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Thelon/ A River Sanctuary
By David Pelly
Published by the Canadian Recreational Canoeing Association 1996.
202 pp. $26.95 Cdn ISBN - 1-895465-21-4
Review by MICHAEL PEAKE --
Che-Mun Editor
Canoelit Home Page
The Thelon is a great river and it deserves a book of equal stature. That has now been accomplished thanks to David Pelly.
Thelon, A River Sanctuary will be devoured by wilderness canoeists. That's because it was written by a person who is one. Pelly hits all the right buttons in his examination of the Thelon River system which includes such river users through the millennia as natives, explorers, trappers and even modern-day paddlers.
This book is scrupulously researched and - I am glad to note that unlike many books by the same publisher, completely free of errors or typos, at least to my eyes. This book is very much a Pelly production and his meticulous natures shines though here.
There are some wonderful little gems, even in the footnotes. For example, when Eric Morse's 1962 trip was stranded for nine days in a big blow on Beverley Lake they passed a note regarding their situation to a passing boat heading for Baker Lake. Well, Pelly footnotes the names of all the people in the boat and the wording of the message. That's the landmark of superb research and it is all through this book. Pelly shares the wealth as well, with 45 pages of appendices and bibliography.
Beautifully complementing the words are some great archival photos including a few by J.W. Tyrrell who, in 1900, was the first person to paddle the length of the river. David also spent some time with wilderness guide Alex Hall, who has been down the river dozens of times, and draws from his experience to help bring this wonderful river alive.
The book features words and pictures of people many of us have heard as being associated with the Thelon. Now Pelly has fleshed-out portraits these men, including Ernie Kuyt, John Kelsall, Billy Hoare and C. D. Clarke.
The book closes with the report of a meeting of the Dene and Inuit on the banks of the Thelon to discuss it's future. Much of the river is included in the Nunavut land settlement and much of its future will be decided by natives. There are also pressures to change or alter the Thelon Sanctuary's status. This book, while not taking sides, provides ample proof that the Thelon should be preserved, as is, for time immemorial.
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