The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-06-20
A ScraD Of HislOry.


diate question came from all sides "What il
Tonti Z" "Who was TOnti 2" "What does tn,
word Tonti mean 2" And for week these cues
tions went from mouth to mouth with appar
emily nobody ready to answer them. Surprised
that such ignorance should prevail in reference
to most interesting period in the early history
of the immediate locality in which we live, We
have taken the pains to look up ou: Bancroft
Peck, Ford and some local records and collate
from them the following plain but entirely au.
thentic narrative:
Early in the year 1880, Chevaler De La Sale
obtained from the King of France commission
authorizing him to make an expedition of discov.
cry through the Valley Of the Mississippi, then
supposed to be the western part of North Amer.
lea, and to take possession of such lands as he
might discover in the name of the King o,
France.
Under this commission La Sale hastened to
the Canadas, which were then held by the
French, aud there formed and equipped a party
consisting Of men whom various fortunes and
the civil wars of Europe had driven to America,
and of Indian Chiefs who had fought the English
under King Philip and been driven from their
homes in the region of country now known as
the New England states Five Catholic priests
accompanied La Sale on this expedition, for the
purpose of converting the Indians.
With this band Of adventures La Sale pro.
oeeded to the shores of Lake Erie early in the
1f ~
boat or schooner which he named the Griffin,
with which to navigate the lakes. This was the
first European vessel that ever traversed the
lakes.
Among those composing the party there was
man by the name OF 7ont, pronounced Ton.ee,)
an Italian by birth, who possessed singular force
OF character and mind full of resources. Ton.i
as we'll as La Sale was able to control and direct
the wild and adventurous spirit of their follow.
ers, and make firm allies of the more powerful
Indian tribes with whom they came in contact
La Sale made Tonti his Lieutenant, and al.
ways relied upon his advice with implicit conf.
dence. In the absence of La Sale, Tonti was
the commander Of the expedition.
With this rude boat, constructed as stated above
and several bark canoes furnished by the In.
dians, the brave band Of men coasted the whole
length of Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan
and arrived at the mouth of the river st. JOSEPH
in the fall of 1880.
They proceeded up this river for some distance
and succeeded. with the exception OF narrow
tract of land over which they carried their bark
canoes in reaching by water the head waters Of
the Kankakee.
They continued down the Ksnkakee and Hi.
nois rivers to a place on the bank of Peoria Lake
near the present site Of the city of Peoria, where
they halted, and constructed a fort in which they
remained until the following spring.
II was some time in the month Of Novembe,
when the party reached the head waters Of the
Kankakee During their passage down the Kan
kakee and Illinois rivers the weather was cold
ice was running in the river, grain was scarce
and they suffered much for want of food
Some distance above the place now occupied
by the city o; Ottawa, they found a buffalo
hemmed in by the ice, which they captured
This furnished them with u temporary supply O.
food.
A little further down the river and not ia,
from the present site of the city of Ottawa, they
found an Indian Village and considerable guam
titles Of corn deposited in caches. They found nc
inhabitants in the village. the Indians, as it va.
their custom to do, had removed 10 more south
ern parts of the country during the cold weather
From these caches La Sale supplied his party
with corn for the winter for which he paid the
Indians on their return in the spring.
In the spring of 1851 La Sale, being exceed.
ingly pleased with the country he had found, de-
termined to return to France to obtain mean,
and men with which to prosecute his discoveries
With him, to will was to do Accompanied by a
few friendly Indians he started early in March
1851 ON his return to France. He halted on hi
way at place now known as Starved Rock.
This rock stands on the south bank of the Hi.
nois river, its base being washed by the water OF
the river, and is about eight miles down the river
from Ottawa. Ell
The rock is about 1876 feet high and is psrpen.
dicular except on the south side, where its tor
with some difficulty can be reached by marrow
pathway. The top of the rock contains an area
of about one half Of an acre.
The quick eye Of La Sale perceived that thii
rock could be easily made into fort which
would be impreguable to any mode of Indian At
tack; and he sent messenger back with direc.
tions to Tonti to construct tort ON this rock
without delay, and continued on his journey tc
France. h.' $50
Accordingly Tonti immsdistely proceeded ia
the place indicated and constructed fort on the
rock a directed by La Sale. It was named Fort