Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1941

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Foreword

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-13

Chapters 14-16

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapters 14-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 14 Summary: “New Cooking Pot”

Walking through the corn field, Molly notes the passage of time since she has been with the Senecas and since Josiah left. She arrives at Earth Woman’s lodge, where Earth Woman is firing clay pots made by Molly and Beaver Girl. Molly admires the pots but laments how long everything takes. Earth Woman insists that “a good thing is never made in a hurry” (397). Finally, in the afternoon the pots are cooled and examined. Molly is elated by her cooking pot, and the village children celebrate with her.

Shining Star calls Molly inside. While she is inside the lodge, Gray Wolf announces that Englishmen have come to speak with Chief Burning Sky. Squirrel Woman and Red Bird feel uneasy about the visitors’ arrival and discuss a private matter.

Molly emerges from the lodge in a new outfit of bright embroidered broadcloth. The children admire her and declare, “Corn Tassel is a Seneca woman now!” (402). Molly is confused when Squirrel Woman rushes her inside, instructs her to put on her deerskin, and brings her out to the corn field. Molly is forced to spend the night on the platform in the middle of the field. In the morning, she realizes that Squirrel Woman is keeping her from the English visitors and decides to disobey her orders.

Outside the council house, Molly eavesdrops on the visitors’ meeting with the chief. The Englishmen describe how the British have advanced across North America, pushing back the French. Chief Burning Sky laments the changes that Europeans have brought to the Indians and insists that the League of the Iroquois must meet before the Senecas can promise friendship with the British.

Molly is spotted by the English man, Captain Morgan, and brought inside. Molly is frightened by the man and tries to get away. When he begins reciting the Lord’s Prayer, however, her ability to speak English returns. When Captain Morgan offers to buy Molly with gold pieces, Molly feels afraid again. Chief Burning Sky firmly refuses to sell her, explaining that she has been adopted into the tribe. When Squirrel Woman pulls Molly away, Captain Morgan is concerned for her. Molly, however, feels relief.

Chapter 15 Summary: “The Rattlesnake”

Molly is at the river, watching Blue Jay swim; Turkey Feather and the other boys are catching fish. Shining Star and Squirrel Woman come along in a canoe and take Molly and Blue Jay with them to pick blueberries. As they are picking blueberries, Blue Jay encounters a poisonous snake. Molly stuns the snake by hitting it with a large stone, giving her time to take Blue Jay to safety.

Back at the village, the children recount the story of Molly saving Blue Jay. Turkey Feather is impressed by Molly’s courage, and Shining Star is deeply grateful. Old Fallenash arrives unexpectedly, overhearing the Senecas praising Molly’s bravery. He is delighted to hear this and tells Molly that the Senecas have taken her “to their hearts now,” and the bonds between them are so strong that the best thing she can do is to “make [her] home with them” (434).

When Fallenash and Molly are alone, Fallenash braces Molly to hear the bad news he has to share. He tells her that he has been to Marsh Creek Hollow since seeing her last and discovered that her family’s home and barn were burned immediately after they were taken. Molly’s brothers escaped the scene and told the neighbors what had happened. The neighbors’ pursuit, however, was of no help to the white captives; to travel more quickly, the Indians had taken Molly and Davy and killed the others.

Molly is crushed by the news of her parents’ death and that even her surviving brothers’ whereabouts is unknown. Although the news is painful, Fallenash wants her to know the truth so that she won’t “go on hopin’ and makin’ [herself] miserable” (439). Fallenash tells Molly that he has an Indian partner and son and plans to take his family to Quebec to avoid the English. Fallenash departs, and Molly is alone in her grief.

Chapter 16 Summary: “Born of a Long Ripening”

Days later, Molly is at the spring to collect water. Gray Wolf is there; he tells her that Captain Morgan is coming to deliver a message to the chief, but Gray Wolf believes he is also coming for Molly. Gray Wolf wants to bring Molly to Captain Morgan in hopes of receiving money in exchange. Molly insists that she wants to stay; she runs away and hides in the corn field.

