Indian Creek Massacre and Captivity of Hall Girls / Complete history of the massacre of sixteen whites on Indian creek, near Ottawa, Ill., and Sylvia Hall and Rachel Hall as captives in Illinois and Wisconsin during the Black Hawk war, 1832

The narrative recounts the massacre of settlers on Indian Creek and the subsequent capture of Sylvia and Rachel Hall during the Black Hawk War, tracing their ordeal through Illinois and into Wisconsin. It combines a detailed description of the frontier landscape, contemporary military and civilian responses, interviews with relatives, documentary records, and local tradition to reconstruct the abduction, the captives' experiences during captivity, rescue and ransom attempts, and their eventual return and reception. Chapters examine the settlement's geography, movements of Native bands and militia, offers of reward, and the later lives and family recollections of the captives.