EIGHT YEARS OF TRADING
The report which Thompson made to his employers after his return to
Grand Portage was of immense value to them. They now had a clear
idea of the whole stretch of country from Sault Ste. Marie to the
upper waters of the Missouri river, and were in a position to
rearrange their trading houses to meet the needs of the time.
Similar work remained to be done in the other regions to which the
interests of the Company extended. But the same haste was not
required, and the surveys could be pushed forward with less
difficulty and expense in connection with what was the main object of
the partners, that is the prosecution of the trade in furs. Thompson
was therefore requested to undertake some of the actual work of
trading, with freedom to make such journeys of exploration as he saw
fit.
The eight years following therefore mark a new period in his service
with the North West Company, during which his activities carried him
far and wide along the great waterways of the interior. Throughout
these years he exercised, to the full, the qualities of mind and
character which made him such a unique surveyor. His bulky note
books were crammed with memoranda gathered with painstaking accuracy
and checked with minute care. From time to time, where a less
hurried visit to one of the more comfortable trading houses made it
possible, he added his newly acquired information to the map which he
had in hand. With each report that he made to Headquarters, the
picture of the Great West gradually took shape. Its physical
features were delineated; its wild life was noted and classified; its
native populations, their numbers, their racial affinities and
languages, their manners and customs were as far as possible
described. This was indeed wizardry, as his ignorant French-Canadian
and Indian followers imagined; but it was the wizardry of science,
which, by the slow accumulation of ascertained facts, lays the whole
world of nature at the feet of civilized man.
In the summer of 1798, the attention of traders was largely directed
to the western forest country, which lies beyond the divide
separating the waters of the upper Saskatchewan from the basin of the
Peace and Athabaska rivers. Twenty years before, Peter Pond had
penetrated into this region as far as Lake Athabaska, and there
established a post. At Lake Athabaska, ten years later, Roderick
Mackenzie had built Fort Chippewyan, from which Sir Alexander had set
out on his two famous voyages, the one down the Mackenzie to the
Arctic, the other up the Peace to its headwaters and from thence
across British Columbia to the Pacific. Apart, however, from the
activity centred in Lake Athabaska, little had been done as yet to
explore the possibilities of trade in what is now northern Alberta.
Thompson was therefore instructed to proceed to Lake la Biche or Red
Deer lake, whose waters fall into the Athabaska river about fifty
miles below Athabaska Landing. On the 14th of July, he set forth
from Grand Portage with the Churchill river brigade. By the middle
of August they had reached Cumberland House, and a week later they
had crossed over Frog Portage to the main stream of the Churchill.
From this point west the route lay through a region as yet new to
Thompson. As he ascended the river to Isle à la Crosse, he found
that the country was still composed of the denuded rock with which he
was familiar on the lower stretches of the river. Ridges of this
rock, crossing the valley of the stream from point to point, gave it
the character of an irregular chain of lakes with many portages and
falls. Like the rest of the stony country, it was somewhat poor in
game and fur-bearing animals, although many of the lakes teemed with
fish.
From Isle à la Crosse to the valley of the Athabaska there were two
possible routes. To the north there was Turnor's old course by way
of Methy Portage and Clearwater river. To the south, the Beaver
river led through a district of plain and forest to its headwaters at
Beaver lake, from which there was an easy portage over the height of
land to Lake la Biche. Thompson followed the Beaver river, and
arrived at Lake la Biche in time to build a post before the beginning
of winter.
He was now at the southern end of that vast stretch of country which
he calls the Great Western Forest, and almost in the same latitude as
that of Reed lake in the Muskrat country where he had spent the
winter of 1794-5. He was thus in a position to compare the climate
and soil of this region with that of his old home on the eastern or
"Siberian" side of North America. Throughout the long winter months,
he kept as usual a careful record of the temperatures registered from
day to day by his thermometer. At Reed lake, the temperature for
December had varied from +31° to -45° with a mean of -10° F. For
January it had varied from +11° to -47° with a mean of -21.3°, and
for February from +39° to -31° with a mean of +6°. At Lake la Biche
he found that although in each of the three winter months, the
mercury sank as low as 48° below zero, it rose at times as high as
43° above, and that the mean for December, the coldest month, was not
lower than -6.5°. Then, too, while Reed lake was hardly above the
level of Hudson Bay, the country about Lake la Biche was high and
dry, and the snow did not lie so thick on the ground at the end of
winter. Accordingly, the rays of the sun had a chance to exert their
power on the face of the land much earlier in the year, and spring
burst at Lake la Biche long before winter had loosened his iron grip
on the region about Reed lake.
The forests with their wild life responded generously to the less
rigorous climate. In the Muskrat region, the wretched traders and
Indians were forced to scour the country for fish and game in
quantities sufficient to keep them alive. At Lake la Biche the
waters yielded an abundant supply of fish; and during the five months
that he spent at the post, Thompson saw no less than forty-nine moose
and several buffalo brought in, all of which had been shot within
twenty miles of the house. There also all the animals, including the
precious beaver, attained their full size and development.
Thompson wished to get an idea of the extent and general character of
this western forest land, and the quickest way to do so was to survey
the Athabaskan waters from their sources. Accordingly, when spring
opened, he rode across country southwest to Fort Augustus and from
thence westward to the headwaters of the Pembina, which at this point
was divided from the valley of the Saskatchewan by a narrow neck of
land. Embarking on the Pembina, he followed it down till it merged
with the main stream of the Athabaska river. A short excursion up
the Slave Lake river enabled him to explore the shore line of Lesser
Slave lake. Returning to the Athabaska, he continued along its broad
stream past Athabaska Landing to the mouth of the Clearwater river,
and from thence he made his way along the well-known track by Methy
Portage and the Churchill to Grand Portage. Throughout the region
embraced in his survey, he found little exposed rock and therefore
few lakes, but what was better for the beaver many small brooks and
streams which they could dam for their ponds. The country thus
promised a steady yield of furs from year to year, and this, with the
generous supply of game which the forest offered to trader and
trapper, was enough to justify the name which it bore, "The
fur-traders' paradise."
In the mad competition for pelts, the different companies could not
rest content with the trade of regions already within their grasp.
Each of them sought always to push further afield; for he, who could
anticipate his rivals in opening new country, might plant his trading
houses on the most advantageous sites and bind the Indians to himself
with ties which later comers could not break. In 1790, Peter Pangman
for the North-Westers had pressed along the course of the North
Saskatchewan to a point five miles above its junction with the
Clearwater. There from a hill top he had gazed along the line of
snow-capped Rockies, and his eyes had travelled up the winding course
of the river to the gap through which it issued from the mountains.
From that time the partners had never ceased to dream of the wealth
that lay beyond the Great Divide. In a decade the line of their
trading posts had been extended to a point but three miles short of
"Pangman's Pine." There, in a wide plain not far from the forks of
the river, rose the walls and blockhouses of Rocky Mountain House,
destined to serve as a point of departure for the invasion of the
last great area as yet unknown.
But much tedious work remained to be done before it would be possible
to hazard the passage of the Rocky Mountains. Besides the North
Saskatchewan, there were two main branches of the South river, the
Red Deer and the Bow rivers, and these had to be surveyed to their
sources in the foothills in order to determine the best routes for
trade. The Blackfoot, Blood, and Piegan Indians, whose encampments
lay along the courses of these streams, were suspicious and hostile.
They held these regions by right of conquest from the Kootenays and
Snakes whom they had driven to the mountains; and these needed only
to procure the muskets and ammunition which the white men could
supply in order to sweep down through the rugged passes and revenge
themselves for the defeats of many years. The Indians therefore
steadily opposed any movement of the traders toward the Rockies, and
even the stoutly fortified trading posts were hardly secure against a
sudden assault.
