Fanny Kelly (1845–1904)

This book was originally published in 1873, and what I think I loved most about it was knowing the history and depictions of the time were accurate because it was written by the person who had actually lived through the ordeal.

There are a lot of other captivity stories out there, but usually they're written by another person, who gathers historical notes, uses letters and diaries to tell that person's story. An example would be The Woman With the Blue Tattoo, by Margot Mifflin. That was show more another book I really enjoyed, but this one, IMO, because it is written by Fanny Kelly herself, is a standout.

Of course, Fanny Kelly was also a person of her time. This means that the writing, which was exceptional throughout, was also florid and maudlin at times. Even so, she does not spare the reader when she speaks of the atrocities that took place.

All in all, quite the intriguing story. It made me look Fanny Kelly up so I could read a bit more about her. show less

These things are always difficult to review. From a literary standpoint it is no masterpiece but the narrative content itself is so compelling we forgive the awkwardness of the author, so I tend to look at these primarily in a historical context and then look at how effective the narrator is at getting the feel of the experience across. The general caveat here is that there is little corroborating evidence for what Kelly says her day to day life was like in captivity other than other show more accounts of different captivities. The very sameness of many of these accounts should caution a reader to question what was the motivation of the author in writing the book and what was the character of the writer.

Outside the general plan of the tribe's movement Kelly notes two types of incidents, every day type things, and exceptional occurrences. The special occurrences stand out more vividly and would appear to be less capable of exaggeration because they were seen by many and are easily corroborated or oppositely, not easily hid. However, for Kelly's day to day treatment which ranged from gentle and kind to torture and threat, we don't have any way of knowing what is true from what is livened up to make the narrative more compelling. It may all be true, but we know that Kelly had an iron in the fire as far as restitution from the Indian Annuities, as they are called, and making her story more compelling would do much in a direction to get Congress to see her grievance more favorably.

Now I'm not discounting that being taken hostage by a hostile native people and being used as a slave, having your child murdered, and being abused daily in numerous ways isn't enough, I'm just looking at the more spectacular claims.

Kelly's book makes for lively reading. She clearly has insight and sympathy for the Indians' motivation and condition but she comes across as a staunch Manifest Destinyer: "this is gonna happen so just get used to it." She sees no moral dilemma in taking Indian lands that are clearly left wasted and fallow by the nomads. This probably is what the majority of white Americans felt. The Indians weren't putting the land to good use, so what was the problem? Cultural sensitivity wasn't even thought about at this time.

In the end, the eye for an eye mentality leaves everyone savage and claims that the Indians previously were a gentler race or just learned barbarity from the white man when accounts of Indian on Indian depredation from this and earlier times are taken into account just shows how beastly we are to each other without provocation. We don't need any training.

A good first hand look into another ugly chapter of US history. show less

This is the Lakeside Press special edition of the story of Fanny Kelly, a 19th century pioneer woman. While travelling west in a wagon train with her husband and step-daughter, their party was attacked and she and the daughter were captured. Although circumspect in the intimate details, Mrs. Kelly did manage to convey how she managed to survive among her captors. It's likely her story was the basis for many a western movie due to the quest her husband launched to find her. The unbelievable show more cruelty on both sides is on display as she relates the murder and mutilation of the step-daughter after she helped her run away and the tale of a wagon train that deliberately abandoned a box of poisoned crackers, knowing they would be found and eaten by the starving Indians. The thirst in the east for narratives of the west led a former friend of Mrs. Kelly's to try and usurp her story for financial gain. Their post-trauma legal wranglings and Mrs. Kelly's eventual compensation by the federal government for her losses are aspects of the move west that seldom get heard. show less

In 1864, Fanny Kelly used her wits to survive five months as a captive of the Sioux Indians. The Indians killed most of her travelling companions before taking Fanny with them.

In addition to Fanny’s story, she relates a few short horror tales endured by other captives. The most disturbing recollections are the Indians brutality towards children.

This is a sad and savage story but it’s not without hope.