Captive of Friendly Cove: Based on the Secret Journals of John Jewitt
John Jewitt was a British soldier whose ship was attacked by the Mowachaht people, a First Nation community, who resided on an island off the west coast of Vancouver Island. This is the graphic novel story of his capture and subsequent three years as a slave. Only his skills as a blacksmith saved him from being massacred, like the other members of his ship The Boston, on March 12, 1803. Words cannot capture the fear and the strangeness Jewitt endured, but the graphic novel medium conveys it all in riveting, color-filled frames. Adapting to a steady diet of fish and fish lard, watching the custom of decorating one’s body in vibrant colors that bespeak the Indians’ fearless and ferocious hunger for attacking their enemies, and more pull the reader into this unfamiliar world, where Jewitt and his irascible peer, Thompson, abide. Chief Maquinna wavers between friendliness and threats. This is remarkable historical fiction presented as a vibrant journalistic account, replete with vivid, unforgettable details to please readers of all ages.
