The Indian Captivities of Mary Rowlandson Compared to The Indian captivities of James Smith

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The Indian Captivities of Mary Rowlandson Compared to the Indian Captivities of James Smith
James Smith was born in Pennsylvania in the county of Franklin back in 1737. The Indian captured him at the age of 18 years, and he was adopted in one of the Indians tribes (Newman 32). He settled with them and became one of them till he escaped in 1759. In 1764, under general Bouquet, he became the lieutenant during the time of expedition that was against the Ohio Indians. He then became the captain of Rangers Company during the war of Lord Dunmore. In his late years, he was a commissioned colonel in command of the frontier. As well, he performed different services in defense of the nation. His account lies in his own experience as he blended with the members of Indian tribes.
Mary Rowlandson was born In Somerset a locality found in England back in 1637 and was the sixth born in a family of ten children. While at a tender age, her family migrated to Salem in New England and they later settled in Lancaster (Rowlandson and Horace 89). Mary was married to Joseph Rowlandson in the year 1656. Twenty years from her marriage, she took the role of becoming a Puritan wife, raising her children and taking care of her home. Mary Rowlandson’s life was completely disrupted when a contingent of the Narraganset Indians managed to attack and also bunt Lancaster, killing 17 people and taking away twenty-four captives. The captives included Rowlandson together with her family of three children.

Rowlandson was then prisoned for three months where he was subjected to severe mistreatment. After her release from captivity, she wrote the narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.
Both Rowlandson and Smith were captives in Indian and they both experienced the same physical hardship. For instance, they both suffered from hunger as they lacked food to eat. They also managed to survive from death during their life as they were subjected to harsh treatment. Particularly, Smith survived the firing that was made by Indians to kill them hence killing his fellow traveler and the bullet sparing him.
Rowlandson and her three children were among the 24 people who were held hostage at her house and then taken away as captive. He was then kept in prison for a duration of three months where he was harshly treated (Potter 144). On the other hand, Smith was captured at the age of eighteen years then adopted in one tribe of India who made him one of them. Smith was usually treated by Indian brothers as one of them, and as a result, he developed a strong togetherness with them. This shows that in their captivity time, Smith was not yet married though he was deep in love with one young lady.
Conversely, Rowlandson was married and had three children. Mary Rowlandson had skills in sewing and knitting which was a crucial women’s skills that enabled her to earn a living (Rowlandson and Horace 158). On the other hand, while there was famine in India, Smith depended on hunting, a common living activity practiced by men. He was first unsuccessful, but with time, he managed to learn and through it to find food to keep him together with his Indian family going. Rowlandson was after that liberated for 20 pounds and went back to her husband. Her only two surviving daughters were returned to them after some time. Unlike Smith, he returned home by escaping from India through the ship that was with the English prisoners. That is when he got married and had a family.
Work CitedNewman, Andrew. “Captive on the Literacy Frontier: Mary Rowlandson, James Smith, and Charles Johnston.” Early American Literature 38.1 (2003): 31-65.
Potter, Tiffany. “Writing indigenous femininity: Mary Rowlandson’s narrative of captivity.” Eighteenth-Century Studies 36.2 (2003): 153-167.
Rowlandson, Mary, and Horace Kephart. The Account of Mary Rowlandson and Other Indian Captivity Narratives. Courier Corporation, 2005.