NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY, SUFFERINGS AND REMOVES OF MRS. MARY ROWLANDSON, WHO WAS TAKEN PRISONER BY THE INDIANS AT THE DESTRUCTION TO WHICH IS APPENDED A CENTURY SERMON, PREACHED AT THE FIRST PARISH IN LANCASTER, MAY 28, 1753, BY REV. TIMOTHY HARRINGTON. A REPRINT FROM AN OLD EDITION. CLINTON: PUBLISHED BY BALLARD & BYNNER. 1853. PREFACE. IN offering to the public a reprint of the following interesting narrative, the publishers believe they are performing an acceptable task; especially for those resident near the localities of the scenes described. The edition of the work issued by Merriam & Co., of Brookfield, in 1811, was very faulty, and is believed to be nearly out of print. Two or three copies of the edition of 1794, published in Leominster, and now in the hands of old residents of Lancaster, are the only ones known to the publishers, who were unable to obtain a single copy of the edition printed by Carter & Andrews, of the latter town, about the year 1830. As an authentic tale of trial and suffering rarely exceeded, written in the plain and earnest style which characterized the writings of the early settlers of Massachusetts, it possesses an historical value for the facts embodied in it, heightened by the devout tone of that unwavering faith by which the author was sustained amid her unparalleled peril, and enabled to recount to her friends and the world, the dangers through which she was safely borne by the power of Him! whose faithful servant she proved herself. Here, in the close vicinage of the ancient town in which she resided, and amid the descendants of many of the persons named, it is to expected that the work has additional value, while to the general reader, as a veritable and circumstantial account of an historical occurrence, it affords much instruction. In itself-an interesting history, it is eminently attractive and useful to the young, affording to them a true picture of the life of hardship and toil endured by those who cleared the wilderness, and dared the dangers of its occupancy, surrounded by the savage tenants they succeeded. For him, who now looks upon the quiet beauty of the scenery for which Lancaster is celebrated, its gentle slopes and peaceful vales, through which the placid Nashaway winds its devious way, it seems difficult to realize that the primeval forest then covered its surface, and that the most venerable of the majestic elms which now constitute so important an element of beauty in the landscape, were not yet saplings! in the days of which the narrative treats. That where once stood only the wigwam of the savage, now stands the Christian edifice, its tall spire pointing to the abode of that God by whose mercy our fathers were enabled to bequeath to their posterity so fair a heritage;-that of the powerful tribes who watched with jeal ous eye the settlement they destroyed with a hand so ruthless,—not one remains. Their very memory having passed away; while in their stead have congregated peaceful, populous, and industrial communities, fostered by the hand of civilization, worshiping the true God! and having for their monuments the churches and school-houses, in which have been inculcated those precepts, the practice whereof has led them to results so glorious! To the contemplative, to whom such are pleasant reflections, this narrative is one of peculiar interest, and will be welcomed by all who have not yet perused it, while by those to whom the tale and the scenes are familiar, it will be cherished as a household record. The present has been thought a favorable time for its re-publication, when, on the eve of the contemplated gathering of the sons and daughters of old Lancaster, on the occasion of the celebration of its Two Hundredth Anniversary, everything of an historical nature connected with the town will be so eagerly sought and appreciated; and the publishers feel that they may safely rely upon such considerations for the sale of the work. Appended to the narrative of Mrs. Rowlandson, will be found A CENTURY SERMON, preached to the First Parish of Lancaster, by the Rev. Timothy Harrington, in 1753, which, apart from its intrinsic merit, will be acceptable from the associations connected with it, and the historical information it contains. Clinton, May, 1853, NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY, SUFFERINGS AND REMOVES "OF MRS. MARY ROWLANDSON. On the 10th of February, 1675, the Indians, in great numbers, came upon Lancaster. Their first coming was about sun-rising; hearing the noise of some guns, we looked out; several houses were burning, and the smoke ascending to heaven. There were five persons taken in one house, the father, the mother, and a sucking child they knocked on the head; the other two they took and carried away alive. There were two others, who being out of the garrison upon occasion, were set upon; one was knocked on the head, the other escaped: another there was, who, running along, was shot and wounded, and fell down; he begged of them his life, promising them money, (as they told me,) but they would not hearken to him, knocked him on the head, stripped him naked, and ripped open his bowels. Another, seeing many of the Indians about his barn, ventured out, but was quickly shot down. There were three others belonging to the same garrison, who were killed; the Indians getting up on the roof of the barn, had advantage to shoot down upon them over their fortification. Thus these murderous wretches went on burning and destroying all before them. At length they came and beset our own house, and quickly it was the dolefulest day that ever mine eyes saw. The house stood upon the edge of a hill; some of the Indians got behind the hill, others into the barn, and others behind any thing that would shelter them; from all which places they shot against the house, so |