offspring a due sense of their 
 dependence on the Sovereign of the universe, from the preeariousness and 
 vicis.situdes of all sublunar)' enjoyments. In this state, and for this end, 
 they have laid by me for some years. They at length fallmg into the hands 
 of some, for whose judgement 1 had a value, I was i)ressetl for a copy for the 
 public. Others, desiring of me to extract ])articulars from them, which tlie 
 multiplicity and urgency of my affairs woukl not admit, I have now deter 
 mined to suffer their publication. I have not made scarce any addition to 
 this manual, except in the chapter of creatures, which I was urgetl to make 
 much larger. I might have greatly enlarged it, but J fearetl it woultl grow 
 beyond its proportion. I have been likewise advised to give a parti( ular nc- 
 count of my father, which I am not very fond of, having no dependence on 
 the virtues or honors of my ancestors to recommend me to the favor of (lod 
 or men ; nevertheless, because some think it is a respect due to l he memory 
 of my parents, whose name I was obliged to mention in the following story, 
 and a satisfaction which their posterity might justly expect from me, I shall 
 give some account of him, though as brief as possible. 
 
 The flourishing state of New England, before the unhappy eastern wars, 
 drew my father hither, whose first settlement was on Kennebeck River, at a 
 place called Merrymeeting Bay, where he dwelt for some years; until, on the 
 death of my grand parents, he, with his family, returned to England, to settl" 
 his affairs. This done, he came over with the design to have returned to his 
 farm; but on his arrival at Boston, the eastern Indians had begun their hos- 
 tilities. He therefore begim a settlement on Long Island. The air of that 
 place not so well agreeing with his constitution, and the Indians having l)e- 
 come peaceable, he again proposed to resettle his lands in Merrymeeting 
 Bay; but finding that place deserted, and that Plantations were going on nt 
 Pemmaquid, he purchased several tracts of land of the inhabitants there. 
 Upon his highness the Duke of York resuming a claim to those parts, my 
 father took out patents under that claim ; and when Pemmat[uidt was set off 
 
 *The name of Capt. John Gyles will not be f .and in Allen's American Biography or any similar work. 
 where the names and memories of so many buckram Colonels and Captains are preserved. Vet his record 
 was an honorable oiie. He was living at Roxbury, M.iss., in the year 1753, and w.-is then 73 years of age. 
 He must therefore have been 9 years old at the time of his capture and 18 at the time of his lil)eration. 
 Some of his public services are stated at the end of this narative. And that they were of j^reat value to 
 the government his constant employment would seem to indicate. The narrative of his Captivity was first 
 published in Boston in 1736. 
 
 \ Pemmaquid which was once an important settlement, is on the coast midway between the Kennebec and 
 Penobscot nvers. Its outer harbor is large and safe and alwut five miles within it is F'ort Point which is 
 at the entrance of an inner harbor capable of containing ten ships of the line. There is there a natur..! 
 quay or wharf where a ship of large b- rthen may lie afloat at all times of the tide. I'he fort of Pemmaquid 
 was close to this natural wharf. 
 
» CAITIVl'IY OF JOHN (.VI.KS. 
 
 hy the name of the coimly of Cornwall, in the provincx' of New York, he 
 was commissioned <liief justice of the same by (iov. Duncan [Dongan.] 
 He was a strict sahhatarian, and met with considerable ditficuity in the dis- 
 chari^e of his oOHe, from the immoralities of a people who had long lived 
 lawless. He laid out no inconsiilerable income, which he had annuallv from 
 l'ai;^dand, (;n the place, and at last lost liis life there, as will hereafter be 
 rclatetl. 
 
 I am not insensible of the truth of an assertion of Sir Roger I /Estrange, 
 that " P)(K)ks and dishes have this common fate: no one of either ever 
 pleased all tastes.'' And I am fully of his opinion in this: "It is as little to 
 l)c wished for as e.\[)ected; for a universal applause is, at least, two-thirds of 
 a scandal." 'I'o conclude with Sir Ri^^er, "Thcugh I made this composition 
 |)rincipally for my family, yet, if any man has a mind to take part with me; 
 !e has free leave, and is welcome;' but let him carry this consideration 
 along with him, "that he is a very unmannerly guest who forces himself ujjon 
 iuiothcr man's table, and kXx'cw quarrels with his dinner." 
 
 C(J.NrAIMNt; llll. nCCUKK,KNX'ES Ol' THK KIKSI- VKAK. ' A' ' 
 
 ( )n the second day of August, 1689, in the morning, my honored father, 
 Thomas (ivLKs, Ksg., went with some laborers, my two elder brothers and my- 
 self, to one of his fiirms, which laid upon the river about three miles above 
 l''ort Charles,* adjoining l\'mma([uid Falls, there to gather in his English har- 
 vest, and we labored securely till noon. After we had dined, our people went to 
 their labor, some in one field to their English hay, the others to another field of 
 E..glish corn. My father, the youngest of my two brothers, and myself, tar- 
 ried near the farm-house in which we had dined till about one of the clock ; 
 at which time we heard the rei)ort of several great guns at the ibrt. Upon 
 which my father said he hoped it was a signal of good news, and that the 
 great council had sent back the soldiers, to cover the inhabitants; (for on re- 
 |)ort of the revolution they had deserted.) But to our great surprise, about 
 thirty or forty Indians, at that moment, discharged a volley of shot at us, 
 from behind a rising ground, near our barn. The yelling of the Indians, the 
 whistling of their shot, and the voice of my father, whom I heard cry out, 
 "What now ! what nowl" so terrified me, (though he seemed to be handling 
 a gun,) that I endeavored to make my escape. My brother ran one way and 
 1 another, and looking over my shoulder, I saw a stout fellow, painted, pur- 
 suing me with a gun, and a cutlass glittering in his hand, which I expected 
 every moment in my l)rains. I soon fell down, and the Indian seized me by 
 the left hand. He offered me no abuse, but tied my arms, then lifted me up, 
 and pointed to the place where the people were at work about the hay, 
 and led me that way. As we went, we croosed where my father was, who 
 looked very pale and bloody, and walked very slowly. When we came to 
 the place, I saw two men shot down on the flats, and one or two more 
 knocked on their heads w h hatchets, crying out, "O Lord," &c. There the 
 
 * In a note appended to the original narrative, our author says, " Fort Charles stood on the spot where 
 Kurt Frederick was, .lat long since, founded by Colonel Dunbar. The township adjoining thereto was called 
 Jamestown in honor of the Duke of York. In this town, withii. a quarter of a mile of the fort, was my 
 father's dwelling house from which he went out that unhappy morning." I may add that Fort Charles was 
 a redoubt with two guns aloft, and an outwork about nine feet high, with two bastions in the oppositu 
 angles, in each of which were two cannon, .""nd another at the gateway. It was built in 1677, but the Fem- 
 inaiinid setflement was older than Boston. 
 
 
CAiniviiY or JOHN <;yi,ks. 9 
 
 Indians brought two captives, one a man, and my brother James, who, with 
 me, had endeavored to escape by running from the house, when we were 
 first attacked. 'I'his broth( i- was aboi c fourteen years of age. My oldest 
 brother, whose name was '1 honins, wonderfully escaped by Innd to the Har- 
 l)ican, a point o( land on the west side of the river, opposite the fort, where 
 several fishing vessels lay. He got on boaid one of them and sailed ihat 
 night. .V, ; , 
 
 After doing what mischief they could, they sat down, and made us sit 
 with them. After some time we arose, and the Indians pointed for us to go 
 eastward. We marched about a (juarter of a mile, and then made a halt. 
 Here they brought my father to us. They made i)rojK)sals to him. by old 
 Moxus, who told him that those were strange Indians who shot him, and 
 that he was sorry for it.* My father rei)lied that he was a dying man, and 
 wanted no favor ot them, but to i)ray with his children. This being granted 
 him, he recommended us to the protection and blessing of (iod Almighty; 
 then gave us the best advice, and took his leave for this life, hoping in (Iod 
 that we should meet in a better. He ])arted with a cheerful voice, but looked 
 ver)' pale, by reason of his great loss of blood, which now gushed out of his 
 shoes. The Indians led him aside I- 1 heard the blows of the hatchet, but 
 neither shriek nor groan! I afterwards heard that he had five or seven shot- 
 holes through his waistcoat or jacket, and that he was covered with some 
 boughs, t '••'.. ^tj:./, T.:; , ,,u,a?^■ J,? 
 
 The Indians led us, their captives, on the east side of the river, towards 
 the fort, and when we came within a mile and a half of the fort and town, 
 and could see the 'fort, we saw firing and smoke on all sides. Here we made 
 a short stop, and then moved within or near the distance of three quarters 
 of a mile from the fort, into a thick ; 'amp. There I saw my mother and 
 my two little sisters, and many other captives who were taken from the 
 town. My mother asked me about my father. I told her he was killed, but 
 could say no more for grief. She burst into tears, and the Indians moved 
 me a little farther off, and seized me with cords to a tree. 
 
 The Indians came to New Harbor, and sent spies several days to observe 
 how and where the people were em])loyed, iS:c., who found the men were 
 generally at work at noon, and left about their houses women and children. 
 Therefore the Indians divided themselves into several parties, some ambush- 
 ing the way between the fort and the houses, as likewise I 'ween them and 
 the distant fields; and then alarming the farthest off first, the/ killed and took 
 the people, as they moved towards the town and fort, at their pleasure, and 
 very few escaped to it. Mr. Pateshall was taken and killed, as he lay with 
 his sloop near the Barbican. 
 
 On the first stir about the fort, my youngest brother was at play near it, 
 
 and running in, was by God's goodness thus preserved. Captain Weems, 
 
 vith great courage and resolution, defended the weak old fort two days; 
 
 when, being much wounded, and the best of his men killed, he beat for a 
 
 parley, which eventuated in these conditions : 
 
 I, That they, the Indians, should give him Mr. Pateshall's sloop. 2. 
 That they should not molest him in carr}-ing off the few people that had got 
 
 * Moxus was a Chief of the Canibas who lived on tlie Kennebec River and therefore may have been quite 
 sincere in his expressions of regret, for it was true that they were strange Indians who shot the elder (lyles, 
 most of the attacking party being from the St. John Kiver. The whole party according to Charlevoix, 
 numbered one hundred. 
 
 I It was a common custom of the Indians to kill their prisoners who were unable to keep up with thcni 
 in their long marches. 
 
ro 
 
 CAFTIVIIV OK JOHN flVLf'.S. 
 
 I 
 
 1'! 
 
 'J 1 
 
 M 
 
 into the fort, and tlirec (:ai)tives that they had taken. 3. 'I'hat the Knghsh 
 should carry off in tlieir Imnds what they could from the fort.* 
 
 On these conditiori:^ the fort was surrendered, and Captain Weems went 
 off, and soon after, the Indians set on fire the f(>rt and houses, which made a 
 terrible blast, and was a melancholy sight to us ])oor caj>tives, who were sad 
 spectators ! 
 
 After the Indians had thus laid waste Pemnia(iuid, they moved us to New 
 Har!)or, about two miles east of Pemma(iuid, a cove much frequented by 
 fishermen, At this i>lace, there were, before the war, twelve houses. These 
 the inhabitants deserted as soon as the rumor of war reached the place. 
 \Vh(,Mi we turned our baclcs on the town, my heart was ready to break. 1' 
 saw my mother. She spoke to me, but 1 could not answer her. That night 
 we tarried at New Harbor, and the next clavwent in their canoes for Penob- 
 scot. About noon, the cano^^ in w'nich my mother was, and tliat in which I 
 was, came side by side, whether accirlentally or by ray mother's desire I can- 
 not say. She asked me how I did. I think i said "pretty well," but my 
 heart was so full of giief I scarcely knew whether audible to her. Then she 
 said, "O my childl how joyful and pleasant it would be, if we were going to 
 old England, to see your uncle Chalker, and other friends there. Poor babe, 
 we are going into the wilderness, the l.ord knows where." Then bursting 
 into tears, the canoes parted. That night following, the Indians with their 
 captives lodged on an island. 
 
 A few days after, we arrived at Penobscot fort, where I again san- my 
 mother, my brother and sisters, and many other captives. 1 think we tarried 
 here eight da vs. In that time, the Jesuit of the place had a great mind to 
 l)uy me. My Indian master made a visit to the Jesuit, and carried me with 
 him. And here I will note, that the Indian who takes a captive is accounted 
 his master, and has a perfect right to him, until he gives or sells him to 
 another. I saw the Jesuit show my master pieces of gold, and understood 
 afterwards tliat he was tendering them for my ransom. He gave me a bis- 
 cuit, which I {)ut into my ])ocket, and not darii^g to ec^t it, buried it under a 
 log, fearing he had ])ut something into it to make me love him. P>eing ve/y 
 young, and having heard much of the Papists torturing the Protestants, 
 caused me to act thus; and I hated the sight of a Jesuit. When my mother 
 heard the talk of my being sold to a Jesuit, she said to me, "Oh, my dea- 
 child, if it were (iod^ will, I had rather follow you to your grave, or never 
 see you more in this world, than you should be sold to a Jesuit, for a Jesuit 
 will ruin you, body and soul."t It pleased God to grant her recjuest, for she 
 never saw me more. Yet she and my two little sisters were, after several 
 years' captivity redeemed, but she died before I returned. My brother who 
 was taken with me, was, after several years' captivity, most barbariously tor- 
 tured to death, by the Indians. 
 
 village 
 
 ■all 
 
 ed 
 
 My Indian Master carried me up Penol)scot Piver, to a 
 Mada:camk('e^ which stands on a j^oint of land between the main river nnd a 
 liranch which heads to the east of xVX At home i had ever seen strangers 
 
 ■ These conditions are said to li.ive l)een violated. The lives of Wecms and six of his giirrisoii vvere 
 spared, the others seven or eight in number, were killed, 'i'his ci'-ininistancc seems to have escaped the 
 iiotice of Gyles. 
 
 t The name of this Jesuit was M. Thury. He was at the head of the Mission among the j.iHians on nc 
 I'onobscot. It is pleasing to note that the influence of the Missionaries aiuonf< the hid'ans was almost al- 
 w.ays exercised on the side of humanity. Thury, however, was with the Indianii when they attacked I'eni- 
 maijuid. 
 
 { [t i%alijiost needless to rem;u'k that this is the river novv known as the Manawamkeag, ; near it" juuc- 
 liou with the P^nr.bscot. there is now a station of the I". X; N. A. Railway. 
 
CAI'TlVllA' OF JOHN OVl.KS. 
 
 II 
 
 treated with the utmost civ^'ity, and being a strange. ^"H exi)e( ted sonic kind 
 treatment here; but I soon tbund myself deceived, for I presently saw a 
 number of squaws, who had got together in a circle, dancing and yelling. 
 An old grim looking one took me by the hand, and leading me into the ring, 
 some seized me by my hair, and others by my hands and feet, like so many 
 furies; but my master presently laying down a pledge, they released me. 
 
 A captive among the Indians is exi)osed to all manner of abuses, and to 
 the extremest tortures, unless their master, or some of their master's relations, 
 lay down a ransom; such as a bag of corn, a blanket, or the like, which re- 
 deems them from'their cruelty for that dance, 'I'he next dav we went U).> 
 that eastern branch of Penol)scot River many leagues; carried overland to a 
 large pond, and from one pond to another, till in a few days, we went down 
 a river, called Medoctack, which vents itself into St. John's River. But be- 
 fore we came to the mouth of this river, we passed over a long carrying 
 ])lact, to Medoctack fort, which stands on a bank of St. John's River.* My 
 master went before, and left me with an old Ind'an, and two or three S(juaws. 
 The old man often said, ^which was all the English he could speak,) '' By antl 
 by come to a great town and fort." I now comforted myself in thinking how 
 fmely I should be refreshed \\'hen I came to this great town.t 
 
 After some miles' travel we came in sight of a large cornfield, and soon 
 after of the fort, to my great surprise. Two or three scjuans met us, took off 
 ray i^ack, and led me to a large hut or wigwam, where thirty or forty Indians 
 were dancing and yelling round five or six poor < aptives, who had been taken 
 some months before from Quochech, at the time IMajor Waldron was so bar- 
 bariously butchered by them.:{: And before proceeding wnh my narrative I 
 will give a short account of that action. 
 
