OF THE LIFE AND TRAVELS OF JOHN LEDYARD, FROM HIS JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE. BY JARED SPARKS. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. P R E F A CЕ. SOON after the death of JOHN LEDYARD, the subject of the following Memoir, some progress was made in collecting materials for an account of his life, by Dr. Isaac Ledyard, then of New York. The biographer's task was never begun, however, and the project was abandoned; but the papers procured for the purpose have been preserved by the family of Dr. Ledyard, and have furnished the facts for much the larger portion of the present narrątive. Researches have also been made in other quarters, and important original letters obtained. Particular acknowledgment is due to Mr. Henry Seymour, of Hartford, Connecticut, for the aid he has rendered in this respect. All the papers that have been used are entitled to the credit of unquestionable authenticity. Wherever it could be done, without deviating too much from a regular and proportionate train of events, the traveller has been allowed to speak for himself. His manner of thinking, as well as of acting, was so peculiar, A |