Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 15.djvu/50



42 T. C. ELLIOTT

at the extreme northerly bend of the Columbia river, where the trail from the Athabaska Pass across the Rocky Moun- tains reaches the river (consult the Henry-Thompson Journals, page 669, for this), on the 17th of April, 1811 (which would be five days after the Pacific Fur Company actually began the construction of Fort Astoria), Mr. Thompson embarked with one canoe and ascended the Columbia to its source ; then carried his canoe across to the Kootenay river and descended that river as far as the mouth of Fisher creek, near the town of Jennings, in Northwestern Montana. There he laid up the canoe and, procuring horses, crossed the mountains south to the Flathead river, at some point above Thompson Falls, where another canoe was built, in which he descended his Flathead, our Clark Fork, river, and on down the Pend d'Oreille river to where he again laid up his canoe and proceeded on horseback to his trading post, known as Spokane House, about ten miles northwest of the City of Spokane. After a few days there (his first personal visit at this post, by the way), he proceeded north across the hills and prairies ahd down the Colville river valley in Stevens county, Washington, to Kettle Falls, arriving about the 19th of June. Two weeks' time were required to find suitable cedar timber and build the large canoe in which he starts down the river on July 3.

The first half of the journal is given in this issue of the Quarterly ; the record of the days spent at Astoria and of the return journey in company with David Stuart's party of As- torians will follow later; and in that connection mention will be made of Mr. Thompson's further journey up the Columbia from Kettle Falls to Canoe river.

JOURNAL OF DAVID THOMPSON.

(As COPIED FROM THE ORIGINAL IN THE ARCHIVES OF ONTARIO, CANADA.)

July 3rd, 1811.

Voyage to the mouth of the Columbia, By the Grace of God, By D. Thompson and seven men on the part of the N. W. Company.