In December the commissioners received a letter from Captain John Collins in Schenectady about a Christian boy who had been taken captive by “some of our upper nations.” The commissioners still used “Christian” to mean “European” even though by this time many Native Americans and African Americans were also Christian. They had not yet adopted the use of the term “white,” or at least not in their records.
The boy was taken captive along with this father, who was employed driving horses for traders, and “a negro.” No mention is made of what happened to the other two captives. The boy was taken to Canojoharie (which during this period was one of the two major Mohawk (Kaniengeha’ka) towns, then moved to “the foremost Castle,” which probably means Tiononderoga. According to Collins’s letter, the Indians to whom the boy was given treated him badly and he was advised by other Indians to run away for fear of his life. He now wanted the Christians to rescue him from the “fury of the heathen.” The boy had forgotten English, and had to communicate by way of Laurence Claessen the interpreter.
The commissioners decided to take him in until Governor Burnet could advise them about what to do with him. They arranged to give him clothing and sent him to live with Captain [Evert] Bancker until spring. Like other captives mentioned in the records during this time, the boy, his father, and the African American taken captive with them, all remain unnamed.
In Library and Archives Canada’s digital copy of the original minutes, December 1725 starts here.
The Albany Indian Commissioners 