Molly goes to Red Bird’s lodge, where she finds Shining Star. Shining Star tells Molly that, according to the chief’s orders, she cannot be taken away against her will. Molly listens to Shining Star’s instructions and spends the night hiding by the creek. The next day, Beaver Girl comes to the creek to bring Molly to the chief. Beaver Girl is upset at the thought of Molly leaving, but Molly resigns herself to a life in Fort Niagara.

In the village, Turkey Feather tells Molly that he has spoken to Chief Burning Sky on her behalf. Although he does not want to see her go, he believes that she longs to return to her own people, and he wants her to be happy.

On the way to the council house, the village children beg Molly not to leave. The council house is filled with people, and Captain Morgan is there. Chief Burning Sky explains that the situation of white captives will soon change since an alliance has been forged with the English. It is Molly’s choice; she can stay with the Senecas or be sold to Captain Morgan.

Both Chief Burning Sky and Captain Morgan speak to Molly directly, presenting her with her choices. Molly senses Shagbark’s empathy for her predicament and realizes that, in comparison, Captain Morgan doesn’t understand her at all. She feels loved by the Indians and believes that she belongs with them. She reflects on all that she learned with the Senecas and realizes that she blames war—not the Indians—for her suffering.

Molly announces that she will “live and die with the Senecas” (464), and the Indians celebrate Molly’s decision. Chief Burning Sky renames Molly as Little-Woman-of-Great-Courage. Molly remembers her mother’s words, encouraging her to be “strong and have great courage” (466). She feels happy and believes that her mother is happy for her, too.

Chapters 14-16 Analysis

Molly’s transformation as a member of the Seneca community is evident in these chapters. In an earlier section, in Chapter 9, Earth Woman deliberately presents Molly with the challenge of making a cooking pot; Molly is distracted from her grief and “[thinks] of the cooking-pot which one day she would make” (254). In Chapter 14, Molly has reached her goal. She has reached the end of the long process and is able to make a cooking pot just as well as Beaver Girl, her peer in the community. Molly has learned under the instruction of Earth Woman and has mastered a traditional skill that is in danger of being forgotten.

Molly is compared to Beaver Girl again when she appears in her broadcloth outfit. When Molly first came to the Senecas, she resented being dressed in Seneca fashion. Now, Molly delights in her broadcloth outfit. She looks admiringly at her clothes, and the village children declare that “Corn Tassel is dressed as fine as Beaver Girl!” (403). By comparing Molly to Beaver Girl in her appearance and in her skills, the children acknowledge that Molly is a young woman functioning as a full member of the community.

Molly’s protection of Blue Jay from the dangerous snake also cements her as part of the community and demonstrates the changes in her character. By this point in the novel, Molly cares deeply for Blue Jay; she throws the stone at the snake “with all the power of her love for the Indian baby” (427). Molly has not lost her sensitivity; she is still relieved to see that the snake was only stunned, not killed. However, because of her actions, Turkey Feather declares that she has even more courage than many Seneca girls.

A pivotal moment in this section is when Fallenash tells Molly that her family was killed (except for two brothers who escaped, and whose whereabouts are unknown). The news is painful, but it also releases Molly and brings closure to her grief. In Chapter 16, the narrator notes: “Not once since bidding Fallenash farewell had Molly thought of leaving the Indians” (444). Learning the truth about her family snuffs out Molly’s desire to escape, allowing her to more fully connect with the Senecas.

The truth about Molly’s family allows Molly to make the decision she does at the end of the novel. This choice—to go with Captain Morgan or to stay with the Senecas—is the climax of the book. It appears that Molly has the opportunity she has been longing for—to escape—but Molly discovers that her desires have changed. Speeches from Captain Morgan and Chief Burning Sky, and the interactions between those two characters, sharpen the contrast between the two cultures. The Seneca characters demonstrate a selfless willingness to let Molly go, and in this moment of freedom, Molly realizes that she belongs with them.