By CANDACE CHASE

The Daily Inter Lake

When Graeme Baker tells people about his fascination with historical figure David Thompson, most respond with, "Who?"

"He was one of the first white men to view Flathead Lake," Baker said.

A major explorer whose vast travels eclipse those of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Thompson left his mark by creating the first reliable map of the West. Baker said that Thompson trekked the wilderness for decades while Lewis and Clark explored for only a few years.

"He was also very active in establishing the line between the United States and Canada after the War of 1812," Baker said.

Thompson, the greatest North American land geographer of his time, comes to life at 2:30 p.m. Sunday during Baker's presentation of the final lecture of the John White Series at the Museum at Central School.

Baker, a professor of chemistry for 40 years, said he became intrigued with Thompson in 1994 or 1995, while he was studying the more-famous explorers Lewis and Clark after he retired from his teaching career. He assumes in his presentation that most people have little knowledge of Thompson. So he provides an overview.

In 1784, Thompson, who was 14 years old, arrived in North America from England as an indentured servant to the Hudson Bay Company, Baker said.

Unlike Lewis and Clark, who traveled on government money with military help, Thompson explored with scant money while searching out trading posts for private companies. He often pushed far afield from his appointed routes.

"He had to convince people to go with him," Baker said.

Without military discipline, his companions frequently went back home when the going got rough.

"David Thompson was a very pious, righteous guy to the point that he was a thorn in some people's sides," Baker said.

His staunch stand against using liquor as a trading commodity with American Indians put him in conflict with employers. Baker recalled a story about how Thompson was forced by the Northwest Company to take liquor on one of his journeys to a trading post.

"He loaded two kegs on one of his most recalcitrant pack horses," he said with a laugh. "The horse immediately went berserk and broke them all up."

Thompson said the same fate would befall on any future alcohol shipments.

Unfortunately, Baker said, Thompson recorded few of such personal encounters in his 77 journals. He precisely tracked meteorological, astronomical and wildlife observations but never mentions his wife, Charlotte Small, who accompanied him in 1807 on his first trip over the Continental Divide. The two remained together until he died at 87. Charlotte died just six months after his death.

Another missing story involves why Thompson abruptly left the Hudson Bay Company after 14 years without giving the traditional one-year notice. Baker thinks it was because the Northwest Company was more adventurous about pushing into new territory.

Calling himself an analytical historian, Baker has an additional theory about why Thompson left the Hudson Bay Company.

"I think they were trying to kick him upstairs into management," Baker said. "But that's just my spin."

Baker credits Forest Service archaeologist Mark White with serving as his guide on a trip to the site of "Kootenae House," one of the trading posts established by Thompson after conquering the "impassable" Rocky Mountains.

His journey into the history of exploration of the West occurred after his retirement in 1988 from the University of Central Florida. During his career, Baker also taught chemistry for 20 years at Montana State University. He and his wife bought a ranch on the Fisher River about 20 miles south of Libby. Baker, 82, still lives there with his twin daughters.

Although Lewis and Clark didn't explorer that area, Baker found Thompson's footprints very near his own backyard.

"It doesn't bother me that David Thompson didn't actually camp on my land," he said with a laugh. "He missed it but only by a few feet. But that's his problem. He did use my river."

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.