Hugh Monroe (1798-1892) was a Canadian trapper, guide, and interpreter. He worked for

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was founded in 1808, by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States. During the 18th century, furs had become a major commodity in Europe, and North America became a major supplier. Several British co ...

, and independently throughout his life. He traveled with the

Piikani Nation The Piikani Nation (, formerly the Peigan Nation) ( bla, Piikáni) is a First Nation (or an Indian band as defined by the ''Indian Act''), representing the Indigenous people in Canada known as the Northern Piikani ( bla, script=Latn, Aapátohsipi ...

and was known as "Rising Wolf," with

Rising Wolf Mountain Rising Wolf Mountain - Mah-kwi-i-po-ats-ists (Wolf Rising Mountain), () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The peak is in the southeastern section of the park and rises dramatically above the Two Me ...

later named after him.

Biography

Monroe was born on July 9, 1798 in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. His father
Hugh Monroe
(spelled Munro at the time), was a captain in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and his grandfather was Capt. John Munro, a prominent loyalist. His mother, Angelique de la Roche, née Leroux, was the daughter of a royal family who was part of the French Emigration. He attended English school in Montreal before moving on to a priest's college for four years, learning to speak both English and French. He began hunting at an early age and later and developed an interest for the outdoors. He later worked for

where he worked as an apprentice-clerk in uncharted areas of modern-day Alberta. During a trip to

Fort Edmonton Fort Edmonton (also named Edmonton House) was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) from 1795 to 1914, all of which were located on the north banks of the North Saskatchewan River in what is now central Alberta, ...

in 1814, he was offered a job to travel with the

to learn their language and customs. Monroe traveled with the Piikani Nation for two years and became a liaison between them and Hudson's. During his time with the Piikani, he became known as Makwi-poachsin ("Rising Wolf"). He worked with Hudson's until 1823 when he began working independently as a trapper and guide. From 1853-1854, Monroe served as a guide and interpreter for Governor

Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represen ...

who was the first to make a treaty with the

Blackfoot Confederacy The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

the following year in 1855. For the next decade, Monroe and some of his family worked for the

Fort Benton, Montana Fort Benton is a city in and the county seat of Chouteau County, Montana, United States. Established in 1846, Fort Benton is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in Montana. The city's waterfront area, the most important aspect of its 1 ...

. He worked as a trapper until the 1880s when he became too old to pursue the trade. He was reported to be living with two of his sons in 1890, somewhere along the

Two Medicine River The Two Medicine River is a tributary of the Marias River, approximately 60 mi (97 km) long, in northwestern Montana in the United States. It rises in the Rocky Mountain Front in Glacier National Park at the continental divide and fl ...

near Holy Family Mission.

Legacy

Glacier National Park Lower Medicine Lake - panoramio - Jim Helvey

was named after Monroe. After his death, his close friend and author

James Willard Schultz James Willard Schultz, or Apikuni, (August 26, 1859 – June 11, 1947) was an American author, explorer, Glacier National Park guide, fur trader and historian of the Blackfeet Indians. He operated a fur trading post at Carroll, Montana and li ...

named the peak after Monroe. He was also referred to as the "White Blackfoot."

Personal life

Monroe was married to Sinopah, a

woman, with whom he had 10 children. He died of old age on December 8, 1892. He is the grandfather of William Jackson for whom

Jackson Glacier Jackson Glacier is approximately the seventh largest of the remaining 25 glaciers in Glacier National Park located in the US state of Montana. A part of the largest grouping of glaciers in the park, Jackson Glacier rests on the north side of Mou ...

is named.

References

{{Reflist 1798 births 1892 deaths Canadian hunters