David Thompson and George Back: Mappers of the Northwest

The 2006 Annual General Conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 2006 Congrès général annuel de la Société canadienne de génie civil

Calgary, Alberta, Canada May 23-26, 2006 / 23-26 Mai 2006

David Thompson and George Back: Mappers of the Northwest Kenneth R. Johnson Earth Tech Canada Inc., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Abstract: The Canadian Northwest was first defined for practical purposes by the Charter of the Hudson’s Bay Company. On May 6, 1670, a charter was granted to the “Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay,” creating the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). This charter gave the HBC exclusive control of all the land drained by rivers flowing into Hudson’s Bay. Of course, the Europeans had little idea how vast that territory was - about 4 million square kilometres.

Fur trade commerce was the primary objective of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and later the Northwest Company, and this activity continued for more than a century with little regard for mapping the region. The incredible travels of David Thompson in the 1780’s through to about 1810 managed to combine the commerce of fur trading with mapping a vast region of the “southern” northwest.

Following David Thompson came the expeditions of Franklin and the mapping of the “northern” northwest by George Back in the period of 1820 to the middle of the 1830’s.

These individuals came from very different backgrounds, and their interest in geography was grounded on very different principles. David Thompson was a fur trader trained surveyor and mapper, who ultimately died in poverty. George Back was the military trained surveyor and mapper, who continued on to become a knight and an admiral in the British Navy. Both of these individuals created a geography and mapping legacy that endures to this day.

1.

Introduction

The Canadian Northwest was first defined for practical purposes by the Charter of the Hudson’s Bay Company. On May 6, 1670, a charter was granted to the “Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay,” creating the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). This charter gave the HBC exclusive control of all the land drained by rivers flowing into Hudson’s Bay. Of course, the Europeans had little idea how vast that territory was - about 4 million square kilometres.

Exploration to the Northwest was slow to develop. Based on Native maps collected in the 1760's, the HBC came to believe that there was a northern river (the Coppermine) which connected Baffin Bay or Hudson Bay to a large interior lake (Great Slave) and a second river which led from there to the Pacific Ocean. In 1770, the HBC sent Samuel Hearne, guided by Matonabbee, on his epic journey to the Coppermine River to look for such a route and to report on the presence of copper. He determined that the Coppermine emptied into the Arctic Ocean, that there was little copper in the area and that there was no east-west water route north of the Churchill River (See Figure 1).

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By the time Hearne returned, competition from Montreal-based Northwest Company or the “pedlars” had grown to the point that the HBC ordered him to the Saskatchewan to build their first inland post, Cumberland House, in 1774. This decision initiated a new phase of the fur trade, exploration and mapping. Surveyors were sent inland on major rivers to assess the river systems for wooden boat traffic and to estimate the extent of "pedlar" penetration. In 1778 the HBC hired Philip Turnor as its first trained inland surveyor. He was a fortunate choice because not only did the quality of the HBC's maps improve, but Turnor also trained some of the Company's best surveyors, among them David Thompson.

Figure 1. The journey of Samual Hearne in 1771 from Hudson Bay to the Arctic Ocean (Atlas of Canada) The incredible travels of David Thompson in the 1780’s through to about 1810 managed to combine the commerce of fur trading with mapping a vast region of the “southern” northwest.

Following David Thompson came the expeditions of John Franklin and the mapping of the “northern” northwest by George Back in the period of 1820 to the middle of the 1830’s.

2.

Northwest Exploration and Development

A summary of the milestone in northwest exploration and development in the 1700 and 1800’s is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Summary of northwest exploration from 1700 to 1899 Year Milestone 1722 British Privy Council memorandum sets out doctrines of discovery & conquest 1763 Royal Proclamation of King George III recognizes aboriginal title and rights to land 1771 First European (Hearne) reaches the Arctic Ocean near Coppermine by land 1784 North West Company founded 1788 Alaska is claimed as Russian territory 1789 Mackenzie River traversed to Arctic Ocean (Alexander Mackenzie) 1804 Fort Simpson established by Northwest Company

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Year 1821 1830 1843 1867 1867 1870 1870 1873 1896

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Milestone Northwest Company and Hudson’s Bay Company merge, known as HBC HBC begins innoculating Native people against small pox HBC begins laying out land boundaries Constitution Act - Canada responsible for Indians and lands reserved for Indians Alaska is transferred to the US from Russia Transfer of HBC lands to Canada British North America (BNA) Act gives province control over land Northwest Mounted Police formed Discovery of gold in the Klondike

Survey Technology of the 1700 and 1800’s

For more than 2000 years, navigators have known how to determine latitude through observations of celestial bodies such as the sun and Polaris. Between the equator and the North Pole, the angle of Polaris above the horizon is a direct measure of terrestrial latitude. The devices used to measure the angle have evolved slowly since the 1600’s. One of the most popular instruments of the 1600’s was the Davis quadrant or “back-staff”.

Captain John Davis conceived this instrument during his voyage to search for the Northwest Passage. It was called a quadrant because it could measure up to 90 degrees, that is, a quarter of a circle. The observer determined the altitude of the sun by observing its shadow while simultaneously sighting the horizon. Relatively inexpensive and sturdy, with a proven track record, Davis quadrants remained popular for more than 150 years, even after much more sophisticated instruments using double-reflection optics were invented.

