HE publishers herewith present to the public a volume, historical and descriptive, of our Great Western Empire. Its plan and scope are such as must commend it to every patriotic and intelligent American-to every citizen who loves his country, and takes pride in contemplating its vast extent and illimitable resources. The work is divided into two nearly equal parts, the first containing historical sketches of the early explorations and settlements in the West, and the second developing the progress of particular States and Territories by combining historical with statistical and geographical facts.
The first part gives, in a general view, the early explorations and pioneer settlements made; the courage, perseverance, and heroism displayed, the sufferings endured, and the dangers and perils encountered, in adding to our original American Republic, and bringing into our domain of civilization and progress the great Mississippi Valley, embracing the vast region lying between the Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains, and extending from the Gulf of Mexico to our great Northwestern lakes and the British Possessions; and in annexing to all this the great stretch of territory lying west of these seeming barriers-the Rocky Mountains-and bordering on the Pacific Ocean. This is what we denominate in this work "Our Western Empire." But in fact it constitutes the great body of our nation's vast domain. Without it, how insignificant in territorial extent, and in natural resources, would seem the strip of country east of the Alleghany Mountains on the Atlantic coast, and South-east on the Gulf of Mexico. A history and description of the West, in this enlarged view, may almost be said to be a history and description of the American Union.
The history of the Great West opens with the discovery of the Mississippi River, in 1541, by Ferdinand De Soto, and the first explorations by adventurous fur-traders, and the founding of missions by French Jesuits a century afterward, in the region around Lake Huron. A rapid and graphic delineation is then given of the explorations and first settlements in the Mississippi Valley by the French; their explorations of the Ohio river; the first English settlement in Ohio; the military exploits of the youthful George Washington; the French and Indian war; the relinquishment by France of her pretensions to dominion on this continent; the possession by the English of the