Our party across the mountains. Milton and Cheadle
The North-West Passage by Land. [accessed 2 November 2021]
![George A. Walkem [left], Dr. Walter Cheadle [seated], Viscount Milton [right, with hat in left hand], photographed in San Francisco, 1863](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/milton-cheadle-sf.jpg)
George A. Walkem [left], Dr. Walter Cheadle [seated], Viscount Milton [right, with hat in left hand], photographed in San Francisco, 1863
British Columbia Archives
Milton and Cheadle
William Wentworth Fitzwilliam Milton [1839–1877] was a British nobleman, explorer, and Liberal Party politician. Walter Butler Cheadle [1835–1910] was an English paediatrician. They travelled across Canada in 1862-1863. Departing from Quebec City in July, they wintered near Fort Carlton in present-day Saskatchewan. In 1863 they became the first “tourists” to travel through the Yellowhead Pass. After a challenging and at times humorous summer, they reached Victoria, British Columbia.
They chronicled their trip in The North-West Passage by Land. Being the narrative of an expedition from the Atlantic to the Pacific, undertaken with the view of exploring a route across the continent to British Columbia through British territory, by one of the northern passes in the Rocky Mountains (1865).
Works pertinent to the Mount Robson region of which Milton and Cheadle were authors or co-authors:
- Cheadle, Walter Butler [1835–1910], and — Cheadle’s Journal of Trip Across Canada 1862-63. Ottawa: Graphic Publishers, 1931. University of British Columbia Library
- — and Milton, William Wentworth Fitzwilliam [1839–1877]; Cheadle, Walter Butler [1835–1910]. The North-West Passage by Land. Being the narrative of an expedition from the Atlantic to the Pacific, undertaken with the view of exploring a route across the continent to British Columbia through British territory, by one of the northern passes in the Rocky Mountains. London: Cassell, Petter and Galpin, 1865. Internet Archive [accessed 3/10/2025]
- — and Milton, William Wentworth Fitzwilliam [1839–1877]; Cheadle, Walter Butler [1835–1910]. Voyage de l’Atlantique au Pacifique, à travers le Canada, les montagnes Rocheuses et la Colombie anglaise. Paris: Hachette, 1872
Milton and Cheadle are credited with naming the following places:
Events in the Mount Robson region in which Milton and Cheadle was involved:
- 1863 Milton and Cheadle through YHP
References:
- Zillmer, Raymond T. [1887–1960]. “The location of Mt. Milton and the restoration of the names ‘Mt. Milton and Mt. Cheadle’.” American Alpine Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1943). American Alpine Club