Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

An Irish officer in the British army, William Francis Butler (1838 1910) travelled widely during a career which took him from India to Africa. In 1867 he made for Canada with his regiment, and he recalls his adventures in this lively account, first published in 1872 to immediate success, and followed by this second edition in the same year. The book covers Butler's risky reconnaissance mission during the Red River Rebellion, during which he met the Metis leader Louis Riel. Later chapters describe subsequent journeys into the sparsely populated Manitoba and Saskatchewan territories, as well as the US states of Illinois, Minnesota and North Dakota. In vivid detail, Butler describes the landscapes and peoples he encountered, including many Native American tribes. This region of North America was later transformed by an influx of settlers, and Butler's work captures the final days of what was then an underexplored wilderness."