Captivity and Restoration | Page 7

little liberty
or opportunity to see one another. She was about ten years old, and
taken from the door at first by a Praying Ind. and afterward sold for a
gun. When I came in sight, she would fall aweeping; at which they
were provoked, and would not let me come near her, but bade me be

gone; which was a heart-cutting word to me. I had one child dead,
another in the wilderness, I knew not where, the third they would not
let me come near to: "Me (as he said) have ye bereaved of my Children,
Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin also, all
these things are against me." I could not sit still in this condition, but
kept walking from one place to another. And as I was going along, my
heart was even overwhelmed with the thoughts of my condition, and
that I should have children, and a nation which I knew not, ruled over
them. Whereupon I earnestly entreated the Lord, that He would
consider my low estate, and show me a token for good, and if it were
His blessed will, some sign and hope of some relief. And indeed
quickly the Lord answered, in some measure, my poor prayers; for as I
was going up and down mourning and lamenting my condition, my son
came to me, and asked me how I did. I had not seen him before, since
the destruction of the town, and I knew not where he was, till I was
informed by himself, that he was amongst a smaller parcel of Indians,
whose place was about six miles off. With tears in his eyes, he asked
me whether his sister Sarah was dead; and told me he had seen his
sister Mary; and prayed me, that I would not be troubled in reference to
himself. The occasion of his coming to see me at this time, was this:
there was, as I said, about six miles from us, a small plantation of
Indians, where it seems he had been during his captivity; and at this
time, there were some forces of the Ind. gathered out of our company,
and some also from them (among whom was my son's master) to go to
assault and burn Medfield. In this time of the absence of his master, his
dame brought him to see me. I took this to be some gracious answer to
my earnest and unfeigned desire. The next day, viz. to this, the Indians
returned from Medfield, all the company, for those that belonged to the
other small company, came through the town that now we were at. But
before they came to us, Oh! the outrageous roaring and hooping that
there was. They began their din about a mile before they came to us. By
their noise and hooping they signified how many they had destroyed
(which was at that time twenty-three). Those that were with us at home
were gathered together as soon as they heard the hooping, and every
time that the other went over their number, these at home gave a shout,
that the very earth rung again. And thus they continued till those that
had been upon the expedition were come up to the Sagamore's wigwam;

and then, Oh, the hideous insulting and triumphing that there was over
some Englishmen's scalps that they had taken (as their manner is) and
brought with them. I cannot but take notice of the wonderful mercy of
God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a Bible. One of the
Indians that came from Medfield fight, had brought some plunder,
came to me, and asked me, if I would have a Bible, he had got one in
his basket. I was glad of it, and asked him, whether he thought the
Indians would let me read? He answered, yes. So I took the Bible, and
in that melancholy time, it came into my mind to read first the 28th
chapter of Deuteronomy, which I did, and when I had read it, my dark
heart wrought on this manner: that there was no mercy for me, that the
blessings were gone, and the curses come in their room, and that I had
lost my opportunity. But the Lord helped me still to go on reading till I
came to Chap. 30, the seven first verses, where I found, there was
mercy promised again, if we would return to Him by repentance; and
though we were scattered from one end of the earth to the other, yet the
Lord would gather us together, and turn all those curses upon our
enemies. I do not desire to live to forget this Scripture, and what
comfort it was to me.
Now the Ind. began to talk