THE MAGAZINE 
OF 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
NOVEMBER, 1830. 
Art. I. Original Letters, descriptive of a Natural History Tour 
tn North America. By T. W. 
Sir, 
I am in possession of a series of original letters, with descrip- 
tive drawings, written during a perambulation of eight months, 
in the summer of 1823, through one of the most interesting 
parts of North America; and, as they extend to subjects of 
natural history, they are at your service. I cannot boast of 
their style, but they are juvenile productions, and my first 
attempt at journalising. Young as I was, I could not pass 
over an interesting country without committing a few observ- 
ations to paper ; hoping thereby not only to be instructed, but 
to be amused at another period with recollections of the scenery 
of the wilderness, 
The descriptive part, always the most difficult, is below 
what I could wish: the mind, like the body, when wearied 
by exertion, will relax ; and the fatigue of travelling alone, on 
foot, under a vertical sun, and generally over a rugged, track- 
less, and mountainous country, will frequently subdue the 
fervency of the soul, and render it dull and listless. 
The drawings which may be occasionally offered are in- 
tended to display the landscape, particularly that of the high 
lands on the Hudson River, the most interesting spots on the 
Grand Western Canal, some of the great lakes of North 
America, and the Cataract of Niagara from five different 
positions ; also, some of the most remarkable plants, fossils, 
animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects, which came under 
the writer’s observations. 
I have endeavoured to communicate facts without the aid 
of fiction, and flatter myself that what I have collected, where 
abundance might have been gathered, will be worthy of no- 
Vor. III. — No. 16. K K 