 Major Waldron's garrison was taken on the night of the 27th of June, 
 1689. 1 have heard the Indians say at a feast that as there was a truce for 
 some days, they contrived to send in two squawfi to take notice of the num- 
 bers, lodgings and other 'nrcumstances of the people in his garrison, and if 
 they could obtain leave to lodge there, to ope" the gates and whistle. 
 (They said the gates had no locks, but were fastenea with pins, and that they 
 kept no \uitch.) The Squaws had a favorable season to prosecute their pro- 
 jection, for it was dull weather when they came to beg leave to lodge in the 
 garrison. They told the Major that a great number of Indians were not far 
 from thence, with a considerable ijuantity of beaver, who would be there t-a 
 trade with him the next day. Some of the i)eoi)le were very nmcli against 
 their lodging in the garrison, but the major said '"Let the poor creatures 
 lodge by the fire." The Squaws went into ever)' ajKirtnient. and observing 
 the numbers in each, when all the people w-ere asleej), arose and opened the 
 gates, gave the signal, and the other Indians came to them; and having re- 
 ceived an account of the state of the garrison, they divided according to the 
 number of people in each a})artment, and soon took and killed tliem all. The 
 major lodged within an inner room, and when the Indians l-roke in upon 
 him, he cried out, "AVhat now! what new!" and jumping out of his bed with 
 
 The reader will have nu d'iriciilty in tracing tlie route oi Oy!es and his ciiptors on this oicasion. They 
 went up the Mattawamke.atc, earned acnxss the land to the largest of the Chepiuiiecticook lakes, known :i> 
 (if.aud Lak from it they portaged to North Lake and frmn tlience into First V.e\ Lake, from which they 
 easily reached Eel River, which is the stream ( lyles calls the Medoctack. The fort stood on the western 
 kink of the St. John about four miles above the mouth of Kel kiver. 
 
 t Cadillac writing in 1693 says o*" the Mallcites: " I'hey are well sha.ied and tolerably wa:like. Ihey at- 
 tend to the cultivation of ine soil, and );cow the most beautiful Indian Corn. I'hoir fort is at Medoctek." 
 
 J The rn(dorn spelling of this word is Cochec^i. 'I'h>? place where this biitcheiy took place is^in New 
 Hampshire, aiui it is now called Dover. The river, however, still retains its Indian name. 
 
 A 
 
12 
 
 W 
 
 CAPTIVITY OF JOHN GVLKS. 
 
 !||i 
 
 I f 
 
 ]. 
 
 hi' 
 
 |1 M I 
 
 only hif^ shirt on, seized his sword and drove them before him through two 
 or three doors; l)ut for some reason, turning about towards the apartment 
 he had just left, an Indian came uj) Ijehind him, knocked him on the head 
 with his hatchet, which stunned him, and he fell. They now seized upon 
 hini, dragged him out, and setting him upon a long table in his hall, bid him 
 "judge Indians again. ' Then they cut and stabbed him, and he cried out, 
 ' (), LordI O, Lord!" They bid him order his book of accounts to be 
 I wrought, and to cross out all the Indians' debts, (he having traded much with 
 them.) After they had tortured him to death, they burned the garrison and 
 drew off This narration I had from their own mouths at a general meeting, 
 and have reason to think it true.* BiU to return to my narrative. 
 
 I was whirled in among this circle of Indians, and we prisoners looked on 
 each other with a sorrowful countenance. Presently one of them was seized 
 by each hand and foot, by four Indians, who, swinging him up, let his back 
 fall on the ground with full force. This they repeated, till they had danced, 
 as they called it, round the whole wigwam, which was thirty or forty feet in 
 length. But when they torture a boy they take him up between two. This 
 is one of their customs of toituring captives. Another is to take up a person 
 by the middle, with his head downwards, and jolt him round till one would 
 think his bowels would shake out of his mouth. Sometimes they will take a 
 captive by the hair of the head, and stooping him forward, strike him on the 
 ])ack and shoulders till the blood gushes out of his mouth and nose. Some- 
 times an old shrivelled Squaw will take up a shovel of hot euibers and throw 
 them into a captive's bosom. If he cry out, the Indians will laugh and 
 shout, and say, "What a brave action our old grandmother has done." 
 Sometimes they torture them with whips, &.c. 
 
 The Indians looked on me with a fierce countenance, as much as to say, 
 it will be your turn next. They champed cornstalks, which they threw into 
 my hat, as I held it in my hand. I smiled on them, though my heart ached. 
 I looked Oil one, and another, but could not perceive that any eye pitied me. 
 Presently came a Squaw and a little girl, and laid down a bag of corn in the 
 ring. The little girl took me by the hand, making signs for me to go out of 
 the circle with them. Not knowing their custom, I supposed they designed 
 to kill me, and refused to go. Then a grave Indian came and gave me a 
 short pipe, and said in English, "Smoke it;" then he took me by the hand 
 and led me out. My heart ached, thinking myself near my end. But he 
 carried me to a French hut, about a mile from the Indian fort. The French- 
 man was not at home, but his wife, who was a Squaw, had some discourse 
 witli my Indian friend, which I did not understand. We tarried about two 
 hours, then returned to the Indian village, where they gave me some victuals. 
 Not long after this I saw one of my fellow-captives, who gave me a melan- 
 choly account of their sufferings after I left them. 
 
 After some weeks had i)assed, we left this village and went up St. Johns, 
 river about ten miles, to a branch called Mcdockscetuxasis^ where there 
 was one wigwam, f At our arrival an old squaw saluted me with a yell, tak- 
 ing me by the hair and one hand, but I was so rude as to break her hold and 
 
 ■* The details of this affair as given by Gyles entirely agree with the narratives of the survivors collected 
 by Belknap and other authors. In the Introduction 1 have ..tated the cause of this iict of vengeance on 
 the part of the Indians. Twenty-three people were killed and twenty-nine carried into captivity, some of 
 whom never returned. But even this affair brutal as it was, w.as not entirely destitute of a redeeming feature. 
 When Waldron treacherously captured the four huu'ired Indians in 1676, a young Indian broke away from 
 the rest and was concealed by Mrs. Klizabeth Heard. This charitable act was the means of saving her and 
 her family from injury at the Dover m.as.^acre of 1689. 
 
 t This river was the Medu.vnekeag and the place referred to is the site of the present town of Woodstock. 
 
CAPTIVITY OF JOHN OYLF.S. 1 3 
 
 free myself. She gave me a filthy grin, and the Indians set up a laugh, and so 
 it passed over. Here we lived on fish, wild grapes, roots, &c., which was 
 hard living to nie. 
 
 When the winter came on we went up the river, till the ice came down, 
 running thick in the river, when according to the Indian custom, we laid u\) 
 our canoes till spring. Then we travelled sometimes on the ice, and some* • 
 times on the land, till we came to a river that was open, but not fordahle, 
 where we made a raft, and passed over, hag and baggage. I met with no 
 abuse from them in this winter's hunting, though 1 was put to great hard- 
 ships in carrying burdens and for want of food. But they undcr^vent the 
 same difficulty, and would often encourage me, by saying, in broken Knglish, 
 " ^v ajid by great deal mooser Vet they could not answer any question 1 
 asked them. And knowing little of their customs and way of life, I thought 
 it tedious to be constantly moving from place to place, though it might be in 
 some respects an advantage ; for it ran still in my mind that we were travell- 
 ing to some settlement ; and when my burden was o\er-heavy, and the 
 Indians left me behind, and the still evening coming on, I fancied I could see 
 through the bushes, and hear the people of some great town ; which hope, 
 though some support to me in the day, yet I found not the town at night.* 
 
 Thus we were hunting three hundred miles from the sea, and knew no 
 man within fifty or sixty miles of us. We were eight or ten in number, and had 
 but two guns, on which we wholly depended for food. If any disaster had 
 happened, we must ha\'e all perished. Sometimes we had no manner of 
 sustenance for three or four days ; but God wonderfully provides for all 
 creatures. In one of these fasts, God's providence was remarkable. Our two 
 Indian men, who had guns, in hunting started a moose, but there being a 
 shallow crusted snow on the ground, and the moose discovering them, ran 
 with great force into a swamp. The Indians went round the swam|>, and 
 finding no track, returned at night to the wigvvam, and told what had haj>- 
 pened. The next morning they followed him on the track, and soon found 
 him lying on the snow. He had, m crossing the roots of a large tree, that 
 had been blown down, broken through the ice made over the n-ater in the 
 hole occasioned by the roots of the tree taking up the ground, and hitched 
 one of his hind legs among the roots, so fast that by striving to get it out he 
 pulled his thigh bone out of its socket at the hip ; and thus extraordinarih- 
 were we provided for in our great strait. Sometimes they would take a 
 bear, which go into dens in the fall of the year, without any sort of food, and 
 lie there four or five months without food, never going out till spring : in 
 which time they neither loose nor gain in flesh. If they went into their dens 
 fat they came out so, and if they went in lean they came out lean. I have 
 seen some v/hich have come out with four whelps, and both very fat, and 
 then we feasted. An old squaw and a cai)tive, if any present, must stand 
 without the wigwam, shaking their hands and bodies as in a dance, and sing- 
 ing, " Wec.age oh nelo woh." which in English is, " Fat is my e iting." 
 This is to signifiy their thankfulness in feasting times. When the >upi)ly 
 was spent we fasted till furtiier success.! 
 
 * There is something inexpressibly pathetic in this p.irt of Ovles' narrative. The reader will remember 
 that h» was r mere child not ten years old, ill f-id and scantily clad, when he had to htar his burthen 
 through the forest after his Indian Master. 
 
 t The reader will notice in this paragraph the most conclusive of rea.son.s why the Indians of this part f>f 
 North America never could have been numerous. They had in the beginning of wintei to break up into 
 small parties for the better pursuit of game for means of sustenence, and often were subjected to dreadful 
 suffering from want. No people following their mode of '.ife and constantly at war could ever become very 
 uumerous. 
 
I 
 
 14 
 
 CAIMINTiN OK JOHN CNl.KS. 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 * ■ 
 
 i ■■ 
 
 
 ! i 
 
 'i 
 
 
 I 
 
 The way ihcy preserve meat is by taking the flesh from the bones and 
 drying it in smoke, l)y which it is kejit soutul months or years without s:Ut. 
 We moved still further up the country after moose when our store was out, 
 so that by spring we had got to the n(.)rthw^ard of the I>ady mountains, 
 When tile spring came and the rivers broke up, Ave moved back to the head 
 of St. Johns river, and there made canoes of moose hides, sewing three or 
 four together and pitching the seams with balsam mixed with charcoal, 
 i'iien we went d.own the river to a phve i-alled Madawescook.* There an 
 old man li\ed and kept a sort of trading house, where we tarried several days; 
 I lien we went further down the river till we came to the greatest falls in these 
 jjarts, called Checauekepeag, where we carried a little way over the land, and 
 iHiiting off our canoes we went down-stream still. And as we passed down 
 i)y die mouths of any laige branches, \\c saw Indians ; but when any dance 
 was i)r(j[^osed, I was bought off. At length we arrived at the place were we 
 left our I)irch canoes in the fall, and putting our baggage into them, went 
 down to the fort. 
 
 There we |j!anted corn, and after planting went a fishing, and to look for 
 and dig roots, till the corn was fit to weed. After weeding we took a second 
 tour on the same errantl, then returr»ed to hill our corn. After hilling we 
 went some tlistance from the fort and field, up the river, to take salmon and 
 other fish, which we dried for Ibod, wh;-re we continued till com was filled 
 with milk ; some of it we dried then, the other as it ripened. To diy coin 
 when in the milk, they gather it in large kettles and boil it on the ears, till it 
 is pretty hard, then shell it from the cob with clam-shells, and dry it on bark 
 in the sun. When it is thoroughly dr)', a kernel is no biggei than a pea, and 
 would keep years, and when it is boiled again it swells as large as when on the 
 ear, and tastes incomi)arably sweeter than other corn.t When we had gather- 
 ed our corn and diietl it in the way already described, we put some into Indian 
 barns, that is, into holes in the ground, lined and covered with bark^ and 
 then with dirt. The rest we carried up the river u])on our next winter's 
 hunting. Thus (lod wonderfully favored me, and cawied me through the 
 first year of u.iy captivity. 
 
 CHAPTKR 11. 
 
 Ol- IIIK AIUSIXK AM) HAI<l!.\K(irs I'kKA I'M KN'T WHuIl SKVK.RAI. IWI'TI VKS 
 
 MKT Willi I KO.M rUK, INDIANS. 
 
 When any great number of Indians met, or when any captives had been late- 
 1\- taken, or when any ca])tives desert and are retaken, they have a dance, and 
 tovture the unhapjn- people who have fallen into their hands. My unfortunate 
 brother, who was taken with me, after about three years' captivity, deserted with 
 another Knglishman, who had l)een taken fron: Casco Bay, and was retaken by 
 the Indians at New Harbor, and carrried back to Penobscot fort. Here they 
 were both tortured at a stake by fire, some time ; then their noses and ears 
 wee cut off, and they made to eat them. After this they were burnt to death 
 at the stake; the Indians at the same lime declaring that they would serve all 
 
 ■* 'Ibis river was tli« Maiiaw.isk.T, ami tilt f:i!ls mentioned in the next sentence the Orand Falls of t'u- 
 River Si. [chn. The " l.aily Mninitiiins " were no dcnht the unumtains of Notre r>anie, ne:«r the S-iint 
 I ,riwrence. 
 
 t This recijjf f.ir preserving corn nii^ht be worthy the attention of housewives even at '.he present day. 
 
 The motlc of KtoriiiLC corn dcscritiei'. by ( lyles was practised by all the Indians of the Eastern Coast c.f 
 
 N'onh America. Wl;en the Pilgrim Fathers landed :it Flynionth in 1620 they found some of these Indian 
 
 cellars tilled wilh c^rn .uul .ippropriated their 1 oiUeiils. They paid the Indians f'lr the eurn the following 
 
 year. 
 
 
tAiTiVrrv </F JdHN', c.Vf.Ks. 
 
 J5 
 
 ics and 
 fut s:'ilt. 
 •as out, 
 Lintains, 
 le hoad 
 hree or 
 harcoal. 
 'here an 
 \i\ days ; 
 in these 
 md, and 
 xl down 
 ly dance 
 were \\e 
 m, went 
 
 look for 
 I second 
 iUing we 
 non and 
 as filled 
 diy coin 
 ars, till it 
 on bark 
 pea, and 
 (jn on the 
 i gather- 
 o Indian 
 ark; and 
 winter',s 
 High the 
 
 ' I \- i.s 
 
 )een late- 
 
 ince, and 
 
 fortunate 
 
 rtedwith 
 
 taken [)y 
 
 lere they 
 
 and ears 
 
 to death 
 
 serve all 
 
 Fulls f.f t'u 
 .»r the Splint 
 
 picMjiil ilay. 
 cm Cii;ist i.f 
 ;bese Indian 
 lie foUowinv; 
 
 deserters in the same manner. Thus they divert themselves in their tlances. 
 On the second si)ring of my captivity, my Indian master atid his squaw 
 went to Canada, but sent me down the river with se\eral Indians to the fort, 
 to plant corn. 'I'he day before mc came to tlie ])lanting ground, we met 
 two young Indian men, who seemed to be in great haste. After they had 
 passed us, I understood they were going with an express to Canada, and 
 that there was an English vessel at the mouth of the river. 1 not being 
 perfect in their language, nor knowing that l''.rglish vessels traded with them in 
 time of war, supposed a |>eace was concluded on. and that the captives would 
 be released ; 1 was so transported with this fancy, that i slept but little if atiy 
 that night. Karly the next morning we came to the village, where my ecstacy 
 ended; for I had nn sooner landed, but three or four Indians dragged me to 
 the great wigwam, were they were yelling and dancing round jamcs .Alex- 
 ander, a Jersey man, who was taken from Falmouth, in Casco liay.* 
 This was occasioned by two families of Cape Sable Indians, who, having lost 
 some friends by a number of English fishermen, came soine hundreds of 
 miles to revenge themselves on poor captives. They soon came to me, and 
 tossed me about till 1 was almost breathless, and then threw me into the 
 ring to my fellow-captive: and taking him out, re])eated their barbarities 
 on him. 'I'hen I was hauled out again by three Indians, who seized me 
 by the hair of the head ; and bending me down by my hair, one beat mv on 
 the back and shoulders so long that my breath was almost beat out of my 
 body. Then others put a toni/iakc [tomahawkj into my hands, and ordered 
 me get uj) sing and dance Indian, which I performed with the greatest re- 
 luctance, and while in the act, seemed determined to i)urchase my death, 
 by killing two or three of those monsters of cruelty, tliinking it impossible 
 to survive the bloody treatment ; but it was impressed on my mind that it 
 was not in their power to take away my life, so 1 desisted. 
 
