Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Mapping of the Canadian West

Book was exactly as described, and packed safely.

If you have ever canoed for a few days or ever trekked in the wilderness with a pack on your back, you will be astounded by the extraordinary physical and intellectual energy of this English-born Canadian explorer. From 1784 to 1812, he traveled many tens of thousands of miles between Montreal and the mouth of the Columbia River, and mapped much of the region in between -- well over one million square miles. Perhaps the single most impressive physical feat of his decades-long career as a fur trader and surveyor was his crossing of the Canadian Rockies, in the depths of winter, to discover the upper reaches of the Columbia River. It's a daunting enough landscape even in summer. How he ever crossed in winter, dragging heavy supplies and trade goods over high passes in deep snow, I can hardly imagine.For nearly 30 years he worked for the Hudson's Bay Company and the North-west Company, the two great fur-trading companies of the era in the northern part of North America. At the age of 14, he was transplanted from London to the bleak, treeless, windswept shores of Hudson's Bay, there to serve out his seven years apprenticeship at a fur-trading post. He somehow survived the wrenching transition, avoided hungry polar bears, learned French and at least a couple of Indian languages, and mastered the business of fur-trading as well as the art of surveying.The maps he created in the early 19th century were so accurate that they were still in use at the end of the century, despite the immensely greater resources available to the government surveyors who followed him. He also, after he retired as a fur-trader, worked as the chief surveyor for the British as part of the US-British boundary commission that defined much of the border of Canada and the US after the War of 1812. He was one of the greatest map-makers of his time.He was also a man of interesting character, working in a very rough wilderness well beyond the bounds of urban civilization or any kind of government. He was very religious. He married an Indian woman when he was 29 and she was 13, had 10 children with her, and stayed with her until he died at the age of 80, despite the prejudices of pioneer society. He opposed the alcohol trade that was destroying so many Indian tribes and refused to deal in it. He worked extraordinarily hard, away from his family for a year or more at a time. Even in his old age he continued working, writing a several hundred pages-long Narrative of his travels and explorations, which was only published decades after his death.The author of this biography, D'Arcy Jenish, does an excellent job of weaving all this material together in a way that is always interesting and often compelling. Ironically, if I have one complaint, it is this: a book about a map-maker should have a lot more maps in it! The only way to follow Thompson's progress is to sit with the book in hand and an atlas open in your lap. This is a pretty major failing for the book, but if you an atlas with a decently detailed map of the Canadian west and of the US north-west, you will do fine.

David Thompson first crossed the Continental Divide in 1807 and devoted the next five years to the fur trade and exploration in the Columbia River drainage. He was the first person of European descent to explore the entire length of the Columbia River. His journals and maps laid the foundation for European resource exploitation and subsequent settlement of Washington State, western Montana, and southeastern British Columbia. In fact, all exploration in the Columbia River drainage was largely British rather than American during the first half of the nineteenth century. Writings and symposia on David Thompson are predictably increasing in both Canada and the United States as we enter the bicentennial period of that exploration.Parts of David Thompson's long life are enigmatic and seemingly contradictory. "Epic Wanderer" is a journalistic account of the known facts. It is not as insightful as "Sources of the River," the book that has emerged as the definitive account of Thompson's northwest explorations. However, "Epic Wanderer" does provide a more complete account of David Thompson's life after he left the active fur trade and settled in the vicinity of Montreal. Since Thompson died in 1857, this eastern experience represents more than half his life. During that time, Thompson experienced considerable success in several endeavors, but a financial collapse left him and his wife to die in poverty.David Thompson was a skilled surveyor. His maps were more accurate than those of his contemporaries. Overlooked by those who focus on his contributions to western expansion is the fact that before and after his time in the Northwest, he made important surveys on the eastern border between British Canada and the United States. The first period was as an employee of the North West Fur Company. The second was an official survey conducted jointly by the two countries.Because David Thompson was a contemporary of Lewis and Clark, today's writers often compare them. This is only partially valid. The latter was a military expedition of exploration that spent only a few months west of the Continental Divide. David Thompson was a fur trader working for a commercial company and spent five years criss-crossing the area. He had the desire and talent to explore, but trading had to come first. As he advanced his trading territory, his journals recorded an expanding knowledge of the territory and its inhabitants, plants, and animals. Thompson's maps are much more accurate than those developed by Lewis and Clark, partially because he had more time to refine them.As intriguing as Thompson himself, is the fur trade itself and the native peoples involved. Thompson was very dependent on the local natives who guided him, aided him in establishing trading posts, and helped him expand his trade. Charlotte Small, Thompson's wife for 57 years, was half Cree. Together they bridged a period of European-Indigenous relationship that is the subject of intensive research today.

