A SHORT HISTORY
Wood Carving David Thompson Visitor Centre
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 Northwest Company
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.
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-seven years is a monument to their courage
and their love of each other and their children."
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, commented, 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..
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.
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.
Very soon thereafter both companies were
drinking from the communal well. 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.
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.
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..."
The song is sung to a fast , pounding
beat . "ya tu etang" is probably slang for ' Il y a' or ' there is'. The
whole phrase means that behind us you ( the brigades or canoes) are stretched
out.
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.
"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.
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 Houseon
the first anniversary of their wedding day.
Just another son from another penniless family on his way to a job in
North America with the company. ' 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.
The Fort was typical of the Northwest Company
forts. 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. 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 well respected by white man and Indian. For much of his early years with the North
West Company, and immediately after his marriage to Charlotte Small in
June of 1799, Thompson most likely travelled with his wife and with the
children born from 1801 to 1808. Thompson was rarely without the company
of his wife and children during these years but when he was , especially
when she was expecting, Thompson wrote letters and his letters again reveal
much of the man as husband and father.
Excerpts of Letters of Thompson to Charlotte
Small Pembina river 31 October 1810 My dear Charlotte, Mr. Alexander Henry
informs me that he will be spending the winter at Rocky mountain House
and so, when you write to me, you should send your letters to him as any
express coming my way will no doubt stop there first.... I hope this finds
you and the children well; and may good providence be with you, yours,
as ever, David
"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.
11th December, 1810 My dear Charlotte,
In a few days I will be sending six or seven of my men to Rocky Mountain
House to get pemmican and other supplies and they will carry this and my
other letters with them.I am hoping they will return with a letter from
you, for I am anxious to know how you are faring. I hope you and the children
are well. .... we have a log hut to shelter our goods , provisions and
ourselves. We are making sleds and snowshoes for the rest of the journey
over
the mountains, as well as obtaining dogs
to replace the horses....
Mr. William Henry will be staying here
with the horses and a large store of provisions for our future use.It is
very cold, the temperature being minus 32 degrees which is 64 degrees below
the freezing point.......I wonder if this will reach you by Christmas?
I wish you and the children every blessing; I long for news of you.
as ever, David
In 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 atBoggy
Hall, Saskatchewan 1808
‹At the time of the 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.
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.
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.
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 half breed 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."
Thankfully the great
heroic accomplishments of David Thompson live on. In the course of
28 years in the west of the fur trade Thompson surveyed, and mapped almost
two million miles of terrain. He accomplished all this by such extensive
travel and observation that Thompson's maps were used well into the twentieth
century , maps that were prepared almost a hundred years before. No one
has disputed Tyrell' s description of
the greatest land geographer who ever lived . This is what Tyrell had
inscribed on Thompson's tombstone.
Tyrell,
( his photo)who traveled through Rocky Mountain House
in 1885 , recalled that Indians, who were living near Rocky Mountain
House on the Upper Saskatchewan, still remembered Thompson. As did a band
of Crees who had settled around the Baptiste and Brazeau rivers close to
the banks of the swift flowing North Saskatchewan. In their
oral tradition they had passed on their stories telling of the feats
of the dark haired, ruddy faced man who always treated them with such kindness.
'Stoney Indians on the Kootenai
plains told their young children of the great white man " Koo-Koo-Sint
who had passed that way many years ago . There is a tinge of sadness mingled
with pride as I gaze at the North Saskatchewan River aware that David Thompson,
the greatest of all Canadian map makers paddled these waters. One can almost
see , hear and sense Thompson's voyageur canoe brigades,
straining against the current as they approach the Mountain Fort , to the
pounding beat of a " En roulant ma boule, en roulant roulant." And if you
really see, hear and feel into your picture comes David Thompson with Charlotte
and his young children.
The marriage of David Thompson and Charlotte Small lasted 59 years.
When David Thompson died in Montreal in 1757, Charlotte followed him a
scant three months later. It wasn't until 1926 that a
tombstone was erected at the urging of J.B.
Tyrell and the Canadian Historical Society. Until that time his grave was
basically unmarked. Charlotte had no marker until recently when a new tombstone
included the inscription ' the woman of the paddle song'. On top of Thompson's
fluted pillar was placed a sextant . Sadly all that remains today are the
three metal prongs that held the sextant. Charlotte Small was to bear David Thompson
13 children, three who died very young and a son, Henry, who preceded them
at the age of 42. In his family bible Thompson recorded in his meticulous
way their births, baptisms and deaths. John
and Emma were two of the five children born in the west during Thompson's
years of exploration.
HE was particularly fond of Emma who accompanied
them on some of their journeys. °Both children died only a few years
after their arrival in the east and within a few weeks of each other. This
is how Thompson recorded their births and their untimely deaths.
