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Ch 11-8

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

318 BRITISH COLUMBIA

his heels and within a short distance of the Pacific Fur Company's
establishment built a rival post for the Nor'westers. Thus, in the
summer of 1812, two forts, if such they may be called, were erected
near the junction of the North and South Thompson Rivers. These
were respectively the sixth and seventh establishments to be built in
the interior of what is now British Columbia. When Alexander
Ross visited his chief at Kamloops at the end of the year, he found,
to his great surprise, the North West Company established there.

It is not known — at least the extant records of that period are
silent upon the point — by what route Laroque came, or under whose
instructions he acted. Harmon does not mention anything about an
expedition being fitted out in New Caledonia for the southern coun-
try, and it may be taken for granted, therefore, that he was despatched
by one of David Thompson's parties in the Rocky Mountains, unless
he came by the Yellowhead Pass and Tete Jaune Cache. While
the agents of the Pacific Fur Company were founding their posts
in the Far West David Thompson was not idle. He had already
annexed the Pointed Heart and Spokane Country, and placed Mr.
McMillan in charge thereof. The noted surveyor and furtrader
had also established a post amongst the Flatheads and another for
the conduct of trade with the Kootenais. To these three places also
came the Astorians, and there pitted their wits against the North-
westers. Towards the end of 181 2 Alexander Ross paid a visit to
John Clarke at Fort Spokane and his account of his three-day sojourn
there throws an interesting sidelight on the furtrade as it was con-
ducted in those early days. Ross wrote: "During the three days I
remained with him I had frequent opportunities of observing the
sly and underhand dealings of the competing parties, for the opposi-
tion posts of the Northwest Company and Mr. Clarke were built con-
tiguous to each other. When the two parties happened to meet they
made the amplest protestations of friendship and kindness, and a
stranger, unacquainted with the politics of Indian trade, would have
pronounced them sincere, but the moment their backs were turned
thev tore each other to pieces. Each party had its manoeuvering
scouts in all directions, watching the motions of the Indians, and
laying plots and plans to entrap or foil each other. He that got
most skins, never minding the cost or the crime, was the cleverest
fellow; and under such tutors the Indians were apt disciples."

BRITISH COLUMBIA 319

At Kamloops, however, a better spirit prevailed, for there the
rival traders "were open and candid and on friendly terms. The
field before them was wide enough for both parties, and, what is
more, they thought it so, consequently, they followed a fair and
straightforward course of trade." David Stuart also bears willing
testimony to the happy state of affairs on the Thompson River.
Upon his return to Fort Okanagan in the spring of 1813, he informed
Alexander Ross that "I have passed a Winter nowise unpleasant;
the opposition, it is true, gave me a good deal of anxiety when it
first arrived, but we agreed very well, and made as much, perhaps
more, than if we had been enemies. I sent out parties in all direc-
tions, north as far as Eraser's River, and for two hundred miles up
the south branch." As for the prospects of the new station, Stuart
voiced the opinion that it would become "one of the best beaver posts
in the country."

In this manner and by these men — exactly a century ago — the
foundation of the city of Kamloops was laid in a rude trading post.

For the first time, the North West Company had a competitor in
the territory west of the Rocky Mountains. But that competition did
not last long. From beginning to end fortune frowned upon the
American Fur Company. Its ships were wrecked ; its overland expe-
dition suffered losses and hardships; its afTairs were mis-managed,
and jealousies and bickerings marked its councils; then war broke
out between Great Britain and America, and H. M. S. Raccoon was
despatched to take Fort Astoria. The officers of the warship looked
forward to winning much prize-money, as the post was said to be
well-stocked with furs. However, when the Raccoon anchored oflf
the Fort towards the end of 181 2 it was already in possession of the
British. Without supplies, and without an adequate force to defend
the place, Donald McDougall, who in Hunt's absence was in com-
mand of the place, had disposed of the fort and all it contained to
the North West Company, whose agents had found their way to the
Columbia.

Upon his return from a tour of the Russian settlements and the
Sandwich Islands, Wilson Price Hunt found that the fort and all
the supplies and stores that it contained had been transferred to J. G.
McTavish and John Stuart, the representatives of the North West
Company. He was not, perhaps, altogether in favour of this disposi-

320 BRITISH COLUMBIA

tion of the property; nevertheless, he acquiesced at the time, as is
clearly shown by his assuming responsibility for Duncan McDou-
gall's arrangement with x'Vstor's rivals.-- Thus all the efforts and
expenditure of John Jacob Astor, who had aspired to be supreme
in the new region, went for naught and his British rivals acquired
sole control of the whole field.

No sooner had the North West Company acquired Astoria than
it energetically proceeded to occupy the rich territories lying between
the Fraser and the Columbia Rivers. Fort George, formerly Astoria,
became the capital of the Oregon Territory, and all supplies for the
transmontane region were shipped to that place round the Horn, or
through the Strait of Magellan. Fort George soon became a Fort
William in miniature. Fields were cultivated, several large build-
ings erected, and the pallisades and bastions strengthened. The
Nor'westers were noted for their hospitality and bonhomie. The
banqueting hall was often the scene of the revelries of as jovial a
set as ever gathered together.-" Nevertheless the officers were jealous
of each other and life at Fort George was not always as depicted by
Commodore Wilkes, the author of this picture.

Heretofore the supplies for New Caledonia have been carried
across the continent from Fort William to the Rocky Mountains, and
by the Peace River Pass to Fort St. James. Now, with the Company
in control of the Columbia River, the supplies for New Caledonia
were taken in boats or canoes to the Okanagan River, and thence
to the post at the fork of the North and South Thompson Rivers, the
goods being carried by horse brigade on the last stage of the journey.
According to John Stuart this route was opened in 1813 and used
for the transport of supplies in 1814. and regularly since that year.'"

From Kamloops the brigade proceeded to Fort Alexandria, on
the Fraser River, where the packages were transferred to canoes and
carried to Fort George, and thence to Fort St. James. This route,
long and difficult as it was, proved far superior to that through the
passes in the Rocky Mountains.

The North West Company, during the seven years it was in control
of the Oregon Territory, from 1814 to 1821, accomplished much. It

-* House Doc. 45, 17th Congress, 2iid Session, pp. 49-64.
'-■'Wilkes, A. B., Exploring Expedition, Philadelphia, 1845, p. 320.

■"■"Autograph notes by the late John Stuart attached to A. C. Anderson's History of the N. \\ .
Coast. In Provincial .Archives Dept.

BRITISH COLUMBIA 321

adopted a vigorous policy, and established new posts and entered into
friendly relations with all the tribes that its agents could reach. The
Company, however, was from the beginning, handicapped in its
Western venture by the bickerings of its own officers and by its feud
with the Hudson's Bay Company, which caused its resources in
men and supplies to be employed along its threatened line of com-
munication, in the territories now embraced in the Provinces of
Saskatchewan and Alberta. In 1816 the struggle reached its cul-
minating point. In that year a force of Nor'westers marched on the
Earl of Selkirk's settlement on Red River, and, in the battle that
ensued. Governor Semple of the Hudson's Bay Company was shot.
The unfortunate Governor — a humane and conscientious man —
expired shortly after. The Earl of Selkirk retaliated by capturing
Fort William, where Simon Eraser happened to be at the time.
Eraser and other Nor'westers were sent to Montreal as prisoners.
Then followed a series of charges and counter-charges, many of
which were aired in the courts of Canada. Naturally enough, the
lawless reprisals of the contending parties attracted the attention of
the Imperial and Canadian authorities, and aroused public opinion
on both sides of the Atlantic, but so influential were the great pro-
tagonists that at first they were left to conduct their warfare as best
pleased them.

The murder of Governor Semple, however, could not pass un-
noticed. While both parties declared themselves innocent of the
crimes attributed to them in the Indian Territories, and placed the
blame for the unfortunate state of affairs on each other, it soon became
apparent that the government would have to intervene. Rumours of
parliamentary enquiries and law suits reached the ears of the officers
of the Hudson's Bay and North West Companies. No doubt both
sides realized that they had acted injudiciously and that their indis-
cretions might result in the revocation of the charter of the one and the
disbanding of the other. The North West Company, it is scarcely
necessary to relate, had never been able to obtain a royal charter,
although it had made an efifort to do so.

The condition of the Indian Territories at this time, that is, where
the two companies had openly fought for control, was deplorable.
Whole districts had been depleted of fur-bearing animals and the
Indians had been debauched with rum, for no other article com-

322 BRITISH COLUMBIA

manded such prices in the Indian Territory and no other article
would be taken by the natives in exchange for their furs if that were
at all procurable. Fearful of the facts which an enquiry would bring
to light, an effort was made by the companies to extricate themselves
from their embarrassing position. There were men on both sides
only too eager to continue the struggle; but, fortunately, at this criti-
cal juncture wiser councils prevailed. The nabobs of the fur trade
came together. Thev realized at once that the onlv wav to forestall
an enquiry was to pool their interests. In 1821, therefore, the North
West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company joined hands, and in
name the historic corporation, of which Prince Rupert was the first
Governor succeeded to the control of the vast territories which the
officers of both organizations had discovered and explored. Hence-
forth the adventurers of England were to be supreme from Labrador
to Oregon — from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Thus disappeared the great North West Company, which in the
thirty brilliant years of its existence had added a new chapter to
the history of British achievement in the Held of geographical dis-
covery. Under its auspices, expeditions had crossed the continent
for the first time, and opened to view a new and rich territory. The
daring trader had penetrated the country in all directions — north,
south, east and west. In his wanderings he planted his banner on the
dreary arctic shore and on the rock-girt coast of the Pacific, on the
great prairie and in the wild passes of the Rocky Mountains. In
truth the North West Company had won an empire for the British
Crown.

The North West Company is now but a memory. In the days
of its glory it was a great power in this land. Who can read Wash-
ington Irving's description of the old Nor'westers without a feeling
akin to reverence for these men who were truly great in their own
way and calling. The brilliant historian of Astoria closes his account
of the rise and fall of the North West Company with this masterpiece
of rhetoric: —

"To behold the North West Company in all its state and grandeur,
however, it was necessary to witness an annual gathering at the great
interior place of conference established at Fort William, near what
is called the Grand Portage, on Lake Superior. Here two or three
of the leading partners from the various trading posts of the wilder-

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Ch 11-7

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

BRITISH COLUMBIA H13

The erection of a warehouse, sixty-two feet by twenty, a dwelling
and a powder magazine, kept the men busy until the first week, in
June. The buildings were constructed of hewn logs and, in the
absence of boards, were tightly roofed with cedar-bark. While these
operations were in progress, the natives of both sexes frequently vis-
ited the scene and a brisk trade was carried on. As soon as the fort
was completed, Captain Thorne sailed northward on a trading ven-
ture, according to his instructions. The Astorians, in the meantime,
an.xiously awaited the arrival of the overland party.

