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Who Was Peter Pond By Kunsi Ska

Whenever I've read excerpts that Peter Pond had written, in his poorly spelled, but observant manner, I wondered who he was. I know he was an early fur trader from our area [south-central Minnesota]. I would wonder if he was somehow related to our very literate local Pond brothers of a later date. It turns out that Peter Pond was a rather interesting character. He was born in Milford, Connecticut, January 15, 1740. He wanted to be a soldier and fought in the French and Indian War when he was 16-20 years old. He then traveled to the West Indies and returned to Milford. He married and sired two children. In addition, he was also taking care of eight younger brothers and sisters. In 1765, at about age 25, he left this responsibility behind, due to his restless and adventurous nature. He began trading furs from Detroit and moved here to the Minnesota River valley to trade furs with the Dakotas. He became a master trader. He and 11 Dakota chiefs attended a peace council in Detroit. Peter Pond then spent six years trading around the headwaters of the Mississippi River. He was recognized for his diplomacy with the Indians. In 1775, Pond headed northwest and out of Minnesota. Thus he had spent approximately 10 years in Minnesota and left at roughly 35 years of age. Peter went north into Canada among the Athabaskan people. He is credited for helping pave the way for Alexander McKenzie's great effort by making friends of the Athabaskans. McKenzie, of course, later became the first person to cross northern North America all the way to the Pacific. Peter Pond eventually returned to Connecticut and died there in 1807. His spelling was poor due to lack of a better education. He did, however, keep a journal. Unfortunately, part of it was destroyed by a family descendant in a fire after his death. (I never did discover if there was any connection between Peter and the two local Pond brothers, Gideon and Samuel.)

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