Edited by Pradeep Menon
Hearing that my Son1 was come to this place, I went to see him, and told him his Father was well, but very melancholly2 : He told me he was as much grieved for his Father as for himself; I wondred at his speech, for I thought I had enough upon my spirit in reference to myself, to make me mindless of my Husband and everyone else : they being safe among their Friends. He told me also, that a while before, his Master (together with other Indians) were going to the French for Powder3; but by the way the Mohawks4 met with them, and killed four of their Company, which made the rest turn back again, for which I desire that my self and he may bless the Lord; for it might have been worse with him, had he been sold to the French5, than it proved to be in his remaining with the Indians.
I went to see an English Youth in this place, one John Gilberd6 of Springfield. I found him lying without dores7, upon the ground; I asked him how he did? He told me he was very sick of a flux8, with eating so much blood9 : They had turned him out of the Wigwam10, and with him an Indian Papoose11, almost dead, (whose Parents had been killed), in a bitter cold day, without fire or clothes : The young man himself had nothing on, but his shirt & waistcoat. This sight was enough to melt a heart of flint12. There they lay quivering in the Cold, the youth round like a dog; the Papoose stretcht out with his eyes and nose and mouth full of dirt, and yet alive, and groaning. I advised John to go and get to some fire. He told me he could not stand, but I persuaded him still, lest he should ly there and die : and with much adoe I got him to a fire, and went myself home.
As soon as I was got home, his Masters13 Daughter came after me, to know what I had done with the English man. I told her I had got him to a fire in such a place. Now had I need to pray Pauls prayer, 2 Thess. 3.2 That we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men.14 For her satisfaction I went along with her, and brought her to him; but before I got home again it was noised about, that I was running away and getting the English youth, along with me; that as soon as I came in, they began to rant and domineer, asking me where I had been, and what I had been doing? and saying they would knock him on the head. I told them I had been seeing the English Youth, and that I would not run away. They told me I lyed, and taking up a Hatchet, they came to me, and said they would knock me down if I stirred out again, and so confined me to the Wigwam. Now may I say with David, 2 Samuel 24.14. I am in a great strait.15 If I keep in, I must dy with hunger, and if I go out, I must be knockt in head. This distressed condition held that day, and half the next; And then the Lord remembered me, whose mercyes are great. Then came an Indian to me with a pair of stockings that were too big for him, and he would have me ravel them out, and knit them fit for him. I shewed myself willing, and bid him ask my mistress if I might go along with him a little way; she said yes, I might, but I was not a little refreshed with that news, that I had my liberty again. Then I went along with him, and he gave me some roasted Ground-nuts16, which did again revive my feeble stomach.
Being got out of her sight, I had time and liberty again to look into my Bible : Which was my Guid by day, and my Pillow by night. Now that comfortable Scripture presented itself to me, Isa. 54.7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.17 Thus the Lord carried me along from one time to another, and made good to me this precious promise, and many others. Then my Son came to see me, and I asked his master to let him stay a while with me, that I might comb his head, and look over him, for he was almost overcome with lice. He told me, when I had done, that he was very hungry, but I had nothing to relieve him, but bid him go into the Wigwams as he went along, and see if he could get any thing among them. Which he did, and it seemes tarried a little too long; for his Master was angry with him, and beat him, and then sold him. Then he came running to tell me he had a new Master, and that he had given him some Groundnuts already. Then I went along with him to his new Master who told me he loved him, and he should not want. So his Master carried him away, & I never saw him afterward, till I saw him at Pascataqua18 in Portsmouth.
Thanks to Project Gutenberg and archive.org for providing the digitized versions of Rowlandson’s text free of charge. Without their generosity, this project would not be possible.
Works Cited
Nourse, Henry Stedman, editor. Mrs. Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative. Nourse & Thayer, 1903.
Oxford English Dictionary Online. Oxford University Press, September 2020. Accessed 28 October 2020.
Salisbury, Neal, editor. The Sovereignity and Goodness of God by Mary Rowlandson With Related Documents. Bedford/St. Martins, 2018.
Capitalization, italicization, punctuation, and spelling from the 1682 edition of Rowlandson’s narrative have been retained as much as possible, to maintain fidelity with the original work and intent of the author. This will facilitate future scholarly studies of Rowlandson’s work within the context of late seventeenth-century grammatical conventions. ↩
In the seventeenth century, this could have meant either “a pathological condition thought to result from an excess of black bile in the body, characterized in early references by sullenness, ill temper, brooding, causeless anger, and unsociability, and later by despondency and sadness” or “severe depression, melancholia.” OED online. ↩
A flammable or explosive preparation, esp. gunpowder. OED Online. ↩
Traditional enemies of the Algonquian peoples and allies of the English colonists during King Philip’s War (Salisbury 96). ↩
Rowlandson shares the Puritan antipathy towards the Roman Catholic French. She prefers captivity under Native Americans over possible conversion to Roman Catholicism by the French. ↩
John Gilbert survived the war and died in 1709 in Connecticut. ↩
Outside. This spelling of ‘doors’ is found as late as 1684 in the second edition of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. OED Online. ↩
An old term for dysentery or diarrhea. OED Online. ↩
This may have meant eating congealed blood or eating raw or partially cooked meat. In the Seventh Remove, Rowlandson eats partially cooked horse liver “as it was, with the blood about my mouth, and yet a savoury bit for me.” In the Fourteenth Remove, Rowlandson mentions that her captors “took the blood of deer, and put it into the paunch, and so boiled it. I could eat nothing of that, though they ate it sweetly.” ↩
Any of several types of dwelling used by certain eastern North American Indian peoples consisting of a framework of wooden poles, typically with a domed or conical roof and covered with bark, hides, or reed mats. OED Online ↩
A Native American baby or young child. ↩
Hard-hearted. OED Online. ↩
This rendition of the possessive case has been retained from the 1682 edition. ↩
In the New Testament, the Thessalonians are troubled by a false teaching about the second Advent of Christ. Paul, in his second Epistle, prays that they remain steadfast to their faith and disregard the deception of the wicked. (Read additional exposition of the context.) Rowlandson is comforted by this prayer in the face of false accusations. ↩
In the Old Testament, God is angered when David conducts a census against His wishes and gives David a choice between famine, war, or pestilence as punishment. David chooses pestilence because the first two options would have required the mercy of his enemies. (Read additional exposition of the context.) Rowlandson sees a parallel between David’s dilemma and her predicament. ↩
One of the small farinaceous edible tubers of the wild bean (Apios tuberosa), a climbing plant of North America. OED Online. See also Apios Americana. ↩
DeuteroIsaiah gives hope to the Hebrew exiles in Babylonian captivity who fear that God has abandoned them. He tells them that their tribulations are only temporary as God will soon bring them back to their homeland. (Read additional exposition of the context.) Rowlandson sees direct parallels between her captivity and that of the Hebrew exiles and is therefore convinced of her eventual release. ↩
Also known as Piscataqua. ↩