By Taylor MacPherson

Historical novel brings Peter Pond’s story to life

Jan 2, 2018 | 4:00 PM

A Connecticut man has penned a historical novel chronicling the life of fur trader and explorer Peter Pond.

William McDonald, a retired reporter and amateur historian who lives in Pond’s home town of Milford, Connecticut, published his historical novel The Rise and Fall of Peter Pond in December. Although the book is based on more than 20 years of detailed historical research, McDonald said he wrote dialogue and filled in the gaps himself in order to bring Pond’s story to life.

“I connect the dots by doing my own fictional fleshing-out of different people and what led up to these historical events,” McDonald told paNOW.

Peter Pond (1740-1807) was a founding partner in the North West Company and was instrumental in opening the Athabasca country to western traders, McDonald said, providing access to “the richest furs that anybody had ever seen.” Pond established a trading post in present-day Saskatchewan, he said, which is now marked as a National Historic Site. Pond’s exploration of the Athabasca region was later expanded by famed explorer Sir Alexander Mackenzie, who replaced Pond after he left the company.

Much of McDonald’s research came directly from Pond’s diary and other primary sources, he said. Although the diary revealed many details of his time in British Canada, McDonald said Pond’s Eighteenth-Century writing style was often very difficult to interpret.

Liquor stores must change hours

Prince Albert limits liquor store hours

A few moments ago

skin care +

LUXE22 Clinic : Elevating Beauty with Expert Treatments

51m ago

Leadership Needed to Stop Federal Overreach

3h ago

“It’s hard to read because it’s very phonetic spelling,” he said. “After a while you get used to the rhythm of it.”

Although Pond is recognized as an important and influential historical figure in Saskatchewan and Canada, McDonald said he was not without his flaws.

“He wasn’t a nice guy,” McDonald said. “He was kind of big, and a bully. Some people hated him, other people thought he was very smart.”

As a result, McDonald said, Pond was often painted as a villain by other writers, and his role in the region was downplayed substantially. McKenzie in particular should have given Pond more credit, McDonald argued, because McKenzie’s expeditions were made possible by Pond’s earlier work.

Pond’s belligerent personality and short temper may have contributed to his eventual downfall, McDonald said. The North West Company, which Pond had co-founded, quickly developed a fierce rivalry with the Hudson’s Bay Company and traders often clashed in the field. McDonald said Pond was implicated in the murders of two Hudson Bay Company traders, though he was never convicted and was not even present when the second death occurred.

While the criminal charges ended his career as a trader and explorer, McDonald said Pond remains one of the most unique and influential characters of the period. McDonald said monuments to Pond now stand in Prince Albert, Milford and Fort McMurray, Alta., though the Prince Albert monument has twice been replaced due to issues with riverbank erosion.

Copies of The Rise and Fall of Peter Pond can be purchased by contacting McDonald through the Peter Pond Society website.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews