My wife and I like to spend time walking through cemeteries, the older the
better. If one observes carefully, a change in American life is written
on the tombstones and in the way cemeteries are laid out. Older
cemeteries are divided into family plots that grew larger and larger as
families grew and prospered in one geographic location. Newer cemeteries
have lost this feature due in large part, I believe, to the mobility of
people in our modern world. Few people are born, raised, marry and live
to old age in one location. Our nation is a transient one and a proof of
that is seen in the many single graves in our cemeteries.

Often when walking through a cemetery I pause to consider what the lives of those buried there were like. Whether young or old I am sure each one had a story that would be interesting.

Scott Zesch wandered through a cemetery in Mason TX and by chance
discovered the grave of Adolph Korn, a relative who had been taken captive by Indians in 1870. The grave was in disarray and clearly neglected. Why his family had allowed this to happen troubled Zesch and he determined to find out the reasons.

The Captured is the story that emerged from his search. It is not the
story of Adolph Korn alone but includes stories of several other white
children who were captured by Indians, spent varying lengths of time with
their captors and then were returned to their families, in some cases
against their will, having been fully integrated into Indian cultures.

Families of captured children did not have an easy time when attempting to get them back. The federal government’s bureaucracy and unwillingness to pay ransoms when demanded many times hindered the process. Some families simply gave up and moved away. So it was with Temple Friend’s family that moved from Texas where he was captured to El Dorado, KS. Finally, after four years in captivity, Temple was reunited with them, yet it was anything but joyful. Temple was completely unable to integrate himself back into White society and simply wasted away, dying at 15 years of age. He is buried in El Dorado.

Zesch has written the stories of the nine abducted children in such a way
that they come alive to the reader. I recommend this book to anyone who
is interested in history, particularly that with a local connection. You
will not be disappointed.

Review by Paul Erickson, November 25, 2004

 

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