Into the heat of this persecution Elizabeth Hooton with her companion, Joan Brocksopp,[61] had ventured. They suffered imprisonment in Boston prison on account of visiting Friends confined there, and were liberated with twenty-five others, after the receipt of John Leverett’s warning letter to Governor Endicott and the General Court.
But we will let Elizabeth Hooton give the story of her call to the service, her journeyings and the hardships she endured on the American Continent, in her own words:[62]
This is to lay before freinds or all where it may come of the sufferings & persecutions which we suffered in newe England J Elizabeth Hooton have tasted on by the prefessours of Boston & Cambridge, who call themselves Jndependants who fled from the bishops formerly, which have behaved themselves, worse then the bishops did to them by many degries, making the people of God to suffer much more then ever they did by the bishops which causeth their name to stink all over the world becaus of cruelty.
Jn yᵉ year 1661 it was upon me from the Lord & my freind Joan Broksopp [paper rubbed at crease and writing illegible] for God & his people to those people in the heate of persecution, & if God required us to lay down our lives for the testimony of Jesus & in love to their soules, not knowing but what they might heare & so be saved yᵗ they might be left without excuse & God might have his glory & we cleare of their bloud if they would not heare: ane old woman above three score yeares old when J went thither & my companion, but they had made a lawe of a hunder pounds fine to evry ship yᵗ caried a quaker & to cary them back againe, so yᵗ no ship would cary us from England thither, but we took ship to Virginia, & when we came there many ships denied us, & therfore we knew nothing but to goe by land which was a dangerous voyage, yet God was pleased to order us a way by a Katch to carie us a part of the way, & so we went the rest by land.[63]
When we came to Boston after a hard passage then there was no house to receive us as we knewe of by reason of their fines, yet did we venture in the night to a woman friends house where when we were gotten in, it pleased the Lord yᵗ we stayed yᵉ night by reason yᵗ the tyde did rise so speedily as we could not get a way, & so we went away in the morning to prison to visit freinds; but the Jaylour & his wife being filled full of cruelty, they would not let us come neare to the prison to see our freinds, but haled us away & he went to the Governour Jndicot & brought us before him, & many questions he asked us, to which the Lord inabled us to answer, but a mittimus he made to cary us to the Goale; for if any called quakers came into yᵗ country yᵗ was crime enough to commit us to prison without any just offence of lawe, & four of our freinds was hanged upon yᵗ same act of their own making for if they shall ask if they be quaker, & if they own it then yᵗ was crime enough to hange them: One of them called William Leathry [Leddra] was hanged since the king came to England & he saide yᵗ he would appeale to the Lawes of Old England, he was hanged; & another[64] he did appeale to the generall Court of Boston he was reprieved though once condemned with the other yᵗ was hanged:
Allso they put 29 of us into prison at Boston till the generall Court did sit there, & when they sat in their Court they did call severall Juries upon us, wherby some were condemned to be hanged, some to be whipt at the carts taille, & some to be kept into prison, till they should resolve how to dispose of us; but another Jury after yᵗ was called which did condemne us to be banished to the French Jland, but yᵗ did not hold & after yᵗ they called another Jury which condemned us all to be driven out of their Jurisdiction by men & horses armed with swords & staffes & weapons of warre who went alonge with us neire two dayes journey in the willdernes, & there they left us towards the night amongst the great rivers & many wild beasts yᵗ useth to devoure & yᵗ night we lay in the woods without any victualls, but a fewe biskets yᵗ we brought with us which we soaked in the water, so did the Lord help & deliver us & one caried another through the waters & we escaped their hands.
And their lawes were broken, & yᵗ which they intendet against us it may fall upon themselves, & was a deliverance never to be forgotten praises be to the Lord for ever & ever & now their Lawes being broken & we delivered, for the terrour of the Lord did so seise upon them when we were in prison at the time of the Court, they were distressed both night & day as Caen was when he had Slaine his brother & they raised up all their souldiers about in the country to defend themselves against us that intended them no hurt, so did we come to Providence & Rhod Jland where was appointed by freinds a generall meeting[65] for New England where we were abundantly refreshed one with another for the space of a week, so yᵗ the persecutors of Boston & professors there were tormented because of innocent blood which they had shed they thought ane army was comming against them wᶜʰ was no other then yᵉ feare yᵗ surprised yᵉ hypocrite, yᵉ wrath of yᵉ Lord exceedingly seised upon them while we were kept in prison.
So we tooke shipping & went to Barbados & afterwards was moved to returne to New Englᵈ againe, through much of this country we went amonst ffriends & then was moved to goe to Boston againe & cry through yᵉ towne, after yᵉ Lawe was broken, & then yᵉ Constable tooke hold of us to carry me to yᵉ ship & yᵉ wicked officer said it was their delight & could rejoice to follow us to yᵉ execution as much as ever they did, in wᶜʰ ship we did both of us Returne to England. & yᵉ bloud-thirsty men stopped in their desires blessed be yᵉ Lord for ever & for ever.
Two contemporary letters to Margaret Fell[66] give us a glimpse of the travellers in Barbados. Joan Brocksopp, writing from that island, 9th of August, 1661, says:[67] “We came here about A week since. We expect to Returne thether [Boston] agayne. Elizabeth Houtton dearly saluts thee.”