The Tonquin sailed on the 5th of June. Of her subsequent his-
tory all that is known is that she reached Clayoquot Sound, on the
west coast of Vancouver Island, where by maladroit diplomacy
Thorne so incensed the Indians that they seized the vessel and mur-
dered the whole crew. Gabriel Franchere relates that months after-
wards the interpreter of the expedition arrived at Fort Astoria with
the sad intelligence, he alone having escaped. The interpreter
reported that the murder of the white men had been avenged, for as
the Indians, to the number of two or three hundred, were looting the
vessel, the powder in the magazine was ignited, and a terrible explo-
sion ensued. As the vessel sank the murderous natives were hurled
into the air.

Meanwhile the men at Astoria were not idle. In spite of the
fact that they were obliged to husband their resources, expeditions
were sent out to explore the adjacent country and to establish friendly
relations with the natives. It was at this time that David Thompson
came sweeping down the Lower Columbia in his birch hark canoe,
with his crew of lusty French Canadian voyageurs.

Franchere relates that on the 15th of July, "toward midday, we
saw a large canoe, with a flag displayed at her stern, rounding the
point which we called Tongue Point. We knew not who it could
be; for we did not so soon expect our own party, who (as the reader
will remember) were to cross the continent, by the route which Cap-
tains Lewis and Clark had followed, in 1805, and to winter for that
purpose somewhere on the Missouri. We were soon relieved of our
uncertainty by the arrival of the canoe, which touched shore at a
little wharf that we had built to facilitate the landing of goods from
the vessel. The flag she bore was the British, and her crew was
composed of eight Canadian boatmen or voyageurs. A well-dressed

314 BRITISH COLUMBIA

man, who appeared to be the commander, was the first to leap ashore,
and addressing us without ceremony, said that his name was David
Thompson, and that he was one of the partners of the North West
Company. We invited him to our quarters, which were at one
end of the warehouse, the dwelling-house not being yet completed.
After the usual civilities had been extended to our visitor, Mr.
Thompson said that he had crossed the continent during the preced-
ing season; but that the desertion of a portion of his men had com-
pelled him to winter at the base of the Rocky Mountains, at the head
waters of the Columbia. In the spring he had built a canoe, the
materials for which he had brought with him across the moun-
tains, and had come down the river to our establishment. He added
that the wintering partners had resolved to abandon all their trad-
ing posts west of the mountains, not to enter into competition with
us, provided our company would engage not to encroach upon their
commerce on the east side: and to support what he said, produced a
letter to that effect, addressed by the wintering partners to the chief
of their house in Canada, the Hon. William M'Gillivray."

Franchere adds "Mr. Thompson kept a regular journal, and
travelled, I thought, more like a geographer than a fur-trader. He
was provided with a sextant, chronometer and barometer, and during
a week's sojourn which he made at our place, had an opportunity to
make several astronomical observations."

Such was the denouement of the great struggle of the rival Brit-
ish and American traders for the control of the Columbia River.
David Thompson was too late. Unfortunately, the warlike Piegans
had opposed his march and beleaguered his small force in the Rocky
Mountains. Otherwise that mightv race would undoubtedly have
had a different ending.

Thompson reached Kettle Falls at the end of June, and there
built a canoe for his voyage to the sea. By July 2nd he was ready to
proceed and on the following day started down the Columbia with
seven voyageurs "on that first journey of a white man from Ilth-
koy-ape, as the Indians called these Falls, to the Ocean." A learned
and conscientious student of early western affairs gives the follow-
ing summary of Thompson's movements from the date of his depart-
ure from Kettle Falls in July to his return to Athabasca in
October:-^ "The night of the 5th found them encamped some dis-

=* T. C. Elliott, David Thompson, Pathfinder, Kettle Falls, 1911, pp. 2-3.

BRITISH COLUMBIA 315

tance below the mouth of the Okanagan river, on the 9th they were a
little way above the mouth of the Snake or Lewis River, and on the
14th or 1 6th arrived at Fort Astoria, there to be greeted by Duncan
McDougall, and other former associates of Mr. Thompson in the
Northwest Company, but then partners and managers in the Pacific
Fur Companv of John Jacob Astor. These people had arrived in
the Columbia by sea during the month of April, preceding.

"Vou ask how did David Thompson arrive at Kettle Falls in
June, 181 1, and whether by chance or design. He came on horse-
back from Spokane House, a trading post or fort then already estab-
lished, erected the previous year at the junction of the little Spokane
with the main Spokane river by one of his men, presumably Finan
Macdonald. This seems a little early to find the name Spokane in
written form, but so it appears; 'Skeetshoo' was the designation given
by David Thompson to the Spokane river and to the lake later
known as the Coeur d'AIene.

''He had reached Spokane House by the 'Skeetshoo road' or
trail from the Kullyspell (Pend d'Oreille) river and tribe. The
Kullyspell (or Saleesh) river and lake were already familiar to
him through several months spent in exploring and trading there
during 1809-10 and the establishment of two trading posts, one
near to the Thompson Falls, Montana, of the present day. To the
Saleesh he had cf)me by the 'Kullyspell Lake Indian Road' from
the Kootenay river, where he left the canoes used in descending the
Kootenav from a point in British Columbia opposite to the waters
of the I'pper Columbia Lake and distant from that lake not more
than three miles across the low divide since known as Canal Flat
but to him as Mc(jillivray's Portage. This portage he had reached
by canoes up the Columbia from Canoe River at the e.xtrcme bend of
the river in British Columbia, so named by himself because of his
enforced encampment there from Januarv until April of this same
year 1811 in preparation for his 'sortie" to the moutli of the Colum-
bia. The occasion for this 'sortie' was the permission given to him
and the instructions received from his partners of the Northwest
Company at their annual meeting at Fort William on Lake Superior
in the summer of 1810, for the Northwesters had declined to join
with Mr. Astor in the enterprise to occupy the mouth of the Colum-

:ii6 BRITISH COLUMBIA

bia and expected to develop the Indian trade there on their own
account, as they afterward did."

But, let me revert to David Thompson's own records. He was
at Astoria on the 15th of July and from there visited Cape Disap-
pointment at the mouth of the river, but at once started up river
again, for his journal reads: "August 8th, 181 1, Chapaton River,
at noon, latitude 48 degrees 36 minutes 26 seconds north, longitude
112 degrees 22 minutes 15 seconds west. Laid up our canoe." The
Chapaton (Shahaptin) was the Snake River and this entry shows
him to have been at the mouth of the Palouse river, a well known
camping place for the Xez Perces Indians; from whence the party
took to the hurricane decks of as many Nez Perces horses and fol-
lowed the well established Indian trail to the Spokane (Aug. 18th)
and thence to Kettle Falls again (Aug. 23rd). By the third of Sep-
tember he was again prepared with canoe and provisions and pro-
ceeded up the Columbia, through the Arrow, Lakes and the Dalles
des Morts to Boat Encampment on Canoe River, and from there
crossed the Rocky Mountains again to the Athabasca in October.

The Astorians lost no time in e.xtending their sphere of influence.
After the departure of the Tonqitin on its ill-fated voyage to the
northward, parties were des]:)atched up the river to explore the
country and to select sites for other posts. One of these expeditions
deserves notice because it led to the occupation of the country in the
vicinity of Kamloops. On September 16, 181 1, David Stuart and
three of his men left Fort Okanagan, near the junction of the Okana-
gan and Columbia Rivers, for the interior. The adventurers crossed
the beautiful plateau that stretches from Okanagan Lake to Thomp-
son River, and, not far from the point where now stands the city of
Kamloops, settled upon the site of a post for the trade of that dis-
trict. At the same time, the North West Company had decided to
occupy the Thompson country, and the clerk, Joseph Laroque, was
charged with the mission. Neither Stuart nor Laroque knew of
the intentions of the other. The Pacific Fur Company was first in
the field, but the North West Company was not far behind.

Stuart's mission proved in every way a success, and upon his
return to Astoria in February, 181 2, his report led the partners of
the Pacific Fur Companv at Astoria to pass the following resolu-
tion: "That Mr. David Stuart proceed to his post at Oakinacken,

BRITISH COLUMBIA 317

explore the country northward to it, and establish a post between
that and New Caledonia." -"

During Stuart's absence, Alexander Ross — who bequeathed to
posterity two excellent books on the operations of the Pacific Fur
Company on the Columbia River-'' — was in charge of Fort Okana-
gan. Before leaving that post to attend the annual council at Astoria,
David Stuart had instructed him to proceed to Kamloops — or "Cum-
cloups," as Ross called it — to carry on the trade with the Thompson
Indians. On May i6, 1812, Ross reached Kamloops "And," to quote
his own words, "there encamped at a place called by the Indians
'Cumcloups," near the entrance of the north branch. From this
station I sent messages to the different tribes around, who soon assem-
bled, bringing with them their furs. Here we stayed for ten days.
The number of Indians collected on the occasion could not have been
less than 2,o(x:). Not expecting to see so manv, I had taken but a
small quantity of goods with me; nevertheless, we loaded all our
horses, so anxious were they to trade, and so fond of leaf tobacco that
one morning before breakfast I obtained 1 10 beavers for leaf tobacco
at the rate of five leaves per skin, and at last, when I had but one
yard of white cotton remaining, one of the chiefs gave me twenty
prime beaver skins for it.""' Ross then returned to Fort Okanagan,
from which he had been absent only a few^ weeks. The success of
this excursion certainly justified Stuart's description of the Sushwaps
and their country. He had reported that the natives were "well
disposed" and "the country throughout: abounds in beavers and all
other kinds of fur." Sir Alexander Mackenzie, it will be recalled,
had described from hearsay these same natives as a "malignant race,
who lived in large subterranean recesses" -a reference to the "Kcek-
willee" or underground houses of the interior.

in order to carry into effect the decision of his colleagues, David
Stuart left his post at Okanagan on August 21; (1812) for Kamloops,
where he built a hut for it' A\as little more — which ultimately
became the celebrated Fort Thompson or Kamloops. Stuart had not
arrived a moment too soon, for Joseph Laro(iue followed hard upon

"•'' .'Vlexander Ross. .Xilveniures on the Oregon or Columbia River.

