The Light in the Forest | Context

Historical Fiction and Adventure Novels

Like most of Richter's works, The Light in the Forest is historical fiction—a novel set many years or decades before the author's time. Richter gleaned his wealth of descriptive details from research rather than personal experience. His work has another important trait of historical fiction. The characters' thoughts, actions, and social conditions are as authentic to the time and place as possible. For instance, Richter attempts to give an honest account of the Native American experience in the late 1700s. He also examines the perspective of white Christian settlers at the same time and investigates how these two groups experienced each other.

As a descendant of white Europeans who settled in Pennsylvania, Richter had a personal connection to the historical fiction genre. He observed a contrast between the adventurous farming lifestyle of the 18th and 19th centuries and the rapid industrial development of the 20th century. The hardships pioneers faced, including building their own homesteads and finding food and shelter on unforgiving land, gave them courage that impressed Richter. His novels are grounded in a strong sense of place. The Light in the Forest is set in a region that became southeastern Ohio and Pennsylvania, areas Richter knew well. Many historically accurate details in the novel come from Richter's own fascination with the land he called home.

The Light in the Forest also has many traits of an adventure novel. The protagonist, True Son, goes on a journey, leaving the safety of his forest home for the unknown territory of a white community. He faces and overcomes many hardships. Finally, he returns home with new knowledge and wisdom. The journey follows a circular structure common to many myths.

However, The Light in the Forest doesn't have a happy ending. True Son shares an experience with protagonists of many American adventure novels—his homecoming isn't perfect or complete. The time spent living with his white family changes him permanently. After sabotaging his tribe's attempt to ambush a party of white settlers, he is exiled from the tribe forever. He can't go home again. This transition from an old life to a new life, as well as the emergence of a transformed identity, is a trait shared by other heroes in American adventure stories.

Return of the Captives: Colonel Bouquet's Expedition of 1764

In the opening chapters of The Light in the Forest Swiss Colonel Henry Bouquet (1719–65) negotiates the return of several English children captured and raised by Native American tribes. This incident sets the story's plot in motion. True Son and other youngsters are forced to go back to white biological families that are now strangers to them.

Richter bases the plot on real events that took place in Pennsylvania in the 1760s. The character of Colonel Bouquet is inspired by the real Colonel Henry Bouquet, an officer in the British military during the French and Indian War of 1754 through 1763. In this conflict British and French troops fought for control of North America. The British eventually won.

Though the war ended in 1763, the conflicts between British troops and Native American tribes did not. Native Americans were alarmed by the increased presence of British colonists and the disappearance of the French troops who had been their allies. Tribal leaders feared they would lose even more of their land. Chief Pontiac (1720–69), a leader of the Ottawa tribe, led several other tribes in a 1763–66 rebellion against the British in what became known as Pontiac's War.

The British army fought back against Pontiac and his allies in 1764. Led by Colonel Henry Bouquet and Colonel John Bradstreet (1714–74), British troops marched from Pennsylvania to invade Ohio country, where Pontiac's forces were based.

Many of the troops sought revenge against the Native Americans for the deaths of soldiers in the French and Indian War. However, Bouquet hoped for a peaceful resolution. He brought 1,500 soldiers to show the Native Americans they would be outnumbered in an armed conflict. Bouquet threatened to destroy the tribes' villages if they didn't surrender.

Believing Bouquet would make good on his threat, the Native Americans surrendered. Several tribes, including the Lenni Lenape—the tribe with whom the fictional True Son resided—offered to return anyone they had captured during the war. The captives included men, women, and children of English, French, and African American descent. Bouquet accepted this condition, and in late November 1764 he and his troops led over 200 captives to Fort Pitt, a British military stronghold in Pennsylvania.

The returned hostages themselves had mixed feelings. Some were eager to return to their original families and lives. Others tried to run away on the journey to Fort Pitt. After being placed with their white biological families, many hostages attempted to escape to the Native American villages. Several had been captured as young children, like the character True Son. They had no memory of their biological families and considered the Native American villages home. Bouquet anticipated some captives might be reluctant to return, and he warned the troops to keep a close eye on them.

Richter's novel captures the complex emotional experience of the family reunions, which were challenging for everyone involved. He imagines not only how the captives felt but how their biological families felt, reuniting with lost loved ones who were now used to a completely different lifestyle.

Lenni Lenape Indians

True Son is raised by the Lenni Lenape, or Delaware, Indians, a tribe based in the northeastern areas of North America in the 18th century. The tribe's original territory extended across the mid-Atlantic colonies of Delaware and New York, including the Delaware River Valley. As European colonizers gradually encroached on Lenni Lenape land, the tribe moved westward. Forced to settle on territory occupied by the Iroquois tribe, the Lenni Lenape continued seeking land to claim as their own.

The Lenni Lenape became a strong presence in the Pennsylvania colony and the Ohio River valley. They were the first known settlers of what is now the city of Philadelphia. They developed strongholds near Pennsylvania's Allegheny River and Ohio's Muskingum River—two locations mentioned in the novel. In the mid-18th century they defended their Ohio River territory and became independent of the Iroquois. When The Light in the Forest takes place, the tribe is still living in Ohio.