JOHN
Thompson - deceased January 11, 1814 at 7 a.m. in the Village of Terrebonne,
buried in Montreal the 12th inst.no 353. Aged 5 years and near 5 months,
A beautiful, promising boy
Emma
Thompson - deceased February 22 nd, 1814 at 7:25 p.m. Aged 7 years
and near 11 months. Buried close
touching her brother ( John) in Montreal. No. 353.' An
amiable, innocent little girl,too
good for this world'. "
Thompson also recorded the birth and death
of George ," born July
13, 1824. Williamstown, Glengarry , Up. Canada, died August 27, buried
August 28, 1824. Aged 7 weeks.
The sight of David Thompson doing his
astronomical observations and calculations was always a source of wonder
and awe to the Indian. They believed Thompson had spiritual powers that
put him in tune with the spirit world and that he knew great things that
other mortals didn't. They called David Thompson Koo-Koo- Sint "You
that looked at the stars"
During the 28 years that David Thompson
spent in the west , in addition to his meticulous and accurate maps, his
journals and field notes are filled with his observations of the
Indian Tribes, their customs, their way of life, their legends and
beliefs. Indeed David Thompson became a legend himself, as inextricable
from the rivers and the land of Western Canada as the water and soil.
Heroic characters such as David Thompson
are all too rare in the annals of a nation. So long as honor is due to
greatness his memory deserves to be enshrined in the heart of Canadiens
"David Thompson never considered himself
a fur trader, indeed some have said that a good description would be a
great surveyor and map maker disguised as a fur trader
At the Historic park in Rocky Mountain
House a cairn is erected to the exploits of David Thompson, and there are
similar cairns in Wilmer , British Columbia at the site of his Kootenay
House Fort and in Thompson Falls , Montana , the site of his Saleesh House
post.
In
1957 the Canadian Government remembered
David Thompson with a postage stamp. The tribute
was long overdue. The great explorer of the west had died 100 years earlier
in poverty, totally blind and forgotten. Charlotte Small was still with
him at his death. It is said that even approaching death, Thompson still
remained a kindly, courteous. gentleman to the end.
Perhaps
the best monument anyone can have is the high esteem of good friends. During
his travels , David Thompson made many friends,
from his voyageurs who pushed on with him through some of the most treacherous
and arduous journeys, to fellow fur traders, explorers, and even his competitors
who recorded in their journals the charm of his personality, his intelligence,
integrity and his unfailing courtesy to all. The Indians he met , even
the Peigans who wanted to kill him, revered Koo-Koo-Sint for his wisdom
and courage. Above all else, his family loved him.
Back
ToIndex.
Rocky Mountain House
As I sat on the bank of the
North Saskatchewan River in Riverside
Park, two miles downstream from the site
of the historic fur trade posts, I thought of how hard the living conditions
must have been for all who lived at the Forts. The history of the forts
in this area is also a history of countless occasions of starvation. Many
times the trading posts were closed because of lack of provisions. 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 and, in all
probability, deterred many young Blackfoot braves in later years who wanted
to get rid of Thompson.
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. "
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 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.
Thompson's termination of employment
was eventually received by William Tomison of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Tomison did not like Thompson and made his feelings known in later years.
Many have speculated as to Thompson's
sudden departure. Tomison may have been hard to work for. Certainly there
is evidence of that. Thompson's future brother in law, and the original
builder of the Northwest Fort at Rocky Mountain House, John MacDonald of
Garth had his own run in with Tomison. Tomison had forbidden the Nor'Westers
the use of a common well. Tomison pointed out to an outraged MacDonald
that because the Hudson's Bay Company had dug the well they would be the
only ones drinking from it. MacDonald insisted that the well belonged to
all who needed to drink. MacDonald made one further point- He informed
Tomison that either the Nor'Westers got their water or Tomison would shortly
be visiting the bottom of the well! Tomison, to his credit, understood
this line of logic very well.
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
voyageursemployed by the Company.
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.
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.
"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! Charlotte Small describes these voyageurs. 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 Song
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.
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:'
" 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.
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' (Glover, 358n) 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:
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. She later reflected
on her 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.'
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 his
early 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 it was likely 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 Saskatchewan or encamped in some deep mountain valley. : In 1808,
He 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 Kootenay
Plains the previous year.'
Travelling on this journey then n 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 t he offending tribe
and insisted they retrieve the body segments and present the remains for
a dignified burial, which was done.
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.
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
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
He was also a God fearing man.
Our men were almost without exception
Roman Catholic and French Speaking, but this did not deter David. Every
Sunday in the winter, and whenever possible in the summer, he held a devotional
service which we all attended. He would read to them three chapters from
the old testament and three from the new , offering explanations when ..
needed. David did this always in French and David's French was bad in everyday
use , so you can imagine what he did to the poetic language of
The children were crying and had to be
carried on already loaded shoulders...Once I heard one of the men mutter,
Why couldn't he have left his woman at the fort with the children until
it was time to go east? This is a hard , unnecessary trip for them. But
he's afraid of the Peigans. You know darn well...if they found only a few
women and children at Rocky Mountain House what they would do.
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.
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 w as 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.
Emma Thompson - born March 1806- Reed
Lake House. John Thompson - born August 25th, 1808, Boggy Hall, Saskatchewan
