Taking captives was a prominent piece of warfare for information, ransom, and to fulfill spiritual and social obligations among Indigenous cultures. The French also forced captives into servitude in some instances, as attested by Mrs. Susanna Willard Johnson, who was captured by French-allied Indigenous warriors from Charlestown, New Hampshire, in 1754.
We have little contextual evidence for how miliciens captured and bound enemies specifically. We do have a good amount of evidence for how their Indigenous counterparts did it, and we know from Pehr Kalm that "they follow the Indian way of making war with exactness."
From the archaeological record in the form of artifacts and artistic depictions, we see that cords created specifically for use as restraints were used by Indigenous warriors. The extant artifacts we have are elaborate, employing dyes, moose hair embroidery, quillwork, beadwork, and tin and deer hair cones. These elaborate examples were likely made as functional tools as well as ceremonial objects. They are of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) or Huron-Wendat origin.
For the sake of brevity, I will use the terms cord, rope, and tie interchangeably to describe Indigenous-designed, purpose-created fiber ropes for restraining prisoners. I’ve identified two types: the kind with a “collar” that is twined or woven, flanked by braided single or double ends—hereafter referred to as a “halter”—primarily used for leading or restraining prisoners on the move. The second kind of restraint identified consists of one single long braid—hereafter called a “pinioner”—primarily used for restraining captives at night or while resting.
Prisoner halter (left) and cord (right) on display in the Captured by Indians exhibit. Halter courtesy of Stephen Fuller, cord courtesy of Adelaide de Menil. Photo by Rachellynn Schoen.
Prisoner Cord in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum
https://collections.rom.on.ca/objects/226779/prisoner-cord
Prisoner Tie, in the GRASAC Knowledge Sharing Platform (GKS) database.
https://gks.artsci.utoronto.ca/search-page/prisoner-tie
Details from the blog post “Bound by Tradition: prisoner restraints in the captive experience”
Using those measurements as a guide and working with polished hemp, I was able to create a prisoner halter with a 0.25-inch band about a foot long and two 6.5-foot box-braided cords on each end. I also box-braided a single pinioner about 19 feet long. I included hand-length fringes on the ends of each cord. As they are now, my restraints are an unadorned version of what we see in museums. Being the first box braiding I’ve ever done, I will have to practice a great deal before I reach the level of craftsmanship found on original artifacts. In my mind, they are perfect for a war party on the go.
Captain John Fitch mentions that a cord tying him was "...I think as a Badge of Captivity rather than for use, for some [were] pinioned with a single rope yarn out of a rope and I with a piece of bark not thicker than a goose quill which I could [have] readily snapped with one finger and our arms nearly as much at liberty as if not tied at all." Other accounts describe tight and confining constraints, particularly at night.
His restraint may have been improvised from local fiber, but the other "yarn" pinion describes the single lengths of box-braided cordage we see in the artifact record. Many smaller strings combine to create light and strong constraints. It would appear as though Fitch’s captors weren’t particularly afraid of him running off.
My recreation of a prisoner halter in hemp with a twined collar and box braided cords.
