The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier

Scott Zesch

Apr 2007 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

On New Year's Day in 1870, ten-year-old Adolph Korn was kidnapped by an Apache raiding party. Traded to Comaches, he thrived in the rough, nomadic existence, quickly becoming one of the tribe's fiercest warriors. Forcibly returned to his parents after three years, Korn never adjusted to life in white society. He spent his last years in a cave, all but forgotten by his family.

That is, until Scott Zesch stumbled over his own great-great-great uncle's grave. Determined to understand how such a "good boy" could have become Indianized so completely, Zesch travels across the west, digging through archives, speaking with Comanche elders, and tracking eight other child captives from the region with hauntingly similar experiences. With a historians rigor and a novelists eye, Zesch's The Captured paints a vivid portrait of life on the Texas frontier, offering a rare account of captivity.

"A carefully written, well-researched contribution to Western history -- and to a promising new genre: the anthropology of the stolen." - Kirkus Reviews

Ratings and reviews

This is a fascinating read and well researched. This has multiple stories of kids—9 in total—that were kidnapped by Indians and lived to tell the tale about their experiences on the Texas frontier. It's amazing to think that just 2 generations ago all of these crazy stories and the wild west was a part of everyday life.

I live in Texas and am familiar with the places referenced in the book so it was of special interest. The story is well written - though, at times, a bit repetitive - and it held my interest. What an awful time in history of all parties involved. I can recommend this as a good read.

notes page 85 scalp dot watche dthe caomanches stab and scalp his mother...butchred her sister...

About the author

Scott Zesch grew up in Mason County, Texas and graduated from Texas A&M University and Harvard Law School. He is the author of the novel Alamo Heights, and he is the winner of the Western History Association's Ray Allen Billington Award. He divides his time between New York City and a ranch in Art, Texas (population 3).