PREFACE. 



Here, in their vast interior solitudes, far re- 

 moved from trans-Atlantic influences, are alone 

 to be found, in the more comparative infancy of 

 our country, characters truly sui generis — truly 

 American. 



What man would be, uninfluenced by contact 

 with the varied associations of long civilization, is 

 here partially demonstrated in the denizens of the 

 interior of a mighty continent. 



The discovery of America, — its vast extent, — 

 and its developing destiny, — present facts, which 

 far surpass the wildest imagery of the dreamers 

 of the olden times. 



There are growing up, in these primitive wilds, 

 men, whose daily life and conversation, when de- 

 tailed, form exaggerations ; but whose histories 

 are, after all, only the natural developments of 

 the mighty associations which surround them. 



