The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-12-28
THE STORY OF TONTY.
A Picturesque Tale of IA Picturesque Period
of our History,

that of the last quarter of the 18th
century. including and following the
"DiScOVcrv Of the Great West by
Marquette, Joliet, Father Ilcnncpin
and the still greater La Sale.
La Sale stands forth in bold relief
as the greatest Of the new world eN-
DlOrerS Of that time-nOt because he
accomplished much, but because of
the grandeur Of his conceptions of
empire and the magnitude Of the work
he would have accomplished had the
government, for whose glory he plan
ned and suffered so much. even to
death, stood by him and aided him,
instead Of permitting defeat of his
plans 10y his enemies. One can picture
La Sale as he stood ON the summit of
Starved ROCk-"FOrt st. Louis of the
Illinois of that day-looking down
through the coming centuries into the
then tar-diStant future, bchOlding the
beautiful Illinois valley, which he
then saw in fancy spread out before
him the centre Of a teaming pOpula-
tiOu-a new France which was to COM
prise the entire Mississippi valley from
the lakes to Gulf of Mexico, and of
this grand empire, his lie RoChcr'-
his naturc-built fortress. Il Gibraltar
of the prairic-waS to be the capital.
The Mississippi valley of to-day was in
La SALES minds eye then, only its
people were to be French and not
English. 1t was glorious conception
-grander than ever had entered the
nina Of cXplOrcr;and to lay the found
alton of that empire was the dream
Of La Sales life, for which rank and
! fortune and life itself were alike Sacri-
feed in vain.
At his age the French held the en-
trance to the interior at the north via
| the st. LawrenCcand the Great Lakes.
That being secure, La Sale took pos
session Of the interior of his grant Of
territory by fortifying lie Rochcr'-
Starved Rock-and planting colony
there as base. His dream then was
to take possession of the mouth of the
Mississippi, when the entire valley
would be under French control. In
the unfortunate expedition for that
purpose, after being thrown by treach-
cry and miSCalCulatiOn on the shores
of Texas, and while seeking the river
itself overland. his enemies villain
ously murdered him, and his dream of
empire died with him, never after
wards to be revived by Il Frenchman
| in any age
Among the Frenchmcn attached to
La Sale was Henri de TOnty-the
Man of the Iron Hand" a born sol
der, and above all faithful friend,
whom no calumny, no reverse, no
seIf-interest. could turn from his
friend and chief, La Sale. No fairer,
nober picture Of devoted friendship
and loyalty appears in the history Of
that, or, perhaps, any other time,
than that of Tonty to La Sale. Had
La Sale been surrounded in the new
world and had he had about the king
in the old world only such friends as
Tonty, he would, indeed, have been
the most successful and most famous
man OF his age.
Observation-Disclosures, as is the
history of La Sale and TOnty as
written by Parkman, on the Dis
coyery of the Great West" it re-
NAMED for the pen Of the romancer to
paint for us the men and not simply
the heroes. This picture Mrs. Cater
wood has given us in The story OF
Ionty," recently issued. We read
nearly half the book before we learn
much of TOnty, as much space is de-
voted to the filling in of local color,
as seen in the strifcs and chickering's
against La Sale in Canada, which
lead up to the failure of his great en-
terprise: the legalizcd robberies thai
consumed his resources; the attempts
to poison him, and to undermine his
influence. and his departure at last
for France. Amid all stands out the
devotion of Tonty, shielding La
Sale from assassination and poison,
and fighting for the greater man
among the jealous pgmieS of From
tenacs court. Here, too, we are in
troduced to the charming Barbe, a
niece Of La Sale, who as child, girl
and woman twineS herself around the
tender heart of the rugged TOnty, the
novelist thus introducing us to a new,
and as charming as new, vision Of the
man Tonty as loyable as his herOiSm
and Steadfast friendship are en-
nObling.
From Canada, after the departure
of La Sale, to be seen there and by
them no more forever, TOnty and
Barbe are transferred to LIE ROcher
and the Illinois Valley, where they
await the return Of La Sale to claim
his own, after having, as he intended,
discovered the mouth of the MisslSSip-
nj and taken possession of the river,
and the vast territory drained by it,
for his thanklesS master, the king. 1t
is this part of the story that cspe,
cially interests La Sale county peo-
ple, for its scene is familiar to all.
One could wish there were more de
tails of the life at lie ROcher Of that
time than there is: but one is thank
full for so much. We would like TO
know more of the people Of that day,
the yoyageurs, the courcurS du bols,
the traders, the trapperS ana
the Indians, for there is Just
enough of all this to whet the appe-
lite: and the authoreSs shows that she
tcOuld an she would" Yet this por-
tion of the story is after all the
best of it ala prose idyll OF love and
devotion to friend, tragical in that
the happiness of the marriage OF
Tonty and Barbe is married by the as
sassination of La Sale for whose sake
both Tonty and Barbe had risked all
Altogether the story is one OF the
most perfect in an artistic way that
has appeared this year: and to us OF
the Illinois Valley, who have studied