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The Travels, 1848 Version, and Associated Texts
Edited by William E. Moreau
David Thompson’s Travels is one of the finest early expressions of the Canadian experience. The work is not only the account of a remarkable life in the fur trade but an extended meditation on the land and Native peoples of western North America.
The second in a planned three volumes of Thompson’s writings, this edition completes the great surveyor and fur trader’s spirited autobiographical narrative. In the 1848 Travels, Thompson describes his most enduring historical legacy – the extension of the fur trade across the Continental Divide between 1807 and 1812. During these years he established several Nor’wester trading posts, made contact with the tribal peoples of the Columbia Plateau, and tirelessly mapped the lands he traversed, all the time striving westward toward the Pacific. The tale culminates with Thompson’s historic arrival at the mouth of the Columbia in July 1811.
Like its companion Volume 1, this work presents an entirely new transcription by William Moreau of Thompson’s manuscript, and is accompanied by an introductory essay placing the author in his historical and intellectual context. Extensive critical annotations, a biographical appendix, and modern maps, make this the definitive collection of Thompson’s works, and bring one of North America’s most important travelers and surveyors to a new generation of readers.
The following excerpts from Travels focuses on Thompson’s dining experiences in the Western Interior, including an early description of maple syrup production.
Where we came on the Red Lake, a fine sheet of water, was in Latitude 47°∙∙58’∙∙15″ North Longitude 95°∙∙35’∙∙37″ West, by observation. Here we came to six Tents of Indians, with the good old Chief the Sugar, he gave us two pickerel and three fine pike fish. They had no canoe, and requested the loan of mine to spear fish in the night, by which, very many Indians usually maintain their families: the darker the night, the better; a quantity of Birch Rind is collected, and loosely tied in small parcels this substance always burns with a brilliant light, but of short duration; therefore several parcels are made ready, the spear man is in the bow of the canoe, close behind him is a pole of about four feet above his head to which is attached the lighted flaming Birch Rind, by which he sees clearly into the water, by a person in the stern, the canoe is moved along quietly and silently, the approach of the flaming light, appears to stupify the fish, they are always speared in a quies[c]ent state; as if unable to move away; they speared three large sturgeon, each averageing about sixty pounds, of which they gave us one; this has always appeared to me, a strange fish, if I might be allowed, I should call it the fresh water Hog; in shoal muddy Lakes, it is one of the finest fish that can be eaten but in clear rivers like the St Lawrence, the sturgeon is a hard tasteless fish: in the turbid waters of the Columbia River, near the Pacific Ocean, this noble fish is from three to seven hundred pounds in weight, and as rich in nourishment as the best beef; April 19th. Killed a Crane, a goose, and a duck, all fat, but as I have already remarked the broth of the Crane is much better than any other bird.
(…)
The sinuousities of the upper part of the Mississippe I found to be beyond my belief; from the South West corner of the Turtle Lake, is a Brook of three yards in width, by two feet in depth, at 2½ miles per hour, but so devious it’s course, we preferred carrying 180 yards to a small Lake, which sends a Brook into it, taking my courses and distances by points of Woods, we descended 24 miles to the Red Cedar Lake but by the river the distance is three times this length; in this distance we carried at three falls; and the River entered the Lake fifteen yards wide, by two feet deep, at 2¼ miles per hour having received several fine Brooks. The country all this distance is entirely changed to low grassy lands tending to marsh, Woods of Maple Plane, Ash, Larch, Birch, Red and white Cedar; Water Fowl of all kinds in plenty; and the wild rice in abundance, on which the water fowl feed, and become fat, and very fine eating, but are also very wild, and are killed on the wing. Although a first rate shot, four to six ducks a day, was an average. There was much ice in the Red Cedar Lake, which gave us hard labor to get along, having proceeded five miles we came to the house of Mr John Sayer a partner of the North West Company; the people of this place had passed the whole winter on wild rice, it is a very weak food, and though fowl fatten on it, yet it barely keeps mankind alive; but those who live upon it, however poor in flesh, are healthy, as we came loaded with the ducks I had shot we were very welcome.
There is something curious in the state of the stomach of a person, who has always lived on Meat, and of a sudden attempts to change to vegetable food; this we found; we left Mr Sayer with wild rice and maple sugar for our provisions; and enjoyed the change; but on the third day heart burn and weakness of the stomach came on us, and we had to take to hunting and fishing to relieve us, which two meals of animal food effected. A great staple of these countries is the Sugar made from the Maple Trees by incisions made with an axe in the form of a sloping notch, at the lower end of which a chip is inserted to make the sap run off, clear of the tree into vessels of wood, or birch rind, placed on the ground to receive it. During the spring all the Indians employ themselves in collecting the sap and boiling it into sugar, which they make to imetate the muscovado’s of the West Indies, this is done, when the sap is brought to a proper consistence by stirring it quickly with a very small paddle until it is cool. The sugar of the hard maple tree is of a fine brown color, that of the Plane Tree, called soft Maple, is of a light color, like the East India sugar, but is not so sweet as the sugar of the hard Maple. The Indians quietly parcel out the maple groves to each family, and which is kept in the family, but what is not thus occupied, and this is of great extent, is open to any person. Of these sugars great quantities were made, of which the north west company bought many tons weight, it’s price is much the same as the common muscovado sugar.
To learn more about The Writings of David Thompson, Volume 2, click here.
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