The author of these volumes has spent the last forty-four years of his life without, he tells us, a single day's intermission, in the Indian territories of North America, the first fifteen years in the regions of Columbia, and the remaining years in the Red River settlement, a spot more effectually cut off from the rest of the world than any other colony in the empire. THE author of this work is entitled to respectful hearing. His volumes, unlike many which our prolific press sends forth, have something to tell. There is an honest purpose in them. A veritable narrative is given, and the intelligent reader will rise from their perusal with information which it is difficult to obtain, and with strong confidence both in the integrity and in the intelligence of the author. During the earlier period of his career he was actively engaged in commerce; first, in connexion with the Pacific Fur Company; then with the ‘North West; and lastly with the Hudson's Bay Company. Having published in 1849 his adventures, in connexion with the first of these companies, he is now encouraged to attempt a more extended narrative, which, with all the interest of its predecessor, has attractions of its own not frequently equalled. “His aim has been to exhibit realities; to relate facts as they have occurred; to impart to others at their quiet firesides the interest of a wild and adventurous life, without its toils, privations, and dangers, and to adhere always to the simple truth. As, then, these volumes range over a wider expanse of Indian territory than the former, so do they introduce new features of Indian life and manners. Regions unvisited, and now only partially explored, are portrayed as they appeared to the first civilized intruder in the wilderness.’ Mr. Ross's commercial engagements were those of the fur trade, which brought him into frequent contact with the Indians; exposed him to many perilous adventures, and has pre-eminently qualified him to describe the occupations and habits of the wilderness. It is no dilettante record with which we are here furnished. The work performed by our author was rough and perilous. It involved the sacrifice of many lives, and was frequently attended with much hardship. The narrative given partakes of this character. It is a clear, unvarnished, businesslike statement, the deep interest of which arises from the facts reported, and not from the artistic skill of the narrator.

His volumes supply many particulars not to be found in Lewis and Clarke, or Hearne and Richardson. Nothing, it appears, according to Mr. Ross, terrified the natives along the banks of the Columbia so much as the wolves. They kill vast quantities of horses, and are so fierce and strong that men cannot approach them.

This book originally published in 1855 has been reformatted for the kindle and may contain an occasional imperfection from the original publication or from the reformatting.