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THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY

JAMES, DUKE OJ YORK,
Second Gov^rnot'.

PRINCE RUPERT,
First Giirerjwr.

LORD CHURCHILL, cifteni'drds
DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH,
Tliinl Governor.

LORD KTRATHCONA AXD
MOUlXT ROYAL,
Present Uorernor.

FOUR GREAT GOVERNORS OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.

[Froniispiece.

THE EBMAEKA.BLE HISTOEY
OF THE
HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY

IKCLnDlNG THAT OF

The French Traders of North-Western Canada
and of the North- West, XV, and
Astor Fur Companies

GEORGE BRYCE, M.A., LL.D.
PEOFEBBOS IN MANITOBA COLLEGE, WIlflflPEG ; DELEGTTE fiEGIONAL DE L* ALLIANCE
BOIENTIFIQITE DE PARIS J MEMBEE OF GEHfERAL COMMITTEE OF BRITISH ASSOCIATION ;
PELLOW or AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE; AITTHOE
OF *' MANITOBA" (1882) ; " BHOET HISTORY OF CANADIAN PEOPLE " (1887) ;
"CANADA" IN WINBOE's NAK. AND CHIT. HIBT. OF AMERICA, ETC., ETC.

WITH NUMEROUS FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MAESTON k COMPANY
"Limited,
Fettee Lane, Fleet Stbebt, B.C.
1900

LONDON;
PlilN'JED BT GILBERT AND EIVINGTON, LTD.,
ST. John's house, clerkenwell, e.c.

33

PREFACE

The Hudson's Bay Company ! What a record this name
represents of British pluck and daring, of patient industry and
hardy endurance, of wild adventure among savage Indian
tribes, and of exposure to danger by mountain, precipice, and
seething torrent and wintry plain !
For two full centuries the Hudson's Bay Company, under its
original Charter, undertook financial enterprises of the greatest
magnitude, promoted exploration and discovery, governed a
vast domain in the northern part of the American Continent,
and preserved to the British Empire the wide territory handed
over to Canada in 1870. For nearly a generation since that
time the veteran Company has carried on successful trade
in competition with many rivals, and has shown the vigour
of youth.
The present History includes not only the record of the
remarkable exploits of this well-known Company, but also the
accounts of the daring French soldiers and explorers who
disputed the claim of the Company in the seventeenth century,
and in the eighteenth century actually surpassed the English
adventurers in penetrating the vast interior of Eupert's Land.
Special attention is given in this work to the picturesque
history of what was the greatest rival of the Hudson's Bay
Company, viz. the North- West Fur Company of Montreal, as
well as to the extraordinary spirit of the X Y Company and
the Astor Pur Company of New York.

vi PREFACE
A leading featm'e of this book is the adequate treatment for
the first time of the history of the well-nigh eighty years just
closing, from the union of all the fur traders of British North
America under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company. This
period, beginning with the career of the Emperor-Governor,,
Sir George Simpson (1821), and covering the life, adventm-e,
conflicts, trade, and development of the vast region stretching
from Labrador to Vancouver Island, and north to the
Mackenzie Eiver and the Yukon, down to the present year,
is the most important part of the Company's history.
For the task thus undertaken the author is well fitted. He
has had special opportunities for becoming acquainted with the
history, position, and inner life of the Hudson's Bay Company.
He has lived for nearly thirty years in Winnipeg, for the whole
of that time in sight of Fort Garry, the fur traders' capital, or
what remains of it ; he has visited many of the Hudson's Bay
Company's posts from Fort William to Victoria, in the Lake
Superior and the Lake of the Woods region, in Manitoba,
Assiniboia, Alberta, and British Columbia ; in those districts he
has run the rapids, crossed the portages, surveyed the ruins of
old forts, and fixed the localities of long-forgotten posts ; he is
acquainted with a large number of the ofBcers of the Company,
has enjoyed their hospitality, read their journals, and listened
with interest to their tales of adventure in many out-of-the-way
posts ; he is a lover of the romance, and story, and tradition of
the fur traders' past.
The writer has had full means of examining documents,
letters, journals, business records, heirlooms, and archives of
the fur traders both in Great Britain and Canada. He returns
thanks to the custodians of many valuable originals, which he
has used, to the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company
in 1881, Eight Hon. G. J. Goschen, who granted him the
privilege of consulting all Hudson's Bay Company records up

PREFACE vii
to the date of 1821, and he desires to still more warmly
acknowledge the permission given him by the distinguished
patron of literature and education, the present Governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company, Lord Stratheona and Mount Eoyal,
to read any documents of public importance in the Hudson's
Bay House in London. This unusual opportunity granted the
author was largely used by him in 1896 and again in 1899.
Taking the advice of his publishers, the author, instead of
publishing several volumes of annals of the Company, has
condensed the important features of the history into one fair-
sized volume, but has given in an Appendix references and
authorities which may afford the reader, who desires more
detailed information on special periods, the sources of know
ledge for fuller research.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
the first voyage fok trade.
Famous Companies — " The old lady of Fenchurch Street ' —
The first voyage — Kadisson and Groseilliers — Spurious
claim of the French of having reached the Bay — " Journal
published by Prince Society" — The claim invalid — Early
voyages of Radisson — The Frenchmen go to Boston — Cross
over to England — Help from Royalty — Fiery Rupert — The
King a stockholder — Many hitherto unpublished facts —
Capt. Zachariah GUlam — Charles Fort built on Rupert
River — The founder's fame 

CHAPTER II.
Hudson's bat company founded.
Royal charters — Good Queen Bess — " So miserable a wilder
ness " — Courtly stockholders — Correct spelling — " The
nonsense of the Charters" — Mighty rivers — Lords of the
territory — To execute justice — ^War on infidels — Power to
seize — " Skin for skin " — Friends of the Red man . . 12
CHAPTER III.
METHODS OF TRADE.
Rich Mr. Portman — Good ship Prince Rupert — The early adven
turers — " Book of Common Prayer " — Five Forts — Voting a
funeral — Worth of a beaver — To Hudson Bay and back
— Selling the pelts— Bottles of sack — Pat dividends —
"Victorious as Csesar"—" Golden Fruit" .... 20
CHAPTER IV.
THREE GREAT GOVERNORS.
Men of high station — Prince Rupert primus — Prince James,
" nemine contradicente " — The hero of the hour — Churchill
River named — Plate of solid gold— Off to the tower . . 27

X CONTENTS
CHAPTER V.
TWO ADROIT ADVENTURERS. PAGE
Peter Radisson and "Mr. Gooseberry" again— Radisson v.
Gillam— Back to France— A wife's influence— Paltry vessels
— Radisson's diplomacy— Deserts to England— Shameful
duplicity — " A hogshead of claret " — Adventurers appre
ciative — Twenty-five years of Radisson's life hitherto un
known — " In a low and mean condition " — The Company in
Chancery— Lucky Radisson— A Company pensioner . . 33-

CHAPTER VI.
FRENCH RIVALRY.
The golden lilies in danger — " To arrest Radisson '' — The land
called " Unknown " — A chain of claim — Imaginary preten
sions — Chevalier de Troyes — The brave Lemoynes — Hudson
Bay forts captured — A litigious governor — Laugh at treaties
— The glory of France — Enormous claims — Consequential
damages  47

CHAPTER VII.
RYSWICK AND UTRECHT.
The " Grand Monarque " humbled — Caught napping — The Com
pany in peril — Glorious Utrecht — Forts restored — Damages
to be considered — Commission useless  66

CHAPTER VIII.
DREAM OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.
Stock rises — Jealousy aroused — Arthur Dobbs, Esq. — An in
genious attack — Appeal to the " Old Worthies " — Captain
Christopher Middleton — Was the Company in earnest ? —
The sloop Furnace — Dobbs' fierce attack — The great sub
scription — Independent expedition — " Henry Ellis, gentle
man " — " Without success " — Dobbs' real purpose . . 61

CHAPTER IX.
THE INTERESTING BLUE-BOOK OF 1749.
" Le roi est mort " — Royalty unfavourable — Earl of Halifax —
" Company asleep " — Petition to Parliament — Neglected
discovery — Timidity or caution — Strong "Prince of Wales"
— Increase of stock — A timid witness — Claims of discovery
— To make Indians Cloristians — Charge of disloyalty— New
Company promises largely— Result nil  70

CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER X.
FRENCH CANADIANS EXPLORE THE INTERIOR. piSE
The " Western Sea " — Ardent Duluth — " Kaministiquia " —
Indian boasting — Pere Charlevoix — Father Gonor — The
man of the hour : — Verandrye — Indian map-maker — The
North Shore — A line of forts — The Assiniboine country — A
notable manuscript — A marvellous journey — Glory, but not
wealth — Post of the Western Sea  78
CHAPTER XI.
THE SCOTTISH MERCHANTS OF MONTREAL.
Unyielding old Cadot — Competition — The enterprising Henry
—Leads the way — Thomas Curry — The elder Finlay —
Plundering Indians — Grand Portage — A famous mart—
The plucky Frobishers — The Sleeping Giant aroused — Fort
Cumiberland — ChurchiU River — Indian rising — The deadly
smallpox — The whites saved  91
CHAPTER XII.
DISCOVERY OF THB COPPERMINE.
Samuel Hearne — " The Mungo Park of Canada " — Perouse
complains — The North- West Passage — Indian guides — Two
failures — Third journey successful — Smokes the calumet —
Discovers Arctic Ocean — Cruelty to the Eskimos — Error in
latitude — Remarkable Indian woman — Capture of Prince
of Wales Fort — Criticism by UmfrevUle .... 99
CHAPTER XIII.
FORTS ON HUDSON BAY LEFT BEHIND.
Andrew Graham's " Memo." — Prince of Wales Fort — The garrison
— Trade — ^Tork Factory — Furs — ^Albany — Subordinate forts
— Moose — Moses Norton — Cumberland House — Upper
Assiniboine — Rainy Lake — Brandon House — Red River —
Conflict of the Companies  108
CHAPTER XIV.
THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY FORMED.
Hudson's Bay Company aggressive — The great McTavish — The
Frobishers — Pond and Pangman dissatisfied — Gregory and
McLeod — Strength of the North- West Company — Vessels
to be built — New route from Lake Superior sought — Good
will at times — Bloody Pond — Wider union, 1787 — Fort
Alexandria — Mouth of the Souris — Enormous fur trade —
Wealthy Nor'- Westers— " The Haunted House " . . . 115

xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XV.
VOYAGES OF SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. piOB
A young Highlander — To rival Hearne— Fort Chipewyan built
— French Canadian voyageurs — Trader Leroux — Perils of
the route— Post erected on Arctic Coast — Return journey
— Pond's miscalculations — Hudson Bay Turner — Roderick
McKenzie's hospitality — Alexander Mackenzie — Astronomy
andmathematios— Winters on Peace River— Terrific journey
— "The Pacific Slope — Dangerous Indians— Pacific Ocean,
1793— North-West Passage by land— Great achievement —
A notable book  123
CHAPTER XVI.
THE GREAT EXPLORATION.
Grand Portage on Amarican soil — Anxiety about the boundary —
David Thompson, astronomer and surveyor — His instruc
tions — By swift canoe — The land of beaver — A dash to the
Mandans — Stone Indian House — Fixes the boundary at
Pembina — Sources of the Mississippi — A marvellous explorer
— Pacific Slope explored — Thompson down the Kootenay
and Columbia — Fiery Simon Eraser in New Caledonia —
Discovers Eraser River — Sturdy John Stuart — Thompson
River — Bourgeois Quesnel — Transcontinental expeditions . 132
CHAPTER XVII.
THE X Y COMPANY.
" Le Marquis " Simon McTavish unpopular — Alexander Mac
kenzie, his rival — Enormous activity of the " Potties " —
Why called X Y — Five rival posts at Souris — Sir Alexander,
the silent partner — Old Lion of Montreal roused — " Posts
of the King " — Schooner sent to Hudson Bay — Nor'-Westers
erect two posts on Hudson Bay — Supreme folly — Old and
new Nor'-Westers unite — List of partners .... 147
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS. — I.
New route to Kaministiquia — Vivid sketch of Fort William —
" Oantine Salope " — Lively Christmas week — The feasting
partners — Ex-Governor Masson's good work — Four great
Mackenzies — A literary bourgeois — Three handsome de
moiselles — " The man in the moon " — Story of " Bras
Croche " — ^Around Cape Horn — Astoria taken over— A hot
headed trader — Sad case of "Little Labrie" — Punch on
New Year's Day — The heart of a " vacher " . . . . 154
CHAPTER XIX.
THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS. — II.
Harmon and his book — An honest man — " Straight as an arrow "
— New views — An uncouth giant — " Gaelic, Enghsh, French,

CONTENTS

and Indian oaths" — ^McDonell, "Le Pretre" — St. Andrew's
Day — "Fathoms of tobacco "^Down the Assiniboine — An
entertaining journal — ^A good editor — A too frank trader
— " Gun fired ten yards away " — Herds of buffalo — Packs
and pemmican — " The fourth Gospel " — Drowning of Henry
— " The weather cleared up " — Lost for forty days —
"Cheepe," the corpse — Larocque and the Mandans —
McKenzie and his half-breed children  165
CHAPTER XX.
THE LORDS OP THB LAKES AND F0REST.S. — III.
Dashing French trader — " The country of fashion " — An air of
great superiority — The road is that of heaven — Enough to
intimidate a Csesar — " The Bear " and the " Little Branch "
— Yet more rum — A great Irishman — " In the wigwam of
Wabogish dwelt his beautiful daughter " — Wedge of gold —
Johnston and Henry Schoolcraft — Duncan Cameron on
Lake Superior — His views of trade — Peter Grant, the ready
writer — Paddling the canoe — Indian folk-lore — Chippewa
burials — Remarkable men and great financiers, marvellous
explorers, facile traders  177
CHAPTER XXI.
THE IMPULSE OF UNION.
North-West and X Y Companies unite — Recalls the Homeric
period — Feuds forgotten — Men perform prodigies — The
new fort re-christened — Vessel from Michilimackinac — The
old canal — Wills builds Fort Gibraltar— A lordly sway —
The " Beaver Club " — Sumptuous table — Exclusive society
— " Fortitude in Distress " — Political leaders in Lower
Canada  188
CHAPTER XXII.
THE ASTOR FUR COMPANY.
Old John Jacob Astor — American Fur Company — The'Missouri
Company — A line of posts — Approaches the Russians —
Negotiates with Nor'-Westers — Fails— Four North-West ' "
oflicials join Astor — Songs of the voyageurs — True
Britishers — Voyage of the Tonqidn — ^ Rollicking Nor'-
Westers in Sandwich Islands — Astoria built — David Thomp
son appears — Terrible end of the Tonquin — Aster's overland
expedition — ^Washington Irving's " Astoria, a romance " —
The Beaver rounds the Cape — McDougaU and his smaU-pox
phial — The Beaver sails for Canton  192
CHAPTER XXIII.
LORD Selkirk's colony.
Alexander Mackenzie's book — Lord Selkirk interested — Emigra
tion a boon— Writes to Imperial Government — In 1802

CONTENTS

looks to Lake Winnipeg — Benevolent project of trade —
Compelled to choose Prince Edward Island — Opinions as to
Hudson's Bay Company Charter — Nor'-Westers alarmed —
Hudson's Bay Company's Stock — Purchases Assiniboia —
Advertises the new colony — Religion no disqualification —
Sends first colony — Troubles of the project — Arrive at York
Factory — The winter — The mutiny — " Essence of Malt " —
Journey inland— A second party— Third party under
Archibald Macdonald — From Helmsdale^The number of
colonists  202

CHAPTER XXIV.
trouble between the companies.
Nor'-Westers oppose the colony — Reason why — A considerable
literature — Contentions of both parties — Both in fault —
Miles Macdonell's mistake — Nor'- Wester arrogance — Duncan
Cameron's ingenious plan — Stirring up the Chippewas —
Nor'-Westers warn colonists to depart— McLeod's hitherto
unpublished narrative — Vivid account of a brave defence
— Chain shot from the blacksmith's smithy — Fort Douglas
begun — Settlers driven out — Governor Semple arrives —
Cameron last Governor of Fort Gibraltar — Cameron sent
to Britain as a prisoner — Fort Gibraltar captured — Fort
Gibraltar decreases. Fort Douglas increases — Free traders
take to the plains — Indians favour the colonists . . . 214
CHAPTER XXV.
THE skirmish OF SEVEN OAKS.
Leader of the Bois Brules — A candid letter — Account of a
prisoner — "Yellow Head" — Speech to the Indians — The
chief knows nothing — On fleet Indian ponies — An eye
witness in Fort Douglas — A rash Governor — The massacre
— "¦ For God's sake save my Ufe " — The Governor and
twenty others slain — Colonists driven out — Eastern levy
meets the settlers — Effects seized — Wild revelry — Chanson
of Pierre Falcon  228

CHAPTER XXVI.
lord SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE.
The Earl in Montreal — Alarming news — Engages a body of
Swiss — The De Meurons — Embark for the North-West —
Kawtawabetay's story — Hears of Seven Oaks — Lake Superior
— Lord Selkirk — A doughty Douglas — Seizes Fort WiUiam
— Canoes upset and Nor'-Westers drowned — " A banditti "
— The Earl's blunder — A winter march — Fort Douglas
recaptured — His Lordship soothes the settlers — An Indian
treaty—" The Silver Chief "—The Earl's note-book . . 237

CONTENTS XV
CHAPTER XXVIT.
THE blue-book OP 1819 AND THE NORTH-WEST TRIALS. pagi:
British law disgraced — Governor Sherbrooke's distress — A com
mission decided on— Few unbiassed Canadians — Colonel
Coltman chosen — Over ice and snow — Alarming rumours —
The Prince Regent's order — Coltman at Red River — The
Earl submissive — The Commissioner's report admirable —
The celebrated Reinhart case — Disturbing lawsuits — Justice
perverted — A storehouse of facts — Sympathy of Sir Walter
Scott — Lord Selkirk's death — Tomb at Orthes, in France . 251
CHAPTER XXVIII.
MEN WHO PLAYED A PART.
The crisis reached — Consequences of Seven Oaks — The noble
Earl — His generous spirit — His mistakes — Determined
courage — Deserves the laurel crown — The first Governor —
Macdonell's difficulties — His unwise step — A captain in red
— Cameron's adroitness — A wearisome imprisonment— Last
governor of Fort Gibraltar — The Metis chief — Half-breed
son of old Cuthbert — A daring hunter — Warden of the
plains — Lord Selkirk's agent — A Red River patriarch — A
faithful witness — The French bard — Western war songs —
Pierriche Falcon  2o8
CHAPTER XXIX.
governor SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTERESTS.
Both Companies in danger — Edward Bllice, a mediator — George
Simpson, the man of destiny — Old feuds buried — Gatherings
at Norway House — Governor Simpson's skUl — His mar
vellous energy — Reform in trade — Morality low — A famous
canoe voyage — Salutes fired — Pompous ceremony at Norway
House — Strains of the bagpipe — Across the Rocky Moun
tains — Fort Vancouver visited — Great executive ability^ —
The governor knighted— Sir George goes round the world
• — Troubles of a book — Meets the Russians — Estimate of
Sir George  268
CHAPTER XXX.
THE LIFE OF THB TRADERS.
Lonely trading posts — SkUful letter writers— Queer old Peter
Fidler — Famous library — A remarkable will— A stubborn
Highlander— Life at Red River— Badly-treated Pangman—
Founding trading houses — Beating up recruits — Priest
Provencher — A fur-trading mimic — Life far north—" Ruled
with a rod of iron" — Seeking a fur country — Life in the
canoe — A trusted trader — Sheaves of letters — ^A find in
Edinburgh — Faithful correspondents— The Bishop's cask of
wine — Red River, a " land of Canaan " — Governor Simpson's
letters — The gigantic Archdeacon writes—" MacArgrave's "
promotion — Kindly Sieveright — Traders and their books . 281

xvi CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE VOYAGEURS FROM MONTREAL.
Lachine, the fur traders' Mecca — The departure — The flowing
bowl — The canoe brigade — The voyageurs' song — " En
roulant ma boule " — Village of St. Anne's — Legend of the
church — The sailors' guardian — Origin of " Canadian Boat
Song " — A loud invocation — " A la Claire Fontaine " —
" Sing, nightingale '' — At the rapids — The ominous crosses
— "Lament of Cadieux" — A lonely maiden sits — The
Wendigo — Home of the Ermatingers — A very old canal —
The rugged coast — Fort WUliam reached — A famous
gathering — The joyous return ...... 302
CHAPTER XXXII.
explorers in THE FAR NORTH.
The North-West Passage again — Lieutenant John Franklin's
land expedition — Two lonely winters — Hearne's mistake
corrected — Franklin's second journey — Arctic sea coast
explored — Franklin knighted — Captain John Ross by sea —
Discovers magnetic pole — Magnetic needle nearly perpen
dicular — Back seeks for Ross — Dease and Simpson sent by
Hudson's Bay Company to explore — Sir John in Erebus and
Terror — The Paleoorystic Sea — Franklin never returns —
Lady Franklin's devotion — The historic search — Dr. Rae
secures relics — Captain McOlintook finds the cairn and
written record — Advantages of the search .... 318
CHAPTER XXXIII.
EXPEDITIONS TO THE FRONTIER OP THE FUR COUNTRY.
A disputed boundary — Sources of the Mississippi — The fur
traders push southward — Expedition up the Missouri —
Lewis and Clarke meet Nor'-Westers — Claim of United
States made — Sad death of Lewis — Lieutenant Pike's
journey — Pike meets fur traders — Cautious Dakotas —
Treaty with Chippewas — Violent death — Long and Keating
fix 49 deg. N. — Visit Fort Garry — FoUow old fur traders'
route — An erratic Italian — Strange adventures — Almost
finds source — Beltrami County— Cass and Schoolcraft faU
—Schoolcraft afterwards succeeds— Lake Itasca — Curious
origin of name — The source determined .... 323
CHAPTER XXXIV.
^FAMOUS JOURNEYS IN EUPERl'S LAND.
Fascination of an unknown land — Adventure, science, or gain
— Lieutenant Lefroy's magnetic survey — Hudson's Bay
Company assists— Winters at Fort Chipewyan — First
scientific visit to Peace River— Notes lost — Not " gratuitous
canoe conveyance" — Captain PaUiser and Lieutenant

CONTENTS xvii

Hector— Journey through Rupert's Land — Rocky Mountain
passes — On to the coast — A successful expedition — Hind
and Dawson — To spy out the land for Canada — The fertile
belt — Hind's description good— MUton and Cheadle—
Winter on the Saskatchewan — Reach Pacific Ocean in a
pitiable condition — Captain Butler — The horse Blackie and
dog " Gerf Vola " — Fleming and Grant-" Ocean to ocean "
— " Land fitted for a healthy and hardy race " — Waggon road
and raUway  334

CHAPTER XXXV.
RED RIVER SETTLEMENT.
1817-1846.
Chiefly Scottish and French settlers — Many hardships — Grass
hoppers — YeUow Head — " Gouverneur Sauterelle " — Swiss
settlers — Remarkable parchment — Captain Bulger, a mili
tary governor — Indian troubles — Donald McKenzie, a fur
trader governor — Many projects fail — The flood — Plenty
foUows — Social condition— Lower Fort built — Upper Fort
Garry — Council of Assiniboia — The settlement organized —
Duncan Finlayson governor — English farmers — Governor
Christie — Serious epidemic — A regiment of regulars — The
unfortunate major — The people restless . . . 345
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE PRAIRIES : SLEDGE, KEEL, WHEEL, CAYUSE, CHASE.
A picturesque life — The prairie hunters and traders — GaUy-
caparisoned dog trains — The great winter packets — Joy in
the lonely forts — The summer trade — The York boat
brigade — Expert voyageurs — The famous Red River cart —
Shagganappe ponies — The screeching train — Tripping — The
western cayuse — The great buffalo hunt — Warden of the
plains — Pemmican and fat — The return in triumph . . 367
CHAPTER XXXVII.
LIFE ON THB SHORES OF HUDSON BAY AND LABRADOR.
The bleak shores unprogressive — Now as at the beginning —
York Factory — Description of Ballantyne — The weather —
Summer comes with a rush — Picking up subsistence — The
Indian trade — Inhospitable Labrador — Establishment of
Uiigava Bay. — McLean at Fort Chimo — Herds of cariboo —
Eskimo rafts — " Shadowy Tartarus " — The king's domains —
Mingan — Mackenzie— The Gulf settlements — The Mora
vians — Their four missions — Rigolette, the chief trading
post — A school for developing character — Chief Factor
Donald A. Smith — Journeys along the coast — A barren shore 878

xviii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE RIVER, AND THE YUKON. page
Peter Pond reaches Athabasca River— Fort Chipewyan estab
lished—Starting point of Alexander Mackenzie — The
Athabasca Library— The Hudson's Bay Company roused —
Conflict at Fort Wedderburn— Suffering— The dash up the
Peace River — Fort Dunvegan — Northern extension— Fort
Resolution— Fort Providence— The great river occupied-
Loss of life— Fort Simpson, the centre — Fort Reliance —
Herds of cariboo— Fort Norman built— Port Good Hope —
The Northern Rookies — The Yukon reached and occupied —
The fierce Liard River — Fort Halkett in the Mountains
— Robert Campbell comes to the Stikine — Discovers the
Upper Yukon — His great fame — The districts — Steamers
on the water stretches  383
CHAPTER XXXIX.
ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE.
Extension of trade in New Caledonia — The Western Depart
ment — Fort Vancouver built — Governor's residence and
Bachelors' Hall — Fort Colville — James Douglas, a man of
note — A dignified official — An Indian rising — A brave
woman — The fertile Columbia Valley — Finlayson, a man of
action — Russian fur traders — Treaty of Alaska — Lease of
Alaska to the Hudson's Bay Company — Fort Langley — The
great farm — Black at Kamloops — Fur trader v. botanist —
" No soul above a beaver's skin " — A tragic death — Chief
Nicola's eloquence — A murderer's fate  396
CHAPTER XL.
FROM OREGON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND.
Fort Vancouver on American soil — Chief Factor Douglas
chooses a new site — Young McLoughlin killed — Liquor
selling prohibited — Dealing with the Songhies — A Jesuit
father — Fort Victoria — Firdayson's skill — Chinook jargon —
The brothers Ermatinger — A fur-trading Junius — "Fifty-
four, forty, or fight" — Oregon Treaty — Hudson's Bay
Company indemnified — The waggon road — A colony estab
lished — First governor — Gold fever — British Columbia —
Fort Simpson — Hudson's Bay Company in the interior —
The forts — A group of worthies — Service to Britain — The
coast becomes Canadian  405
CHAPTER XLI.
PRO GLORIA DEI.
A vast region — First spiritual adviser — A locum tenens — Two
French Canadian priests — St. Boniface founded — Mis
sionary zeal in Mackenzie River ciistrict — Red River

CONTENTS

parishes — The great Archbishop Tach^ — John West — Arch
deacon Cochrane, the founder — John McCallum — Bishop
Anderson — Enghsh Missionary Societies — Archbishop
Machray — Indian Missions — John Black, the Presbyterian
apostle — Methodist Missions on Lake Winnipeg — The Cree
syUabic — Chaplain Staines — Bishop Cridge — Missionary
Duncan — Metlakahtla — Roman Catholic coast missions —
Church of England bishop — Diocese of New Westminster —
Dr. Evans —Robert Jamieson — Education .... 417
CHAPTER XLII.
THE HUDSON'S B.AY COMPANY AND THE INDIANS.
Company's Indian pohcy — Character of oflioers — A race of
hunters — Plan of advances — Charges against the Company
— Liquor restriction — Capital punishment — Starving
Indians — Diseased and helpless — Education and religion —
The age of missions — Sturdy Saulteaux — The Muskegons —
Wood Crees — ^ Wandering Plain Crees — The Chipewyans —
Wild Assiniboines — Blackf cot Indians — Polyglot coast
tribes — Eskimos — No Indian war — No police — Pliable and
docile — Success of the Company  428
CHAPTER XLIII.
UNREST IN Rupert's land,
1844-1869.
Discontent on Red River — Queries to the Governor — A
courageous Recorder — Free trade in furs held illegal
— Imprisonment — New land deed — Enormous freights —
Petty revenge — Turbulent pensioners — Heart burnings —
Heroic Isbister — Half-breed memorial— Mr. Beaver's letter
— Hudson's Bay Company notified — Lord Elgm's reply —
Voluminous correspondence — Company's full answer —
Colonel Crofton's statement — Major Caldwell, a partisan —
French petition — ^Nearly a thousand signatures — Love, n,
factor — The elder Riel — A court scene — Violence — " Vive
la Ubert6 ! " — The Recorder checked — A new judge — Unruly
Corbett — The prison broken — Another rescue — A valiant
doctor — A Red River Nestor  435
CHAPTER XLIV.
CANADA COVETS THE HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY.
Renewal of license — Labouchere's letter — Canada claims to
Pacific Ocean — Commissioner Chief-Justice Draper — Rests
on Quebec Act, 1774— Quebec overlaps Indian territories-
Company loses Vancouver Island — Cauchon's memorandum
— Committee of 1857 — Company on trial — A brilliant com
mittee—Four hundred folios of evidence — To transfer Red

XX CONTENTS

River and Saskatchewan — Death of Sir George — Governor
DaUas — A cunning scheme — Secret negotiations — The
Watkin Company floated — Angry winterers — DaUas's
soothing circular — The old order stUl — Ermatinger's letters
— MoDougall's resolutions — Cartier and McDougaU as
delegates — Company accepts the terms .... 445
CHAPTER XLV.
TROUBLES OP THB TRANSFER OF RUPBRl's LAND.
Transfer Act passed — A moribund government — The Canadian
surveying party — Causes of the rebellion — Turbulent
Metis — American interference — Disloyal ecclesiastics —
" Governor " McDougaU — Riel and his rebel band — A
blameworthy governor — The " blawsted fence " — Seizure
of Fort Garry — Riel's ambitions — Loyal rising — Three wise
men from the East — The New Nation — A winter meeting
— BiU of Rights — A Canadian shot — The Wolseley expedi
tion — Three renegades slink away — The end of Company
rule — The new Province of Manitoba  466
CHAPTER XLVI.
PRESENT STATUS OF THE COMPANY.
A great land company — Fort Garry dismantled — The new
buildings — New v. old — New life in the Company — Palmy
days are recalled — Governors of ability — The present dis
tinguished Governor — Vaster operations — Its eye not
dimmed  469
CHAPTER XLVII.
THE FUTURE OF THE CANADIAN WEST.
The Greater Canada — Wide wheat fields — Vast pasture lands —
Huronian mines — The Kootenay riches — Yukon Nuggets
— Forests— Iron and coal — Fisheries — Two great cities —
Towns and vUlages — Anglo-Saxon institutions — The great
outlook  474
APPENDIX.
A. — ^Authorities and References  481
B. — Summary of Life of Pierre Esprit Radisson . 487
C. — Company Posts in 1856, with Indians . . . 489
D.— Chief Factors (1821-1896)  491
E. — Russian America (Alaska)  493
F. — The Cree Syllabic Character  495
G. — Names of H.B.Co. Officers in Plate opposite
PAGE 442 . . '  49g
Index  .... 497

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
Four great Governors of the Hudson's Bay Company . Frontispiece
Map of Hudson Bay and Straits  6
Arms of the Hudson's Bay Company ....... 18
Le Moyne D'lberville  52
Chomedy de Maiaonneuve  82
Junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence  94
Map of Eonte of Scottish Merchants up the Ottawa to Lake Athabasca 96
Prince of Wales Fort  108
The Lac des Allumettes  116
Sir Alexander Mackenzie ........ 130
Daniel William Harmon, Esq  130
Johann Jacob Astor .......... 194
Casanov, Trader and Chief ... .... 194
Fort Douglas ...  226
Seven Oaks Monument  . . 232
Lord Selkirk  260
Sir George Simpson  .... 260
Fort William, Lake Superior  272
Bed Biver Note . . . .  284
I. — Portage  304
II. — Decharge  304
Block House of old H.B. Company Post  310
Map of the Far North .  314
Searchers in the North  320
Fort Edmonton, on the North Saskatchewan  336
Jasper House, Rocky Mountains  836
Map of Labrador and the King's Domains  378
Map of Mackenzie River and the Yukon  388
Sir James Douglas  398
Fort Victoria, B.C  406
Indians of the Plains  432
Gouncil of Hudson's Bay Company Commissioned OflBcers held in
Winnipeg, 1887  442
Fort Garry — Winter Scenes  460
Commissioner Chipman (Winnipeg)  470
Hudson's Bay Company's Stores and General OflSoes, Winnipeg . 472
Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C  478

THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY

CHAPTEE I.
THE FIEST VOYAGE FOR TRADE.
Famous Companies — " The old lady of Fenchurch Street "—The first
voyage — Radisson and GroseiUiers— Spurious claim of the French
of having reached the Bay — "Journal published by Prince
Society" — The claim invalid — Early voyages of Radisson — The
Frenchmen go to Boston — Cross over to England — Help from
Royalty — Fiery Rupert — The King a stockholder — Many hitherto
unpublished facts— Capt. Zachariah GiUam — Charles Fort built
on Rupert River — The founder's fame.
Chables Lamb — "delightful author" — opens his unique
" Essays of Elia " with a picturesque description of the quaint
" South Sea House." Threadneedle Street becomes a mag
netic name as we wander along it toward Bishopsgate Street
" from the Bank, thinking of the old house with the oaken
wainscots hung with pictures of deceased governors and sub-
governors of Queen Anne, and the first monarchs of the Bruns
wick dynasty — huge charts which subsequent discoveries
have made antiquated — dusty maps, dim as dreams, and
soundings of the Bay of Panama." But Lamb, after all, was
only a short time in the South Sea House, while for more
than thirty years he was a clerk in the India House, partaking
of the genius of the place.
The India House was the abode of a Company far more
famous than the South Sea Company, dating back more than
a century before the " Bubble " Company, having been brought
into existence on the last day of the sixteenth century by good
Queen Bess herself. To a visitor, strolling down Leadenhall
Street, it recalls the spirit of Lamb to turn into East India
B

2 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Avenue, and the mind wanders back to Clive and Burke of
Macaulay's brilliant essay, in which he impales, with balanced
phrase and perfect impartiality, Philip Francis and Warren
Hastings alike.
The London merchants were mighty men. Men who could
select their agents and send their ships, and risk their money
on every sea and on every shore. Nor was this only for gain,
but for philanthropy as well. Across yonder is the abode of
the New England Company, founded in 1649, and re-estab
lished by Charles II. in 1661 — begun and still existing with its
fixed income "for the propagation of the Gospel in New
England and the adjoining parts of America," having had as
its first president the Hon. Eobert Boyle ; and hard by are the
offices of the Canada Company, now reaching its three-
quarters of a century.
Not always, however, as Macaulay points out, did the
trading Companies remember that the pressure on their
agents abroad for increased returns meant the temptation to
take doubtful or illicit methods to gain their ends. They would
have recoiled from the charge of Lady Macbeth, —
" Wouldst not play false,
And yet wouldst wrongly win."
Yet on the whole the Merchant Companies of London bear
an honourable record, and have had a large share in laying the
foundations of England's commercial greatness.
Wandering but a step further past East India Avenue, at
the comer of Lime and Leadenhall Streets, we come to-day
upon another building sitting somewhat sedately in the very
heart of stirring and living commerce. This is the Hudson's
Bay House, the successor of the old house on Fenchurch
Street, the abode of another Company, whose history goes
back for more than two centuries and a quarter, and which is
to-day the most vigorous and vivacious of all the sisterhood of
companies we have enumerated. While begun as a purely
trading Company, it has shown in its remarkable history not
only the shrewdness and business skill of the ra(?e, called by
Napoleon a "nation of shopkeepers," but it has been the
governing power over an empire compassing nearly one half

THE FIRST VOYAGE FOR TRADE 3
of North America, it has been the patron of science and ex
ploration, the defender of the British flag and name, and
the fosterer, to a certain extent, of education and religion.
Not only on the shores of Hudson Bay, but on the Pacific
coast, in the prairies of Bed Eiver, and among the snows of
the Arctic slope, on the rocky shores of Labrador and in the
mountain fastnesses of the Yukon, in the posts of Fort
William and Nepigon, on Lake Superior, and in far distant
Athabasca, among the wild Crees, or greasy Eskimos, or
treacherous Chinooks, it has floated the red cross standard,
•with the well-known letters H. B. C. — an "open sesame" to
the resources of a wide extent of territory.
The founding of the Company has features of romance.
These may well be detailed, and to do so leads us back several
years before the incorporation of the Company by Charles II.
in 1670. The story of the first voyage and how it came about
is full of interest. "^^
Two French Protestant adventurers — Medard Chouart and
Pierre Esprit Badisson — the former born near Meaux, in
France, and the other a resident of St. Malo, in Brittany —
had gone to Canada about the middle of the seventeenth
century. Full of energy and daring, they, some years after
wards, embarked in the f ur_tea^gi. and had many adventures.
Eadisson was first captured by the Iroquois, and adopted \
into one of their tribes. After two years he escaped, and 1
having been taken to Europe, returned to Montreal. Shortly ,
afterwards he took part in the wars between the Hurons and \
Iroquois. Chouart was for a time assistant in a Jesuit
mission, but, like most young men of the time, yielded to the
attractions of the fur trade. He had married first the daughter
of Abraham Martin, the French settler, after whom the plains
of Abraham at Quebec are named. On her death Chouart
married the widowed sister of Eadisson, and henceforth the
fortunes of the two adventurers were closely bound up to-
.gether. The marriage of Chouart brought him a certain
amount of property, he purchased land out of the proceeds of
his ventures, and assumed the title of Seignior, being known
as " Sieur des Groseilliers." jn the year 1658_GrQseiUiers
and Eadisson went on the third expedition to the west, and

4 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
returned after an absence of two years, having wintered at
Lake Nepigon, which they called " Assiniboines." It is worthy
of note that Eadisson frankly states in the account of his third
voyage that they had not been in the Bay of the North
(Hudson Bay).
The,_fourth vqyage of the two partners in 1661 was one of
an eventful kind, and led to very important results. They had
applied to the Governor for permission to trade in the interior,
but this was refused, except on very severe conditions. Having
had great success on their previous voyage, and with the spirit
of adventure inflamed within them, the partners determined to
throw off all authority, and at midnight departed without the
Governor's leave for the far west. During an absence of two
years the adventurers turned their canoes northward, and
explored the north shore of Lake Superior.
It is in connection with this fourth voyage (1661) that the
question has been raised as to whether Eadisson and his
brother-in-law Groseilliers visited Hudson Bay by land. The
conflicting claim to the territory about Hudson Bay by France
and England gives interest to this question. Two French
writers assert that the two explorers had visited Hudson Bay
by land. These are, the one, M. Bacqueville de la Potherie,
Paris ; and the other, M. Jeremie, Governor of the French
ports in Hudson Bay. Though both maintain that Hudson
Bay was visited by the two Frenchmen, Eadisson and Grose
illiers, yet they differ entirely in details, Jeremie stating that
they captured some Englishmen there, a plain impossibility.
Oldmixon, an English writer, in 1708, makes the following
statement: — "Monsieur Eadisson and Monsieur Gooselier,
meeting with some savages in the Lake of the Assinipouals, in
Canada, they learnt of them that they might go by land to the
bottom of the bay, where the English had not yet been. Upon
which they desired them to conduct them thither, and the
savages accordingly did it." Oldmixon is, however, inaccurate
in some other particulars, and probably had little authority for
this statement. THE CRITICAL PASSAGE.
The question arises in Eadisson's Journals, which are
published in the volume of the Prince Society.

* Ml '

THE FIRST VOYAGE FOR TRADE 5
For so great a discovery the passage strikes us as being very
short and inadequate, and no other reference of the kind is
made in the voyages. It is as follows, being taken from the
fourth voyage, page 224 : —
" We went away with all hast possible to arrive the sooner
at ye great river. We came to the seaside, where we finde an Q
old house all demolished and battered with bouUets. We
weare told yt those that came there were of two nations, one
of the wolf, and the other of the long-horned beast. All those
nations are distinguished by the representation of the beasts
and animals. They tell us particularities of the Em-opians.
We know ourselves, and what Europ is like, therefore in
vaine they tell us as for that. We went from isle to isle all that
summer. We pluckt abundance of ducks, as of other sort of
fowles ; we wanted not fish, nor fresh meat. We weare well
beloved, and weare overjoyed that we promised them to come
with such shipps as we invented. This place has a great store
of cows. The wild men kill not except for necessary use.
We went further in the bay to see the place that they weare to
pass that . summer. That river comes from the lake, and
empties itself in ye river of Sagnes (Saguenay) called Tadou-
sack, weh is a hundred leagues in the great river of Canada,
as where we are in ye Bay of ye North. We left in this
place our marks and rendezvous. The wild men yt brought us
defended us above all things, if we would come quietly to
them, that we should by no means land, & so goe to the river
to the other side, that is to the North, towards the sea, telling
us that those people weare very treacherous."
THE CLAIM INVALID.
We would remark as follows : —
1. The fourth voyage maybe traced as a journey through
Lake Superior, past the pictured rocks on its south side,
beyond the copper deposits, westward to where there are
prairies meadows, where the Indians- grow Indian corn, and
where elk and buffalo are found, in fact in the region toward
the Mississippi Eiver.
2. The country was toward that of the Nadoneseronons, i.e.
the Nadouessi or Sioux ; north-east of them were the Chris-

6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
tinos or Crees ; so that the region must have been what we
know at present as Northern Minnesota. They visited the
country of the Sioux, the present States of Dakota, and
promised to visit the Christinos on their side of the upper lake,
evidently Lake of the Woods or Winnipeg.
3. In the passage before us they were fulfilling then' promise.
They came to the " seaside." This has given colour to the
idea that Hudson Bay is meant. An examination of Eadisson's
writing shows us, however, that he uses the terms lake and
sea interchangeably. For example, in page 155, he speaks of
the " Christinos from the bay of the North Sea," which could
only refer to the Lake of the Woods or Lake Winnipeg.
Again, on page 134, Eadisson speaks of the "Lake of the
Hurrons which was upon the border of the sea," evidently
meaning Lake Superior. On the same page, in the heading
of the third voyage, he speaks of the " filthy Lake of the
Hurrons, Upper Sea of the East, and Bay of the north," and
yet no one has claimed that in this voyage he visited Hudson
Bay. Again, elsewhere, Eadisson uses the expression, " salted
lake " for the Atlantic, which must be crossed to reach France.
4. Thus in the passage " the ruined house on the seaside "
would seem to have been one of the lakes mentioned. The
Christinos tell them of Europeans, whom they have met a
few years before, perhaps an earlier French party on Lake
Superior or at the Sault. The lake or sea abounded in islands.
This would agree with the Lake of the Woods, where the
Christinos lived, and not Hudson Bay. Whatever place it
was it had a great store of cows or buffalo. Lake of the Woods
is the eastern limit of the buffalo. They are not found on the
shores of Hudson Bay.
5. It will be noticed also that he speaks of a river flowing
from the lake, when he had gone further in the bay, evidently
the extension of the lake, and this river empties itself into the
Saguenay. This is plainly pure nonsense. It would be
equally nonsensical to speak of it in connection with the
Hudson Bay, as no river empties from it into the Saguenay.
Probably looking at the great Eiver Winnipeg as it flows
from Lake of the Woods, or Bay of Islands as it was early
called, he sees it flowing north-easterly, and with the mistaken

(^JUpSONS STREIGHT^ ''"!^^
(uavis Stbeichts )
\.B .\ F r- I N s Bav )
raWu^Ked m l6C2

lui/Ublt ¦hal, &,n,,d

Ne-w Not til
Wales BuHo Bay

'^^.i

^eioltttttn

Ne^v South
Wales

"CSp.

inif

•B R r T.I . V-. yj.1

Bay (

•ar/ftQn \/ Ip^

MAP OF HUDSON BAY AND STRAITS
As known six years before the first Hudson's Bay Company Expedition sailed for
Hudson Bay.
[Taken from Brage's '* Account of a Voyage.")

iPage 6.

THE FIRST VOYAGE FOR TRADE ^
views so common among early voyageurs, conjectures it to run
toward the great Saguenay and to empty into it, thence into
the St. Lawrence.
6. This passage shows the point reached, which some
interpret as Hudson Bay or James Bay, could not have been
so, for it speaks of a farther point toward the north, toward
the sea.
7. Closely interpreted, it is plain that Eadisson ' had not only
not visited Hudson or James Bay, but that he had a vrrong
conception of it altogether. He is simply giving a vague story
of the Christinos.*
On the return of Groseilliers and Eadisson to Quebec, the
former was made a prisoner by order of the Governor for illicit
trading. The two partners were fined 4000Z. for the purpose of
erecting a fort at Three Eivers, and 6000Z. to go to the general
funds of New France. A G-EBAT BNTEEPEISE.
Filled with a sense of injustice at the amount of the fine
placed upon them, the unfortunate traders crossed over to
France and sought restitution. It was during their heroic
efforts to secure a remission of the fine that the two partners
urged the importance, both in Quebec and Paris, of an expedi
tion being sent out to explore Hudson Bay, of which they had
heard from the Indians. Their efforts in Paris were fruitless,
and they came back to Quebec, burning for revenge upon the
rapacious Governor.
Driven to desperation by what they considered a persecu
tion, and no doubt influenced by their being Protestant in
faith, the adventurers now turned their faces toward the
English. In 1664 they went to Port Eoyal, in Acadia, and
thence to New England. Boston was then the centre of
English enterprise in America, and the French explorers
brougnt their case before the merchants of that town. They
asserted that having been on Lake Assiniboine, north of Lake
Superior, they had there been assured by the Indians that
Hudson Bay could be reached.
' See map opposite.
' Mr. MUler Christy of London and others are of opinion that
Radisson visited Hudson Bay on this fourth voyage.

8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
After much effort they succeeded fn engaging a New
England ship, which went as far as Lat. 61, to the entrance of
Hudson Straits, but on account of the timidity of the master of
the ship, the voyage was given up and the expedition was
fruitless. The two enterprising men were then promised by the ship
owners the use of two vessels to go on their search in 1665,
but they were again discouraged by one of the vessels being
sent on a trip to Sable Isle and the other to the fisheries in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. Groseilliers and Eadisson, bitterly
disappointed, sought to maintain their rights against the ship
owners in the Courts, and actually won their case, but they
were still unable to organize an expedition.
At this juncture the almost discouraged Frenchmen met the
two Eoyal Commissioners who were in America in behalf of
Charles II. to settle a number of disputed questions in
New England and New York. By one of these. Sir George
Carteret, they were induced to visit England. Sir George
was no other than the Vice-Chamberlain to the King and
Treasurer of the Navy. He and our adventurers sailed for
Europe, were captured by a Dutch ship, and after being
landed on the coast of Spain, reached England.
Through the influence of Carteret they obtained an audience
with King Charles on October 25th, 1666, and he promised
that a ship should be supplied to them as soon as possible with
which to proceed on their long-planned journey.
Even at this stage another influence came into view in the
attempt of De Witt, the Dutch ambassador, to induce the
Frenchmen to desert England and go out under the auspices
of Holland. Fortunately they refused these offers.
The war with the Dutch delayed the expedition for one
year, and in the second year their vessel received orders too
late to be fitted up for the voyage. The assistance of the
English ambassador to France, Mr. Montague, was then
invoked by Groseilliers and Eadisson, now backed up by a
number of merchant friends to prepare for the voyage.
Through this influence, an audience was obtained from
Prince Eupert, the King's cousin, and his interest was
awakened in the enterprise.

THE FIRST VOYAGE FOR TRADE 9
It was a remarkable thing that at this time the Eoyal House
of England showed great interest in trade. A writer of a
century ago has said, " Charles II., though addicted to
pleasure, was capable of useful exertions, and he loved com
merce. His brother, the Duke of York, though possessed of
less ability, was endowed with greater perseverance, and by a
peculiar felicity placed his chief amusement in commercial
schemes whilst he possessed the whole influence of the State."
" The Duke of York spent half his time in the business of
commerce in the city, presiding frequently at meetings of
courts of directors."
It will be seen that the circumstances were very favourable
for the French enthusiasts who were to lead the way to
Hudson Bay, and the royal personages who were anxious to
engage in new and profitable schemes.
The first Stock Book (1667) is still in existence in the
Hudson's Bay House, in London, and gives an account of the
stock taken in the enterprise even before the Company was
organized by charter. First on the list is the name of His
Eoyal Highness the Duke of York, and, on the credit side of
the account, " By a share presented to him in the stock and
adventure by the Governor and Company, 300Z."
The second stockholder on the list is the notable Prince
Eupert, who took 300Z. stock, and paid it up in the next two
years, with the exception of IQOl. which he transferred to Sir
George Carteret, who evidently was the guiding mind in the
beginning of the enterprise. Christopher, Duke of Albemarle,
the son of the great General Monk, who had been so influential
in the restoration of Charles II. to the throne of England,
was a stockholder for 500Z.
Then came as stockholders, and this before the Company had
been formally organized, William, Earl of Craven, well known
as a personal friend of Prince Eupert ; Henry, Earl of ArUng-
ton, a member of the ruling cabal ; while Anthony, Earl of
Shaftesbury, the versatile minister of Charles, is down for 700Z.
Sir George Carteret is charged with between six and seven
hundred pounds' worth of stock ; Sir John Eobinson, Sir
Eobert Vyner, Sir Peter Colleton and others with large sums.
As we have seen, in the year 1667 the project took shape, a

10 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
number of those mentioned being responsible for the ship, its
cargo, and the expenses of the voyage. Among those who
seem to have been most ready with their money were the
Duke of Albemarle, Earl of Craven, Sir George Carteret, Sir
John Eobinson, and Sir Peter Colleton. An entry of great
interest is made in connection with the last-named knight.
He is credited with 96Z. cash paid to the French explorers,
who were the originators of the enterprise. It is amusing,
however, to see Groseilliers spoken of as " Mr. Gooseberry " —
a somewhat inaccurate translation of his name.
Two ships were secured by the merchant adventurers, the
Eaglet, Captain Stannard, and the Nonsuch Ketch, Captain
Zachariah Gillam. The former vessel has almost been for
gotten, because after venturing on the journey, passing the
Orkneys, crossing the Atlantic, and approaching Hudson
Straits, the master thought the enterprise an impossible one,
and returned to London.
Special interest attaches to the Nonsuch Ketch. It was the
successful vessel, but another notable thing connected with it
was that its New England captain, Zachariah Gillam, had led
the expedition of 1664, though now the vessel under his
command was one of the King's ships.'
It was in June, 1668, that the vessels sailed from Gravesend,
on the Thames, and proceeded on their journey, Groseilliers
being aboard the Nonsuch, and Eadisson in the Eaglet. The
Nonsuch found the Bay, discovered little more than half a
century before by Hudson, and explored by Button, Fox, and
James, the last-named less than forty years before. Captain
Gillam is said to have sailed as far north as 75° N. in Baffin
Bay, though this is disputed, and then to have returned into
Hudson Bay, where, turning southward, he reached the
bottom of the Bay on September 29th. Entering a stream,
the Nemisco, on the south-east corner of the Bay — a point
probably not less than 150 miles from the nearest French
possessions in Canada — the party took possession of it, calling
it, after the name of their distinguished patron. Prince Eupert's
Eiver. • A copy of the instructions given the captains may be found in
State Papers, London, Charles II., 251, No. 180.

THE FIRST VOYAGE FOR TRADE ir
Here, at their camping-place, they met the natives of the
district, probably a branch of the Swampy Crees. With the
Indians they held a parley, and came to an agreement | by
which they were allowed to occupy a certain portion of
territory. With busy hands they went to work and built]||a
stone fort, in Lat. 51° 20' N., Long. 78° W., which, in honour
of their gracious sovereign, they called " Charles Fort."
Not far away from their fort lay Charlton Island, with its
shores of white sand, and covered over with a growth of
juniper and spruce. To this they crossed on the ice upon the
freezing of the river on December Qth. Having made due
preparations for the winter, they passed the long and dreary
time, finding the cold excessive. As they looked out they^saw
" Nature looking like a carcase frozen to death."
In April, 1669, however, the cold was almost over, and they
were surprised to see the bursting forth of the spring. Satis
fied with their journey, they left the Bay in this year and
sailed southward to Boston, from which port they crossed the
ocean to London, and gave an account of their successful
voyage. The fame of the pioneer explorer is ever an enviable one.
There can be but one Columbus, and so for all time this voyage
of Zachariah Gillam, because it was the expedition which
resulted in the founding of the first fort, and in the beginning
of the great movement which has lasted for more than two
centuries, will be memorable. It was not an event which
made much stir in London at the time, but it was none the
less the first of a long series of most important and far-
reaching activities.

CHAPTEE II.
Hudson's bay company founded.
Royal charters — Good Queeu Bess — '' So miserable a wilderness " —
Courtly stockholders— Correct spelling — " The nonsense of the
Charters" — Mighty rivers — Lords of the territory — To execute
Justice — War on infidels — Power to seize — " Skin for skin " —
Friends of the red man.
The success of the first voyage made by the London merchants
to Hudson Bay was so marked that the way was open for
establishing the Company and carrying on a promising trade.
The merchants who had given their names or credit for Gillam's
expedition lost no time in applying, with their patron. Prince
Eupert, at their head, to King Charles II. for a Charter to
enable them more safely to carry out their plans. Their appli
cation was, after some delay, granted on May 2nd, 1670.
The modem method of obtaining privileges such as they
sought would have been by an application to Parliament ; but
the seventeenth century was the era of Eoyal Charters. Much
was said in England eighty years after the giving of this
Charter, and again in Canada forty years ago, against the
illegality and unwisdom of such Eoyal Charters as the one
granted to the Hudson's Bay Company. These criticisms,
while perhaps just, scarcely cover the ground in question.
As to the abstract point of the granting of Eoyal Charters,
there would probably be no two opinions to-day, but it was
conceded to be a royal prerogative two centuries ago, although
the famous scene cannot be forgotten where Queen Elizabeth,
in allowing many monopolies which she had granted to lie
repealed, said in answer to the Address from the House of
Commons : " Never since I was a queen did I put my pen to
any grant but upon pretext and semblance made to me that it

HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY FOUNDED ij
was both good and beneficial to the subject in general, though
private profit to some of my ancient servants who had deserved
well. . . . Never thought was cherished in my heart that
tended not to my people's good."
The words, however, of the Imperial Attorney-General and
Solicitor-General, Messrs. Bethel and Keating, of Lincoln's
Inn, when appealed to by the British Parliament, are very
wise : " The questions of the validity and construction of the
Hudson's Bay Company Charter cannot be considered apart
from the enjoyment that has been had under it during nearly
two centuries, and the recognition made of the rights of the
Company in various acts, both of the Government and Legis
lature." The bestowal of such great privileges as those given to the
Hudson's Bay Company are easily accounted for in the pre
vailing idea as to the royal prerogative, the strong influence at
Court in favour of the applicants for the Charter, and, it may
be said, in such opinions as that expressed forty years after by
Oldmixon: "There being no towns or plantations in this.
country (Eupert's Land), but two or three forts to defend the
factories, we thought we were at liberty to place it in our book
where we pleased, and were loth to let our history open with
the description of so wretched a Colony. For as rich as the
trade to those parts has been or may be, the way of living is
such that we cannot reckon any man happy whose lot is cast
upon this Bay."
The Charter certainly opens with a breath of unrestrained
heartiness on the part of the good-natured King Charles..
First on the list of recipients is " our dear entirely beloved
Prince Eupert, Count Palatine of the Ehine, Duke of Bavaria
and Cumberland, &c.," who seems to have taken the King
captive, as if by one of his old charges when he gained the
name of the fiery Eupert of Edgehill. Though the stock book
of the Company has the entry made in favour of Christopher,
Duke of Albemarle, yet the Charter contains that of the famous
General Monk, who, as " Old George," stood his ground in
London during the year of the plague and kept order in the
terror-stricken city. The explanation of the occurrence of the
two names is found in the fact that the father died in the year-

14 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
of the granting of the Charter. The reason for the appearance
of the name of Sir Philip Carteret in the Charter is not so
evident, for not only was Sir George Carteret one of the pro
moters of the Company, but his name occurs as one of the
Court of Adventurers in the year after the giranting of the
Charter. John Portman, citizen and goldsmith of London, is
the only member named who is neither nobleman, knight, nor
esquire, but he would seem to have been very useful to the
Company as a man of means.
The Charter states that the eighteen incorporators named
deserve the privileges granted because they " have at their own
great cost and charges undertaken an expedition for Hudson
Bay, in the north-west parts of America, for a discovery of a
new passage into the South Sea, and for the finding of some
trade for furs, minerals, and other considerable commodities,
and by such their undertakings, have already made such dis
coveries as to encourage them to proceed farther in pursuance
of their said design, by means whereof there may probably
arise great advantage to Us and our kingdoms."
The full name of the Company given in the Charter is, " The
Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into
Hudson Bay." They have usually been called " The Hudson's
Bay Company," the form of the possessive case being kept in
the name, though it is usual to speak of the bay itself as
Hudson Bay. The adventurers are given the power of pos
session, succession, and the legal rights and responsibilities
usually bestowed in incorporation, with the power of adopting
a seal or changing the same at their " will and pleasure " ; and
this is granted in the elaborate phraseology found in documents
of that period. Full provision is made in the Charter for the
election of Governor, Deputy-Governor, and the Managing
Committee of seven. It is interesting to notice during the long
career of the Company how the simple machinery thus pro
vided was adapted, without amendment, in carrying out the
immense projects of the Company during the two and a quarter
centuries of its existence.
The grant was certainly sufficiently comprehensive. The
opponents of the Company in later days mentioned that King
•Charles gave away in his sweeping phrase a vast territory of

HUDSON'S BA Y COMPANY FOUNDED 15
which he had no conception, and that it was impossible to
transfer property which could not be described. In the case
of the English Colonies along the Atlantic coast it was held by
the holders of the charters that the frontage of the seaboard
carried with it the strip of land all the way across the conti
nent. It will be remembered how, in the settlement with the
Commissioners after the American Ee volution. Lord Shelburne
spoke of this theory as the "nonsense of the charters." The
Hudson's Bay Company was always very successful in the
maintenance of its claim to the full privileges of the Charter,
and until the time of the surrender of its territory to Canada
kept firm possession of the country from the shore of Hudson
Bay even to the Eocky Mountains.
The generous monarch gave the Company " the whole trade
of all those seas, streights, and bays, rivers, lakes, creeks, and
sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within the
entrance of the streights commonly called Hudson's Streights,
together with all the lands, countries, and territories upon the
coasts and confines of the seas, streights, bays, lakes, rivers,
creeks, and sounds aforesaid, which are not now actually
possessed by any of our subjects, or by the subjects of any
other Christian prince or State."
The wonderful water system by which this great claim was
extended over so vast a portion of the American continent has
been often described. The streams running from near the
shore of Lake Superior find their way by Eainy Lake, Lake of
the Woods, and Lake Winnipeg, then by the Eiver Nelson, to
Hudson Bay. Into Lake Winnipeg, which acts as a collecting
basin for the interior, also run the Eed Eiver and mighty
Saskatchewan, the latter in some ways rivalling the Missis
sippi, and springing from the very heart of the Eocky Moun
tains. The territory thus drained was all legitimately covered
by the language of the Charter. The tenacious hold of its vast
-domain enabled the Company to secure in later years grants of
territory lying beyond it on the Arctic and Pacific slopes. In
the grant thus given perhaps the most troublesome feature was
the exclusion, even from the territory granted, of the portion
"possessed by the subjects of any other Christian prince or
>State." We shall see afterwards that -within less than twenty

1 6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
years claims were made by the French of a portion of the
country on the south side of the Bay ; and also a most
strenuous contention was put forth at a later date for the
French explorers, as having first entered in the territory lying
in the basin of the Eed and Saskatchewan Eivers. This claim,
indeed, was advanced less than a generation ago by Canada
as the possessor of the rights once maintained by French
Canada. The grant in general included the trade of the country, but
is made more specific in one of the articles of the Charter, in
that " the fisheries within Hudson's Streights, the minerals,
including gold, silver, gems, and precious stones, shall be
possessed by the Company." It is interesting to note that the
country thus vaguely described is recognized as one of the
English " Plantations or Colonies in America," and is called,
in compliment to the popular Prince, "Eupert's Land."
Perhaps the most astounding gift bestowed by the Charter is
not that of the trade, or what might be called, in the phrase of
the old Eoman law, the " usufruct," but the transfer of the
vast territory, possibly more than one quarter or a third of the
whole of North America, to hold it "in free and common
socage," i.e. as absolute proprietors. The value of this con
cession was tested in the early years of this century, when the
Hudson's Bay Company sold to the Earl of Selkirk a portion
of the territory greater in area than the whole of England and
Scotland; and in this the Company was supported by the
highest legal authorities in England.
To the minds- of some, even more remarkable than the
transfer of the ownership of so large a territory was the con
ferring upon the Company by the Crown of the power to make
laws, not only for their own forts and plantations, vnth all their
officers and servants, but having force over all persons upon
the lands ceded to them so absolutely.
The authority to administer justice is also given in no un
certain terms. The officers of the Company " may have power
to judge all persons belonging to the said Governor and Com
pany, or that shall live under them, in all causes, whether civil
or criminal, according to the laws of this kingdom, and to
execute justice accordingly." To this was also added the

HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY FOUNDED 17
power of sending those charged with offences to England to be
tried and punished. The authorities, in the course of time,
availed themselves of this right. We shall see in the history
of the Eed Eiver Settlement, in the very heart of Eupert's
Land, the spectacle of a community of several thousands of
people within a circle having a radius of fifty miles ruled by
Hudson's Bay Company authority, with the customs duties
collected, certain municipal institutions established, and justice
administered, and the people for two generations not possessed
of representative institutions.
One of the powers most jealously guarded by all govern
ments is the control of military expeditions. There is a settled
unwillingness to allow private individuals to direct or influence
them. No qualms of this sort seem to have been in the royal
mind over this matter in connection with the Hudson's Bay
Company. The Company is fully empowered in the Charter
to send ships of war, men, or ammunition into their planta
tions, allowed to choose and appoint commanders and officers,
and even to issue them their commissions.
There is a ludicrous ring about the words empowering the
Company to make peace or war with any prince or people
whatsoever that are not Christians, and to be permitted for
this end to build all necessary castles and fortifications. It
seems to have the spirit of the old formula leaving Jews,
Turks, and Saracens to the uncovenanted mercies rather than
to breathe the nobler principles of a Christian land. Surely,
seldom before or since has a Company gone forth thus armed
cap-d-pie to win glory and profit for their country.
An important proviso of the Charter, which was largely
a logical sequence of the power given to possess the wide
territory, was the grant of the " whole, entire, and only Liberty
of Trade and Traffick." The claim of a complete monopoly
of trade was held most strenuously by the Company from the
very beginning. The early history of the Company abounds
with accounts of the steps taken to prevent the incoming of
interlopers. These were private traders, some from the
English colonies in America, and others from England, who
fitted out expeditions to trade upon the Bay. Full power was
given by the Charter " to seize upon the persons of all such
c

1 8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
English or any other subjects, which sail into Hudson's Bay or
inhabit in any of the countries, islands, or territories granted to
the said Governor and Company, without their leave and license
in that behalf first had and obtained."
The abstract question of whether such monopoly may
rightly be granted by a free government is a difficult one, and
is variously decided by different authorities. The " free trader "
was certainly a person greatly disliked in the early days of the
Company. Frequent allusions are made in the minutes of the
Company, during the first fifty years of its existence, to the
arrest and punishment of servants or employes of the Com
pany who secreted valuable furs on their homeward voyage for
the purpose of disposing of them. As late as half a century
ago, in the more settled parts of Eupert's Land, on the advice
of a judge who had a high sense of its prerogative, an attempt
was made by the Company to prevent private trading in furs.
Very serious local disturbances took place in the Eed Eiver
Settlement at that time, but wiser counsels prevailed, and in
the later years of the Company's regime the imperative
character of the right was largely relaxed.
The Charter fittingly closes with a commendation of the
Company by the King to the good offices of all admirals
justices, mayors, sheriffs, and other officers of the Crown,
enjoining them to give aid, favour, help, and assistance.
With such extensive powers, the wonder is that the Company
bears, on the whole, after its long career over such an extended
area of operations, and among savage and border people un
accustomed to the restraints of law, so honourable a record.
Being governed by men of high standing, many of them closely
associated with the operations of government at home, it is
very easy to trace how, as " freedom broadened slowly down "
from Charles II. to the present time, the method of dealing with
subjects and subordinates became more and more gentle and
considerate. As one reads the minutes of the Company in the
Hudson's Bay House for the first quarter of a century of its
history, the tyrannical spirit, even so far as the removal of
troublesome or unpopular members of the Committee and the
treatment of rivals, is very evident.
This intolerance was of the spirit of the age. In the Eestora-

ARMS OE THE HUDSON S BAY COMPANY.

