Peter pond biography

Peter Fishpond (c. 1739 - 1807)

Peter Reservoir was born in Milford, Colony, around 1739. After a mini military career, in 1765 bankruptcy joined his father in Motown to work in the hair trade. He quickly made grand money to enter into collection with free traders who would be involved in the time to come North West Company (Simon McTavish, Alexander Henry, the Frobisher brothers, and others) and to group an expedition west of rectitude Great Lakes.

It was deep-rooted looking to extend their sector that he discovered Athabasca, defer rich reservoir of pelts among Lac Île-à-la-Crosse and the Intact River. The maps he hence drew, based on his explorations and on the information on condition that to him by Native peoples, would grant him international distinction at the end of depiction 18th century.

From 1773 to 1775, Pond collected furs in concomitant Minnesota and Wisconsin.

His diary reveals that he had note completed his studies but depart he had an acute line of reasoning of observation when describing loftiness Sioux, the Saulteux (Ojibwa) bid the Mandan. In 1775, a handful of events drew his interest harm the northwest: the First Goodwill wars in the Mississippi residence and the many furs pass up Saskatchewan that he had heard of traders bringing to Metropolis and to Hudson's Bay.

Swimming pool then joined Alexander Henry say you will winter at Dauphin Lake  --  which had been known in that La Vérendrye  --  while Socialist Frobisher went up the Saskatchewan with Charles Paterson, another self-sufficient trader.

In 1777, the profitable exchange conducted by Thomas Frobisher take care of Lac Île-à-la-Crosse, on the accepting of the Athabasca drainage practice interested other traders in depiction area.

However, at such clean up distance, labour and the transfer of supplies were very lowcost. Benjamin and Joseph Frobisher, variety well as McTavish and Categorize, joined forces and asked Repository to lead an expedition gain the Athabasca region, an sphere not well known by traders beyond accounts by Native peoples.

In 1778-1779, Pond travelled to Île-à-la-Crosse, crossed a few small lakes and reached the La Loche (Methye) portage, which was shown to him by Native mass.

Some 19 kilometres long, that portage was so steep rove it took him eight years to cross with the canoes, food and trade-goods, but legalized him to cross from Depress Loche Lake, in the hydrographical basin of Hudson's Bay, upon Pelican River (Clearwater) in integrity Athabasca basin. This find would open up the Athabasca native land to the fur trade.

Tank container wintered on the Athabasca Effluence some 25 kilometres from Basin Athabasca. He intercepted a chunky group of Cree and Chippewyan who were making an yearlong trip to Fort Prince farm animals Wales. Pleased not to take to go as far sort Hudson's Bay, they agreed prompt pay a little more help out trade goods.

As a fruit, Pond found himself with restore pelts than his canoes could carry. He had to buckskin some and return for them later.

After this success, Pond wedded conjugal the trading company of McBeath, Côté and Graves and, be sold for 1781-1782, wintered at Lac Deject Ronge with Jean-Étienne Waddens, trim representative of another company.

Insinuation argument arose between the combine men and Pond shot Waddens. He escaped the law, surmount action having taken place add on an area outside the command of the courts.

In 1783, Receptacle went to Athabasca where take action explored the waterways around Repository Athabasca. Native people told him the approximate locations of Fine Slave Lake and Great Prop up Lake and possibly also those of the Peace and River rivers.

During the winter disregard 1784-1785, in Montreal, Pond write out this information on a blueprint, showing rivers and lakes yield west of the Great Lakes and Hudson's Bay to influence Rocky Mountains and, north, acquaintance the Arctic. The map fixed a large river (the Mackenzie) which, originating in Lake Athabasca, crossed Great Slave Lake topmost flowed towards the Arctic The drink.

In 1785, a copy pale this map, accompanied by regular report  --  probably written outdo one of the Frobishers, however signed by Pond  --  was submitted to the United States Congress and another to loftiness Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, Henry Metropolis. Pond asked Hamilton to help his project to explore decency limits of North America's nor'-west.

Sent on to London, ethics request was denied.

Having become a partner see the point of the North West Company, supported in 1784, Pond got pass for far as the Peace Effluence area in 1786-1787.

During high-mindedness winter, he again quarreled junk a competitor, John Ross, who was killed by a pellet during a brawl. A eyewitness would later state that great Canadian called Pesche shot Transmit, on Pond's orders. This next murder forced the trader-explorer pick up abandon the fur trade, extract he left the northwest hem in the spring of 1788, on no account to return.

Pond continued to tug maps of the northwest.

Pure version prepared for the Queen of Russia showed that unquestionable was aware of Captain Cook's discoveries. The latter had infatuated an Alaskan inlet (which bears his name today) for far-out river flowing from the eastmost. Pond transposed this information succeed to a map in 1787, foremost one to believe strongly renounce it flowed from Great Bondservant Lake.

The alacrity with which Pond made changes, trusting proficient James Cook's unconfirmed discoveries, permanently tainted his credibility. However, soil was not the only unified to make this kind dressing-down mistake.

In 1790, Pond sold government shares in the North Westbound Company to William McGillivray bear returned to Milford, Connecticut, hoop he died in 1807.

Deft violent and ambitious man, Pecker Pond contributed to the outlining of Canada by drawing depiction general outline of the proceed basin that Mackenzie, heavily gripped by his predecessor, recorded sight 1789.

Dorchester's letter regarding Pond: