"The
greatest land Geographer whoever lived."
Recently
discovered Ace Powell painting of David Thompson at
P’end Oreille
THE BEGINNINGS
It was the North Saskatchewan River that brought to Rocky Mountain House the greatest of land geographers and one of Canada's great explorers. Indeed the North Saskatchewan bore witness to many encounters Thompson had with the Peigan and Blackfoot Indians who made a special crusade of denying the passes to traders bent on crossing. David Thompson warranted special attention by these Indians. Thompson was believed to have special powers by the Indians. One example of this is related in The North Saskatchewan River 1972 White Water report.
"The remaining three miles to Saskatchewan Crossing are easy paddling, for the river again widens into a larger channel. It was in this vicinity in 1810 that David Thompson's party was attacked by a Peigan ( Blackfoot) war party determined to stop Thompson from going through the mountain passes. Fortunately for Thompson, three grizzlies suddenly appeared on the scene. Since the Peigans and most of the Tribes who met David Thompson, believed that bears were Thompson's supernatural protectors, Thompson and his men were able to escape. The Indians named Thompson koo-koo-sint, " You who Look at the Stars," from his constant use of his sextant which the Indians saw as possessed of special powers.
David Thompson spent 28 hard years in the fur trade after he arrived in Canada as a 14-year-old apprentice of the Hudson's Bay Company. But the Story of David Thompson is much more than a story of maps. The story of the man, of his love affair with Charlotte Small, his wife of 57 years, is one of the great and legendary stories of our country. Until the 1920's David Thompson and His wife Charlotte Small lay in obscurity in Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal. At the time of their deaths they were living in dire straits. Within three months of David Thompson's death, Charlotte died. Their love story and that of Thompson's achievement is the stuff of legend.
Very little has been written of the man David Thompson and of his wife or his children. In understanding Thompson, It is important for us to observe him in the milieu of the societal values of his day and the rough and tumble life of the fur brigades. David Thompson was to spend a great portion of his life following his true dream of charting and mapping the tremendous expanses of western wilderness that encompasses almost two million square miles of today's Canada! His "Great Map" speaks for itself as a testament to his genius.
David Thompson in his travels was to spend
time on more than one occasion, living and working at the North West Fort in
Rocky Mountain House. It was here that Thompson first brought his young bride,
Charlotte Small. And it was at Rocky Mountain House that their first child,
Fanny, was born in 1801.
If one sits on the bank of the North Saskatchewan River in Riverside Park, two miles
downstream from the site of the historic fur trade posts, one can reflect on how hard the living conditions must have
been for all who lived at the posts. The history of the posts in this area is
also a history of countless occasions of starvation. Many times the trading
posts were closed because of lack of provisions and on
other occasions because of the threat of violence from the Peigan
Indians of the Blackfoot Confederacy. This was a very harsh and unforgiving
land.
At the age of seventeen, David Thompson spent the winter of 1787 with the Peigan Indians, where young Thompson soaked up the language, life and customs of these plains' Indians. It was here that Thompson would be impressed by the wisdom of Kootenay Appee, the Peigan War Chief who was to become his friend, mentor, and in all probability, deterred many young Blackfoot braves in later years who wanted to get rid of Thompson.
The fur trade was essentially a male-dominated society. Men held the most significant economic and political positions. Though fur trade society was itself highly stratified, women's roles were consistently defined with respect to their relationships to men. Women were wives, mothers, or daughters; their responsibilities to the larger community in terms of the work they did were directly related to these principal definitions. But as it turned out, Charlotte Small was much, much more to David Thompson. Their relationship of fifty-nine years is a monument to their courage and their love of each other and their children.
Author Elizabeth Clutton-Brock asks in her book: " Woman of the Paddle Song"
"However did she (
Charlotte Small) cope with the constant and arduous traveling, with her
brood of small children? Indeed! The more we read and learn of the life of
David Thompson the more mysteries and unanswered questions seem to present itself. The story of David Thompson as evidenced in his
letters to Charlotte Small is a moving record of the devotion of this great
surveyor and map maker to his family. As for this man's achievements they will
more than stand the test of time as they are extrordinary.
