The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier | Scott Zesch

The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier | Scott Zesch | Wonderful account of those who lived in two different worlds

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The Captured: A Tr...

	The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier Scott Zesch St. Martin's Griffin, 2005 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 31 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Praise for Scott Zesch

Computers, flash drives, and Internet download capability permit today's authors amazing ease and accuracy in their writing. Still, it requires a writer to do months and sometimes years of research then sit before a keyboard and peck out twenty-six little letters of an alphabet into words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters and volumes that warrant a reader to occasion his or her valuable past time. Scott Zesch has done a remarkable job here with America's past. Anyone who reads The Captured cannot help but become connected to the captives in this book. Scott not only tells a riveting story, he does it with style in what might be called that ambiguous category known as creative non-fiction---truth which evolves as an expression that explores all possibilities, a release of imagination in a world that argues what realities really were.
This is a must read for every Western Historian, Writer, and serious reader, especially Texans. Highly recommended. Wayne Bethard, pharmacist, medical historian, author of Lotions, Potions, and Deadly Elixirs-Frontier Medicine in America.

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Wonderful account of those who lived in two different worlds

In his effort to understand the life of an ancestor taken captive by the Indians, the author undertakes an extraordinary search into the stories of other captives. The result is a gripping account, weaving all their lives together with extensive documentation and remarkable understanding of the people involved. Perhaps the most important--and certainly the most surprising--ingrediant is the refusal of most of the captives to turn their backs on the ways of their "captors."

A First Rate Tale

As a practicing genealogist I've known the difficulty and frustration Scott Zesch experienced in seeking information about his ancestor, Adolph Korn, who was abducted by an Indian raiding party in 1870 on the Texas frontier.

Finding information can be difficult even when those we seek led less dramatic lives. Adolph Korn not only survived but delighted in the rough, nomadic life of his Comanche captors. For three years he fought alongside them against settlers, buffalo hunters, soldiers and other enemies that threatened their lifestyle. And, when forced to return to his parents, he was unable to fit into white society and became an eccentric who spent his final years as a near recluse.

There have been captivity narrative books before including some by former captives. Zesch went beyond many of these in his quest, interviewing surviving relatives, digging into dusty archives and meeting with Comanche elders to gain a better understanding of tribal ways. He does not romanticize about the hardships of life on the frontier or that of the Native Americans.

While Zesch found scanty records to piece together his third great-uncle's life he did uncover a wealth of detail about other captives from the same area of Texas. What many readers will find surprising is that the majority of captives - even some who witnessed the brutal murder and rape of family and friends - came to sympathize with their captors and a few even went back to live out their lives with them.

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A most excellent depiction of life on the Texas Frontier

As a Lehmann descendent, I found this book fascinating and historically accurate. A lot of time and effort went into the research for this book and Mr. Zesch has done an oustanding job. This book gives the reader a look at what life was like on the Texas Frontier in the 1800's. My ggg-grandfather Daniel Lehmann was the uncle of Herman Lehmann, the german boy who was captured by indians in 1870 and is mentioned throughout this book. We have read many accounts about Herman Lehmann and his life from various books and family history, and this is just one more look at his life and what his family went through during those days. One can only imagine the terror these families endured on a daily basis, living in fear of being attacked by the indians, but on the other hand you also get a glimpse of the indian's lives from their perspective as well as you try to understand their purpose and why they did what they felt they had to do in order to survive. I highly recommend this book to anybody that wants to learn more about their Texas heritage and the lives their ancestors lived.

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Fantastic piece of Western history

Author Scott Zesch started out researching information on an ancestor, Adolph Korn. What he ended up with is a fascinating book on the lives of other families of Texas settlers who had children abducted and also their frontier lifestyles. Also included are the stories of not just his ancestor Adolph Korn, but other children who were Indian abductees as well. Incredibly well researched (especially for an Aggie.) He leaves no stone unturned. The stories these abductees had of their lives with the different tribes are absolutely fascinating. Not having read much before about Indian abductions, especially intriquing was how difficult re-assimilation back to their native white culture was for these former child abductees. Even if they had only spent a few months with the Indians. A great factual look back at what life on frontier was like. Highly recommended.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7

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