 Then those ('ape Sable Indians came to me again like bears bereaved (.-f 
 their whelps, saying, " Shall we, who have lost relations by the English, suffer 
 an English voice to beheard among us ? " (Sec. Theu they beat me again with 
 the axe. Now I repented that I had not sent two or three of them out of 
 the world before me, for I thought I had much rather die than suffer any 
 longer. They left me the second time, and the other Indians put the tom- 
 hake into my hands again, and compelled me to sing. Then I seemed more 
 resolute than before to destroy some of them ; but a strange and strong 
 imjiulse that I should return to my own ])hu-e and people suppressed it, as 
 often as sr.ch a motion rose in my breast. Not one of th.em showed the 
 least compassion, but I saw the tears run down plentifully on the cheeks of 
 a Frenchman who sat behind, though it did not alle\iate the tortures ])oor 
 fames and I were forced to endure for the most [)art of this tedious day : 
 for they were continued till the evening, and were the most severe that e\er 
 I met with in the whole six years that I was a ca])ti\e with the Indiatis. 
 
 After they had thus inhumanly abused us, two Indians took us \\\) and 
 threw us out of the wigwam, and we crawled away on our hands and feet, 
 and were scarce able to walk for several days. Some time after they again 
 concluded on a merry dance, when I was at some distance from the wigwam 
 dressing leather, and an Indian was so kind as to tell me that tliey had got 
 James Alexander, and were in search for me. My Indian master and his 
 
 t I'his place w-.ts taken by the Ituluiiis Mny _>oth, 1690, iiioie than iix) prisoners were lal:en there, and th ■ 
 nut. iber killed was very Large. Alxiut joo Indians mainly fni,n Aradie, though some were frum yiieVxi; 
 were engaged in this enterprise. 
 
i6 
 
 CAPTIVITY OF John gyles. 
 
 J! ; 
 
 |i i 
 
 sijuaw bid me run for my life into a swamp and hide, and not to discover 
 myself unless they l)oth came to me ; for then I might be assured the dance 
 was over. I was now master of their language, and a word or a wink was 
 enough to excite me to take care of one. I ran to the swamp and hid 
 in the thickest place I could find. I heard hallooing and whooping 
 all around me ; sometimes some passed very near me, and I could hear 
 some threaten and others flatter me, but I was not disposed to dance. 
 If they had come upon me, 1 had resolved to show them a pair of heels, and 
 they must have had good luck to ha\e catched me. I heard no more of 
 them till about evening, for I think I slept, when they came again, calling, 
 " Chon I Chon ! " but John would not trust them. After they were gone, 
 my master and his squa\\' came where they told me to hide, but could not 
 find me ; and, when I heard them say, with some concern, they belived 
 the other Indians had frightened me into the woods, and that I was lost, I 
 came out, and they seemed well pleased. They told me James had had a 
 bad day of it ; that as soon as he was released he ran away into the woods, 
 and they believed he was gone to the Mohawks. James soon returned, and 
 gave a melancholy account of his sufferings, and the Indian's fright concern- 
 ing the Mohawks passed over.* They often had terrible apprehensions of 
 the incursions of those Indians. They called also Maquas, a most am- 
 bitious, haughty and blood-thirsty people, from whom the other Indians take 
 their measures and manners, and their modes and changes ot dress, &c. 
 One very hot season, a great number gathered together at the village, and 
 being a verj' droughty [thirsty] people, they kept James and myself night 
 and day fetching water from a cold spring, that ran out of a rocky hill about 
 three (quarters of a mile from the fort. In going thither, we crossed a large 
 interval cornfield, and then a descent to lower interval, before we ascended 
 the hill to the spring. James being almost dead, as well as I, with this con- 
 tinual fatigue, contrived to frighten the Indians. He told me of his plan, but 
 conjured me to secrecy, yet he said he knew I could keep council. The next 
 dark night, James, going for water, set his kettle down on the descent to the 
 lowest interval, and running back to the fort, puflPing and blowing as though 
 in the utmost surprise, told his master that he saw something near the spring 
 that looked like Mohnwks, (which were only stumps.) His master being a 
 most courageous warrior, went with him to make discovery. When they 
 came to the brow of the hill, James pointed to the stumps, withal touching 
 his kettle with his toe, gave it a motion down the hill ; at every turn its bail 
 clattered, which caused James and his master to see a Mohawk in every 
 
 * The Mohawks were one of the n.itions of the Iroquois League, or five nations as they were semetimes 
 called. They dwelt in the State of New York and at the period of Gyles' captivity were .it the very height 
 of their power. \'et the best estimates show that all the natives of the league never could muster more 
 than 2,500 warriors. The Mohawks alone probably never numbered more than 800 men. Yet they were 
 a terror to the Indian nations for hundreds of miles aroiuid. It .seems incredible that the Micmac in Jis- 
 t.int Acadie should be in terror of tlie Mohawk in New York, yet such was the case. The secret of their 
 superiority is not easy to imderstand. The Malicites, and indeed all the Algonquin tribes, were incompa- 
 rably better hunters and canoe men, and the Iroquois were far from being a purely bred race, for they 
 adopted the prisoners taken in war in large numbers, so that in the course of time the original stock was 
 overshadowed to a large extent. Moral power and prestige, no doubt, had much to do with the awe which 
 they inspired and thus one victory begot further triumphs. The league which bound the five nations 
 together also gave them a unity and f)olitical influence which other peoples lacked. They h.id a tradition 
 (hat they were once weak, divided and scattered, and that they were rescued from this condition by the 
 counsels of a .Superior I'eing who visited them. When Cartier visited the site of Quebec and Montreal in 
 1535 he found them occupied by tribes of Indians, but when Champlain .'••-.cended the St. Lawrence, 70 
 years later, they had all disappeared. It is conjectured by some thai tliese people were Iroquois and that 
 the Algonqiiins afterwards drove them westward into the State of New York. This conjecture derives 
 plausibility from the fact that Canada, whirh signifies a town, and which is contained in the vocabulary c ' 
 words which Cartier collected at Quebec, is a Mohawk word. 
 
CAPTIVITY OF JOHN GYLKS. 
 
 17 
 
 Hscover 
 e dance 
 nk was 
 md hid 
 nooping 
 ,ld hear 
 
 dance. 
 :els, and 
 nore of 
 calling, 
 e gone, 
 aild not 
 belived 
 ; lost, I 
 i had a 
 ; woods, 
 led, and 
 :oncern- 
 isions of 
 tost am- 
 ans take 
 •ess, &c. 
 ige, and 
 ilf night 
 ill about 
 i a large 
 scended 
 his con- 
 )lan, but 
 rhe next 
 It to the 
 
 though 
 e spring 
 being a 
 en they 
 touching 
 1 its bail 
 in every 
 
 ; semetimes 
 very height 
 Ulster more 
 :t they were 
 :mac in Jis- 
 :ret of their 
 re incompa- 
 ce, for they 
 il stock was 
 : awe which 
 five nations 
 1 a tradition 
 ition by the 
 Montreal in 
 iwrence, 70 
 jis and that 
 :ure derives 
 )cabulary c ' 
 
 Stump, and they lost no time in "turning tail to," and he was the best fellow 
 who could run the fastest. This alarmed all the Indians in the village. 
 They were about thirty or forty in number, and they j)ackcd off, bag and bag- 
 age, some u\) the river and others down, and did not return under fifteen days; 
 and then the heat of the weather being finally over, our hard service was 
 abated for this season. I never heard that the Indians understood the oc- 
 casion of their fright; but James and I had many a jmyate laugh about 't. 
 
 But my most intimate and dear com])anion was one John Evans, a youi;" 
 man taken from Quochecho. We, as often as we could, met together, and ma. 
 known our grievances to each other, which seemed to ease our minds; bu. 
 as soon as it was known by the Indians, we were strictly examined ai)art, and 
 falsely accused of contriving to desert. We were too far from the sea to have 
 any thought of that, and finding our stories agreed, did not punish us. An 
 English cai)tive girl about this time, who was taken by Medocawando. would 
 often falsely accuse us of plotting to desert; but we made the truth so plainly 
 appear, that she was checked and we were released. But the third winter of 
 my captivity, John Evans went into the country, and the Indians imposed a 
 heavy burden on hint, while he was extremely weak from long fasting; and 
 as he was going off the upland over a place of ice, whicii was ver}- hollow, 
 he broke through, fell down, and cut his knee very' nuich. Notwithstanding, 
 he travelled for some time, but the wind and cold were so forcible, that they 
 soon overcame him, and he sat or fell down, and all the Indians passed by 
 him. Some of them went 1)ack the next day after him, or his ])ack, and found 
 him, with a dog in his arms, both frozen to death. 'J'hus all of my fellow- 
 captives were dispersed and dead, but through infinite and unmerited good- 
 ness I was supported under and carried through all difficulties. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OK I'lJRTHER UIFKICULTII'S AND DELIVER.^NCRS, 
 
 One winter, as we were moving from place to place, our h-mters killed some 
 moose. One lying some miles from our wigwams, a young Indian and myself 
 were ordered to fetch })art of it. We set out in the moi ning, when the weather 
 was promising, but it i)roved a very cold, cloudy day. It was late in the even- 
 ing liefore we arrived at the place where the moose lay, so that we had no 
 time to i)rovide materials for a fire or shelter. At the same time came on a 
 storm of snow, very thick, which continued until the next morning. We 
 made a small fire with what little rubbish we could f^.nd around us. The 
 fire, with the warmth of our bodies, melted the snow upon us as fast as it fell ; 
 and so our clothes were filled with water. However, early in the morning we 
 took our loads of moose flesh, and set out to return to our wigwams. We had 
 not travelled far before my moose-skin coat (which was the only garment 1 
 had on my back, and the hair chiefly worn off) was frozen stiff round my 
 knees, like a hoop, as were my snow-shoes and slin. --clouts to my feet. 
 Thus I marched the whole day without fire or food. ^\t first 1 was in great 
 pain, then my flesh became numb, and at times I felt extremely sick, and 
 thought I could not travel one foot farther; but I wonde, ally revived again. 
 
 After long travelling I felt very drowsy, and had thoughts of sitting down, 
 which had I done, without doubt I had fallen on my final sleej), as my dear 
 companion, Evans, had done before. My Indian companion, being better 
 clothed, had left me long before. Again my spirits revived as much as if I 
 
i8 
 
 t AITIVIIV OK rnUN '.vf.rs. 
 
 IkuI received the ri< best foniial. Some hours after sunset I reached the wig- 
 wam, and crawh'ng in with ni\ snow-shoes on, the Indians cried out, "The 
 caiAive is frozen to deatli.'" They took off my pack, and the jjlace where 
 tiiat lay against my hark was the only one that was not frozen. They cut 
 off my shoes, and strip;)ed off ilie clouts from my feet, which were as void of 
 feeling as any fro/^cn llesh could lyj. I had not sat long by the fire before 
 tlie blood began lo circulate, and my feet to my ankles turned black, and 
 swelled with l)loody blisters, ami were int*\i»ressil)ly painful. Tiie Indians 
 sjid one to another. '* His feet v. ill rot. and he will die." Yet I slept well at 
 night. Soon after, the skin came ofT my feet from my ankles, whole, like a 
 shoe, leaving my toes naked, without a nail, and the ends ot my great toe 
 bones bare, which, in a little time, turned bku k, so that I was obliged to cut 
 lih- jirst joint off with my knife. 'I'he Indians gave me rags to bind up my 
 feet, and advised me to ap))ly ur balsam, but withal achled that they believed 
 it was not worth while to use means, for 1 should certainly die. But, by the 
 use of my elbows, and a stick in each hand, I shoved myself along as I sat 
 ui)on the ground over the snow from one tree to another, till I got some bal- 
 sam. This I burned in a clam-shell till it was of a consistence like salve, 
 which 1 a[)plied to my feet and ankles, and, by the divine blessing, within a 
 week I could go about upon my heels v.ith my staff. And through God's 
 goodness, we had provisiv^ns enough, so that we did not remove under ten or 
 lifteen days. Then the Indians made two little hoo})S, something in the form 
 of a snow-shoe, and se.,ing tnem to my feet, I was able to follow them in 
 their tracks, on my heels, from place to place, though sometimes half leg deep 
 in snow and water, which gave me the most acute pain imaginable; but I 
 must walk or die. Yet .>ithin a year my feet were entirely well; and the 
 nails came on iny great toes, so that a very critical eye could scarcely per- 
 ceive any part missing, or that they had been frozen at all.* 
 
 In a time of great scarcity of provisions, the Indians chased a large moose 
 into the river, and killed him. They brought the flesh to the village, and 
 raised it on a scaffold, in a large wigwam, in order to make a feast. I was 
 very officious in supplying them with wood and water, which pleased them so 
 well that they now and then gave me a i)iece of flesh half boiled or roasted, 
 which I ate with eagerness, and I doubt not with due thankfulness to the di- 
 vine Being who so extraordinarily fed me. At length the scaffold bearing the 
 moose meat broke, and I being under it, a large piece fell, and knocked me 
 on the head. The Indians said I lay stunned a considerable time. The 
 first I was sensible of was a murmuring noise in my ears, then my sight gradu- 
 ally returned, with an extreme pain in my hand, which was very much 
 bruised ; and it was long before I recovered, the weather being very hot. 
 
 I was once fishing with an Indian for sturgeon, and the Indian darting one, 
 his feet slipped, and he turned the canoe bottom upward, with me under it. 
 I held fast to the cross-bar, as I could not swim, with my face to the bottom 
 of the canoe ; but turning myself, I brought my breast to bear on the cross- 
 bar, expecting every minute the Indian to tow me to the bank. But "he had 
 
 * Surgeons difler ,-is to whether human flesh which is frozen can be restored. This was ilhistrated in the 
 celebrated case of Key 7's. Thomson, recently before our Courts, where one sot of doctors maintained that 
 portions of the human body which had been frozen could be restored, while another set maintained that 
 they could not. CJyles' experience would at first sight appear to favor the former view, but the freezing in 
 his cas2 might after all have been superficial. The restoration of the nails certainly was a curious circum- 
 stance. But his recovery seems to have been directly contrary to the opinion of the Indians whose experience 
 in such matters must have been wide, and therefore the case of Gyles must be regarded as a remarkable and 
 exceptional one. 
 
CAPTIVITV OK JOHN (JVI KS. 
 
 '9 
 
 other fisli to fry." Thus I continuod n <n!artor of nn hour, [though] \vithout 
 want of brcatli, till the current drove me on a rocky pouit where I could 
 reach h(jttom. 'I'hcre I slo[)ped, and turned uj) my canoe. On lookl)ig 
 about for th.e Indian, I saw him IiaH' a mile off up the river. On going to 
 him, I asked him why he had not towed me to the bank, seeing he knew I 
 could not swim. He said he knew 1 was under the canoe, for there were no 
 bubbles any where to be seen, and that I should drive on the i)oi!"it. So 
 while he was taking care of his fine sturgeon, which was eight or ten feet in 
 length, I was left to sink or swim. 
 
