Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison

First edition (publ. J.B. Lippincott)

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison is a children's biographical novel written and illustrated by Lois Lenski. The book was first published in 1941 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1942.^[1] It tells the story of Mary Jemison in a highly fictionalized form.

Plot summary

Twelve-year-old Mary Jemison took her peaceful days on her family's farm in eastern Pennsylvania for granted. But on a spring day in 1758, something happened that changed her life forever. A band of warriors invaded the house and took the Jemison family captive. Mary was separated from her parents and brothers and sister. Renamed Corn Tassel, she traveled with the Indians to southern Ohio and later to a Seneca village on the Genesee River in what is now western New York.

Mary's new life was not easy. She misses her family terribly, and she was unaccustomed to Seneca ways. Several times she even tried to run away. But the Indians were kind to her and taught her many things about the earth, its plants, and its creatures. She became a sister to animals and to all growing things. Then Mary was finally given the chance to return to the world of white men. But she had also become a sister to the Indians. How could she leave them?

References