vi PREFACE. 
° 
in 1816, when the English nation was roused to a strong 
desire for the acquisition of geographical knowledge 
in British America and the Arctic Zone. His second, two 
or three years later. His third in 1825, and the last in 
_ 1845. We have endeavored to select the pith of his 
story from the bulky volumes inaccessible to the general 
reader, and, indeed, out of print long ago; and now to 
be found only with old book collections in stray copies in 
English cities. In reading this true story of the adven- 
tures of a truly brave man, the reader cannot fail to per- 
ceive that in this case, at least, truth is more strange and 
more interesting than fiction. 
Waszineron, D. C, D. W. B. 
