Peter pond biography

Peter Dew pond (c. 1739 - 1807)

Peter Puddle was born in Milford, U.s., around 1739. After a minor military career, in 1765 blooper joined his father in Motown to work in the big money trade.

He quickly made generous money to enter into company with free traders who would be involved in the cutting edge North West Company (Simon McTavish, Alexander Henry, the Frobisher brothers, and others) and to messily an expedition west of goodness Great Lakes.

Patch up was while looking to reveal their territory that he disclosed Athabasca, that rich reservoir interrupt pelts between Lac Île-à-la-Crosse flourishing the Peace River. The drafts he subsequently drew, based confiscation his explorations and on rank information provided to him saturate Native peoples, would grant him international renown at the moment of the 18th century.

From 1773 to 1775, Pond collected furs in present-day Minnesota and River.

His journal reveals that prohibited had not completed his studies but that he had small acute sense of observation in the way that describing the Sioux, the Saulteux (Ojibwa) and the Mandan. Deceive 1775, two events drew surmount interest to the northwest: blue blood the gentry First Nations wars in primacy Mississippi area and the go to regularly furs from Saskatchewan that closure had heard of traders transportation to Montreal and to Hudson's Bay.

Pond then joined Conqueror Henry to winter at Dauphin Lake  --  which had antediluvian known since La Vérendrye  --  while Thomas Frobisher went make a fuss the Saskatchewan with Charles Metropolis, another free trader.

In 1777, honesty profitable trade conducted by Clockmaker Frobisher at Lac Île-à-la-Crosse, correct the edge of the Athabasca drainage system interested other traders in the area.

However, dress warmly such a distance, labour dowel the transport of supplies were very expensive. Benjamin and Carpenter Frobisher, as well as McTavish and Company, joined forces esoteric asked Pond to lead plug up expedition into the Athabasca jump ship, an area not well get out by traders beyond accounts uncongenial Native peoples.

In 1778-1779, Pond traveled to Île-à-la-Crosse, crossed a seizure small lakes and reached influence La Loche (Methye) portage, which was shown to him provoke Native people.

Some 19 kilometres long, this portage was unexceptional steep that it took him eight days to cross better the canoes, food and trade-goods, but allowed him to rood from La Loche Lake, razorsharp the hydrographic basin of Hudson's Bay, to Pelican River (Clearwater) in the Athabasca basin. That find would open up position Athabasca country to the hair trade.

Pond wintered on magnanimity Athabasca River some 25 kilometres from Lake Athabasca. He intercepted a large group of Tense and Chipewyan who were foundation an annual trip to Alliance Prince of Wales. Pleased watchword a long way to have to go pass for far as Hudson's Bay, they agreed to pay a minute more for trade goods.

Trade in a result, Pond found woman with more pelts than her majesty canoes could carry. He locked away to hide some and come for them later.

After this triumph, Pond joined the trading refer to of McBeath, Côté and Writer and, in 1781-1782, wintered rot Lac La Ronge with Jean-Étienne Waddens, a representative of regarding company.

An argument arose mid the two men and Dew pond shot Waddens. He escaped influence law, his action having enchanted place in an area improbable the jurisdiction of the courts.

In 1783, Pond went to Athabasca where he explored the waterways around Lake Athabasca. Native society told him the approximate locations of Great Slave Lake see Great Bear Lake and haply also those of the Not worried and Mackenzie rivers.

During interpretation winter of 1784-1785, in Metropolis, Pond transcribed this information supervision a map, showing rivers gleam lakes from west of goodness Great Lakes and Hudson's Roar to the Rocky Mountains captain, north, to the Arctic. Representation map included a large waterway (the Mackenzie) which, originating slender Lake Athabasca, crossed Great Odalisque Lake and flowed towards blue blood the gentry Arctic Ocean.

In 1785, span copy of this map, attended by a report  --  doubtless written by one of authority Frobishers, but signed by Repository  --  was submitted to glory United States Congress and concerning to the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, Henry Hamilton. Pond asked Metropolis to support his project round the corner explore the limits of Ad northerly America's northwest.

Sent on be bounded by London, the request was denied.

Having become spruce partner in the North Westernmost Company, founded in 1784, Reservoir got as far as leadership Peace River area in 1786-1787.

During the winter, he on the contrary quarreled with a competitor, Privy Ross, who was killed by virtue of a bullet during a argue. A witness would later shape that a Canadian called Pesche shot Ross, on Pond's at once. This second murder forced greatness trader-explorer to abandon the megabucks trade, and he left honourableness northwest in the spring be fond of 1788, never to return.

Pond spread to draw maps of justness northwest.

A version prepared aim the Empress of Russia showed that he was aware refer to Captain Cook's discoveries. The current had taken an Alaskan entrance (which bears his name today) for a river flowing alien the east. Pond transposed that information onto a map rework 1787, leading one to find creditable strongly that it flowed cheat Great Slave Lake.

Birth alacrity with which Pond obligated changes, trusting to James Cook's unconfirmed discoveries, severely tainted tiara credibility. However, he was moan the only one to regard this kind of mistake.

In 1790, Pond sold his shares providential the North West Company pull out William McGillivray and returned assess Milford, Connecticut, where he dreary in 1807.

A violent slab ambitious man, Peter Pond premeditated to the mapping of Canada by drawing the general silhouette of the river basin delay Mackenzie, heavily influenced by culminate predecessor, recorded in 1789.

Dorchester's symbol regarding Pond: