ments, refutial, and anctious, or the more accepted forms of the same words, as like a bona fide bad speller, he is quite as apt to do. ****

"The letter is now printed for the first time. We heartily commend it to all who love to taste history at its sources, or who enjoy character. It is a curious contrast to the polite narrative of Colonel Bouquet, but it is quite as interesting, and the deeds it records have turned out of vastly greater consequence than those which the brave Swiss performed."

[From the Historical Magazine.]

"The importance of the expedition of Colonel Clark is known to every well-informed person as that to which we are mainly indebted for our possession, to-day, of the immense range of country west of the Alleghanies; and this personal narrative of that expedition, from the pen of its commander, it will be seen, is necessarily a paper of great historic interest, both as a portion of the local history of the West and as an element in the history of our relations with Great Britain, France, and Spain. The typography of the volume is excellent."

[From the Nation.]

* *

"A very original and striking revolutionary character is portrayed by himself in Col. George Rogers Clark's Sketch of his Campaign in the Illinois in 1778-9.' * * * Clark's military capacity was certainly of a high order, and it is seldom one reads of a commander possessing such boldness, resources, and tact. He understood perfectly, for military purposes, the Indian nature, and how to exhibit at the right time courageous defiance and magnanimity. * The operations at Kaskaskia and Vincennes are described in a very graphic but truly modest manner-the march from the former post to take the latter being one of extraordinary hardship and enterprise. The odd spelling of the French, Spanish, and Indian names mentioned by Clark, and his ordinary orthography, too, make his narrative quite amusing. Some persons may guess what Messicippa,' La prary de rush' (La Prairie du Rocher), Canoweay' (Kanawha), adjutated,' and 'adgetation,' stand for. * * The notes of the editor of this volume add very much to its readableness and historical completeness."

[From the New Albany Ledger.]

«The quaint style of the original is faithfully retained, with Clark's orthography, punctuation, capital letters, and other peculiarities. The narrative is exceedingly interesting, and bears the impress of truth upon its pages. *** The volume should find a place in the library of every Indianian who takes an interest in the events which had such momentous influence on the destinies of the region of country in which we now live."

[From the Louisville Courier-Journal.]

“The volume is gotten up in antique, and realizes all that the antiquary could desire. Judge Pirtle's preface is not the least valuable of the contents, which are in every way rare and valuable. It presents the reader with a distinct and graphic picture of Clark and his times.”

PIONEER

Number Four.

McBride's Pioneer Biography.

ONEER BIOGRAPHY: SKETCHES OF THE Lives of SOME OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF BUTLER COUNTY, Оно. OHIO. By the late JAMES MCBRIDE, of Hamilton.

Vol. I contains the Lives of JOHN REILY, THOMAS IRWIN, JOEL COLLINS, ISAAC ANDERSON, SAMUEL DICK, JOSEPH HOUGH, and JOHN WOODS. With a Portrait of the Author.

Vol. II contains the Lives of ROBERT MCCLELLAN, ISAAC PAXTON, PIERSON SAYRE, HENRY WEAVER, JEREMIAH BUTTERFIELD, JOHN WINGATE, DANIEL DOTY, MATTHEW HUESTON, CAPT. JOHN CLEVES SYMMES, JOHN SUTHERLAND, THE BIGHAM FAMILY, and DR. JACOB LEWIS.

Two volumes, 8vo., pp. xiv., 352, 288, finely printed on tinted paper, neatly bound in English cloth, gilt top, and uncut edges, or entirely uncut. Price, Vol. I, $3.50; Vol. II, $3.00.

A few large-paper copies have been printed on extra heavy tinted paper. Portrait on India paper. Cloth, gilt top, and uncut edges, or entirely uncut. Price, Vol. I. $7.00; Vol. II, $6.00.

These sketches will be found to possess an interest beyond the mere details of the lives of the individuals. They were all of them men who took an active part in the settlement of the Miami country, were prominent in public affairs both civil and military, and participated in many of the early conflicts with the Indians in Ohio and Kentucky, and in the campaigns of Gens. Harmar, St. Clair, Scott, and Wayne; so that, interspersed in the narrative, will be found many details of interest concerning the early struggles, from the notes and recollections of eye witnesses, which have never before appeared in print.

[From the Cincinnati Commercial.]

"The manuscript collections of the late James McBride, of Hamilton, Ohio, of which this series of biographical sketches form part, have had a local celebrity for many years, and many persons throughout

the country have been deeply interested in them. Mr. McBride was an educated gentleman, who gave much attention to personal recollections of early times in the valley of the Great Miami, and who wrote accounts of his old neighbors, friends, and acquaintances, that now form contributions of great value to pioneer history. We have not seen in many days a more elegant volume."

[From the Historical Magazine.]

"It is a series of sketches of the lives and services of some of the pioneers of the West, prepared from original and authentic material, for his own amusement, by one of their own number; and it preserves and circulates, also, carefully made copies of several important papers, journals, etc., which, but for Mr. McBride's thoughtful preservation of them, might have been lost forever.

