The author says this is a history of the country between the Wabash and Mississippi rivers, that was once occupied by the Illinois Indians. He says that some of the incidents in the narrative, “…are drawn from history, others from traditions, while many are from the statements of persons who figured in them. To collect these traditions from the Indians and early French pioneers, has been the work of many years, and harmonizing all conflicting accounts, candor compels me to admit, has not been a success.”