The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Young Captives, by Anonymous

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Title: The Young Captives
A Narrative of The Shipwreck and Suffering of John and William Doyley

Author: Anonymous

Release Date: February 8, 2004 [EBook #10983]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE YOUNG CAPTIVES:

A Narrative of the Shipwreck and Sufferings of John and William Doyley.

[Illustration]

1850.

THE YOUNG CAPTIVES.

[Illustration]

Here is a picture of a fine large English ship, called the _Charles
Eaton_, which was wrecked in the Southern Ocean. The crew, you see, have
made a raft of some of the spars and planks of the ship, and having all
got upon it, are about cutting loose from the wreck, with the hope that
they may reach one of the distant islands.

Poor men! they did indeed reach the island; but only to meet a more
dreadful death than that threatened them by the waves. Overcome with
fatigue and anxiety, they no sooner gained the shore, than they all,
captain, crew, and passengers, threw themselves on the earth, and soon
were fast asleep. In this helpless state, they were attacked by the
cruel and blood-thirsty savages who inhabited the island, and all
barbarously murdered, except two little boys, John and William Doyley.

These children, sons of a gentleman and lady who had been passengers
in the ill-fated ship, were kept in captivity by the savages for many
years.

At the time of the shipwreck, John was a stout lad, thirteen or fourteen
years old; but little William was a mere infant, being scarcely two
years of age! Think what a dreadful life these poor little orphans had
before them! Their kind parents cruelly murdered, and themselves
prisoners to the barbarous murderers!

At first the savages treated them harshly, and made them endure all
kinds of privation and hardship. Finally, after changing from one cruel
master to another several times, they were purchased by one more humane
than the rest, named Dupper, who took them to his home o