Bow River
River
72 E
Flows south-west into South Saskatchewan River, 86 km east of Lethbridge.
This feature was known to the Cree as ma-na-cha-ban sipi, meaning Bow River. This was
descriptive of the growth of Douglas Fir along its banks, which they used for making bows. The French called this feature Rivière des Arcs, perhaps referring to the crescent course which the Bow and South Saskatchewan rivers follow, or for the fact that the French word for bow is arc. David Thompson sent four men from Rocky Mountain House in
1800 to ascend the river. North-West, Hudson's Bay and XY Fur Company officials soon followed suit to secure trade with the Blackfoot. The Bow River appeared on the 1801
Arrowsmith map as Askow or Bad River, but by the time the 1822 edition was published,
this feature was cited as the Bow or Askow River. Peter Fidler in 1792 referred
to it as the Bad River, As Kow seepee, and Na ma kay sis sa ta or Bow Hills River. Victoria Callihoo in an article in the Alberta Historical Review, stated "Bow River, in Indian is 'Ask-ka-we-see-pee,' which means 'Don't-freeze-over-river;' this river was never known to be frozen over all winter for ponies crossing it." Herein may lie the connection between Askow/Ask-ka-we Bad/Don't freeze over. It would be bad if the river did not freeze over in the winter.