The poem written by Smith tells the story of the forced exile of American Indians from Georgia to the territory west of the Mississippi in 1838. The journey on which many died became known as the Trail of Tears. Dupont made an engraving that utilized Indian symbols relating to Smith's poem. Dupont's cover design depicted rows of multi-colored tear drops. Thirty six copies of this book were signed by the authors anf printed on Japon paper; the remainder were unsigned and printed on ordinary paper. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.