 Once, as we w^re fishing for salmon at a fall of about fifteen feet of water, 
 I came near being drowuvd in a dceji hole at the foot of die fail. The Ir.diaiis 
 went into tlie water to u'ash themselves, and asked me to go with iheni. 
 I told them I could not swim, but they insisted, and so I went in. They 
 ordered me to dive across the deepest place, and if 1 fell siiorc of the other 
 side they said they would help me. I'ut, inj'ead *' diving across the narrow- 
 est pttrt, I was crawling on the bottom into the deepest pUu e. They not see- 
 ing me rise, and knowing whereabouts I \\'as by the l)ul)bling of the water, 
 a young girl di\ed down, and brought me up by the hair, otherwise I had 
 perished in the water. I'hough the Indians, bodi male and female, go into 
 tlie water together, they have each of them such a < uvering on that not the 
 least indecency can be observecf ;ukI neitlier cliustity nor modesty is vio- 
 lated.* 
 
 While at the Indian village, J had been cutting wood and binding it up 
 with an Indian rope, in order to carry it to the wigWcim, a stout, ill natured 
 young fellow, about twenty years of age, thivw me backward, sat on my 
 brea-st, pulled out his knife, and said he v.ould kill me, for he had never yet 
 killed one of the Kngli.sh. I told him he might go to war, juid diat would be 
 more manly than to kill a poor captive who was doing their drudgery for 
 them. Notwithstanding all I could say, he began to cut and stab me on my 
 breast. I sei/ed him by the hair, and tumbling him off of me, followed him 
 with my fists and knee with such apj.Oication that he soon cried " Knough." 
 But when I saw the blood run from my bosom, and felt the Gmart of the 
 wounds he had given me, 1 at him again, and bid him get uji, and not lie 
 there like a dog; told him of his former abuses offered to me. and otr.er poor 
 captives, and that if ever he offered the like to me again, I would pay him 
 double. 1 sent him 1,'efore me, and taking up my buiden of wood, cn.me to 
 the Indians, and told them the whole truth, and they commended me. And 
 
 ' 'i'he iiKiclcsty of all tlie Algon.iuiii tiil)C> of indi.ir.s was proverbial, and il is a rem;uk:ilj!e circilinstaiice 
 that there is iiu irstaiice on record if the sli^^littst rudeness ever liavln^; 1 ten .sliewn to the person of a 
 female captive by any trib-e of the Al;^^'m^lllin nation. It is a fact that sI;ouK' be reineinldjred to their credir, 
 even by tl-.ose wlio nvist abhor tlieir bioodtiiirstlness and cnielty. liie F'rairie Indians of the United Stater, 
 h.'.vt no sui;h honiraljle repntaliini, and tli.>sc \ilio read i f the storming ;md sack of cities 1 y modern arniit* 
 niay !)aiise to .ask " wliich of the civilized peoples iiave imivcd them.-iclves eijual ,to the noor Alj,or.i|nins in 
 \irliie"r" Not the An,;lu S.T.xon ravjc certviinly, wiiicli has been so ca^^er to drive the Alj;on(iuins from the 
 f-.ce of the earth. Read what the ),rea;c>t of all .Military Hist>^rians, .N'r.pier, says in his history of the 
 I'euinsnhir W.ir of the conduct of the liriiish Army after the storming of .San Sebastian. "I'his stona 
 seemed to bo the .-.ignal of Ixdl for thf f ernetration of villainy v.iiich wouhl have shamed tlie most ferocious 
 barbarians of .Tntic|nity. At C'iiulad Rodrigo intoxication and plunder had been the f.rincipr.i object : at 
 r.adajo/ lur.t and minder were joined to lapnie and drunkeness ; but at San .Seb.istian, the diiest, il.e niost 
 revoltini', cruelty was .'.dded to tlie cal-.iIoj;we of crimes. One atn.city, of wluch a girl wf seventeen w.is the 
 victim, staggers the mind by its enormous, incredible, indes< ribable barhatity. S..me oriler was at fn st 
 maintained, but th.e resolution of the troops to throw cfi discipline was quickly made manifest. A Ihitish 
 stafl'-ofrK er was pursued with a volley of sttiall arms, and escaped wiih difficulty fn-ni men who mistook 
 him for the provost-martial of the fifth (livisiim ; a Portiij^uese adjiit.-int, who enil.'iavorcd to pre\e!it some 
 a'rocity, was put to death in tb.e market-place, not from sudden violence from a ..initio ruffian, bin delilxM- 
 atcly by a number of lOnalish soldiers. Tifiuiy officer!; eYerted themselves to pi-e.-erve order, many men 
 were well conducted, tAit the rajiine and violence con;rienccd by villain;, so.'ii spread, the camp-followe s 
 crowded into t!ie pl.ice. and the disorder c^-ntinucd until .lie iuimcs f.ilKv, inj^ tiie sttv of the plundeior put 
 an end to iiis ferocity by destroying; the wh.ile town." 
 
m 
 
 20 
 
 
 ii 
 
 CAPTIVITY OF JOHN GVLES. 
 
 J (J!) not remember that ever lie offered me the least abuse afterwards, though 
 he was big enough to have despatched two of me. 
 
 CHAl'TKR IV. 
 
 Ol' I:KM ARKAlII.i: KVKNTS OF I'ROVIDENt.F. IN THK nKATIIS OF SKVKRAI, 
 
 llARHAKOUS INDIANS. 
 
 The |)riest of this river was of the order of St. Francis, a gentleman of a 
 humane, generous disposition.* In his sermons he most severely repre- 
 hended the Indians for their barbarities to ca[)tives. He would often tell 
 them that, exc.ej)tinL,f their errors in religion, the I''nglish were a better i)eoj)le 
 than themselves, and that (iod would remarkably punish such cruel wretches, 
 and had begun to execute his vengeance upon such already. He gave an 
 account of the retaliations of Providence upon those Cape Sable Indians 
 above mentioned ; one of whom got a splinter into his foot, which festered 
 and rotted his flesh till it killed him. Another run a fish-bone into her hand 
 or arm, and she rotted to death, notwithstanding all means that were used to 
 l)revent it. In some such manner they all died, so that not one of those two 
 families lived to return home.f Were it not for these remarks of the priest, 
 I had not, perhaps, have noticed these providences. 
 
 'I'here was an old Scjuaw who ever endeavored to outdo all others in 
 cruelty to ca])tives. Wherever she came into a wigwam, where any poor, 
 naked, star\'ed cajjtives were sitting near the fire, if they were grown persons, 
 she would stealthily take up a shovel of hot coals, and throw them into their 
 bosoms.:}: If they were young persons, she would seize them by the hand or 
 leg, drag them through the fires, &c. The Indians with whom she lived, 
 according to their custom, left their village in the fall of the year, and dis- 
 
 * F;»ther SiniDn .ippe.irs to h.nve been a man of much activity and enterprise as well 
 
 „ , , vwL» as religious zeal. Flis principal mission station was at Augpaque (Au-pa-ha, head 
 
 W^i ' M-i 0' I f] P ri "^^ '^"^ tide) on the west bank of the St. John River opposue .Savage Island, six 
 
 I \^^' (' 1 ''-^irAi \ miles above Fredericton. Father Simon took part in most of the expeditions against 
 
 '•'^^ '• — '' ^^ the English Settlements in King William's War. He brought 36 v/arriors from his 
 
 mission to aid in the defence of Fort Nashwaak in 1696 and he appears to have died 
 two or three years later, .as in Dec. 1698 Governor Villebon writes that " Father 
 .Simon is sick at Jemseg" .and his name does not occur aif.ain in the annals of the 
 time. Father Thury, who had beju priest of Penobscot, the Jesuit who wished to 
 ransom (iyles from his Indian Captors died in 16^9. In 1859 ^ heavy gold ring was 
 found among the ruins of Fort Nashwaak, which from the character of its design, seems to h.ave been the 
 property of an ecclesiastic. As ^^)rt Nashwaak w.as only occupied for about seven years, and as F'ather 
 Simon was almost the only priest who visited it, it is not unreasonable to conjecture that this ring belonged 
 to him. The anne.\ed fac simile of its design will give the reader an accurate idea of its appearance. It 
 w.as originally cut for Stewart's Quarterly to illustrate a paper by the writer on Fort Nashwaak. 
 
 t The belief in .Special Providences was one of the features of the Puritan Creed, and, as it was a belief 
 extremely flattering to human vanity, it survived in Massachussets long after much of the real Puritanism 
 of the descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers had disappeared. In Ciovenor Winthrop's history and other 
 Purit.i.n writers of his age innumerable instances are quoted of God's regard to them, his chosen people. 
 But nowhere is this featiu'e of their creed more happily expressed than in a noble passage in Macaulay's 
 Essay on Milton, a portion of which we quote: — "On the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests, 
 they looked down with contemot: for they esteemed themselves rich in a more precious treasure, and elo- 
 quent in a more sublime language, nobles by the right of an earlier creation, and priests by the imposition 
 of a mightier band. The very meanest of them was a being to who.se fate a mysterious and terrible import- 
 ance belonged -on whose slightest actions the spirits of light and darkness looked with anxious interest — 
 who had been destined, before heaven and earth were created, to enjoy a felicity which should continue 
 when he.iven and earth should have p.assed away. F3 vents which short-sighted politicians .ascribed to earthly 
 causes had been ordained on his account. For his sake empires iiad risen, and flourished, and decayed. For 
 his s.ake the Almighty had proclaimed his will by the pen of the evangelist and the harp of the prophet. He 
 had been rescued by no common deliverer from the gr,asp of no common foe. He had'neen ransomed by the 
 sweat of no vulgar agony, by the blood of no earthly sacrifice. It was for him that the sun had been 
 darkened, that the rocks had been rent, that the dead had arisen, that all nature h.ad shuddered at the suf- 
 ferings of her expiring God! 
 
 J All writers on Indian manners and customs admit that the women exceeded the men in cruelty to captives. 
 It is perh.nps owing to this fact that tht women were not always spared in Indian warfare. 
 
CAFHVITY OF JOHN OVI.KS. 
 
 2\ 
 
 pcrsecl themselves for luintiiv^'. After the first or second rciiioNal, ihcy all 
 strangely forgot that old s<iiia\v and her grandson, about twelve years of age. 
 They were found dead in the ])lace whe.e they were left some months after- 
 wards, and no farther notice was taken of them by their friends. Of this the 
 l)riest made sj)ecial remark, forasmuch as it is a thing very uncommon for 
 them to neglect either their old or young i)eo[)l<'. 
 
 In the latier part of summer, or beginning of autumn, the Indians were 
 frecjuently frightened by the appearance of strange Indians, passing up and 
 down this river in canoes, and about that time the next year died more than 
 one hundred persons, old and young; all, or most of those who saw those 
 strange Indians, The priest said it was a sort of plague. A person seei ing 
 in perfect health would bleed at the mouth and nose, turn blue in spots, and 
 die in two or three hours.* It was very tediotis to me to remove from [)la( e 
 to place this cold season. The Indians applied red ochre to my sores, 
 [which had been occasioned by the affray ()efore mentioned,] which by (lod's 
 blessing cured me. This sickness Ijeing at the worst as w inter came on, tin- 
 Indians all scattered; and the l)low was so great to them, that they did not 
 settle or plant at their village while I was on the river, [St. John,] and 1 
 know not whether they have to this day. I'efore thi:y thus deserted the vil- 
 lage, when they came in from hunting, they ».ould be drunk and tight for 
 several days and nights together, till tliey had spent most of their skins in 
 wine and brandy, which was brought to the village by a Frenchman called 
 Monsieur S/gc/iw/icvur.j 
 
 *There h.ave been several simil.'ir visitations of pestilence .Tnionj; the Indians ihninu tlie liistDiic peril nl. 
 For three or four years previous to tiie 'anding ofthe J*iigrim Fathers in 1620 a deadly malady Tai;ed aloiiii 
 thescaboard from Penobscot to Narragaiiset }!ay. Some tribes were nearly destroyed. The Massachusetts 
 were reduced from three tliousand to three hundred lighting men. and miles of coast whi<:h had been pojudous 
 were left without a single inhabitant. The pestilence mentioned by Oyles is mentioned in (lovernor Ville- 
 V)on's Journal and it appears to have swept over both Maine and New i^irunswick in 1693 and i^gj. The 
 Chief of the .St. John River died of it. It is impi)ssible of course, at this distance of time, to tril thee.vact 
 nature of this malady, but the symptoms recorded by Gyles are somewhat similar to those of the plague 
 which prevails in Kgypt. In Baker's Albert N'\'anza p. 333, it is stated that the most fatal symptom is vio- 
 lent bleeding at the nose, and that those thus taken are never known to recover. 
 
 t The proper name of this person was Rene' d'Amours, Sieur de Clignacourt, one of four brothers whci 
 came from Quebec to settle on the river St. John, about the year 1684. The d'.Annurs were originally fr'>ni 
 Hretagne. iMathieu the father was appointed one of the Councillors of the Province of (,)uebec in 166 <. 
 'I'he sons Rene', Louis, Mathieu, and Hernard .as soon as they grew up took to the woods and became 
 Cotorurs de hois or outlaws in the bush, a sort of cross between a ir.ader and a bandit j)eculiar to Canada, 
 the resMlt ofthe po/erty ofthe nobles and gentrj', and the meddling character ofthe government and ofthe 
 priests. To quote the language of Parkman "The Old Regime ni Canada" p. 309, ''All th.it was most 
 active and vigorous in the Colony took to the woods and escaped from the control of Intendants. councils 
 and priests, to the sav.age freedom of the wilderne.ss. Not only were the possible profits great, but in the 
 pursuit of them, there was a fascinating element of adventure and danger." The d'Amours were at one time 
 arrested fur their illegal trading but seem to have regained the favor of the government for in 1684 they re- 
 ceived large grants of land. Rene' had a grant ofthe territory on the River St. John from Medoctec to the 
 Loiunw Siiult, two leagues in depth on each side ofthe river. Louis had a grant ofthe River Richibucto, 
 one League of land on the South West side and as far as three leagues beyond the river Chibuctoiurhe, on 
 the other side, with the isles adjacent. Mathieu had a grant ofthe land alnng the River St John between 
 Gemesick and Nachouac, two leagues deep on each side ofthe river. In 1695, I'ernard received a grant of 
 the river Kanibecache. In reciting these grants I have followed the ancient mode of spelling but the reader 
 will easily recognize the places named. For some reason the d'Amotirs fell under the disijleasure of Gover- 
 nor Villebon, for writing of them in 1695, he says, "They are four ni number, living on the .St. John river. 
 'I'hey are given up to licentiousness and independence, for ten or twelve years they have been here. They 
 are disobedient and seditious and require to be watched." In another memoir it is .stated of the d'Amours 
 that though they have the best grants of land in the finest parts of the country they have hardly a place to lodge 
 in. They carry on no tillage, keep no cattle but live in trading with the Indians and debauch among them 
 m.aking large profits thereby but injuring the public good. In 1696 Villebon again writes " I have no more 
 reason my lord to Ije satisfied with the .Sieurs d'Amour than I previously had. The one that has come 
 from France has not pleased me more than the other two. Their minds are wholly spoiled liy iong licentious- 
 ness and the manners they have .acquired among the Indians; and they must be watched closely, as I had 
 the honor to state to you la.st year." Acadie was so full of cabals that even these positive statements of 
 Villebon must be taken with allowance. Two of the brothers certainly had permanent residences, and not 
 only goods iand cattle but wives also. Mathieu, whose title was Freneuse, resided on the eastern bank of 
 the .St. John opposite the mouth ofthe Oromocto. Louis, whose title was Chautfours, lived at the jiuiction 
 of the Jemseg with the .St, John. Mathieu d'Amours died of the fatigue and exposure he had to imdergo at 
 the .siege of fort Na.shwa.-ik in 1696. Of Louis d'Amours more will be related further on. Nothing recorded 
 of him by Gyles be.ars out any ofthe imputations cast upon him, in common with his brothers, by Vlllcl)on. 
 
r.\J»TIVnV OF JOHN* CVLES. 
 
 CHAl'Tl'.K \'. 
 
 I ! 
 
 <i|' rill.lK I'.WIII.AUI I "» Wllir .\NI> IKKHITS 1>'R' >M TIIK DKVII,, I.Ti*. 
 
 The Indians arc vory (jfti'ii suivriseil w ith the apjjearanee of ghosts and 
 demons. .Soinutiinos they are encouraged by the devil, for they go to him 
 for success in hiiiilin;^, .vc I was once hunting widi Indians wlio were not 
 brought over to the Ro'nish laiih., and after several d.iys Uicy i)roi)osed to 
 inijuire, according to their custom, what success they sl.ould have. They 
 accordingly prepared many hot stones, and hiying them in a heap, made a 
 small hut covered v.-ith skins and mats; then in a dark night two of the pow- 
 w »ws went into this h.Jt house with a large vessel of water, which at times 
 tinjy jioared on those hot rocks, v/hicli raised a thick steam, so that a thinl 
 Indian was ol)ligjd to stand with(;ut, and lift up a mat, to gi\e it vent when 
 they v>jre aliaost suffocated. There was an old sciuaw who was kind to cap- 
 tives, and never joined with them in their powwov.ing, to whom 1 manifested 
 an earnest desire to see their managem.ent. She told me that if they knew 
 of n^y being there they would kill me, and Uiat when she was a girl siie had 
 kno\vn young persons to be taken away by a hairy man, and therefore she 
 would not advise me to go, lest the hairy man should carry me away, I told 
 her I was not afraid of tlie hairy man, nor could he hurt me if she would not 
 discover me to the poww;)\\s. At length she jircnnised me she would not, 
 but ch;irged me to be carjful c;f myself. I went within three or four feet of 
 the hot house, for it was very dark, and heard strange noises and yellings. 
 such as I ne\ er lua.rd before. At tiuKS the Indian who tended without 
 would lift up Mk' mat, and a steam would issue which looked like fire. 1 lay 
 there two or three hours, but sav.- none of their hairy men, or demons.* 
 And when 1 found they liad iinislied their ceremony, 1 went to the wigwam, 
 and told the snuaw what had i>assed. She was glad 1 had escaped without 
 hurt, and never disco\ered what I had done. After some time inquiry wns 
 made of the |:ow\vows what success we were likely to have in our hunting. 
 They said they had very likely signs of success, but no real ones as at other 
 times. A lev/ days after we moved uj) the river, and had pretty good luck. 
 
