The Captives of Abb’s Valley

This is a true account of the 1786 murders of the Moore family of Virginia by Indians and the abduction of the survivors. This remarkable book, long suppressed because of the politically incorrect facts it contains about early frontier life and the interactions between white settlers and Indians, provides a dramatic insight into the sufferings of the early European pioneers in America. Indians regularly captured whites for use as slaves-although those were the lucky ones. The less fortunate were tortured and killed, often for sport. Written with a strong focus on Presbyterianism, the book’s value lies in its dispassionate detailing of the everyday life and dangers for families on the frontier. Clothing, food, livestock, the scarcity of cutlery, the cruelty of the Indians and the treatment of their captives are drawn from the firsthand accounts of people interviewed by the author, a son of one of the captives.