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American Captivity Narratives
This volume collects a wide variety of works from a uniquely American literary tradition, the captivity narrative. Beginning with an excerpt from Hans Staden's The True History of His Captivity, which influenced the American captivity narrative, this volume presents accounts by early settlers held captive by Native Americans (Mary Rowlandson, John Smith), narratives by African American slaves (Olaudah Equiano, John Marrant), and others. Collected with the real-life accounts are two captivity poems by Lucy Terry and John Rolling Ridge, and several popular tales and legends on the subject.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
464 pages, Paperback
First published December 27, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 27, 2014
Learn about A variety of native peoples, mostly in the continental US, I was mostly reading to learn about their food cultures.
The Brazilian native cannibals who ate tiny fish and shaved with sharp crystal edges.
The Huron of the 1600s who ate whole frogs and deer intestines full of blood.
Hannah Swarton who got taken captive by Abenaki in the late 1600s and ate Purslain, which I want to try now. She also sad roasted eels were one of the best things she ever ate.
Most descriptive of all was a man who got captured by Caughnawaga Indians (Mohawks) and lived with them for quite a while. He did get abused a bit at the beginning, but unlike the other captive stories, he became almost a member of the tribe and spent long periods of time hunting and gathering with other tribes people. Turkey and venison were popular, but roasted groundhog was also common, as well as bear, buffalo, elk, and raccoon. Salt and buffalo could be procured from the same spot, a natural salt lick that attracted wild game. The most delicious sounding passage in the whole book was describing roasted venison dipped into a mixture of bear fat and fresh maple syrup. They could sap into syrup by either boiling or letting water freeze off at night.
The Brazilian native cannibals who ate tiny fish and shaved with sharp crystal edges.
The Huron of the 1600s who ate whole frogs and deer intestines full of blood.
Hannah Swarton who got taken captive by Abenaki in the late 1600s and ate Purslain, which I want to try now. She also sad roasted eels were one of the best things she ever ate.
Most descriptive of all was a man who got captured by Caughnawaga Indians (Mohawks) and lived with them for quite a while. He did get abused a bit at the beginning, but unlike the other captive stories, he became almost a member of the tribe and spent long periods of time hunting and gathering with other tribes people. Turkey and venison were popular, but roasted groundhog was also common, as well as bear, buffalo, elk, and raccoon. Salt and buffalo could be procured from the same spot, a natural salt lick that attracted wild game. The most delicious sounding passage in the whole book was describing roasted venison dipped into a mixture of bear fat and fresh maple syrup. They could sap into syrup by either boiling or letting water freeze off at night.
October 26, 2009
Anthology dealing with slavery. Used it as a textbook a while ago.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews