Columbia Journals
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.

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Columbia Journals
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.

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Columbia Journals

Columbia Journals

Columbia Journals

Columbia Journals

Paperback(Bicentennial Edition)

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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.

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