IFar/e 18.

HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY FOUNDED 19
tion, the Eevolution, and the trials of prisoners after rebellion,
men were accustomed to the exercise of the severest penalties
for the crimes committed. As the spirit of more gentle ad
ministration of law found its way into more peaceful times,
the Company modified its policy.
The Hudson's Bay Company was, it is true, a keen trader,
as the motto, " Pro Pelle Cutem " — " skin for skin " — clearly
implies. With this no fault can be found, the more that its
methods were nearly all honom'able British methods. It never
forgot the flag that floated over it. One of the greatest
testimonies in its favour was that, when two centuries after its
organization it gave up, except as a purely trading company,
its power to Canada, yet its authority over the wide-spread
Indian population of Eupert's Land was so great, that it was
asked by the Canadian Government to retain one-twentieth of
the land of that wide domain as a guarantee of its assistance in
transferring power from the old to the new regime.
The Indian had in every part of Eupert's Land absolute trust
in the good faith of the Company. To have been the possessor
of such absolute powers as those given by the Charter ; to have
on the whole " borne their faculties so meek " ; to have been
able to carry on government and trade so long and so success
fully, is not so much a commendation of the royal donor of the
Charter as it is of the clemency and general fairness of the
administration, which entitled it not only officially but also
really, to the title "The Honourable Hudson's Bay Company."

CHAPTEE III.
METHODS OF TEADE.
Eich Mr. Portman— Good ship Prince Rupert— The early adventurers
— " Book of Common Prayer " — Five Forts— Voting a funeral —
Worth of a beaver — To Hudson Bay and back — Selling the
pelts — Bottles of sack — Fat dividends — " Victorious as Csesar " —
" Golden Fruit."
The generation that lived between the founding of the
Company and the end of the century saw a great development
in the trade of the infant enterprise. Meeting sometimes at
the place of business of one of the Committee, and afterwards
at hired premises, the energetic members of the sub-committee
paid close attention to their work. Sir John Eobinson, Sir
John Kirke, and Mr. Portman acted as one such executive,
and the monthly, and at times weekly meetings of the Court of
Adventurers were held when they were needed. It brings the
past very close to us as we read the minutes, still preserved in
the Hudson's Bay House, Leadenhall Street, London, of a
meeting at Whitehall in 1671, with His Highness Prince Eupert
in the chair, and find the sub-committee appointed to carry on
the business. Captain Gillam for a number of years remained
in the service of the Cfimpany as a trusted captain, and com
manded the ship Prince Rupert. Another vessel, the Windiiigoo,
or Wyvenhoe Pinch, was soon added, also in time the Moosongee
Dogger, then the Shaftshury, the Albemarle, and the Craven
Bark— the last three named from prominent members of the
Company. Not more than three of these ships were in use at
the same time.
The fitting out of these- ships was a work needing much
attention from the sub-committee. Year after year its
members went down to Gravesend about the end of May, saw
the goods which had been purchased placed aboard the ships.

METHODS OF TRADE 21
paid the captain and men their wages, delivered the agents to
be sent out their commissions,. and exercised plenary power in
regard to emergencies which arose. The articles selected
indicate very clearly the kind of trade in which the Company
engaged. The inventory of goods in 1672 shows how small an
affair the trade at first was. " Two hundred fowling-pieces, and
powder and shot ; 200 brass kettles, size from five to sixteen
gallons; twelve gross of knives; 900 or 1000 hatchets," is
recorded as being the estimate of cargo for that year.
A few years, howerver, made a great change. Tobacco, glass
beads, 6000 flints, boxes of red lead, looking-glasses, netting
for fishing, pewter dishes, and pe-wter plates were added to the
consignments. That some attention was had by the Company
to the morals of their employes is seen in that one ship's
cargo was provided -with " a book of common prayer, and a
book of homilies."
About June 1st, the ship, or ships, sailed from the Thames,
rounded the North of Scotland, and were not heard of till
October, when they returned -with thek valuable cargoes. Year
after year, as we read the records of the Company's history, -s£l.
find the vessels sailing out and returning with the greatest
vpgnlfl.ritY^,nd few .losses took pl^,"Q, ^fog^^ j^ °^ weather
during tSat time.
The "agents of the Company on the Bay seem to have been
well selected and generally reliable men. Certain French
writers and also the English opponents of the Company have
represented them as timid men, afraid to leave the coast and
penetrate to the interior, and their conduct has been contrasted
with that of the daring, if not reckless, French explorers. Jtis
true that forabout one hundred years the Hudson's Bgx. —
'Company'min' did noT leave the jhoresj)j_Hud^on^ay,J)jjt
W^FwaslEeneed'soTong as the Indians came to the coast
\wth their furs and afforded them profitable trade ! By the
orders of the Company they opened up trade at different places
on the shores of the Bay, and we learn from Oldmixon that
fifteen years after the founding_oyhg„gQmBanX^em:gfi£&fea:iis.
e^iiSbli^d at (1) AJ^aiy^,JiixirIi^HayesMand; (3) Euperfs.
EiverT (4)TorFNekon ; (5) NewSeyern. According to another
auiEority, Moose' Eiverlakes the place of Hayes Island in thi

2 2 THE HUDSON'S BAi COMPANY
list. These forts and factories, at first primitive and small,
were gradually increased in size and comfort until they became,
in some cases, quite extensive.
The plan of management was to have a governor appointed
over each fort for a term of years, and a certain number of men
placed under his direction. In the first year of the Hudson's
Bay Company's operations as a corporate body, Governor
Charles Bailey was sent out to take charge of Charles Fort at
Eupert's Eiver. With him was associated the French adven
turer, Eadisson, and his nephew, Jean Baptiste Groseilliers.
Bailey seems to have been an efficient officer, though fault was
found with him by the Company. Ten years after the founding
of the Company he died in London, and was voted a funeral by
the Company, which took place by twilight to St. Paul's,
Covent Garden. The widow of the Governor maintained a
contention against the Company for an allowance of 400Z.,
which was given after three years' dispute. Another governor
was William Lydall, as also John Bridgar, Governor of the
West Main ; and again Henry Sargeant, Thomas Phipps,
Governor of Fort Nelson, and John Knight, Governor of Albany,
took an active part in the disputes of the Company with the
French. Thus, with a considerable amount of friction, the
affairs of the Company were conducted on the new and
inhospitable coast of Hudson Bay.
To the forts from the vast interior of North America the
various tribes of Indians, especially the Crees, Chipewyans,
and Eskimos, brought their furs for barter. No doubt the
prices were very much in favour of the traders at first, but
during the first generation of traders the competition of French
traders from the south for their share of the Indian trade
tended to correct injustice and give the Indians better prices
for their furs.
The following is the standard fixed at this time : —
Guns  twelve winter beaver skins
for largest, ten for me
dium, eight for smallest.
Powder  a beaver for | lb.
Shot  a beaver for 4 lbs.
Hatchets  a beaver for a great and
little hatchet.

METHODS OF TRADE 23
Knives  a beaver for eight great
knives and eight jack
knives.
Beads  a beaver for i lb. of beads.
Laced coats . . . .six beavers for one.
Plain coats  five beavers for one plain
red coat.
Coats for women, laced, 2 yds. . six beavers.
Coats for women, plain . . five beavers.
Tobacco  a beaver for 1 lb.
Powder-horn .... a beaver for a large pow
der-horn and two smaU
ones.
Kettles  abeaver for lib. of kettle.
Looking-glass and comb . . two skins.
The trade conducted at the posts or factories along the shore
•was carried on by the local traders so soon as the rivers from
the interior — the Nelson and the Churchill — were open, so that
by the time the ship from London arrived, say in the end of
July or beginning of August, the Indians were beginning to
reach the coast. The month of August was a busy month, and
by the close of it, or early in September, the ship was loaded
and sent back on her journey.
By the end of October the ships arrived from Hudson Bay,
and the anxiety of the Company to learn how the season's
trade had succeeded was naturally very great. As soon as the
vessels had arrived in the Downs or at Portsmouth, word was
sent post haste to London, and the results were laid before a
Committee of the Company. Much reference is made in the
minutes to the difficulty of preventing the men employed in the
ships from entering into illicit trade in furs. Strict orders
were given to inspect the lockers for furs to prevent private
trade. In due time the furs were unladen from the ships and
put into the custody of the Company's secretary in the London
warehouse. The matter of selling the fm-s was one of very great
importance. At times the Company found prices low, and
deferred their sales until the outlook was more favourable.
The method followed was to have an auction, and every
precaution was taken to have the sales fair and above board.
Evidences are not wanting that at times it was difficult for the
Court of Adventurers to secure this ver desirable result.

24 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
The matter was not, however, one of dry routine, for the
London merchants seem to have encouraged business with
generous hospitality. On November 9th, 1681, the sale took
place, and the following entry is found in the minutes : "A
Committee was appointed to provide three dozen bottles of
sack and three dozen bottles of claret, to be given to buyers
at ye sale. Dinner was also bespoken at ' Ye Stillyard,' of a
good dish of fish, a Ioyne of veal, two pullets, and four ducks."
As the years went on, the same variations in furs that we
see in our day took place. New markets were then looked for
and arrangements made for sending agents to Holland and
finding the connections in Eussia, that sales might be effected.
In order to carry out the trade it was necessary to take large
quantities of hemp from Holland in return for the furs sent.
The employment of this article for cordage in the Navy led to
the influence of important members of the Company being used
with the Earl of Marlborough to secure a sale for this com
modity. Pending the sales it was necessary for large sums of
money to be advanced to carry on the business of the Com
pany. This was generally accomplished by the liberality of
members of the Company itself supplying the needed amounts.
The Company was, however, from time to time gratified by
the declaration of handsome dividends. So far as recorded,
the first dividend was declared in 1684, and judged by modern
standards it was one for which a company might well wait for
a number of years. It was for 50 per cent, upon stock.
Accordingly, the Earl of Craven received 150L, Sir James
Hayes 150Z., and so on in proportion. In 1688 another divi
dend of a like amount of 50 per cent, on the stock resulted,
and among others, Hon. Eobert Boyle, Earl Churchill, and Sir
Christopher Wren had their hearts gladdened. In 1689
profits to the extent of 25 per cent, on the stock were received,
and one of the successful captains was, in the exuberance of
feeling of the stock-holders, presented with a silver flagon in
recognition of his services. In 1690, however, took place by
far the most remarkable event of a financial kind in the early
history of the Company. The returns of that year from the
Bay were so large that the Company dec ded to treble its stock.
he reasons given for this were : —

'^¦METHODS OF TRADE 25
(1) The Company has in its warehouse about the value o
its original stock (10,500Z.). (2) The factories at Fort Nelson
and New Severn are increasing in trade, and this year the
returns are expected to be 20,000L in beaver. (3) The fac
tories are of much value. (4) Damages are expected from the
French for a claim of 10O,O00L
The Conapany then proceeded to declare a dividend of 25 per
cent., which was equivalent to 76 per cent, on their original
stock. It was a pleasing incident to the sovereign of the realm that
in all these profits he was not forgotten. In the original
Charter the only recompense coming to the Crown, for the
royal gift, was to be the payment, when the territory was
entered upon, of " two elks and two black beavers." This may
have been a device for keeping up the royal claim, but at any
rate 300/. in the 'original stock-book stood to the credit of the
sovereign. It had been the custom to send a deputation to
present in person the dividends to His Majesty, and the
pounds sterling were always changed to guineas.
On this occasion of the great dividend, King William III.
had but lately returned from his victories in Ireland. The
deputation, headed by Sir Edward Dering, was introduced to
the King by the Earl of Portland, and the following address,
hitherto, so far as known to the writer, unpublished, was "
presented along with the noble gift : —
" Your Majestie's most Loyal and Dutiful subjects beg leave
to congratulate your Majestie's Happy Eeturn here with
Honor and Safety. And we do daily pray to Heaven (that
Hath God wonderfully preserved Your Eoyall Person) that in
all your undertakings Your Majestic may be as victorious as
Caesar, as beloved as Titus, and (after all) have the long
and glorious Eeigne and Peacefull end of Augustus.
" On this happy occasion we desire also most humbly to
present to yom* Majestic a dividend of Two Hundred, and
twenty-five guiiieas upon three hundred pounds stock in the
Hudson's Bay Company, now EightfuUy delivered to your
Majestic. And although we have been the greatest sufferers
of any Company from those common enemies of all mankind the
French, yet when your Majestie's just Arms shall have given

26 THE HUDSON S BAY COMPANY
Eepose to all Christendom, we also shall enjoy our share of
these great Benefits and do not doubt but to appeare often
¦with this golden fruit in our hands, under the happy influence
of Your Majestie's most gracious protection over us and all our
Concerns." It is true that towards the end of the seventeenth century,
as we shall afterwards see, the trade of the Company was
seriously injured by the attacks of the French on the Bay, but
a quarter of a century in which the possibility of obtaining
such profits had been shown was sufficient to establish the
Company in the public favour and to attract to it much
capital. Its careful management from the first led to its
gaining a reputation for business ability which it has never
lost during two and a quarter centuries of its history.

CHAPTEE IV.
thbee geeat goveenoes.
Men of high station — Prince Rupert primus — Prince James, " nemine
contradicente " — The hero of the hour — Churchill River named —
Plate of solid gold — Oflf to the tower.
The success of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the influence
exerted by it during so long a period, has often been attributed
to the union of persons of station and high political influence
with the practical and far-seeing business men of London, who
made up the Company. A perusal of the minutes of the first
thirty years of the Company's history impresses on the mind
of the reader that, this is true, and that good feeling and
patriotism were joined with business tact and enterprise in all
the ventures. From the prosperous days of Queen Elizabeth
and her sea-going captains and explorers, certainly from the
time of Charles II., it was no uncommon thing to see the titled
and commercial classes co-operating, in striking contrast to
the governing classes of France, in making commerce and
trade a prominent feature of the national life.
The first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, Eupert,
Prince of Bavaria, grandson by the mother's side of James I.
of England, is a sufficiently well-known character in general
history to require no extended notice. His exploits on the
Eoyalist side in the Civil War, his fierce charges and his swift
ness in executing difficult military movements, led to his name
being taken as the very embodiment of energy and prowess.
In this sense the expression, "the fiery Eupert of debate"
was applied to a prominent parliamentarian of the past
generation. After the restoration of Charles II., Prince Eupert took up

28 THE HUDSON'S BA Y COMPANY
his abode in England, finding it more like home to him than
any continental country. Enjoying the plaudits of the Cava
liers, for whom he had so strenuously fought, he was appointed
Constable of Windsor, a no very onerous position. From the
minutes of the Hudson's Bay Company we find that he had
lodgings at Whitehall, and spent much of his time in business
and among scientific circles — indeed, the famous toys called
" glass tears," or " Eupert's drops," were brought over by
him to England from the continent to interest his scientific
friends. We have seen already the steps taken by the returned Com
missioners from the American Colonies to introduce Eadisson
and Groseilliers to Prince Eupert, and through him to the
royal notice.
The success of the expedition of Gillam and the building of
Charles Fort on Hudson Bay led to the Prince consenting to
head the new Company. He had just passed the half century
of his age when he was appointed Governor of the vast terra
incognita lying to the west of the Bay to which, in his honour,
was given the name Eupert's Land.
The Company lost no time in undertaking a new expedition.
Prince Eupert's intimate friend, the Earl of Craven, was one
of the incorporators, and it was with this nobleman that Prince
Eupert's widowed mother, the Princess Elizabeth, had found
a home in the days of adversity.
The close connection of the Hudson's Bay Company with
the Court gave it, we see very plainly, certain important advan
tages. Not only do the generous terms of the Charter indicate
this, but the detailing of certain ships of the Eoyal Navy to
protect the merchantmen going out to Hudson Bay shows the
strong bond of sympathy. Certainly nothing less than the
thorough interest of the Court could have led to the firm stand
taken by the English Government in the controversies with
France as to the possession of Hudson Bay.
Several excellent paintings of the Prince are in existence,
one by Vandyke in Warwick Castle, showing his handsome
form, and another in Knebworth, Hertford. The Prince was
unfortunately not free from the immorality that was so
flagrant a feature of the Court of Charles IL At that time this

THREE GREAT GOVERNORS 29
was but little taken into account, and the fame of his military
exploits, together with the fixing of his name upon so wide an
extent of the earth's surface, have served to give posterity an
interest in him.
For twelve successive years Prince Eupert was chosen
Governor at the General Court of Adventurers, and used his
great influence for the Company. He died on November 29th,
1682, at the comparatively early age of sixty-three.
The death of the first Governor was a somewhat severe trial
ior the infant Company. The Prince's name had been one to
conjure by, and though he had been ably supported by the
Deputy-Governor, Sir James Hayes, yet there was some
fear of loss of prestige to the Adventurers on his unexpected
death. The members of the Company were anxious to keep up, if
possible, the royal connection, but they were by no means
clear as to the choice of the only available personage who came
before their view. James, Duke of York, was a man with a
liking for business, but he was not a popular favourite. The
famous jeu d'esprit of Charies II. will be remembered. When
James informed Charles II. that there was a conspiracy on
foot to drive him from the throne, " No, James," said Charles,
" they will never kill me to make you king."
The minutes of the Company show that much deliberation
took place as to the choice of a successor to Prince Eupert,
but at length, in January, 1683, at a General Court, the choice
was made, and the record reads : — " His Eoyal Highness the
Duke of York was chosen Governor of the Company,
Nemine contradicente.' " The new Governor soon had reasons
to congratulate himself on his election, for on April 21st,
1684, Sir James Hayes and Sir Edward Dering reported to the
Adventurers their having paid 150 guineas to His Eoyal High
ness as a dividend on the stock held by him. Prince James
-was chosen Governor for three successive years, until the year
-when, on the death of Charles, he became King. While James
was not much in favour as a man, yet he possessed decided
administrative ability, and whether this was the cause or not,
certainly the period of his governorship was a successful time
in the history of the Company.

30 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Failing a prince or duke, the lot could not have fallen uport
a more capable man than was chosen as the Duke of York's.
successor for the governorship. On April 2nd, 1685, at a
General Court of the Adventurers, the choice fell upon one of
the most remarkable men of his time, the Eight Hon. John
Lord Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough. Lord
Churchill had not yet gained any of his great victories. H&
was, however, at this time a favourite of the Duke of York^
and no doubt, on the recommendation of James, had been
brought before the Court of Adventurers. He was one of the-
most adroit men of his time, he was on the highway to the most.
distinguished honours, and the Adventurers gladly elected him
third governor.
On April 2nd, 1685, the new governor threw himself heartily
into the work of the Company. No doubt one so closely
connected with the public service could be of more practical
value than even a royal duke. The great dividend of which
we have already spoken followed the years of his appointment.
The success attained but stimulated the Company to increase^
their trade and widen the field of their operations. The river
running into the west side of the Bay, far to the north, was named
in honour of the new governor, Churchill Eiver, and in 1686.
expansion of trade was sought by the decision to settle at th&
mouth of this river and use it as a new trading centre for the
north and west. Without any desire to annoy the French, who-
claimed the south end of the Bay, it was determined to send
a ship to the southern part of Hudson Bay, and a few months.
later the Yonge frigate was dispatched. The fear of attacks
from the French, who were known to be in a very restless.
condition, led to the request being made to the Government to.
station a military force at each fort in Hudson Bay. It was.
also the desire of the Company that steps should be taken to-
protect them in their Charter rights and to prevent illegal
expeditions from going to trade in the Bay. All this shows th&
energy and hopefulness of the Company under the leadership-
of Lord Churchill.
The part taken by Lord Churchill in the opposition to
James, and his active agency in inducing William of Orange
to come to England, are well known. He was a worshipper of

THREE GREAT GOVERNORS 31
the rising sun. On the arrival of William IIL, Lord ChurchiU',,
who was soon raised to the peerage as Earl of Marlborough^
was as popular, for the time, with the new king as he had been
with his predecessor. His zeal is seen in his sending out in
June, 1689, as governor, the instructions that William and
Mary should be proclaimed in the posts upon the shores of
Hudson Bay. He was able shortly after to report to his.
Company that 100 marines had been detailed to protect the
Company's ships on their way to Hudson Bay. The enthu
siasm of the Company at this mark of consideration obtained
through the influence of Lord Churchill, was very great, and
we learn from the minutes that profuse thanks were given to-
the governor, and a piece of plate of solid gold, of the value of
100 guineas, was presented to him for his distinguished services.
Legislation was also introduced at this time into Parliament
for the purpose of giving further privileges to the Adventurers.
But the rising tide of fortune was suddenly checked.
Disaster overtook the Governor. William had found some
reason for distrusting this versatile man of affairs, and he
suspected him of being in correspondence with the dethroned
James. No doubt the suspicion was well founded, but tha
King had thought it better, on account of Marlborough's great
talents, to overlook his unfaithfulness. Suddenly, in May^
1692, England was startled by hearing that the Earl of
Marlborough had been thrown into the Tower on an accusa
tion of high treason. For seven years this determined
soldier had led the Company to success, but his imprisonment,
rendered a change in the governorship a necessity. Marl
borough was only imprisoned for a short time, but he was not
re-elected to the position he had so well filled. At the General
Court of Adventurers in November of theyear of Marlborough'a
fall. Sir Stephen Evance was chosen Governor. This gentle
man was re-elected a number of times, and was Governor of
the Company at the close of the century.
Two decades, and more, of the formative life of the Company
were thus lived under the aegis of the Court, the personal
management of two courtly personages, and under the
guidance of the leading general of his time. As we shall see
afterwards, during a part of this period the affairs of tha

32 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Company were carried on in the face of the constant opposi
tion of the French. Undoubtedly heavy losses resulted from
the French rivalry, but the pluck and wisdom of the Com
pany were equally manifested in the confidence with which
they risked their means, and the strong steps taken to retain
their hold on Hudson Bay. This was the golden age of the
Hudson's Bay Company. When money was needed it was
often cheerfully advanced by some of the partners ; it was an
honour to have stock in a Company which was within the
shadow of the throne ; its distinguished governors were re
elected so long as they were eligible to serve ; again and again
the Committee, provided with a rich purse of golden guineas,
waited on His Majesty the King to give return for the favour
of the Eoyal Charter ; and never afterward can the historian
point in the annals of the Company to so distinguished a period.

CHAPTEE V.
TWO adeoit adventueees.
Peter Radisson and " Mr. Gooseberry " again — Radisson v. Gillam —
Back -to France — A wife's influence — Paltry vessels — Radisson's
diplomacy — Deserts to England — Shameful duplicity — " A hogs
head of claret" — ^Adventurers appreciative — Twenty-five years of
Radisson's life hitherto unknown — " In a low and mean condi
tion " — The Company in Chancery — Lucky Radisson — A Company
pensioner.
A MYBTEEious interest gathers around two of the most in
dustrious and, it must be added, most diplomatic and adroit of
the agents of the Company, the two Frenchmen, Pierre Esprit
Eadisson and Medard Chouart, afterwards the Sieur de Gro
seilliers. Acquainted -with the far northern fur trade, their
assistance was invaluable. We have seen in a former chapter
that finding little encouragement either in New France or their
mother country, they had transferred their services to England,
and were largely instrumental in founding the Hudson's Bay
Company. In the first voyage of the adventurers to Hudson's Bay, it
came about that while Groseilliers was lucky in being on the
Ncmsuch ketch, which made its way into the Bay, on the other
hand, Eadisson, to his great chagrin, was on board the com
panion ship, the Eaglet, which, after attempting an entrance
and failing, returned to England.
It has been stated that during the time of his enforced
idleness in London, while the party was building Charles Fort
on Prince Eupert's Eiver, Eadisson was busy interesting the
leading men of the city in the importance of the adventure.
Immediately on the return of the company of the Nonsuch,
steps were taken for the organization of the Hudson's Bay
Company. This, as we have seen, took place in May, 1670,
D

34 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and in the same year Eadisson and Groseilliers went out
with Governor Bailey, and assisted in establishing trade on
the shores of the Bay.
On their return, in the autumn of 1671, to London, the two
adventurers spent the winter there, and, as the minutes of the
Company show, received certain money payments for their
maintenance. In October, 1673, the sloop Prince Rv/pert had
arrived at Portsmouth from Hudson Bay, and there are
evidences of friction between Eadisson and Captain Gillam.
Eadisson is called on to be present at a meeting of the General
Court of the Company held in October, and afterwards Gillam
is authorized to advance the amounts necessary for his living
expenses. In the Company minutes of June 25th, 1674, is found the
foUovring entry: — "That there be allowed to Mr. Eadisson
100 pounds per annum from the time of his last arrival in
London, in consideration of services done by him, out of which
to be deducted what hath been already paid him since that
time, and if it shall please God to bless this Company
with good success hereafter that they shall come to be in a
prosperous condition they will then re-assume the consideration
thereof." During the next month a further sum was paid Eadisson.
The restless Eadisson could not, however, be satisfied. No
doubt he felt his services to be of great value, and he now
illustrated what was really the weakness of his whole life, a
want of honest reliability. The Company had done as well for
him as its infant resources would allow, but along with Gro
seilliers he deserted from London, and sought to return to the
service of France under the distinguished Prime Minister
Colbert. The shrewd Colbert knew well Eadisson's instability. This
featm'e of his character had been further emphasized by
another event in Eadisson's life. He had married a daughter
of Sir John Kirke, one of the Hudson's Bay Company pro
moters, and a member of the well-known family which had
distinguished itself in the capture of Canada, nearly fifty years
before. This English and domestic connection made Colbert
suspicious of Eadisson. However, he agreed to pay Eadisson

TWO ADROIT ADVENTURERS 35
and Groseilliers the sum of their debts, amounting to 400/., and
to give them lucrative employment. The condition of his
further employment was that Eadisson should bring his wife to
France, but he was unable to get either his wife or her father
to consent to this. The Kirke family, it must be remembered,
were still owners of a claim amounting to 341,000/. against
France, which had been left unsettled during the time of
Champlain, when England restored Canada to France.
For seven years Eadisson vacillated between the two
countries. Under the French he went for one season on a
voyage to the West Indies, and was even promised promotion!
in the French marine. At one time he applied again to the
Hudson's Bay Company for employment, but was refused.
The fixed determination of his wife not to leave England on
the one hand, and the settled suspicion of the French Govern
ment on the other, continually thwarted him. At length, in
1681, Eadisson and Groseilliers were sent by the French to
Canada, to undertake a trading expedition to Hudson Bay.
The lack of money, and also of full confidence, led to their
venture being poorly provided for. In July, 1682, rendezvous
was made at He Percee, in the lower St. La-wrence, by Eadisson
in a -wretched old vessel of ten tons, and by Groseilliers in a
rather better craft of fifteen tons burthen.
No better could be done, however, and so, after many
mishaps, including serious mutinies, dangers of ice and flood,
and hairbreadth escapes, the two vessels reached the mouth of
the Hayes Eiver on Hudson Bay. They determined to trade
at this point. Groseilliers undertook to build a small fort on
this river, and Eadisson went inland on a canoe expedition to
meet the natives. In this Eadisson was fairly successful, and
gathered a good quantity of furs.
The French adventurers were soon surprised to find that an
English party had taken possession of the mouth of the Nelson
Eiver, and were establishing a fort. Eadisson opened com
munication with the English, and found them in charge of
Governor Bridgar, but really led by young Gillam, son of the
old captain of the Nonsuch. The versatile Frenchman soon
met a fine field for his diplomatic arts. He professed great
friendship for the new comers, exchanged frequent visits with

36 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
them, and became acquainted with all their affau's. Finding
the English short of provisions, he supplied their lack most
generously, and offered to render them any service.
Governor Bridgar was entirely unable to cope with the wiles
of Eadisson. Matters were so arranged that Jean Baptiste
Groseilliers, his nephew, was left in charge of the forts, to
carry on the trade during the next winter, and with his brother-
in-law, Groseilliers, and Governor Bridgar, somewhat of a
voluntary prisoner, Eadisson sailed away to Canada in Gillam's
ship. On reaching Canada Governor De la Barre restored the
ship to the English, and in it Bridgar and Gillam sailed to
New England, whence in due time they departed for England.
The whole affair has a Quixotic appearance, and it is not sur
prising that Eadisson and Groseilliers were summoned to
report themselves to Colbert in Prance and to receive his
marked displeasure. Their adventure had, however, been so
successful, and the prospects were so good, that the French
Government determined to send them out again, in two
ships, to reap the fruits of the winter's work of the younger
Groseilliers. Now occm-red another of Eadisson's escapades. The French
expedition was ready to start in April. The day (24th) was
fixed. Eadisson asked for delay, pleading important private
business in England. On May 10th he arrived in England,
and we find him, without any compunction, entering into
negotiations with the Hudson's Bay Company, and as a result
playing the traitor to his engagements in France, his native
country. The entry in the Company's minutes bearing on this affair
is as follows : — "May 12th, 1684.
" Sir James Hayes and Mr. Young, that Peter Esprit Eadis
son has arrived from France ; that he has offered to enter their
service ; that they took him to Windsor and presented him to
His Eoyal Highness ; that they had agreed to give him 50/.
per annum, 200/. worth of stock, and 20/. to set him up to
proceed to Port Nelson ; and his brother (in-law) Groseilliers
to have 20s. per week, if he come from France over to Britain

TWO ADROIT ADVENTURERS 37
and be true. Eadisson took the oath of fidelity to the
Company." A few days later Eadisson took the ship Happy Return to
Hudson Bay. Sailing immediately to Hayes Eiver, Eadisson
found that his nephew, J. Baptiste Groseilliers, had removed
his post to an island in the river. On his being reached,
Eadisson explained to him the change that had taken place,
and that he proposed to transfer everything, establishment and
peltry, to the Hudson's Bay Company. Young Groseilliers,
being loyal to France, objected to this, but Eadisson stated that
there was no option, and he would be compelled to submit.
The whole quantity of furs transferred to Eadisson by hia
nephew was 20,000 — an enormous capture for the Hudson's
Bay Company. In the autumn Eadisson returned in the
Hudson's Bay Company's ship, bringing the great store of
booty. At a meeting of the Committee of the Company (Octo
ber 7th), "a packet was read from Pierre Eadisson showing
how he had brought his countrymen to submit to the English.
He was thanked, and a gratuity of 100 guineas given him."
It is also stated that." a promise having been made of 20s. per
week to Groseilliers, and he not having come, the same is
transferred to his son in the bay." The minute like-wise tells
us that " Sir William Young was given a present of seven
musquash skins for being instrumental in inviting Eadisson
over from France." From this we infer that Sir William, who,
as we shall afterwards see, was a great friend and promoter of
Eadisson, had been the active agent in inducing Eadisson to
leave the service of France and enter that of the English
Company. The Company further showed its appreciation of Eadisson's
service by voting him 100/. to be given to four Frenchmen left
behind in Hudson Bay. Jean Baptiste GroseiUiers, nephew of
Eadisson, was also engaged by the Company for four years in
the service at 100/. a year. Eadisson seems to have had some
dispute with the Company as to the salary at this time. On
May 6th, 1685, his salary when out of England was raised to
100/. a year, and 300/. to his wife in case of his death. Eadis
son refused to accept these terms. The Company for a time