-".Alexander Ross. .Ailvcntiires of the First Settlers on the tJregon or Columbia River. (Lon-
don, 1844) and 'Hie Fur Hunters of the Far West (London, 1855). See also Ross Cfix, the
Columhia River (London, 1831).

-■ Ross, Fur Hunters.

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Ch 11-6

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

308 BRITISH COLUMBIA

the day of her death? Possessing only the common feelings of
humanity, how could I think of her, in such circumstances, without
anguish? On the whole, I consider the course which I design to
pursue, as the only one which religion and humanity would justify." -'
While Simon Fraser, John Stuart and Daniel Williams Harmon
were consolidating the interests of the North West Company in
the territory immediately west of the Rocky Mountains, David
Thompson, whose name is inseparably associated with the discovery
and exploration of the Far West, was making his way through the
Rocky Mountains into East Kootenay. This restless, indefatigable
man forced his way to the head waters of the Columbia River. He
was the first white man to pierce southeastern British Columbia,
and to stand at the source of the great fluvial artery which, rising in
British Columbia, flows in devious course to the Pacific Ocean under
the 46th parallel. Simon Fraser was a furtrader pure and simple,
and such were John Stuart and most of the Nor'westers. But there
were brilliant exceptions. Sir Alexander Mackenzie was an explorer
of high repute, and David Thompson — the first trained surveyor
and map-maker of the West — was first of all an explorer, although
he did not despise the furtradc. David Thompson stands head and
shoulders above the men of his day engaged in the furtrade in the
wild Indian territories. It is strange, seeing that the man accom-
plished so much, that his name has not been emblazoned in letters
of gold on the page of history. Few men have performed more
heroic feats and few men have been so completely forgotten. It fell
to the lot of David Thompson to explore unknown territories and to
map them, with some degree of accuracy, for the first time. He left
minute accounts of his journeys to and fro throughout the vast wil-
derness which stretched from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean;
yet the Canadian of today knows little of the man and less of his
work. It is strange that while the American historian delights to
honour the pioneer who blazed historic trails across the continent,
the Canadian historian has scarcely thought it worth while to record
the great victories, won by the men whose efforts made possible, in
after years, the establishment of the Dominion of Canada from ocean
to ocean. No man has been less honoured, perhaps, in this country,
than David Thompson, who died, old, worn-out and broken in

-' Harmon, Jf>urnal. 269-271.

BRITISH COLUMBIA •'509

health, spirit and purse, at Longueuil, February i6, 1857, ''^ ^i^
eighty-seventh year.--

David Thompson, like Sir George Simpson, was renowned for his
rapid journeys from one end of the continent to the other. As a youth
he had entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, but, wish-
ing for more active employment, he made overtures to the North
West Company, and the partners, keenly alive to the necessity of
having the position of their posts clearly defined, gladly availed
themselves of his proffered services. This, then, was the man who
was to pierce the mighty Rockies. So far, only the Peace River and
Howse Passes were known to the furtrader. It was left to Thompson
to e.xplore the maze of rivers, lakes and mountains of East Kootenay.
In the autumn of i8q6 he was in the neighbourhood of Laggan,
Field, Golden and Donald, and reached the Blaeberry River, on the
banks of which he constructed a rough log raft, and started on his
perilous voyage down this rapid stream. The Blaeberry carried
him to a great river which — though he did not at first recognize it
as such — is the northern or main branch of the Columbia. He
reached the river between Donald and Moberlv.

In his journal of June 22, 1807, he entered the pious ejaculation
— "May God in His mercy give me to see where the waters of this
river flow to the western ocean." Not far from the place where
Windermere stands today, he built a fort which he named l^pper
Kootenay House — long since destroyed, although the site of it is
still known. Continuing his e.xplorations. he discovered the Koote-
nay River and followed it into Idaho and Montana. However, he
could not pursue his investigation further at tliat time, as winter
was approaching and he yet had to journey across the continent to
Fort William to report his discoveries. He manned his new post
and left it for the winter, returning by Howse Pass, down the Sas-
katchewan, and thence to Lake Superior.

In 1808 Thompson wintered at Kootenay House, anti, in the
following spring, established posts on the Flathead and I'cnd
d'Oreille Lakes, leaving Finan Macdonald in command of the newly
organized district, with McMillan and a dozen or more traders.
In June, 18 10, he was back at Edmonton, on his way east. Upon

"Coues. New light on the Karly HiMnry of the tJreater Northwest. New ^■orl:, 1897. Vol.
I, p. XXIII.

310 BRITISH COLUMBIA

his arrival at Fort William, he was astounded to hear that John
Jacob Astor, the indefatigable American furtrader, who had hoped
to promote an organization as powerful in the United States as were
the Hudson's Bay and the North West Companies in the North, had
determined to occupy the western territory, for which purpose he
had promoted the Pacific Fur Company. With this intent, the
founder of the Astor fortune had called to his aid some well-known
Nor'westers — John Clarke, Duncan McDougall, Alexander Mackay
(who had accompanied Mackenzie to the Pacific in 1793), Donald
Mackenzie (a relative of Sir Alexander Mackenzie), and David
and Robert Stuart, relatives of the John Stuart who had accompanied
Simon Fraser on his memorable excursion to the sea in 1808. With
these men went a number of French-Canadian, voyageurs, than whom
no better canoe-men (with the possible exception of some of the
native tribes), could be found in all North America; no men were
better able to withstand the hardships incidental to the exploration
of new territories and the establishment of posts therein. Astor
divided his forces into two expeditions, one of which took the over-
land route to the mouth of the Columbia River — there to establish
a post, under the American flag for the conduct of the furtrade in
that region — and the other voyaged thither around Cape Horn and
up the west coast of South and North America to its destination.

The partners of the North West Company did not contemplate
with equanimitv the proposed invasion of their domain beyond the
Rocky Mountains. The grand object of all their efforts and endeav-
ours, since Fraser had founded Fort McLeod in 1805, had been
the establishment of a fort- at the mouth of the Columbia River. To
that end had been all the heavy expenditure involved in the annex-
ing of New Caledonia; to that end Simon Fraser had explored the
great river discovered by Sir Alexander Mackenzie; to that end
David Thompson had bent all his efforts in the last two years. In
fact, from 1805 until 18 10 all the efforts of the North West Com-
pany in the transmontane region had been wholly and solely with
the object of planting its banner on the shores of the Pacific. It
will be easilv understood, therefore, that the news of the despatch of
John Jacob Asto'r's expedition caused heated discussions in the inner
circles of the partners. Nor did the fact that some of their own
men had gone over to the enemy tend to allay their fears. If only Sir

BRITISH COLUMBIA 311

Alexander Mackenzie or Simon Fraser had discovered and followed
to its mouth the River of the West, all would have been well. But
these men had followed another river — a river which was not
wanted at that time. And that, perhaps, is why Simon Eraser's
exploration has never received the attention it deserves at the hands
of the historian. If he had discovered and followed the Columbia,
it is certain that his exploits would have been heralded far and
wide. Unfortunately, however, instead of discovering that river,
he wasted two vears and more in preparing for an excursion that was
barren of result, that is to say, as far as the immediate object of the
furtraders was concerned. The North West Company was disap-
pointed at the result of Eraser's expedition; therefore that memor-
able journey did not attract the attention it deserved until many
years after Eraser's day and generation. Comparatively speaking, it
was not until recent years that the history of the great waterway of
British Columbia was deemed of sufficient importance to deserve
attention.

Now commenced one of the most memorable struggles that has
ever taken place between powerful interests. The goal — the mouth
of the Columbia River; and the prize — the control of its great water-
shed. The question was, who shall reach the mouth of the Columbia
first- -the emissaries of the American Fur Company, or those of the
North West Company? The struggle resolved itself into a mighty
effort by each of the rival concerns to reach the coveted ground before
the other. Astor's agent and personal representative, Wilson Price
Hunt, led the overland expedition, while that irascible martinet,
Jonathan Tliorne, a lieutenant in the United States Navy on leave of
absence, commanded the ship Jonr/uin. which was to follow the
course of the Boston traders to the mouth of the Columbia. To
David Thompson the North West Company entrusted the task of
forestalling the Americans. The year 1811, then, was remarkable
for a race, such as the world had never witnessed before nor will ever
witness again. The course was continental in extent, and the goal an
almost unknown point on the fringe of the western frontier.

Captain Thorne won the race. He crossed the dangerous bar
off Cape Disappointment on March 25, 181 r. A site for a post
was selected at once and all hands were employed in building Fort
Astoria, as the establishment was named in honour of John Jacob

312 BRITISH COLUMBIA

Astor. So the country a,t the mouth of the Columbia was first occu-
pied by the Americans, and that occupation, together with the expe-
dition of Lewis and Clark, and the discovery of the estuary of the
Columbia by Captain Gray, may be taken as the genesis of the Ore-
gon Boundary Question.

After a hasty survey of the river, it was decided that the estab-
lishment should be built on Point George, so named by Lieutenant
Broughton of Vancouver's expedition. An eye-witness thus describes
this building of Astoria, destined to become famous in the annals
of the Oregon Territory: "... as the captain wished to take
advantage of the fine season to pursue his traflic with the natives along
the N. W. coast, it was resolved to establish ourselves on Point
George situated on the south bank, about fourteen or fifteen miles
from our present anchorage. Accordingly we embarked on the 12th,
in the long-boat, to the number of twelve, furnished with tools, and
with provisions for a week. We landed at the bottom of a small
bay, where we formed a sort of encampment.

