Dernieres decouvertes dans l'Amerique Septentrionale de M. de la Sale. Mises au jour par M. le Chevalier Tonti, Gouverneur du Fort Saint Louis, aux Islinois. by LA SALLE, René-Robert Cavalier de (1643-1687) TONTI, Henri de (1650-1704)

Paris: Jean Guignard, 1697. 8vo., (6 2/8 x 3 5/8 inches). 6-page publisher's catalogue at end. Title-page with woodcut device, woodcut head- and tail-pieces. Fine modern red morocco gilt, antique; preserved in a brown cloth clamshell box by Lamb & Buck. Provenance: near contemporary ownership inscription partially obscured at the head of the title-page dated 1698; modern book label on rear paste-down. THE FIRST ACCOUNT OF LA SALLE'S LAST, FATAL VOYAGE First edition, second issue with cancels for pages 167-168, 171-172 and 185-188. Written by La Salle's lieutenant, Tonti, who had entered Louis XIV's service as a cadet in 1668, "serving in several Mediterranean campaigns and losing his right hand in battle. To mitigate the difficulties caused by the loss of his hand, Tonti fitted himself with an artificial hand made either of iron, copper, or silver, which may have been articulated. La Salle noted that Tonti could accomplish tasks that required the use of two free arms. Tonty sometimes used his metal hand as an instrument of diplomacy with Indians, who throughout the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes knew him as "the man with the iron hand." Unable to obtain further royal patronage at the end of the Dutch wars, Tonti became the chief lieutenant of La Salle, who had been granted permission to explore the Mississippi and exploit its resources... As La Salle's lieutenant, Tonti achieved many firsts in the European exploration and settlement of the North American interior. During the winter of 1678-1679, Tonti supervised construction of the Griffon, the first sailing vessel on the upper Great Lakes. Shortly thereafter he established and built the first post in the Illinois country, Fort Crèvecoeur, on Peoria Lake in early 1680. With La Salle he reached the mouth of the Mississippi River and claimed it for France in April 1682. In December Tonti established Fort St. Louis on a bluff of the Illinois River near present-day Ottawa, Illinois. From there, Tonti began to fashion the network of Franco-Indian alliances that would lay the groundwork for the "French crescent" that would eventually extend from Quebec City to New Orleans and constitute one of the most important factors in the Europeans' imperial contest for North America. In 1686 he established the first post in the Lower Mississippi Valley on the Arkansas River, a vital link in the crescent" (Foret). In the meantime La Salle returned to France and mounted a second expedition which mistakenly landed at Matagorda Bay, Texas (Fort Saint Louis). Tonti remained in charge of the outpost in Illinois territory but later led several missions down the Mississippi from there, hoping to find La Salle. In December 1687, Tonti finally learned that La Salle's men had murdered him and that his colony was on the brink of total destruction, "Tonti set out with a handful of Frenchmen and Indians to succor the hapless settlers. Almost succumbing to starvation themselves, Tonty's party eventually turned back, unable to locate the colony after searching as far as East Texas" (Foret). Though he denied authorship of the work, it has been shown to be based on first-hand accounts Tonti compiled from survivors of La Salle's expedition, whom he interviewed. European Americana, 697/55; Michael James Foret for ANB; Graff 4164; Harrisse 174; Howes T-294; JCB Catalogue 4:346; Sabin 96172; Streeter sale 1:105; Wagner, Spanish Southwest 67. Catalogued by Kate Hunter.