We will never know what the Cherry Valley men really experienced, but I can share with you what others in similar circumstances experienced.
The hardest part of any captivity was surviving the trip back to the village, often hundreds of miles through the wilderness. Captives were made to carry heavy loads, marched hard, treated cruelly, allowed only minimal clothing, seldom had shoes, were severely underfed, and killed if they couldn't keep up. One of the Cherry Valley civilians stated the “Continental soldiers were stript and drove naked ...”. Sergeant Adam Hunter stated he “was stripped of all he had, and was left with barely a blanket …”
Luke Swetland, a local man held captive from July of 1778 to September of 1779 wrote a memoir of his ordeal. During his first days of captivity his master “went on all the day, doing everything he could invent to torment me.” On another day “… I felt a blow on my head, which sidled me out of my path. When I had recovered somewhat, he struck me on the other side of my head, which nearly brought me to the ground. … I did my best to get out of his way, but he continued following along with kicks and blows, until at last … [he tired of the game].
Once they arrive at the village, the next ordeal was running the gauntlet. The villagers lined up in two lines facing each other and the captives had to run between the lines while being beaten. Believe it or not, this was a greeting and a chance to see what stuff these new comers were made of. After the gauntlet there would be a great celebration and the surviving captives were adopted into Indian families to replace lost loved ones.
Because the villages were so far into the wilderness, captives seldom considered trying to escape. As an adopted member of a family, they received the clothing, personal tools, and weapons needed to survive. They were treated with fairness and true affection by their new family, generally allowed freedom to come and go as they pleased, and expected to participate in all family activities.
Luke Swetland tells us “I was given to an old squaw as a grandson. She made a great lamentation over me, showing many signs of respect.” He goes on “I went visiting often … Many of them were pleasing, and they tried to learn me.” He also says “The Indians were remarkably kind to me and made me a good many presents.”
They were generally discouraged from speaking with other captives, but allowed to visit with the Loyalists living among the Indians. The captives were faced with learning a new language and absorbing many new & strange customs. Clothing was an issue for most – Luke Swetland tells us “I was now entirely in Indian dress, … Not being accustomed to wear breech clouts, I dreaded the cold on my naked thighs, and the house being open and cold, I suffered greatly …”.
The family that adopted Luke consisted of only women. They had no men to hunt meat for them and Luke was not skilled at hunting. In the spring, Luke explains “our corn being nearly all gone, we began to dig ground nuts and gather bass wood buds. Later we made some sugar. Wood betony sprang up early, which I ate with sugar. This, with some other weeds and nuts, was our main support until about July, when we had some dead horse, which I though was the best meat in the world.”
Luke attempted to escape several times, but was so weak from lack of proper diet that he turned back before anyone discovered what he was up to. In late April Luke heard of the attack at Onondaga and later a soldier taken prisoner gave him word of the invasion General Sullivan was preparing. He tells us “This gave me new hope of deliverance.”