So, Are You Interested?

While I, myself, know I have a great interest in the events that took place during the 1704 Deerfield Massacre, I was unsure of how the topic would be of interest to potential readers and/or publishers.

However, after looking at the comments on the order page for the Captive Histories book, I saw comments such as the one below.

This encouraged me to see that there are indeed audiences with interest, not only in the raid itself, but in Eunice Williams; whom I previously stated I would like to follow in my narrative.

I am also aware that non-fiction stories are growing in popularity with contemporary audiences and therefore, should be of interest to publishers.

In my research, I discovered a couple of books already on the topic; however, besides the ones written by captives themselves, most are fiction stories. Mercy by Caroline B. Cooney is based on a real person called Mercy Carter, who was also a captive that decided to stay just like Eunice. Mercy is a piece of fiction and therefore, many events have been fabricated with very little fact actually present in the book.

While works of fiction, these books give me hope that my story will be of interest to audiences and publishers alike, possibly even more so, as the added feature of being a true story could potentially engage people even more.

Problems, Problems, and Just More Problems!

My biggest issue with the Deerfield Massacre, as a non-fiction story, is the lack of dialogue. While I can find plenty of information from many different sources, a lot of my dialogue will be coming solely from Reverend John Williams in The Redeemed Captive.

To try and solve this problem, I looked online in an attempt to find any other records which may include quotes from other captors, and I was able to find mention of a book. Captive Histories: English, French and Native Narratives of the 1704 Deerfield Raid (Native Americans of the Northeast: Culture, History & the Contemporary) of which is said to “draw together an unusually rich body of original sources that tell the story of the 1704 French and Indian attack on Deerfield, Massachusetts, from different vantage points.” as well as letters between the captives.

While this book should be very helpful, there are no online copies, nor can I find it in any local libraries. I was therefore forced to order the book but it has not yet arrived. This could prove difficult if it doesn’t arrive with enough time for me to analyse dialogue, and comparing captive stories to try and work out the truth.

Gutkind said, ‘Libel law requires writers to be certain that what they write is true.’ But in a slight contradiction, he added, ‘By contrast, you can pretty much say what you want about dead people.’ Which makes me believe that, as long as I state I am writing with presumption instead of solid fact, I can write as I wish.

Who Has a Better Story?

‘Creative nonfiction writers have a complicated obligation to their readers: to entertain like novelists but to educate like journalists.’

Like Gutkind says, I want my story’s narrative to flow with entertainment, yet be informative in order to educate my readers on this particularly interesting historical event.

With all the information I found on the Williams family, I know I want to follow their story to lead the plot forward. However, I am undecided on whether to stick to the whole family or focus more on a single member, namely seven year old Eunice.

The main reason I am thinking of Eunice is due to the uniqueness of her story as she decided to stay with the Natives and decline ransom; whereas most of the other captives went back to Deerfield. I really believe her story would creative an engaging plot line.

Leading on from this, my biggest debate when it comes to narrative is whether to write in a continuous narrative, putting all the events in chronological order or mix it up. I could do this by starting with Eunice’s wedding day, where it could be assumed that she thought of her birth family and perhaps had flashbacks to her capture.

If I decide to follow Eunice's life story, this timeline will be something to keep note of, especially if I decide to write in a chronological order.

 

Planting the Roots of Research

‘Like Whicher, I needed to distinguish the meaningful evidence from the red herrings, and then to put the facts in a sequence that told a story.’

Although I am not working on a detective case but rather a period of history, Kate Summerscale’s point of having to work out the difference between false evidence and facts, rings true to my story due to the many different accounts of the event.

My research has shown me that most of the historical accounts revolve around quotes of Reverend John Williams, whom I have already previously mentioned through his book. I have therefore decided to research further into the Williams family story, while matching their accounts up to other captives.

‘Fact-checking is what makes the (story) trustworthy in the eyes of the reader.’ – Gutkind.

The William’s family consisted of John Williams (who was a current, prominent Puritan minister), and Eunice Mather (who was the cousin of Cotton Mather, a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer. Known for his vigorous support for the Salem witch trials.) The eight Williams children; Eleazer, 16, Samuel, 15, Esther, 13, Stephen, 9, Warham, 5, Eunice, 7, John Jr, 1, and Jerusha, 6-weeks.

Eleazer Williams was away at school when the raid’s began and therefore, was the only member of the family to escape captivity. John Jr and Jerusha were killed during the raid while the rest of the Williams family were part of the 112 taken captive. The day after the raid, part of the way through the 300-mile journey to Canada, a Mohawk warrior killed Mather after she fell, crossing the icy waters of the Green River.