38 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY

o

would not increase its offer, but the time for the ship to sail
was drawing nigh, and the Committee gave way and added to
the above amount 100/. of stock to be given to his wife. John
Bridgar was appointed Governor at Port Nelson for three years,
and Eadisson superintendent of the trade there. Eadisson was
satisfied with the new terms, and that the Company was
greatly impressed with the value of his services is seen in the
following entry : "A hogshead of claret being ordered for Mr.
Eadisson, ' such as Mr. E. shall Uke.' "
In the year 1685-6 all hitherto printed accounts of Eadisson
leave our redoubtable explorer. We are, for the history up to
this date, much indebted to the Prince Society of Boston for
printing an interesting volume containing the journals of
Eadisson, which are preserved in the British Museum in
London and in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Dr. N. E. Dionne, the accomplished librarian of the Legisla
tive Library, Quebec, has contributed to the proceedings of the
Eoyal Society of Canada very appreciative articles entitled,
" Chouart and Eadisson." In these he has relied for the detail
of facts of discovery almost entirely on the publication of the
Prince Society. He has, however, added much genealogical
and local Canadian material, which tends to make the history of
these early explorers more interesting than it could other-wise be.
A resident of Manitoba, who has shown an interest in the
legends and early history of Canada, Mr. L. A. Prudhomme,
St. Boniface, Judge of the County, has -written a small volume
of sixty pages on the life of Eadisson. Like the articles of Dr.
Dionne, this volume depends entirely for its information on the
publication of the Prince Society.
Eeaders of fiction are no doubt famiUar with the appearance
of Eadisson in Gilbert Parker's novel, " The Trail of the
Sword." It is unnecessary to state that there seems no
historic warrant for the statement, " Once he attempted Count
Frontenac's life. He sold a band of our traders to the Iro
quois." The character, thoroughly repulsive in this work of
fiction, does not look to be the real Eadisson ; and certainly as
we survey the bloody scene, which must have been intended
for a period subsequent to Frontenac's return to Canada in
1689, where Eadisson fell done to death by the dagger and

TWO ADROIT ADVENTURERS 39
pistol of the mutineer Bucklaw and was buried in the hungry
sea, we see what was purely imaginary. Of course, we do not
for a moment criticize the art of the historic novelist, but
simply state that the picture is not that of the real Eadisson,
and that we shall find Eadisson aUve a dozen or more years
after the tragic end given him by the artist.
These three works, as well as the novel, agree in seeing in
Eadisson a man of remarkable character and great skill and
adroitness. FUETHEE HISTOEY.
The Prince Society volume states : " We again hear of
Eadisson in Hudson Bay in 1685, and this is his last ap
pearance in public records as far as is known." The only
other reference is made by Dionne and Prudhomme in stating
that Charlevoix declares " that Eadisson died in England."
Patient search in the archives of the Hudson's Bay Company
in London has enabled the -writer to trace the history of
Eadisson on for many years after the date given, and to unearth
a number of very interesting particulars connected with him ;
indeed, to add some twenty-five years hitherto unknown to our
century to his life, and to see him pass from view early in
1710. In 1687, Eadisson was still in the employ of the Company,
and the Committee decided that he should be made a denizen
or subject of England. He arrived from Hudson Bay in
October of this year, appeared before the Hudson's Bay Com
pany Committee, and was welcomed by its members. It was
decided that 60/. be given as a gratuity to the adventurer till
he should be again employed. On June 24th, 1688, Eadisson
again sailed in the ship for Hudson Bay, and during that year
he was paid 100/. as 50 per cent, dividend on his 200/. worth
of stock, and in the following year 50/. as 25 per cent, dividend
on his stock. As the following year, 1690, was the time of the
"great dividend," Eadisson was again rejoiced by the amount
of 160/. as his share of the profits.
Tbe prosperity of the Company appears to have led to an
era of extravagance, and to certain dissensions within the Com
pany itself. The amounts paid Eadisson were smaller in

40 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
accordance with the straits in which the Company found itself
arising from French rivah-y on the Bay. In 1692 Sir WiUiam
Young is seen strongly urging fuller consideration for Eadisson,
who was being paid at the reduced rate of 50/. a year.
In the Hudson's Bay Company letter-book of this period we
find a most interesting memorial of Sir WiUiam Young's in
behalf of Eadisson, with answers by the Company, on the
whole confirming our narrative, but stating a few divergent
points. We give the memorial in full.
Dated December 20th, 1692, being plea of WiUiam Young,
in behalf of Pierre Esprit Eadisson : —
"Eadisson, born a Frenchman, educated from a child in
Canada, spent youth hunting and commercing with the Indians
adjacent to Hudson Bay, master of the [language, customs,
and trade.
" Eadisson being at New England about twenty-seven or
twenty-eight years past, met there with Colonel Nichols,
Governor of New York, and was by him persuaded to go to
England and proffer his services to King Charles the Second,
in order to make a settlement of an English factory in that
bay. "At his arrival, the said King, giving credit to Eadisson for
that undertaking, granted to Prince Eupert, the Duke of
Albemarle, and others, the same Charter we do still claim by,
thereby constituting them the proprietors of the said bay, under
which authority he, the said Eadisson, went immediately and
made an English settlement there according to his promises.
" On his return to England the King presented him with a
medal and gold chain. When rejected by the Company, he
was compelled to return to Canada, his only place of abode.
Joined the French and led an expedition to Hudson Bay. With
the aid of Indians destroyed Company's factory and planted a
New England factory in Port Nelson Eiver.
" During the -winter Eadisson did no violence to the English,
but supplied them with victuals, powder, and shot when their
ship was cast away. Eefused a present from the Indians to
destroy the English, and gave them a ship to convey them
away. Afterwards settled the French factory higher up the

TWO ADROIT ADVENTURERS 41
same river, where his alUance with the Indians was too strong
for New England or Old England, and immediately after he
went to France. Mr. Young, member of the Hudson's Bay
Company, with leave from Sir James Hayes, deputy governori
tried to hire him back to Hudson's Bay Company's service
with large promises. During negotiations, Eadisson un
expectedly arrived in London. Company's ships were ready
to sail. Had just time to kiss the King's hand at Windsor and
that of the Duke of York, then governor. They commended
him to the care and kindness of Sir James Hayes and the
Hudson's Bay Company, and commanded that he should be
made an English citizen, which was done in his absence.
" Before sending him, the Company gave him two original
actions in Hudson's Bay Company stock, and 50/. subsistence
money, with large promises of future rewards for expected
service. " Arriving at Port Nelson he put Company in entire
possession of that river, brought away the French to England,
and took all the beavers and furs they had traded and gave
them to the Company without asking share of the profits,
although they sold for 7000/.
"He was kindly welcomed in England and again com
manded by the king. Committee presented him with 100
guineas, and entered in the books that he should have 50/.
added to the former 50/., until the King should find him a
place, when the last 50/. should cease. Had no place given
him. Sir Edward Dering, deputy governor, influenced Com
mittee to withdraw 50/., so he had only 50/. to maintain self,
wife, and four or five children, and servants, 24/. of this going
for house-rent. When chief factor at Nelson, was tempted by
servants to continue to cheat the Company, was beaten because
he refused.
" Prays for payment of 100/. and arrears, because :
"1. All but Sir Edward Dering think it just and reasonable.
" 2. No place was given in lieu of 50/.
"3. Of fidelity to the Company in many temptations.
"4. He never asked more than the Company chose to give.
" 5. Imprisoned in bay in time of trade for not continuing to
cheat the Company.

42 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
" 6. The Company received from Port Nelson, after he gave
it them, 100,000/. worth of furs, which is now believed
would have been lost, with their whole interest in the
bay, if he had not joined them when invited.
"7. The original actions and the 100/. revert to the Company
at his death.
"8. Income inadequate to maintain wife and children in
London.
^'9. Debts great from necessity. Would be compelled to
leave wife and children and shift for himself.
" 10. He cannot sell original actions, since they cease with
his life.
¦"11. Of King Charles' many recommendations to kindness
of Company.
¦"12. French have a price on his head as a traitor, so that he
cannot safely go home.
"13. Mr. Young further pleads that as Mr. Eadisson was
the author of the Company's prosperity, so he (Mr.
Young) was the first to persuade him to join their
service. That he (Mr. Young) had been offered a reward
for his services in persuading him, which he had utterly
refused. But now that this reward be given in the
form of maintenance for Eadisson in his great necessity,
&c."
The Committee passes over the sketch of Eadisson's life
which they do not gainsay.
In the second paragraph, they observe that Mr. Young
stated their neglect to maintain Mr. Eadisson without mention
ing their reasons for so doing, which might have shown whether
it was their unkindness or Eadisson's desert.
They go on to take notice of the fact that about 1681 or 1682,
Eadisson and GroseiUiers entered into another contract with
the Company and received 20/. Soon afterwards they ab
sconded, went to France, and thence to Canada. Next year
they joined their countrymen in an expedition to Port Nelson,
animated by the report of Mr. Abram to the Company that it
was the best place for a factory. They took their two barks up
as far as they durst for fear of the EngUsh. Then the French
in the fall built a small hut, which Mr. Young says was too

TWO ADROIT ADVENTURERS 43
strong for either New England or Old England without guns
or works — a place merely to sleep in, manned only with seven
French. This expedition, Mr Young saith, was at first prejudicial to
the Company, but afterward of great advantage, which he
cannot apprehend.
In another place Mr. Young is pleased to state that the New
England settlement was so strong that the Old could not
destroy it. Old England settlement was only a house un
fortified, which Bridgar built to keep the goods dry, because
Gillam's boat arrived late.
" 1. Mr. Young says all are in favour of Eadisson but Sir
Edward Dering, we have not met with any who are in favour
but Mr. Young. Those who give gratuity should know why.
"2. That he had no place or honour given him is no reason
for giving gratuity, there being no contract in the case.
" 3. Never found him accused of cheating and purloining,
but breach of contract with Company, after receiving their
money, we do find him guilty of.
" 4. Says he never did capitulate with the Company. Find
lie did (see minutes), May 6th, 1685.
" 5. Cannot beUeve Eadisson was beaten by the Company's
servants. Greater increase of furs after he left, &c., &c., &c."
This memorial and its answer show the rather unreasonable
position taken by the Company. In the time of its admiration
for Eadisson and of fat dividends, it had provided liberal things ;
but when money became scarce, then it was disposed to make
matters pleasing to itself, despite the claims of Eadisson. In
the year following the presenting of the memorial, it is stated
in the minutes that " Eadisson was represented to the Company
as in a low and mean condition." At this time it was ordered
that 50/. be paid Eadisson and to be repaid out of the next
dividend. The unreasonable position assumed by the Company, in with
holding a part of the salary which they had promised in good
faith, filled Eadisson with a sense of injustice. No doubt
guided by his friend. Sir William Young, who, on account of
his persistance on behalf of the adventurer, was now dropped
from the Committee of the Company, Eadisson filed a bill in

44 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Chancery against the Company, and in July, 1694, notice of
this was served upon the Committee.
Much consternation appears to have filled their minds, and
the Deputy-Governor, Sir Samuel Clark, reported shortly after
having used 200/. for secret service, the matter being seem
ingly connected with this case.
Notwithstanding the great influence of the Company, the
justice of Eadisson's claims prevailed, and the Court of
Chancery ordered the payment of arrears in fuU. The Com
mittee afterwards met Sir William Young and Eichard
Cradock, who upheld Eadisson's claim. It is reported that
they agreed to settle the matter by paying Eadisson 150/., he
giving a release, and that he should be paid, under seal, 100/.
per annum for life, except in those years when the Company
should make a dividend, and then but 50/. according to the
original agreement. Eadisson then received, as the minutes
show, his salary regularly from this time.
In 1698, the Company asked for the renewal by Parliament
of its Charter. Eadisson petitioned Parhament for considera
tion, asking that before the request made by the Company for
the confirmation of the privileges sought were granted, that a
clause should be inserted protecting him in the regular pay
ment of the amounts due to him from time to time by the
Company. At the time of his petition to Parliament he states that he
has four young children, and has only the 100/. a year given
by the Company to live on. In the year 1700 he was still
struggling with his straitened circumstances, for in that year
he applied to the Company to be appointed warehouse-keeper
for the London premises, but his appUcation was refused.
His children, of whom he is said to have had nine, appear to
have passed over to Canada and to have become a part of the
Canadian people. His brother-in-law, Groseilliers, had also
returned to his adopted Canada, but is stated to have died
before 1698.
Eegularly during the succeeding years the quarterly amount
is voted to Eadisson by the Company, until January 6th, 1710,
when the last quota of 12/. 10s. was ordered to be given.
About this time, at the ripe age of seventy-fom-, passed away

TWO ADROIT ADVENTURERS 45
Pierre Esprit Eadisson, one of the most daring and ingenious
men of his time. We know nothing of his death, except from
the fact that his pension ceased to be paid.
Judge Prudhomme, to whose appreciative sketch of Eadisson
in French we have already referred, well summarizes his life.
We translate : —
" What a strange existence was that of this man ! By turns
•discoverer, officer of marine, organizer and founder of the most
commercial company which has existed in North America, his
life presents an astonishing variety of human experiences.
" He may be seen passing alternately from the wigwams of
the miserable savages to the court of the great Colbert ; from
managing chiefs of the tribes to addressing the most illustrious
nobles of Great Britain.
" His courage was of a high order. He looked death in the
face more than a hundred times without trepidation. He
braved the tortures and the stake among the Iroquois, the
treacherous stratagems of the savages of the West, the rigorous
winters of the Hudson Bay, and the tropical heat of the
Antilles. " Of an adventurous nature, dra-wn irresistibly to regions
unknown, carried on by the enthusiasm of his voyages, always
ready to push out into new dangers, he could have been made
by Fennimore Cooper one of the heroes of his most exciting
romances. " The picture of his life consequently presents many con
trasts. The life of a brigand, which he led with a party of
Iroquois, cannot be explained away.
" He was blamable in a like manner for having deserted the
flag of France, his native country. The first time we might,
perhaps, pardon him, for he was the victim of grave injustice
¦on the part of the government of the colony.
" No excuse could justify his second desertion. He had none
to offer, not one. He avowed very candidly that he sought
the service of England because he preferred it to that of
-France. " In marrying the daughter of Mr. John Kirke, he seems
to have espoused also the nationality of her family. As for
iiim, he would have needed to change the proverb, and, in the

46 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
place of ' One who marries a husband takes his country,' tO'
say, ' One who marries a wife takes her country.'
" The celebrated discover of the North-West, the Ulustrioua
Le Verandrye, has as much as Eadisson, and even more than
he, of just reason to complain of the ingratitude of France ;
yet how different was his conduct !
" Just as his persecutions have placed upon the head of the-
first a new halo of glory, so they have cast upon the brow of
the second an ineffaceable stain.
" Souls truly noble do not seek in treason the recompense
for the rights denied them."

CHAPTEE VI.

PEENCH EIVALEY.

The golden lilies in danger — " To arrest Radisson " — The land called
" Unknown" — ^A chain of claim — Imaginary pretensions — Chevalier
de Troyes — The brave Lemoynes — Hudson Bay forts captured —
A litigious governor — Laugh at treaties — The glory of France —
Enormous claims — Consequential damages.
The two great nations which were seeking supremacy in North
America came into collision all too soon on the shores of
Hudson Bay. Along the shore of the Atlantic, England claimed
New England and much of the coast to the southward.
France was equally bent on holding New France and Acadia.
Now that England had begun to occupy Hudson Bay, France
was alarmed, for the enemy would be on her northern as well
as on her southern border. No doubt, too, France feared that
her great rival would soon seek to drive her golden lilies back
to the Old World, for New France would be a wedge between
the northern and southern possessions of England in the New
Worid. The movement leading to the first voyage to Hudson Bay by
Gillam and his company was carefully watched by the French
Government. In February, 1668, at which time Gillam's.
expedition had not yet sailed, the Marquis de Denonville,
Governor of Canada, appointed an officer to go in search of the
most advantageous posts and occupy the shores of the Bale
du Nord and the embouchures of the rivers that enter
therein. Among other things the governor gave orders " to
arrest especially the said Eadisson and his adherents wherever
they may be found."
Intendant Talon, in 1670, sent home word to M. Colbert that

48 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
¦ships had been seen near Hudson Bay, and that it was likely
that they were English, and were "under the guidance of a
man des Grozeliers, formerly an inhabitant of Canada."
The alarm caused the French by the movements of the
English adventurers was no doubt increased by the belief that
Hudson Bay was included in French territory. The question
of what constituted ownership or priority of claim was at this
time a very difficult one among the nations. Whether mere
discovery or temporary occupation could give the right of
ownership was much questioned. Colonization would certainly
be admitted to do so, provided there had been founded " certain
establishments." But the claim of France upon Hudson Bay
would appear to have been on the mere ground of the Hudson
Bay region being contiguous or neighbouring territory to that
held by the French.
The first claim made by France was under the commission,
as Viceroy to Canada, given in 1540 by the French King to
Sieur de Eoberval, which no doubt covered the region about
Hudson Bay, though not specifying it. In 1598 Lescarbot
states that the commission given to De La Eoche contained the
following : " New France has for its boundaries on the west
the Pacifie Ocean within the Tropic of Cancer ; on the south
the islands of the Atlantic towards Cuba and Hispaniola ; on
the east, the Northern Sea which washes its shores, embracing
in the north the land called Unknown toward the Frozen Sea,
up to the Arctic Pole."
The sturdy common sense of Anglo-Saxon England refused
to be bound by the contention that a region admittedly
¦" Unknown " could be held on a mere formal claim.
The English pointed out that one of their expeditions under
Henry Hudson in 1610 had actually discovered the Bay and
given it its name ; that Sir Thomas Button immediately there
after had visited the west side of the Bay and given it the name
of New Wales ; that Captain James had, about a score of years
after Hudson, gone to the part of the Bay which continued to
bear his name, and that Captain Fox had in the same year
reached the west side of the Bay. This chain of discovery was
opposed to the fanciful claims made by France. The strength
of the EngUsh contention, now enforced by actual occupation

FRENCH RIVALRY 4»
and the erection of Charles Port, made it necessary to obtaia
some new basis of objection to the claim of England.
It is hard to resist the conclusion that a deliberate effort was
made to invent some ground of prior discovery in order to meet
the visible argument of a fort now occupied by the English.
M. de la Potherie, historian of New France, made the assertion
that Eadisson and Groseilliers had crossed from Lake Superior
to the Bale du Nord (Hudson Bay). It is true, as we have
seen, that Oldmixon, the British -writer of a generation or two
later, states the same thing. This claim is, however, completely
met by the statement made by Eadisson of his third voyage,
that they heard only from the Indians on Lake Superior of the
Northern Bay, but had not crossed to it by land. We have
disposed of the matter of his fourth voyage. The same historian
also puts forward what seems to be pure myth, that one Jean
Bourdon, a Frenchman, entered the Bay in 1656 and engaged
in . trade. It was stated also that a priest, William Couture,
sent by Governor D'Avaugour of New France, had in 1663,
made a missionary establishment on the Bay. These are
unconfirmed statements, having no details, and are suspicious
in their time of origination. The Hudson's Bay Company's
answer states that Bourdon's voyage was to another part of
Canada, going only to 63° N., and not to the Bay at all.
Though entirely unsupported, these claims were reiterated as
late as 1867 by Hon. Joseph Cauchon in his case on behalf of
Canada v. Hudson's Bay Company. M. Jeremie, who was
Governor of the French forts in Hudson Bay in 1713, makes
the statement that Eadisson and GroseiUiers had visited the
Bay overland, for which there is no warrant, but the Governor
does not speak of Bourdon or Couture. This contradiction of
De la Potherie's claim is surely sufficient proof that there is no
-ground for credence of the stories, which are purely apocryphal.
It is but just to state, however, that the original claim of
Eoberval and De la Eoche had some weight in the negotiations
which took place between the French and En^ish Governments
over this matter.
M. Colbert, the energetic Prime Minister of France, at any
rate made up his mind that the EngUsh must be excluded
from Hudson Bay. Furthermore, the fur trade of Canada was.
E

so THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
beginning to feel very decidedly the influence of the English
traders in turning the trade to their factories on Hudson Bay.
The French Prime Minister, in 1678, sent word to Duchesnau,
the Intendant of Canada, to dispute the right of the English
to erect factories on Hudson Bay. Eadisson and GroseilUers,
as we have seen, had before this time deserted the service of
England and returned to that of France. With the approval
of the French Government, these facile agents sailed to
Canada and began the organization, in 1681, of a new associa
tion, to be known as " The Northern Company." Fitted out
with two small barks, Le St. Pierre and La Ste. Anne, in 1682,
the adventurers, with their companions, appeared before Charles
Port, which Groseilliers had helped to build, but do not seem
to have made any hostile demonstration against it. Passing
away to the west side of the Bay, these shrewd explorers
entered the Eiver Ste. Therese (the Hayes Eiver of to-day)
and there erected an establishment, which they called Fort
Bourbon. This was really one of the best trading points on the Bay.
Some dispute as to even the occupancy of this point took place,
but it would seem as if Eadisson and Groseilliers had the
priority of a few months over the English party that came to
establish a fort at the mouth of the adjoining Eiver Nelson.
The two adventurers, Eadisson and GroseilUers, in the foUow-
ing year came, as we have seen, with their ship-load of peltries
to Canada, and it is charged that they attempted to unload a
part of their cargo of furs before reaching Quebec. This led to
a quarrel between them and the Northern Company, and the
adroit fur traders again left the service of France to find their
way back to England. We have already seen how completely
these two Frenchmen, in the year 1684, took advantage of their
own country at Fort Bourbon and turned over the furs to the
Hudson's Bay Company.
The sense of injury produced on the minds of the French by
the treachery of these adventurers stirred the authorities up to
attack the posts in Hudson Bay. Governor Denonville now
came heartily to the aid of the Northern Company, and com
missioned Chevalier de Troyes to organize an overland expedi
tion from Quebec to Hudson Bay. The love of adventure was

FRENCH RIVALRY jr
strong in the breasts of the young French noblesse in Canada.
Four brothers of the family Le Moyne had become known for
their deeds of valour along the EngUsh frontier. Leader
among the valorous French Canadians was Le Moyne D'lber
ville, who, though but twenty-four years of age, had already
performed prodigies of daring. Maricourt, his brother, was
another fiery spirit, who was known to the Iroquois by a name
signifying " the little bird which is always in motion."
Another leader was Ste. Helene. With a party of chosen men
these intrepid spirits left the St. La-wrence in March, 1685,
and threaded the streams of the Laurentian range to the shore
of Hudson Bay.
After nearly three months of the most dangerous and
exciting adventures, the party reached their destination. The
officers and men of the Hudson's Bay Company's service were
chiefly civilians unaccustomed to war, and were greatly sur
prised by the sudden appearance upon the Bay of their doughty
antagonists. At the mouth of the Moose Eiver one of the
Hudson's Bay Company forts was situated, and here the first
a;ttack was made. It was a fort of considerable importance
having four bastions, and was manned by fourteen guns. It
however, feU before the fierce assault of the forest rangers.
The chief offence in the eyes of the French was Charles Port
on the Eupert Eiver, that being the first constructed by the
English Company. This was also captured and its fortifica
tions thrown down. At the same time that the main body
were attacking Charles Fort, the brothers Le Moyne, with a
handful of picked men, stealthily approached in two canoes
one of the Company's vessels in the Bay and succeeded in
taking it.
The largest fort on the Bay was that in the marshy
region on Albany Eiver. It was substantially built with four
bastions and was pro-vided with forty-three guns. The rapidity
•of movement and military skill of the French expedition com
pletely paralyzed the Hudson's Bay Company officials and
men. Governor Sargeant, though having in Albany Fort furs
to the value of 60,000 crowns, after a slight resistance
surrendered without the honours of war. The Hudson's Bay
^Company employes were given permission to return to England,

52 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and in the meantime the Governor and his attendants were
taken to Charlton Island and the rest of the prisoners to Moose-
Fort. D'lberville afterwards took the prisoners to France,
whence they came back to England.
A short time after this the Company showed its disapproval
of Governor Sargeant's course in surrendering Fort Albany so
readily. Thinking they could mark their disapprobation more>
strongly, they brought an action against Governor Sargeant in
the courts to recover 20,000/. After the suit had gone some
distance, they agreed to refer the matter to arbitration, and the
case was ended by the Company having to pay to the Governor
350/. The affair, being a family quarrel, caused some amuse
ment to the public.
The only place of importance now remaining to the English
on Hudson Bay was Port Nelson, which was near the French
Fort Bourbon. D'lberville, utilizing the vessel he had cap
tured on the Bay, went back to Quebec in the autumn of 1687
with the rich booty of furs taken at the different points.
These events having taken place at a time when the twO'
countries, France and England, were nominally at peace,
negotiations took place between the two powers.
. Late in the year 1686 a treaty of neutrality was signed, and
it was hoped that peace would ensue on Hudson Bay. This
does not seem to have been the case, however, and both parties
blame each other for not observing the terms of the Act of
Pacification. D'lberville defended Albany Fort from a British
attack in 1689, departed in that year for Quebec with a ship
load of furs, and returned to Hudson Bay in the following
year. During the war which grew out of the Eevolution,.
Albany Fort changed hands again to the English, and was
afterwards retaken by the French, after which a strong
English force (1692) repossessed themselves of it. For some
time English supremacy was maintained on the Bay, but the
French merely waited their time to attack Fort Bourbon,
which they regarded as in a special sense their own. In 1694
D'IbervUle visited the Bay, besieged and took Fort Bourbon,.
and reduced the place with his two frigates. His brother De
Chateauguay was killed during the siege.
. In 1697 the Bay again fell into English hands, and D'Iber-

LE MOY'XE D IBERVILLE.

[Page 52.

FRENCH RIVALRY 53
-ville was put in command of a squadron sent out for him from
Prance, and with this he sailed for Hudson Bay. The expedi
tion brought unending glory to Prance and the young com
mander. Though one of his warships was crushed in the ice
in the Hudson Straits and his remaining vessels could no
where be seen when he reached the open waters of the Bay,
yet he bravely sailed to Port Nelson, purposing to invest it in
his one ship, the Pelican. Arrived at his station he observed
that he was shut in on the rear by three English men-of-war.
His. condition was desperate ; he had not his full complement
of men, and some of those on board were sick. His vessel had
but fifty guns ; the English vessels carried among them 124.
The EngUsh vessels, the Hampshire, the Dering, and the
Hudson's Bay, all opened fire upon him. During a hot engage
ment, a well-aimed broadside from the Pelican sank the Hamp
shire with all her sails flying, and everything on board was
lost ; the Hzidson's Bay surrendered unconditionally, and the
Dering succeeded in making her escape. After this naval duel
D'Iberville's missing vessels appeared, and the commander,
landing a sufficient number of men, invested and took Port
Nelson. The whole of the Hudson Bay territory thus came
into the possession of the French. The matter has always,
however, been looked at in the light of the brilliant achieve
ment of this scion of the Le Moynes.
Pew careers have had the uninterrupted success of that of
Pierre Le Moyne D'lberville, although this fortune reached
its climax in the exploit in Hudson Bay. Nine years after
wards the brilliant soldier died of yellow fever at Havana, after
he had done his best in a colonization enterprise to the mouth
of the Mississippi which was none too successful. Though the
treaty of Eyswick, negotiated in this year of D'Iberville's
triumphs, brought for the time the cessation of hostilities, yet
nearly fifteen years of rivalry, and for much of the time active
warfare, left their serious traces on Hudson's Bay Company
affairs. A perusal of the minutes of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany during this period gives occasional glimpses of the state
of war prevailing, although it must be admitted not so vivid a
picture as might have been expected. As was quite natural,
the details of attacks, defences, surrenders, and parleys come

54 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
to us from French sources rather than from the Company's
books. That the French accounts are correct is fully sub
stantiated by the memorials presented by the Company to the
British Government, asking for recompense for losses sus
tained. In 1687 a petition was prepared by the Hudson's Bay Com
pany, and a copy of it is found in one of the letter-books of the
Company. This deals to some extent with the contention of
the French king, which had been lodged with the British
Government, claiming priority of o-wnership of the regions
about Hudson Bay. The arguments advanced are chiefly
those to which we have already referred. The claim for com
pensation made upon the British Government by the Company
is a revelation of how seriously the French rivalry had inter
fered with the progress of the fur trade. After still more
serious conflict had taken place in the Bay, and the Company
had come to be apprehensive for its very existence, another
petition was laid before His Majesty William III., in 1694.
This petition, which also contained the main facts of the claim
of 1687, is so important that we give some of the details of it.
It is proper to state, however, that a part of the demand is
made up of what has since been known as " consequential
damages," and that in consequence the matter lingered on for
at least two decades.
The damages claimed were : —
1682. Captain Gillam and cargo on Prince Rupert. £ s. d.
(Captain and a number of men, cargo, and
ship all lost in hostilities.) Governor Bridgar
and men seized and carried to Quebec .
Moderate damages 25,000 0 0
September, 1684. French with two ships built a
small house and interrupted Indian trade Damages 10,000 0 0
1685. French took Perpetuana and cargo to Quebec.
Damages 5,000 0 0
For ship, master, and men . . Damages 1,256 16 3
1686. French destroyed three of Company's ships at
bottom of Bay, and also three ships' stores, &c.,
and took 50,000 beaver skins, and turned out
to sea a number of His Majesty's subjects . 60,000 0 0
1682-6. Five years' losses about Forts (10,000 beaver
skins yearly)  20,000 0 0
1688. Company's ships Churchill and Young seized
by French  10,000 0 0

FRENCH RIVALRY 55
1692. Company sent out expedition to retake Forts, £ ». d.
which cost them  20,000 0 O
1686-93. French possessed bottom of the Bay for
seven years. Loss, 10,000/. a year . . . 70,000 0 0
Damages 20,000 0 0
Total damages claimed , , , £211,255 16 3

CHAPTEE VII.
EYSWICK AND UTEECHT.
The " Grand Monarque " humbled — Caught napping — ^The Company
in perU — Glorious Utrecht — Forts restored — Damages to be con
sidered — Commission useless.
Louis XIV. of Prance, by his ambition and greed in 1690,
united against himself the four nations immediately surrounding
him — Germany, Spain, Holland, and England, in what they
called "The Grand Alliance." Battles, by land and sea for
six years, brought Louis into straits, unrelieved by such
brilliant episodes as the naval prodigies -wrought by D'lberville
on Hudson Bay. In 1696, " Le Grand Monarque " was suffi
ciently humbled to make overtures for peace. The opposing
nations accepted these, and on May 9th, 1697, the repre
sentatives of the nations met at William III.'s Chateau of
Neuberg Hansen, near the village of Eyswick, which is in
Belgium, a short distance from the Hague.
Louis had encouraged the Jacobite cause, James II. being
indeed a resident of the Castle of St. Germain, near Paris.
This had greatly irritated William, and one of the first things
settled at the Treaty was the recognition of William as rightful
King of England.
Article VII. of the Treaty compelled the restoration to the
King of France and the King of Great Britain respectively of
" all countries, islands, forts, and colonies," which either had
possessed before the declaration of war in 1690. However
satisfactory this may have been in Acadia and Newfoundland,
we find that it did not meet the case of the Hudson Bay, inas
much as the ownership of this region was, as we have seen,
claimed by both parties before the war. In the documents of

RYSWICK AND UTRECHT 57
the Company there is evidence of the great anxiety caused to
the adventurers when the news reached London, as to what
was likely to be the basis of settlement of the Treaty. The
adventurers at once set themselves to work to bring influence
to bear against the threatened result. The impression seemed
to prevail that they had been " caught napping," and possibly
they could not accomplish anything. Their most influential
deputation came to the Hague, and though late in the day, did
avail somewhat.
No doubt Article VII. of the Treaty embodies the results of
their influence. It is so important for our purpose that we
give it in full : — " Commissioners should be appointed on both
sides to examine and determine the rights and pretensions
which either of the said Kings have to the places situated in
Hudson Bay ; but the possession of those places which were
taken by the French during the peace that preceded this war,
and were retaken by the English during this war, shall be left
to the French, by virtue of the foregoing articles. The capitu
lation made by the EngUsh on September 5th, 1695, shall be
observed according to the form and tenor ; the merchandizes
therein mentioned shall be restored ; the Governor at the fort
taken there shall be set at liberty, if it be not already done ;
the differences which have arisen concerning the execution of
the said capitulation and the value of the goods there lost, shall
be adjudicated and determined by the said commissioners ; who
immediately after the ratification of the present Treaty, shall
be invested -with sufficient authority for the setting of the limits
and confines of the lands to be restored on either side by virtue
of the foregoing article, and likewise for exchanging of lands,
as may conduce to the mutual interest and advantage of both
Kings." This agreement presents a few salient points : — ¦
1. The concession to France of rights (undefined, it is true),
but of rights not hitherto acknowledged by the EngUsh.
2. The case of the Company, which would have been seriously
prejudiced by Article VIL, is kept open, and commissioners are
appointed to examine and decide boundaries.
3. The claim for damages so urgently pressed by the
Hudson's Bay Company receives some recognition in the

