Picture of Washington Irving
| The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Beach family connection? Marplot, Gasconade and Swarthy oh my! Antoine Deshetres “Tonish” was a jack of all trades hired man on Washington Irvings “A Tour of the Prairies” adventure. Tonish is second cousin on the Beach side of our family. Author Washington Irving was born in New York City in 1783. He achieved international fame for the fictional stories “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” as well as for such biographical works as A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Irving also served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain in the 1840’s and pushed for stronger copyright laws before his death in 1859. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1832, Washington Irving visited some of the little-known territories off the western fringes of the country, an expedition that inspired A Tour on the Prairies (1835). During this “Vacation” Washington Irving and the “Tourists” employed Antoine Deshetres who went by the name “Tonish”. The book is wonderful and describes our cousin in exquisite detail. Antoine Deshetres “Tonish”. He was the jack-of-all-trades. He had come to the service of the Tourists before their arrival at Chouteau’s trading post. . . . the squire, the groom, the cook, the tent man, in a word the factotum, and . . . the universal meddler and marplot of our party. This was a little swarthy, meagre, French creole . . . if all this little vagabond said of himself were to be believed, he was without morals, without caste, without creed, without county, and even without language . . . He was, withal, a notorious braggart and a liar of the first water. It was amusing to hear him vapor and gasconade about his terrible exploits and hair breadth escapes in war and hunting. He stuttered, at least that is what the journalists’ words lead one to believe. A tendency to stutter though didn’t stop him. He was effervescent. In the midst of his volubility, he was prone to be seized by a spasmodic gasping, as if the springs of his jaws were suddenly unhinged; but I am apt to think it was caused by some falsehood that stuck in his throat, for . . . immediately afterward there bolted forth a lie of the first magnitude. Tonish was a strong presence in all four Tourists’ journals. Tonish will not so soon sink into oblivion. Light, active, in the prime of life, no horse could take him by surprise . . . Full of make-shifts, and unspeakably useful in the woods . . . He was garrulous to excess, in spite of an impediment in his speech, in the form of a barrier, which it was necessary to break down by an effort, after which the words composing the meditated sentence, came tumbling headlong . . . he was a most determined and audacious braggart . . . for lying effrontery, none of us had ever seen his equal . . .he would bring a host of little lies to cover a big one . . . By the time the party arrived at the Three Forks, all the Tourists saw the worth of Tonish. He was the cook extraordinary and could do just about everything else. Tonish is now by far the most important personage, and we . . . await the result of his operations. The young Count added his take on Tonish/Toniche. As he was riding his pony Missionary, he discovered the truth in Toniche’s tall tale. Today Mr. Toniche, our cook and braggart-in-chief, came galloping up to tell us that five monstrously big bears had just entered a nearby wood . . . I see three black animals come out of the woods. . . . I arrive close enough to the black objects to see a long fluffy tail and other signs which, coupled with my previous knowledge of bears, persuade me that these are beautiful black prairie-wolves. Commissioner Ellsworth found little of which to complain. Tonish . . . is a good cook—a fine hunter—a stranger to fear, and as fleet as a deer. Picture of Washington Irving. |
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Beach family connection? Marplot, Gasconade and Swarthy oh my!
Antoine Deshetres “Tonish” was a jack of all trades hired man on Washington Irvings “A Tour of the Prairies” adventure. Tonish is second cousin on the Beach side of our family.
Author Washington Irving was born in New York City in 1783. He achieved international fame for the fictional stories “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” as well as for such biographical works as A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Irving also served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain in the 1840’s and pushed for stronger copyright laws before his death in 1859.
Upon returning to the U.S. in 1832, Washington Irving visited some of the little-known territories off the western fringes of the country, an expedition that inspired A Tour on the Prairies (1835). During this “Vacation” Washington Irving and the “Tourists” employed Antoine Deshetres who went by the name “Tonish”.
The book is wonderful and describes our cousin in exquisite detail.
Antoine Deshetres “Tonish”.
He was the jack-of-all-trades. He had come to the service of the Tourists before their arrival at Chouteau’s trading post.
. . . the squire, the groom, the cook, the tent man, in a word the factotum, and . . . the universal meddler and marplot of our party. This was a little swarthy, meagre, French creole . . . if all this little vagabond said of himself were to be believed, he was without morals, without caste, without creed, without county, and even without language . . . He was, withal, a notorious braggart and a liar of the first water. It was amusing to hear him vapor and gasconade about his terrible exploits and hair breadth escapes in war and hunting. He stuttered, at least that is what the journalists’ words lead one to believe. A tendency to stutter though didn’t stop him. He was effervescent. In the midst of his volubility, he was prone to be seized by a spasmodic gasping, as if the springs of his jaws were suddenly unhinged; but I am apt to think it was caused by some falsehood that stuck in his throat, for . . . immediately afterward there bolted forth a lie of the first magnitude.
Tonish was a strong presence in all four Tourists’ journals.
Tonish will not so soon sink into oblivion. Light, active, in the prime of life, no horse could take him by surprise . . . Full of make-shifts, and unspeakably useful in the woods . . . He was garrulous to excess, in spite of an impediment in his speech, in the form of a barrier, which it was necessary to break down by an effort, after which the words composing the meditated sentence, came tumbling headlong . . . he was a most determined and audacious braggart . . . for lying effrontery, none of us had ever seen his equal . . .he would bring a host of little lies to cover a big one . . .
By the time the party arrived at the Three Forks, all the Tourists saw the worth of Tonish. He was the cook extraordinary and could do just about everything else.
Tonish is now by far the most important personage, and we . . . await the result of his operations.
The young Count added his take on Tonish/Toniche. As he was riding his pony Missionary, he discovered the truth in Toniche’s tall tale.
Today Mr. Toniche, our cook and braggart-in-chief, came galloping up to tell us that five monstrously big bears had just entered a nearby wood . . . I see three black animals come out of the woods. . . . I arrive close enough to the black objects to see a long fluffy tail and other signs which, coupled with my previous knowledge of bears, persuade me that these are beautiful black prairie-wolves.
Commissioner Ellsworth found little of which to complain.
Tonish . . . is a good cook—a fine hunter—a stranger to fear, and as fleet as a deer.