In these circumstances, the partners at Grand Portage could think of
no one better qualified than David Thompson to accomplish the objects
of the company. They remembered the early connections which he had
made among the Piegans during his service with the English, and they
had complete confidence in his skill and daring. Thompson was
accordingly taken away from his work in the Athabaska country, almost
before it was well begun, and despatched up the Saskatchewan to Fort
George, in order that he might draw the maps of his recent surveys
and complete his preparations for the work that was now in hand.
In the spring he took horse and rode overland to Fort Augustus, and
thence south along the Edmonton-Calgary line to a point just short of
the present town of Lacombe. Turning west, he struck the Clearwater
near its mouth and found himself at Rocky Mountain House. While he
himself descended the North Saskatchewan to the elbow, making a
survey as he went, he sent four French Canadians south to the Red
Deer river, with orders to follow it to its junction with the main
stream of the South Saskatchewan. A short distance below Rocky
Mountain House, he found a party of Hudson's Bay men encamped for
building. The English, as well as the Canadians, were bent on
crossing the Great Divide; and it would be a serious blow if they
were allowed to anticipate the North-Westers in so doing.
Accordingly, on his return to Rocky Mountain House, Thompson brought
with him Duncan McGillivray from down the river, in order that he
might have assistance in pressing forward his explorations. Along
with McGillivray, he rode across to the Red Deer river, where he
found a camp of Piegans. A short stay among them was enough to lull
their suspicions; and Thompson was then able to ride twenty-two miles
west to the foot of the mountains, where he expected to meet a band
of Kootenays. These he found, twenty-six strong. With their women
and children they had crossed the divide to meet the white traders.
These Kootenays were the first of the British Columbia Indians whom
Thompson had encountered. He warned them of the presence of the
Piegans only a few miles east, and sent them back across the
mountains. In order to avoid the Piegans, they travelled by way of
the North Saskatchewan and succeeded in reaching their homes
unobserved.
Meanwhile, with McGillivray and four men on horseback, Thompson
crossed the Red Deer river and rode still further south to the banks
of the Bow, not far from Calgary. This stream he surveyed as far
east as the bend and westward to Exshaw at the foot of the mountains.
McGillivray then made a traverse across from the north fork of the
Saskatchewan to the valley of the Athabaska, the results of which
were carefully incorporated in Thompson's notes. Thompson himself
spent the rest of the winter at Rocky Mountain House, trading with
the natives and taking observations to fix the location of the post.
When spring opened, he resolved to attempt a journey into the
mountains by land. With a party of eight men and an Indian guide, he
started westward from Rocky Mountain House. In the narrow valley of
the Sheep river, the horses could go no further; and as the guide
knew of no other route, they returned to the post. A second attempt,
this time by canoe up the Saskatchewan, was equally unsuccessful
because of the floods on the river. When Thompson returned to
eastern headquarters in the spring of 1802, he was not yet able to
report that he had opened a practicable route to the west of the
Rockies.
What was the effect of this news upon the minds of the partners?
From Thompson's subsequent movements, it is possible to surmise. The
attempt to pierce the mountains from the headwaters of the
Saskatchewan was for the time being abandoned, and attention was once
more transferred to the north. According to the surveys already made
by Thompson, the west end of Lesser Slave lake could not be more than
fifty or seventy-five miles from the valley of the Peace river, up
which Alexander Mackenzie had travelled ten years before. Thither
Thompson was sent, with instructions to explore a route across the
watershed.
From the upper end of Lesser Slave lake, he pushed his way west
through a wide valley until he came to the banks of the Smoky river.
On the different branches of the Saskatchewan, he had noted the seams
of coal exposed along the banks. At Smoky river, the coal beds,
ignited by spontaneous combustion, had been burning from beyond the
memory of the oldest Indians on the river, and the dark clouds of
smoke which they sent forth gave the river its name. Smoky river was
a tributary of the Peace. A short journey down stream brought him to
the Forks where now stands Peace River Landing.
Thompson spent the winters of 1803 and 1804 developing trade from the
old posts built by Mackenzie at the Forks of the river, and westward
beyond the frontiers of British Columbia. Here, as at the headwaters
of the Saskatchewan, he found rivals. No sooner was he settled at
the Forks than a party of XY traders from Montreal landed a few yards
from the post and made preparations for the erection of a house.