White settlers continued to advance, however, and in 1795 the Lenni Lenape—as a member of the Northwest Indian Confederation—signed the Treaty of Greenville. This settlement ended conflict between the U.S. government and the federation. The treaty required the Native American tribes to relinquish claims to territory that would form much of Ohio and parts of the future states of Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. In the early 19th century the Lenni Lenape relocated farther west to Missouri, finally settling on a reservation in Kansas. Many present-day members of the Lenni Lenape tribe live in Oklahoma. They use the terms Lenape, Lenni Lenape, and Delaware to identify themselves—the two latter of which are used by Richter's characters interchangeably in the novel. The Lenape Center, an organization devoted to preserving the history of the tribe, is based in New York City.

Historical References

Paxton Boys Uprising

The French and Indian War was a conflict waged between France and Great Britain from 1754 to 1763 for colonial control of North America. The British were victorious. Many Native Americans fought in the war, most of whom supported the French. The Light in the Forest takes place in 1764, just as the war has ended. In Chapter 2 British soldier Del Hardy mentions many of his fellow soldiers lost family members to Native American soldiers.

Parson Elder is a character based on the real figure of Reverend John Elder (1706–92), a Pennsylvania minister and a participant in the Paxton Boys uprising. As pastor of the Paxton Presbyterian Church—formerly the Paxtang and Derry Church—Elder was a respected town leader. Like many residents, he worried about Native American attacks. He even kept a rifle by his pulpit. When surrounding tribes raided settlers' homes, Elder formed a defense association called the Paxtang—or Paxton—Boys.

The Paxton Boys uprising is a real event characters discuss in the novel. On December 14, 1763, a group of over 50 white settlers from Paxton, Pennsylvania, attacked a group of Conestoga (Conestogo) Indians and murdered six men, women, and children. Fourteen tribe members escaped to the nearby town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. However, the settlers followed the survivors there and murdered them as well.

The victims had done nothing to provoke the attack. Tensions were high between Native American tribes and white settlers in Pennsylvania. Previous raids by other tribes made the settlers wary. Though the Conestoga had a long history of living and trading peacefully with white residents, several settlers heard rumors the tribe was collaborating with hostile Native Americans and planning a raid.

The massacre shook the frontier community. Writer and future founding father Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) said he was unable to describe the grief of the surviving Native Americans and the concern of the white neighbors.

Most local residents sympathized with the Paxton Boys. John "Parson" Elder defended the attackers, claiming they were good men pushed to a brutal revenge. He placed blame for the massacre on the government of Pennsylvania. Elder believed that Pennsylvania Governor John Penn (1725–95) should have removed the Native American tribes from the frontier and avoided the conflict in the first place. When Governor Penn had the attackers arrested, hundreds of armed frontiersmen marched on the capital city of Philadelphia to protest. Ultimately, the Paxton Boys escaped prosecution.

The uprising and its aftermath highlighted conflict among the settlers as well. The Philadelphia government wanted to protect and live peacefully with Native Americans. Philadelphia also had a high population of Quakers, a pacifist religious group that supported Native Americans against settler attacks. Residents of rural Pennsylvania towns were more concerned with defending frontier land from raids. Members of the Butler family in The Light in the Forest—especially Uncle George Owens and Uncle Wilse—represent the frontiersmen who saw Native Americans as a danger. George Owens and Wilse feel that Quakers and Philadelphia residents protect Native Americans at the expense of white settlers.

David Owens was a white settler and the son of a trader in Pennsylvania. He married a Native American woman in the 1760s and later killed her and their children as they slept. Owens may have wanted to trade the family's scalps for money, or he may have feared for his safety. True Son mentions David Owens in an argument with Uncle Wilse.

Geography

The area of Paxton Township, Pennsylvania, is referred to as Peshtank—its original Indian name. Some settlers also used the term Paxtang.

Rivers mentioned in the novel include the Tuscarawas River in northeastern Ohio and the Muskingum River in eastern Ohio. Formed where the Tuscarawas and Walhonding Rivers meet, the Muskingum is known as the "Forks of the Muskingum" in the book. The Allegheny River flows through eastern Pennsylvania. Half Arrow tells True Son that it is called the Alleghi Sipu.

First Mountain, Second Mountain, and Third Mountain are real mountain ranges near Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River Valley. Bejance, a basket maker True Son meets in Paxton Township, mentions that another Lenape speaker lives on Third Mountain.

Fort Pitt is a British military stronghold build in 1761 during the French and Indian War. It is located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fort ensured British control over the region and became a base of operations for both soldiers and traveling white settlers.

Terminology

Some occupations mentioned in the narrative are cooper and cradler. Coopers are barrel or cask makers. Cradlers are farmers who harvest wheat with a tool known as a cradle.

Yengwes is a term used by True Son and other Lenni Lenape that refers to "English" or white people.

Scalping is the practice of tearing or cutting all or part of the scalp from the head. Many cultures have used scalping in warfare. Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–420 BCE) reported that Scythian warriors used enemy scalps as napkins or even sometimes made garments out of them. The Scythians were nomads who roamed Eurasia and Central Asia during the ninth century BCE through the second century BCE. The Germanic Visigoths took scalps in the seventh century, as did the Anglo-Saxons during the ninth century. The Anglo-Saxons were northern European immigrants who arrived in England during the fifth and sixth centuries. Scalps were often war trophies displayed to celebrate triumph over an enemy or to prove skill in battle. They were sometimes used as bounties to collect money.