[TYRRELL] PETER FIDLER, TRADER AND SURVEYOR 123 



sent to Peter Fidler at Cumberland to proceed up the Churchill River 

 and to establish a trading post on Lac la Biche. Accordingly, Mr. 

 Fidler set out and arrived at Green Lake on the 3rd of September, 

 where he left Hugh Sabeston in charge of a trading post which he called 

 Bolsover House, while he himself went on to Lac la Biche, on the 

 north-east corner of which, in latitude 54° 46', he built a house, 

 which he called Greenwich House. Here he spent the winter, 

 breaking the time by a Christmas visit to Edmonton on the Saskatch- 

 ewan River. 



In the spring of 1800 he descended the Churchill River to Cumbei- 

 land House. On August 6th of the same year he ascended the South 

 Branch of the Saskatchewan River to the junction of the Bow and Red 

 Deer Rivers, where he built Chesterfield House on the north side of 

 the river in latitude 50° 55', and where he remained for two years, 

 though he visited York Factory in the interval. 



Both the North- West and the X Y Companies appear to have 

 accompanied Fidler up the South Saskatchewan river and to have 

 buUt Trading Posts in the immediate vicinity of that of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company, the detachment from the latter Company being in 

 charge of Mr. Bellew, probably the Pierre Bslleau who was a well- 

 known employee of that Company at the time. 



The Indians who traded at this post were Blackfeet and Fall 

 Indians. 



In 1802 Fidler left Chesterfield House on April 12th, and on June 

 23rd he arrived at York Factory in a large canoe with three men and 

 seven bundles of furs. During his sojourn at Chesterfield House his 

 salary had been advanced to £70 a year. 



For twenty-four years the Hudson's Bay Company had now been 

 watching their rivals, the North- West Company, bringing down their 

 bales of furs from Lake Athabasca and the Mackenzie River, but so 

 far they had been utterly unable to participate in that trade. Finally 

 they determined to break into it at any cost, and the Chief at York 

 Factory gave instructions to Mr. Fidler that he must follow the North- 

 West Company northward to Athabasca Lake. Accordingly in the 

 summer of 1802 Mr. Fidler, with Thomas Swain as assistant and with 

 a proper complement of canoemen, started northwestward from Cum- 

 berland House and reached Athabasca Lake about the end of September. 

 Here, instead of building on the south shore beside the trading post of 

 his rivals, the North- West Company, he picked on another spot at the 

 west end of the lake, where Fort Chipewyan is at present situ- 

 ated, and built a small trading post which he called Nottingham House 

 and in which he settled down for the winter, while he sent Mr. Swain 

 up Peace River for a considerable distance to build beside another 



