A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America, extending above four thousand miles, between New France and New Mexico; with a description of the Great Lakes...with a continuation, giving an account of the attempts of the sieur de La Salle upon the mines of St. Barbe, &c. the taking of Quebec by the English by HENNEPIN, Louis (1640-1705) - 1698

London: Printed for M. Bentley, J. Tonson, H. Bonwick, T. Goodwin, and S. Manship, 1698. Two volumes in one, 8vo. (7 3/8 x 4 3/8 inches). [22],243,[32],228pp. Frontispiece, two engraved folding maps and six engraved folding plates. Modern panelled calf, spine in six compartments with raised bands, red morocco lettering piece in the second compartment, the others with a repeat decoration in gilt The desirable Tonson issue of the first edition in English of this important American narrative, including the first eye-witness account of Niagara Falls. The second issue of the English translation, known as the "Tonson issue," with plates and typography improved, after the original French edition published in Utrecht in 1697. No other narratives of French exploration in the interior of North America enjoyed as wide a popularity or stimulated as much controversy and criticism among later scholars as those of Hennepin. A Recollet missionary, Father Hennepin went to New France in 1675, and in 1678 he set out with La Salle to explore the fertile basin of the Mississippi River. While La Salle turned back to raise funds to continue the voyage, Hennepin went on to ascend the river from Fort Crevecoeur (Chicago) and penetrated farther northwest into the interior than any white man to that time. He discovered St. Anthony's Falls near the present site of Minneapolis, and provided the first eyewitness account of Niagara Falls. The engraving of the Falls which appears in his narrative, although an imaginative rendering, was the earliest to be published. Hennepin was subsequently captured by the Sioux, and after several months of wandering, he was rescued by Daniel De Lhut. This edition contains translations of both Hennepin's second and third books, Nouvelle Decouverte ... and Nouveau Voyage .... The first presents a fairly reliable account of Hennepin's actual travels and experiences, but also incorporates his entirely false claim to have descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. This is, in fact, Father Zenobe Membre's account, which Hennepin boldly plagiarized from Le Clercq. In his sequel, Nouveau Voyage ..., Hennepin added new material drawn from contemporary sources on Indian manners and customs and various North American travels. The first eight chapters describe the adventures and murder of La Salle, while the last concern the British treatment of the Recollets after the taking of Quebec in 1629. Despite the fact that Hennepin has been severely and justly criticized for imposture and plagiarism, his works, according to Thwaites, still stand as "invaluable contributions to the sources of American history; they deserve study, and to this day furnish rare entertainment. We can pardon much to our erratic friar, when he leaves to us such monuments as these." The maps are of great importance for the cartography of the Midwest. JCB (2)II:1535; European Americana 698/100; Wing H-1451; Sabin 31370; Church 773; TPL 6354 ("Bon- Issue"); Streit II: 2780; Howes H416, "b;" Cox II, p.84; Bell 266-67; Lande 423; Vail 278; Dionne II:250; ESTC R24981.