A Captivity of Nearly Three Years Among the Savages of Nootka Sound

John Jewitt, a blacksmith by trade, spent the years 1803-1806 as a slave among the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound, off the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, after the trading vessel on which he served as armorer was attacked and its crew murdered by the native tribal chief Maquinna. Maquinna spared Jewitt's life on condition that the Jewitt would be his slave, would repair his muskets and make daggers, knives, and fishing gear for him. Jewitt's memoir is a considered a major source of information about the customs of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest.

By : John R. Jewitt (1783 - 1821)

01 - A Blacksmith by Trade 02 - As Armorer on the Ship ''Boston'' 03 - Crew Murdered by King Maquinna 04 - One Man Found Alive in the Hold 05 - The Ship Burns, Starts a Journal 06 - The Village of Nootka 07 - Cooking, Dress, and Decoration 08 - Canoes, Songs, Slavery 09 - Neighboring Tribes 10 - Winter Quarters 11 - Ceremonial Tests of Fortitude 12 - Haunted by the Ghosts of Murdered Sailors 13 - Nootka Goes to War 14 - Jewitt Forced to Marry and Adopt Native Dress 15 - Jewitt Rejects His Native Wife 16 - Rescue! 17 - Home to Boston via Macau and Canton