French and Indian Cruelty; Exemplified in the Life and Various

1758. WILLIAMSON, Peter. French and Indian Cruelty; Exemplified in the Life and Various Vicissitudes of Fortune, of Peter Williamson, A Disbanded Soldier. Containing A Particular Account of the MAnners, Customs and Dress of the Savages...A Summary of the Transactions of the Several Provinces of Pennsylvania(Including Philadelphia), New York, New England...From the Commencement of the War in Those Parts, Particularly Those Relative to the Intended Attack on Crown Point and Niagara, and An Accurate and Succinct Detail of the Siege of Oswego.... Glasgow: Printed by J. Bryce and D. Paterson, For the Benefit of the Unfortunate Author, 1758. iv, 112pp. Modern speckled calf, green gilt morocco label, ornate gilt spine, gilt inner dentelles, A.e.g. Internally clean. Very good. Howes W-500, "b." Vail 526A. Sabin 104469. Ayer 317. Reese, The Struffle for North America 40. The self-styled "third edition, with considerable improvements," issued the year after the superlatively rare first, of what Vail calls "the most popular of all Indian captivities." Peter Williamson was born in Scotland but was kidnapped and sold into bondage in Pennsylvania when he was eight years old. His master proved kind and ultimately his benefactor, leaving Williamson enough money to marry and establish himself on a farm near the forks of the Delaware. In 1754 he was captured by Indians, probably Delaware, held captive for three months, and submitted to tortures and humiliations. Escaping in January 1755, he joined the army and was first sent to Boston, then with the expedition to defend Oswego. When Oswego was captured by the French, he was wounded and taken prisoner. Ultimately, he was paroled and sent to England, arriving in November 1756. Williamson's narrative is vivid and detailed, deserving of the interest and editions it evoked. It served as a model for many later narratives, and numerous fictional stole details from it. One of the earliest obtainable editions, the first existing in only a few copies.