Reading even a small sample of captivity narratives

Reading even a small sample of captivity narratives reveals some common
disadvantages to working with them as a source. First, some narrators and edi-
tors are more reliable than others. Many captives were barely literate and so
told their tales through editors or journalists who took considerable liberty with
the text, inventing speeches or dialogue as if su ch words were remembered ver-
batim or massaging the details to maximize dramatic effect. Some narratives were
published years after the experience of captivity, when the passage of time may
have dulled some memories or exaggerated others. Separating fact from fiction
in captivity narratives can be difficult. As with any source, a historian will seek
other materials, such as Ind ian oral traditions or archaeological data, to corrobo-
rate conclusions derived from them.
Another significant disadvantage to working with captivity narratives con-
cerns the type of captives who wrote them. Historians va lue the eyewitness
accounts these narratives provide of Indian life, but those captives who were
most assimilated into Native American comm uniti es-the ones who never
returned to colonial society-rarely wrote narratives of their experiences. The
longer a captive stayed with her captors, the more immersed she became in
I ndian life, learning a new language, acquiring new kin, and ultimately l earn -
ing to view the world through Indian eyes. These same captives were the ones
most likely to forget their native language, never acquire literacy, and lose
connection with colonial society. Un less they were purposely sou ght o ut by
journalists or publishers, their stories were not likely to be told in print . Con -
versely, many captivity narratives were published by escaped or ransomed cap-
tives who never spent more than a few weeks in Indian company. Compared
with what long-term captives underwent, their experience amo unt ed to little
more than that of tourists on a particularly bad trip. Each captive has a uniqu e
story to tell, and, as with any historical source, you wi ll want to examine th e
narratives with a critical eye. The Check li st questions on page 31 provide gen -
eral guidelines for interrogating captivity narratives.

Using the Source: Cap tivity Narratives
31
CHECKLIST: Interrogating Captivity Narratives
D Who is the author of the narrative? Was the captive male or female,
and at what age was he or she taken captive?
D When was the captivity narrative written? How much time elapsed
between the captivity itself and th e writing of the narrativ e? Did the
captive write it himself or herself , or did someone else put the
captive's story into writing?
D What were the circumstances of the captivity? For example, among
which Indian groups (i.e., tribes, bands, towns) did the captive live?