S8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
restoration of merchandize and the investigation into the
" value of the goods lost."
4. On the whole, the interests of the Hudson's Bay Company
would seem to have been decidedly prejudiced by the Treaty.
The affairs of the Company were in a very unfortunate
condition for fifteen years after the Treaty of Eyswick. The
Treaty took place in the very year of D'Iberville's remarkable
victories in the Bay. That each nation should hold that of
which it was in actual possession meant that of the seven
Hudson's Bay Company forts, only Fort Albany was left to the
Company. The Company began to petition at once for the
appointment of the Commissioners provided by the Treaty, to
settle the matter in dispute. The desperate condition of their
affairs accounts for the memorials presented to the British
Government by the Company in 1700 and in the succeeding
year, by which they expressed themselves as satisfied to give
the French the southern portion of the Bay from Eupert's
Eiver on the east and Albany Port on the west. About the
time of the second of these proposals the Hudson's Bay Com
pany sent to the British Government another petition of a very
different tone, stating their perilous condition, arising from
their not receiving one-fifth of the usual quantity of furs, even
from Fort Albany, which made their year's trade an absolute
loss ; they propose that an expedition of " three men-of-war,
one bomb-vessel, and 250 soldiers" should be sent to dislodge
the French and to regain the whole Bay for them, as being
the original owners. No steps on the part of the Eys-wick
Commissioners seem to have been taken toward settling the
question of boundaries in Hudson Bay.
The great Marlborough victories, however, crushed the power
of France, and when Louis XIV. next negotiated with the
aUies at Utrecht—" The Ferry of the Ehine "—in 1713, the
English case was in a very different form from what it had
been at the Treaty of Eyswick. Two years before the Treaty,
when it was evident that the war would be brought to an end,
the Hudson's Bay Company plucked up courage and petitioned
strongly to be allowed the use of the whole of Hudson Bay,
and to have their losses on the Bay repaid by Prance. Several
times during the war had France sued for peace at the hands

RYSWICK AND UTRECHT 59
of the aUies, but the request had been refused. To humble
France seemed to be the fixed poUcy of aU her neighbours.
At the end of the war, in which France was simply able to
hold what she could defend by her fortresses, the great kingdom
of Louis XIV. found itself " miserably exhausted, her revenue
greatly fallen off, her currency depreciated thirty per cent., the
choicest of her nobles drafted into the army, and her mer
chants and industrious artisans weighed down to the ground
by heavy imposts." This was England's opportunity, and she
profited by it. Besides "the balance of power" in Europe
being preserved. Great Britain received Nova Scotia, New
foundland, certain West India Islands, and the undisturbed
control of the Iroquois.
Sections X. and XI. of the Treaty are of special value to us
in our recital. By the former of these the entire west coast of
Hudson Bay became British ; the French were to evacuate alt
posts on the Bay and surrender all war material within six
months ; Commissioners were to be appointed to determine
within a year the botmdary between Canada and the British
possessions on Hudson Bay. Section XI. provided "that the
French King should take care that satisfaction be given,
according to the rule of justice and equity, to the EngUsh
Company trading to the Bay of Hudson, for all, damages and
spoil done to their colonies, ships, persons, and goods, by the
hostile incursions and depredations of the French in time of
peace." This was to be arrived at by Commissioners to be
appointed. If the Hudson's Bay Company, to quote their own language
in regard to the Treaty of Eyswick, had been left " the only
mourners by the peace," they were to be congratulated on the
results of the Treaty of Utrecht. As in so many other cases,
however, disputed points left to be settled by Commissioners
Ungered long before results were reached. Six years after the
Treaty of Utrecht, the Memorial of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany shows that while they had received back their forts, yet
the Une of deUmitation between Canada had not been drawn
and their losses had not been paid.
In the preceding chapter we have a list of the claims against
the French as computed in 1694, amounting to upwards of

«o THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
200,000/., now, however, the amount demanded is not much
above 100,000/., though the Memorial explains that in making
up the above modest sum, they had not counted up the loss of
their forts, nor the damage done to their trade, as had been
done in the former case. Immediately after the time of this
Memorial of the Company, the Commissioners -were named by
Great Britain and France, and several meetings took place.
Statements were then given in, chiefly as to the boundaries
between the British and French possessions in the neighbour
hood of Hudson Bay and Canada. The Commissioners for
several years practised all the arts of diplomacy, and were
farther and farther apart as the discussions went on. No result
seems to have been reached, and the claims of the Hudson's
Bay Company, so far as recorded, were never met. Peace,
however, prevailed in Hudson Bay for many years ; the Indians
from the interior, even to the Eocky Mountains, made their
visits to the Bay for the first forty years of the eighteenth
century, and the fur trade, undisturbed, became again re
munerative.

CHAPTEE VIII.
DEEAM OP A NOETH-WEST PASSAGE.
Stock rises — Jealousy aroused — Arthur Dobbs, Esq. — An ingenious
attack — Appeal to the " Old Worthies " — Captain Christopher-
Middleton — Was the Company in earnest ? — The sloop Furnace—
Dobbs' fierce attack — The great subscription — Independent
expedition — " Henry Ellis, gentleman " — " 'Without success " —
Dobbs' real purpose.
When peace had been restored by the Treaty of Utrecht, the-
shores of the Bay, vrhich had been in the hands of the French
since the Treaty of Eyswick, were given over to Great Britain,
according to the terms of the Treaty; they have remained
British ever since. The Company, freed from the fears of
overland incursions by the French from Canada, and from the
fleets that had worked so much mischief by sea, seems to have
changed character in the personnel of the stockholders and
to have lost a good deal of the pristine spirit. The charge-
is made that the stockholders had become very few, that the
stock was controlled by a majority, who, year after year,
elected themselves, and that considering the great privileges
conferred by the Charter, the Company was failing to develop.
the country and was sleeping in inglorious ease on the shores,
of Hudson Bay. Certain it is that Sir Bibye Lake was re
elected Governor year after year, from 1720 to 1740.
It would appear, however, to have been a spirit of jealousy
which animated those who made these discoveries as to the
Company's inaction. The return of peace had brought pros
perity to the traders ; and dividends to the stockholders began
to be a feature of company life which they had not known for
more than a quarter of a century. As we shall see, the stock of

62 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
the Company was greatly increased in 1720, and preparations
were being made by the Committee for a wide extension of
their operations.
About this time a man of great personal energy appears on
the scene of English commercial life, who became a bitter
opponent of the Company, and possessed such influence with
the English Government that the Company was compelled to
make a strenuous defence. This was Arthur Dobbs, Esq., an
Irishman of undoubted ability and courage. He conducted his
plan of campaign against the Company along a most ingenious
and dangerous line of attack.
He revived the memory among the British people of the
early voyages to discover a way to the riches of the East and
appealed to the English imagination by picturing the interior
of the North American Continent, with its vast meadows,
splendid cascades, rich fur-bearing animals, and numberless
races of Indians, picturesquely dressed, as opening up a field,
if. they could be reached, of lucrative trade to the London
merchants. To further his purpose he pointed out the sluggish
character of the Hudson's Bay Company, and clinched his
•arguments by quoting the paragraph in the Charter which
stated that the great privileges conferred by generous Charles
II. were bestowed in consideration of their object having been
" The Discovery of a New Passage into the South Sea." Dobbs
-appealed to the sacrifices made and the glories achieved in
earlier days in the attempt to discover the North-West Passage.
In scores of pages, the indefatigable writer gives the accounts
of the early voyages.
We have but to give a passage or two from another author
to show what a powerful weapon Dobbs wielded, and to see
how he succeeded in reviving a question which had slumbered
well nigh a hundred years, and which again became a living
question in the nineteenth century.
This writer says : — " It would lead us far beyond our limits
were we to chronicle all the reasons urged, and the attempts made
to ' finde out that short and easie passage by the North-west,
which we have hitherto so long desired.' Under the auspices
of the ' Old Worthies ' really — ^though ostensibly countenanced
foy kings, queens, and nobles — uprose a race of men, daring and

DREAM OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE 63
enthusiastic, whose names would add honour to any country,
and embalm its history.
" Commencing with the reign of Henry VIL, we have first,
John Cabot (1497), ever renowned ; for he it was who first saw
and claimed for the 'Banner of England,' the American con
tinent. Sebastian, his son, follows in the next year — a name
honourable and wise. Nor may we omit Master Eobert Thome
of Bristol (1527) ; Master Hore (1536) ; and Master Michael
Lok (1545), of London — men who knew ' cosmography ' and the
* weighty and substantial reasons ' for ' a discovery even to the
North Pole.' For a short time Arctic energy changed its
direction from the North-west to the North-east (discoveries of
the Musco-vy Company), but wanting success in that quarter,
again reverted to the North-west. Then we find Martin
Frobisher, George Best, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, James Davis,
George Waymouth, John Knight, the cruelly treated Henry
Hudson, James Hall, Sir Thomas Button, Potherbye, Baffin
and Bylot, ' North-west ' Luke Fox, Thomas James, &e.
" Thus, in the course of sixty years — now breaking the icy
fetters of the North, now chained by them ; now big with high
hope ' of the Passage,' then beaten back by the terrific obstacles,
as it were, guarding it — noth-withstanding, these men never
faltered, never despaired of finally accomplishing it. Their
names are worthy to be held in remembrance ; for, with all their
faults all their strange fancies and prejudices, still they were a
daring and glorious race, calm amid the most appalling dangers ;
what they did was done correctly, as far as their limited means
went ; each added something that gave us more extended views
and a better acquaintance with the globe we inhabit — giving
especially large contributions to geography, with a more fixed
resolution to discover the ' Passage.' By them the whole of
the eastern face of North America was made known, and its
disjointed lands in the North, even to 77 deg. or 78 deg. N.
Their names will last whUe England is true to herself."
Mr. Dobbs awakened much interest among persons of rank in
England as to the desirabiUty of finding a North-West Passage.
EspeciaUy to the Lords of the Admiralty, on whom he had a
strong hold, did he represent the glory and value of fitting out
an expedition to Hudson Bay on this quest.

64 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Dobbs mentions in bis book, the unwilling efforts of th&
Hudson's Bay Company to meet the demand for a wider
examination of the Bay which took place a few years after the
Peace of Utrecht. In 1719, Captain James Knight received
orders from the Company to fit out an expedition and sail up
the west coast of the Bay. This he did in two ships, the
Albany frigate. Captain George Barlow, and the Discovery,
Captain David Vaughan. Captain John Scroggs, in the ship
Whalebone, two years afterward, sailed up the coast in search
of the expedition. It is maintained by the opponents of the
Company that these attempts were a mere blind to meet the-
search for a North-West Passage, and that the Company was-
averse to any real investigation being made.
It is of course impossible to say whether this charge was-
deserved or not. The fact that no practicable North-West
Passage has ever been discovered renders the arguments-
drawn from the running of the tides, &c., of no value, and
certainly justifies the Company to some extent in its inaction.
The fact that in 1736 the Hudson's Bay Company yielded ta
the clamour raised by Dobbs and his associates, is to be noted
in favour of the Company's contention that while not believing
in the existence of the North-West Passage, they were willing
to satisfy the excited mind of the EngUsh pubUc. Their
expedition of the Churchill sloop, Captain Napper, and the
Musquash sloop. Captain Crow, accompUshed nothing in
solving the question in dispute.
Disappointed with the efforts made by the Company at his-
request, Dobbs, in 1737, took in hand to organize an expedition
under Government direction to go upon the search of the
" Passage." At this time he opened communication with
Captain Christopher Middleton, one of the best known captains-
in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. Middleton,
being satisfied with the Company's service, refused to leave it..
Dobbs then asked him to recommend a suitable man, and also-
arranged with Middleton to be allowed to examine the records
kept of his voyages, upon the Hudson's Bay Company ships..
This, however, came to nothing.
About 1740 Captain Middleton had cause to differ with the
Company on business matters, and entertained Dobbs' pro-

DREAM OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE 65
position, which was that he should be placed in command of
a British man-of-war and go in search of the long-sought North-
West Passage. Middleton gave the Hudson's Bay Company
a year's notice, but found them unwilling to let him retire.
He had taken the step of resigning deliberately and adhered
to it, though he was disappointed in his command not being so
remunerative as he expected. In May, 1741, Captain Middle-
ton received his orders from the Lords of the Admiralty to
proceed upon his journey and to follow the directions given him
as to finding a North-West Passage. These had been prepared
under Dobbs' super-vision. Directions are given as to his
course of procedure, should he reach California, and also as
to what should be done in case of meeting Japanese ships.
Middleton was placed in charge of Her Majesty's sloop the
Fitmace, and had as a companion and under his orders the
Discovery Pink, William Moore, Master. In due time, Hudson
Bay was reached, but in August the season seemed rather late
to proceed northward from " Gary's Swan's Nest,'' and it was
decided to winter in the mouth of Churchill Eiver.
On July 1st, 1742, the expedition proceeded northward.
Most complete observations were made of weather, land,
presence of ice, natives of the coast, depth of bay, rivers
entering bay, tides, and any possible outlets as far as 88 deg.
or 89 deg. W. longitude. Observations were continued until
August 18th, when the expedition sailed home to report what
it had found.
Captain Middleton read an important paper on "The Ex
traordinary Degrees and Surprising Effects of Cold in Hudson
Bay," before the Eoyal Society in London.
No sooner had Middleton reached the Orkneys on his return
voyage than he forwarded to Dobbs, who was in Ireland, a
letter and an abstract of his journal. Lest this should have
gone astray, he sent another copy on his arrival in the Thames.
The report was, on the whole, discouraging as to the existence
of a north-west passage.
Dobbs, however, was unwilUng to give up his dream, and
soon began to discredit Middleton. He dealt privately with
the other officers of the ships, Middleton's subordiaates, and
¦with surprising skill turned the case against Captain Middleton.

66 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
The case of Dobbs against Captain Middleton has been well
stated by John Barrow. Middleton was charged with neglect
in having failed to explore the line of coast which afforded a
probability of a passage to the north-west. The principal
points at issue appear to have been in respect to the following
discoveries of Middleton, viz. the Wager Eiver, Eepulse Bay,
and the Frozen Strait. As regards the first, Mr. Dobbs asserted
that the tide came through the so-called river from the west
ward ; and this question was settled in the following year by
Captain Moore, who entirely confirmed Captain Middleton's
report. Eepulse Bay, which well deserves the name it bears, was no
less accurately laid down by Captain Middleton, and of the
Frozen Strait, Sir Edward Parry remarks, " Above all, the
accuracy of Captain Middleton is manifest upon the point
most strenuously urged against him, for our subsequent
experience has not left the smallest doubt of Eepulse Bay
and the northern part of Welcome Bay being filled by a
rapid tide, flowing into it from the eastward through the
Frozen Strait."
Dobbs, by a high order of logic chopping, succeeded in
turning the case, for the time being, against Captain Middleton.
Seldom has greater skill been used to win a cause. He quotes
with considerable effect a letter by Sir Bibye Lake, addressed
to the Governor of the Prince of Wales' Fort, Churchill Eiver,
reading: "Notwithstanding an order to you, if Captain
Middleton (who is sent ahead in the Government's service to
discover a passage north-west) should by inevitable necessity
be brought into real distress and danger of his life and loss of
his ship, in such case you are then to give him the best assist
ance and relief you can." Dobbs' whole effort seems to be
to show that Middleton was hiding the truth, and this, under
the influence of his old masters, the Hudson's Bay Company.
A copy of Dobbs' Criticisms, laid before the Lords of
the Admiralty, was furnished Captain Middleton, and his
answer is found in " Vindication of the Conduct," published
in 1743.
" An Account of the Countries adjoining to Hudson Bay,'' by
Arthur Dobbs, Esq., is a book published in the year after, and

DREAM OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE 67
is really a book of note. A quarto, consisting of upwards of
200 pages, it showed a marvellous knowledge of colonization
in America, of the interior of the continent at that time, and
incidentally deals vrith Captain Middleton's journal. Its account
of the journey of "Joseph La Prance, a French Canadese
Indian," from Lake Superior by way of Lake Winnipeg to
Hudson Bay, is the first detailed account on record of that
voyage being made. Evidently Arthur Dobbs had caught the
ear of the English people, and the Company was compelled to
put itself in a thorough attitude of defence.
Dobbs with amazing energy worked up his cause, and what
a -writer of the time caUs, " The long and warm dispute between
Arthur Dobbs, Esq., and Captain Middleton," gained much
public notice. The glamour of the subject of a north-west
passage, going back to the exploits of Frobisher, Baffin, and
Button, touched the national fancy, and no doubt the charge
of -wUful concealment of the truth made against the Hudson's
Bay Company, repeated so strenuously by Dobbs, gained him
adherents. Parliament took action in the matter and voted
20,000/. as a reward for the discovery of a north-west passage.
This caused another wave of enthusiasm, and immediately a
subscription was opened for the purpose of raising 10,000/. to
equip an expedition for this popular enterprise. It was pro
posed to divide the whole into 100 shares of 100/. each. A
vigorous canvass was made to secure the amount, and the
subscription list bears the names of several nobles, an arch
bishop, a bishop, and many esquires. A perusal of the names
suggests that a number of them are Irish, and no doubt were
obtained by Mr. Dobbs, who was often at Lisburn in Ireland.
The amount raised was 7200/. The expedition, we hear after
wards, cost upwards of 10,000/., but the money needed was,
we are told, willingly contributed by those who undertook the
enterprise. Mr. Dobbs, as was suitable, was a leading spirit
on the Committee of Management.
Two ships were purchased by the Committee, the Dobbs
galley, 180 tons burden. Captain WiUiam Moore, and the
California, 140 tons, Captain Francis Smith. On May 24th,
1746, the two vessels, provisioned and well fitted out for the
voyage, left the mouth of the Thames, being in company with

68 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
the two ships of the Hudson's Bay Company going to the Bay,
the four ships being under the convoy of the ship Loo, of forty
guns, as France was at this time at war with England. The
voyage was rather prosperous, with the exception of a very
exciting incident on board the Dobbs galley. A dangerous fire
broke out in the cabin of the vessel, and threatened to reach
the powder-room, -v^ich was directly underneath, and con
tained "thirty or forty barrels of powder, candles, spirits,
matches, and all manner of combustibles." Though, as the
-writer says, " during the excitenlent, you might hear all the
varieties of sea eloquence, cries, prayers, curses, and scolding,
mingled together, yet this did not prevent the proper measures
being taken to save the ship and our lives."
The story of the voyage is given to us in a very interesting
manner by Henry Ellis, gentleman, agent for the proprietors
of the expedition. Though nearly one hundred pages are taken
up with the inevitable summaries of " The Several Expeditions
to discover a North-West Passage," yet the remaining portion
of the book is well written. After the usual struggle with the
ice in Hudson Strait, as it was impossible to explore southward
during the first season, the Dobb^ galley and the California
sailed for Port Nelson, intending to winter there. They arrived
on August 26th. Ellis states that they were badly received
by the Hudson's Bay officers at the first. They, however,
laid up their ships in Hayes Eiver, and built an erection of
logs on the shore for the staff. The officers' winter quarters
were called "Montague House," named after the Duke of
Montague, patron of the expedition. After a severe winter,
during which the sailors suffered with scurvy, and, according
to Ellis, reeeived little sympathy from the occupants of York
Port, the expedition left the mouth of the Hayes Eiver on
June 24th, to prosecute their discovery. After spending the
summer coasting Hudson Bay and taking careful notes, the
officers of the vessels gladly left the inhospitable shore to sail
homeward, and the two ships arrived in Yarmouth Eoads on
October 14th, 1747.
" Thus ended," says EUis, " this voyage, without success
indeed, but not without effect ; for though we did not discover
a north-west passage ... we returned with clearer and fuller

DREAM OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE 69
proofs . . . that evidently such a passage there may be." It
will be observed that Ellis very much confirms Captain
Middleton's conclusions, but Mr. Dobbs no doubt made the
best of his disappointment, and, as we shall see, soon developed
what had been from the first his real object, the plan for
founding a rival company.

CHAPTEE IX.
THE INTEEESTING BLUE-BOOK OP 1749.
-" Le roi est mort " — Royalty unfavourable — Earl of Halifax — " Com
pany asleep" — Petition to Parliament— Neglected discovery —
Timidity or caution— Strong " Prince of Wales " — Increase of
stock — A timid -witness — Claims of discovery — To make Indians
Christians — Charge of disloyalty— Ne-w Company promises largely
— Result nU.
Aethue Dobbs, Esq., was evidently worsted in his tilt with
the Hudson's Bay Company. His fierce onslaught upon Cap
tain Middleton was no doubt the plan of attack to enable him
to originate the expedition of the Dobbs galley and California.
Even this voyage had brought little better prospect of the
discovery of a north-west passage, except the optimistic words
of Ellis, the use of which, indeed, seemed very like the
delectable exercise of " extracting sunbeams from cucumbers."
But the energy of the man was in no way dampened. Indeed,
the indications are, as we survey the features of the time, that
he had strong backing in the governing circles of the country.
Time was when the Hudson's Bay Company basked in the
sunshine of the Court. It is, perhaps, the penalty of old insti
tutions that as rulers pass away and political parties change,
the centre of gravity of influence shifts. Perhaps the Hud
son's Bay Company had not been able to use the convenient
motto, "Le Eoi est mort: Vive le Eoi ! " At any rate the
strong Court influence of the Company had passed away, and
tliere is hardly a nobleman to be found on the list of stock
holders submitted by the Company to the Committee of the
Lords. On the other hand, when Henry EUis, the historian of the

THE INTERESTING BLUE-BOOK OF 1749 71
expedition, writes his book in the year after his return, he is
permitted to dedicate it to His Eoyal Highness Frederick,
Prince of Wales, is privileged to refer in his dedication to a
*' gracious audience" allowed him by the Prince after his
return, and to speak of "the generous care" expressed by the
Prince "for the happy progress of his design." Again, in a
similar dedication of a book -written four years afterwards by
Joseph Eobson, a former employe of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany, but a book full of hostility to the Company, allusion is
made to the fact that the Earl of Halifax, Lord Commissioner
of Trade and Plantations, gave his most hearty approval to
such plans as the expedition sought to carry out. It is said of
Lord Halifax, who was called the Father of Colonies : " He
knows the true state of the nation — that it depends on trade
and manufactures ; that we have more rivals than ever ; that
navigation is our bulwark and Colonies our chief support ; and
that new channels should be industriously opened.^ Therefore,
we survey the whole globe in search of fresh inlets which our
ships may enter and traffic." Those familiar with the work of
Lord Halifax will remember that the great colonization scheme
by which Nova Scotia was firmly grappled to the British
Empire and the City of Halifax founded, was his ; and the
charge made by Dobbs that for a generation the " Company
had slept on the shores of the Bay," would appeal with force
to a man of such energetic and progressive nature as the Lord
Commissioner. Accordingly, Dobbs now came out boldly ; not putting the
discovery of the North-West Passage in the front of his plan,
but openly charging the Hudson's Bay Company with indolence
and failure, and asking for the granting of a charter to a rival
company. As summed up by the sub-committee to which the petition
of Dobbs and his associates was submitted, the charges
were : —
I. The Company had not discovered, nor sufficiently at
tempted to discover, the North-West Passage into the southern
seas. II. They had not extended their settlements to the limits
given them by their Charter.

72 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
III. They had designedly confined their trade witliin very-
narrow limits :
(a) Had abused the Indians.
(&) Had neglected their forts.
(c) Ill-treated their own servants.
(d) Encouraged the French.
The Hudson's Bay Company, now put on their mettle,
exhibited a considerable amount of activity, and filed docu
ments before the Committee that in some respects met the
charges against them. They claimed that they had in the
thirty years preceding the investigation done a fair amount of
exploratory work and discovery. In 1719, they had sent out
the Albany frigate and Discovery to the northern regions, and
neither of them returned to tell the tale. In the same year its
vessels on the Bay, the Prosperous and the Success, one from
York Factory, the other from Prince of Wales Fort, had sailed
up the coast on exploratory expeditions. Two years afterward,
the Prosperous, under Kelsey, made a voyage, and the Success,
under Captain Napper, had sailed from York Port and was lost.
In the same year the Whalebone, under Captain John Scroggs,
went from England to Prince of Wales Port, and after wintering
there, in the following year made a decided effort on behalf of
the Passage, but returned unsuccessful. In the year when
Dobbs became so persistent (1737) James Napper, who had
been saved from the -wreck of the Success sixteen years before,
took command of the Churchill from Prince of Wales Fort,
but on the exploration died, and the vessel returned. The
Musq^iash, under Captain Crow, accompanied the Churchill,
but returned with no hope of success. This was the case
presented by the Hudson's Bay Company. It was still open
to the opponents of the Company to say, as they did, that the
Hudson's Bay Company was not in earnest, wanted nothing
done to attract rivals, and were adepts in concealing their
operations and in hoodwinking the public.
A more serious charge was that they had not sought to reach
the interior, but had confined their trade to the shores of the
Bay. Here it seems that the opponents of the Company made
a better case. It is indeed unaccountable to us to-day, as we
think that the Companj' had now been eighty years trading

THE INTERESTING BLUE-BOOK OF 17^9 73
on the Bay and had practically no knowledge- of the inheritance
possessed by them. At this very time the French, by way of
Lake Superior, had journeyed inland, met Indian tribes, traded
with them, and even with imposing ceremonies buried metal
plates claiming the country which the Hudson's Bay Company
Chai-ter covered as lying on rivers, lakes, &c., tributary to
Hudson Bay. It is true they had submitted instructions to the
number of twenty or thirty, in which governors and captains
had been urged to explore the interior and extend the trade
among the Indian tribes. But little evidence could be offered
that these communications had been acted on.
The chief dependence of the Company seems to have been
on one Henry Kelsey, who went as a boy to Hudson Bay, but
rose to be chief officer there. The critics of the Company were
not slow to state that Kelsey had been a refugee from their
forts and had lived for several seasons among the Indians of
the interior. Even if this were so, it is still true that Kelsey
came to be one of the most enterprising of the wood-runners of
the Company. Dobbs confronted them with the fact that the
voyage from Lake Superior to Hudson Bay had been only
made once in their history, and that by Joseph La France,
the Canadian Indian. Certainly, whether from timidity,
caution, inertia, or from some deep-seated system of policy,
it was true that the Company had done little to penetrate the
interior. The charge that the Company abused the Indians was hardly
substantiated. The Company was dependent on the goodwill
of the Indians, and had they treated them badly, their active
rivals, the French, would simply have reaped the benefit of
their folly. That the price charged the Indians for goods was
as large as the price paid for furs was small, is quite likely to
have been true. Civilized traders all the world over, dealing
with ignorant and dependent tribes, follow this policy. No
doubt the risks of life and limb and goods in remote regions are
great, and great profits must be made to meet them. It is to
be remembered, however, that when English and French
traders came into competition, as among the Iroquois in New
York State, and afterwards in the Lake Superior district, the
quality of the English goods was declared by the Indians better

74 THE HUDSON'S BA Y COMPANY
and their treatment by the English on the whole more honest
and above-board than that by the French.
That traders should neglect their own forts seems very un
likely. Those going to the Hudson Bay Main expected few
luxuries, and certainly did not have an easy life, but there was
on the part of the Company a vast difference in treatment as
compared with that given to the fur traders in New Prance as
they went to the far west. No doubt pressure for dividends
prevented expenditure that was unnecessary, but a perusal of
-the experience of Champlain with his French fur company
leads us to believe that the English were far the more liberal
and considerate in the treatment of employes.
The fortress of the Eiver Churchill, known as the Prince of
Wales Fort, with its great ruins to be seen to-day, belonging
to this period, speaks of a large expense and a high ideal of
what a fort ought to be. During the examination of witnesses
by the Committee, full opportunity was given to show cases of
ill-treatment of men and poor administration of their forts.
Twenty witnesses were examined, and they included captains,
merchants, and employes, many of whom had been in the
service of the Company on the Bay, but whether, as Eobson
says, ' ' It must be attributed either to their confusion upon
appearing before so awful an assembly, or to their having a
dependence on the Company and an expectation of being
employed again in thek service," little was elicited at all
-damaging to the Company.
The charge of the fewness of the forts and the smallness of
the trade was more serious. That they should have a mono
poly of the trade, and should neither develop it themselves,
nor allow others to develop it, would have been to pursue a
¦"dog in the manger" policy. They stated that they had on
an average three ships employed solely on their business, that
their exports for ten years immediately preceding amounted to
40,240/. and their imports 122,836/., which they claimed was
a balance of trade satisfactory to England.
The objection that the whole capital of the Company at the
commencement, 10,600/., was -jrifling, was perhaps true, but
they had made great profits, and they used them in the pur
chase of ships and the building of forts, and now had a much

THE INTERESTING BLUE-BOOK OF 17Jfi 75
more valuable property than at the beginning. That they had
been able to increase their stock so largely was a tribute to the
profits of their business and to its abUity to earn dividends on
a greatly increased capital stock.
The increase of stock as shown by the Company was as
follows : — Original stock  £10,600
Trebled in 1690  31,500
Trebled in 1720  94,500
At this time there was a movement to greatly increase the
stock, but the stringency of the money market checked this
movement, and subscriptions of ten per cent, were taken,
amounting to 3150/. only. This was also trebled and added
to the original 94,500/., making a total stock of 103,950/.
Some three years after the investigation by the Committee,
one. of the witnesses, Joseph Eobson, who gave evidence of the
very mildest, most non-committal character, appears to have
received new light, for he published a book called, " An
Account of Six Years' Eesidence in Hudson's Bay." He says
in the preface, speaking of the evidence given by him in the
investigation, "For want of confidence and ability to express
myself clearly, the account I then gave was far from being so
exact and full as that which I intended to have given." What
the influence was that so effectually opened Eobson's eyes, we
do not know. The second part of this work is a critique of the
evidence furnished by the Company, and from the vigour em
ployed by this -writer as compared with the apathy shown at
the investigation, it is generally believed that in the meantime
he had become a dependent of Dobbs.
The plea put forward by the petitioners for the granting of a
charter to them contained several particulars. They had, at
their own cost and charges, fitted out two ships, the Dobbs
gaUey and California, in search of the North-West Passage to
the West and Southern Ocean. Their object was, they claimed,
a patriotic one, and they aimed at extending the trade of Great
Britain. They maintained that though the reward offered had
been 20,000/., it was not sufficient to accompUsh the end, as
they had already spent more than half of that sum. Notwith-

76 THE HUDSON'S BA Y COMPANY
standing this, they had discovered a number of bays, inlets,
and coasts before unknown, and inasmuch as this was the
ground of the Charter issued by Charles II. to the Hudson's
Bay Company, they claimed like consideration for performing
a similar service.
The petitioners made the most ample promise as to their
future should the charter be granted. They would persevere
in their search for the passage to the Southern Ocean of
America, of which, notwithstanding the frequent failures in
finding it, they had a strong hope. The forward policy of
Lord Halifax of extensive colonization they were heartily in
favour of, and they undertook to settle the lands they might
discover. The question had been raised during the investiga
tion, whether the Company had done anything to civilize the
natives. They had certainly done nothing. Probably their
answer was that they were a trading company, and never saw
the Indians except in the months of the trading season, when
in July and August, they presented themselves from the in
terior at the several factories. The petitioners promised, in
regard to the natives, that they would " lay the foundation for
their becoming Christians and industrious subjects of His
Majesty." Beyond the sending out of a prayer-book from
time to time, which seemed to indicate a desire to maintain
service among their servants, the Company had taken no
steps in this direction.
The closing argument for the bestowal of a charter was that
they would prevent French encroachments upon British rights
and trade on the continent of America. The petition makes
the very strong statement that the Hudson's Bay Company
had connived at, or allowed French and English to encroach,
settle, and trade within their limits on the south side of the
Bay. Whatever may have been in the mind of the petitioners
on this subject of conniving with the French, a perusal of the
minutes of the Company fails to show any such disposition.
The Company in Charles II. 's time was evidently more anti-
French than the government. They disputed the claim of the
French to any part of the Bay, and strongly urged their case
before the English Commissioners at the Treaty of Eyswick.
One of their documents, seemingly showing them to be im-

THE INTERESTING BLUE-BOOK OF 17Ifi 77
pressed with the claim of priority of ownership of the French
King, did propose a division of the Bay, giving the south part
of the Bay to the French and the remainder to themselves.
It is easy to understand a trading company wishing peace, so
that trade might go on, and kno-wing that Hudson Bay, with
its enormous coast Une, afforded wide room for trade, proposing
such a settlement.
No doubt, however, the reference is to the great competition
which was, in a few years, to extend through the interior to the
Eocky Mountains. This was to be indeed a battle royal.
Arthur Dobbs, judging by his book, which shows how far ahead
he was of his opponents in foresight, saw that this must come,
and so the new Company promises to penetrate the interior,
cut off the supply of furs from the French, and save the trade
to Britain. A quarter of a century afterwards, the Hudson's
Bay Company, slow to open their eyes, perceived it too, and
as we shaU see, rose from their slumbers, and entered the
conflict. The Eeport was made to the Privy Council, expressing
appreciation of the petition, and of the advanced views enun
ciated, but stating that the case against the Hudson's Bay
Company had not yet been made out. So no new charter was
granted !

