ons. In this light, the honor conferred, though coming
from those whom civilization is crushing beneath its superior intelligence
and power, is valuable and important. The present book takes the poetical
share of its title from the fact that the author has prefixed CAMPBELL'S
celebrated poem, preceded by a sketch of his life, furnished by WASHINGTON
IRVING. 'Gertrude of Wyoming,' though beautiful, and seeming to be a
narrative of real incidents in a poetical dress, is nevertheless a
fiction, albeit founded upon an actual tragedy, whose horrors can hardly
be exaggerated by any pen. It has been the design of our author to record
the real history of the section of country which was stained by this
tragedy, and which for this reason, has a melancholy interest thrown over
its natural charms.

The history of Wyoming does not commence, as many suppose, with the war of
the American revolution. Long before, the conflict of human passions in
the breast of savage and civilized man had discolored its soil with blood.
During this antecedent period, its aboriginal annals are replete with
incidents, which were greatly multiplied after the civil wars which
disturbed the repose of that secluded valley had begun to be waged between
the rival claimants to the territory from Connecticut and Pennsylvania,
and which for twelve or thirteen years prior to the revolutionary war
present a series of the most stirring events. The author, therefore, in
order to render the history complete, has taken it up before the first
known visit of the white men; of whom, among the earliest, were the
Moravian missionaries. To the honor of these men, be it recorded, that in
this instance, as in others, they plunged into the depths of the forest,
and labored among the savages with a christian zeal and enterprize which
have never been surpassed. The scenes of the revolution, embracing not
only the great massacre in July, 1778, with its frightful horrors, but
also a number of other bloody forays of the Indians upon the white men,
are moreover faithfully described. But after all, perhaps the most
interesting portion of the volume is formed of the narrative of the
services and sufferings of individuals and families. These latter records
are full of those wild and romantic incidents which are peculiar to border
warfare; where the steady courage and determined bravery of the European
appears in deadly conflict with the wiliness, cunning, and sleepless
vengeance of the