After watching Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness on TV, I wanted to know more of these intrepid explorers. After reading about the exploits of Samuel Hearne and his exploits, I wanted to read about David Thompson and his very thorough mapping techniques using compass and sextant. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and still marvel at the accuracy of the maps produced by such simple instruments, albeit using the sextant is by no means simple.

great book especially if you have been to canada

I always wondered about this man. My high school was named after him. I have also found out he was a Welshmen , maybe a distant ancestor?? The book is very well written and was easy to read. Well bound good solid text and good paper. There’s so much information contained in this book it’s hard to know where to begin a review. This is true early canadiana at its best. The author reference’s all sorts of historical facts, that are very easy to research. These early Canadian people were a tough breed, although Mr. Thompson was British I think of him as Canadian. Very fun read makes you feel like you are tramping through the wilderness along with the explorer. I would recommend this read to anyone interested in early Canada. Makes me proud to say I’m Canadian. The war between Hudson Bay company and the north West fur traders is a great tale. Absolutely a must read for all of us who call ourselves Canadian. 5 stars for sure.

Decades ago, after reading Peter C. Newman's opinionated *Caesars of the Wilderness* on the HBC, I had a bias against David Thompson as being a lesser Canadian explorer, but this superb biography has entirely changed my view.The other most famous explorers of the Canadian west – Samuel Hearne, Alexander Mackenzie, & Simon Fraser (and I could throw in the famous American explorers, Lewis & Clark) – only accomplished one or two extraordinary journeys. They kept journals but none of them did any mapping or exploration for its own sake, nor did they much comment on the customs of the native people they encountered.David Thompson did a great many wilderness journeys, both across BNA (British North America, now Canada) and the U.S. so covered more territory than those mentioned above or anyone known ever. He learned the languages of several tribal groups and spent time listening to their tales. Thompson was the only known explorer or fur trader who steadfastly refused to give or trade liquor to the indigenous peoples. He was a teetotaler himself.Plus he had a scientific bent; he learned to be a remarkable astronomer, surveyor, and mapmaker. He was the first to travel the length of the great Columbia River from its source on the BC-Alberta border to its vast outlet into the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon-Washington border.Later in his life he took part in surveying the Great Lakes boundary between the United States and the two Canadas. However, he was left out of the negotiations between the British & the Americans on who would claim the vast and rich Oregon territory. An American ship sent by Jacob Astor had reached the mouth of the Columbia just before his team of Canadian voyageurs arrived by canoe. But he had already explored & surveyed much of the land north of the Columbia. Strangely, the British refused his offer to use his maps to justify their claim to what is now Washington state, and in fact readily agreed to turning all the land in question over to the Americans.How did this happen? For one thing, the U.S. republic was in expansionist mode and was hinting they were ready to go to war, if necessary. For another, the British negotiators seemed so ready to transfer title that one must wonder how much they were bribed. It is now all part of the U.S.Thompson sadly died in abject poverty, unrecognized and unknown, though he did write a detailed record of his travels, which were later discovered and passed around. But he was not recognized as an important contributor to Canadian history until around the beginning of the 20th century & since.This biography by D'arcy Jenish is both a careful history and a rousing story: highly recommended!

This book is good background information on Thompson. I actually went to Kootenay House to follow Thompson’s journey. Unfortunately those details are not in the book. It did allow me to follow his route and imagine the challenge of his journey. I did find Sallish House, Kallipel, House and Spokane House. Fort Colville is underwater at Kettle Falls. The book is not very clear on what happened when he found the Pend D’Oreille River to wild to navigate. I assume he went East from Sandpoint to the Kootenay River and explored it to where is joins Columbia. The author does show that Thompson was one of the most important explorers of Western North America.