"The spring, usually so tardy in this latitude, was already far
advanced; the foliage was budding, and the earth was clothing itself
with verdure; the weather was superb, and all nature smiled. We
imagined ourselves in the garden of Eden; the wild forests seemed
to us delightful groves, and the leaves transformed to brilliant
flowers. No doubt, the pleasure of finding ourselves at the end of
our voyage, and liberated from the ship, made things appear to us
a great deal more beautiful than they really were. Be that as it may,
we set ourselves to work with enthusiasm, and cleared, in a few days,
a point of land of its underbrush, and of the huge trunks of pine-
trees that covered it, which we rolled, half-burnt, down the bank.
The vessel came to moor near our encampment, and the trade went
on. The natives visited us constantly and in great numbers; some
to trade, others to gratify their curiosity, or to purloin some little
articles if they found an opportunity. We landed the frame timbers
which we had brought, ready cut for the purpose, in the vessel; and
by the end of April, with the aid of the ship-carpenters, John Weeks
and Johann Koaster, we had laid the keel of a coasting-schooner of
about thirtv tons." "^

-^ Oatirlel Franrhcrc. Narrative of voyage to the Northvvest Coast of .America; Redfielcl, 1854.
This work was first published in French at Montreal in the year 1819. It is perhaps the most
reliable of all the accounts of the Astorians.

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Ch 11-5

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

BRITISH COLUMBIA 303 

These beads, they obtain from their neighbours, the At-e-nas, who
purchase them from another tribe, that is said to take them on the
sea shore, where they are reported to be found in plenty. 

"All the Indians in this part of the country, are remarkably fond
of these beads; and in their dealings with each other, they consti-
tute a kind of circulating medium, like the money of civilized coun-
tries. Twenty of these beads, they consider as equal in value to a
beaver's skin. The elderly people neglect to ornament their heads,
in the same manner as they do the rest of their persons, and gen-
erally wear their hair short. But the younger people of both sexes,
who feel more solicitous to make themselves agreeable to each other,
wash and paint their faces, and let their hair grow long. The paint
which they make use of, consists of vermilion, which they occasion-
ally obtain from us; or more commonly, of a red stone, pounded fine,
of which there are two kinds. The powder of one kind of these
stones, mi.xed with grease, and rubbed upon their faces, gives them
a glittering appearance. 

"The young women and girls wear a parcel of European beads,
strung together, and tied to a lock of hair, directly behind each ear.
The men have a sort of collar of the shell beads already mentioned,
which they wind about their heads, or throw around their necks.
In the summer season, both sexes bathe often, and this is the only time,
when the married people wash themselves. One of their customs
is sufficient to evince their extreme filthiness, and that is, whenever
they blow their noses, they rub the mucus between both hands, until
they become dry. 

"Among the Carriers, it is customary for the girls, from the age
of eight to eleven years, to wear a kind of veil or fringe over their
eyes, made either of strung beads, or of narrow strips of deer skin,
garnished with porcupine quills. While of this age, they are not
allowed to eat any thing, excepting the driest food; and especially
they may not cat the head of any animal. If they should, their
relations, as thev imagine, would soon languish and die. The women,
also, during their pregnancy, and for some time after they are deliv-
ered, are restricted to the same kind of food. 

"The lads, as soon as they come to the age of puberty, tie cords,
wound with swan's down, around each leg, a little below the knee, 

304 BRITISH COLUMBIA 

which they wear during one year, and then, they are considered as
men. 

"The Carriers are usually talkative; and when fifteen or twenty
of them get into a house, they make an intolerable noise. Men,
women and children, keep their tongues constantly in motion; and in
controversy, he who has the strongest and clearest voice, is of course
heard the most easily, and, consequently succeeds best in his argu-
ment. They take a great delight, also, in singing, or humming, or
whistling a dull air. In short, whether at home or abroad, they can
hardly be contented with their mouths shut. It was a long time
before we could keep them still, when they came to our forts. And
even yet, when they visit us, which is almost every day, during the
whole year, they will often inadvertently, break out into a song.
But as soon as we check them, or they recollect of themselves what
they are about, they stop short; for they are desirous of pleasing.
The above trait in their character, certainly evinces much content-
ment with their condition, and cheerfulness of spirit. 

''Both sexes, of almost every age, are much addicted to play, or
rather gambling. They pass the greater part of their time, espe-
cially in the winter season, and both days and nights, in some kind
of game; and the men will often lose the last rag of clothes, which
they have about them. But so far from being dejected by such ill
fortune, they often appear to be proud of having lost their all; and
will even boastingly say, that they are as naked as a dog, having not
a rag with which to cover themselves. Should they, in such circum-
stances, meet with a friend, who should lend them something to wrap
around their bodies, it is highly probable, that they would immedi-
ately go and play away the borrowed garment. Or if the borrower
belonged to another village, he would be likely to run off with it,
and the owner would never hear of him afterward; for I never
knew a Carrier to be grateful for a favour bestowed upon him. At
play they often lose a part of a garment, as the sleeves of a coat,
which some of them now purchase from us, a whole, or the half of
a leggin, which they will tear ofi, and deliver to the winner. They
have been known to cut off a foot or more of their guns, when lost
at play; for, like more gentlemanly gamblers, they consider such
debts, as debts of honour." 

Speaking of the marital customs of the Carriers, this shrewd 

BRITISH COLUMBIA 305 

observer goes on to say that "The Carriers are remarkably fond of
their wives, and a few of them have three or four; but polygamy is
not general among them. I'he men do the most of the drudgery
about the house, such as cutting and drawing fire wood, and bringing
water. In the winter months, they drink but little water; but to
quench their thirst, they eat half melted snow, which they generally
keep on top of a stick, stuck in the ground, before the fire. 

"As the Carriers are fond of their wives, they are, as naturally
might be supposed, very jealous of them; but- to their daughters,
they allow every liberty for the purpose, as they say, of keeping the
young men from intercourse with the married women. As the young
women may thus bestow their favours on whom, and as often as
thev please, without the least censure from their parents or reproach
to their character, it might naturally be expected that they would be,
as I am informed they actually are, very free with their persons." 

As for the native's opinion of the white man, it is given in the
following words: — "The Carriers are so very crfcdulous, and have
so e.xalted an opinion of us, that they firmly believe, though I have
often assured them of the contrary, that any of the Traders or Chiefs,
as they call us, can, at pleasure, make it fair or foul weather. And
even yet when they are preparing ttJ set out on an excursion, they
will come and offer to pay us, provided we will make or allow it to
be fair weather, during their absence from their homes. They often
inquire of us whether salmon, that year, will be in plenty in their
rivers. They also think, that by merely looking into our books,
we can cause a sick person to recover, let the distance which he may
be from us be ever so great. In short, they look upon those who can
read and write, as supernatural beings, who know all that is past,
and who can sec into futurity. 

"For a considerable time after we had been among them, they
were fully of the opinion, that the white people had neither fathers
nor mothers; but came into the world in a supernatural way, or
were placed on the earth by the sun or moon." 

Such were the people — according to Daniel Williams Harmon —
amongst whom the lot of the pioneer furtrader of New Caledonia
was cast. A later historian of the district — John M'Lean — corro-
borates the account given by the first historian of the district. In
his work entitled "Notes of a Twentv-Five Years' Service in the 

306 BRITISH COLUMBIA 

Hudson's Bay l^erritory," '"■ M'Lean goes so far as to asseverate
that "The lewdness of the Carrier women cannot possibly be carried
to a greater excess. They are addicted to the most abominable prac-
tices; abandoning themselves in early youth to free indulgence of
their passions, they soon become debilitated and infirm; and there
can be no doubt that to this monstrous depravity the depopulation
of the country, may, in part, be ascribed. 

"They never marry until satiated with indulgence; and if the
women then should be dissatisfied with the restraint of the conjugal
yoke, the union, by mutual consent, is dissolved for a time; both then
betake themselves to former courses. The women, nevertheless, dare
not, according to law, take another husband during this temporary
separation. Whoever infringes this law, forfeits his life to the
aggrieved party, if he choose, or dare to take it. 

"Polygamy is allowed, but only one of the women is considered
as the wife. The most perfect harmony seems to subsist among them.
When the favourite happens to be supplanted by a rival, she resigns
her place without a murmur, well pleased if she can only enjoy the
countenance of her lord in a subordinate situation. Yet a rupture
does sometimes occur, when the repudiated party not unfrequently
destroys herself. Suicides were frequent among the females in the
neighbourhood of Fort Alexandria." 

It is only just to observe that since these observations were writ-
ten a remarkable change has come over the Carrier people, through
the efforts of the able and pious missionaries who have laboured in
the vineyard of New Caledonia.'" 

It is now time to bid farewell to Daniel Williams Harmon —
one of the earliest pioneers and founders of the great district known
in early days as New Caledonia. His journal of Sunday, February
8, 1819, states that "Mr. George McDougall has arrived here from
Fraser's Lake, to remain, as I am going to McLeod's Lake, to pre-
pare for a departure to Head Quarters; and my intention is, during
the next summer, to visit my native land. I design, also, to take my
family with me, and leave them there, that they may be educated
in a civilized and Christian manner." -'" 

>' Vol. II, London, 18+9, pp. 300-301. 

I'Vide Morice — Northern Interior and History of Catholic Church in Western Canada. 

2" Harmon, Journal, p. 269. 

BRITISH COLUMBIA ;i07 

In Mav our worthv author left the scene of liis trials and tri-
umphs, and journeyed to Fort William — the headquarters of the
North West Company — on Lake Superior. One of the last entries
in his journal is so trulv characteristic of the man, and throws so
much light on the social condition of that age in this — as it was
then — out of the way corner of the British Empire, that it may well
close this chapter. In speaking (;f his departure, he observes —
"The mother of my children will accompany me; and, if she shall
be satisfied to remain in that part of the world, I design to make her
regularly my wife by a formal marriage. It will be seen by this
remark, that my intentions have materially changed, since the time
that I at first took her to live with me; and as my conduct in this
respect is dififerent from that which has generally been pursued by
the gentlemen of the North West Company, it will be proper
to state some of the reasons which have governed mv decision, in
regard to this weighty afil'air. It has been made with the most serious
deliberation; and, I hope, under a solemn sense of mv accountabilitv
to God. 

"Having lived w ith this woman as mv wife, though we were never
formally contracted to each other, during life, and having children
by her, I consider that 1 am under a moral obligation not to dis-
solve the connexion, if she is willing to continue it. The union
which has been formed between us, in the providence of God, has
not only been cemented by a long and mutual performance of kind
offices, but also, by a more sacred consideration. Ever since my own
mind was turned efifectually to the subject of religion, I have taken
pains to instruct her in the great doctrines and duties of Christianitv.
My exertions have not been in vain. Through the merciful agency
of the Holy Spirit, I trust that she has become a partaker with me,
in the consolations and hopes of the gospel. I consider it to be my
duty to take her to a Christian land, where she may enjoy Divine
ordinances, grow in grace, and ripen for glory. — We have wept
together over the early departure of several children, and especially,
over the death of a beloved son. We have children still living, who
arc equally dear to us both. How could I spend my days in the
civilized world, and leave my beloved children in the wilderness?
The thought has in it the bitterness of death. How could I tear them
irom a mother's love, and leave her to mourn over their absence, to

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Ch 11-4

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

298 BRITISH COLUMBIA 

he found affairs in such a state as to render his presence there neces-
sary — as a matter of fact, what with the rivalries and machinations
of the two companies, matters were in a chaotic condition. 