Neither came from aristocratic stock nor from the same culture yet they forged
a love and a life that would be heroic, tender and meaningful in any time,
place, or in any society. "
David Thompson, fresh from the Grey Coat School of London, was apprenticed to the
Hudson's Bay Company at the age 14. It was the experience of the Company to
recruit apprentices coming from these schools, who were all business,
disciplined and moralistic. David Thompson in his Narratives, wrote when he was
back in Montreal after years with the fur trade,
somewhat sarcastically, on the Hudson's Bay Policy "to send to
the school in which I was educated to procure a scholar who had a mathematical
education to send out as clerk . . . To learn what? For all I had seen in their
service neither reading nor writing was required. My only business was to amuse
myself, in winter growling at the cold ; and in the
open season shooting Gulls, Ducks, Plover , and Curlews and quarreling
with mosketoes and Sand flies.".
One thing David Thompson had was a very good eye
and mind for Mathematics and if he hadn't severely injured his leg after
arriving in the colony, most likely would have carried out his duties for the
rest of his life as a clerk for the Hudson's Bay Company. .But David Thompson
was to come under the mentorship of Philip Turnor, a
very able cartographer who taught Thompson the skills of the surveyor. It was the Good Providence that David often
referred to that brought him to the attention of Philip Turnor
after David injured his leg.
While recuperating, Thompson was taught the
skills of the map maker,a
skill that excited a passion in young Thompson that not only changed the course
of his life but also of this country.
"While wintering at Manchester House
I fell, breaking my leg, which by the mercy of God turned out to be the best
thing ever happened to me.....when Philip Turnor.. ..
taught me the science of surveying: how to determine
longitude and latitude exactly for each post of trade... Now I could make of
this uncharted land a known quality and to this end I kept for sixty years
records of all observations of each journey made."
Narratives
While still in the employ of The Hudson's Bay Company he soon began to show remarkable
talent for very accurate maps.
For instance, in 1796, at the age of 26, Thompson blazed a new route to Lake Athabaska for the company, travelling from York Factory by
way of the Nelson, Burntwood, and Churchill rivers
and Reindeer Lake to Fond du Lac.
To The Northwest Company-
However, dissatisfied with his employers, and wanting to follow his passion of
map making , Thompson joined the Northwest company in
1797. On Tuesday , May 23, 1797, he left Bedford House
and walked 75 miles to the nearest North West Company post! Here he signed up
with his former competitors.
This was an opportune time for both Thompson and The Northwest Company. They
needed to explore the reaches of the North Saskatchewan River and hoped to
finally find the elusive way through the mountains to the Pacific. They needed
Thompson's skills as a surveyor and map maker and gave him every opportunity to
use them.
His first major assignment was a vital one, to survey the 49th parallel, to
ascertain whether or not any North West Company posts were now in American
territory. Thompson discovered that some were. Thompson now had under his
command the the most experienced ,
the boldest, and the hardiest of the hundreds of voyageurs
employed by the Company.
In 1797, the North West Company was
headquartered in Montreal. Each year, they would send a large number of
voyageurs from Montreal up the Ottawa River, up the Mattawa
River, across Lake Nipissing, down the French River across Georgian Bay and
Lake Huron, through the Sault (French for rapids) at Sault St. Marie, and
across Lake Superior to Grand Portage at the eastern tip of Minnesota to
rendezvous with the "Mennes du Nord." They would leave
Montreal as soon as the ice melted in early April and arrive at Grand Portage
by the end of June. They would return to Montreal before winter set in.
A glance at a map of Canada and you will see
that they covered an amazing amount of territory each year - all of it by
canoe! The purpose for this amazing annual trip was to exchange the goods they
left Montreal with for furs brought to Grand Portage by the voyageurs who lived in the continental interior. Voyageurs would
paddle 15 to 18 hours a day with five minute breaks each hour for a smoke on
their pipes. They covered up to 80 miles a day through rapids, around falls,
over portages, and up and down powerful rivers.
The Voyageur
David Thompson's crews were comprised of these French voyageurs and his canoe
brigades were capable of mighty feats of work and travel, and even if suffering
from severe hunger, could accomplish amazing feats of building such as erecting
a big log house from the cutting of the trees in just a few days.
Each voyageur pack
( piece) contained ninety pounds of goods, was wrapped
in canvas, tied securely and labeled with its
destination. These packs were carried on the backs of the voyageurs across the
nine mile portage and loaded into the west bound canoes." Such was the
competitive nature of these men that they never walked , but always raced over
the rough, steep ground at a jog trot..."
