Captured by Indians

by Mary White Rowlandson

In February 1676, during King Philip's War, the frontier village of Lancaster, Massachusetts, was attacked by a party of Nipmuck Indians and completely destroyed. As relief from Concord approached, the attackers withdrew, taking with them 24 captives, including Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and her three children. For almost three months the little family was forced to live with their captors and endure exposure to a New England winter. The youngest child, who had been injured during the attack, failed to survive. Eventually ransom was paid and the family released. Mrs. Rowlandson's account of...