American pioneer stories are some of my favorites. We see the English lady being shanghaied to the colonies to provide a wife for a backwoodsman who, himself, is forced by puritanical rules to settle the land and multiply. Life expectancy was extremely short in 1644 no matter where one lived, but especially in the wilds of Indian country.

There were a few Bible verses to help support the characters and move the story along. I wasn't bored once with the 347 pages, but did find it incredible that anyone would prefer living in these hazardous surroundings than back in the motherland where life was easier, money available and relatives to help out in a pinch.

I also learned about the Indian Wars of the 1640's, that 400 colonists and many more Indians were killed in just one such battle and that rowdy settlers who broke treaties was the probable cause of native attacks. I can't help but think we owe our forebears to keep their hardwon freedoms intact in this frustrating 21st century.