Hunter, John Dunn, 1798?-1827

Adventurer; author of "Manners and customs of several Indian tribes located west of the Mississippi."

Captive, frontiersman, and author.

Seized by the Kickapoo Indians at an early age (ca. 1800) and raised by the Kansas and Osage tribes west of the Mississippi, Hunter learned to read and write after returning to white society in 1816. In 1823 he wrote "Memoirs of a Captivity among the Indians of North America," and travelled to London where he was widely acclaimed. At the urging of the Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the Parts Adjacent in North America, Hunter wrote "Reflections ..." which contained his plan for civilizing the Indians of his acquaintance. Hunter allowed its publication only for the use of the Company and its friends. Upon his return to America, Hunter found his writings condemned as fraudulent by Lewis Cass, William Clark, and other men prominent in western affairs. He spent his remaining years attempting to establish a refuge for displaced tribes in the Mexican Republic (now a part of Texas), which culminated in the short-lived Republic of Fredonia. Hunter was murdered in 1827.