La captive des Mohawks

About this book

"La captive des Mohawks" by Edward Sylvester Ellis is a frontier adventure novel written in the mid-19th century. Set on the post-Revolutionary New York frontier, it centers on settler Alfred Haverland, his spirited daughter Ina, and the shrewd Yankee scout Seth Jones as they confront Mohawk raiders; the plot quickly becomes a high-stakes captivity-and-rescue tale that also draws in the determined young hunter Everard Graham.

The opening of the novel shows Alfred Haverland clearing his homestead when the loquacious frontiersman Seth Jones arrives with troubling news that Indians have been stirred to violence. After spotting warriors near the family spring, they hastily load a river-boat to escape by night, but Ina is seized on the bank as gunfire erupts and the others drift to safety. Returning travelers discover the Haverland cabin in flames; Everard Graham, an ally of the family, meets Seth at the ruins, and the two pledge to rescue Ina. They trail the Mohawks across streams and a moonlit prairie; a scouting mishap sends Seth tumbling into the enemy camp while Graham is chased across open ground and evades capture by outwitting his pursuers at a river. Captive among the warriors, Seth keeps his composure through taunts and painful tests, setting the stage for a cunning bid to turn the tables.