Yet Stuart apparently discovered the route so long followed by
the Columbia River Brigade — that is, that part of it lying between
the South Fork of the Thompson and Alexandria. It has been
stated that Stuart's exertions in this particular availed nothing; but
Harmon records the fact that on Tuesday, October i8, 1814, Laroque
arrived at Stuart Lake from the mouth of the Columbia River (p.
242). ''This afternoon," he states, "I was agreeably surprised by the
arrival of Mr. Joseph La Roque and company, in two canoes, laden
with goods, from Fort George, at the mouth of the Columbia River,
which place they left the latter part of last August." The little
brigade here referred to was evidently the hrst to reach New Cale-
donia by way of the Thompson River, Lac la Hache and the Fraser
River. It is likely that Laroque received instructions from Stuart
as to what road to follow. It was this ofHcer who carried to New
Caledonia the melancholy intelligence of the death of Dugald
McTavish and Alexander Henry. Both of these able, men were
drowned on the 22nd of May, 1813. through the upsetting of a small
boat on the Columbia River. 

Joseph Laroque w^as afterwards in charge of the post at Fraser's
Lake, where he was visited by Harmon in the beginning of Novem-
ber, for Harmon states: "Here we arrived this afternoon (Novem-
ber 3) and found Mr. La Roque and his people, busily employed in
bartering with the natives, for furs and salmon, and in constructing
houses." His next entrv afifords an insight into the character of La
Roque — the man who built the North West Company's post at the
forks of the Thompson. "With this gentleman, I have spent a pleas-
ant evening; and I am happy to find that, from having been thought-
less and dissolute, he now appears to be the reverse of this. It is
manifest, that he has recently reflected much on the vanity of this
world, and on the important concerns of Eternity, and he now
appears determined, by the aid of God's Holy Spirit, on a thorough
reformation." This quotation is typical of Harmon's obser\^ations
with regard to his fellow workers. With him, they had all just
reformed or were upon the eve of reformation. Just how far they 

BRITISH COLUMBIA 299 

carried their good intentions is not known, but it is likely that they
fell short of Harmon's expectations. 

Before leaving the pious Daniel Williams Harmon, it is worth
recording that he was the first farmer in the territory now known as
the Province of British Columbia, as well as the earliest historian of
the northern interior. On this account his entry of Wednesday, May
22, 1811, is worth recording: "As the frost is now out of the
ground," says Harmon, "we have planted our potatoes, and sowed
barley, turnips, etc., which are the Hrst that we ever sowed on this
west side of the mountain." There are several references to the
gardens on Stuart Lake and Fraser Lake — for instance, it is recorded
at Fraser Lake (May k), 181 f'l^t "We have surrounded a piece
of ground with palisades, for a garden, in which we have planted a
few potatoes, and sowed onion, carrot, beet, parsnip seeds, and a
little barlc\. I have, also, planted a verv little Indian corn, without
the expectation that it will come to maturity. The nights in this
region are too cold and the summers are too short to admit of its
ripening." It is added that "The soil in manv places in New Cale-
donia is tolerably good." 

So much for the seed time. . As for the harvest, Harmon relates
on October t,, 1816, that "We have taken our vegetables out of the
ground. \Vc have forty-one bushels of potatoes, the produce of one
bushel planted the last spring. Our turnips, barley, etc., have pro-
duced well." 

Then there is this last reference to agricultural operations (Feb-
ruary 18, 1H18) : "A few days since, we cut down and reaped our
barley. Tlie five quarts wiiicli 1 sowed on tlic Hrst of May have
yielded as many bushels. One acre of ground, producing in the same
proportion that this has (ioiic, would yield eighty-four bushels. This
is sufficient proof that the soil in many places in this quarter is
favourable to agriculture." The diarist's next observation in this
connection was prophetii , for it is onlv now — a whole century later —
tliat this district is assuming importance because of its agricultural
possibilities. "It will probablv be long, however," Harmon remarks,
"before It will exhibit tiie fruits of cultivation. The Indians, though
they often suffer for the want of food, are too lazy to cultivate the
ground. T have frc(]ucntly tried to prevail on some of them to hoe
and prepare a piece of ground, promising them that 1 would give 

300 BRITISH COLUMBIA 

them potatoes and turnips with which to plant it; but I have not suc-
ceeded. Having been from their infancy trained up to privation,
the fear of want is a much less powerful stimulus to excite them to
industry than it is to those who have always been accustomed to the
comforts of civilized life." 

Besides giving a record of the routine of the frontier posts in
New Caledonia, Harmon's Journal contains racy accounts of the
manners and customs of the natives of that remote district and of
the servants of the North West Company — the French Canadian
voyageur, famed in Canadian song and story. Harmon's lively
description of the voyageur is worth repeating, if for no other reason
than that it does not altogether agree with the orthodox idea of the
Canadian boatsmen. He says "Like their ancestors the French, the
Canadian Voyageurs possess lively and fickle dispositions; and they
are rarely subject to depression of spirits, of long continuance, even
when in circumstances the most adverse. Although what they con-
sider good eating and drinking constitutes their chief good, yet, when
necessity compels them to it, they submit to great privation and hard-
ship, not only without complaining but even with cheerfulness and
gaiety. They are very talkative, ajid extremely thoughtless, and
make manv resolutions, which are almost as soon broken as formed.
They never think of providing for future w^ants; and seldom lay up
any part of their earnings, to serve them in a day of sickness or in
the decline of life. Trifling provocations will often throw them into
a rage; but they are easily appeased when in anger, and they never
harbour a revengeful purpose against those, by whom they con-
ceive that they have been injured. They are not brave; but when
they apprehend little danger, they will often, as they say, play the
man. Thev are verv deceitful, are exceedingly smooth and polite,
and are even gross flatterers to the face of a person, whom they will
basely slander, behind his back. They pay little regard to veracity
or to honestv. Their word is not to be trusted; and they are much
addicted to pilfering, and will even steal articles of considerable
value, when a favourable opportunity ofifers. A secret they cannot
keep. They rarelv feel gratitude, though they are often generous
They are obedient, but not faithful servants. By flattering their van-
ity, of which they have not a little, they may be persuaded to under-
take the most difficult enterprises provided their lives are not 

BRITISH COLUMBIA 30i 

endangered. Although they are generally unable to read, yet they
acquire considerable knowledge of human nature, and some general
information, in regard to the state of this country. As they leave
Canada while they are young, they have but little knowledge of the
principles of the religion, which their Priests profess to follow, and
before they have been long in the Indian country, they pay little more
attention to the Sabbath, or the worship of God, or any other Divine
institution, than the savages themselves." 

As for the aborigines of New Caledonia, the author of this jour-
nal speaks very bluntly and openly, as the following excerpt from
his journal shows: "The Natives of New Caledonia, we denominate
Carriers; but they call themselves Ta-cullies, which signifies people
who go upon water. This name originated from the fact that they
generally go from one village to another, in canoes. They are of
the middle stature, and the men are well proportioned; but the
women are generally short and thick, and their lower limbs are dis-
proportionately large. Both sexes are remarkably negligent and
slovenly, in regard to their persons; and they are filthy in their cook-
ery. Their dispositions are lively and quiet; and they appear to be
happy, or at least contented, in their wretched situation. They are
indolent; but apparently more from habit than by nature; and prob-
ably this trait in their character, originates from the circumstance,
that they procure a livelihood, with but little labour. Whenever we
employ any of them, either to work about the fort or in voyaging,
they are sufficiently laborious and active; and they appear to be
pleased, when we thus furnish them with employment. They are
not in the habit of stealing articles of great value; but they arc the
sliest pilferers, perhaps, upon the face of the earth. They will not
only pilfer from us, but, when favourable opportunities offer, they
are guilty of the same low vice among their friends and relations.
They are remarkably fond of the white people. They seldom begin
a quarrel with any of us, though they are naturally brave. When
any of our people, however, treat them ill, they defend themselves
with courage, and with considerable dexterity; and some of them
will fight a tolerable Canadian battle. 

"Their language is very similar to that of the Chipewyans, and
has a great affinity to the tongues, spoken by the Beaver Indians and
the Sicaunies. Between all the different villages of the Carriers, 

302 BRITISH COLUMBIA 

there prevails a difference of dialect, to such an extent, that they often
give different names to the most common utensils. Everv village
has its particular name, and its inhabitants are called after the name
of the village, in the same manner as people in the civilized world
receive a name, from the city or country which they inhabit. 

"Their clothing consists of a covering made of the skins of the
beaver, badger, muskrat, cat or hare. The last they cut into strips,
about one inch broad, and then weave or lace them together, until
they become of a sufficient size to cover their bodies, and to reach to
their knees. This garment they put over their shoulders, and tie
about their waists. Instead of the above named skins, when they can
obtain them from us, they greatly prefer, and make use of blankets,
capots, or Canadian coats, cloth or moose and red deer skin. They
seldom use either leggins or shoes, in the summer. At this season
the men often go naked, without anv thing to cover even that part
of the body which civilized people think it necessary to conceal.
Indeed they manifest as little sense of shame in regard to this sub-
ject, as the very brute creation. The women, however, in addition to
the robe of beaver or dressed moose skins, wear an apron, twelve or
eighteen inches broad, which reaches nearly down to their knees.
These aprons are made of a piece of deer skin, or of salmon skins,
sewed together. Of the skin of this fish, they sometimes make leg-
gins, shoes, bags, &c. but they are not durable; and therefore they
prefer deer skins and cloth, which are more pliable and soft. The
roughness of salmon skins, renders them particularly unpleasant for
aprons. 

"A few of the male Carriers recently make use of the breech-
cloth, made of cloth which they procure from us; but as evidence
that no great sense of delicacy has induced them to wear it. you
will see it one day at its proper place, the next, probably about their
heads, and the third around their necks; and so on, repeatedly shifted
from one place to another. 

