James Hector [1834–1907], surgeon and geologist of the Palliser Expedition, explored along the Athabasca River from Fort Edmonton to Athabasca Pass in 1859.

Hector made many important observations regarding the geology and ethnology of the Canadian West and Rocky Mountains. He was appointed geologist to the Provincial Government of Otago, New Zealand in 1861 and Director of the Geological Survey of New Zealand from 1865-1903. He returned to Canada in 1904 to visit some of his previous exploration grounds. This mountain was named in 1884 by George Dawson [1849–1901] of the Geological Survey of Canada.

Henry John Moberly [1835–1932], after whom these flats were named in 1859 by James Hector [1834–1907], was born in Penetanguishene, Upper Canada.

Moberly entered the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company [founded 1670] in 1854 as a clerk. He served as Chief Factor of the once-abandoned Jasper House post from 1855 to 1861. Moberly set out for Jasper from Edmonton in the fall of 1858. He was guided by Andre Cardinal and six young Iroquois who handled 40 head of horses. Moberly developed an excellent relationship with the Iroquois who lived in the Smoky River and Kakwa River valleys. He spent much of his time hunting as far afield as the present-day town of Grande Cache.

Moberly married Suzanne Kwarakwante (Cardinal) who was the daughter of Louis Kwarakwante, an Iroquois and freeman from the fur trade. The couple had two sons by the names of Ewan, b. 1860, and John, b. 1861. Although Henry and Suzanne were officially married at Lac Ste. Anne in 1861, Moberly left her for another position, and she evidently returned to Jasper to live. Suzanne raised her sons in the Athabasca Valley. She died in 1905 and was buried on her son Ewan’s farm near the present town of Jasper.

He served the HBC until 1894 when, as a factor, he retired and settled in Saskatchewan. Moberly had intervals when he was a free trader. His biography, entitled When Fur Was King (1929) is an amalgamation of several articles about life in the fur trade that he wrote for The Beaver, a magazine founded in 1920 by the HBC.

Moberly’s Métis offspring John, Ewan, and grandsons Adolphus [1887–] and William (Bill) were four of the seven families that were affected by the creation of the “Jasper Forest Park.” An Order in Council was passed in September 1907 by the Canadian Federal Government to create this national park. This secretly passed legislation had long lasting implications for the seven Métis families because the Canadian Government did not want to have privately-owned land within the national park boundaries.


The De Smet Range is a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies located northwest of Highway 16 and Jasper Lake in Jasper National Park, Canada. The range is named after its highest point Roche de Smet, which in turn was named by Iroquois working in the fur trade industry. The Iroquois named the peak after Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Belgian missionary who had worked with the indigenous peoples in the 1840s in Rupert’s Land, the North-Western Territory, the Oregon Country and the United States.

Includes:
Roche De Smett
Mount Cumnock
Mount Bistre
Mount Greenock

Shown on Palliser Map 1863 as Roche Suette.

The De Smet Range is a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies located northwest of Highway 16 and Jasper Lake in Jasper National Park. The range is named after its highest point Roche de Smet, which in turn was named by Iroquois working in the fur trade industry. The Iroquois named the peak after Pierre-Jean De Smet [1801–1873], a Belgian missionary who had worked with the indigenous peoples in the 1840s in Rupert’s Land, the North-Western Territory, the Oregon Country and the United States.

Formerly the lower reaches of Bush River, since flooded behind the Mica Dam.