As April came around, the Natives took Williams and three of his children - Esther, Samuel and Warham - to Montreal. All four were turned over to the French authorities. Stephen stayed in the woods with the Abenaki for 14 months, until he was ransomed and sent to join his father in captivity. Eunice was taken to live with Catholic Mohawks in a small mission fort near Montreal called Kahnawake. She was adopted by a family that had lost a daughter to smallpox. The family gave her a new name: A'ongonte, meaning ‘she who has been planted like an ash.’ She was also baptized Catholic and given the name Marguerite.

By 1706, five of the Williams family were ransomed and sent home, Eunice stayed with her adoptive family, later marrying a Mohawk Native at 16.

When Murder Becomes Love

“To make scenes authentic and special, writers attempt to include memorable small or unusual details…”

I have decided to research into the Deerfield massacre as due to the large amounts of information in history books I am able to find the small and unusual details to include in my non-fiction story.

The Deerfield massacre was one of many attacks during Queen Anne’s War (The second war in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, Queen Anne’s was between 1702 and 1713.)

The raid was issued under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville, and had been expected in Deerfield yet was not fully prepared for. On February 28^th 1704, 48 French men and 200 Native Abenaki, Iroquois, Wyandot, and Pocumtuc forces (later joined by another 30 to 40 Pennacook) left most of their equipment and supplies 25 to 30 miles north of the town and a closer camp 2 miles from Deerfield where they were able to watch the villagers go inside for the night.

Many of the villagers believed they were safe thanks to the large wall surrounding much of the village that had a night duty guard on standby. It is unsure what happened to the guard, some accounts say he fell asleep allowing the Native’s to get inside while others say he called for the alarm to be sounded yet was not heard.

On the 29th, just before dawn, the raid began burning part of the town, killing 47 villagers, and taking 112 settlers captive to Canada, of whom 60 were later redeemed. Reverend John Williams later recalled in his 1707 book The Redeemed Captive that "with horrid shouting and yelling", the raiders launched their attack "like a flood upon us."

This link shows a list of the villagers who were either killed or captured.

http://www.babcock-acres.com/Misceallaneous/deerfield_captives_of_1704.htm

Map showing the walk captives were forced to make.

Join Me Around the Campfire

‘Creative nonfiction writers have a complicated obligation to their readers: to entertain like novelists but to educate like journalists.’ – Lee Gutkind.

To entertain and to educate, is the aim when telling a good true story according to Gutkind, and I would have to agree but with a good twist.

I believe, the thing that makes a true story even better, is disbelief. Campfire stories are a good example. Sitting around a fire, trying to think of the strangest story you have ever heard. The ones where people refuse to believe what you are saying is true - until they go and research it for themselves.

So join me around the campfire while I give a brief intro to three different tales while identifying their potential to make good ‘true stories’.

Edward Mordake (sometimes referred to as Mordrake)

First accounted for in an 1895 'Boston Post' article, Mordrake was a man of English Heritage who was said to have a face on the back of his head which he referred to as his ‘devil twin’.

He claimed that the face whispered to him when he was alone ‘things that could only come from hell’ and he felt tortured enough to committed suicide at the age of 23.

While it is entirely possible for someone to be born with a face on the back of their head, it is difficult to believe that the face was that of the devils and therefore reflects more of a ‘tall tale’ than a true story.

It should be mentioned that there are no dates of birth and death for Mordrake, nor are there any pictures/paintings; although it was rumoured that Mordake kept himself in isolation and therefore, it is doubtful he would have allowed any photographs to be taken.

NOTE: The picture below shows a sculpture of what Mordrake is expected to have looked like.

Sweeney Todd

Widely known as a musical, Sweeney Todd is believed to be nothing more than a work of fiction However, Todd was a real person born October 26, 1756 with a rough upbringing and a ‘taste’ for murder.

It was not proved how many murders Todd committed exactly but on a police raid, the clothes for at least 160 people were found.

Todd’s story would be interesting to look into as it would educate readers of the true story and I could search online for newspaper clippings and see if there are existing police reports from the time.

My problem would be finding an interested audience, as many people will feel as though they already know the story due to the number of films and musical; therefore, the story may be considered ‘over-told.

The Deerfield Massacre

The 1704 Raid on Deerfield occurred during Queen Anne's War, on February 29th when French and Native American forces attacked the English frontier settlement at Deerfield, Massachusetts. The attack happened just before dawn, and part of the town was burnt, killing 47 villagers, and 112 settlers were taken captive to Canada, of whom 60 were later redeemed.

I’m interested in this event as some of the captives (mainly children) decided to stay with their captors and were later adopted into families. I would like to see if I can find out why they chose to stay.

History books will come in handy as this is a documented part of time and therefore there will be lots of research available with true accounts; however it will be a task to sort through the mass amounts of research and decide which accounts are true.