CHAPTEE X.
FEENCH CANADIANS EXPLOEE THE INTEEIOE.
The " Western Sea " — Ardent Duluth — " Kaministiquia " — Indian
boasting — Pfere Charlevoix — Father Gonor — The man of the
hour : Verandrye — Indian map maker — The North Shore — A line
of forts — The Assiniboine country — A notable manuscript — A
marvellous journey — Glory but not wealth — Post of the Western
Sea.
Even the French in Canada were animated in their explora
tions by the dream of a North-West Passage. The name
Lachine at the rapids above Montreal is the memorial of La
Salle's hope that the Western Sea was to be reached along
this channel. The Lake Superior region seems to have been
neglected for twenty years after Eadisson and Groseilliers had
visited Lake Nepigon, or Lake Assiniboines, as they called it.
But the intention of going inland from Lake Superior was
not lost sight of by the French explorers, for on a map (Pari.
Lib. Ottawa) of date 1680, is the inscription in French marking
the Kaministiquia or Pigeon Eiver, "By this river they go
to the Assinepoulacs, for 150 leagues toward the north-west,
where there are plenty of beavers."
The stirring events which we have described between 1682
and 1684, when Eadisson deserted from the Hudson's Bay
Company and founded for the French King Port Bourbon on
the Bay, were accompanied by a new movement toward Lake
Superior, having the purpose of turning the stream of trade
from Hudson Bay southward to Lake Superior.
At this time Governor De La Barre writes from Canada that
the English at Hudson Bay had that year attracted to them
many of the northern Indians, who were in the habit of coming
to Montreal, and that he had despatched thither Sieur Duluth,
who had great influence over the western Indians. Greysolon

FRENCH CANADIANS EXPLORE INTERIOR 79
Duluth was one of the most daring spirits in the service of
Prance in Canada. Duluth writes (1684) to the Governor from
Lake Nepigon, where he had erected a fort, seemingly near the
spot where Eadisson and Groseilliers had wintered.
Duluth says in his ardent manner : "It remains for me, sir,
to assure you that all the savages of the north have great con
fidence in me, and that enables me to promise you that before
the lapse of two years not a single savage will visit the English
at Hudson Bay. This they have all promised me, and have bound
themselves thereto, by the presents I have given, or caused to
be given them. The Klistinos, Assinepoulacs, &c., have pro
mised to come to my fort. . . . Finally, sir, I wish to lose my
life if I do not absolutely prevent the savages from visiting the
English." Duluth seems for several years to have carried on trade with
the Indians north and west of Lake Nepigon, and no doubt
prevented many of them from going to Hudson Bay. But he
was not well supported by the Governor, being poorly supplied
¦with goods, and for a time the prosecution of trade by the
French in the Lake Superior region declined. The intense
interest created by D'lberville in his victorious raids on Hudson
Bay no doubt tended to divert the attention of the French
explorers from the trade with the interior. The Treaties of
Eyswick and Utrecht changed the whole state of affairs for the
French King, and deprived by the latter of these treaties of
any hold on the Bay, the French in Canada began to turn
their attention to their deserted station on Lake Superior.
Now, too, the reviving interest in England of the scheme for
the discovery of the North-West Passage infected the French.,
Six years after the Treaty of Utrecht, we find (MSS. Ottawa)
it stated : " Messrs. de Vaudreuil and Begin having ¦written
last year that the discovery of the Western Sea would be
advantageous to the Colony, it was approved that to reach it
M. de Vaudreuil should establish these posts, which he had
proposed, and he was instructed at the same time to have the
same established without any expense accruing to the King
— ^as the person establishing them would be remunerated by
trade." In the year 1717 the Governor sent out a French lieutenant.

«o THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Sieur De la Noue, who founded a fort at Kaministiquia. In a
letter, De la Noue states that the Indians are well satisfied
¦with the fort he has erected, and promise to bring there all
those who had been accustomed to trade at Hudson Bay.
Circumstances seem to have prevented this explorer from
going and establishing a fort at Tekamiouen (Eainy Lake), and
a third at the lake still farther to the north-west.
It is somewhat notable that during the fifty years succeed
ing the early voyages of Eadisson and Groseilliers on Lake
Superior, the French were quite familiar with the names of
lakes and rivers in the interior which they had never visited.
It will be remembered, however, that the same thing is true
of the EngUsh on Hudson Bay. They knew the names
Assiniboines, Christinos, and the like as familiar terms, although
they had not left the Bay.
The reason of this is easily seen. The North-West Indian is
a great narrator. He tells of large territories, vast seas, is, in
fact, in the speech of Hiawatha, " lagoo, the great boaster."
He could map out his route upon a piece of birch-bark, and the
maps still made by the wild North- Western Indians are quite
worthy of note.
It -will be observed that the objection brought by the French
against the Hudson's Bay Company of clinging to the shores of
the Bay, may be equally charged against the French on the
shore of Lake Superior, or at least of Lake Nepigon, for the
period from its first occupation of at least seventy years. No
doubt the same explanation applies in both cases, viz. the
bringing of their furs to the forts by the Indians made inland
exploration at that time unnecessary.
But the time and the man had now come, and the vast
prairies of the North-West, hitherto unseen by the white man,
were to become the battle-ground for a far greater contest for
the possession of the fur trade than had yet taken place either
in Hudson Bay or with the Dutch and English in New York
State. The promoting cause for this forward movement was again
the dream of opening up a North-West Passage. The hold
this had upon the French we see was less than that upon
Frobisher, James, Middleton, or Dobbs among the English.

FRENCH CANADIANS EXPLORE INTERIOR 8i
¦Speaking of the French interest in the scheme, Pierre Margry,
keeper of the French Archives in Paris, says : " The prospect
of discovering by the interior a passage to the Grand Ocean,
and by that to China, which was proposed by om- officers
under Henry IV., Louis XIIL, and Louis XIV., had been
taken up with renewed ardour during the Eegency. Memorial
upon memorial had been presented to the ConseU de Marine
respecting the advisability and the advantage of making this
discovery. Indeed, the P6re de Charlevoix was sent to
America, and made his great journey from the north to the south
of New France for the purpose of reliably informing the Council
as to the most suitable route to pursue in order to"reach the
Western Sea. But the ardour which during the life of Philip
of Orleans animated the Government regarding the exploration
of the West became feeble, and at length threatened to be
totally extinguished, without any benefit being derived from the
posts which they had already established in the country of the
Sioux and at Kaministiquia."
" The Eegent, in choosing between the two plans that Father
Charlevoix presented to him at the close of his journey for the
attainment of a knowledge of the Western Sea, through an
unfortunate prudence, rejected the suggestion, which, it is true,
was the most expensive and uncertain, viz. an expedition
up the Missouri to its source and beyond, and decided to
estabUsh a post among the Sioux. The post of the Sioux was
consequently estabUshed in 1727. Father Gonor, a Jesuit
missionary who had gone upon the expedition, we are told,
was, however, obUged to return without having been able to
discover anything that would satisfy the expectations of the
Court about the Western Sea."
At this time Michilimackinac was the depot of the West. It
stood in the entrance of Lake Michigan — the Gitche Gumee of
the Indian tribes, near the mouth of the St. Mary Eiver, the
outlet of Lake Superior; it was at the head of Lake Huron
and Georgian Bay aUke. Many years afterwards it was called
the "Key of the North-West" and the " Key of the Upper
Lakes." A round island lying a little above the lake, it
appealed to the Indian imagination, and, as its name
impUes, was likened by them to the turtle. To it from

82 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
every side expeditions gathered, and it became the great
rendezvous. At MichiUmackinac, just after the arrival of Father Gonor,
there came from the region of Lake Superior a man whose
name was to become illustrious as an explorer, Pierre Gaultier
de Varennes, Siem* de la Verandrye. We have come to know
him simply by the single name of Verandrye.
This great explorer was born in Three Eivers, the son of an
old officer of the French army. The young cadet found very
little to do in the New World, and made his way home to
France. He served as a French officer in the War of the
Spanish Succession, and was severely wounded in the battle of
Malplaquet. On his recovery, he did not receive the recognition
that he desired, and so went to the western wilds of Canada
and took up the life of a " coureur de bois.''
Verandrye, in pursuing the fur trade, had followed the some
what deserted course which Eadisson and Groseilliers had long
before taken, and which a decade before this La Noue had, as
we have seen, selected. The fort on Lake Nepigon was still
the rendezvous of the savages from the interior, who were
willing to be turned aside from visiting the English on Hudson
Bay. From the Indians who assembled around his fort on
Lake Nepigon, in 1728, Verandrye heard of the vast interior,
and had some hopes of reaching the goal of those who dreamt
of a Western Sea.
An experienced Indian leader named Ochagach undertook to
map out on birch bark the route by which the lakes of the
interior could be reached, and the savage descanted with
rapture upon the furs to be obtained if the journey could be
made. Verandrye, filled with the thought of western discovery,,
went to Quebec and discussed his purpose with the Governor
there. He pointed out the route by way of the river of the
Assiniboels, and then the rivers by which Lake Ouinipegon
might be reached. His estimate was that the Western Sea
might be gained by an inland journey from Lake Superior of
600 leagues.
Governor Beauharnois considered the map submitted and the
opinions of Verandrye with his military engineer, Chaussegros
De Lery ; and their conclusions were favourable to Verandrye's

CHOMEDEY DE MAISONNEUVE.
A daring Pioneer of New France.
(From his statiie in Montreal.)

[Page 82,

FRENCH CANADIANS EXPLORE INTERIOR 83
deductions. Verandrye had the manner and character which
inspired belief in his honesty and competence. He was also
helped in his dealings with the Governor at Quebec by the
representations of Father Gonor, whom we have seen had
returned from the fort established among the Sioux, convinced
that the other route was impracticable.
Father Gonor entirely sympathized with Verandrye in the
belief that the only hope lay in passing through the country of
the Christinos and Assiniboels of the North. The Governor
granted the explorer the privilege of the entire profit of the fur
trade, but was unable to give any assistance in money.
Verandrye now obtained the aid of a number of merchants in
Montreal in providing goods and equipment for the journey,
and in high glee journeyed westward, calling at Michilimackinac
to take with him the Jesuit Father Messager, to be the com
panion of his voyage. Near the end of August, 1731, the
expedition was at Pigeon Eiver, long known as Grand Portage,
a point more than forty miles southwestward of the mouth of
the Kaministiquia.
This was a notable event in history when Verandrye and his
crew stood ready to face the hardships of a journey to the
interior. No doubt the way was hard and long, and the men
were sulky and discouraged, but the heroism of their com
mander shone forth as he saw into the future and led the way
to a vast and important region.
Often since that time have important expeditions going to
the North-West been seen as they swept by the towering
heights of Thunder Cape, and, passing onward, entered the
unin-viting mouth of Kaministiquia.
Eighty-five years afterward. Lord Selkirk and his band of one
hundred De Meuron soldiers appeared here in canoes and
penetrated to Eed Eiver to regain the lost Fort Douglas.
One hundred and twenty-six years after Verandrye, accord
ing to an account given by an eye--witness — an old Hudson's
Bay Company officer — a Canadian steamer laden high
above the decks appeared at the mouth of the Kaministiquia
bearing the Dawson and Hind expedition, to explore the plains
of Assiniboia and pave the way for their admission to Canada.
One hundred and thirty^nine years after Verandrye, Sir

84 THE HUDSON'' S BAY COMPANY
Garnet Wolseley, -with his British regulars and Canadian
-volunteers, swept through Thunder Bay on their way to put
down the Eed Eiver rebellion.
And now one hundred and sixty-nine years after Verandrye,
the splendid steamers of the Canadian Pacific Eailway Com
pany thrice a week in summer carry their living cargo into the
mouth of the Kaministiquia to be transported by rail to the
fast filling prairies of the West.
Yes ! it was a great event when Verandrye and his little band
of unwilling voyageurs started inland from the shore of Lake
Superior. Verandrye, his valiant nephew, De La Jemeraye, and his
two sons, were the leaders of the expedition. Grand Portage
avoids by a nine mile portage the falls and rapids at the mouth
of the Pigeon Eiver, and northward from this point the party
went, and after many hardships reached Eainy Lake in the
first season, 1731. Here, at the head of Eainy Eiver, just
where it leaves the Lake, they built their first fort, St. Pierre.
The writer has examined the site of this fort, just three miles
above the falls of Eainy Eiver and seen the mounds and
excavations still remaining. This seems to have been their
furthest point reached in the first season, and they returned to
winter at Kaministiquia. In the next year the expedition
started inland, and in the month of June reached their Fort
St. Pierre, descended the Eainy Eiver, and with exultation saw
the expanse of the Lake of the Woods.
The earliest name we find this lake known by is that given
by Verandrye. He says it was called Lake Minitie (Cree,
Ministik) or Des Bois. (1) The former of these names, Minitie,
seems to be Ojibway, and to mean Lake of the Islands,
probably referring to the large number of islands to be found
in the northern half of the Lake. The other name (2), Lac des
Bois, or Lake of the Woods, would appear to have been a mis
translation of the Indian (Ojibway) name by which the Lake
was known. The name (3) was " Pikwedina Sagaigan,"
meaning "the inland lake of the sand hills," referring to the
skirting range of sand hills running for some thirteen mUes
along the southern shore of the Lake to the east of the mouth
of Eainy Eiver, its chief tributary.

FRENCH CANADIANS EXPLORE INTERIOR 85
Another name found on a map prepared by the Hudson's
Bay Company in 1748 is (4) Lake Nimigon, probably meaning
the " expanse," referring to the open sheet of water now often
called " La Traverse." Two other names (5) Clearwater Lake
and (6) Whitefish Lake, are clearly the extension of Clearwater
Bay, a north-western part of the Lake, and Whitefish Bay, still
given by the Indians to the channel to the east of Grande
Presqu'lle. On the south-west side of the Lake of the Woods Verandrye's
party buUt Fort St. Charles, probably hoping then to come in
touch with the Sioux who visited that side of the Jake, and
with whom they would seek trade. At this point the prospect
was very remote of reaching the Western Sea. The expenses
were great, and the fur trade did not so far give sufficient
return to justify a further march to the interior. Unassisted
they had reached in 1733 Lake Ouinipegon (Winnipeg), by
descending the rapid river from Lake of the Woods, to which
they gave the name of Maurepas.
The government in Quebec informed the French Minister,
M. de Maurepas, that they had been told by the adventurous
Jemeraye that if the French King would bear the expense,
they were now certain that the Western Sea could be reached.
They had lost in going to Lake Ouinipegon not less than
43,000 livres, and could not proceed further without aid. The
reply from the Court of France was unfavourable ; nothing
more than the free privilege of the fur trade was granted the
explorers. In the foUowing year Verandrye buUt a fort near Lake
Ouinipegon, at the mouth of the Maurepas Eiver (which we
now know as Winnipeg Eiver), and not far from the present
Port Alexander. The fort was called Port Maurepas, although
the explorers felt that they had little for which to thank the
French Minister. StiU anxious to push on further west, but
prevented by want of means, they made a second appeal to the
French Government in 1735. But again came the same reply
of refusal. The explorers spent theur time trading with the
Indians between Lake Winnipeg and Grand Portage, and
coming and going, as they had occasion, to Lake Superior, and
also to Michilimackinac with their cargoes.

86 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
While at Port St. Charles, on the shores of the Lake of the
Woods, in 1736, a great disaster overtook the party. Veran
drye's eldest son was very anxious to return to Kaministiquia,
as was also the Jesuit priest, Anneau, who was in company
with the traders. Verandrye was unwilling, but at last con
sented. The party, consisting of the younger Verandrye and
twenty men, were ruthlessly massacred by an ambush of the
Sioux on a small island some five leagues from Fort St. Charles,
still known as Massacre Island.
A few days afterwards the crime was discovered, and
Verandrye had difficulty in preventing his party from accepting
the offer of the Assiniboines and Christinos to follow the Sioux
and -wreak their vengeance upon them. During the next year
Fort Maurepas was still their farthest outpost.
Though no assistance could be obtained from the French
Court for western discovery, and although the difficulties
seemed almost insurmountable, Verandrye was unwilling to
give up the path open to him. He had the true spirit of the
explorer, and chafed in his little stockade on the shores of
Lake Winnipeg, seeking new worlds to conquer.
If it was a great event when Verandrye, in 1731, left the
shores of Lake Superior to go inland, it was one of equal
moment when, penniless and in debt, he determined at aU
hazards to leave the rocks and woods of Lake Winnipeg, and
seek the broad prairies of the West. His decision being thus
reached, the region which is now the fertile Canadian prairies
was entered upon.
We are fortunate in having the original journal of this
notable expedition of 1738 in the hands of Mr. Douglas
Brymner, Archivist at Ottawa. This with two letters of Bien-
¦ville were obtained by Mr. Brymner from a French family in
Montreal, and the identity of the documents has been fully
established. This journal covers the time from the departure of Verandrye
from MichiUmackinac on July 20th, till say 1739, when he
-writes from the heart of the prairies. On September 22nd
the brave Verandrye left Fort Maurepas for the land unknown.
It took him but two days -with his five men to cross in swift
canoes the south-east expanse of Lake Winnipeg, enter the

FRENCH CANADIANS EXPLORE INTERIOR 87
mouth of Eed Eiver, and reach the forks of the Eed and
Assiniboine Eivers, where the city of Winnipeg now stands.
It was thus on September 24th of that memorable year that
the eyes of the white man first feU on the site of what is
destined to be the great central city of Canada. A few Crees
who expected him met the French explorer there, and he had a
conference with two chiefs, who were in the habit of taking
their furs to the English on Hudson Bay.
The water of the Assiniboine Eiver ran at this time very low,
but Verandrye was anxious to push westward. Delayed by
the shallo-wness of the Assiniboine, the explorer's progress was
very slow, but in six days he reached the portage, then used to
cross to Lake Manitoba on the route to Hudson Bay. On this
portage now stands the town of Portage la Prairie.
The Assiniboine Indians who met Verandrye here told him
it would be useless for him to ascend the Assiniboine Eiver
further, as the water was so low. Verandrye was expecting a
reinforcement to join his party under his colleague, M. de la
Marque. He determined to remain at Portage la Prairie and
to build a fort. Verandrye then assembled the Indians, gave
them presents of powder, ball, tobacco, axes, knives, &c., and
in the name of the French King received them as the children
of the great monarch across the sea, and repeated several times
to them the orders of the King they were to obey.
It is very interesting to notice the skill with which the early
PVench explorers dealt with the Indians, and to see the formal
way in which they took possession of the lands visited.
Verandrye states that the Indians were greatly impressed,
¦" many with tears in their eyes." He adds with some naivete,
¦" They thanked me greatly, promising to do wonders."
On October 3rd, Verandrye decided to build a fort. He was
joined shortly after by Messrs. de la Marque and Nolant with
eight men in two canoes. The fort was soon pushed on, and,
with the help of the Indians, was finished by October 15th.
This was the beginning of Fort de la Eeine. At this stage in
his journal Verandrye makes an important announcement,
bearing on a subject which has been somewhat discussed.
Verandrye says, " M. de la Marque told me he had brought
M. de Louvi^re to the forks with two canoes to build a fort there

88 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
for the accommodation of the people of the Eed Eiver. I
approved of it if the Indians were notified." This settles the
fact that there was a fort at the forks of the Eed and Assini
boine Eivers, and that it was built in 1738.
In the absence of this information, we have been in the-
habit of fixing the buUding of Port Eouge at this point from
1735 to 1737. There can now be no doubt that October, 1738,
is the correct date. Prom French maps, as has been pointed
out. Fort Eouge stood at the mouth of the Assiniboine, on the
south side of the river, and the portion of the city of Winnipeg
called Port Eouge is properly named.
It is, of course, evident that the forts erected by these early
explorers were simply winter stations, thrown up in great haste.
Verandrye and his band of fifty-two persons, Frenchmen and
Indians, set out overland by the Mandan road on October 18th,
to reach the Mandan settlements of the Missouri. It is not a
part of our work to describe that journey. Suffice it to say
that on December 3rd he was at the central fort of the Mandans,
250 miles from his fort at Portage la Prairie.
Being unable to induce his Assiniboine guides and inter
preters to remain for the winter among the Mandans, Verandrye
returned somewhat unwillingly to the Assiniboine Eiver. He
arrived on February 10th at his Fort de la Eeine, as he says
himself, " greatly fatigued and very ill."
Verandrye in his journal gives us an excellent opportunity
of seeing the thorough devotion of the man to his duty. Prom
Fort Michilimackinac to the Missouri, by the route followed by
him, is not less than 1200 miles, and this he accompUshed, as
we have seen with the necessary delay of building a fort,
between July 20th and December 3rd — 136 days — of this
wonderful year of 1738.
Struggling with difficulties, satisfying creditors, hoping fqr
assistance from Prance, but ever patriotic and single-minded,
Verandrye became the leading spirit in Western exploration.
In the year after his great expedition to the prairies, he was
summoned to Montreal to resist a lawsuit brought against him.
The prevailing sin of French Canada was jealousy. Though
Verandrye had struggled so bravely to explore the country,
there were those who whispered in the ear of the Minister of

FRENCH CANADIANS EXPLORE INTERIOR 89
the French Court that he was selfish and unworthy. In his
heart-broken reply to the charges, he says, "If more than
40,000 Uvres of debt which I have on my shoulders are an
advantage, then I can flatter myself that I am very rich."
In 1741 a fruitless attempt was made to reach the Mandans,
but in the following year Verandrye's eldest surviving son and
his brother, known as the ChevaUer, ha-ving with them only
two Canadians, left Port de la Eeine, and made in this and the
succeeding year one of the most famous of the Verandrye
discoveries. This Ues beyond the field of our inquiry, being
the journey to the Missouri, and up to an eastern spur of the
Eocky Mountains. Parkman, in his " A Half Century of
Conflict," has given a detailed account of this remarkable-
journey. Going northward over the Portage la Prairie, Verandrye's
sons had discovered what is now known as Lake Manitoba,
and had reached the Saskatchewan Eiver. On the west side
of Lake Manitoba they founded Port Dauphin, while at the
west end of the enlargement of the Saskatchewan known as
Cedar Lake, they built Port Bourbon and ascended the
Saskatchewan to the forks, which were known as the Poskoiac.
Tardy recognition of Verandrye's achievements came from the
French Court in the explorer being promoted to the position of
captain ia the Colonial troops, and a short time after he was
given the Cross of the Order of St. Louis. Beauharnois and
his successor Galissioniere had both stood by Verandrye and
done their best for him. Indeed, the explorer was just about-
to proceed on the great expedition which was to fulfil their-
hopes of finding the Western Sea, when, on December 6th, he
passed away, his dream imrealized. He was an unselfish soul,
a man of great executive ability, and one who dearly loved his-
King and country. He stands out in striking contrast to the
Bigots and Jonquieres, who disgraced the name of France in
the New World.
Prom the hands of these vampires, who had come to suck
out the blood of New Prance, Verandrye's sons received no
consideration. Their claims were coolly passed by, their
goods shamelessly seized, and their -written and forcible re
monstrance made no impression. Legardeur de St. Pierre,,

¦go THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
more to the mind of the selfish Bigot, was given their place
and property, and in 1751 a small fort was built on the upper
waters of the Saskatchewan, near the Eocky Mountains, near
where the town of Calgary now stands. This was called in
•honour of the Governor, Fort La Jonquiere. A year afterward,
St. Pierre, with his little garrison of five men, disgusted with
the country, deserted Fort La Eeine, which, a few weeks after,
was burned to the gi-ound by the Assiniboines.
The fur trade was continued by the French in much the same
bounds, so long as the country remained in the hands of Prance.
We are fortunate in having an account of these affairs given
in De Bougainville's Memoir, two years before the capture of
Canada by Wolfe. The forts built by Verandrye's successors
were included under the " Post of the Western Sea " (La Mer
de I'Ouest). Bougainville says, "The Post of the Western
Sea is the most advanced toward the north; it is situated
amidst many Indian tribes, with whom we trade and who
have intercourse with the English, toward Hudson Bay. We
have there several forts built of stockades, trusted generally to
the care of one or two officers, seven or eight soldiers, and
eighty engages Canadiens. We can push further the discoveries
we have made in that country, and communicate even with
-California." This would have realized the dream of Verandrye of reaching
the Western Sea.
" The Post of La Mer de I'Ouest includes the forts of St. Pierre,
St. Charles, Bourbon, De la Eeine, Dauphin, Poskoiac, and Des
Prairies (De la Jonquiere), all of which are built with palisades
that can give protection only against the Indians."
" The Post of La Mer de I'Ouest merits special attention for
two reasons : the first, that it is the nearest to the establish
ments of the English on Hudson Bay, and from which their
movements can be watched ; the second, that from this post,
the discovery of the Western Sea may be accomplished ; but
to make this discovery it will be necessary that the travellers
give up all view of personal interest."
Two years later, French power in North America came to an
•end, and a generation afterward, the Western Sea was dis
covered by British fur traders.

CHAPTEE XI.
THE SCOTTISH MEECHANTS OP MONTEEAL.
Unyielding old Cadot — Competition — The enterprising Henry — Leads
the -way — Thomas Curry — The older Finlay — Plundering Indians
— "Grand Portage "^ — A famous mart — The plucky Frobishers
— The Sleeping Giant aroused — Fort Cumberland — Churchill
River — Indian rising — The deadly smallpox — The whites saved.
The capture of Canada by General Wolfe in 1759 completely
changed the course of affairs in the Western fur country.
MichiUmackinac and Sault Ste. Marie had become considerable
trading centres under the French regime, but the officers and
men had almost entirely been -withdrawn from the outposts in
the death struggle for the defence of Quebec and Montreal.
The conquest of Canada was announced with sorrow by the
chief captain of the West, Charles de Langlade, on his return
after the capitulation of Montreal. The French Canadians who
had taken Indian wives still clung to the fur country. These
PVench half-breed settlements at Michilimackinac and neigh
bouring posts were of some size, but beyond Lake Superior,
except a straggler here and there, nothing French was left
behind. The forts of the western post fell into decay, and were
in most cases burnt by the Indians. Not an army officer, not
a priest, not a fur trader, remained beyond Kaministiquia.
The French of Michilimackinac region were for a time
un-wilUng to accept British rule. Old trader, Jean Baptiste
Cadot, who had settled with his Indian wife, Anastasie, at
Sault Ste. Marie, and become a man of -wide influence, for years
refused to yield, and a French Canadian author says : " So the
French flag continued to float over the fort of Sault Ste. Marie
long after the fleur-de-lis had quitted for ever the ramparts of
Quebec. Under the shadow of the old colours, so fruitful of

ya THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
tender memories, he was able to believe himself still under the
protection of the mother-country." However, Cadot ended by
accepting the situation, and an author tells us that like Cadot,
" were the La Cornes, the Langlades, the Beaujeus, the Babys,
and many others who, after fighting like lions against England,
were counted a little later among the number of her most gallant
defenders." For several years, however, the fur trade was not
carried on.
The change of flag in Canada brought a number of enter
prising spirits as settlers to Quebec and Montreal. The
Highland regiments under Generals Amherst and Wolfe had
seen Montreal and Quebec. A number of the military became
settlers. The suppression of the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland
in 1745 had led to the dispersion of many young men of family
beyond the seas. Some of these drifted to Montreal. Many of
the Scottish settlements of the United States had remained
loyal, so that after the American Eevolution parties of these
loyalists came to Montreal. Thus in a way hard to explain
satisfactorily, the English-speaking merchants who came to
Canada were largely Scottish. In a Government report found
in the Haldimand papers in 1784, it is stated that " The greater
part of the inhabitants of Montreal (no doubt meaning English-
speaking inhabitants) are Presbyterians of the Church of
Scotland." It was these Scottish merchants of Montreal who
revived the fur trade to the interior.
Washington Irving, speaking of these merchants, says,
" Most of the clerks were young men of good families from the
Highlands of Scotland, characterized by the perseverance,
thrift, and fidelity of their country." He refers to their feasts
" making the rafters resound with bursts of loyalty and old
Scottish songs."
The late Archbishop Tache, a French Canadian long known
in the North-West, speaking of this period says, " Companies
called English, but generally composed of Scotchmen, were
found in Canada to continue to make the most of the rich furs
of the forests of the North. Necessity obliged them at first to
accept the co-operation of the French Canadians, who main
tained their influence by the share they took in the working of
these companies. . . . This circumstance explains how, after

THE SCOTTISH MERCHANTS OF MONTREAL 93
the Scotch, the French Canadian element is the most im
portant." The first among these Scottish merchants to hie away from
Montreal to the far West was Alexander Henry, whose " Travels
and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories between
the years 1760 and 1766 " have the charm of narrative of an
Irving or a Parkman. He knew nothing of the fur trade, but
he took with him an experienced French Canadian, named
Campion. He appeared at Michilimackinac two years after
the conquest by Wolfe, and in the foUowing year visited Sault
Ste. Marie, -with its stockaded fort, and formed a friendship with
trader Cadot. In the following year, Henry was a witness of
the massacre at Michilimackinac, so graphically described by
Parkman in his " Conspiracy of Pontiac." Henry's account of
his o-wnjcscape is a thrilling tale.
In 1765 Henry obtained from the Commandant at Michili
mackinac license of the exclusive trade of Lake Superior. He
purchased the freight of four canoes, which he took at the
price of 10,000 good, merchantable beavers. With his crew of
twelve men, and supplies of fifty bushels of prepared Indian
com, he reached a band of Indians on the Lake who were in
poverty, but who took his supplies on trust, and went off to
hunt beaver. In due time the Indians returned, and paid up
promptly and fully the loans made to them. By 1768 he had
succeeded in opening up the desired route of French traders,
going from Michilimackinac to Kaministiquia on Lake Superior
and returning. His later journeys we may notice afterwards.
Of the other merchants who followed Henry in re-vi-ving the
old route, the first to make a notable adventure was the Scotch
man Thomas Curry. Procuring the requisite band of voyageurs
and interpreters, in 1766 he pushed through with four canoes,
along Verandrye's route, even to the site of the old French
Port Bourbon, on the west of Cedar Lake, on the lower
Saskatchewan Eiver. Curry had in his movement some
thing of the spirit of Verandrye, and his season's trip was so
successful that, according to Sir Alexander Mackenzie, his fine
furs gave so handsome a return that "he was satisfied never
.again never to return to the Indian country."
Another valorous Scotchman, James Finlay, of Montreal,

