Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Boston was attacked by a group of Mowachaht people.
Twenty-five of her 27 crewmen were massacred, their heads "arranged in a line" for survivor John R. Jewitt
Jewitt and another survivor, John Thompson, became two of some 50 slaves owned by the chief known as Maquinna. Among other duties, they were forced to carry wood for three miles and fight for Maquinna when he slaughtered a neighbouring tribe. But their worst fear came from knowing that slaves could be killed whenever their master chose. Since most of the Mowachaht wanted the two whites dead, they never knew what would come first- freedom or death...
After Jewitt was rescued, he wrote a book of his experiences. It appeared in 1815 and became known as Jewitt's Narrative. It proved to be so popular that more than 185 years later it is still being reprinted. This is a modernized edition published in BC, the land where Jewitt spent 28 months in slavery.
