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Subject: [GM-L] Testimony of Ann Jenkins on Indian Attack 1694
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 19:45:24 EDT
Nourse and Dr. Green mention Ann Jenkins in the Indian Wars ...here is her
testimony:
July 18, 1694, The deposition of "Ann Jenkins, her within written testimony,"
dated 1l June 1695, testimony in the trial of the noted Indian chief,
Bomazeen, at Boston furnishes details of the massacre at Oyster River.
Ann Jenkins, of full age, Testifieth & saith, that at Oyster River, on the
eighteenth of July last past, in the morning about the dawning of the day my
husband being up went out of the dore, & presently returning cried to me &
our children to run for our lives, for the Indians had beset the town:
whereupon my husband & myself fled with our children into our corne field, &
at our entrance into the field, Bomazeen, whom I have seen since I came out
of captivity in the prison, came towards us & about ten Indians more: & the
sd Bomazeen then shot at my husband and shote him down, ran to him & struck
him three blows on the head with a hatchet, scalped him & run him three times
with a bayonet. I also saw the said Bomazeen knock one of my children on the
head & tooke of her scalp & then put the child into her father's armes; and
then stabbed the breast. And Bomazeen also then killed my husband's
grandmother & scalped her, and then led me up to a house and plundered it &
then set it on fire & carried me & my three children into captivity, together
with the rest of our neighbors, whose lives were spared, being at first forty
nine: but in one miles goeing, or thereabouts, they killed three children, so
there remained forty six captives. & that night the company parted & the
captives were distributed, but before they parted I, this deponent, numbered
one hundred and fourty of Indians & fourteen Frenchmen & then, when I tooke
account, there were more firing at Woodman's garrison & at Burnhams garrison,
but the number unknown to me. Myself with nine captives more were carried up
to penecook & were Left with three Indians, & that party went to Greaten,
Bomazeen being their Commander. In nine days they returned & brought twelve
captives: & from thence with their canoes, sometimes a float, & sometimes
carried, untill that we came to Norridgeawocke, which took us fifteen dayes,
& staid about two months there, then dispersed into the woods, twoe or three
families in a place, & kept moving toe & froe, staeing about a week in a
place, until they brought us down to pemaquid & delivered us to Capt. March.
Bomazeen was my Master; his wife my Mistriss, untill Bomazeen was taken at
pemaquid; after that I belonged to his wife, untill about two months before I
was brought down to pemaquid; for then the Indian Minister, called prince
Waxaway, bought me, when I was brought to great weakness and extremity by
their bad usage, and showed me great kindness; by whose means, under God, my
life was preserved. My mistriss was very cruel to me & I was cruelly whipt
seaven times & they intended so to proceed, once a week, untill they had
killed me; but that the Indian Minister had compassion on me & rescued me.
That Indian Minister also bought three captives more, and freed them froin
their hard usage. Their names are Nicholas Frost, Sarah Braggonton and
Thomsand Drue. The mark of W AN JENKINS.
http://www.usgennet.org/~nhstraff/military.htm
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