94 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
took up the paddle that Curry had laid down, and in 1768, with
a force equal to that of Curry, passed into the interior and.
ascended the Saskatchewan to Nipawi, the farthest point which
Verandrye had reached. He was rewarded with a generous-
return for his venture.
But while these journeys had been successful, it would seem
that the turbulent state of the Indian tribes had made other
expeditions disastrous. In a memorial sent by the fur traders-
a few years later to the Canadian Government, it is stated that
in a venture made from Michilimackinac in 1765 the Indians of
Eainy Lake had plundered the traders of their goods, that in
the next year a similar revolt followed, that in the following
year the traders were compelled to leave a certain portion
of their goods at Eainy Lake to be allowed to go on to Lake
Ouinipique. It is stated that the brothers, Benjamin and
James Frobisher, of Montreal, who became so celebrated as
fur traders, began a post ten years after the conquest. These
two merchants were Englishmen. They speedily took the lead
in pushing forward far into the interior, and were the most
practical of the fur traders in making alliances and in dealing-
successfully with the Indians. In their first expedition they
had the same experience in their goods being seized by the
thievish Indians of Eainy Lake ; but before they could send
back word the goods for the next venture had reached Grand
Portage on Lake Superior, and they were compelled to try the
route to the West again. On this occasion they managed to-
defy the pillaging bands, and reached Fort Bourbon on the;
Saskatchewan. They now discovered' that co-operation and a
considerable show of force was the only method of carrying on
a safe trade among the various tribes. It was fortunate for the
Montreal traders that such courageous leaders as the Frobishers-
had undertaken the trade.
The trade to the North-West thus received a marvellous.
development at the hands of the Montreal merchants.
Nepigon and the Kaministiquia, which had been such impor
tant points in the French regime, had been quite forgotten, and
Grand Portage was now the place of greatest interest, and so
continued to the end of the century.
It is with peculiar interest a visitor to-day makes his way to>

THE SCOTTISH MERCHANTS OF MONTREAL 95
Grand Portage. The writer, after a difficult night voyage over
the stormy waters of Lake Superior, rowed by the keeper of a
neighbouring lighthouse, made a visit a few years ago to this
spot. Grand Portage ends on a bay of Lake Superior. It is.
partially sheltered by a rocky island which has the appearance
of a robber's keep, but has one inhabitant, the only white man
of the region, a French Canadian of very fair means. On
the bay is to-day an Indian village, chiefly celebrated for its
multitude of dogs. A few traces of the former greatness of the
place may be seen in the timbers down in the water of the
former wharves, which were extensive. Few traces of forts
are now, a century after their desertion by the fur traders, to
be seen.
The portage, consisting of a road fairly made for the nine or
ten miles necessary to avoid the falls on Pigeon Eiver, can still
be followed. No horse or ox is now to be found in the whole
district, where at one time the traders used this means of
lightening the burden of packing over the portage. The soUtary
road, as the traveller walks along it, with weeds and grasses.
grown up, brings to one a melancholy feeling. The bustle of
voyageur and trader and Indian is no more ; and the reflection
made by Irving comes back, " The lords of the lakes and forests
have passed away."
And yet Grand Portage was at the time of which we are
¦writing a place of vast importance. Here there were employed
as early as 1783, by the several merchants from Montreal, 500'
men. One half of these came from Montreal to Grand Portage
in canoes of four tons burden, each managed by from eight to
ten men. As these were regarded as having the least romantic
portion of the route, meeting with no Indians, and living on
cured rations, they were called the "mangeurs de lard," or
pork eaters. The other half of the force journeyed inland
from Grand Portage in canoes, each carrying about a ton and
a half. Living on game and the dried meat of the buffalo,,
known as pemmican, these were a more independent and
daring body. They were called the " coureurs de bois."
For fifteen days after August 15th these wood-runners-
portaged over the nine or ten miles their burdens. Men carry
ing 150 lbs. each way have been known to make the portage-

^6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and return in six hours. When the canoes were loaded at the
vfest end of the portage with two-thirds goods and one-third
provisions, then the hurry of the season came, and supplies for
Lake Winnipeg, the Saskatchewan, and far distant Athabasca
were hastened on apace. The difficulties of the route were at
many a decharge, where only the goods needed to be removed
and the canoes taken over the rapids, or at the portage,
where both canoes and load were carried past dangerous falls
and fierce rapids. The dash, energy, and skill that characterized
these mixed companies of Scottish traders, French voyageurs,
half-breed and Indian engages, have been well spoken of by all
observers, and appeal strongly to the lovers of the picturesque
and heroic.
A quarter of a century after the conquest we have a note of
alarm at the new competition that the Company from Hudson
Bay had at last undertaken. In the Memorial before us it is stated
that disturbance of trade is made by " New Adventurers." It
is with a smile we read of the daring and strong-handed traders
of Montreal saying, " Those adventurers (e-vidently H. B. Co.),
consulting their own interests only, without the least regard to
the management of the natives or the general welfare of the
trade, soon occasioned such disorders, &c. . . . Since that time
business is carried on with great disadvantages.''
This reference, so prosaically introduced, is really one of
enormous moment in our story. The Frobishers, with their
keen business instincts and daring plans, saw that the real
stroke which would lead them on to fortune was to divert the
stream of trade then going to Hudson Bay southward to Lake
Superior. Accordingly, with a further aggressive movement in
view, Joseph Frobisher established a post on Sturgeon Lake,
-an enlargement of the Saskatchewan, near the point known by
the early French as Poskoiac.
A glance at the map will show how well chosen Sturgeon
Lake Fort was. Northward from it a watercourse could be
readily followed, by which the main line of water communica
tion from the great northern districts to Hudson Bay could be
reached and the Northern Indians be interrupted in their
annual pilgrimage to the Bay. But, as we shall afterward see,
the sleeping giant of the Bay had been awakened and was

THE SCOTTISH MERCHANTS OF MONTREAL 97
about to stretch forth his arms to grasp the trade of the interior
with a new vigour. Two years after Frobisher had thrown
do-wn the pledge of battle, it was taken up by the arrival of
Samuel Hearne, an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, and
by his founding Port Cumberland on Sturgeon Lake, about two
miles below Probisher's Fort. Hearne returned to the Bay,
lea-ving his new fort garrisoned by a number of Orkney men
under an English officer.
During the same year an explorer, on behalf of the Hudson's
Bay Company, visited Eed Eiver, but no fort was built there for
some time afterward. The building of Fort Cumberland led to
a consolidation on the part of the Montreal merchants. In the
next year after its building, Alexander Henry, the brothers
Frobisher, trader Cadot, and a daring trader named Pond,
gathered at Sturgeon Lake, and laid their plans for striking a
blow in retaliation, as they regarded it, for the disturbance of
trade made by the Hudson's Bay Company in penetrating to
the interior from the Bay.
Cadot, with four canoes, went west to the Saskatchewan ;
Pond, ¦with two, to the country on Lake Dauphin ; and Henry
and the Frobisher brothers, with their ten canoes and upwards
of forty men, hastened northward to carry out the project of
turning anew the Northern Indians from their usual visit to the
Bay. On the way to the Churchill Eiver they built a fort on
Beaver Lake. In the following year, a strong party went north
to Churchill or English Eiver, as Joseph Frobisher now called
it. When it was reached they turned westward and ascended
the Churchill, returning at Serpent's Eapid, but sending
Thomas Frobisher with goods on to Lake Athabasca.
Prom the energy displayed, and the skUl shown in seizing
the main points in the countiry, it wUl be seen that the Montreal
merchants were not lacking in ability to plan and decision to
execute. The two great forces have now met, and for fifty
years a battle royal will be fought for the rivers, rocks, and
plains of the North Country. At present it is our duty to
follow somewhat further the merchants of Montreal in their
agencies in the North-West.
There can be no doubt that the competition between the two
companies produced disorder and confusion among the Indian

98 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
tribes. The Indian nature is excitable and suspicious. Eival
traders for their own ends played upon the fears and cupidity
alike of the simple children of the woods and prairies. They
represented their opponents in both cases as unreliable and
grasping, and party spirit unknown before showed itself in
most violent forms. The feeling against the whites of both
parties was aroused by injustices, in some cases fancied, in
others real. The Assiniboines, really the northern branch of
the fierce Sioux of the prairies, were first to seize the toma
hawk. They attacked Poplar Port on the Assiniboine. After
some loss of life, Bruce and Boyer, who were in charge of the
fort, decided to desert it. Numerous other attacks were made
on the traders' forts, and it looked as if the prairies would be
the scene of a general Indian war.
The only thing that seems to have prevented so dire a
disaster was the appearance of what is ever a dreadful enemy
to the poor Indian, the scourge of smallpox. The Assiniboines
had gone on a war expedition against the Mandans of the
Missouri Eiver, and had carried back the smallpox infection
which prevailed among the Mandan lodges. This disease
spread over the whole country, and several bands of Indians
were completely blotted out. Of one tribe of four hundred
lodges, only ten persons remained; the poor survivors, in
seeking succour from other bands, carried the disease with
them. At the end of 1782 there were only twelve traders who
had persevered in their trade on account of the discourage
ments, but the whole trade was for two or three seasons
brought to an end by this disease.
The decimation of the tribes, the fear of infection by the
traders, and the general awe cast over the country turned the
thoughts of the natives away from war, and as Masson says,
" the whites had thus escaped the danger which threatened
them." Two or three years after the scourge, the merchants of
Montreal revived the trade, and, as we shall see, made a com
bination which, in the thoroughness of its discipline, the energy
of its operations, the courage of its promoters,' and the scope of
its trade, has perhaps never been equalled in the history of
trading companies.

CHAPTEE XII.
DISCOVBEY OP THE COPPEEMINE.
Samuel Hearne — " The Mungo Park of Canada " — Perouse complains
— The North-West Passage — Indian guides — Two failures — Third
journey successful — Smokes the calumet — Discovers Arctic
Ocean — Cruelty to the Eskimos — Error in latitude — Remarkable
Indian woman — Capture of Prince of Wales Fort — Criticism by
Umfreville.
Such an agitation as that so skilfully planned and shrewdly
carried on by Arthur Dobbs, Esq., could not but affect the
action of the Hudson's Bay Company. The most serious
charge brought against the Company was that, while having a
monopoly of the trade on Hudson Bay, it had taken no steps
to penetrate the country and develop its resources. It is of
course evident that the Company itself could have no reason
for refusing to open up trade with the interior, for by this
means it would be expanding its operations and increasing its
profits. The real reason for its not doing so seems to have
been the inertia, not to say fear, of Hudson's Bay Company
agents on the Bay who failed to mingle with the bands of
Indians in the interior.
Now the man was found who was to be equal to the occa
sion. This was Samuel Hearne. Except occasional reference
to him ia the minutes of the Company and works of the period,
we know Uttle of Samuel Hearne. He was one of the class of
men to which belonged Norton, Kelsey, and others — ^men who
had gro-wn up in the service of the Company on the Bay and
had become, in the course of years, accustomed to the climate,
condition of Ufe, and haunts of the Indians, thus being fitted
for active work for the Company.
Samuel Hearne became so celebrated in his inland expe-

TOO THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
ditions, that the credit of the Hudson's Bay Company leaving
the coast and venturing into the interior has always been
attached to his name. So greatly, especially in the English
mind, have his explorations bulked, that the author of a book
of travels in Canada about the beginning of this century called
him the "Mungo Park of Canada." In his "Journey," we
have an account of his earlier voyages to the interior in search
of the Coppermine Eiver. This book has a somewhat notable
history. In the four-volume work of La Perouse, the French navi
gator, it is stated that when he took Prince of Wales Port
on the Churchill Eiver in 1782, Hearne, as governor of the
fort, surrendered it to him, and that the manuscript of his
"Journey" was seized by the French commander. It was
returned to Hearne on condition that it should be published,
but the publication did not take place until thirteen years after
wards. It is somewhat amusing to read in Perouse's preface
(1791) the complaint that Hearne had not kept faith with him
in regard to publishing the journal, and the hope is expressed
that this public statement in reminding him of his promise
would have the desu'ed effect of the journal being published.
Pour years afterwards Hearne's "Journey" appeared. A
reference to this fine quarto work, which is well illustrated,
brings us back in the introduction to all the controversies
embodied in the work of Dobbs, EUis, Eobson, and the
" American Traveller."
Hearne's orders were received from the Hudson's Bay
Company, in 1769, to go on a land expedition to the interior of
the continent, from the mouth of the Churchill as far as 70 deg.
N. lat., to smoke the calumet of peace with the Indians, to
- take accurate astronomical observations, to go with guides to
the Athabasca country, and thence northward to a river
abounding with copper ore and " animals of the fur kind," &Ci
It is very noticeable, also, that his instructions distinctly tell
him "to clear up the point, if possible, in order to prevent
further doubt from arising hereafter respecting a passage out
of Hudson Bay into the Western Ocean, as hath lately been
represented by the ' American Traveller.' " The instructions
made it plain that it was the agitation still continuing from the

DISCOVERY OF THE COPPERMINE lot
days of Dobbs which led to the sending of Hearne to the north
country. Hearne's first expedition was made during the last months
of the year 1769. It is peculiarly instructive in the fact that
it failed to accompUsh anything, as it gives us a glimpse of the
difficulties which no doubt so long prevented the movement
to the interior. In the first place, the bitterly severe months
of November and December were badly chosen for the time of
the expedition. On the sixth day of the former of these
months Hearne left Prince of Wales Fort, taking leave of the
Governor, and being sent off with a salute of seven guns. His
guide was an Indian chief, Chawchinahaw. Hearne ascer
tained very soon, what others have found among the Indians,
that his guide was not to be trusted; he "often painted the
difficulties in the worst colours" and took every method to
dishearten the explorer. Three weeks after starting, a number
of the Indians deserted Hearne.
Shortly after this mishap, Chawchinahaw and his company
ruthlessly deserted the expedition, and two hundred miles from
the fort set out on another route, "making the woods ring
with their laughter." Meeting other Indians, Hearne pur
chased venison, but was cheated, while his Indian guide was
feasted. The explorer remarks : — " A sufficient proof of the
singular advantage which a native of this country has over an
Englishman, when at such a distance from the Company's
factories, as to depend entirely on them for subsistence."
Hearne arrived at the fort after an absence of thirty-seven
days, as he says, " to my own mortification and the no small
surprise of the Governor." Hearne was simply illustrating
what has been shown a hundred times since, in all foreign
regions, viz., native peoples are quick to see the inexperience
of men raw to the country, and will heartlessly maltreat and
deceive them. However, British officers and men in aU parts
of the world become at length accustomed to deaUng with
savage peoples, and after some experience, none have ever
equaUed British agents and explorers in the management and
direction of such peoples.
Early in the follovying year Hearne plucked up courage for
another expedition. On this occasion he determined to take

102 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
no Europeans, but to trust to Indians alone. On February 23rd,
accompanied by five Indians, Hearne started on his second
journey. Following the advice of the Governor, the party took
no Indian women with them, though Hearne states that this was
a mistake, as they were "needed" for hauling the baggage as
well as for dressing skins for clothing, pitching our tent, getting
firing, &c." During the first part of the journey deer were
plentiful, and the fish obtained by cutting holes in the ice of the
lakes were excellent.
Hearne spent the time of the necessary delays caused by the
obtaining of fish and game in taking observations, keeping his
journal and chart, and doing his share of trapping. Meeting,
as soon as the spring opened, bands of Indians going on
various errands, the explorer started overland. He carried
sixty pounds of burden, consisting of quadrant, books and
papers, compass, wearing apparel, weapons and presents for
the natives. The traveller often made twenty miles a day
over the rugged country.
Meeting a chief of the Northern Indians going in July to
Prince of Wales Fort, Hearne sent by him for ammunition and
supplies. A canoe being now necessary, Hearne purchased
this of the Indians. It was obtained by the exchange of a
single knife, the full value of which did not exceed a penny.
In the middle of this month the party saw bands of musk oxen.
A number of these were killed and their flesh made into
pemmican for futm-e use. Finding it impossible to reach the
Coppermine during the season, Hearne determined to live ¦with
the Indians for the winter.
The explorer was a good deal disturbed by having to give
presents to Indians who met him. Some of them wanted guns,
all wanted ammunition, iron-work, and tobacco ; many were
solicitous for medicine ; and others pressed for different articles
of clothing. He thought the Indians very inconsiderate in
their demands.
On August 11th the explorer had the misfortune to lose his
quadrant by its being blown open and broken by the wind.
Shortly after this disaster, Hearne was plundered by a number
of Indians who joined him.
He determined to return to the fort. Suffering from the

DISCOVERY OF THE COPPERMINE 103
want of food and clothing, Hearne was overtaken by a famous
chief, Matonabbee, who was going eastward to Prince of Wales
Port. The chief had lived several years at the fort, and was one
who knew the Coppermine. Matonabbee discussed the reasons
of Hearne's failure in his two expeditions. The forest
philosopher gave as the reason of these failures the misconduct
of the guides and the failure to take any women on the journey.
After maintaining that women were made for labour, and speak
ing of their assistance, said Matonabbee, " women, though they
do everything, are maintained at a trifling expense, for as they
always stand cook, the very licking of their fingers in scarce
times is sufficient for their subsistence." Plainly, the northern
chief had need of the ameliorating influence of modern
reformers. In company -with the chief, Hearne returned to the
fort, reaching it after an absence of eight months and twenty-
two days, having, as he says, had " a fruitless or at least an
¦unsuccessful journey."
Hearne, though beaten twice, was determined to try a thkd
time and -win. He recommended the employment of Matonabbee
as a guide of intelligence and experience. Governor Norton
-wished to send some of the coast Indians with Hearne, but the
latter refused them, and incurred the ill-will of the Governor.
Hearne's instructions on this third journey were " in quest of a
North-West Passage, copper-mines, or any other thing that may
be serviceable to the British nation in general, or the Hudson's
Bay Company in particular." The explorer was now furnished
with an Elton's quadrant.
This third journey was begun on December 7th, 1770.
TravelUng sometimes for three or four days without food, they
were annoyed, when suppUes were secured, by the chief
Matonabbee taking so ill from over-eating that he had to be
dra-wn upon a sledge. Without more than the usual incidents
of Indian travelling, the party pushed on tiU a point some
19 deg. west of Churchill was reached, according to the calcu
lations of the explorer. It is to be noted, however, that
Hearne's observations, measurements, and maps, do not seem
to be at all accurate.
Turning northward, as far as can be now made out, about the
spot where the North-West traders first appeared on their way

104 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
to the Churchill Eiver, Hearne went north to his destination.
His Indian guides now formed a large war party from the
resident Indians, to meet the Eskimos of the river to which they
were going and to conquer them.
The explorer announces that having left behind " all the
women, children, dogs, heavy baggage, and other encum
brances," on June 1st, 1771, they pursued their journey north
ward -with great speed. On June 21st the sun did not set at
all, which Hearne took to be proof that they had reached
the Arctic Circle. Next day they met the Copper Indians, who
welcomed them on hearing the object of their visit.
Hearne, according to orders, smoked the calumet of peace
with the Copper Indians. These Indians had never before
seen a white man. Hearne was considered a great curiosity.
Pushing on upon their long journey, the explorers reached the
Coppermine Eiver on July 13th. Hearne was the witness of a
cruel massacre of the Eskimos by his Indian alUes, and the
seizure of their copper utensils and other provisions, and
expresses disgust at the enormity of the affair. The mouth of
the river, which fiows into the Arctic Ocean, was soon reached
on July 18th, and the tide found to rise about fom-teen feet.
Hearne seems in the narrative rather uncertain about the
latitude of the mouth of the Coppermine Eiver, but states that
after some consultation with the Indians, he erected a mark,
and took possession of the coast on behalf of the Hudson's
Bay Company.
In Hearne's map, dated July, 1771, and purporting to be a
plan of the Coppermine, the mouth of the river is about
71 deg. 54' N. This was a great mistake, as the mouth of the
river is somewhere near 68 deg. N. So great a mistake was
certainly unpardonable. Hearne's apology was that after the
breaking of his quadrant on the second expedition, the instru
ment which he used was an old Elton's quadrant, which had
been knocking about the Prince of Wales Fort for nearly thirty
years. Having examined the resources of the river and heard of the
mines from which the Copper Indians obtained all the metal
for the manufacture of hatchets, chisels, knives, &c., Hearne
started southward on his return jom*ney on July 18th. Instead

DISCOVERY OF THE COPPERMINE 105
of coming by the direct route, he went with the Indians of his
party to the north side of Lake Athabasca on December 24th.
Having crossed the lake, as illustrating the loneliness of the
region, the party found a woman who had escaped from an
Indian band which had taken her prisoner, and who had not
seen a human face for seven months, aiid had Uved by snaring
partridges, rabbits, and squirrels. Her skill in maintaining
herself in lonely wilds was truly wonderful. She became the
wife of one of the Indians of Hearne's party. In the middle of
March, 1772, Hearne was delivered a letter, brought to him from
Prince of Wales Fort and dated in the preceding June. Push
ing eastward, after a number of adventures, Hearne reached
Prince of Wales Fort on June 30th, 1772, having been absent
on his third voyage eighteen months and twenty-three days.
Hearne rejoices that he had at length put an end to the disputes
concerning a North-West Passage through Hudson Bay. The
fact, however, that during the nineteenth century this became
again a Uving question shows that in this he was mistaken.
The perseverance and pluck of Hearne have impressed all
those who have read his narrative. He was plainly one of the
men possessing the subtle power of impressing the Indian mind.
His disasters would have deterred many men from foUowing up
so difficult and extensive a route. To him the Hudson's Bay
Company owes a debt of gratitude. That debt consists not in
the discovery of the Coppermine, but in the attitude presented
to the Northern Indians from the Bay all the way to Lake
Athabasca. Hearne does not mention the Montreal fur traders,
who, in the very year of his return, reached the Saskatchewan
and were stationed at the Churchill Eiver down which he
passed. First of white men to reach Lake Athabasca and the region
north of it to the Arctic Sea, Samuel Hearne claimed for his
Company priority of trade, and answered the calumnies that
his Company was lacking in energy and enterprise. He took
what may be called " seizen " of the soil for the English
traders. We shaU speak again of his part in leading the move
ment ialand to oppose the Nor'-Westers in the interior. His
services to the Hudson's Bay Company received recognition in
his promotion, three years after his return home from his third

io6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
voyage, to the governorship of the Prince of Wales Port. To
Hearne has been largely given the credit of the new and
adventurous policy of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Hearne does not, however, disappear from public notice on
his promotion to the command of Prince of Wales Port. When
war broke out a few years later between England and France,
the latter country, remembering her old successes under
D'lberville on Hudson Bay, sent a naval expedition to attack
the forts on the Bay. Umfreville gives an account of the attack
on Prince of Wales Fort on August 8th and 9th, 1772. Admiral
de la Perouse was in command of these war vessels, his
flagship being Le Sceptre, of seventy-four guns. The garrison
was thought to be well provided for a siege, and La Perouse
evidently expected to have a severe contest. However, as he
approached the fort, there seemed to be no preparations made
for defence, and, on the summons to surrender, the gates were
immediately thrown open.
Umfreville, who was in the garrison and was taken prisoner
on this occasion, speaks of the conduct of the Governor as
being very reprehensible, but severely criticizes the Company
for its neglect. He says : — " The strength of the fort itself
was such as would have resisted the attack of a more consider
able force ; it was built of the strongest materials, the walls
were of great thickness and very durable (it was planned by
the ingenious Mr. Eobson, who went out in 1742 for that pur
pose) , it having been forty years in building and attended with
great expense to the Company. In short, it was the opinion of
every intelligent person that it might have made an obstinate
resistance when attacked, had it been as well provided in other
respects ; but through the impolitic conduct of the Company,
every courageous exertion of their servants must have been
considered as imprudent temerity ; for this place, which would
have required four hundred men for its defence, the Company,
in its consummate wisdom, had garrisoned with only thirty-
nine." In this matter, Umfreville very plainly shows his animus to
the Company, but incidentally he exonerates Hearne from the
charge of cowardice, inasmuch as it would have been madness
to make defence against so large a body of men. As has been

DISCOVERY OF THE COPPERMINE 107
before pointed out, we can hardly charge with cowardice the
man who had shown his courage and determination in the three
toilsome and dangerous journeys spoken of ; rather would we
«ee in this a proof of his wisdom under unfortunate circum
stances. The surrender of York Factory to La Perouse twelve
days afterwards, without resistance, was an event of an
equally discouraging kind. The Company suffered great
loss by the surrender of these forts, which had been un
molested since the Treaty of Utrecht.

CHAPTEE XIII.
FOETS ON HUDSON BAY LEFT BEHIND.
Andrew Graham's " Memo." — Prince of Wales Fort — The garrison —
Trade — York Factory — Furs — Albany — Subordinate forts — Moose
— Moses Norton — Cumberland House — Upper Assiniboine — Rainy
Lake — Brandon House — Red River — Conflict of the Companies.
The new policy of the Company that for a hundred years had
carried on its operations in Hudson Bay was now to be
adopted. As soon as the plan could be developed, a long line
of posts in the interior would serve to carry on the chief trade,
and the forts and factories on Hudson Bay would become
depots for storage and ports of departure for the Old World.
It is interesting at this point to have a view of the last days
of the old system which had grown up during the operations of
a century. We are fortunate in having an account of these
forts in 1771 given by Andrew Graham, for many years a factor
of the Hudson's Bay Company. This document is to be found
in the Hudson's Bay Company house in London, and has
been hitherto unpublished. The simplicity of description and
curtness of detail gives the account its chief charm.
Peince op Wales Poet. — On a peninsula at the entrance
of the Churchill Eiver. Most northern settlement of the
Company. A stone fort, mounting forty-two cannon, from six
to twenty-four pounders. Opposite, on the south side of
the river. Cape Merry Battery, mounting six twenty-four
pounders with lodge-house and powder magazine. The river
1006 yards wide. A ship can anchor six miles above the fort.
Tides carry salt water twelve miles up the river. No springs
near ; drink snow water nine months of the year. In summer
keep three draught horses to haul water and draw stones to
finish building of forts.

FORTS ON HUDSON BA Y LEFT BEHIND 109
Staff: — A chief factor and officers, with sixty servants and
tradesmen. The council, with discretionary power, consists of
chief factor, second factor, surgeon, sloop and brig masters,
and captain of Company's ship when in port. These answer
and sign the general letter, sent yearly to directors. The others
are accountant, trader, steward, armourer, ship-vwight, car
penter, cooper, blacksmith, mason, tailor, and labourers. These
must not trade with natives, under penalties for so doing.
Council mess together, also servants. Called by bell to duty,
work from six to six in summer ; eight to four in winter. Two
watch in winter, three in summer. In emergencies, tradesmen
must work at anything. Killing of partridges the most
pleasant duty.
Company signs contract with servants for three or five
years, ¦with the remarkable clause : " Company may recall them
home at any time without satisfaction for the remaining time.
Contract may be renewed, if servants or labourers wish, at
expiry of term. Salary advanced forty shillings, if men have
behaved well in first term. The land and sea officers' and
tradesmen's salaries do not vary, but seamen's are raised in
time of war."
A ship of 200 tons burden, bearing provisions, arrives yearly
in August or early September. Sails again in ten days, wind
permitting, with cargo and those returning. Sailors alone get
pay when at home.
The annual trade sent home from this fort is from ten to
four thousand made beaver, in furs, felts, oastorum, goose
feathers, and quills, and a small quantity of train oil and
whale bone, part of which they receive from the Eskimos, and
the rest from the white whale fishery. A black whale fishery
is in hand, but it shows no progress.
Yoek Factoey. — On the north bank of Hayes Eiver, three
miles from the entrance. Famous Eiver Nelson, three miles
north, makes the land between an island. Well-built fort of
wood, log on log. Pour bastions with sheds between, and a
breastwork ¦with twelve small carriage guns. Good class of
quarters, with double row of strong paUsades. On the bank's
edge, before the fort, is a half -moon battery^ of turf and earth,
¦with fifteen cannon, nine-pounders. Two miles below the fort,

no THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
same side, is a battery of ten twelve-pounders, with lodge-
house and powder magazine. These two batteries command
the river, but the shoals and sand-banks across the mouth
defend us more. No ship comes higher than five miles below
the fort.
Governed like Prince of Wales Fort. Complement of men ;
forty-two. The natives come down Nelson Eiver to trade. If
weather calm, they paddle round the point. If not, they carry
their furs across. This fort sends home from 7000 to 33,000
made bea^ver in furs, &c., and a small quantity of white whale
oil. Seveen Poet. — On north bank of the Severn Eiver. Well-
built square house, with four bastions. Men : eighteen.
Commanded by a factor and sloop master. Eight small cannon
and other warlike stores. Sloop carries fm-s in the fall to
York Factory and delivers them to the ship, with the books and
papers, receiving supply of trading goods, provisions, and
stores. Severn full of shoals and sand banks. Sloop has
difficulty in getting in and out. Has to wait spring tides inside
the point. Trade sent home, 5000 to 6600 made beaver in
furs, &c.
Albany Poet. — On south bank of Albany Eiver, four miles
from the entrance. Large well-built wood fort. Four bastions
with shed between. Cannon and warlike stores. Men : thirty ;
factor and officers. Eiver difficult. Ship rides five leagues out
and is loaded and unloaded by large sloop. Trade, including
two sub-houses of East Main and Henley, from 10,000 to
12,000 made beaver, &c. (This fort was the first Europeans
had in Hudson Bay, and is where Hudson traded with natives.)
Henley House. — One hundred miles up the river from
Albany. Eleven men, governed by master. First founded to
prevent encroachments of the French, when masters of Canada,
and present to check the English.
Bast Main House. — Entrance of Slude Eiver. Small
square house. Sloop master and eleven men. Trade : 1000 to
2000 made beaver in furs, &c. Depth of water just admits
sloop. Moose Factoey.— South bank of Moose Eiver, near entrance.
Well-built wood fort — caimon and warlike stores. Twenty-five

FORTS ON HUDSON BA Y LEFT BEHIND 1 1 1
men. Factor and officers. Eiver admits ship to good harbour,
below fort. Trade, 3000 to 4000 made beavers in furs, &c. One
ship suppUes this fort, along with Albany and sub-forts.
These are the present Hudson's Bay Company's settlements
in the Bay. " All under one discipline, and excepting the
sub-houses, each factor receives a commission to act for benefit
of Company, without being answerable to any person or persons
in the Bay, more than to consult for good of Company in
emergencies and to supply one another with trading goods, &c.,
if capable, the receiver giving credit for the same."
The movement to the interior was begun from the Prince of
Wales Fort up the Churchill Eiver. Next year, after his return
from the discovery of the Coppermine, Samuel Hearne under
took the aggressive work of going to meet the Indians, now
threatened from the Saskatchewan by the seductive influences
of the Messrs. Frobisher, of the Montreal fur traders. The
Governor at Prince of Wales Fort, for a good many years, had
been Moses Norton. He was really an Indian born at the
fort, who had received some education during a nine years'
residence in England. Of uncultivated manners, and leading
far from a pure life, he was yet a man of considerable force,
with a power to command and the ability to ingratiate himself
with the Indians. He was possessed of undoubted energy,
and no doubt to his advice is very much due the movement to
leave the forts in the Bay and penetrate to the interior of the
country. In December of the very year (1773) in which Hearne
went on his trading expedition inland, Norton died.
In the foUowing year, as we have seen, Hearne erected
Cumberland House, only five hundred yards from Probisher's
new post on Sturgeon Lake. It was the intention of the Hud
son's Bay Company also to make an effort to control the trade
to the south of Lake Winnipeg. Hastily called away after
buUding Cumberland House, Hearne was compelled to leave a
colleague, Mr. Cookings, in charge of the newly-erected fort,
and returned to the bay to take charge of Prince of Wales
Port, the post left vacant by the death of Governor Norton.
The Hudson's Bay Company, now regularly embarked in
the inland trade, undertook to push their posts to different
parts of the country, especially to the portion of the fur country

112 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
in the direction from which the Montreal traders approached it.
The EngUsh traders, as we learn from Umfreville, who was
certainly not prejudiced in their favour, had the advantage of
a higher reputation in character and trade among the Indians
than had their Canadian opponents. Prom their greater near
ness to northern waters, the older Company could reach a point
in the Saskatchewan with their goods nearly a month earlier in
the spring than their Montreal rivals were able to do. We find
that in 1790 the Hudson's Bay Company crossed south from
the northern waters and erected a trading post at the mouth
of the Swan Eiver, near Lake Winnipegoosis. This they soon
deserted and built a fort on the upper waters of the Assiniboine
Eiver, a few miles above the present Hudson's Bay Company
post of Fort Pelly.
A period of surprising energy was now seen in the English
Company's affairs. " Carrying the war into Africa," they
in the same year met their antagonists in the heart of their
o^wn territory, by building a trading post on Eainy Lake and
another in the neighbouring Eed Lake district, now included
in North-Eastern Minnesota. Having seized the chief points
southward, the aroused Company, in the next year (1791),
pushed north-westward from Cumberland House and built
an establishment at He a la Crosse, well up toward Lake
Athabasca. Crossing from Lake Winnipeg in early spring to the head
waters of the Assiniboine Eiver, the spring brigade of the
Hudson's Bay Company quite outdid their rivals, and in 1794
built the historic Brandon House, at a very important
point on the Assiniboine Eiver. This post was for upwards of
twenty years a chief Hudson's Bay Company centre until it
was burnt. On the grassy bank of the Assiniboine, the ¦writer
some years ago found the remains of the old fort, and from the
well-preserved character of the sod, was able to make out the
line of the palisades, the exact size of all the buildings, and
thus to obtain the ground plan.
Brandon House was on the south side of the Assiniboine,
about seventeen miles below the present city of Brandon.
Its remains are situated on the homestead of Mr. George Mair,
a Canadian settler from Beauharnois, Quebec, who settled here

FORTS ON HUDSON BAY LEFT BEHIND 113
on July 20th, 1879. The site was weU chosen at a bend of the
river, having the Assiniboine in front of it on the east and
partially so also on the north. The front of the palisade faced
to the east, and midway in the wall was a gate ten feet wide,
with inside of it a look-out tower (guerite) seven feet square.
On the south side was the long store-house. In the centre had
stood a building said by some to have been the blacksmith's
shop. Along the north wall were the buildings for residences
and other purposes. The remains of other forts, belonging to
rival companies, are not far away, but of these we shall speak
again. The same activity continued to exist in the following year,
for in points so far apart as the Upper Saskatchewan and
Lake Winnipeg new forts were built. The former of these
was Edmonton House, built on the north branch of the
Saskatchewan. The fort erected on Lake Winnipeg was pro
bably that at the mouth of the Winnipeg Eiver, near where
Fort Alexander now stands.
In 1796, another post was begun on the Assiniboine Eiver,
not unlikely near the old site of Port de la Eeine, while in
the following year, as a half-way house to Edmonton on
the Saskatchewan, Carlton House was erected. The Eed
Eiver proper was taken possession of by the Company in 1799.
Alexander Henry, junr., teUs us that very near the boundary
line (49 degrees N.) on the east side of the Eed Eiver, there
were in 1800 the remains of a fort.
Such was the condition of things, so far as the Hudson's
Bay Company was concerned, at the end of the century.
In twenty-five years they had extended their trade from
Edmonton House, near the Eockies, as far as Eainy Lake;
they had made Cumberland House the centre of their operations
in the interior, and had taken a strong hold of the fertile region
on the Eed and Assiniboine Eivers, of which to-day the city of
Winnipeg is the centre.
Undoubtedly the severe competition between the Montreal
merchants and the Hudson's Bay Company greatly dimiaished
the profits of both. According to Umfre-yille, the Hudson's
Bay Company business was conducted much more economi
cally than that of the merchants of Montreal. The Company

114 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
upon the Bay chiefly employed men obtained in the Orkney
Islands, who were a steady, plodding, and reliable class. The
employes of the Montreal merchants were a ¦wild, free, reckless
people, much addicted to drink, and consequently less to be
depended upon.
The same writer states that the competition between the
two rival bodies of traders resulted badly for the Indians. He
says : " So that the Canadians from Canada and the Europeans
from Hudson Bay met together, not at all to the ulterior
advantage of the natives, who by this means became de
generated and debauched, through the excessive use of spirituous
liquors imported by these rivals in commerce."
One thing at any rate had been clearly demonstrated, that
the inglorious sleeping by the side of the Bay, charged by
Dobbs and others against the old Company, had been overcome ;
and that the first quarter of the second century of the history
of the Hudson's Bay Company showed that the Company's
motto, " Pro Pelle Cutem," " Skin for Skin," had not been
inappropriately chosen.

