Peter Fidler: map-maker extraordinaire
Peter Fidler stared in amazement. There it was – surrounded on the upslope by dry, brittle “prairie wool” grass and on the downslope by a tiny bare spot. Although he had only seen illustrations at the British Museum, he recognized it immediately as a cactus. It was sunny and hot on the north slope of the South Saskatchewan River. Fidler was on that slope taking readings with compass, sextant and watches, for what would become the first detailed map of the area. He recorded his place as 50 degrees 59 minutes north latitude. It was the first documented sighting of a cactus in what would become, in no small way due to him, Canada.
Far below him, a crew hauled heavy laden canoe loads of trade goods, laboriously “tracking” up the river. At the top of the long slope, Fidler looked out on a landscape bereft of shrubs and trees. His were the first European eyes to see this part of an ocean of grassland. It was August 1800.
Fidler had just marked his 31st birthday but already he was a veteran of service to the Hudson’s Bay Company. He had joined the Company 12 years earlier and had been rapidly promoted to his current status as surveyor and specifically directed by officials in London to map and collect information useful to the trade for furs. Fidler had already produced detailed maps of the Swan River and Assiniboine regions, wintered at Fort Chipewyan, and established posts near Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan and Lac La Biche, Alberta. Unlike some of his English compatriots, Fidler chose to spend his winters living among the Indigenous peoples, learning their languages and documenting some of their cultural practices.
In 1794, he married Methwewin Mackagonne, a Cree/Metis, born in 1771, who had grown up near York Factory on Hudson Bay. Together they would have 14 children. “Mary”, as she was sometimes known, would be a trusted companion, helping facilitate Peter’s relations with Indigenous peoples, and assisting him in voyages and at home throughout their married life.
Shortly after his cactus sighting adventure, Fidler’s party built Chesterfield House near the junction of the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan rivers. The situation became complicated when members of the rival NorthWest Company trading out of Montreal arrived. The two rivals chose to occupy the same palisade as their presence had drawn a collection of Indigenous peoples who also were uncomfortable in their proximity to each other. Fidler’s facility with Indigenous languages and a record of over a century of friendly trade between the Hudson’s Bay Company and Indigenous peoples stood him in good stead during a long, tense winter.
During that winter, he met with Akoi Makai, a leader among the Siksika people, and as a result of Akoi Makai’s sketches and discussions with him, Fidler was able to produce a detailed map of what is now southern Alberta, the Kootneys, and the upper Missouri. He also noted in his journal that winter the birth of his third son, George.
In the spring, Fidler, family and friends travelled overland, north to Buckingham House on the North Saskatchewan River and then back to his base at Cumberland House, in present day Saskatchewan. Fidler would have many other critical adventures, such as being held prisoner during the Pemmican Wars in Manitoba, before retiring on pension to Dauphin House. With the arrival of a Church of England clergyman, “Mary” was baptized, and she and Peter recommitted to their wedding vows. Peter was in failing health and died of Bright’s Disease in December of 1822, aged 53. He provided generously for his widow and children in his will.
Less than 4 years later, “Mary” passed away leaving eleven children ranging in age from 31 to 4. An important legacy of the Fidlers’ are their many descendants, detailed on the website https://www.peterfidler.com/peter-fidler.php
Fidler’s career as a map maker, explorer and fur trader is rivalled only by his one-time fierce competetor David Thompson. Yet Fidler is by far the lesser known. Peter C. Newman was somehow able to write a history of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1989 without mentioning Fidler’s name. Today, there are a range of minor memorials ranging from a plaque and cairn in the Peter Fidler Nature Preserve near his hometown of Bolsover, Derbyshire, England, to a campsite near Empress, Alberta and a chainsaw hewn statue at Elk Point, Alberta.