Their diet was a porridge made of beans, corn, and salt pork cooked until
it was stiff enough to hold a spoon erect. Few of these voyageurs knew how to
swim and the most common cause of death was drowning. No voyageur
carried less than two packets. Some carried three at the same time. These
fellows were short, and over 5'6" disqualified you as a voyageur, and weighed
about 150 Ibs. Consider a 150 lb. man carrying 270 Ibs. over rocks and unmarked
trail! Or, consider them carrying their canoe which weighed600 Ibs.
Their birchbark canoes were constantly in need of
repair from the thrashing that they would take. They merely fixed their canoes
with the native materials at their disposal and pressed on with the trip. These
'canots du nord'
were, at first glance very fragile, and easily damaged, but were capable of
carrying 3000 pounds of provisions or trade goods and in addition carried six
paddlers. The voyageurs used a variety of canoes from their big forty foot
freight canoes to the small single canoes that David Thompson would use on
occasion to either track ahead or to catch up to his canoes.
They were great singers and were known to
sing continually as they paddled sometimes to the pace of 120 strokes per
minute! They had always dashed up to the landing (
at Isle a La Croix) at top speed, singing as loud as they could.
" En roulant ma boule roulant En roulant ma boule Derriere chez
nous, ya tu etang, En roulant ma boule Trois beaux canards sen vont baignant,
rouli , roulant , ma boule roulant,En roulant ma boule roulant En roulant ma boule.." Early Voyageur Son
David Thompson and Charlotte Small
When David Thompson first met Charlotte Small at Isle
a la Croix, he found the young family of Patrick Small, a Hudson's Bay
wintering partner, abandoned. Their father, Patrick Small, had retired to
England. Such was the case of a great many young Indian and Metis
women who entered into relationships without benefit of clergy in the west of
the Fur Trade.
The marriages of Company men and Native women
were encouraged by Native leaders, as a way to create a social bond
consolidating the economic relationship between the two groups. Marriages not
only connected two separate communities, but created a new society, the
Metis.
Charlotte Small was a mixture of Scot and Indian blood. With respect to the
ceremony involved in these marriages, the following description is given in
'Many Tender Ties:'
"Marriage a la facon du pays apparently did not involve any exchange
of vows between the couple, but it was solemnized by other rituals. The smoking
of the calumet sealed the alliance that was formed between the trader and the
Indian band....The trader usually visited the Indian encampment to claim his
wife, and then the couple would be ceremoniously escorted to the fort. It
became customary for a new Indian bride to go through a cleansing ritual performed
by the other women at the fort, which was designed to render her more pleasing
to the white man. She was scoured of grease and paint and her leather garments
were exchanged for those of a more European style....Then the trader conducted
his bride to his quarters, and from thenceforth they were conside
red to be man and wife."
The lack of a formal, legal marriage contract occasionally resulted in
abandonment of Native wives by Company men who either returned home to Britain
or elsewhere. In some cases, the women remained in the fort as part of the
community; sometimes they remarried. It is admirable to note that the
marriage of David Thompson to Charlotte Small, a Metis,
lasted for over 57 years and when his mapping days were over, David Thompson
had his " country marriage" legalized in
Montreal.
"In the spring of 1799 , I came to Isle a
la Crosse and there met Charlotte Small a lovely Metis
Girl. Her father, Patrick, a company wintering partner, was now retired in
England, having left a family in the west. On June 10th Charlotte became my
wife an d many a mile and river we have traveled
together since."
When David Thompson first met Charlotte
Small he was 28 years old, she was fourteen. Thompson would probably be the
first to admit that he was not the most handsome of countenance. His friends
had been urging Thompson to get married for some time.
What Did Thompson Look Like?
There are no photographs of Thompson and very few sketches. However
descriptions do exist. In the book "Heroes" Stephen Franklin
describes Thompson and his family. He is a stocky man of 36 in a buckskin
shirt, whose black hair is cut in bang level with his eyebrows. Beside him is a
young woman, half Irish, half Cree, with long black hair, his wife Charlotte,
who married him at 14........And close by is Fanny, the , born at Rocky
Mountain House on the first anniversary of their wedding day.
Gabriel Franchere
described Thompson's arrival in 1811 at Fort Astoria after his epic exploration
of the Columbia River -
" Toward midday we saw a large canoe with a flag displayed at
her stern, rounding the point we called Tongue Point. The flag she bore was the
British, and her crew was composed of eight Canadian boatmen or voyageurs. A
well-dressed man, who appeared to be their commander, was the first to leap
ashore"
James K Smith in his book on The
Canadians series, says of David Thompson "He
had a snub nose. his hair was dark, his skin sallow. The
boy was downright homely. Small and chunky , dressed in dark , coarse, woolen jacket and trousers, to the men of the Hudson's Bay
Company's ship Prince Rupert he was not worth a second glance: "
"Just another son
from another penniless family on his way to a job in North America with the
company."
David Thompson is said to be the spitting image of his grandson Wilson
Thompson.
STORY-TELLING and another First
Hand Description
David
Thompson was considered to be an excellent story teller and whether at
wintering quarters or in a canoe brigade or at the fort David Thompson often
regaled listeners with his stories and adventures.( Story Telling) Indeed ,
although no photograph or reasonable sketch of David Thompson exists, there are
a few examples of encounters with him. One such encounter occurred after
Thompson had retired after 38 years in the Pays den haut the great
Northwest. …Dr. J.J. Bigsby a fellow
member of the Boundary Commission describes the pleasure of David Thompson's
company and his story telling.
"He was plainly dressed
, quiet and observant. His figure short and compact, and his black hair
was worn all round and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just
above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the
expression of his deeply furrowed features was friendly and intelligent... His
speech betrayed the Welshman - he has a very powerful mind , and a singular facility of picture making. Thompson
can create a wilderness and people it with warring Indians, or climb the Rocky
mountains with you in a snowstorm, so clearly and palpably , that you have only
to shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snowflakes
melt on your cheeks as he talks.".
When Charlotte first met David Thompson she
could not read or write although she could speak English, French and Cree. This
was a a matter that would
soon be rectified during their marriage. David Thompson was very protective of
his wife and children and the family was inseparable for the greater part of
their marriage.In-'WOMAN OF THE PADDLE SONG Elizabeth Clutton-Brock
speculated on Charlotte's first meeting with David Thompson.
"When David came to Isle a La
Croix it was in the spring.... You can not know how beautiful it is when the
grass is new and soft..... He was not very tall but his eyes were dark like
ours and his hair dark too, and fine. And I liked him from the fir st day he called at the old post when he asked me,
Charlotte Small, to marry him with the permission of my brothers
. I was so happy! And proud to be the wife of such a
fine man, who knew the ways of my people and would never disgrace me before
them.' David Thompson never did."
"On a high bank , seventy yards from the
river's edge stood Rocky Mountain House behind enormous strong log stockades, protected
by two blockhouses Quite formidable, it looked. Such defence was necessary, for
this was Blackfoot country and the Blackfoot were noted for their
unfriendliness to the white intruders.' Woman of the Paddle
Song..
An Early Description of Rocky Mountain
House
' Alexander Henry in his Journals of 1811 also describes the fort
and the geography along the North Saskatchewan
River:
"Our establishment at this
place stands upon a high bank on the north side of the river, the situation is
well adapted for defense in case of an attack from
the slave Indians, as our block houses have a full command around the fort for
some distance... the bend of the river is 180 yards while the distance from the
top of the bank on which the fort stands to the opposite bank is 250 yards, at
high water the whole of this place is covered , and flows with a strong
current."
Given the cautious and protective
nature of David Thompson and his deep love of his wife and his children, it is
to be believed that Charlotte and the children accompanied him on many trips.
Although the journals and logs are, in the main, silent it does not indicate
that it was not so.There is ample evidence to the
contrary. Bay Journals are devoid usually of family matters and it would be
very rare for Thompson to mention Charlotte and the children in his journals
even though they accompanied him on some of them.
Their marriage was an enduring one. Charlotte
went with him on many of his travels, and it was no uncommon sight to see them,
accompanied by several of their children, in a canoe going up and down the
North Saskatchewan or encamped in some deep mountain valley. In 1808, David
Thompson had been gone six weeks and had journeyed about 600 miles. A few days
later, loading his family and the winter's furs onto horses, he ( Thompson) led
his party back over the pass above the head waters of the North Saskatchewan
and embarked in a canoe they had left at the Kootenay
Plains the previous year.'
Travelling on this journey then in 1808 would
have been Charlotte, Fanny 7 years, Samuel 4 years, and Emma 2 years.
