The Travels of David Thompson: Volume I the Hudson's Bay Company 1784-1797 the Missouri Mississippi and Lake Superior 1797-1798

At age 75 David Thompson began to write about his life of exploration and surveying in western North America from 1784 to 1812. At this point how-ever the odds of finishing were slim; his eyesight was failing his body was worn out after years of strain on portages and mountain passes. For five years he toiled with rewrites and revisions never able to set the final account in order. On 16 January 1851 he put his papers to right in one last attempt to finish his work. By 28 February 1851 no longer able to see he gave up his pen as well as any hope of completing his Travels. Like a true surveyor though he left a well-blazed trail for others to follow. Drawing from the four surviving manuscripts and Thompsons 77 notebooks filled with daily journals reports essays and anecdotes Sean Peake finished what Thompson set out to achieve: a full account that encompasses the extent of the forests of the great Plains the animals birds fishes &c &c peculiar to each section; the various tribes of Indians which inhabit these countries their several languages their religious opinions manners and mode of life place and extent of hunting grounds and the changes which have taken place by the fortune of war or other causes... a curious and extensive collection of all that can fall under the observation of a traveller.This edition of The Travels of David Thompson is a landmark publication in Canadian history fully deserving of a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in a first-hand account of the tumultuous struggle for control of western North America.