Note 60 — Chapter IX

Finnan McDonald was chief clerk, under David Thompson, (see following note), of the North West Company at various places on the Saskatchewan, in the Rocky Mountains, and upon the headwaters of the Columbia (1806-12). See Henry-Thompson Journals. Thompson and McDonald had several posts on the upper waters of the Columbia—one on Lake Pend d’Oreille, two on the Kootenay, and still another on the Spokane. Fraser River was long known as the Tacoutché Tessé; but as its upper reaches were at first thought to be the Columbia, the misuse of the name was common. The aboriginal name for the Columbia has not been satisfactorily determined.—Ed.