"Both sexes perforate their noses; and from them, the men often
suspend an ornament, consisting of a piece of an oyster shell, or a
small piece of brass or copper. The women, particularly those who
are young, run a wooden pin through their noses, upon each end of
which they fix a kind of shell bead, which is about an inch and a
half long, and nearly the size of the stem of a common clay pipe.

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Ch 11-3

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

BRITISH COLUMBIA 293

peltries were made up in convenient bales, of which there might be a hundred or more, each weighing ninety pounds and each con- taining from fifty to sixty beaver, or a lesser number of large pelts. Then the head of the district would marshal his little brigade, and, with his precious bales, set off on his long and arduous journey to Fort Chipewyan, where he would spend a few days before embark- ing upon his homeward voyage with his supplies for the following years. Gathering stores of dried salmon, exchanging blankets, axes, gewgaws and such simple things for fur, foiling the machinations of the natives, preserving a semblance of law and order, taking out the returns and bringing in supplies — this was the order of the year's work in New Caledonia, as in ail other places where the daring Nor' wester had planted his flag.

The furbearing animals of New Caledonia were then, as now, bears, black, brown and grizzly; foxes, red, cross, and silver; the wolverine, otter, fisher, lynx, martin, musquash, mink, ermine and • — best known of all — the beaver.

The beaver skin was the current coin of the lawless realm of the furtrader. By the beaver skin the trader measured all things and for it he gave up all to pass his days in the wilderness, amidst savage and treacherous tribes. Strange as it may seem, the Indian trader often became deeply attached to his mode of life, which was wild and free enough to suit the taste of the most unconventional. He would take to wife, either temporarily or permanently, a Metis " or full blooded Indian and settle down to the enjoyment of domestic felicity on the frontier. Apparently nearly all of the furtraders high and low, had wives or mistresses of Indian extraction. Harmon, himself, in his youthful days, had married — that is according to the custom of the frontier — a beautiful Metis girl, who bore him four- teen children, and then, so says an old record, was as straight as an arrow. The historian of early New Caledonia was devotedly attached to his consort and determined to marry her upon his return to civilization, and no doubt he did so for he was a man of exemplary character.

This is a rather remarkable example of loyalty to a conjugal rela- tionship which did not carry with it at that time an enduring obliga- tion. While some of the traders remained loyal to their mistresses,

'* Metis — a name given to th(l^c of Frcnrli Canadian Indian cxlraclion.

294 BRITISH COLUMBIA

there were others who looked lightly upon the marriage a la mode of the fur countries and left their women and children upon retiring to eastern Canada. It was not until long after Harmon's day that the courts of Upper Canada decided that a marriage according to the custom of the Indian country, where few priests or churches were to be found, was valid and binding. A somewhat celebrated case settled the question. A highly respected officer of the Hudson's Bav Company, well known in New Caledonia, had taken to wife an Indian woman, with whom he lived for many years and by whom he had several children. In course of time he retired to Montreal, where he met and married a lady of good family. Upon his death it was found that he had left his fortune to his relict, whereupon one of the sons by his Indian spouse sued in the courts for a portion of his father's estate, on the ground that the marriage with his mother, although not performed by church or state, was valid because it had been solemnized according to the custom of his mother's peo- ple. The court held that the hrst marriage was of full force and effect and declared the second null and void.^'' This just decision acted as a wholesome deterrent. Thereafter desertion of Indian wives and families became less frequent.

Because the tedious and difficult approach to New Caledonia offered almost insuperable obstacles to the exploitation of a promis- ing district, it soon became apparent that the demands of the west- ern territory would have to be met from another and more accessible quarter. By this time — 1812-1813 — the mighty labyrinth of the Columbia River had already become famous in the Indian Terri- tories through the exertions of the Nor'westers and John Jacob Astor's agents — whose exploits and manoeuverings will be more fully related presently. That nohle river, it was hoped, would solve the problem with regard to the maintenance of the New Caledonian posts. If onlv a direct road to the Columbia could be discovered, then it would be an easy matter to carry supplies to, and to move furs from. Fort St. James on Stuart Lake. Then as now the problem of transportation was the one that most insistently pressed for con- sideration. Should a feasible route be found, a depot was to be estab- lished at the mouth of Western America's greatest fluvial artery.

In view of the urgency of the matter from a local point of view.

'•Connolly versus Connolly. I'pper Canada Law Reports.

BRITISH COLUMBIA 295

and in pursuance of the avowed policy of the North West Company to open a transcontinental communication to the shore of the Pacific Ocean, Stuart was instructed to find an outlet for his district to the southwestward. It is unfortunate that very little information respect- ing this important expedition is now available. Stuart's journal has either been lost or it is hidden amongst the North West Company's archives, wherever they may be. From other sources much may be gathered concerning his sojourn at Fort George — the name given by the British to the Astorian stronghold near the mouth of the Columbia — but of his journey to that quarter little is known. If it were not for the reference in Harmon's Journal and a few other records it would be quite out of the question to say anything at all about this reconnaissance. With the help of New Caledonia's first historian — so frequently quoted in this narrative — it is possible to lay down, if only approximately, the route followed by Stuart in the year 1813.

Apparently Stuart received instructions to carry out this under- taking when he was at Fort Chipewyan in the Autumn of 18 12, for on November 6th of that year Harmon records that he was at Fort McLeod, where he found his chief who had returned only the day before from the fort beyond the Rocky Mountains. Then follows the very interesting statement — "His men are on their way to the Columbia River, down which they will proceed under Mr. J. G. McTavish. The coming winter they will pass near the source of that river. At the Pacific Ocean, it is expected that they will meet Donald McTavish, Esq., and company, who were to sail from Eng- land, last October, and proceed round Cape Horn to the mouth of the Columbia River." The men referred to were evidently those who had brought in Stuart's supplies from Fort Chipewyan.

Stuart and Harmon passed the winter at Stuart Lake and Eraser Lake. At the latter place they came near to being killed by the Indians. Harmon does not explain the cause of the trouble, although it appears that a woman was at the bottom of it. He merely records in the matter of fact wav of a man inured to such incidents, that "While at Eraser's Lake, Mr. Stuart, an interpreter and myself came near being massacred by the Indians of that place, on account of the interpreter's wife, who is a native of that village. Eighty or ninety of the Indians armed themselves, some with guns, some witii bows and

296 BRITISH COLUMBIA

arrows, and others with axes and clubs, for the purpose of attacking us." The catastrophe was averted, however, by the adoption of mild measures, "which" (says Harmon) "I have generally found to be the best, in the management of the Indians." He adds : "We suc- ceeded in appeasing their anger, so that we suffered no injury: and we finally separated to appearance, as good friends, as if nothing unpleasant had occurred. Those who are acquainted with the dis- position of the Indians, and who are a little respected by them, may by humouring their feelings, generally control them, almost as they please." '" The Carriers were subject to sudden gusts of ungovern- able passion, in which state they often committed horrible crimes. It speaks much for both Stuart and Harmon that they were able to control the aborigines on this occasion.

In the course of the winter Harmon visited "Rocky Mountain Portage Fort" (where W. R. McLeod lived and ruled) and his old station Fort Dunvegan. Leaving Dunvegan on March i6, 1813, he reached Lake Stuart on April 4th, having taken twenty days to make the journey. Here he found his superior preparing to leave for the Columbia, so it is known that John Stuart's starting place was Stuart Lake. In his journal of Thursday, May 13 (1813) Harmon announces that — "In the early part of the day, Mr. J. Stuart accom- panied by six Canadians and two of the natives, embarked on board two canoes, taking with him a small assortment of goods, as a kind of pocket money, and provisions sufficient for a month and a half." He then adds rather vaguely — "They are going to join Mr. J. G. McTavish and his company, at some place on the Columbia River; and to proceed with them to the ocean." The object of the expedi- tion is set forth in the statement — "Should Mr. Stuart be so successful as to discover a water communication, between this and the Colum- bia, we shall, for the future, obtain our yearly supply of goods by that route and send our returns out that way, to be shipped directly for China, in vessels the Company, in that case, assign to build on the Northwest Coast." ^'

This statement shows that large projects were on foot, by means of which the North West Company hoped to secure a large share, if not the monopoly of, the trade of the coast. How that energetic

'" Harmon, Journal, p. 225. '" Harmon, Journal, p. :28.

BRITISH COLUMBIA 297

corporation attained its ambition will be related in a subsequent chapter.

It would be a difficult matter to follow Stuart, did not Harmon's Journal afford a clue as to his line of march. On September 25th an Indian arrived at Lake Stuart with three letters from the explorer, one of which was written at Okanagan Lake. "Mr. Stuart writes," says Harmon in speaking of this letter, "that he met with every kind- ness and assistance from the natives, on his way to that place; that after descending this river, during light days, he was under the neces- sity of leaving his canoes, and of taking his property on horses, more than one hundred and fifty miles, to the above mentioned lake. From that place, he states, that they go all the way by water, to the Ocean, by making a few portages; and he hopes to reach the Pacific Ocean, in twelve or fifteen days at farthest."

The passage just quoted is ambiguous, but it indicates that Stuart descended the Fraser River, possibly to a point in the vicinity of Alexandria or Soda Creek, and then journeyed overland to Okana- gan Lake. It is not recorded that Stuart visited the posts established at the confluence of the North and South Thompson in 1812 by Laroque and David Stuart. It he did, Harmon does not say any- thing about it, which might be taken as evidence against the supposi- tion because it is scarcely likely that that painstaking diarist would I have failed to chronicle such important news. Alexander Ross, the historian of the first post at the fork of the North and South Thomp- son Rivers, is also silent upon the point.

In any event, Stuart reached the lower Columbia in time to take part in the stirring events leading up to the surrender of Astoria by John Jacob Astor's agents to the representatives of the North West Company. He seems to have staved on the Columbia River for about two vears.

