Letters and Notes on the Customs and Manners of the North American Indians is a two-volume travel narrative by George Catlin, an American painter, author, and traveler. The book, published in 1842 in London, was written during eight years of travel from 1832 to 1839 and contains many of Catlin’s illustrations. The book is divided into letters written by Catlin, rather than chapters, with some letters containing information about the same regions. Summary Volume 1 Volume 1 is 264 pages and contains 31 letters. The first letter serves as an introduction to Catlin’s life, setting up the writings on his travels. He then travels to the mouth of the Yellowstone River and then to a Mandan village. He writes several letters about the Mandan village before writing about his travels to a Minataree village. The final letters of the first volume describe the mouth of the Teton River. Letter 1: Introduction This first letter is written to serve as an introduction and is actually written after the others to give the reader background information. In it, Catlin tells the reader he was born in Wyoming, Pennsylvania to parents that moved to the area shortly after the Revolutionary War and the "Indian Massacre." He followed in his father's footsteps and became a lawyer, but eventually gave that up to become an artist in Philadelphia. He starts for the west in 1832, and tells of what he hopes his book will do, saying "I send forth these volumes at this time, fresh and full of their living deeds and customs, as a familiar and unstudied introduction (at least) to them and their native character; which I confidently hope will repay the readers who read for information and historical facts, as well as those who read but for amusement." In this letter, he also tells the reader the proper way to approach Indians and his thoughts on their probable eventual extinction based on the history of the number of people in the tribes. Letters 2–9: Mouth of the Yellow Stone In these letters he takes note of the beauty of the area, and also learns about buffalo hunting. He makes multiple illustrations of the animal itself, along with a piece that illustrates the actual act of hunting and killing the buffalo. He also learns about the Blackfoot nation (letter 5), even painting the head chief. The line cut can be seen at the