THIS MAP WILL HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND (left half)
DAVID THOMPSON'S JOURNEYS (right half)
CANADIAN MEN OF ACTION—NUMBER II.
The Series edited by W. Stewart Wallace, Librarian
of the University of Toronto.
DAVID THOMPSON
DAVID THOMPSON
THE EXPLORER
BY
CHARLES NORRIS COCHRANE
Associate Professor of Ancient History,
University College, Toronto
TORONTO
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED
1924
Copyright, Canada, 1924
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED
Printed in Canada
PREFATORY NOTE
I wish to acknowledge the great debtwhich I owe to Mr. J. B. Tyrrell forthe use of material contained in his editionof Thompson's Narrative.
It was Mr. Tyrrell who first rescued thename of Thompson from the undeservedoblivion into which it had sunk. Those whoare familiar with his introduction and notes,will recognize how largely I have borrowedfrom them in preparing this short life.
C. N. C.
June 1924.
CONTENTS
I APPRENTICED TO THE COMPANY 1770-1786
II HE FINDS HIS MÉTIER 1786-1791
III TRADER, SURVEYOR, EXPLORER 1791-1797
IV WITH THE NORTH-WESTERS 1797-1798
V EIGHT YEARS OF TRADING 1798-1806
VI ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE 1806-1810
VII THE RACE TO THE SEA 1810-1812
VIII LAST YEARS 1812-1857
DAVID THOMPSON
CHAPTER I
APPRENTICED TO THE COMPANY
On the 30th of December, 1783, theGovernors of the Grey Coat School at Westminster,England, received from the secretaryof the Hudson's Bay Company a request for fourboys, trained in navigation, to be apprenticedto the Company for service at their posts inAmerica. At that time, there were in theschool but two boys so qualified—SamuelJohn McPherson and David Thompson. Theone was so terrified by the prospect of perilsand hardships unknown, that within a weekhe ran away from the school and was heard ofno more. The other accepted the destiny forwhich he had been marked out, and becameone of the greatest land surveyors that theBritish race has ever produced.
When David Thompson