This year marks the 200th anniversary of Thompson's historic 1200 mile journey down the Columbia River from British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, paddling in a 10-person cedar plank canoe. Thompson proved the Columbia ran from the mountains to the ocean and that a Northwest passage did exist, but not by water the entire way. It would serve the Canadian fur trade into the middle of the 19th century.
In the spring of 1811, North West Company fur agent David Thompson moved south from Boat Encampment at the foot of the Canadian Rockies to resupply his trade houses Kullyspel House, located near the mouth of the Clark Fork River, Saleesh House 40 miles upstream near Thompson Falls, and the Spokane House on the Spokane River. The company had found the Indians friendlier along the Pend Oreille and Clark Fork Rivers than in the upper Columbia and Kootenay drainages. Spokane Indians had been traveling more than 100 miles to trade at Kullyspel House.
Beginning at Boat Encampment, Thompson went south, upriver on the Columbia, past the site of his first post, Kootenay House, and then down the familiar trail to the company’s posts on the Clark Fork and Spokane rivers. From Spokane House, he followed an Indian trail north to the confluence of the Colville and Columbia rivers, eventually landing at Fort Astoria July 15th. By September 18, 1811 he had returned to Boat encampment near current day Kottenay, British Columbia.
Based on the canoes he saw during earlier travels ranging from traditional fur trade birch bark through the conifer bark boats and dugouts of different tribal cultures, in 1811, Thompson designed and built three cedar plank canoes, assembled a paddling crew and negotiated wild runoff after a winter of heavy snowfall. His astronomical observations lead to the first accurate maps of the region,
DETAILED SCHEDULE AVAILABLE IN THE CALENDER FOR JUNE 13
Click for schedule of David Thompson Canoe Brigade
Click here for more about David Thompson's travels
Click for information about Bonner County Historical Museum exhibits
Click here for more information about Jack Nisbet, author and teacher