AVANTURES DU SR. C. LE BEAU, AVOCAT EN PARLEMENT, OU VOYAGE CURIEUX ET NOUVEAU, PARMI LES SAUVAGES DE L'AMERIQUE SEPTENTRIONALE...

Amsterdam: Chez Herman Uytwerf, 1738.. Two volumes. [14],370,[6]; 430,[6]pp., plus six plates (all folding). Lacks the folding map. Titlepages printed in red and black. 12mo. Contemporary speckled calf, spines gilt. A near fine copy. In 1729, Le Beau was transported to New France from a French prison where he had been incarcerated for libertinism. He fled from Quebec to Holland in 1730, having been charged with counterfeiting and thereby facing a death sentence. Sabin describes his narrative as "a pleasant gossiping book, evidencing considerable acquaintance with the subjects described. It contains a description of the manners and customs of the Iroquois, the Hurons, the Algonquins, and other Indian tribes, derived from the author's personal experiences, although the style in which the work is written is rather that of a romance than a true narrative." Of particular interest are the chapters in which the author discusses the habits of the beaver and the religious ideas and customs of the Indians. "A description of Huron, Iroquois, and Algonquin customs, written in charming style and based, the Author claims, on observations made on a trip to America in 1729" - TPL. TPL 168. LANDE 513. HOWES L167. BELL L126. FIELD 901. GAGNON I:1992. JCB I:582. SABIN 39582. WINSOR IV, p.299. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 738/41. DCB II, pp.373-74.