Record Details


Enlarge cover image for Epic wanderer : David Thompson and the mapping of the Canadian West / D'Arcy Jenish. Book

Epic wanderer : David Thompson and the mapping of the Canadian West / D'Arcy Jenish.

Jenish, D'Arcy, 1952- (Author).

Summary:

"Popular historian D'Arcy Jenish recreates the adventure and sacrifice of mapmaker David Thompson's fascinating life in the wilderness of North America. Epic Wanderer, the first full-length biography of David Thompson, is set in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries against a broad canvas of dramatic rivalries -- between the United States and British North America, between the Hudson's Bay Company and its Montreal-based rival, the North West Co., and between the various First Nations thrown into disarray by the advent of guns, horses and alcohol. Less celebrated than his contemporaries Lewis and Clark, Thompson spent nearly three decades (1784-1812) surveying and mapping over 1.2 million square miles of largely uncharted Indian territory. Travelling across the prairies, over the Rockies and on to the Pacific, Thompson transformed the raw data of his explorations into a map of the Canadian West. Measuring ten feet by seven feet, and laid out with astonishing accuracy, the map became essential to the politicians and diplomats who would decide upon the future of the rich and promising lands of the West. Yet its creator worked without personal glory and died in penniless obscurity. Drawing extensively on David Thompson's personal journals, illustrated with his detailed sketches, intricate notebook pages and the map itself, Epic Wanderercharts the life of a man who risked everything in the name of scientific advancement and exploration."--GoogleBooks.

Record details

  • ISBN: 0385659733
  • ISBN: 9780385659734
  • Physical Description: 309 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
  • Publisher: [Toronto] : Doubleday Canada, ©2003.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-298) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Introduction: The Old Man -- To the New World (1784) -- Into the Country (1786) -- By Star and Compass (1790) -- With the Nor'Westers (1797) -- Over the Mountain (1807) -- To the Pacific (1810) -- The Great Map (1812) -- Williamstown Days (1815-1836) -- Hard Times (1837-1857) -- Afterword: The Return of David Thompson.

Search for related items by subject

Subject:
Thompson, David, 1770-1857.
Hudson's Bay Company.
North West Company.
Cartographers > Canada > Biography.
Cartography > Canada > History > 18th century.
Cartography > Canada > History > 19th century.
Canada, Western > Geography.
Explorers > Canada > Biography.
Fur traders > Canada > Biography.
Surveyors > Canada > Biography.
Northwest, Pacific > Discovery and exploration.
Northwest, Canadian > Discovery and exploration.
Thompson, David.
Thompson, David, 1770-1857.
Explorateurs > Canada > Biographies.
Coureurs de bois > Canada > Biographies.
Géomètres > Canada > Biographies.
Cartographes > Canada > Biographies.
Nord-Ouest canadien > Découverte et exploration.
Oregon (Région) > Découverte et exploration.
Cartographie > Canada > Histoire > 18e siècle.
Cartographie > Canada > Histoire > 19e siècle.
Amérique du Nord (Ouest) > Géographie.
Thompson, David, 1770-1857
Hudson's Bay Company
North West Company
Surveyors
Fur traders
Explorers
Discoveries in geography
Cartographers
Cartography
Geography
Pacific Northwest
Canada
Western Canada
Genre:
Biographies
History

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Northwest Indian College.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Lummi Library BIO THOM JENI 2003 100000297 Biography Available -

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