xi PREFACE. 
Many of my scenes and incidents in prairie and Indian life 
are a personal narrative,’ Where not, they are taken from the 
mouths of those who were witnesses or actors in them, and 
whose long experience gives them a right to full confidence on 
my part. 
As a personal narrative, I have not thought proper to be 
minute, but in mentioning soil, climate and natural history 
have spoken in general terms, except a few digressions, which 
I thought necessary to fully understand the subject. 
This is now the fourth expedition that Captain Marcy has 
accomplished, with honour and credit to himself, and to the 
satisfaction of the government. Major Neighbours had lived 
the best years of his life upon the frontier, and had spent four- 
teen years in intimate relation with the wild Indians. Dr. Shu- 
mard had the experience of the Red River trip under Captain 
Marcy, besides being well versed in geology, mineralogy, and 
natural history; whilst the corps of Indian hunters and guides 
were themselves efficient by birth and habit, and led by a Del- 
aware of intelligence and great experience, whose traits and 
stories of Indian life were imparted with freedom, and every 
reason for full reliability. | 
With such advantages, I trust I have made a book, reliable 
for what information it may contain, and entertaining, from 
the incidents I have endeavoured to combine with what might 
be otherwise considered dry detail. 
