A statue of Hannah Duston in Boscawen, New Hampshire. Photo by Craig Michaud via Wikipedia
A non-Indian woman who was taken captive during King William's War collected a reward for scalping 10 Abenaki people, according to The New York Times and other accounts. Hannah Duston and her infant daughter were captured in March 1697. As they were being marched away from Haverhill, the six-day-old baby was killed by an Abenaki warrior, according to the accounts. After being marched 100 miles north to an area in present-day New Hampshire, Duston and two other captives struck back. According to the accounts, they attacked and killed two Abenaki men, two women and six children while they slept. Duston and her companions then fled down the Merrimack River with the scalps. They eventually collected bounties from the Massachusetts court, although the exact amounts remain in dispute, according to Wikipedia. A statue in New Hampshire now memorializes Duston's actions. She's also recognized by other monuments and historical markers in the region. Get the Story:
Retracing a Mother’s Path of Escape Along a Wintry Merrimack (The New York Times 11/15)
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