This mountain was named after Peter Erasmus (1834-1931) who joined the Palliser Expedition in l858 as a guide and interpreter. The son of a Danish father who fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and a Métis mother he was born at Red River where later he was educated for the Anglican ministry. He never entered the ministry but went to Edmonton and later Pigeon Lake as an interpreter for the Reverend Thomas Woolsey, a newly arrived Wesleyan missionary.

When the Palliser Expedition ended he remained in Edmonton until l862 when he settled along Whitefish Lake where Reverend Henry B. Steinhauer had established a Methodist Mission. He built a house and store and part of the time acted as a fur buyer for the Hudson's Bay. He made regular trips over the Carlton Trail to Red River and when the Riel Rebellion broke out in l885 he hastened to Edmonton where he secured troops and ammunition for loyal Indians under Chief Pakan. Returning home he found that his home had been burned to the ground and his store looted .

Erasmus worked with the McDougalls at their mission by Victoria (now Pakan) where he acted as a guide, interpreter, and translator for many years.

He also acted as an interpreter for the Canadian government at Indian treaty signings.In recognition for his service the government awarded him a pension for life. His old home can be found at Fort Edmonton Historical Park.

When he died on May 28,1931 he was almost 98 years old. His unmarked grave lies beside the little church at Whitefish Lake which overlooks the lake and the site of his early home.

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