Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Mapping of the Canadian West

Thomas M.F. Gerry is chair of the English Department at Laurentian
University and the editor of Arachne, Laurentian University’s
bilingual interdisciplinary journal of language and literature.

The phrase “epic wanderer” conjures up images of a Wordsworthian
rambler, but in no way was David Thompson a chatty Romantic poet
meandering about the quaint hills of England with his sister. For almost
every year from 1784 to 1812, Thompson travelled about 4500 miles by
canoe and horseback on Hudson’s Bay and/or Northwest Company business.
During his travels, he recorded astronomical and geographical minutiae
in order to produce accurate and complete maps of hundreds of thousands
of square miles of mainly uncharted territory, rivers, and lakes. He
struggled with a broken leg that plagued him for the rest of his life.
He was blind in his right eye. He never received decent compensation or
recognition for his incredible accomplishments, particularly his map of
the Northwest of what became Canada. He died a miserable pauper.

Jenish has an important story to tell, so it’s a shame that his work
is marred by difficulties with presentation. For example, why did his
editors permit the illegible reproduction of Thompson’s maps given
that readers need clear maps in order to comprehend his activities?

The book skims over many salient issues. How was Thompson distinctive
as an anthropological observer? (Many of Jenish’s examples seem to
place him in the league of recorders of First Nations’ exoticism.) How
would Thompson’s marriage at 29 to a 13-year-old Cree/Métis girl have
been perceived? (That he was loyal to her all his life was exceptional,
requiring more than simply noting the facts.) And how did his
Presbyterianism fit with his time and place? If it fails to explore
these and other concerns, Epic Wanderer at least raises some important
questions.