Charlotte was also expecting their fourth child in August. l..
By October 31st 1808, Thompson and his family ( including Joshuah
2 months) were back on the Columbia!
There were often villages of several
different tribes in close proximity of the forts and these relations were not
always friendly. In the vicinity of the Rocky Mountain House Fort, great
attempts were made to keep the Blackfoot and Cree separated, across the river
if necessary. Ross MacDonald recounts the story of such an incident when one
young brave was literally drawn and quartered by warring tribes and his body
discarded to all corners. Father Albert Lacombe was enraged when told, and
stormed into the offending tribe and insisted they retrieve the body segments
and present the remains for a dignified burial, which was done. ( Gladsone's Diary)
Native custom believed, even before the
coming of the white man, that a spirit be presented
decently before their ancestors in the spirit world. This incident is referred
to again in determining the remains found at the "
Seafort Burial Site" near the Historic
Park.
The Fort was
typical of the Northwest Company posts. Some buildings were common to all.
Strongly fortified with sturdy palisades, there was always the Indian Hall, the
place where the Indians met, and often slept, while at the fort. It was here
that the trade was carried on.
Liquor In The Trade
David Thompson also abhorred liquor at least in selling liquor to the
Indians. He saw many horrible tragedies of abuse, maimings
and killings that he attributed directly to the sale of liquor as a trade item.
Thompson refused to use liquor as any kind of enticement to trade. One example
Thompson narrates.
"I was obliged to take two kegs of
alcohol, overruled by my partners, ( one being his brother in law , John
MacDonald of Garth) for I had made it a law to myself that no alcohol should
pass the mountains in my company, and thus be clear of the sad sight of
drunkenness and its many evils. But these gentlemen insisted upon alcohol being
the most profitable article that could be taken for the Indian trade..When we came to the defiles of the mountains I placed the
two kegs of alcohol on a vicious horse , and by noon the kegs were empty
and in pieces...I wrote to my
partners what I had done and that I would do the same to every keg of alcohol ,
and for the next six years I had charge of the fur trade on the west side of
the mountains , no further attempt was made to introduce spirituous liquors. " David Thompson Narratives
Thompson always tried to relieve the monotony
at any trading post. His nature was to be on the move, to be mapping and
surveying and during idle times he would feel obliged to keep people occupied.
It was said of David Thompson that he could sit all night near a fire and spin
tales of courage that would keep any listener spell bound. David Thompson had
an extraordinary mixture of talent and character that made him one of our
historical giants. Thompson was generally well respected by white man and
aboriginal. Even the rival posts of the Hudson's Bay Company at Rocky
Mountain House visited with Thompson.
In
1806 Thompson's Journal recorded " ..
driving down the ( North Saskatchewan) river, invited
Mr. Pruden to sup." Pruden
was in charge of the rival trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company
.
But his character remained steadfast to the
end. After Thompson and his family finally settled in the east David lent a
large sum of money to a group of men in Williamstown who were building a new
church, a Presbyterian church, though Thompson himself was an Anglican. The
church people could not afford to pay back their benefactor ,
and with characteristic generosity , David Thompson destroyed the note and
forgave the debt.There is no question that Thompson
did not endear himself to the Hudson Bay Company when he left for the Northwest
Company in 1797. They had recruited him, trained him and employed him. There is
much conjecture surrounding his departure.
Thompson was also a God fearing man.
His men were almost without exception Roman
Catholic and French Speaking, but this did not deter David Thompson. Every
Sunday in the winter, and whenever possible in the summer, he held a devotional
service which all attended. He would read to
them three chapters from the old testament and three from the new , offering explanations when needed. Thompson did this
always in French in deference to his voyageurs although his french
at best was barely discernible.
"Good Providence" was a term that David Thompson used regularly
and may have revealed his early schooling at Westminster in a God fearing
Anglican environment. Thompson always travelled with his bible and some say a
copy of Milton's Paradise Lost.
THE CHILDREN OUT WEST
By 1810 David and Charlotte had four children :
Fanny age nine born at Rocky Mountain House
1801
Samuel age six born at Peace River Forks
1804
Emmaage four born at Reed Lake House 1806
John age two born at Boggy Hall, Saskatchewan 1808
In early 1811 Charlotte was carrying their
fifth child, Joshuah, who would be born at Fort
Augustus ( Edmonton ) on March 28th , 1811. It would
appear that Fort Augustus was used as a safer haven for Charlotte and the
children during his absences. Travelling with the children must have been
precarious and hard on the men of the canoe brigades as well.
