A Mother's Voice | AdventAI

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Aug 28, 1879

A Mother's Voice.

SINCE the prevailing Indian troubles commenced an Indian camp was captured, together with a number of prisoners, including squaws, and some half dozen white captives, boys and girls, from five to twelve years of age. Word was sent throughout the country, inviting those who had lost children to come to the camp and identify, if possible, their children, as none of them could give any account of who their parents were, or where they were taken from, so young were they when they were taken captive by the Indians. Numbers went to the camp—more than there were children—and, of course, many of them returned with heavy hearts at being unable to find their lost ones. Among the number who went hundreds of miles to the camp was a mother who had lost two children—a boy and a girl, one three and the other five years old—years ago. Efforts were made to persuade her not to go, as so long a time had elapsed it was certain she could not identify her children even if they stood before her. But she could not rest; she must go, and go she did. On arriving at the encampment she found the captives ranged in line for inspection. She looked at them first from a distance, her anxious heart bounding in her bosom. But she did not see her children, at least she saw nothing in the group that bore the slightest resemblance to her baby boy and girl, as they looked when playing about her doorstep. She looked long and steadily at them, as her heart began to sink and grow heavy in her bosom. At last with tears and sobs she withdrew, and when some paces off she stopped and turned about quickly, as apparently a thought had occurred to her. Drying her eyes she broke forth in a sweet hymn she had been wont to sing to her children as a lullaby. Scarce a word had been uttered, when two of the captives, a boy and girl, rushed from the line exclaiming, "Mamma! mamma!" The mother went home perfectly satisfied she had found her long lost children.