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 characters; 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.