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[Illustration: THE PRAIRIE ON FIRE.]
THE
AMERICAN FAMILY ROBINSON;
OR,
The Adventures of a Family
LOST IN THE
GREAT DESERT OF THE WEST.
BY
D. W. Belisle
With Illustrations
PHILADELPHIA:
PORTER & COATES.
Preface.
The lofty mountains, mighty forests, rivers and valleys of the West,
many portions of which have never been explored, furnish abundant
resources for the gratification of the Naturalist, the Lapidary, and
the Antiquarian. It is with the view of directing attention to these
sources of information, that the author has grouped together in this
little work, many startling incidents in prairie life, and alluded to
relics of antiquity, bearing unmistakable indications of a high order
of civilization and science, in regard to which subsequent discoveries
have proved the hypothesis he assumes correct. That this country has
been peopled by a civilized race of sentient beings anterior to the
existence of the present tribes of Indians or their ancestors, is no
longer a matter of uncertainty; for everywhere throughout the West, and
in many places East of the Mississippi Valley, incontrovertible
evidences attest the high antiquity of monuments and relics of a
people, whose race, name and customs have been lost in the deep gloom
that hangs over the mighty past. In order more successfully to call
attention to these ancient reminiscences of our own country, and to
incite a spirit of inquiry in the minds of the young, he has
incidentally alluded to them while following the family of Mr. Duncan
in their toilsome journey and wanderings through the Great American
Desert. To those unacquainted with the antiquarian characteristics of
this continent, some of the allusions may appear improbable; yet
sufficiently competent authority has been consulted in the preparation
of this work to give the allusions reliable authenticity. If we shall
be successful in awakening such an inquiry, we shall be content, and
feel that our labors have not been unrewarded.
Philadelphia 1853.
Contents.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Mr. Duncan's Discontentment. He starts for the West in search of a
place of Settlement. 9