Navigators could find their latitude for many centuries but accurate longitude remained a difficult if not impossible calculation. Well into the 1700’s there was an ongoing press to develop techniques for determining longitude. The missing element was a way to measure time accurately. The clock makers were busy inventing mechanical devices while the astronomers were promoting a celestial method called "lunar distances".

Early in the 1700’s, the astronomers had developed a method for predicting the angular distance between the moon and the sun, the planets or selected stars. Using this technique, the navigator at sea could measure the angle between the moon and a celestial body, calculate the time at which the moon and the celestial body would be precisely at that angular distance and then compare the ship’s chronometer to the time back at the national observatory. Knowing the correct time, the navigator could now determine longitude.

A major advance in navigation was achieved in the 1750’s with the development of relatively accurate sextants and the achromatic lens.

4.

The Travels and Milestones of David Thompson

David Thompson (1770-1857) was apprenticed to the Hudson's Bay Company at the age 14. He had 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, and mapper. Over the course of twenty eight years he traveled about fifty thousand miles, and this mapping information was presented in his own map.

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Table 2. Summary of travel milestones of David Thompson Year Milestone 1784-86 Travels to Churchill and York Factory 1786-90 Travels to South Branch House, Cumberland House, Manchester House, and Hudson House; trained in surveying by Philip Turnor while healing broken leg 1792-95 Travels to York Factory, Sipiwesk House, Chatham House, Reindeer Lake, Buckingham House, Reed Lake House, Cumberland House, Three Points, 1795-97 Travels to Duck Portage, Lake Athabaska, Reindeer Lake, Fairford House, and Bedford House 1797 Leaves Hudson's Bay Company 1797-1800 Travels along Red River, Missouri River, Mississippi River, Churchill River, Red Deer River, Bow River, Brazeau, River, and Lake Superior 1800-03 Travels to Rocky Mountain House, Fort Augustus, and Fort William; travels along North Saskatchewan River.

1803-07 Travels to Rocky Mountain House, Peace River Forks, Horse Shoe House, and Fort William, Bear's Backbone Post, Cumberland House, Reindeer Lake, and Reed Lake 1807 Crosses Rocky Mountains via Howse Pass and builds Kootenay House on Columbia River 1807-10 Travels to Kootenay House, Rainy Lake House, Fort Augustus, Kullyspel House, Flathead House; travels along Kootenay River, and North Saskatchewan River 1810-12 Crosses Rocky Mountains via Athabaska Pass; travels along Kootenay and Columbia River, reaching Pacific Ocean 1812-15 Created a map of the North-West Territory for the area 45 to 60 degrees latitude and 84 to 124 degrees longitude 1815-37 “Retired� to Williamstown; worked on international boundary commission

Figure 3. Map created by David Thompson from Lake Superior Northwest (Atlas of Canada)

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5.

The Travels and Milestones of George Back

Sir George Back (1796 – 1878) was a traditional British explorer of the age in northern Canada. He was apprenticed at a young age in the Royal navy, and with time, he advanced in the military. He accompanied Sir John Franklin on arctic expeditions between 1818 and 1827. On his own in 1833 to 1835 he searched for the missing John Ross, and his expedition explored the Great Fish River (now Back River) and Montreal Island in the present Nunavut Territory. His Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition appeared in 1836. On a later journey (1836–37) he explored the arctic coast of Canada.

Table 3. Summary of travel milestones of George Back Year Milestone 1808 Entered the Royal Navy a few weeks before his thirteenth birthday 1809-1814 Taken prisoner while trying to destroy French batteries 1814 Joined Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Byam Martin's flagship Akbar 1816 Took, and passed, his seamanship examination.

1817 Attended the Royal Naval College to take his examination in Mathematics 1818 Invited to join Lieutenant John Franklin for a voyage to the Arctic waters around Spitzbergen.

1819-22 Invited to join Franklin on an overland expedition from Hudson Bay to the Coppermine River, 4th European to view Arctic Ocean from overland travel 1823 Back to sea appointed, as the junior lieutenant to HMS Superb 1824-27 A land expedition as surveyor (with Franklin) to mouth of the Mackenzie River to survey the Arctic coast westwards 1833-35 Relief expedition for Captain John Ross; discovery of the Thlew-ee-choh River exploration of Back River to Arctic Ocean 1836-37 Arctic voyage to explore coast – stranded in ice pack for 9 months 1839 Knighted 1857 Appointed admiral

Figure 4. Area explored by George Back from Hudson Bay Northwest (Atlas of Canada)

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6.

Conclusions

David Thompson and George Back were as diverse in their backgrounds as one could possibly imagine at the time. David Thompson was a fur trader trained surveyor and mapper, and George Back was the military trained surveyor and mapper. Both individuals were, however, influenced by very significant events early in their lives. Thompson suffered a major injury that ultimately provided an opportunity for train as a surveyor. Back was a prisoner of war which provided an opportunity learn a second language and develop a skill as a artist. Both of these individuals created a geography and mapping legacy that endures to this day.

7.

References

Atlas of Canada. 2005.

Jenish, D’Arcy. 2004. Epic Wanderer; David Thompson and the Mapping of the Canadian West.

Steele, Peter. 2003. The Man Who Mapped the Arctic.

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