Manners and Customs of Several Indian Tribes Located West of the Mississippi…

8vo, period full tree calf, morocco lettering piece. Joints split and hinges are cracked, but boards are still holding, wear to extremities and spine ends, small library bookplate on front pastedown, pencil notes on title, text block a bit darkened, inscription on front endpaper; good to very good. Hunter was taken by the Indians as a small child and left them at the age of nineteen, in the year 1816. While he admits his early memories were often hazy, he does recollect the massacre of his parents, and the murder of a little girl during their journey to the Indian camp. He claims that he eventually became one of ‘the people’, and was comfortable with the Indian way of life. He states that whites adopted by the tribes seemed to prefer Indian culture, even if they had a choice. He goes as far as to say that his leaving the Indians was an exception. A good portion of the text talks about Indian wars, medicine, and customs. He even tries to explain the Indians fear and dislike for whites. "White people are like poisonous serpents: when they are chilled they are feeble and harmless; but invigorate them with warmth and they sting their benefactors to death." Hunter suggests this is the Indians’ way of saying whites are not only ungrateful but dangerous too. Despite this work’s popularity, it was strongly attacked as being fraudulent. However, some felt the work had its merits. Streeter (VII 4237) states that his account of "life among the Kansas and Osage Indians and his experiences on the prairies sound entirely credible." Additionally, Richard Drinnon’s work, White Savage, The Case Of John Dunn Hunter (1972) makes a case for the authenticity of Hunter’s story. Even a casual review of the text offers a pretty compelling and detailed case for more than a little credibility. Streeter VII Field 743 Ayer 141 Howes H813 Sabin 33921 Wagner-Camp 24