Already the children had experienced the trek
of the voyageur canoe and had accompanied Charlotte and their father for the
great portion of his travels to date. Fanny the oldest child was attending
school in Montreal. Education was something David Thompson felt very strongly
about. In a letter to Alexander Fraser, David Thompson writes
about the education of his children: "It is my wish to give all my
children an equal and good education. My conscience obliges me to it and it is
for this I am working in this country. If all goes well and it pleases Good
Providence to take care of me , I hope to see you and
a civilized world in the Autumn. "
David Thompson Achievements
Thompson's achievements are staggering. The
greatest 19th-century surveyor in North America, David Thompson explored vast
areas that later became part of Western Canada and the northwestern
United States. In 1796 he blazed a new route to Lake Athabaska
for the company, travelling from York Factory by way of the Nelson, Burntwood, and Churchill rivers and Reindeer Lake to Fond
du Lac. After he joined the Northwest Company in 1797, Thompson surveyed
(1797-98) the Mississippi's head waters, crossed (1807) the Rockies by the Howse Pass to the source of the Columbia, explored
(1808-10) the present states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and became the
first white person to travel (1811) the Columbia's entire length.
Everywhere, he made observations that, after retirement in 1812, enabled him to
complete a map (1813-14) that became the basis for all subsequent maps of
western Canada. From 1816 to 1826 he surveyed the Canadian-United States
boundary between the Saint Lawrence River and Lake of the Woods for the International
Boundary Commission.
After the amalgamation of the two companies
in 1821, David Thompson's 'Great Map' eventually surfaced in London at
the Hudson's Bay Company Headquarters. The map itself could fill one wall of a
room. One of the major disservices done to Thompson occurred when Thompson's
magnificent maps and notebooks were handed by the Hudson's Bay Company to Aaron
Arrowsmith, London cartographers. Commissioned by
the Hudson's Bay Company, Arrowsmith incorporated
Thompson's maps into his own maps of North America to which the Hudson Bay
Company was given credit, claiming proprietary ownership. Ironically,
Thompson's original maps published in 1795 of North America while in the employ
of the Northwest Company, gave no credit or mention of Thompson.
One can only imagine whether or not this poor
boy from the charity school of Westminster and his Metis wife were ever really welcomed and made to feel at
home during their years in the east. One could question whether the Hudson's
Bay Company ever forgave Thompson for leaving their company in 1797. It was
Tyrell who found Thompson's unmarked grave in Mount Royal Cemetery in 1924.
Until then the world had forgotten for over 70 years what little they knew
about David Thompson. Indeed if it had not been for J.B. Tyrell who stumbled
upon Thompson's notes, journals maps and Narrative, David Thompson and
Charlotte Small would have died , not only in poverty,
but in obscurity as well. After much research , Tyrell
came upon a dusty collection of 39 journals, 11 books of field notes, and a
large yellowing map of the western half of North America between the 45th and
60th parallels.
That Thompson was not a man of means when he
died is generally agreed. The times in Montreal and Terre Bonne had not been good
to him and Charlotte in their declining years. For the last nine years of his
life David was close to total blindness due to the advances of Glaucoma. It was
not generally known then that Thompson had been blind in one eye since his
early years which makes his incredible observations, calculations and map
making all the more startling.
This man who had done so much for Canada , and who was still working at surveying long after
his 70th birthday to make ends meet, was refused a modest pension he had requested
from the British Government.
He was obliged to rely on his son in -law for
the barest of necessities and he was most thankful to anyone who was able to
give him and Charlotte the smallest of monetary gifts. The poverty worsened.
Thompson was forced to sell his beloved
sextant and his surveying instruments, and pawned his overcoat for a little
money to buy food for Charlotte and himself. One of
the last entries in his daily journal is a very poignant and sad note. "Have this day borrowed two shillings and six pence from
a friend. Thank God for this relief."
HIS LATER YEARS Excerpts from his Journals ( Epic
Wanderer -D'Arcy Jenish)
After
The Fur trade – East – 1812-1857
The
Children are buried in Mount Royal Cemetery.
Thompson
wrote inhis diary. "Too good for this world"
The Downward Spiral Begins now to their deaths in 1857 barely 4 months apart.