The journals of the Columbian adventurers of that period frequently refer to his travels and negotiations in that iiuarter. With the other officials of the' North West Company — McTav- ish and the rest — he exercised for the time being the author- ity of the partners at Montreal. I'rom the fact that he spent so many months on the coast, it may be gathered that the finding of a route from New Caledonia to the Columbia was not the only reason for leaving his northern post. Periiaps upon his arrival at Astoria

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Ch 11-2

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

288 BRITISH COLUMBIA

hardships in heroic libations. The journals and letters of the fur-
traders contain many references to such orgies, which were taken as
a matter of course and of custom. On January i, 1793, at Fort
Fork on Peace River, the men of Sir Alexander Mackenzie's over-
land expedition saluted their chief with a volley from their muskets,
and they were rewarded with copious rations of rum, with which
they made merry. At Fort Fraser, on January i, 181 1, the time-
honoured festivities are duly observed. Harmon relates:

"This being tiie first day of another year, our people have passed
it, according to the custom of the Canadians, in drinking and fight-
ing. Some of the principal Indians of this place desired us to allow
them to remain at the fort, that they might see our people drink. As
soon as they began to be a little intoxicated, and to quarrel among
themselves, the natives began to be apprehensive, that something
unpleasant might befall them, also. They therefore hid themselves
under beds, and elsewhere, saying, that they thought the white people
had run mad, for thev appeared not to know what they were about.
They perceived that those who were the most beastly in the early
part of the day, became the most quiet in the latter part, in view of
which, thev exclaimed, 'the senses of the white people have returned
to them again,' and they appeared not a little surprised at the change;
for it was the first time, they had ever seen a person intoxicated.'' °

There is a sequel to this story. New Year's Day, 18 12, was
observed with the usual honours at Fort St. James. This time the
Indians were admitted to the feast; but, judging from Harmon's
account of their behaviour, they had profited by their experience at
Fraser Lake the vear before. Harmon and James McDougall of
McLeod Lake, who was spending the holiday with his friend, dined
with all the people of the establishment in the common hall. After
the banquet the host "invited several of the Sicau (Sekanais) and
Carrier chiefs, and most respectable men, to partake of the pro-
visions which we had left; and I was surprised to see them behave
with much decency, while eating, and while drinking a flagon or
two of spirits. After they had finished their repast, they smoked
their pipes, and conversed rationally, on the great difference which
there is between the manners and customs of civilized people, and

* Harmon, Journal, pp. 196-197.

BRITISH COLUMBIA 289

those of the savages. They readily conceded, that ours are superior
to theirs."

By means of such passages as these jusf quoted, one may catch a
glimpse of the furtrader at play. His feastings and merry-makings,
however, were few and far between. His days were generally spent
in toil. Life at the frontier posts was often arduous and not without
danger. The first duty of the bourgeois, or officer, in charge of a
district was the gathering of furs. His usefulness was judged by the
measure of his bales of peltries, and his promotion depended entirely
upon his ability to induce the native hunter to bring in beaver. If
the old records are to be believed the Carriers were not too fond of
work. Fraser inveighed against them as an "indolent, thievish set
of vagabonds," who would not hunt regularly although "dmazing
fond of goods." The explorer attributed this failing to the fact that
they obtained their supplies from neighbouring tribes, who in turn
traded with "the natives of the seacoast," where articles were pro-
cured from the ships of adventurers. In spite of the difficulty experi-
enced by the pioneer traders in getting the Carriers to hunt, the
returns from New Caledonia were large. As the years went by the
natives became more tractable and that district one of the richest
provinces of the North West Company.

Perhaps in no department of all the vast country that the North
West Company had brought under its sway were the amenities of
civilization less in evidence than in the New Caledonia of that for-
mative period. Nearly all of the men who were stationed there spoke
in no measured terms of the privations they were forced to endure,
and the monotony of their existence. The fare was always a source
of bitter complaint. On the great plains bison, game and wild fowl
were abundant. But in inaccessible New Caledonia the posts were
dependent upon the salmon which spawns in the tributary streams of
the lakes of the northern interior. Fresh salmon in the summer and
dried salmon in all other seasons formed the New Caledonian stafif
of life. Simon Fraser called dried salmon "poor stuff," and suc-
ceeding generations of traders have confirmed his judgment. Occa-
sionally the diet would be varied with venison, bear meat, or perhaps
sturgeon. The capture of a sturgeon was an event of no small impor-
tance and it w'as always duly recorded. "This morning," wrote Har-
mon on Tuesday, May 23, 181 2, "the natives caught a sturgeon that

290 BRITISH COLUMBIA

would weigh about two hundred and fifty pounds. We frequently
see in this lake those which are much larger, which we cannot take,
for the want of nets, sufficiently strong to hold them." It will be
recalled that Stuart Lake was first known as Sturgeon Lake.

As the month of August approached the rivers would be an.xi-
ously scanned by both white man and Indian, for often life or death
hung upon the appearance of salmon. "As soon as one is caught,''
writes Harmon, "the Natives always make a feast, to express their
joy at the arrival of these fish. The person who first sees a salmon
in the river, exclaims, Ta-loe nas-lay! Ta-loe nas-lay! In English,
Salmon have arrived! Salmon have arrived! and the exclamation is
caught with jay and uttered with animation by every person in the
village."

How important a part the salmon played in the domestic economy
of the establishments is shown by the surviving diaries and letters
of that day. Thus Harmon's entry bearing date of August 2nd, 181 1,
is pregnant with meaning: "Our whole stock of provisions in the
fort, for ten persons, consists of five salmon only. It is impossible,
at this season, to take fish out of this lake or river. LInless the salmon
from the sea soon make their appearance, our condition will be
deplorable." A week later Harmon and his people must have been
in great distress for lack of food, for the journal of August loth con-
tains the following significant passage — "Sent all our people, consist-
ing of men, women and children, to gather berries at Pinchy
(Pinche)" — a village about fourteen miles distant from Fort St.
James. The next entry announces that "one of the natives has caught
a salmon, which is jovful intelligence to us all; for we hope and
expect that, in a few days, we shall have them in abundance." Then
the anxiety of the little settlement is suddenly relieved by the appear-
ance of shoals of fish, according to their wont in full years. The
journal of September 2 ( 181 1 ) records — "We now have the common
salmon in abundance. They weigh from five to seven pounds.
There are also a few of the larger kind, which will weigh sixty or
seventy pounds. Both of them are very good, when just taken out of
the water. But when dried, as they are by the Indians here, by the
heat of the sun, or in the smoke of a fire, they are not very palatable.
When salted, they are excellent." Before the end of October twenty-
five thousand salmon were placed in the store-house at Fort St. James,

BRITISH COLUMBIA 291

so the wants of the establishment were amply provided for. The
usual ration was four dried fish a day to each man.'" Besides the
salmon, many thousands of white fish were taken at the different fish-
ing stations — one of which was at Stella, on Lake Stuart. "Our
fishermen have returned to the fort," writes the faithful historian
of New Caledonia on November i6, 1811, "and inform me that
they have taken seven thousand white fish. These fish, which, singly,
will weigh from three to four pounds, wxre taken in nine nets, of
sixty fathoms each."

These entries are interesting if for no other reason than that they
illustrate in a striking manner the precarious position of the early
furtrader in New Caledonia. All went well when the salmon were
running, but when the fish failed to reach the spawning ground in
large numbers — whicli usually happened in two years out of four —
the situation wore a different aspect. Then it was a difficult matter
to find provisions for the posts.

All the establishments were held to be self-supporting, that is
to sav no supplies other than the goods needed for the trade came in
from the outside, with the exception of small allowances of such
simple luxuries as tea, sugar, salt, pepper, and perhaps a little
flour. Ardent spirits, of course, both for the men and the trade,
were also supplied. The inaccessibility of New Caledonia and the
tedious and dangerous route by which it was reached prohibited
the ingoing brigades from carrying anything but bare necessities.
All the supplies came from Montreal and a year might be con-
sumed in transporting them across the continent. At Montreal the
outfits for the posts of the western frontier were made up into suita-
ble packages and addressed — each being marked for its particular
destination — thence the heavy brigades carried them to Fort Wil-
liam, where stood the great council chamber of the mighty North-
westers — "the lf)rds of the ascendant," as Washington Irving called
them in his matchless description of the glory that was Fort William's
in the early years of the nineteenth century." At Fort Willian-*
bales and packages were again assorted and distributed among the
light brigades destined for the farthermost parts of the wild coun-
tries of the north and west. The assortment of wares and supplies

'"Harmon, Journal, p. 213.

" Washington Irvinp, .Astoria, C'lianlpr I.

292 BRITISH COLUMBIA

assigned to New Caledonia was taken to Fort Chipewyan, on lordly
Lake Athabasca. To this point came the bourgeois or superintendent
of the district with his bales of furs — the product of his season's
bartering — there to exchange them for his meagre supplies. It is
hard to say what was allotted to New Caledonia in the days of the
North West Company, as the records are not now available, but
the Minutes of the Council held at Norway House in June, 1825,
show the outfit for that year to have been "108 ps. in 6 canoes wh 32
men, guide included." '- If this was the allowance for the depart-
ment in 1825, when its bounds extended far beyond those of the
time when Harmon was stationed at Fort St. James, it is reason-
able to suppose that the outfit of earlier years was small indeed.

l^he route to New Caledonia followed the Peace River, Parsnip
River, and Pack River to McLeod Lake, often called Trout Lake
in the earliest records of the district. Thence a rough trail, about
ninety miles in length, followed an old Indian path to Fort St.
James, which in after years became the busy capital of New Cale-
donia. For a time there was no other route to and from the posts west
of the Rocky Mountains. It was not long, however, before the road
by the Yellowhead Pass, Tete Jaune Cache and the main fork of
the Fraser was discovered and more or less frequently used, especially
by the expeditions despatched for leather, which article, not being
produced in sufficient quantities in New Caledonia, had to be brought
in from outside. Tete Jaune Cache, as the term itself implies, was
named after a yellow-haired trapper who plied his calling in that
neighbourhood and hid his furs and supplies at the head of the navi-
gable part of the main branch of the Fraser River which finds its
source in Cowdung Lake. This point — Tete Jaune Cache — is now
assuming some importance from the fact that the Grand Trunk
Pacific Railway Company have established there a great depot for
supplies. The dressed leather and rawhide carried to Fort St.
James by this roundabout way was used for moccasins, snow-shoes,
thongs for baling furs and other necessary articles.'''

Each autumn John Stuart would collect his furs at Lake McLeod
— packs from Stuart Lake, Fraser Lake and Fort George at the
mouth of the Nechaco River swelled the returns of that post. The

1- Minutes of Council, 1825. Certified transcript of original Ms. in Provincial Archives De-
partment.

*8 Written in 1912. .

