PREFACE. xi 



to copy some of the outlines from his 'Letters and Notes 

 on the North American Indians/ a work which I do not 

 hesitate to pronounce one of the most curious and inter- 

 esting which the present century has produced, whether 

 we regard the graphic merits of its literary or pictorial 

 department. 



To Professor OWEN and the Officers of the Royal 

 College of Surgeons, to the Officers of the Zoological 

 Society, and to the Officers of the Zoological Department 

 of the British Museum, my sincere thanks are due for 

 the kindness and promptness with which every informa- 

 tion has been given, and every facility afforded to my 

 inquiries and investigations. 



With respect to the engraved figures, I have striven to 

 produce correct delineations of form and texture, rather 

 than to make pretty pictures by sacrificing truth and 

 nature for the sake of ideal beauty and artistic effect. 



I cannot conclude this Preface without expressing my 

 thanks to Messrs. ADLARD for the first-rate style in 

 which this volume has been printed ; particularly for the 

 successful manner in which the impressions of the en- 

 gravings have been produced, superior, in general, to 

 India-proof impressions. 



King Street, Camden Town ; 

 y, 1851. 