Thompson prosecuted his work with his accustomed vigour. In the
winter of 1805, when Simon Fraser set forth on the journey that was
to make him famous, he found that a base for his exploration of the
Fraser river had been soundly established on the Peace by his friend
and colleague David Thompson. He honoured him accordingly when he
gave the name of Thompson to the greatest tributary of the Fraser
river.
By the summer of 1804 Thompson was once more back at headquarters, no
longer at Grand Portage (for that had been surrendered to the
Americans), but at Fort William on Thunder Bay, where the dépôt of
the company had now been established. In that year, the trade war
with the XY Company had reached an acute stage. The Hudson's Bay
Company had also reorganized their enterprises, and between them
these rivals had almost succeeded in wresting from the North-Westers
the trade of the Muskrat country. Thompson was therefore withdrawn
from the fields of his recent activity, his chance of crossing the
mountains was indefinitely postponed, and he was sent into the
Muskrat country to restore the trade of that region to the Canadians.
With a heavy heart he turned his back on the far west, and entered
the cold and dismal forest which he knew only to loathe. But loyalty
was one of the deepest instincts of his nature, and so, with
indefatigable energy, he proceeded to build new posts and explore new
routes in the region north-east of Lake Winnipeg. In the course of
his efforts, he carried the flag of the North-Westers to a point on
South Indian lake not more than two hundred and fifty miles distant
from Churchill itself. In his relations with rival traders, he
exhibited a friendliness and courtesy that stands in marked contrast
with the cut-throat methods too frequently adopted at critical
moments of competition. The surveys begun years before, when he was
working under Joseph Colen, were now triumphantly finished. Of them,
a member of the Canadian Geological Survey says, "After Thompson had
completed his surveys of this muskrat country, no further information
was obtained about it for nearly a century, and when in 1896, I
travelled through it, the only map of any service which was available
was that drawn by David Thompson in 1813 from surveys made at this
time."
It is sometimes imagined that the Indians a century ago existed in
vast numbers; and that they were universally of a warlike and
bloodthirsty disposition. This is a complete mistake. It was only
in especially favourable localities that conditions were such as to
promote the evolution of large bands, and generally speaking the
Indian was a poor and humble creature. Lacking the power of
invention, he was often satisfied to make use of utensils of the most
primitive character, and he was almost, if not quite, unarmed.
Throughout the whole of the Muskrat country Thompson was able to
count but ninety-two widely scattered families, each of them
numbering perhaps seven souls. This gave to every human being from
two to three hundred square miles of hunting country. Yet so poor
was the region and so great the improvidence of its inhabitants that,
in unfavourable seasons, the population was often reduced to the
verge of starvation, and it was only by means of the greatest efforts
that they wrested a livelihood from their gloomy land of rock and
forest.
All of Thompson's efforts therefore did not avail to bring
satisfactory returns from a region so poor in furs, and inhabited by
such a sparse and wretched population. It was with joy in his heart
that he handed over the district to a partner in the early summer of
1806, and once more wended his way back to Fort William.
Two events of personal interest in the life of Thompson occurred
during these eight years. The first was his marriage to Charlotte
Small, the half-breed daughter of Patrick Small, an early trader in
the West. Small was a member of a famous Irish family, which had
given generals and admirals to the service of the Empire. He had,
however, followed the custom of the country and taken a native woman
to wife. Thompson's marriage took place at Isle à la Crosse in the
summer of 1799. The other event took place on November 8, 1804,
although the news of it did not reach Thompson until some time later.
On that date the North West Company and the XY Company agreed to
cease their ruinous competition and join forces for the expansion of
their trade. In the terms of agreement, the name of David Thompson
appears as a partner of the United Company. This was good news in
itself; but better still was the prospect that loomed up before his
eyes. With the wounds of competition healed, and the Canadian
trading interests now presenting a united front, the last obstacle to
an aggressive forward movement was removed, and the conquest of the
Rockies might finally be achieved.