"These homely biographies, and others of the same class, in which are recorded the virtues and hardships of those who led the hosts who have since migrated to the West, are, in fact, the only existing annals of the early West; and to them must those go who seek information concerning the day of small things' in that mighty empire, the history of which, sooner or later, must be written in all its fullness and with painstaking fidelity."

[From the Nation.]

"These biographies are by no means confined in their relations to Butler County, but add much to our knowledge of Revolutionary engagements, of the colonization of the Ohio Valley both north and south of the river, of the war of 1812, and even (following the descendants of the pioneers) of the late Rebellion. They may be read, therefore, with a great deal of pleasure and solid profit by the present. generation, and will long be prized for their genealogies.

[From the Cincinnati Chronicle.]

"Although termed 'unpretending sketches' they are rich in valuable: material for the future historian, and possess a present interest as faithful biographies of some of the early settlers of Ohio. * * * * The elegant volume before us bears every evidence of the careful and yet not unskilled hand which has collected barren facts and isolated fragments, and combined them in such a manner as to present an admirable epitome of local history."

[From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.]

“Mr. McBride, the author of these biographies, who died in 1859 at the age of 70 years, and who was at that date one of the oldest and best known pioneers of Southern Ohio, was well qualified for this work by his tastes, early associations, and opportunities for collecting such materials. *** They certainly are not only well written, but are of thrilling interest, and of the greateat value as memorials of the early settlers of Southern Ohio, and of their protracted and bitter contests with the Indians contests, in all respects, such as the fathers of New England had but a very slight taste of."

A

Number Five.

Smith's Captivity with the Indians.

REPRINT OF "AN ACCOUNT of the REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES in the Life and Travels of Col. JAMES SMITH (now a citizen of Bourbon county, Ky.), during his Captivity with the Indians in the years 1755, '56, 57, 58, and '59. In which the Customs, Manners, Traditions, Theological Sentiments, Mode of Warfare, Military Tactics, Discipline, and Encampments, Treatment of Prisoners, etc., are better explained and more minutely related than has been heretofore done by any author on that subject. Together with a Description of the Soil, Timber, and Waters, where he traveled with the Indians during his captivity.

To which is added a Brief Account of some very Uncommon Occurrences, which transpired after his return from captivity; as well as of the Different Campaigns carried on against the Indians to the Westward of Fort Pitt, since the year 1755 to the present date.

"Written by himself. Lexington; printed by John Bradford, on Main street, 1799.”

One volume, 8vo., pp. xii., 190, finely printed on tinted paper, and neatly bound in cloth extra, gilt top, and uncut edges, or entirely uncut. Price, $2.50.

A few large-paper copies have been printed on heavy tinted paper. Cloth, gilt top, and uncut edges, or entirely uncut. Price, $5.00.

This work presents a vivid picture of the vagrant, precarious lives of the Indians, little more than a century ago, in the then unbroken wilderness which has given place to the prosperous State of Ohio; written without any pretense to style or learning, it bears every impress of truthfulness, and, as a faithful record of an eye-witness of their condition, habits, etc., deserves to be

perpetuated. It has been several times reprinted, with more or less accuracy; but all the editions may be now classed among the scarce books.

We have prefixed to this edition a somewhat fuller account of the author and his family than has heretofore been given, and added an Appendix of Illustrative Notes by Mr. William M. Darlington, of Pittsburgh, which will be found of considerable interest and value.

[From the Atlantic Monthly.]

"The narrative of Colonel Smith refers to the pioneer existence during a space of time when its perils, privations, and atrocities seemed an established condition of things. *** It is the story of a man of clear, strong mind, with a vein of humor which has now and then a very witty expression-almost a modern expression; and though the style has few solicited graces, it is plain that this old Indian hunter had some good literary instincts. * * * Otherwise, the narrative of Colonel Smith is marked by few indulgences of sentiment, though always by good feeling, and a shrewd and sympathetic observation of nature as he saw it in the wilderness and the savages about him. * * * There has probably never been any study of Indian life and character more sincere and practical than his; and we know of none so interesting. On the whole, we believe the reader will think all the better of the savages for knowing them through him; though as for their unfitness to be guests at a small tea party, we suppose there never can be any doubt. We should like to repeat here some of the things Colonel Smith tells of them; but his context is precious, and we forbear, for the reader's own sake."

[From the Historical Magazine.]

"The narrative of such a man, concerning what he actually saw and endured, would be interesting under any circumstances, but in such a case as this, wherein his story extended over the history of what is now the third State of the Union, during a term of years, it necessarily possesses unusual interest to those who occupy that territory, and to all students of American history the world over. It is enriched with appropriate notes, sufficiently numerous and amply sustained by competent authorities, from the pen of our respected friend, Wm. M. Darlington, Esq., of Pittsburgh. A good index closes the volume."

[From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.]

"James Smith, the author, was a native of Pennsylvania, but later in life settled in Kentucky. He was a captive among the Indians in his boyhood, 1755-9; a leader of the Blackboys' in 1763 and 1769;