 One a!ierno( a as I Vvas in a canoe with one of the powwows the dog 
 barked, and ])resently a moose passed by within a few- rods of us, so that the 
 wave' 'v' nm.de by v/ading rolled our canoe. The Indian shot at him, but the 
 \' very little notice of it, and went into the woods to the southward, 
 -id, "] will try if I can't fetch you l)ack for all your haste." The 
 ov.ing, we built our tv,o wigwams on a sandy point on the upper 
 > island in the ri'.er, north-west of the ])lace where the moose went 
 iiit ) the woods; and herv; the Indian ponwowed the greatest part of tlie night 
 f'lliowing. In tht> morning we had a fair track of a moose round our wig- 
 wan^s, thcnigh we ilid not see or taste of it. I am of opinion that the devil 
 v.as })ermitted. to humor those unhappy wretches sometimes, in some things. ■^ 
 
 That it may appear how much they were deluded, or under the influences 
 of Satan, read the two stories which were related and believed by the In- 
 
 moc 
 Tl 
 
 (.•nd { 
 
 
 dianf 
 
 The hrst, of a bo^- ^\•ho was carried awav bv a larff'.i jjird called a 
 
 * J Ills .ii:c;nii'l wlili'li I iyles nivcs of tlic Iiuliaii method of invokliiu the dovil is very cm;oiis and shows 
 Iwv siii.;lit ;i hold lutlvioii:- fccliDg.s had upon tiio sav,i>.',e mind. All the Indian r;i<:fs aio ini.scialjly suiier- 
 stitiotis and stand in th^ .tjre.'itcst awe of evil spi its. Any sign whicli they nj.^ard as an unfavoiable omen 
 will tini! them back fruni the niist promising l;t.l(;r[)vi^.c. No d.'iiliL their w lilary life in the woods i.s to .1 
 larj;e e.MeiU rtsponsihic fur this trait of Indian cluira(,ter. 
 
 t This iast t(nu;h ahonl the ilcvii being permitted "to h.iinu;r these inihappy wretches" is cx'.p'.isite, as a 
 .-a'.-ip'c 'ii'lhe sr.j.eis;!: ii u.i ! eliej i:f :',v;j leatlirit.'; ago. 
 
.^sts and 
 to him 
 vcrc not 
 losed to 
 , They 
 made a 
 :hc pow- 
 at times 
 ; a third 
 :nL when 
 1 to cap- 
 in ifestud 
 icy knew 
 siic had 
 ;fore she 
 , I told 
 ould not 
 DuUl not, 
 ir feet of 
 yelhngs, 
 i widiout 
 :e. 1 lay 
 [lemons.* 
 wigwam, 
 1 without 
 ijuiry wns 
 liunting. 
 s at other 
 )od liuk. 
 the dog 
 D that the 
 n, but the 
 jutlnvartl. 
 te." The 
 die upper 
 )0sc went 
 ■ the night 
 our Avig- 
 the devil 
 e things.•^ 
 iiiHuenccs 
 >y the In- 
 railed a 
 
 lis and shows 
 scraljly super- 
 ivoiable oiTH-.i 
 
 v/ooiis i.4 to .1 
 
 cxm'.tsite, as a 
 
 CAPTlVnV OF JOHN ovr.Ks. 
 
 23 
 
 (hillouii, wlu) huildelh her nest on a high rock or mountain. A l)o\ was 
 hunting with his how and arrow at the foot of a rocky moimtiiln. when the 
 gulloua came diving through the air, grasped the boy in her takMis, and al- 
 though he \Vas eight or ten yer.rs of age, she soart-d nioft nnd laid him in her 
 nest, food f(jr her young. 'J"he boy lay still on his iM^:. l)Ut observed two (.f 
 the young i)irds in the nest with him, having nuuh fish ;mk1 flesh t feed upon. 
 The old one seeing they would not eat the boy, took him up \\\ her claws 
 and returned him to the place from whence she took him, 1 have passed 
 near the mountain in a canoe, nnd the Indians ha\t' said. " I'hero is the 
 nest of the great birtl that carried away the boy." Indeed thert.* seemed to 
 be a great number of sticks put together like a nest on the top of the moun- 
 tain. At another time they said, "There is the bird, but he is now as a boy 
 to a giant to what he was in former da\s." The bird which we saw wns a 
 large and speckled one, like an eagle, though somev/hat larger.* 
 
 When fnmi tlic mouiUiiiii tops, \vi''i liidc'oiis cry , :, , , 
 
 Ami cI:\Uoriii}^ ' in_<;.s, tlic hungry h.ai];ics (1y, ' ' ' 
 
 They snatched " * * » ' * v,.: , •;,■ ,;,,■;.'!/ 
 
 * * And whether ;^(kis or birds obscene they were, 
 Our vows for pardon and for peace i)rerer, 
 
 Dkvdkn's \'(K.iai.. 
 
 The other notion is, that a young Indian in his hunting was belated, and 
 losing his way, was on a sudden introduced to a large wigwam full of dried 
 eels, whic:h proved to be a beaver's house, in which he lived till the spring of 
 the year, ^hen he was turned out of the house, and being set Uj^on a beaver's 
 dam, went home and related the affair to his friends at large. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A niCSCRIPTIO.N OF SEVKRAL CRKATURKS COMMONi V TAKEN llV THi: INDIANS 
 
 ON ST. JOHNS RIVER. 
 
 I. Of the Beaver. — The beaver has a very thick, strong neck; his fore 
 teeth, which are two in the upper and two in the under jaw, are concave and 
 sharp like a carpenter's gouge. Their side teeth are like a shcejj's, for they 
 chew the cud. 'i'heir legs are short, the claws something longer than in 
 other creatures. The nails on the toes (jf their hind feet are flat like an ape's 
 but joined together by a membrane, as those of the water-fowl, their tails 
 broad and flat like the broad end of a paddle. Near their tails they have 
 four bottles, two of which contain oil, the others gum ; the necks of these 
 meet in one common orifice. The latter of these bottles contain the proper 
 castomm, and not the testicles, as some have fancied, for they are distinct 
 and separate from them, in the males only ; whereas the castorum and oil 
 bottles are common to male and female. With this oil and gum they preen 
 themselves; so that when they come out of the water it runs off of them, as it 
 does from a fowl. They have four teats, which are on their breasts, so that 
 diey hug up their young and suckle them, as women do their infants. They 
 have generally two, and sometimes four in a litter. I have seen seven or 
 five in the matrix, but the Indians think it a strange thing to find so many 
 in a litter; and they assert that when it so happens the dam kills all but four. 
 
 ■ The belief in the existence of birds of enormous size was common among all tmcivilized people in the old 
 world, and the reader may see in this an illustration of the universality of traditions, and a proof of the 
 Eastern origin of our abongines. The fabled Roc of the Arabian Nights finds its counterpart in the tra- 
 ditions of ths West. 
 
 ■I 
 
 n 
 
^ 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 24 
 
 CAPTIVITY OF JOHN GYLES. 
 
 Ill'' 
 
 llli 
 
 iiiiir 
 
 |1 1, 
 
 m 
 
 Tiicy arc the most laborious creatures that I have met with. I have known 
 them to build dams across a river, thirty or forty i)erches wide; with wood and 
 n^.ud, so as to flow many acres of land. In the deepest part of 0. pond so 
 laised, they build their houses, round, in the figure of an Indian wigwam, 
 eiglit or ten le.'t high, and six or eight in diameter on the floor, which is 
 made descentling to the water, the parts near the centre about four, and near 
 the circumference between (• and twenty indies above the water. These 
 floors are covered with striiipings of wood, like shavings, On these they 
 sleej) with their tails in the water; and if the freshets rise, they have the 
 rd-vantage of rising on their floor to the highest part. They feed on the 
 leaves and bark of trees, and pond lily roots. In the fall of the year they 
 lay in their provisions for the apj^roaching winter; cutting down trees great 
 and small. With one end in their mouths they drag iheir branches near to 
 their house, and sink many cords of it. (They will cui [gnaw] down trees of 
 a fathom in cir':uryifercnce.) 'i'hey have doors to go down to the wood 
 under the ice. And in case the freshets rise, break down and carry off their 
 store of wood, they often starve. They have a note for conversing, calling 
 and warning each other when at work or feeding; and while they are at la- 
 bor they keep out a guard, who upon the first approach of an enemy so 
 strikes the water with his tail that he mav be heard half a mile. This so 
 alarms the rest th it they arc all silent, quit their labor, and are to be seen no 
 more for that time. If the male or female die, the survivor seeks a mate, 
 and conducts him or her to their house, and carry on affairs as above. 
 
 2. Of the Wolverene. \GhIo Luscus of L.] The woiverene is a very fierce 
 and mischievous creatuie, about the bigness of a middling dog; having .sliort 
 legs, broad feet and very sharp "laws, and in my oj^inion may be recko ed a 
 sjiecies of cat. They will climb trees and wait for moose and other animals 
 which feed below, and when o])portunity presents, jump upon and strike their 
 claws in them so fiist that they will hang on them till they have gnawed the 
 main nerve in their neck asunder, which causes their death. I have known 
 many moose killed tiius. I was once travelling a little way behind several 
 Indians, and hearii'gthem laugh merrily, when I came up I asked them the 
 cause of their laughter. They showed me the track of a moose, and how a 
 wolverene had climbed a tree, and where he had jumped off upon a moose. 
 It so happened, that after the moose had taken several large leaps, it came 
 under the branch of a tree, which striking the wolverene, broke his hold and 
 tore him off; and by his tracks in the snow it appeared he went off another 
 way, with short steps, as if he had been stunned by die blow that had broken 
 his hold. The Indians imputed the accident to the cunning of the moose, 
 and were wonderfully pleased that it had thus outwitted die mischievous 
 wolverene. 
 
 These wolverenes go into wigwams which have been left for a time, scatter 
 the things abroad, and most filthily pollute them with ordure. I have heard 
 the Indians say that this animal has sometimes pulled their guns from under 
 their heads while they were asleei), and left them so defiled. An Indian told 
 me that having left his wigwam with sundry things on the scaffold, among 
 which was a birchen flask containing several pounds of powder, he found at 
 his return, much to his surprise and grief, that a wolverene had visited it, 
 mounted the scaffold, hove down bag and baggage. The powder flask hap- 
 |)ening to f;ill into the fire, exploded, blowing up the wolverene, and scat- 
 
 tering the wigwam in all directions. 
 
 At length he found the creature, blind 
 
CAFriVI'JV Ol' JOHN GYLES. 
 
 25 
 
 ; known 
 Dod and 
 pond so 
 A'igwam, 
 ^vhich is 
 ind near 
 
 These 
 ese they 
 lave the 
 I on the 
 •ear they 
 jes great 
 s near to 
 1 trees of 
 he wood 
 • off their 
 g, calHng 
 ire at la- 
 inemy so 
 
 This so 
 e seen no 
 s a mate, 
 ve. 
 
 'ery fierce 
 ving sliort 
 xko ed a 
 lY animals 
 [rike their 
 lawed the 
 vc known 
 id several 
 
 them the 
 .nd how a 
 
 a moose. 
 )s, it came 
 
 hold and 
 
 ff another 
 ad broken 
 
 le moose, 
 ischievoiis 
 
 ne, scatter 
 iwe heard 
 om under 
 ndian told 
 Id, among 
 e found at 
 visited it, 
 tlask hap- 
 and scat- 
 ture. blind 
 
 from the blast, wandering backward and forward, and he had the satisfaction 
 of kicking and beating him about. This in a great measure made up their 
 loss, and then they could contentedly i)ick up their utensils and rig out their 
 wigwam. 
 
 3. Of the Ih'dgc/ii\^, \^Histrix Dorsata, or Urchin, UrsonT\ Our hedge- 
 hog or urchin is about the bigness of a hog of six months old. His back, 
 sides and tail arc fullof sharp (luills, so that if any creature apjiroach him, 
 he will contract himself into a globular form, and when touched by his enemy, 
 his quills are so sharp and loose in the skin they fix in the mouth of the 
 adversary, 'i'hey will strike with great fierce with their taib:^ so that whatever 
 falls under the lash of them are certainly filled with their prickles; but that 
 they shoot their quills, as some assert they do, is a great mistake, as respects 
 the American hedgehog, and I believe as to the African hedgehog or porcu- 
 [)ine, also. As to the former, I have taken them at all seasons of the year. 
 
 4. Of the Tortoise. It is needless to descri!)e the fresh-water tortoise, 
 whose form i.i so well known in all ])arts; but their manner of propagating 
 their species is not so universally known, I have observed that sort of tor- 
 toise whose shell is about fourteen or sixteen inches wide. In their coition 
 they may be heard half a mile, making a noise like a woman washing her 
 linen with a batting staff. They lay their eggs in the sand, near some deej), 
 still water, about a foot beneath the surfiice of the sand, with which they are 
 very curious in covering them; so that there is not the least mixture of it 
 amongst them, nor the least rising of sand on the beach where they are de- 
 posited. I have often searched for them with "Ik} Indians, by thrusting a 
 stick into the sand at random, and brought up some part of an egg clinging 
 to it; when, uncovering the place, we have found near one hundred and fifty 
 in one nest. Both their eggs and flesh are good eating when boiled. 1 
 have observed a difference as to the h^igth of time in which they are hatch- 
 ing, whljh is between twenty and thirty days; some sooner than others. 
 Whether this difference ought to be irnjnited to the various ([uality or site of 
 the sand m which they are laid, (as to the degree of cold or heat,) I leave to 
 the conjecture of the virtuosi. As soon as they are hatched, the young tor- 
 toises break through the sand and betake themselves to the water, and, as 
 far as I could discover, \\idiout any further care or helj) of the old ones. 
 
 CHAP TER VII. 
 
 OK THEIR FK.\SriN(I. 1U:F0KK TIIKV lIO TO WAR. 
 
 When the Indians determine on war, or are entering upon a particular 
 expeditic ., they kill a number of their dogs, burn off the hair and cut ihcm 
 to pieces, leaving only one dog's head whole. The rest of the flesh they boil, 
 and make a fine feast of it. Then the dog's head that was left whole is 
 >t orched, till the nose and lips have shrunk from the teeth, leaving them bare 
 and grinning. This done, they fasten it on a stick, and the Indian who is 
 proposed to be chief in the expedition takes the head into his hand, and sings 
 a warlike song, in which he mentions the town they design to attack, and the 
 principal man in it; threatening that in a few days he will carr}- that man's 
 head and scalp in his hand, in the same manner. \\'hen the chief has finished 
 singing, he so places the dog's head as to grin at him who he supposes will 
 go his second, who, if he accepts, takes the head in his hand and sings: but 
 
i'f 
 
 20 CAPTIVriY OF JOHX GVLES, 
 
 if lu; refuses to go, he turns tlie teetli to another; and tluis from one to 
 another till they have enlisted their company.* 
 
 'i'he Indians imagine that dog's Hesh makes them bold and courageous. 
 \ have seen an Indian s]>lit a d')g's head v/ith a hatchet, take out the l)rains 
 hot, and eat them raw with the l)l()od running down his jaws. 
 
 When a relation dies . In a still evening, a squaw will wall: on the high- 
 est land near her abode, and with a loud and mournful vo'^e will exclaim, 
 " O hauH% /laioe, //<?7ir," with a long, mournfal tone to each /icnce, for a long 
 time together.! After the mourning season is over, the relations of the de- 
 ceased make a feast to wipe off tears, and the bereaved may marry freely. 
 If the deceased was a scjuaw, the rehitions consult together, and choose a 
 S([uaw, (doul)tless a widow,) and send her to the widower, and if he likes her 
 he takes her to be his wife, if not, he sends her back, and the relations c:hoose 
 and send till they find one that he approves of. 
 
 If a young fellow determines to marry, his relations and the Jesuit advise 
 him to a girl. He goes intj the wigwam where she is, and looks on her. \\ 
 he likes her appearan'.^, he tosses a chip or stick into her lap, which she takes, 
 and with a reserved, side look, views the person who sent It ; yet handles the 
 chip with admiration, as though she wondered from whence it came. If she 
 
 I m. 
 
 * Tlie sacrilicc of ;i Doj; was (.'insideied the most valuable offering they could make to appease .in an,iTy 
 Manitoii. As an ilhiKtration of this, as well as i>( smne other Indian superstitions, I quote from the narra- 
 tive of Ak'xander Henry's Cajstivity among the Indians in 1763 the following account of what followed his 
 discovery of .1 rattlesnake on one of their landings while sailing down Lake Huron. Henry was made a 
 prisoner at the capture of F'ort Michilimackinac, and his narrative is one oi the best written and most 
 interesting tales of sutTeving ever jmljlished ; " I no sooner saw the snake than 1 hastened to the canoe, in 
 order to procure my gun : but the fiidian.-,, observing what I was d<iing, inquired the <iccasion, and being 
 informed, begged nie to desist. At the same time ihey followed me'to the spot, with their pipes and tobac- 
 i-o-pouches In their hands. On returning, I found the snake still coiled. 'J'he Indians, or. their part, 
 surrounded it, all addressing it by turns and calling it \.hp\r i^ rand/a t/n'r; but yet keeping at some distance. 
 During this part of the ceremony they filled their pipes ; and each blew it towards the snake, wh", as it 
 :il)pearcd to me, really received it with pleasure. In a word, after remaining coiled, a-.id receiving ini;ense, 
 lor the space of half an hour, it stretched itself along the giound in visible goi^d humor. It. length was 
 lieiween four and five feet. Having remained outstretched for some time, at last it moved slowly away, the 
 Indians following it, and still addressing it by the title of grandfather, beseeching it to take care of their 
 families during their absence, and to be pleased to open the heart of Sir V/illiani Johnson, so that he might 
 x/imv thciii charity, and fdl their canoe with rum One o' the chiefs added a petition that the snake would 
 take no notice of ti;; insult which had been olTered him >y the Knglishman, who would have put him to 
 death but for the interference of the Indians, to whom is \.as hoped he would impute no pau of the offence. 
 
