The NRR Voice

Read the remarkable story of Mary Draper Ingles’ capture by Indians. She escaped captivity and walked hundreds of miles to return home to the her settlement in the New River Valley. Throughout her journey, Mary followed the river to find her way home.  Mary survived starvation, harsh weather, and walking hundreds of miles barefoot through the woods in order to return to her family-

“Down the New River they traveled north (the New flows south to north and crosses the mountains from east to west, cutting through every ridge of the Alleghenies), until they reached the Kanawha, where they made camp at a salt spring. There the captives were put to work making salt by boiling water — in their own (stolen) kettles.

During the month it took the Indians and their captives to reach the Shawnee village on the banks of the Scioto and Ohio rivers, Mary Draper Ingles was busy memorizing landmarks, tying knots in a string to keep count of the days of travel, and, always, noting that they followed rivers.

What waited for the prisoners at the Indian village wasn’t pleasant. Together with white prisoners from other raids, Bettie Draper and Henry Lenard were made to run the gauntlet — pass between two parallel lines of Indians wielding clubs and whips. The best they could hope for was reaching the end scratched and bruised and humiliated; the worst possible outcome was death.

Again, Mary Ingles was treated well, being spared the running of the gauntlet. She determined to put herself to good use, hoping to keep her children with her.”

Follow this link to read the entire article:

http://www.blueridgecountry.com/archive/mary-draper-ingles.html