“Follow the River” by James Alexander Thom is a novel from the 1980’s but based on the true-life story of Mary Ingles, who was kidnapped by Indians in 1755. Mary and her two young sons were taken, along with a sister-in-law and several others. After a long journey into the wilds of the early American wilderness, Mary endures childbirth, witnessing murders, and is subjected to a deeply foreign culture than she is used to.
She is traded to trappers in an Indian village who
exploit her skills as a seamstress and use her and another woman for much of their
hard labor, including harvesting nuts in the forest. Mary uses her sharp mind
to memorize as much of the landscape as possible as they are taken away and is
finally able to incorporate it as she and the other woman escape into the wild.
While much of the book, especially at the beginning was extremely difficult to read due to the violent nature of the attack on their village, most of the story revolves around the arduous journey Mary makes on her way back home. It is extremely challenging for two women with little to no resources to walk from basically Cincinnati to western Virginia. They face all manner of serious problems on their journey, mostly starvation, exposure, and having to navigate and cross rivers to get back home.
The descent into the extreme hardship was both
horrifying and gripping to the reader, and while this book was difficult to
read it was also engaging. Our group had a lively conversation about the incredible
journey she made, including looking at maps trying to figure out the route she
had to take. The trials faced by this early pioneer woman were inspiring, and
we were glad we learned about this story.
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