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ch 11 -1

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

CHAPTER XI
NEW CALEDONIA

When Simon Fraser retired from New Caledonia it fell to the
lot of John Stuart to guide the destinies of that isolated district for
several years. Stuart assumed charge in 1809 ^r^d he did not relin-
quish his post until 1824. He spent much of his time at Fort McLeod,
although he visited Lake Stuart, Lake Fraser, and Fort George
regularly. It does not appear that Stuart was particularly enam-
oured of his new position, for in 1810 Daniel Williams Harmon, a
pious but shrewd American from Connecticut, in the service of the
North West Company, was instructed to relieve him, or, if he
(Harmon) should prefer it to accompany Stuart as second in com-
mand.' Harmon had met Stuart the year before at Dunvegan, on
the Peace River, and had formed a high opinion of that eccentric
but able officer. His journal of July 19, 1809, records that — "A
few days since, Mr. John Stuart and company, came here, from
New Caledonia, for goods; and today they set out on their return
home. During the few days which that gentleman passed here, I
derived much satisfaction from his society. We rambled about the
plains, conversing as we went, and now and then stopping, to eat a
few berries, which are every-where to be found. He has evidently
read and reflected much. How happy should 1 be to have such a
companion, during the whole summer." " Perhaps the modest author
nf these lines had equally impressed his guest, and that may be the
reason that Harmon was ordered to New Caledonia in the following
year. Harmon, however, was not overanxious to take upon himself
the management of the western marches of the North West Com-
pany, "especially in view of the late unfavourable reports from that
country in regard to means of subsistance." '' He therefore joined

' Harmon, Jnurnal, p. i86.
- Harmon, Journal, p. i8o.
" Harmon, Jmirnal, p. ig6.

2s;i

284 BRITISH COLUMBIA

Stuart as first lieutenant. The two men — although very different in
character — soon became fast friends, as their letters and journals
amply testify. Eraser's successor apparently was not always the most
cheerful of companions — it has been said that he was querulous and
exacting, if not pedantic — but his relations with his subordinates seem
to have been cordial. Stuart's character was summed up rather
tersely by a contemporary, John M. McLeod, who said — "Upon the
whole he is a good man but a person would require to be possessed
of the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon to agree with him
on all subjects." ' But whatever may be said of John Stuart's tem-
perament, it cannot be denied that he was an able administrator, a
faithful officer and a loyal friend. His letters, which are charac-
teristic of the man, show that he held in high esteem the men with
whom he was associated. Therein he unconsciously reveals much
of his own character and disposition, as is proved by the following
passage: — "I can retire when I please — and I have met with so
much of ups and downs and disappointments and what is still worse
of ingratitude that I ought to have done it long since and nothing
but the hopes I had formed that my constant attendance at the Coun-
cil might benefit equally the Company and individuals for whom I
have long since formed a regard and personal attachment. Mine
was no mercenary nor menial vote and as regarded myself I have
nothing to gain that could compensate for the turmoil and vexation
to which the life of an Indian trader is ever subject. Though neither
young nor rich I was perfectly disencumbered and not altogether
dependent. I could have lived in contended retirement in the land
of my fathers and now that I am removed from the Council to a
distant post (Fort Simpson, Mackenzie River), as regarded my
friends, I may be considered as one who has ceased to exist. I can
be of no use either to them or to myself and I will soon be for-
gotten." ^ In spite of their somewhat querulous ring, these words
reveal that Stuart was imbued with a high sense of duty. He divided
with Simon Fraser the honour of founding New Caledonia.

Harmon left Dunvegan — where he had been stationed for two
years — for New Caledonia in the Autumn of 1810. He joined John

■• John M. McLeod to John McLeod, senior, Letter dated Fort Simpson, Mackenzie River. Ms.
in Archives Department. March i6th, 1833.

^Letter to John McLeod, Fort Simpson, Macken/ie River, 8th March, 1833. Ms. in Archives
Department.

BRITISH COLUMBIA 285

Stuart's ingoing brigade and they travelled together as far as Fort
McLeod, arriving at that wild spot on November ist. Stuart had
resolved to spend the winter at his favourite post, so here the two
men parted. Harmon, with thirteen men, pursued his way to Stuart
Lake to assume charge of the fort there. He reached his destina-
tion on November 7th," having taken four days to cross over from
McLeod Lake, a distance of about ninety miles — a fact which gives
an idea of the roughness of that pioneer road, for the furtraders
were not accustomed to dawdle by the way.

This new trader, who now appears for the first time upon the
stage of New Caledonia, was a remarkable man. A keen and intel-
ligent observer, pious and humane, modest but firm, he was it may
be judged, somewhat different from his contemporaries, although
there were not wanting even in that crude age and in this rough
employment strong Christian men — of whom David Thompson was
a striking example. Harmon and Thompson would possibly have
had much in common had they been thrown together, but their
fields of endeavour lay far apart. Harmon's name, like many another
of the founders and builders of the Northwest, has almost been
forgotten, and would scarcely now be remembered were it not that
he kept a private journal, wherein he jotted down from day to day
and year to year the happenings of his post and his impressions of
men and things. Fortunately this journal was- published shortly
after the author retired from New Caledonia. By means of this
rare volume those who care to do so may look back upon that dis-
tant period and see the furtrader at work, and in so doing appreciate
the better his difficulties and privations. The author's accounts of
the Western Dene Indians, whose manners and customs he intelli-
gently records, render the Journal of exceptional interest, not only
to the historian but also to the anthropologist — both of whom are
indebted to Harmon for his trustworthy narrative. It is in such
rare books, in the fragmentary journals of the trading posts, and
in the letters of the explorers that the historian may gather the materi-
als wherewith to bridge the gulf which divides the present from the
past.

In the year 1812 John Stuart, the Bourgeois in command of the

"Harmon's Journal gives the date as November 171I1, Inn this is eviilemlv a tnisprii\t for llic
next entry was written on November I2tli.

286 BRITISH COLUMBIA

district, was generally to be found at Fort McLeod, which was
under James McDougall, the man who had been so severely rebuked
by Simon Fraser a year or two before. 'McDougall seems to have
fully retrieved his reputation. Harmon always speaks highly of
him and Stuart himself acknowledges that he was an ''excellent
trader" and a "real Christian." Harmon was stationed at Stuart
Lake, and J. M. Quesncl at Fraser Lake, whither he had been sent
with ten servants to re-establish the post which had recently been
destroyed by fire. Two clerks, Faries and McLeod, were also
attached to the district, but the extant records do not specifically
define their field of operations. Faries may still have been in charge
of Fort George. Harmon, however, does not refer at this time to
the post at the mouth of the Nechaco River, and it may be that it had
been temporarily abandoned. As Stuart had received reinforce-
ments, the forts were, comparatively speaking, well manned. In
November, 1812, the garrison of Fort St. James consisted of "twenty-
one labouring men, one interpreter, and five women, besides chil-
dren." ' So even in that early day the establishment at Stuart Lake
had assumed respectable proportions.

These, then, were the men who were engaged in conducting the
business of the North West Company in New Caledonia. The
monotony of their existence in this remote and inaccessible country,
far beyond the ken -of their fellows, was relieved by the excitements
incidental to the hazardous enterprise in which they were engaged.
Now they are threatened with an Indian conspiracy and swift destruc-
tion, for the Carriers have not yet become altogether reconciled to
the ways of the strangers in their midst, although they were gen-
erally "pleased to see us, and treated us with hospitality." * Now it
is starvation staring them in the face, for when the salmon fails to
appear in the rivers and lakes, the diet of the men is reduced to
berries and roots. And then the long journeys to and fro, from one
post to another, and excursions into new territory, sorely try the
patience of the pioneers, who were so ill-equipped for such adven-
tures in everything but dogged determination and physical
endurance. Notwithstanding these difficulties they succeeded in sub-
jugating the savages and the wilderness. In a few years the highways

' Harmon, Journal, p. 225.

^Harraon, Journal, p. 220. >

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BRITISH COLUMBIA 287

and byways of rugged New Caledonia became as familiar to the fur-
trader stationed in that district as the oft-travelled roads of the more
accessible provinces in the East.

Harmon lived nine years in New Caledonia — 1810 to 1819 — and
like Samuel Pepys of another time and place he confided to his
diary his innermost thoughts; even the religious doubts and fears
that beset his mind are duly recorded therein. The general con-
sensus of opinion regarding the furtrader is that he was a blunt
hard-living man — a creature of the extraordinary conditions which
had called him into being — a man wedded to hardship and danger
and perhaps rather given to trickery and licentiousness. But here
is one who upsets all such conclusions. What is to be said of a fur-
trader who sets apart the first day of each month for prayer and
meditation? This, 'strange to say, was one of the pious rules of
Daniel Williams Harmon, who in the second decade of the nine-
teenth century, made his home at Fort St. James. As might be
expected, this honest man's narrative throws a strong light on the
customs in vogue at the frontier forts and the practice of the savages
who frequented these embryonic outposts of empire. Because the
observations of a trustworthy contemporary, especially when they
deal with historic events of no small significance, cannot fail to arouse
deep interest, or at least to excite legitimate curiosity, the pages of
Harmon's Journal will be freely used to illumine that early period
of our history.

Shortly after his arrival at Fort St. James — which by the way,
was not so named until many years later^ — Harmon visited the post
at Frascr Lake, and here he spent the first day of the New Year
(181 1 ). His entry of that date throws a side-light on one of the
social conventions of the age. On special occasions — for instance
after a long and difficult journey, or upon a recognized holiday —
the servants of the Company were treated to what was commonly
called a ''regale," which was neither more nor less than a plentiful
supply of ardent spirits, generally in the form of rum. New Year's
Day was the day above all others set apart for relaxation and mirth.
Drinking and dancing and, it must be added, fighting — for such
convivial gatherings frequently ended in a general melee — were the
favourite amusements of the light-hearted "engage," who for the
time being threw care to the winds and drowned the memory of his

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Posted in Apocryphal Voyages, Banks and Banking, Captain George Vancouver, Captain James Cook, Educational System Of British Columbia, List of Authorities, Medical, New Caledonia, Prehistoric Northwest America, Representative Government, Russian Explorations, Simon Fraser, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Spanish Explorations, The Colony Of Vancouver Island, The Founding Of Victoria, The Hudson's Bay Company, The Maritime Furtraders, The Native Races of British Columbia, The Nootka Sound Controversy, The Oregon Question, Uncategorized, Vancouver Island In Transformation | No Responses »

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