Upon arrival he is sold as a slave-captive to an old squaw and her husband. He earns respect among the Shawness for his physical skills and courage, but knows that at any time they could turn against him and his life would be endangered. Escape seems impossible, but Jim lives in hope of returning to his family. Eventually the squaw sells Jim to a French - Canadian trader which brings Jim relief from tensions in the Shawnee village. 

In Canada, Jim overhears a conversation about his sister Mary. He learns that she, too, was captured by the Shawnees and sold to a man in Canada. Thrilled by the news Jim can hardly wait to see her, and he hopes the two of them can perhaps work out a plan to return to Virginia. Excitingly told as a fiction story, The Shawnee Tomahawk is dramatic and exceptionally well written.