the Great Spirit, the father of the
universe, and in the lesser spirits which controlled the winds and
rain, and which were found inhabiting the bodies of the lower animals.
He learned to know the curious character of their "medicine-men" and
their witch-doctors, and all their strange superstitions regarding the
mysteries of life and death and the origin of man.

Suffering constantly from physical ills, and in danger of death at
any moment from the treachery of the red men, Parkman yet was able to
maintain his position among them with dignity, and to be acknowledged
worthy of their hospitality, and he took advantage of this to make his
study of them thorough. The Dacotahs were a branch of the Sioux, one
of the fiercest of the tribes of the plains. In his journey with them
Parkman traversed the regions of the Platte, which was one of the best
known routes to Oregon and California. Frequent parties of emigrants
passed them on their way to new homes, and those, with the traders'
posts and occasional bands of hunters, gave them their only glimpses
of white faces. Reaching the upper waters of the Platte, they branched
off for a hunting trip to the Black Hills, and then returning, made
the passage of the Rocky Mountains, gained the head-waters of the
Arkansas, and so returned to the settlements.

It was a trip full of danger and adventure, but Parkman had gained
what he wanted--a picture of Indian life still preserved in the
solitudes of the plains and mountains as inviolate as the rivers
and rocks themselves. A few years later the discovery of gold in
California changed this condition almost as if by magic. The plains
and mountains became alive with unnumbered hosts of emigrants on their
way to the gold fields. Cities and towns sprung up where before Indian
lodges and buffalo herds had held sway. Year by year the Indians
changed in character and habits, adopting in some measure the dress of
the whites and their manner of living. The true Indian of the plains
passed out of history, and but for Parkman's visit, even the memory
of him as an example of the picturesque freedom of savage life, might
have been lost.

A year after his return to the east Parkman published an account of
his adventures in the _Knickerbocker Magazine_, under the title _The
Oregon Trail_, the name by which the old route was generally known.
Later on these sketches appeared in book form. They formed Parkman's
first book and indicated the scheme of his