Columbia Journals

by David Thompson, Barbara Belyea (Editor)

Overview

David Thompson (1770-1857) is considered by many to have been the most important surveyor of North America. His achievements — mapping the Saskatchewan River, the great bend of the Missouri River, the Great Lakes and the headwaters of the Mississippi as well as the Columbia watershed — are the stuff of legend. Late in life Thompson wrote a retrospective memoir of his explorations, but the best way to understand his years in the fur trade is by reading his journals.

In her new Preface to the Bicentennial Edition of Columbia Journals, Barbara Belyea considers the fur-trade context of journals, reports, and memoirs that shaped both Thompson’s perception of contemporary people, places, and events and our own perception of Thompson’s historical importance.

In Columbia Journals, the fur trader, explorer, and cartographer records his exploration of the Columbia River basin and his efforts on behalf of the North West Company to establish good trade routes across the Rocky Mountains. The journals provide a detailed picture of the fur business during its period of greatest expansion, offer a glimpse of Native culture at the moment of contact with Europeans, and describe landscapes that have since been transformed by settlement and industry. Thompson’s hand-drawn maps preserve a contemporary image of the country he explored.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295987484
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	08/14/2007
Edition description:	Bicentennial Edition
Pages:	362
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Barbara Belyea is professor emerita of English, University of Calgary.

Table of Contents

Preface, Bicentennial Edition
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Signs and Abbreviations

COLUMBIA JOURNALS
Journey to the Kootanaes
Journey to the Bow River
Journey to the Rocky Mountain
Across the Mountains
Building Kootanae House
Journey to the Lake Indian Country
From Boggy Hall to Kootanae House
Along the Saleesh River
Athabaska Pass
The Lower Columbia
Return Upstream

NOTES TO THE TEXT
Journey to the Kootanaes
Journey to the Bow River
Journey to the Rocky Mountain
Across the Mountains
Building Kootanae House
Journey to the Lake Indian Country
From Boggy Hall to Kootanae House
Along the Saleesh River
Athabaska Pass
The Lower Columbia
Return Upstream

Maps 291
List of Sources 321
Index 331

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Columbia Journals allows us to evaluate David Thompson more fully as an actor in the history of the west, and to understand more critically the assessment and misinterpretations made by a number of earlier researchers."—Richard Ruggles, emeritus professor, Queen's University

Richard Ruggles

Columbia Journals allows us to evaluate David Thompson more fully as an actor in the history of the west, and to understand more critically the assessment and misinterpretations made by a number of earlier researchers.

Editorial Reviews

Thompson (1770-1857) was a fur trader, explorer, and cartographer who documented his efforts on behalf of the North West Company to find good trade routes across the Canadian Rockies. His journals also reveal his interest in mapping the Pacific watershed north of California and provide a detailed contemporary picture of the fur business during its greatest expansion. Includes an introduction, extensive notes and details of Thompson's manuscript maps, and the work of other cartographers of the period. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews