In 1790 Thompson finished his apprenticeship and instead
of the usual suit of clothes, he requested surveying
equipment. He acquired a sextant, and an artificial
horizon. He received the clothes and the instruments.
Armed with his new instruments he left York Factory with
instructions to plot a new shorter route to the
Athabasca country along the Churchill River.
Thompson had problems with his
watches which were required for surveying and was forced
to return to York Factory the following spring. He set
out once again and brought fur trading goods with him
for a new fur trading post. In the summer of 1795 he
returned with furs from his expedition and then
left again for his next expedition on July 18th.
Thompson was able to
acquire an
achromatic telescope and 2 compasses but was continually
pressured to increase fur trade volume at the cost of
his exploration and surveying. On the 8th of May, 1797
Thompson did the unthinkable and left the Hudson Bay
Company to join it's archrival the Northwest Company. He
travelled to Reindeer Lake and checked in with Alexander
Fraser and then immediately set out to do what he really
wanted to do - explore. He spent most of the rest of
1798 exploring and mapping the prairies and the North
Central US along the Missouri River returning to the
source of the Souris River in the new year. In June of
1799 Thompson married Charlotte Small whom he probably
met the year before and their long marriage resulted in
13 children.
In 1800 Thompson
headed west to Rocky Mountain House and prepared to
cross the mountains into present day British Columbia.
In October he followed and surveyed the Bow river up
into the heart of the Rocky Mountains. In June of 1801
Thompson tried to penetrate the Rockies again but this
time by travelling up the Saskatchewan River. Once again
the rugged walls of rock stopped him and forced his
party back to Rocky Mountain House. For the next 3 years
Thompson traveled back to Lake Superior and then up the
Saskatchewan to the fork of the Smoky and Peace Rivers
where he remained trading and surveying until 1804.
On July 17, 1805 at
Cumberland House, Thompson learned of the merge of the
Northwest Company with Alexander Mackenzie's company. In
May of 1807 Thompson once again attacked the Rockies and
this time managed to find a pass through the ocean of
mountains and named it hich would later be named Howse
Pass. He journeyed through to the Columbia River. He
spent the next few years travelling through the Rockies
and down to Montana. He spent the winter of 1809 near
modern day Thompson Falls in Montana.
Thompson settled in
Williamstown, Ontario in 1815 and began work on his maps
and journals. Over the next 20 years slowly lost or
spent his money and was never properly compensated for
his work. By 1833 he was bankrupt with no prospect
for income except payment from the government for all of
his surveying work. By 1846 his sight deteriorated
quickly and he began to write his narrative. He was
slowly force to sell all of his remaining possessions
and in 1857 he died and his wife Charlotte
followed him to his grave 3 months later.
Thompson was perhaps
North America's greatest surveyor and one of the
greatest explorers.
