“To those who care to look into the philosophy of the Indian character, these oral fictions will be read with interest.  They are curious in themselves, and not less so as a material step in the researches that may serve, in the sequel, to unveil the origin, as well as the intellectual traits, of these tribes.  They will at least establish the fact of ‘an oral imaginative lore’ among the aborigines of this continent, of which they give us faithful specimens.

“Probably no man in this country is better qualified to pursue these researches than Mr. Schoolcraft.  A long residence in the Indian country, and official intercourse with the tribes, have given him an access to the Indian mind which few have enjoyed, and which none have improved to a greater extent by habits of observation and philosophical investigation.  A residence at Mackinaw is of itself calculated to beget, as it is to gratify, a taste for the prosecution of these inquiries.  It is described by Miss Martineau as ’the wildest and tenderest piece of beauty that she had yet seen on God’s earth.’  It is indeed a spot of rare attractiveness.  Standing upon the promontory, in the rear of the fort and town, the view embraces to the north the head waters of the Huron and the far-off isles of St. Martin, to the west Green Isle and the straits of Mackinaw, and to the east and south Bois Blanc and the Great Lake.  It is a delightful summer retreat, and many are the legends and reminiscences of the scenes of enjoyment passed here in absolute, and we are assured happy, exclusion from the outward world, during the winter months.  It has been regarded, at no distant day, as important not only as the rendezvous of the Fur Companies’ agents and employers and the Indian traders, but as a government military post.  It is still a great resort of the northern Indians.  Often their lodges and their bark canoes, of beautiful construction, line the pebbly shore; and the aboriginal habits and mental characteristics may be studied on the spot.

“It is to be hoped that Mr. S. will resume the course of inquiry and research that he has marked out for himself; and that he will be induced to give to the public the results of his long and intimate familiarity with the Indian life and character.”

17th.  The Detroit Daily Advertiser, of this day, has the following critical notice on the work of Algic Researches, under the head of Indian Tales and Legends.

“This work has just been offered for sale at our book-stores, and we strongly recommend it to all those who feel an interest in the character of our aborigines.  It is well known to many of us here, that Mr. Schoolcraft has, for the last several years, been industriously engaged in collecting facts which illustrate the ’mythology, distinctive opinions, and intellectual character’ of the Indians.  His researches have embraced ’their oral tales, fictitious and historical; their hieroglyphics, music, and poetry; and the grammatical structure of their languages, the principles of their construction, and the actual state of their vocabulary.’  The materials he has now on hand afford him the means of fulfilling this extensive plan, and this ‘first series’ is only a leading publication.