Please log in to manage your collection or post a review.
View:
Item-Level Details
| Alternate Title: |
The Squaw Chief; or, The Earl's Half-Breed Daughter. A Tale of the Old Colony Days |
|---|---|
| Subjects / Tags: |
Arundel, Earls of Church, Benjamin, 1639-1718 Historical fiction History Indians of North America King Philip's War, 1675-1676 New England Philip, Sachem of the Wampanoags, -1676 Plymouth (Mass. : Town) Pocasset Indians Puritans Rhode Island Royalists Transvestites Wampanoag Indians War stories Wars Western stories Women heroes Women soldiers |
| ENGL 693 Spring 2018's Thoughts: | Written in 1872, Weetamora, The Squaw Satchem tells the tale of the Indian queen Weetamora and her daughter, White Doe, during King Philip’s war. Frederick Whittaker, a veteran of the union cause and the author of the novel, had some success in the dime novel genre, publishing approximately 50 stories for dime novels and story papers, and is noted as the author of “The Mustang Hunters, etc. etc.” in the front matter of this volume. The story relies heavily on the Pocahontas trope, as Weetamora, a beautiful and powerful Indian Queen, begins the story a heart-broken maiden, abandoned by her white lover, Lord Arthur Arundel. She raises her daughter, White Doe, and teaches her English, reading, and writing in honor of the lost relationship. White Doe has a chance encounter with a Puritan, Mr. Church, and a flamboyant cavalier, Charles Hazleton, while practicing marksmanship in a field. She falls immediately in love with Hazleton, and, after having discovered her parentage, resigns to help the Plymouth settlers in their conflict. White Doe bids Hazleton to meet her, but she is discovered, and the meeting turns into an ambush per Weetamora’s orders. Before what they believe to be their death, they admit their love for each other, and it is revealed that Hazleton is Arundel’s son. The two escape certain death after White Doe murders a fellow tribesman and secures her place as a white woman. The vengeful Weetamora eventually discovers the errors of her ways, but is cut down by English musket fire. White Doe takes on the name Dora and is accepted by the Puritans at Plymouth after she reveals Weetamora and Arthur’s wedding contract. She and Arundel then marry and have many children in England, with Weetamora’s blessing. The story relies on the notion that the coexistence of Indian and White identity is impossible. White Doe must literally annihilate her Indian identity to survive, and Weetamora, a textbook example of the Indian princess trope, encourages her daughter to do so through marriage when it is revealed that there is a document (treaty, as it where) that proves White Doe is the offspring of a white man. It is notable for the fact that a Native woman does, eventually, assimilate into American/English society, yet this is only allowed because of White Doe’s radical break from her society. She is allowed to keep none of her culture in the transition, which she must completely abandon to join “civilized” life."--Doug DePalma, graduate student at NIU enrolled in ENGL 693, Spring 2018 |
Beadle's Dime Novels edition
(source: NIU Libraries) | Online Full Text: |
Northern Illinois University
|
|---|---|
| Series: | Beadle's Dime Novels no. 249 |
| Item: | Weetamora, the Squaw Sachem; or, The Earl's Half-breed Daughter. A Tale of Old Colony Days |
| Author: |
Whittaker, Frederick, 1838-1889
|
| Date: |
February 14, 1872 |
| Publisher: |
Beadle and Company
(New York (N.Y.): 98 William St.)
--
United States
|
| OCLC Number: |
123345859 |
Beadle's New Dime Novels edition
(source: NIU Libraries) | Online Full Text: |
Northern Illinois University
|
|---|---|
| Series: | Beadle's New Dime Novels no. 99 |
| Item: | The Squaw Chief; or, The Earl's Half-Breed Daughter. A Tale of the Old Colony Days |
| Author: |
Whittaker, Frederick, 1838-1889
|
| Date: |
September 3, 1878 |
| Publisher: |
Beadle and Adams (1872-1898)
(New York (N.Y.): No. 98 William Street)
--
United States
|
| OCLC Number: |
18174994 |
Please log in to manage your collection or post a review.