 I'hey further requested that he would remain and inhabit their country, and not return among the English, 
 lliat is, go ea'.tward. After t'lie rattlesnake had gone, I learned that this was the first time that an individual 
 of the species had been seen so far to the northward and westward of the river I)es Francais; a circumstance 
 moret)ver, from which my companions were dispos:;d to infer that this inunitii had come or been sent on pur- 
 I'ose to meet them; that his errand had been no other than to stop them on their way; and that consecpientlv 
 it would be most advisable ti return to the point r,f departure. I was so fortunate, however, as to prevail 
 yith them to embark; and at six o'clock in the evening we again encamped. Veiy little was spoken of 
 through the * vening, the rattlesnake e.vcepted. E.irly the next morning we proceeded. We had a serene 
 sky and very little wind, and the Inci.ans therefore determined on steering across the lake to an island which 
 just ap|)earea in the hori/on; sa-, ing, by this course, a distance of thirty miles, which would be lost in kee)i- 
 ing the shore. At nine o'clock, A. Vl, we had a light breeze astern, to enjoy the benefit of which we hoisteil 
 sail. Soon after '"■ wind iiicrea-.-'d, and the Indians, beginning to be alarmed, frequently called on the 
 rattlesnake to con .0 their assistance. Uy degrees the waves grew nigh; and at eleven o clock it blew a 
 hurricane, and we expected every moment to l)e swallowed up. From prayers the Indians now proceeded 
 to sacrifices, botl. alike ottered to the god rattlesnake, or vtanito kviibic. One of the chiefe took a dog, and 
 after tying its fore legs together threw it overboard, at the .same lime calling on the snake to preserve us 
 froi'i being drowned, and desiring him to satisfy his hunger with the carcass of the dog. The snake was 
 unpropitious, and the wind increased. Another chief sacrificed another dog, with the addition of .some to- 
 bacco. In the prayer which .^v-Companied these gifts, he besought the snake, as before, not to avenge upon 
 the Indians the insult which he had received from myself, in the concei)tion of a design to put him to death. 
 
 He assured th.e snake that i was absolutely an Englishman, a' \ of kin neither to him nor to them. At the 
 conclusion of this speech, an IndiaVi who sat near me observed, that if we were drowned it would be for m',- 
 fault alone, and that I ought my.self to )e sacrificed, to appease the ang y inanito; nor was I without appre- 
 hensions that in case of extremity this v.-ould be my fate; but, happily for me, tlic storm .it length alxitcd, 
 and we reached the island safely. ' 
 
 t Lescarbot gives an account of th.e funeral obsequies of P.-.nnouiac, a Micn..ic chiei, vho was killed )• the 
 
 \mouchi(iuois in 1607. He w;^s first brought bat k io St. '. roix, whtre the savages wept .nndemb.alnied him. 
 
 They then took him to Port Royal, where, toi eight days, they howled lus'ily over his remains. Then they 
 went to his hut and burnt it up witli its content,: dogs ircluded, so as to save qu.arreling imong his relations 
 as to the property. The bod >■ was left in the cusii.dy of the parents until spring, wlun he was Iwwail.d 
 .igain, and laid in a new grave near (,"apc Sable, along with pipes, knives, axes, otter-skins and pots. 
 
CAl'llXi'lA OF JOHN GVI.ES. 
 
 27 
 
 jne to 
 
 LgCOUS. 
 
 brains 
 
 hig]^- 
 
 xclaira, 
 a long 
 the de- 
 ' freely, 
 loose a 
 kes her 
 choose 
 
 t advise 
 ler. If 
 
 le takes, 
 
 dies the 
 
 If she 
 
 se ail aiijirv 
 a the narra- 
 bllowed his 
 vas made a 
 n and most 
 he caruie, in 
 , and being 
 s and tobac- 
 thelr part, 
 ne distance. 
 ;, who, as It 
 ipg ini;ense. 
 length was 
 y away, the 
 are of their 
 ;it he might 
 inake woukl 
 put him to 
 tlie offence, 
 he En^lisli, 
 individual 
 ircumstance 
 sent on pur- 
 mse(iuently 
 to prevail 
 spoken of 
 Lul a serene 
 stand which 
 list in keep- 
 we lioiste'l 
 ailed on the 
 ck it blew a 
 pro( ceded 
 k a doj;, and 
 preserve us 
 e snake was 
 of some to- 
 veiige upon 
 im to death, 
 ni. At the 
 d be for tny 
 thout appre- 
 ^th aV'atod, 
 
 killed )• the 
 balnied him. 
 'I'hen they 
 his relations 
 ^■as l)ewail-d 
 
 ).OlS. 
 
 likes him slie throws tlie chip to him with a modest smile, and then noth.ig 
 is wanting but a ceremony witli the Jesuit to consumniale the n^arriage. But 
 if she dishkes her suitor, she, with a surly coui.tenance, thri>ws the (hij) aside. 
 and he comes no more there. 
 
 If parents have a daughter marriageable they seek a 1/Usband for her who 
 is a good hunter. If she has been educated lo make mcnoodah^ (Indian bags) 
 birch dishes, to lace snow-shoes, make Indian shoes, siring \\;n"ni)ura belts, 
 sew birch canoes, and boil the kettle, she is esteemed a lady of fine a«:complish.- 
 ments. If the man sought out for husband have a gun and ammunition, a 
 canoe, spL'ar, and hatchet, a monoodah, a crooked knife, looking glass and 
 {)aint, a i)ii)e, tobacco, and knot-bo7,l to toss a kind of dice in, he is account- 
 ed a gentleman of a plentiful fortune. A\'hntevt.r the new-mavried man ])rc- 
 cures the first year belongs to his wife's jjarents. Jf the young j'-air have a 
 child within a year and nine month.s, tl^ey are thought t<j be very forward and 
 libidinous persons. 
 
 liy their j)lay with dice they lose much time, playing v tiole days and raghts 
 t(igether; sometimes staking their whole efrecls: though this is accounted a 
 great vice by the old men. 
 
 A (f/g/rssich/.- -There is an old story told among ihe Indiiins of a family who 
 had a daughter that was accounted a finished beauty, having been adorned 
 with the precious jewel, an Indian L\ducation. She was so formed by nature, 
 and polished by art, that they could not find for her a suitable consort. At 
 'ength, while this family were once residing ui)on the head of Penobstot 
 river, under the White hills, called lalcioii, this fine creature v,a;i missing, and 
 iier i^arents could learn no tidings of her. After much time and pains s])ent. 
 and tears showered in quest of her they saw her diverting herself with a 
 beautiful youth, whose hair, like her own, flowed dow-n below his waist, swim- 
 ming, washing, cS:c., in the water; but they finished uiH)n their ap[)roach. 
 This beautiful person, whom they imagined to be one of tliose kind spirits 
 who inhabit the Teddon, they looked upon as their son-in-law: and, accord- 
 ing to their custom, they called ui)on him for moose, bear, or whatever 
 creature they desired, and if they did but go to the Asater-side and signify 
 their desire, the animal \rould come swimming to them. I have heard an 
 Indian say that he lived by the river, at the foot of the 'I'eddon, the top of 
 which he could see through the hole of his wigwam left for the smoke to pas^ 
 out. He was tempted to travel to it, and accordingly set out on a summer 
 morning, and lal)ored hard in ascending the hill all day, and the top seemed 
 as distant from the place where he lodged at night as from iiis wigwam, where 
 he began his journey. He now concluded the spirits were there, and never 
 diired to make a second attempt. 
 
 I have been credibly informed that several others have failed in like at 
 tempts. Once three young men climbed towards i*,s summit three days and 
 a half, at the end of which time they became strangely disordered with de- 
 lirium, &c., and when tlieir imagination was clear, anil the> could recollect 
 where they were, they found themsehes returned one day's journey. How 
 they ca.ne to be thus transported they could not conjecture, unless the genii 
 of the place had con\eyed them. 'I'hese White hills, at the head of Penob- 
 .scot river, are, by the Indians, said to be nnu h higher than those called 
 Agiockochook, above Saco. 
 
 But to return to an Indian feast, of whi< h you may leiiuest a bill of fore 
 before you gu. If you dislike it, stav at hoine. Tlie ingredients are fish, 
 
-,;.fTM-,'WT1? 
 
 28 
 
 CAPTIVITY OK JOHN (IVI.KS. 
 
 flesh, or Indian corn, and Ijeans boiled together; sometime •■ hasty pudding 
 made of pounded corn, whenever and as often as these are plenty. An 
 Indian boils four or five large kettles full, and sends a messenger to each 
 wigwam door, who exclaims, ''/w/// mmscoorcbaJi I'' that is, "I come to con- 
 duct you to a feast." The man within demands whether he must take a spoon 
 or a knife in his dish, which he always carries with him. They appoint two 
 or three young men to mess it out, to each man his portion, according to the 
 number of his family at home. This is done with the utmost exactness. 
 W'lien they have done eating, a young fellow stands without the door, and 
 cries aloud, '■'■Mcnscconnnook^'' "come and fetch," immediately each scjuaw 
 goes to her husband and takes \Ahat he has left, which she carries home and 
 eats with her children. For neither m^arried women, nor any youth under 
 twenty, are allowed to be present; but old widow squaws and captive men 
 may sit by the door. The Indian, men continue in the wigwam; some re- 
 lating their warlike exi>loits, others something comical, otliers narrating their 
 hunting exploits. 'I'he seniors give maxims of prudence and grave counsel 
 to the young men • and though every one's speech be agreeable to the run of 
 his own fancy, yet they confine themselves to rule, and but one speaks at a 
 time. After every man has told his story, one rises up, sings a feast song, 
 and others succeed alternately as the company sees fit. 
 
 Necessity is the mother of invention. If an Indian loses his fire, he can 
 presently take two sticks, one harder than the other, (the drier the better,) 
 and in the softest one make a hollow, or socket, in which one end of the hard- 
 est stick being inserted, then holding the softest piece firm between the 
 knees, whirls it round like a drill, and fire will kindle in a few minutes. 
 
 If they have lost or left their kettle, it is but putting their victuals into a 
 birch dish, leaving a vacancy in the middle, filling it with water, and putting 
 in hot stones alternately; they will thus thoroughly boil the toughest neck of 
 beef. 
 
 CHAPTER Vlll. 
 
 Oh' MV TllRKE VKARS CAI'TIVITV WITH I'UK 1-RENCH, 
 
 When about six years of my doleful captivity had passed, my second In- 
 dian master died, whose sc^uaw and my first Indian master disputed whose 
 slave I should be. Some malicious persons advised them to e/id the quar- 
 rel by putting a period to my life ; but honest father Simon, the priest of the 
 river, told them that it would be a heinoup crime, and advised them to sell 
 me to the PYench. There came annually one or two men of war to supply 
 the fort, which was on the river about 34 leagues from the sea.* The Indians 
 having advice of the arrival of a man of war at the mouth of the rivcr, they, 
 about thirty or forty in number, went on board, for the gentlemeri from 
 France .made a present to them every year, and set forth the riches and vic- 
 tories of their monarch, &:c. At this time they presented the Indians with a 
 bag or two of flour with some prunes, as ingredients for a feast. I, who was 
 dressed up in an old greasy blanket, without cap, hat, or shirt, (for I had had 
 no shirt for the six years, except the one I had on at the time I was made 
 prisoner,) was invited into the great cabin, where many well-rigged gentlemen 
 
 • The fort spoken of here was ^ort Nashw.i.ik, which was occupied by Villcbon, and was the head quarters 
 of the government of Acadie from 1692 to 1609. It stood on the eastern bank of the Ft. John, at its junction 
 ^vith the Nashwaak River, nearly opposite f'redericton.and on the northern side of the latter river. It was 
 an ordinary pallisadei fort with four bastions, and had eight cannon mounted. Some tracer of it are stiH 
 visible. 
 
CAPiivnv OK John c.vf.ks. 
 
 29 
 
 were sitting, who would fain have had a full \iew of me. 1 cndea\x>ret! to 
 hide myself behind the hangings, for I was much ashamed; thinking iiow I 
 had once worn elotlies, and of my Hving with ])eoi)le who could rig as well as 
 the best of them. My master asked me whether I chose to be sold to the 
 ])eo])le of the man of war, or to the inhabitants of tiie countr}'. I replied, 
 with tears, that I should be glad if lie would sell me to the ''"jiglish from 
 whom I was taken ; but that if I must be sold to the Fvnch, I wished to be 
 sold to the lowest inhabitants on the river, or those nearest to the .sea, who 
 were about twenty-five leagues from the mouth of thf river; for 1 thought 
 that, if I were sold to the gentlemen in the ship, i should never return to the 
 Knglish. '['his was the first time I had seen the sea during my cajjtivily, and 
 the first time I had tasted salt or bread. 
 
 My master presently went on shore, and a few days after all the Indians 
 went up the river. When we came to lyhouse which 1 had s])oken to my 
 master about, he went on shore wnth me, and tarried all night. The master 
 of the house spoke kindly to me in Indian, for I could not then speak one 
 word of French. Madam also looked pieasant on me, and gave me some 
 bread. The next day I was sent six leagues further uj) the river to another 
 French house. * My master and the friar tarried with M onsieur I )echouffour. t 
 the gentleman who had entertained us the night before. Not long after, 
 father Simon came and said, "Now )ou aY>: one of us, for you are sold to 
 that gentleman by whom you were entertained the other night." I re[)lied, 
 •'Sold! — to a Frenchman!" 1 could say no more, went into the woods alone, 
 and wept til! I could scarce see or stand. The word soM, and that to a 
 people of that persuasion which my dear mother so much detested, and in her 
 last words manifested so great fears of my falling into. These thoughts al- 
 most broke my heart. 
 
 When I had thus given vent to my grief I wiped my eyes, endeavoring to 
 conceal its effects, but father Simon, perceiving my eyes swollen, called me 
 aside, and bidding me not to grieve, for the gentleman, he said, to whom 1 
 was sold, was of a good humor; that he had formerly bought two captives, 
 l)0th of whom had been sent to Boston. This, in some measure, revived me ; 
 but he added he did not sui)pose I .vould ever wish to go to the English, for 
 the French religion was so much better. He said, also, he should pass that 
 way in about ten days, and if I did not like to live with the French better 
 than w^ith the Indians he would buy me again. On the day following, father 
 Simon and my Indian master went u}) the river, six and thirty leagues, to their 
 chief village, and I went down the river six 'eagues with two Frenchmen to 
 my new master. He kindly received me, and in a few days madam made me 
 an osnaburg shirt and French cap, and a coat out of one of my master's old 
 coats. Then I threw away my greasy blanket and Indian flap, and looked 
 
 This last French house spoken of by Clyles w.as ilou)jtless that of Mathiuii d'Amoiirs de Freneiisc \vhi> 
 lived on the east side of the St, John, opposite the mouth of the Oromocto River. His wife v\'as named 
 Louise Ouyon; sne was a sister of the wife of f/ouis d'Amours who was afterwards so kind to (.iyles. 
 Mathieu d'Amours died from exposure after the siege of P'ort Nashwaak. His wif<; afterwards removed to 
 Port Royal, where she caused some scandal by an intrigue with the comm.indant Honaventure, which was 
 the means of filling the despatches to the French Minister with references to her conduct. Finally in 
 July 1708, agreeably to orders from France, Madam de Freneuse was sent to Quebec, where both her own 
 .ind her_ husband's families belonged. 
 
 t Louis d'Amours de Chauffr.v..:r;-. v.as the oldest of the four brothers who resided in Acadie and who havi- 
 tieen already mentioned in a former n )te. He was Iwrn in 1654 ^f"^ lived on the St. John River at tiie 
 mouth of the Jemseg from 1684 to i7a-5. His wife's name was Marguerite Guyon. .She was a sister of 
 Madam de Freneuse. The (luyons were from the Province of Quebfc. Koth Louis d'Amours and his 
 wife seem to have been very kind to (Jyles, and his libenition without any ransom was certainly a generous 
 action. In 1705, F.ouis d'.\mours was ,1 prisoner in Boston and had been for nearly two years. Afttr this 
 »'.\.' lose sight of him. It is likely that allthe family finally returned to Quebec. 
 
iff 
 
 .>o 
 
 as smarl as 
 
 cAi'i i\ rr\' ()!• |i .!i\ (iS i.r.s. 
 
