By Pam Pollan
The book, “Sawyer’s Regret,” written by local author, E. Raymond Tatten, tells the story of a real
life adventure, turned historical fiction about a 16 year old boy (Tatten estimates) from Lancaster, MA,
who along with his 51 year-old father and John Bigelow, a 31 year-old man from Marlborough, get
captured by Native Americans, several years after some of his neighbors were killed during a raid. The
teen and the two men must endure a 500 mile trek to Canada to an Native American village. The older
men were there for one year but Elias remained for two years. During his captivity, the boy fell in love
with a Native American girl named Owaissa. The tale is a “coming of age” love story.
At the command of the French Governor, they built the first mill in Canada on the Chambley River.
Afterwards, Mr. Bigelow and Mr. Sawyer returned home but Elias was forced to remain a year longer
to instruct the French in the operation of the mill.
Set in 1705, inspired by Tatten’s love of history and curiosity about a story on a historical marker
along Route 2 in Lancaster that he had passed hundreds of times.
The marker reads,” At the end of this pond, was situated the mill of Thomas Sawyer, Jr., where on
October 15, 1705, Mr. Sawyer, his son Elias, and John Bigelow of Marlborough, were taken captive
and carried into Canada.
The book was chosen by the Adventure Writers to be in the “Top 10” from 71 submissions from 10
different countries. The competition, sponsored by the Clive Cussler Collector’s Society, Braveship
Books and AJM Books, is in its 11th year. Visit www.adventurewriterscompetition.com to learn more.
“Sawyer’s Regret” is Tatten’s third book. His first two were “Moving Willie: A Boy’s Moments to
Remember” about moving from the bustling city of Lowell to a farm in the quiet countryside. The
second was called “And Another Thing,” a compilation of Tatten’s essays.
Tatten has also published many essays and stories in local papers and is a member of the Seven
Bridge Writers’ Collaborative, which met at the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster.
Tatten is a Trustee at the Conant Library in Sterling and has also been a long time volunteer at the
Wachusett Food Pantry.
“Sawyer’s Regret” is available on amazon.com.