Another 19th century hero

I heard about this guy on The Vinyl Cafe last weekend.

David Thompson, Canadian surveyor and explorer. He surveyed much of Canada -- he logged thousands of miles, mostly on foot -- and wrote about everything he saw. His surveying was so incredibly accurate and precise that you can go to the places he wrote about, stand there, look around, and see exactly what he saw. Stuart MacLean commented that Thompson must have been a remarkably honest man; a dishonest man would have fudged the figures.

In addition to being honest, he was incredibly respectful of the native people he met in his journeys. He married a native woman, a so-called "country wife," but instead of leaving her in the country the way so many others did, he brought her back to the city when he retired, and they lived happily together for the rest of their lives. They were married over 50 years.

This description doesn't sound very heroic. But Stuart MacLean had me all teary-eyed when he was talking about him on the show. Not that that's anything remarkable. I can't ever listen to the Vinyl Cafe without getting teary-eyed about something or other. Sometimes, teary-eyed with laughter; check this sweet and hilarious story out. (Please, please, click on the link! And check out the other stories while you're there.) If you don't live in or near Canada, you can still listen to the show on your computer. Radio Two, Saturday morning at 10. Yet another thing I love about Canada.