 And I never more saw the old friar, the Iinliaii \ illage, or 
 tny Indian master, till lilrout. fourteen years after, when I saw my old Indian 
 master at Tort Royal, whither 1 had l)een sent by the {government with a (lag 
 of triux' f(;r the ex;-hange of jirisoners : and again, al)out twenty four years 
 s;n'-c. he came from St. John, to fort Ceorge, lo see me. where f made hijn 
 \erv wel( ome. 
 
 M\- iMvnch master held a great trade v»ilh the Indians, which suited me 
 \ery well, I hieing th;)rough in the languages of the tribes at Ca{)e Sable and 
 St. John. 
 
 I had not lived long with this gentleman before he co;nmitted to me the 
 keys of his store, 6v'c.. and my whole emi;loyment was trading and hunting. 
 i:i which I acted faillifully for my master, and ne\er, kiiowingl}', Vrfonged him 
 to the value of one farthini:. 
 
 They spoke to me so much in Indian that it was some time before I was 
 perfect in the I'Yench tongue. Monsieur generally had his goods from the 
 :n.:n-of-war which came there annually from France. 
 
 In the year 1696, two meii-cjf-war came to the mouth of the river. In their 
 way they l:ad cajjlured the Newport, Cajjtain Payson, and brought him with 
 them. They mad..- tlie Indians some pre.sents, and invited them to join in 
 an e.x])edition to Pemrirajuitl. They accepted it, and soon after arrived there. 
 Cajjt. Chubb, who cnimaruled that j.)Ost, delivered it up without much dis- 
 ])ute to Monsieur I )'Il;erville, as I heard the gentleman say, Avith whom I 
 lived, v,ho was there i)resent.* 
 
 Karly in th.e spring I uas sent with three Frenchmen to the mouth 
 of the ri\er, for jjrovisions, which came from Port Royal. We carried 
 over land fr;3m the river to a large bay, where we were driven on an island 
 by a north-east storm, where we were kept seven days, without any susten- 
 ance, for we expected a ([uick passage, and carried nothing with us. The 
 wi'id contimied boisterous, we could not return back, and the ice prevented 
 our going forv.ard. After seven days the ice broke u\) and we went forward, 
 thougli we w ere so weak that we I'ould scar(-e hear each other sj)eak. The 
 peo})!e at the mouth of the river were .surprised to see us alive, and advised 
 us to be cautious and abstemious in eatins/. Pv this time 1 knew as much of 
 lasting as they, and dieted on l)roth, and recovered very well, as did one of 
 the others; Init the other two would not ])e advised, and I iiever saw any 
 persons in greater distress, till at length they had action of the bowels, when 
 they recovered.! 
 
 A fri'ir, wh.o lived in the famib;, invited me to confession, but I excused 
 
 1 
 
 i' ■ 
 
 i 
 
 '.\i • 
 
 "^ ^'l)Tt W illi.iin Hurry .it l'c'iuii.a(|uii.t was the slroni;f-t w.nk wliicli the J'',ii,4lish Colonists liad up to tiuit 
 linitjci<;(:i(;(i in Aiiici ii.a. it was on tlie site of titc old fort, at tlie same place, spol;eii of ilia formernote, and 
 siliKiicd ;ili(.in t\\.;;il y roil'- al'ove ln.,'li water mark. !t wa.s i.-iuirely new, havm.i; l>ei... biiill in ifcj-j :it the 
 cost of Ma.s^arlui>etts. 'I'he f ivt w.is a tiuadranule io8 feet across, or in compass 7,(7 feet; its walls were of 
 •''one, ceiaenled in lime mortar, their height «n tlie south side facintf the .sea lieing i;-' feet, on the west 18, 
 th.e north 10 and on ihe east 12 feet. The round tower at the South West corner was 2g feet hi;; h. 
 ',ht feet from the tsround. where the walls were six feet thick, there was a tier of 28 port holo.s. .Si.\tte;l 
 
 nioii wvre iiiDiiiitcd in\ its walls. U cost ^2o.«xi tf) hiiild it and took upwards of 2coo cart loads ofsti-iie; 
 as it was well iiuuined, provisioned, and suj;plied with niilitaiy stores, besides being almost surrounded 
 b,. :ie tiilt at liiuh u.-iter. it w.is th..\ijjhi to be impregnable. Captain Chubb was in command of it and he 
 hiul a g.iirisoii of yt, i„i.m. (lo'.ernor Villebon regarded it as a menace to Acadio and resolved to capture 
 and destroy it, if possible. An expedilioi' for that purpose was placed under tlie comm.ind of d'Ujerville. 
 It >:onsiKled ofabout Oo f'reiulimen, a number of hulian-fri lu the St Johii River, and 130 Penobscot Indians 
 •'.-.-.Jcr St. Casline. M. Thury and Father Simon were at the siege. The fort was invested on the r4th 
 August i6y6, and surrendered on the follow ing day. 'the prisoners, agreeably to the terms of the c.ipitu- 
 lati^<>n. w t-re ta'<en to lioston in .\ vessel belonging to T.ouis d'.Xmoiirs, and the fort demolished. The people 
 of New llngLmd were gie.vJy eiir..g,:.l at the destrurtioii ..f their w:ost!y fort and at the cowardice of Chub!) 
 >'hi. surrendered it scj easily. 
 
 * 'flie Jslarid on w! i( h • iyles aMi'. liis coin]iaiiioiis were driven .ind s(> ne.irl> sianed to de.ith, w;:s 1.0 
 <I •'.lb', either Kenne'i m rv>' Mn;,;; .y j,,,,,^ Island i:i l!ie K.tniic!-c. a-i-^. i r<'bai'!y the latter. 
 
m \illagi.', or 
 y old Indian 
 lit with a ihii. 
 [y four years 
 c I made him 
 
 rh suited me 
 [)C Sable and 
 
 .'d to me the 
 and hunting, 
 Y.ronged him 
 
 before i was 
 lods from the 
 
 k-er. In their 
 itlht him with 
 em to jom m 
 arrived there. 
 
 ;.)ut much dis- 
 with whom I 
 
 o the mouth 
 We carried 
 
 on an island 
 It any susten- 
 eiih us. The 
 ice prevented 
 went forward, 
 )eak. The 
 , and advised 
 w as muc:h of 
 
 IS did one of 
 ever saw any 
 bowels, when 
 
 CAPTIVITY OF JOHN t.\i I.S. 
 
 31 
 
 t f excused 
 
 )U 
 
 jii-its liatl up to that 
 
 1 ;i Airuicr note, and 
 
 i\ii!t in 1U)'^ at tlit 
 
 ■l; its walls were of 
 
 .'ci, on the west iS, 
 
 ■v\ as ZQ feet hi;;li. 
 
 lit In lies. Sixteen 
 
 .art loads of sl"iie: 
 
 alinnst surrounded 
 
 iunand of it and he 
 
 esolved to cai)lurfc 
 
 uind of d'Ujerville. 
 
 ^Penobscot Indian^ 
 
 vested on the i4tli 
 
 iiiis of the caijllu- 
 
 ished. 'J'he people 
 
 owardice of C'huM) 
 
 il to death. v.;:s 1 .1 
 att'-r. 
 
 m\ self as well as 1 ((juld at that Unie. One evening lie took me into his 
 apartment in the dark and advised me to confess to liim what sins I had com- 
 mitted. I told him 1 could not remember a thousandth I'arl of them, the\ 
 were so numerous. Then he bid me remember and 'vlate as many as I 
 could, and he would jvirdon them; signifying he had a bag to jnit them in. 
 I told him I did not l)elieve it was in the power of any but (iod to pardon 
 sin. He asked me whether I had read the Hible. I told him 1 had, when 
 1 was a little boy, but it was so long ago 1 had forgotten most of it. Then 
 he told me he did not i>ardon my sins, l)Ut when he knew them he ora)ed to 
 (iod to pardon them; when, ])erhai;s, 1 was at my sjjorts and j^Iays. He 
 wished me well and ho])ed I should be better advised, and said he should 
 call for me in a little time. Thus he dismissed me, nor did he ever call me 
 to confession afterwards. 
 
 The gentleman with whom T lived had a fine field of wheat, in whi<h great 
 numbers of black-birds continually collected and made great hav(j( "in it. 
 The French said a Jesuit would come and banisl", diem. He did at length 
 come, and having all things prepared, he took a basin of holy water, a staff 
 uitn a little brush, and having on hi- white robe, went into the field of wheal. 
 I asked several prisoners who had lately been taken by privateers, and 
 brought in there, vi/. Mr. Woodbury, Cocks [Cox?] and Morgan, whether 
 they would go and see the ceremony. Mr. ^^"oodbury asked me whether I 
 was designed to go, and I told him yes. He then said I was as bad as a 
 papist, and a d- -d fool. I told him I belit^'.ed as little of it as he did, but 
 that I was inclined to see the ceremony, that T might tell it to my friends. 
 
 With about thirty I'bllowing in ])rocession, the Jesuit marched through tlie 
 field of wheat, a young lad going before him bearing the holy water. Then 
 th-' Jesuit, dii)ping his brush into the holy water, sjirinkled the field on each 
 siue of him; a little bell jingling at the same time, and all singing the words 
 Ora pro nobis. At the end of the field they wheeled to the left about, and 
 returned. Thus they passed and repassed the field of wheat, the black- 
 birds all the while rising befoie them only to light behind. At their return 
 I told a French lad that the friar had done no service, and recommended 
 them to shoot the birds. The lad left me, as I thought, to see what the 
 Jesuit would say to my observation, which turned out to be the case, for he 
 told the lad that the sins of the peofjle were so great that he could not pre- 
 vail against those birds. The same friar as vainly attem])ted to banish the 
 iiiusketoes from Signecto,* but the sins of the people there were also too 
 great for him to prevail, but, on the other hand, it seemed that more came, 
 which caus(,'d the i)eople to susj)ect that some had come for the sins of the 
 Jesuit also. 
 
 Some time after, Col. Hawthorne attempted the taking of the l-'rench fijrt 
 up this river. \\'e heard of him some time before he came u]), by the guard 
 which (lovernor Villebon had stationed at the rivers mouth. Monsieur, my 
 master, had gone to France, and madam, his wife, advised with me. She 
 desired me to nail a paper on the door of her house, which pai)er read as 
 follows : 
 
 *'l entreat the general of the English not to burn my house or barn, nor 
 destroy my cattle. I don't su',)i)osc that such an army comes here to de- 
 stroy a few inhabitants, but to rake the fort above us. I have shown kind- 
 ness to the Fhiglishi captives, as we were capacitated, and have l)ought two. 
 
 This, we need scarcely say, is intended for Chigiiecto, where there was a 'irge French Settlement. 
 
 !f 
 
 
.V 
 
 CAPIIVITV or JOHN OVI.KS. 
 
 1 i 
 
 1 ' 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 i 
 
 J, 
 
 ' is • 
 
 of tlic Indians, and soul thcin to jioston. \Vc liaNc one now with us, and he 
 shall ^o als(j when a convenient oi)j)ortunity presents, and he desires it," 
 
 \\'hen I had done this, madam said to me, "Little English, " [which was 
 the familiar name she used to call me by,] "w^e have shown you kindness, 
 and now it lies in your power to serve or disserve us, as you know where our 
 goods are hid in the woods, and that monsieur is not home. 1 could have 
 sent you to the fort and put you under confmment, but my respect to you 
 a.nd your assurance of love to us ha\ e disposed me to confide in you, i)er- 
 suaded you will not hurt us or our affairs. And, now, if you will not run 
 away to the I'jiglish, who are ( oming up the river, but serve our interest, I 
 will a((juaint moiisieur of il on his return from France, which will be very 
 pleasing to him; and I now give my word, you shall have liberty to go to 
 Boston on the first op|)ortunity, if you desire it, or any other favor in my 
 l)Owev shall not be deified you." I reijlied: 
 
 '■ Madam, it is contrary to the nature of the I'lngHsh to re(]uite evil for 
 good. I shall endeavor to serve }ou and your interest. I shall not run to 
 the English, but if I am taken l)y them I shall willingly go with them, and 
 yet endeavor not to disserve )0U either in your person or goods." 
 
 The i)lace where we lived was called Hagimsai:k,* twenty-five leagues from 
 the river's mouth, as I have before stated. 
 
 We no\\ embarked and went in a large boat and canoe two or three miles 
 n\) an eastern branch of the river that comes from a large pond, and on the 
 fi)llowing evening sent down four hands to make discovery. And while they 
 were sitting in the house the English surrounded it and took one of the four. 
 The otner three made their esca^ie in the dark and through the English sol- 
 diers, and coming to us, gave a surprising account of affairs. Upon this 
 news madam said to me, "Little English, now you can go from us, but 1 
 hope you will remember your word." I said, "Madam, be not concerned. 
 I will not leave }ou in this strait." She said, " I know not what to do with 
 my two poor little babes." f said, "Madam, the sooner we embark and go 
 o\er the great pond the better." Accordingly we embarked aiid went over 
 the pond.f 'i'he next day we spoke with Indians, who were in a canoe, and 
 they gave us an account that Signecto town was taken and burnt. Soon 
 after we heard the great guns at (lov. Villebon's fort, which the Engfish en- 
 gaged several days. 'Hiey killed one man, then drew off down the river ; 
 fearing to continue longer, for fear of being frozen in for the winter, which in 
 truth they would have been. 
 
 Hearing no rejjort of cannon for several days, I, with two others, went 
 down to our house to make discovery. We found our young lad who was 
 taken by the English when they went up the river. The general had shown 
 himself so honorable,' that on reading the note on our door, he ordered it not 
 to be l)urnt, nor the barn. Our cattle and other things he i)reserved. except 
 one or two and the j)oultry for their use.t At their return they ordered the 
 
 ■ 'I'his, it is scarcely necessary to explain, was the place now called Jemseg. The reader will observe 
 from this how strangely Indian names have been changed in two centuries. 
 
 t'l'liis "pond " was drand I-ake. 'J'lie term "pond' is used in some parts of Nc" Kngland to express a 
 large sheet of w;iter, or in the very opposite sense from its proper meaning. 
 
 t This was a remarkahjle stretch of clemency on the part of the Knglish commander-in-chief, and it was 
 fortunate fur l.oiiis d'Amoiirs and his family that Col. Church had been deprived of the chief command, fur 
 he would have shown no such consideration for their property, as his actions >)oth before and afterwards at 
 Hassamaquoddy, Minas, and Chigneclo show. Some of Church's .actions in 1704, when on what he calls hi', 
 last expedition east, were incredibly barbarous. At Passamaquoddy a good many imresisting French were 
 massacred. At AUnas he cut the dykes and destroyed the marsh lands. In short everything in the way of 
 destruction that could be done was done l.'y Church, but when fortresses were to be captured, Church was 
 nf no acc:'iuit. He failed to capture Port Royal as he failed to capture Nashwaak. 
 
CAPTIVITY OF JOHN GVl.KS. 
 
