Henry de Tonty: Fur Trader of the Mississippi. By Edmund
Robert Murphy.
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1941. Pp. xix, 129. Illus-
trations. $2.00.

From the introduction we learn that Henry de Tonty was a
many-sided man--"a soldier, an explorer, historian, and--mod-
estly, of course--a linguist, scout and guide, diplomat, Indian
leader and fighter. He was a notable publicist and pioneer of
the Mississippi Valley. Not least of all, he was a fur trader and
business man." He was well known to many important French-
men of the late seventeenth century--"La Salle, Hennepin,
Denonville, Frontenac, La Forest, Le Sueur, Joutel, Iberville,
Bienville, to mention only a few."

The story about Tonty is divided into ten chapters. The
first--on Tonty's early life--is one of two long chapters;
the ninth chapter, entitled "Royal Invasion of Tonty's Fur
Trading Domain," is the other. The second chapter lays the
beginnings of Tonty's American career with his departure for
America at the age of twenty-eight; he remained in New France
until his death in 1704. Other chapters deal with Tonty's Indian
and Canadian competitors, his work at Fort Saint Louis on the
Illinois River, his Arkansas post, his competition with the
Indians and the English, and with other activities. The tenth
chapter carries the title, "Imprint on the Mississippi Valley,"
and in it the author says: "By reason of Tonty's contributions
it may be said that he paved the way for the vanguard of
Americans lured to the west by 'manifest destiny.' American
advance into the Louisiana country was greatly facilitated by
the economic development of that region under France, and
in that development, Tonty had played a significant role." In
this last chapter "Tonty's place in history is admirably summed
up," as Professor Herbert E. Bolton says in the foreword.

The University of Texas.

R. L. Biesele.

How to cite:
"Henry de Tonty", Volume 45, Number 4, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v045/n4/review_DIVL6905.html
[Accessed Mon Nov 23 12:58:45 CST 2009]