Based on John Jewitt's journals, this artful book of historical fiction recounts an amazing slice of history After his ship is burned and his shipmates killed, John Jewitt lived as a captive of the Mowachaht Indians for three years on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Readers can follow Jewitt's adventures in this graphic novel as he plies his skills as a blacksmith, saves the life of his only remaining crew member, and comes up with a strategy to free them both.
Account of the three years spent in captivity by John Jewitt, of the American trading ship 'Boston', among the Indians of Nootka Sound on the southwest Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, from 1803-1806.
John R. Jewitt's story of being captured and enslaved by Maquinna, the great chief of the Mowachaht people, is both an adventure tale of survival and an unusual perspective on the First Nations of the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. On March 22, 1803, while anchored in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Boston was attacked by a group of Mowachaht warriors. Twenty-five of her 27 crewmen were massacred, their heads "arranged in a line" for survivor John R. Jewitt to identify. Jewitt and another survivor, John Thompson, became 2 of some 50 slaves owned by the chief known as Maquinna. Among other duties, they were forced to carry wood for three miles and fight for Maquinna when he slaughtered a neighbouring tribe. But their worst fear came from knowing that slaves could be killed whenever their master chose. Since most of the Mowachaht wanted the two whites dead, they never knew what would come first—freedom or death. After Jewitt was rescued, following 28 months in captivity, he wrote a book of his experiences. It appeared in 1815 and became known as Jewitt's Narrative. It proved so popular that it is still being reprinted today.
"Fur-trading with the Northwest Coast Indians in the early nineteenth century could produce huge profits when the beautiful skins of the sea otter were sold in the Chinese port of Canton, but the work was risky and hazardous." "In 1803 the ship Boston dropped anchor in Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island, its crew ready to barter for pelts. Instead, the ship was overrun by the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) Indians, whose chief Maquinna, had ordered the murder of the entire crew. John R. Jewitt, the ship's blacksmith, was wounded but was spared by Maquinna, who enslaved him for his skills as a metalworker." "This fascinating book brings together a most distinguished collection of historical material: Jewitt's Journal of his two-and-a-half-year captivity; a parallel Narrative prepared by Richard Alsop, a well-known writer of the time, based on the diary and Alsop's interviews with Jewitt but heavily embellished by Alsop; and a wealth of period illustrations. Jewitt's Journal and Alsop's Narrative have never before been published together in English." "A Foreword by Richard I. Inglis of the Royal British Columbia Museum provides historical and ethnographical insights into the fur trade and the Jewitt captivity." "At the heart of the book are the illustrations done by the official artists on the expeditions of James Cook in 1778 and Alejandro Malaspina in 1791. Many of the drawings are of people Jewitt knew during his captivity. Others depict Nuu-chah-nulth terrain, dwellings, canoes, whaling equipment, masks, and ceremonial rattles."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt is a classic of its kind. In 1802, when he was nineteen, Jewitt signed on the brigantine Boston, which set sail from England for the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. At Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island, the ship stopped to trade furs with the native people. Days later, the powerful chief Maquinna and his warriors massacred the ship's entire crew--except for Jewitt and John Thompson. Held captive as a slave for two years, young Jewitt experienced adventure and hardship as he learned the language, took part in many facets of native life and even married against his will. Throughout it all, he kept a forbidden journal recording his activities and observations. Hilary Stewart enriches this reprint of Jewitt's narrative with background information on the history of the coast and a chapter on the remainder of his colourful life.
