A pparently the English were told that the boys were taken to some valley and thrown in a pile dead to be eaten by the people later. The rest of the boys were kept in the woods for nine months, guarded by the young men, and could not communicate with anyone. Candidates are boys with special qualities. Candidates are ritually beaten. Candidates are isolated from the rest of society in the woods.
Candidates become important members of community.
O ne other probable similarity is the notion of the boys being sacrificed. Winslow in his narrative makes a singular statement without further commentary, Many sacrifices the Indians use, and in some cases kill children. T here is nothing in the record which further substantiates the notion of human sacrifice in New England, particularly of children whom most colonists described as being well-loved and pampered by their parents. This would be similar in some respects to the Virginia boys being sacrficed to Okee . T he Beverly account of the huskanaw indicates a better understanding of human nature than Smith's.