438 APPENDIX. 



XXI. 



Inquiries respecting the History of the Indians of the United States. 

 By Lewis Cass. 



These queries were published at Detroit in separate pamphlets, 

 about the era of 1822, and communicated to persons in the Indian 

 country supposed to be capable of furnishing the desired informa- 

 tion. The results became the topic of several critical disquisitions, 

 which appeared in the pages of the North American Revieiv in 

 1825 and 1826; disquisitions the spirit and tone of which created, 

 as the reader who is posted up on the topic will remember, a sensa- 

 tion among philological and philosophical readers. 



Whether we are most to admire the bold tone of inquiry as- 

 sumed by Gen. Cass, the acumen displayed in the discussions, -the 

 eloquence of the language, or the general soundness of the posi- 

 tions taken, is the only question left for decision. Certainly, 

 nobody can arise from the perusal of these papers without be- 

 coming wiser or better informed on the subjects discussed. The 

 mere luxury of high-toned and eloquent language is a gratifica- 

 tion to the inquirer. But he cannot close these investigations 

 into a subject of deep historical and philological interest without 

 feeling established in the principles of historic truth, or warmed 

 in his literary ardor. 



Prominent among the topics of the initial discussion, was the 

 work of John Dunn Hunter, a singular adventurer in the Indian 

 country, or, perhaps, an early captive, who, after wandering to the 

 Atlantic cities, where his harmless inefSciency of character gained 

 no favorable attention, found his way to London, where the 

 booksellers concocted a book of travels from him, in which the 

 United States is unscrupulously traduced for its treatment of the 

 Indians. The scathing which this person and his book received 

 arises from its having fallen in the way of the business journeys 

 of the critic to visit some of the principal scenes referred to ; and 

 among others, the residence of John Dunn, of Missouri, after 

 whom he professed to be named, who utterly denied all know- 

 ledge of the man or of his purported adventures. 



The question of the authenticity of the Indian traditions of Mr. 

 Heckewelder, derived from a single tribe, and that tribe telling 