 33 
 
 Vi'i'.I oliscrvc 
 
 young lad to be put on shore. Finding things in this posture, we returned 
 and gave madam an account of it.* 
 
 "Ihe expetlilioii wluch consisted of 500 men, under the command of Col. Llmrcli wlio liiid won reputation 
 in King I'liilip's war, left lioston on the ;:5th August, i6iy6, in a number of shallops ar.d light vi-ssels, and 
 followed tlie coast, calling at I'iscataque, Penobscot, aiid Kennebec. They then sailed for Heaubrssin, 
 (Kort Lawrence) at the head of Cumberland Hay, where they landed and committed \ariuiis depredations, 
 phuiderin^ the inhaliitants, who f';d to the woods. Church's experience in Indian warfare had pro! ably 
 unfitted hmi for strife of a more civilized character, for there was certainly something piratical in the con- 
 duct of this expedit.on, which appears to have started with no more definite objei t than to pliuuter and an- 
 noy the enemy. After spending several days at Keaubassiii, they again set sail, and on the 2i>th September 
 arrived ofl St. John Harbor, landing somewhere in the vicinity of Alanawagoniche. Here C Inirch was in- 
 fcjrrned by a Frencii soldier, whi,m he captured, that 12 cannon were buried in the beach, which were pro- 
 bably part of the armament intended for the fort which was to be erected on the site of P'ort la Tour. After 
 taking possession of them, he sailed for the .St. Croix, where he was joined by a reinforcement from Boston, 
 consisting of the Animh'l, the Proviucf galley, and a transport, with 200 men on board. Church was here 
 superseded by Colonel Hawthorne, who took the chief command of the expedition — a change which, by 
 spreading dissatisfaction among the leaders, operated injuriously on the result of the enterprise. Villebon, 
 who was constantly on the alert, had early suspected that an attempt would be made to capture Nashwaak, 
 and had sent an ensign, named Chevalier, with 4 men, tt> the mouth of the river to watch for the appro.'ich 
 of the enemy. Fr(jm a rocky point which overlooks the I'ay, they could observe an I'.nglish brig.intine ap- 
 proaching, and soon after the rest of the fleet hove in sight. Some of the troops landed from tlie vessels with 
 such celerity that Chevalier and his party were attacked, and h;id to take to the woods ; and two days later, 
 when he was returning to the coast, he fell into an ambuscade, and was killed, and two of his men taken by 
 the Indians, who had allied themselves to the English. Intelligence of Chevalier's fate and the approach t)f 
 the enemy was taken to Villebon, at Nashwaak, by a brother of the latter, M. de Neuvillette, who had 
 been .sent out to reconnoitre. Vigorous preparations were immediately made to resist an attack, which was 
 now certain, and all the available aid in the vicinity at once called in. The garrison niunbered 100 soldiers 
 and they were kept constantly employed in strengthening the defences and mounting fresh cannon. On the 
 i2th October, when Neuvillette arrived at the fort, N'iliebon despatclied a messenger to father .Simon, beg- 
 ging him to bring as many of his neophytes as he could influence, to the defence of the Fort. (Jn the 14th 
 .Simon arrived at Nashwaak with 36 warriors to join the garrison, who v";re still constantly employed in throwing 
 up new entrenchments. Neuvillette was .again sent out to recoimoiire, and on the i6th he returned, report- 
 ing that he had seen the English in gre.'it force a league and a half below Jemseg, and that their approach 
 might be hourly expected. On the 17th the gi-ucralc was beat, and Villebon addressed the garrisim, ex- 
 horting them to be brave in the defence of their post, and remind'ng them of the prowess of their nation. 
 To stimulate their courage still further, he assured them that if any of them should be maimed in the c nutest, 
 his majesty would provide for him while he lived. This addre.ss was listened to with much enthusias.T), and 
 at its close tb., cries of I'/Vc le rcy awakened the echoes of the wide spreading forest, and were borne down 
 the river air lost to the F^nglish fleet. 'I'he same evening l?aptiste, the captain of a P'rench privateer, with 
 the brothe, s Rene' and Mathieu d'Amours, and ten Frenchmen, who lived lower down the river, arrived at 
 the fort. Villebon stationed them with the Indians, to endeavor, if possible, to prevent the landing of the 
 Flnglish. Baptiste and Rene' d'Amours were placed in command of this detachment. That night the gar- 
 rison lay under arms, as from the barking of the dogs, it w.as evident the enemy was near. Next mornmg, 
 between 8 and 9 o'clock, an armed sloop rounded the point below the fort, and was immediately followed by 
 two others, all of them being full of armed men. Villebon was attending mass .at this time, but on the alarm 
 being given, hastened at once to his post. The vessels approached until they were within half the distance 
 of a -annon shot, when they were fired on from the fort, upon which they made for the shore, and effected a 
 landing on the eastern .side of the St. John, behind a point of land on the lower side of the Nashwaak. No 
 attempt was made to oppose their landing, as the River Nashwaak intervened between them and the 
 Frencn. They advanced at once to a point opposite the fori, where the river did not exceed a pistol shot in 
 width, and commenced throwing up earthworks in the form of a demi bastion. In three hours they had two 
 guns mounted and re.ady to fire, and hoisting the Royal .Standard of England, they commenced firing. A 
 third gun of larger size was mounted in the course of the day. The contest was carried on with vigor,— the 
 fire of musketry being heavy, and I '; guns on both sides well served. La Cote particularly di.stinguishing 
 himself by the rapidity .ind precision of his firing from the fort. The Indians on both sides appear to have 
 taken a considerable part in the contest, which was only terminated by the approach of darknes.s. The Eng- 
 li.';h, with singidar negligence, had omitted to provide themselves . ith tents, and were consequently in a 
 great measure at the mercy of the elements. That night was frosty and cold on the low land at the margin 
 of the river, and the fires which they lighted were targets for the enemy's shot, so that they were obliged to 
 extinguish them. In consequence of this, they suffered greatly, and were in poor condition to renew the 
 attack next morning. As soon as day dawned, the fire of mu.sketry from the fort commenced, and about 
 8 o'clock the F^nglish got their guns again into operation. One of them was dismounted by a shot from the 
 fort, and the firing became so severe that the others had to be abandoned in the course of the day. From 
 the vigor with which the defence was conducted, it became evident that the fort could not be taken unless 
 by a regular investment, while the absence of tents and the approach of winter made such an operation im- 
 possible. It was therefore decided to abandon the undertaking, and the same evening fires were lighted over 
 a large extent of ground to deceive the French while the troops embarked. Villebon seems to have sus- 
 pected the design, for he proposed to Baptiste and Rene' d'Amours to cross the river below the fort and 
 annoy the English in their retreat with their Indians, but they declined so uncertain and dangerous a ser- 
 vice. When the morning d.awned, the English camp was empty, and Neuvillette was sent to see if they 
 had embarked. He foimd their ve.ssels (4 in number) three leagues below, and going down the river with a 
 favorable wind. The expedition, according to the French account, lost Somen from sickness on the voyage 
 back to Boston. Thus ended the siege of Nashwaak. The loss of the French is st.ated by them to have 
 been one .soldier killed, a second losing his legs, and a third being wounded by the bursting of his musket. 
 Mathieu d'Amours, who lived at Freneuse, opposite the mouth of the Oro;nocto, and who came to assist in 
 the defence of the fort, was so much injured by e.xposure durii.g the siege that he shortly afterwards died, 
 and the English, on their way down the river, burnt his residence and laid waste his fields. The English 
 loss in the siege was said to be 8 soldiers killed, and 5 officers and 12 soldiers wounded — a number which, 
 considering the exposed position they occupied and the vigor of the French fire, does not appear too large to 
 l.e worthy of credence. 
 
.■^4 
 
 CAPTIVITY OK JOHN GYI-ES. 
 
 She acknowledged the many flivors which the English had showed her, 
 with gratitude, and treated me with great civility. The next spring monsieur 
 arrived from France in the man-of-war. He thanked me for my care of his 
 affairs, and said he would endeavor to fulfil what madam had jjromised me. 
 
 Accordingly, in the year 1698, peace being proclaimed, a slooj) came to 
 the mouth of the river with ransom for one Michael Cooms. 1 put mon- 
 sieur in mind of his word, telling him there was now an opportunity for me 
 to go and see the Knglish. He advised me to continue with him; said he 
 would do for me as for his own, &c. I thanked him for his kindness, but 
 rather chose to go to Boston, hoping to find some of my relations yet alive. 
 'I'hen he advised me to go up to the fort and take my leave of the governor, 
 which I did, and he spoke very kindly to me.* Some days after I took my 
 leave of madam, and monsieur went down to the mouth of the river with me 
 to see me safely on board. He asked the master, Mr. Starkee, a Scotchman, 
 whether I must pay for my passage, and if so, he would pay it himself rather 
 than I should have it to i)ay at my arrival in Boston, but he gave me not a 
 l)enny. The master told him there was nothing to pay, and that if the owner 
 should make any demand he would pay it himself, rather than a poor prisoner 
 should suffer; for he was glad to see any English person come out of cap 
 tivity. 
 
 On the 13th of June, I took my leave of monsieur, and the sloop came to 
 sail for IJoston, where we arrived on the 19th of the same, at night. In the 
 morning after my arrival, a youth came on board and asked many questions 
 relating to my captivity, and at length gave me to understand that he was 
 my little brother, who was at play with some other children at Pemmaquid 
 when I was taken captive, and who escaped into the fort at that ])erilous time- 
 He told me my elder brother, who made his escape from the farm, when it 
 was taken, and our two little sisters were alive, but that our mother had been 
 dead some years. Then we went on shore and saw our elder brother. 
 
 On the 2nd of August, 1689, I was taken, and on the 19th of June, 1698, 
 I arrived at Boston ; so that I was absent eight years, ten months, and seven- 
 teen days. In all which time, though I underwent extreme difficulties, yet I 
 saw much of God's goodness. And may the most powerful ..nd beneficient 
 Being accept of this public testimony of it, and bless my experiences to ex- 
 cite others to confide in His all-sufficiency, through the infinite merits of 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 * Governor Villebon has left .a good reputation behind him as .in able and zealous officer. He was a son of 
 the Baron Bekancourt and had several brothers, all officers in the service of France. Villebon died at the 
 mouth of" the River St. John, 5th July, 170c, and was buried somewhere within the site of the present city, 
 but like many other cjood and great men, no man knows his grave. M. Diereville, who published an account 
 of a voyage to Acadie in 1708, was here when Villelwn died. Hecalls him "grand hotnnte, ires Men fait 
 et plein d' esprit. ' ' 
 
 \l ■ 1' 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 CONTAININCi MINUTKS OF TIIK KMl'I.OVMKNTS, I'UIU.IC STATIONS, 
 ETC., OF JOHN GYLES, ESQ., COMMANDER OF THE GAKRISO.n ON 
 ST. CEORCiE'S RIVER. 
 
 After my return out of captivity, June 28th, 1698, I ap])lied myself to the 
 government for their favor. Soon after I was employed by old father 
 Mitchel, ot Maiden, to go as his inter[)reter on trading account to St. John's 
 river. 
 
 October 14th, 1698, 1 was employed by the government, Lieutenant 
 (iovernor Stoughton commander-in-chief, to go as interpreter, at three pounds 
 per month, with Major Converse and old Capt. Alden to Penobscot to fetch 
 captives. At our return to Boston I was dismissed; but within a (qw days 
 the governor sent for me to interpret a conference with Bommazeen, and 
 other Indians then in jail. 
 
 Some time after I was again put in pay in order to go interpreter with 
 Col, Phillips and Capt. Southack, in the province galley, to Casco Bsy, to 
 exchange said Indians [Bommazeen and others] for English captives. In 
 December, 1698, we returned to Boston with several captives which we had 
 liberated, and I was dismissed the service, and desired to attend it in the 
 spring. 1 pleaded to be kept in pay that I might have wherewith to support 
 myself at school. I went into the country, to Rowley, where boarding was 
 cheap, to practice what little I had attained at school. 
 
 March, 1699. With the little of my wages that I could reserve, I paid for 
 my schooling and board, and attended the service upon request, and was 
 again put into pay, and went with Col. Phillips and Maj. Converse in a 
 large brigantine up Kennebeck River for captives, and at our return to Bos- 
 ton the province galley being arrived from New York with my lord Bellemont, 
 and the province truck put on board, I was ordered on board the galley. 
 We cruised on the eastern shore; and in November, 1699, I was put out of 
 pay, though I pleaded to be continued in it, seeing I must attend the ser- 
 vice in the spring, and be at considerable expense in the winter for my 
 schooling. 
 
 In the spring of 1700, I attended the service, and was under pay again. 
 On August 27th, a fort was ordered to be built at Casco Bay, which was 
 finished on the 6th of October following, and the province truck landed, and 
 I was ordered to reside there as interpreter, with a captain, &c. Not long 
 after, Gov. Dudley sent me a lieutenant's commission, with a memorandum 
 on its back, "No further pay but as interpreter at three pounds per month." 
 
 August loth, 1703. The French and Indians besieged our fort for six 
 days. (Major March was our commander.) On the i6th of the same 
 month, Capt. Southack arrived in the province galley, and in the night fol- 
 lowing the enemy withdrew. 
 
 May 19th, 1704. I received a few lines from his excellency directing me 
 to leave my post, and accompany Col. Church on an expedition round the 
 Bay of Fundy. September following I returned to my post, without any 
 
7^ 
 
 36 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 1 ■; 
 '* i I. 
 
 Il ^ 1: ' 
 
 li -!*--■■ 
 
 ' ^!!l 
 
 i! 
 
 
 1 
 
 'li ^1 
 
 further wages or encouragement for that service than the beforementioned 
 pay at the garrison. 
 
 April, 1706. There was a change of the ( hief-officer at our garrison. I 
 chose to be dismissed with my old ofticer, which was granted. 'I'he same 
 year his excellency (iov. Dudley presented me with a captain's commission, 
 and ordered ('ol. Saltonslail to detach fifty effective men to l)e delivered to 
 me in order for a marcli. In May, 1707, 1 entered on an expedition under 
 Col. March, for Port Royal, at the termination of which I was dismissed. 
 
 May 1 2th, 1,08, I received orders from his excellency to go to Port 
 Royal with a Hag of truce to exchange prisoners, and brought off all. At my 
 return 1 was dismissed the service. 
 
 In 1709,1 received a commission, and Col. Noyes had orders to detach 
 forty men, whom he put under me, with orders to join the forces for Canada. 
 At Mull, August ist 1709, I received orders from his excellency to leave my 
 company with my lieutenants, and go to Port Royal with a flag of truce to 
 exchange prisoners. I went in the sloop Hannah and Ruth, Thomas 
 AVaters, master. 1 had nine French ])risoners, which were all that were in 
 our governor's hands. These he ordered me to deliver to Cov, Supercass, 
 "and to let him know that he [Cov. l)udley]ex])ected him to deliver all the 
 English prisoners within his power, within six days, which I was ordered to 
 demand and insist upon, agreeably to his promise last year." I was ordered 
 to observe to him that (Iov. Dudley highly resented his breach of promise in 
 not sending them early this spring, according to his jjarole of honor, by my- 
 self, when we had returned him ui)wards of forty of his peoi)le, and had made 
 provision for bringing home ours; and to make particular inc^uiry after Capt. 
 Myles, and to demand his and his comjiany's release also. 
 
 Accordingly, arriving at Port Royal, I was kindly enter' ained by Gov. 
 Supercass ; ))rought off above one hundred prisoners. Soon after my return 
 our forces were dismissed, and I received no other consideration for my ser- 
 vice than pay as captain of my company. 
 
 August, 17 15. I was desired, and had great promises made me by the 
 proprietors, and received orders from his excellency to build a fort at Pejep- 
 scot, [now Bmnswick, Me.] Soon after our arrival there the Indians came 
 in the night, and forbid our laying one stone upon another. I told them I 
 came with orders from Governor Dudley to bur;! a fort, and if they disliked 
 it they might acquaint him with it; and that i' they came forcibly upon us, 
 they or I should fall on the spot. After such UaC hot words they left us, and 
 we went on with our building, and finished it, November 25th, 1715, and our 
 carpenters and masons left us. My wages were very small, yet the gentle- 
 men proprietors ordered me only five pounds for my good services, &c. 
 
 July 1 2th, 1722, a number of Indians engaged fort George about two 
 hours, killing one person, and then drew off to killing cattle, &:c. 
 
 April, 1725, I received orders from his honor Lieut. Gov. Dummer to go 
 ten day's march up Ammiscoggin river, and in my absence the Indians 
 killed two men at our fort. I received no further pay for said service, only 
 the pay of the garrison. 
 
 December 12th, 1725, 1 was dismissed from fort George, and Capt. Wood- 
 side received a commission for the command of that place, 
 
 December 13th, 1725, I was commissioned for the garrison at St. George 
 river. 
 
APPF.NDIX. 
 
 37 
 
 Se[)tcml)cr, 1726. I was detained some months from my post, liy order of 
 Gov. Dummer, to interpret for the Cajje Sable Infliaii.s, who were brought in 
 and found guilty. There was no other person in the jjrovince that had 
 their language. His honor and the honorable count il j)rfscnted me with ten 
 l)ounds for this service, which I gratefully received. 
 
 Nov. 28th, 1728, I was commissioned for the j)cacc. 
 
 I have had the honor to serve this province under eight commanders in 
 chief, governors, and lieutenant governors, from the year 1698 to the year 
 1736; and how mu( h longer my services may continue I submit to the 
 Governor of the world, who overrules every circumstance of life, which re- 
 lates to our ha])pincss and usefulness, as in infinite wisdom He sees meet. 
 
 Be calm, my Dclius, and serene, 
 However fortune clian^je the secne. 
 In thy must dejected slate, 
 Sink not underneath the weijjht : 
 , Nor yet wlien hapjjy days begin. 
 
 And the full title comes rolling in, 
 Ix't not a fierce unruly joy 
 The settled quiet of thy mind destroy. 
 However fortune change the scene, 
 lie calm, my Delius, and serene. —HoRACi". 
 
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