CHAPTEE XIV.
the NOETH-WEST COMPANY FOEMED.
Hudson's Bay Company aggressive — The great McTavish — The Fro
bishers — Pond and Pangman dissatisfied — Gregory and McLeod
— Strength of the North-West Company — Vessels to be built —
New route from Lake Superior sought — Good-will at times —
Bloody Pond — ^Wider union, 1787^ — Fort Alexandria — Mouth of
the Souris — Enormous fur trade — Wealthy Nor'-Westers —
" The Haunted House."
The terrible scourge of smallpox cut off one half, some say
one-third of the Indian population of the fur country. This
was a severe blow to the prosperity of the fur trade, as the
traders largely depended on the Indians as trappers. The de
termination shown by the Hudson's Bay Company, and the
zeal with which they took advantage of an early access to the
Northern Indians, were a surprise to the Montreal traders, and
we find in the -writings of the time, frequent expressions as to
the loss of profits produced by the competition in the fur trade.
The leading fur merchants of Montreal determined on a com
bination of their forces. Chief among the stronger houses
were the Frobishers. Joseph Frobisher had returned from his
two years' expedition in 1776, " having secured what was in
those days counted a competent fortune," and was one of the
" characters " of the commercial capital of Canada.
The strongest factor in the combination was probably Simon
McTavish, of whom a -writer has said " that he may be re
garded as the founder of the famous North-West Company."
McTavish, bom in 1750, was a Highlander of enormous energy
and decision of character. While by his force of will rousing
opposition, yet he had exceUent business capacity, and it was he
who suggested the cessation of rivalries and strife among them
selves and the union of their forces by the Canadian traders.
Accordingly the North-West Company was formed 1783-4,

1x6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
its stock being apportioned into sixteen parts, each stockholder
supplying in lieu of money a certain proportion of the commo
dities necessary for trade, and the Committee dividing their
profits when the returns were made from the sale of furs.
The united firms of Benjamin and Joseph Frobisher and
Simon McTavish administered the whole affair for the traders
and received a commission as agents.
The brightest prospect lay before the new formed Company,
and they had their first gathering at Grand Portage in the
spring of 1784. But union did not satisfy all. A viciously-
disposed and self-confident trader, Peter Pond, had not been
consulted. Pond was an American, who, as we have seen in
1775, accompanied Henry, Cadot, and Frobisher to the far
North-West. Two years later he had gone to Lake Athabasca,
and forty miles from the lake on Deer Eiver, had built in 1778
the first fort in the far-distant region, which became known as
the Fur Emporium of the North-West. Pond had with much
skill prepared a great map of the country for presentation to
the Empress Catherine of Eussia, and at a later stage gave
much information to the American commissioners who settled
the boundary line under the Treaty of Paris.
Pond was dissatisfied and refused to enter the new Company.
Another trader, Peter Pangman, an American also, had
been overlooked in the new Company, and he and Pond now
Came to Montreal, determined to form a strong opposition to
the McTavish and Frobisher combination. In this they were
successful. One of the rising merchants of Montreal at this time was
John Gregory, a young Englishman. He was united in
partnership with Alexander Norman McLeod, an ardent High
lander, who afterwards rose to great distinction as a magnate
of the fur trade. Pangman and Pond appealed to the self-
interest of Gregory, McLeod & Company, and so, very
shortly after his projected union of all the Canadian interests,
McTavish saw arise a rival, not so large as his own Company,
but in no way to be despised.
To this rival Company also belonged an energetic, strong-
willed Scotchman, who afterwards became the celebrated Sir
Alexander Mackenzie, his cousin Eoderick McKenzie — a

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY FORMED 117
notable character, a trader named Eoss, and also young Finlay,
a son of the pioneer so well kno-wn twenty years before in the
fm- trading and civil history of Canada. Pond signalized him
self by soon after deserting to the older Company.
The younger Company acted with great vigour. Lea-ving
McLeod behind to manage the business in Montreal, the other
members found themselves in the summer at Grand Portage,
where they established a post. They then divided up the
country and gave it to the partners and traders. Athabasca
was given to Eoss ; Churchill Eiver to Alexander Mackenzie ;
the Saskatchewan to Pangman ; and the Eed Eiver country to
the veteran trader Pollock.
The North-West Company entered with great energy upon
its occupation of the North-West country. We are able to refer
to an unpublished memorial presented by them, in 1784, to
Governor Haldimand, which shows very well their hopes and
expectations. They claim to have explored and improved the
route from Grand Portage to Lake Ouinipique, and they ask
the governor to grant them the exclusive privilege of using
this route for ten years.
They recite the expeditions made by the Montreal traders
from their posts in 1766 up to the time of their memorial.
They urge the granting of favours to them on the double ground
of their having to oppose the " new adventurers," as they call
the Hudson's Bay Company, in the north, and they claim to
desire to oppose the encroachments of the United States in the
south. They state the value of the property of the Company
in the North-West, exclusive of houses and stores, to be
26,303/. 3s. 6c/. ; the other outfits also sent to the country
will not fall far short of this sum. The Company wUl have
at Grand Portage in the foUowing July 60,000/. (original
cost) in fur. They further ask the pri-vilege of constructing
a small vessel to be built at Detroit and to be taken up Sault
Ste. Marie to ply on Lake Superior, and also that in trans
porting their suppUes on the King's ships from Niagara and
Detroit to Michilimackinac, they may have the precedence
on account of the shortness of their season and great distance
to the interior to be reached.
They state that they have arranged to have a spot selected a

ii8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Sault Ste. Marie, whither they may have the fort transferred
from Michilimackinac, which place had been awarded by the
Treaty of Paris to the Americans. They desire another vessel
placed on the lakes to carry their furs to Detroit. This
indicates a great revival of the fur trade and vigorous plans
for its prosecution.
A most interesting statement is also made in the memorial :
that on account of Grand Portage itself having been by the
Treaty of Paris left on the American side of the boundary on
Lake Superior, they had taken steps to find a Canadian route
by which the trade could be carried on from Lake Superior
to the interior. They state that they had sent off on an
expedition a canoe, with provisions only, navigated by six
Canadians, under the direction of Mr. Edward Umfreville, who
had been eleven years in the service of the Hudson's Bay
Company, and who along with his colleague, Mr. Verrance,
knew the language of the Indians.
We learn from Umfreville's book that " he succeeded in his
expedition much to the satisfaction of the merchants," along
the route from Lake Nepigon to Winnipeg Eiver. The route
discovered proved almost impracticable for trade, but as it was
many years before the terms of the treaty were carried into
effect. Grand Portage remained for the time the favourite
pathway to the interior.
The conflict of the two Montreal Companies almost obscured
that with the English traders from Hudson Bay. True, in some
districts the competition was peaceful and honourable. The
nephew of Simon McTavish, William McGilli-vray, who after
wards rose to great prominence as a trader, was stationed -with
one of the rival company, Eoderick McKenzie, of whom we have
spoken, on the English Eiver. In 1786 they had both suc
ceeded so well in trade that, forming their men into two
brigades, they returned together, making the woods resound
with the lively French songs of the voyageurs.
The attitude of the traders largely depended, however, on the
character of the men. To the Athabasca district the impetuous
and intractable Pond was sent by the older Company, on his
desertion to it. Here there was the powerful influence of the
Hudson's Bay Company to contend against, and the old Com-

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY FORMED 119
pany from the Bay long maintained its hold on the Northern
Indians. To make a flank movement upon the Hudson's Bay
Company he sent Cuthbert Grant and a French trader to Slave
Lake, on which they estabUshed Fort Eesolution, whUe, pushing
on stUl farther, they reached a point afterwards kno-wn as Port
Providence. The third body to be represented in Athabasca Lake was the
smaU North-West Company by their bourgeois, John Eoss.
Eoss was a peaceable and fair man, but Pond so stirred up
strife that the employes of the two Companies were in a
perpetual quarrel. In one of these conflicts Eoss was unfor
tunately MUed. This added to the evil reputation of Pond,
who in 1781 had been charged with the murder of a peaceful
trader named Wadin, in the same Athabasca region.
When Eoderick McKenzie heard at He k la Crosse of the
murder, he hastened to the meeting of the traders at Grand
Portage. This alarming event so affected the traders that the
two Companies agreed to unite. The union was effected in
1787, and the business at headquarters in Montreal was now
managed by the three houses of McTavish, Frobisher, and
Gregory. Alexander Mackenzie was despatched to Athabasca
to take the place of the unfortunate trader Eoss, and so became
acquainted with the region which was to be the scene of his
triumphs in discovery.
The union of the North-West fur companies led to exten
sion in some directions. The Assiniboine Valley, in one of the
most fertUe parts of the country, was more fully occupied. As
in the case of the Hudson's Bay Company, the occupation of
this vaUey took place by first coming to Lake Winnipeg and
ascending the Swan Eiver (always a fur trader's paradise),
until, by a short portage, the Upper Assiniboine was reached.
The oldest fort in this valley belonging to the Nor'-Westers
seems to have been built by a trader, Eobert Grant, a year or
two after 1780. It is declared by trader John McDonnell to
have been two short days' march from the junction of the
Qu'Appelle and Assiniboine.
Well up the Assiniboine, and not far from the source of the
Swan Eiver, stood Fort Alexandria, "surrounded by groves of
birch, poplar, and aspen," and said to have been named after

120 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Sir Alexander Mackenzie. It was 266 feet in length by 196
feet in breadth ; the " houses, stores, &c., being well built, plas
tered on the inside and outside, and washed over -with a
white earth, which answers nearly as well as Ume for
whitewashing." Connected -with this region was the name of a famous trader,
Cuthbert Grant, the father of the leader of the half-breeds and
Nor'-Westers, of whom we shall speak afterwards. At the
mouth of Shell Eiver on the Assiniboine stood a small fort built
by Peter Grant in 1794.
When the Nor'-Westers became acquainted -with the route
down the Assiniboine, they followed it to its mouth, and from
that point, where it joined the Eed Eiver, descended to Lake
Winnipeg and crossed to the Winnipeg Eiver.
In order to do this they established in 1785, as a halting
place. Pine Fort, about eighteen miles below the junction of the
Souris and Assiniboine Eivers. At the mouth of the Souris
Eiver, and near the site of the Brandon House, already de
scribed as built by the Hudson's Bay Company, the North-
West Company built in 1796 Assiniboine House. This fort
became of great importance as the depot for expeditions to the
Mandans of the Missouri Eiver.
The union of the Montreal Companies resulted, as had been
expected, in a great expansion of the trade. In 1788 the gross
amount of the trade did not exceed 40,000/., but by the energy
of the partners it reached before the end of the century
more than three times that amount — a remarkable showing.
The route now being fully established, the trade settled down
into regular channels. The agents of the Company in Mon
treal, Messrs. McTavish & Co., found it necessary to order the
goods needed from England eighteen months before they could
leave Montreal for the West. Arriving in Canada in the
summer, they were then made up in packages for the Indian
trade. These weighed about ninety pounds each, and were
ready to be borne inland in the following spring.
Then being sent to the West, they were taken to the far points
in the ensuing winter, where they were exchanged for furs.
The furs reached Montreal in the next autumn, when they were
stored to harden, and were not to be sold or paid for before the

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY FORMED 121
following season. This was forty-two months after the goods
were ordered in Canada. This trade was a very heavy one to
conduct, inasmuch as allowing a merchant one year's credit, he
had stiU two years to carry the burden after the value of the
goods had been considered as cash.
Toward the end of the century a single year's produce was
enormous. One such year was represented by 106,000 beavers,
32,000 marten, 11,800 mink, 17,000 musquash, and, counting
all together, not less than 184,000 skins.
The agents necessary to carry on this enormous volume of
trade were numerous. Sir Alexander Mackenzie informs us
that there were employed in the concern, not including officers
or partners, 50 clerks, 71 interpreters and clerks, 1120 canoe-
men, and 35 guides.
The magnitude of the operations of this Company may be
seen from the foregoing statements. The capital required by
the agents of the concern in Montreal, the number of men
employed, the vast quantities of goods sent out in bales made
up for the western trade, and the enormous store of furs
received in exchange, all combined to make the business of the
North-West Company an important factor in Canadian life.
Canada was then in her infancy. Upper Canada was not
constituted a province until the date of the formation of the
North-West Company. Montreal and Quebec, the only places
of any importance, were small towns. The absence of manu
factures, agriculture, and means of inter-communication or
transport, led to the North-West Company being the chief
source of money-making in Canada. As the fur merchants
became rich from their profits, they bought seigniories, built
mansions, and even in some cases purchased estates in the
old land.
Simon McTavish may be looked upon as a type. After a
most active life, and when he had accumulated a handsome
competence, Simon McTavish owned the Seigniory of Terre
bonne, receiving in 1802 a grant of 11,600 acres in the town
ship of Chester. He was engaged at the time of his death,
which took place in 1804, in erecting a princely mansion at
the foot of the Mountain in Montreal. For half a century
the ruins of this building were the dread of chUdren, and

122 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
were known as McTavish's " Haunted House." The fur-
trader's tomb may still be recognized by an obelisk enclosed
within stone walls, near " Eavenscrag," the residence of the
late Sir Hugh Allan, which occupies the site of the old ruin.
Sturdy the glory of the lords of the lakes and the forest has
passed aioay.

CHAPTEE XV.
VOYAGES OP SIE ALEXANDEE MACKENZIE.
A young Highlander — To rival Hearne — ^Fort Chipe-wyan built —
French Canadian voyageurs — Trader Leroux — Perils of the route
— Post erected on Arctic Coast — Return journey — Pond's miscal
culations — Hudson Bay Turner — Roderick McKenzie's hospitality
— ^Alexander Mackenzie — Astronomy and mathematics^ Winters
on Peace River— Terrific journey — The Pacific slope — Dangerous
Indians — Pacific Ocean, 1793 — North-West passage by land —
Great achievement — A notable book.
One of the chiefs of the fur-traders seems to have had a higher
ambition than simply to carry back to Grand Portage canoes
overflowing vrith furs. Alexander Mackenzie had the restless
spirit that made him a very uncertain partner in the great
schemes of McTavish, Frobisher & Co., and led him to seek for
glory in the task of exploration. Coming as a young High
lander to Montreal, he had early been so appreciated for his
abUity as to be sent by Gregory, McLeod & Co. to conduct their
enterprise in Detroit. Then we have seen that, refusing to
enter the McTavish Company, he had gone to Churchill Eiver
for the Gregory Company. The sudden union of all the
Montreal Companies (1787) caused, as already noted, by Pond's
murder of Eoss, led to Alexander Mackenzie being placed in
charge in that year of the department of Athabasca.
The longed-for opportunity had now come to Mackenzie.
He heard from the Indians and others of how Samuel Hearne,
less than twenty years before, on behalf of their great rivals,
the Hudson's Bay Company, had returned by way of Lake
Athabasca from his discovery of the Coppermine Eiver. He
longed to reach the Arctic Sea by another river of which he had
heard, and eclipse the discovery of his rival. He even had it in
view to seek the Pacific Ocean, of which he was constantly

124 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
hearing from the Indians, where white men wearing armour
were to be met — no doubt meaning the Spaniards.
Mackenzie proceeded in a very deliberate way to prepare for
his long journey. Having this expedition in view, he secured
he appointment of his cousin, Eoderick McKenzie, to his own
department. Eeaching Lake Athabasca, Eoderick McKenzie
selected a promontory running out some three miles into the
lake, and here built (1788) Port Chipewyan, it being called
from the Indians who chiefly frequented the district. It
became the most important fort of the north country, being
at the converging point of trade on the great watercourses
of the north-west.
On June 3rd, 1789, Alexander Mackenzie started on his first
exploration. In his o-wn birch-bark canoe was a crew of seven.
His crew is worthy of being particularized. It consisted of
four French Canadians, with the wives of two of them. These
voyageurs were Fran9ois Barrieau, Charles Ducette, or Cadien,
Joseph Landry, or Cadien, Pierre de Lorme. To complete the
number was John Steinbruck, a German. The second canoe
contained the guide of the expedition, an Indian, called the
" English chief," who was a great trader, and had frequented
year by year the route to the English, on Hudson Bay. In
his canoe were his two wives, and two young Indians. In a
third canoe was trader Leroux, who was to accompany the
explorer as far north as Slave Lake, and dispose of the goods-
be took for furs. Leroux was under orders from his chief to
build a fort on Slave Lake.
Starting on June 3rd, the party left the lake, finding their
way down Slave Eiver, which they already knew. Day after
day they journeyed, suffered from myriads of mosquitoes,
passed the steep mountain portage, and, undergoing many
hardships, reached Slave Lake in nine days.
Skirting the lake, they soon departed north by an unknown
river. This was the object of Mackenzie's search. Floating
down the stream, the Horn Mountains were seen, portage after
portage was crossed, the mouth of the foaming Great Slave
Lake Eiver was passed, the snowy mountains came in view in
the distance, and the party, undeterred, pressed forward on
their voyage of discovery.

VOYAGES OF SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE 125
The usual incidents of early travel were experienced. The
accidents, though not serious, were numerous ; the scenes met
with were all new ; the natives were surprised at the bearded
stranger ; the usual deception and fickleness were displayed by
the Indians, only to be overcome by the firmness and tact of
Mackenzie ; and forty days after starting, the expedition looked
out upon the floating ice of the Arctic Ocean. Mackenzie, on
the morning of July 14th, erected a post on the shore, on which
he engraved the latitude of the place (69 deg. 14' N.), his own
name, the number of persons in the party, and the time they
remained there.
His object having been thus accomplished, the important
matter was to reach Lake Athabasca in the remaining days of
the open season. The return journey had the usual experiences,
and on August 24th they came upon Leroux on Slave Lake,
where that trader had erected Fort Providence. On September
12th the expedition arrived safely at Fort Chipewyan, the time
of absence having been 102 days. The story of this journey is
given in a graphic and unaffected manner by Mackenzie in his
work of 1801, but no mention is made of his own name being
attached to the river which he had discovered.
We have stated that Peter Pond had prepared a map of the
north country, with the pm-pose of presenting it to the Empress
of Eussia. Being a man of great energy, he was not deterred
from this undertaking by the fact that he had no knowledge of
astronomical instruments and Uttle of the art of map-making.
His statements were made on the basis of reports from the
Indians, whose custom was always to make the leagues short,
that they might boast of the length of their journeys. Com
puting in this way, he made Lake Athabasca so far from Hudson
Bay and the Grand Portage that, taking Captain Cook's
observations on the Pacific Coast four years before this, the
lake was only, according to his calculations, a hundred or a
hundred and fifty miles from the Pacific Ocean.
The effect of .Pond's calculations, which became kno'wninthe
' Treaty of Paris, was to stimulate the Hudson's Bay Company
to follow up Hearne's discoveries and to explore the country
west of Lake Athabasca. They attempted this in 1785, but
they sent out a boy of fifteen, named &eorge Charles, who had

126 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
been one year at a mathematical school, and had never made
there more than simple observations. As was to have been
expected, the boy proved incompetent. Urged on by the
Colonial Office, they again in 1791 organized an expedition to
send Astronomer Philip Turner to make the western journey.
Unaccustomed to the Par West, and poorly provided for this
journey. Turner found himself at Fort Chipe-wyan entirely
dependent for help and shelter on the Nor'-Westers. He was,
however, qualified for his work, and made correct observations,
which settled the question of the distance of the Pacific Ocean.
Mr. Eoderick McKenzie showed him every hospitality. This
expedition served at least to show that the Pacific was certainly
five times the distance from Lake Athabasca that Pond had
estimated. After coming back from the Arctic Sea, Alexander Mac
kenzie spent his time in urging forward the business of the fur
trade, especially north of Lake Athabasca; but there was
burning in his breast the desire to be the discoverer of the
Western Sea. The voyage of Turner made him still more
desirous of going to the West.
Like Hearne, Alexander Mackenzie had found the want of
astronomical knowledge and the lack of suitable instruments
a great drawback in determining his whereabouts from day to
day. With remarkable energy, he, in the year 1791, journeyed
eastward to Canada, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to London,
and spent the winter in acquiring the requisite mathematical
knowledge and a sufficient acquaintance with instruments
to enable him to take observations.
He was now prepared to make his journey to the Pacific
Ocean. He states that the courage of his party had been
kept up on their reaching the Arctic Sea, by the thought that
they were approaching the Mer de I'Ouest, which, it -wUl be
remembered, Verandrye had sought with such passionate
desire. In the very year in which Mackenzie returned from Great
Britain, his great purpose to reach the Pacific Coast led him to
make his preparations in the autumn, and on October 10th,
1792, to leave Port Chipewyan and proceed as far up Peace
Eiver as the farthest settlement, and there winter, to be ready

VOYAGES OF SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE 127
for an early start in the following spring. On his way he
overtook Mr. Finlay, the younger, and called upon him in his
camp near the fort, where he was to trade for the winter.
Leaving Mr. Finlay "under several voUeys of musketry,"
Mackenzie pushed on and reached the spot where the men had
been despatched in the preceding spring to square timber for a
house and cut palisades to fortify it. Here, where the Boncave
joins the main branch of the Peace Eiver, the fort was erected.
His o-wn house was not ready for occupation before December
23rd, and the body of the men went on after that date to erect
five houses for which the material had been prepared. Troubles
were plentiful ; such as the quarrelsomeness of the natives, the
kUUng of an Indian, and in the latter part of the winter severe
cold. In May, Mackenzie despatched six canoes laden with
furs for Fort Chipewyan.
The somewhat cool reception that Mackenzie had received
from the other partners at Grand Portage, when on a former
occasion he had given an account of his voyage to the Arctic
Sea, led him to be doubtful whether his confreres would fully
approve the great expedition on which he was determined to
go. He was comparatively a young man, and he knew that
there were many ofthe traders jealous of him. Still, his deter
mined character led him to hold to his plan, and his great
energy urged him to make a name for himself.
Mackenzie had found much difficulty in securing guides and
voyageurs. The trip proposed was so difficult that the bravest
shrank from it. The explorer had, however, great confidence
in his colleague, Alexander Mackay, who had arrived at the
Porks a few weeks before the departure. Mackay was a most
experienced and shrewd man. After faithfully serving his
Company, he entered, as we shall see, the Astor Fur Company
in 1811, and was killed among the first in the fierce attack
on the ship Tonquin, which was captured by the natives.
Mackenzie's crew was the best he could obtain, and their
names have become historic. There were besides Mackay,
Joseph Landry and Charles Ducette, two voyageurs of the
former expedition, Baptiste Bisson, Prangois Courtois, Jacques
Beauchamp, and Prangois Beaulieu, the last of whom died so
late as 1872, aged nearly one hundred years, probably the oldest

128 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
man in the North-West at the time. Archbishop Tache gives
an interesting account of Beaulieu' s baptism at the age of
seventy. Two Indians completed the party, one of whom had
been so idle a lad, that he bore till his dying day the un
enviable name of " Cancre " — the crab.
Having taken, on the day of his departure, the latitude and
longitude of his winter post, Mackenzie started on May 9th,
1793, for his notable voyage. Seeing on the banks of the
river elk, buffalo, and bear, the expedition pushed ahead, meet
ing the difficulties of navigation -with patience and skill. The
murmurs of his men and the desire to turn back made no
impression on Mackenzie, who, now that his Highland blood
was up, determined to see the journey through. The difficulties
of navigation became extreme, and at times the canoes had to
be dra-wn up stream by the branches of trees.
At length in longitude 121° W. Mackenzie reached a lake,
which he considered the head of the Ayugal or Peace Eiver.
Here the party landed, unloaded the canoes, and by a portage
of half-a-mile on a well-beaten path, came upon another small
lake. Prom this lake the explorers followed a small river,
and here the guide deserted the party. On June 17th the
members of the expedition enjoyed, after all their toil and
anxiety, the " inexpressible satisfaction of finding themselves
on the bank of a navigable river on the west side of the first
great range of mountains."
Eunning rapids, breaking canoes, re-ascending streams, quiet
ing discontent, building new canoes, disturbing tribes of sur
prised Indians, and urging on his discouraged band, Mackenzie
persistently kept on his way. He was descending on Tacoutche
Tesse, afterwards known as the Praser Eiver. Finding that
the distance by this river was too great, he turned back. At
the point where he took this step (June 23rd) was afterwards
built Alexandria Fort, named after the explorer. Leaving the
great river, the party crossed the country to what Mackenzie
called the West Eoad Eiver. For this land journey, begun on
July 4th, the explorers were provided with food. After sixteen
days of a most toilsome journey, they at length came upon
an arm of the sea. The Indians near the coast seemed very
troublesome, but the courage of Mackenzie never failed him.

VOYAGES OF SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE 129
It was represented to him that the natives "were as numerous
^s mosquitoes and of a very malignant character."
His destination having been reached, the commander mixed
up some vermiUon in melted grease and inscribed in large
•characters on the south-east face of the rock, on which they
passed the night, "Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by
land the twenty-second of July, one thousand seven hundred
.and ninety-three."
After a short rest the well-repaid explorers began their home-
Tvard journey. To ascend the Pacific slope was a toUsome and
•discouraging undertaking, but the energy which had enabled
them to come through an unknown road easily led them back
by a way that had now lost its uncertainty. Mackenzie
says that when " we reached the downward current of the
Peace Eiver and came in view of Fort McLeod, we threw out
our flag and accompanied it with a general discharge of firearms,
Vfhile the men were in such spirits and made such an active use
of their paddles, that we arrived before the two men whom we
left in the spring could recover their senses to answer us.
Thus we landed at four in the afternoon at the place which we
left in the month of May. In another month (August 24th)
Port Chipewyan was reached, where the foUo^wing winter was
spent in trade."
It is hard to estimate all the obstacles overcome and the great
-.service rendered in the two voyages of Alexander Mackenzie.
^Eeaders of the " North-West Passage by Land " will re
member the pitiable plight in which Lord Milton and Dr.
¦Cheadle, nearly seventy years afterwards, reached the coast.
Mackenzie's journey was more difficult, but the advantage lay
¦with the fur-traders in that they were experts in the matters of
North-West travel. Time and again, Mackenzie's party became
discouraged. When the Pacific slope was reached, and the
voyageurs saw the waters begin to run away from the country
•with which they were acquainted, their fears were aroused, and
it was natural that they should be unwilling to proceed further.
Mackenzie had, however, aU the instincts of a brave and
tactful leader. On one occasion he was compelled to take a
stand and declare that if his party deserted him, he would go
.on alone. This at once aroused their admiration and sympathy, K

130 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and they offered to follow him. At the point on the great
river where he turned back, the Indians were exceedingly-
hostile. His firmness and perfect self-control showed the same
spirit that is found in all great leaders in dealing with savage
or semi-civilized races. Men like Frontenac, Mackenzie, and
General Gordon seemed to have a charmed life which enabled
them to exercise a species of mesmeric influence over half-
trained or entirely uncultivated minds.
From the wider standpoint, knowledge was supplied as to the
country lying between the two great oceans, and while it did
not, as we know from the voyages seeking a North-West
Passage in this century, lay the grim spectre of an Arctic-
channel, yet it was a fulfilment of Verandrye's dream, and
to Alexander Mackenzie, a Canadian bourgeois, a self-made-
man, aided by his Scotch and French associates, had com&
the happy opportunity of discovering " La Grande Mer de
I'Ouest." Alexander Mackenzie, filled with the sense of the importance
of his discovery, determined to give it to the world, and spent
the winter at Fort Chipewyan in preparing the material. In
this he was much assisted by his cousin, Eoderick McKenzie,
to whom he sent the journal for revision and improvement.
Early in the year 1794, the distinguished explorer left Lak&
Athabasca, journeyed over to Grand Portage, and a year
afterward revisited his native land. He never returned to
the " Upper Country," as the Athabasca region was called,-
but became one of the agents of the fur-traders in Montreal,
never coming farther toward the North-West than to b&
present at the annual gatherings of the traders at Grand
Portage. The veteran explorer continued in this position till:
the time when he crossed the Atlantic and published his weU-
kno-wn " Voyages from Montreal," dedicated to " His Most
Sacred Majesty George the Third." The book, while making-
no pretensions to literary attainment, is yet a clear, succinct,
and valuable account of the fur trade and his own expedi
tions. It was the work which excited the interest of Lord
Selkirk in Eupert's Land and which has become a recognized
authority. In 1801 this work of Alexander Mackenzie was published,.

SIK ALEXANDEE MA-CKEKZIE.

DANIEL WILLIAM HARMON, Esq.

[Page 130.

VOYAGES OF SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE 131
and the order of knighthood was conferred upon the successful
explorer. On his return to Canada, Sir Alexander engaged in
strong opposition to the North-West Company and became
a member of the Legislative Assembly for Huntingdon County,
in Lower Canada. He lived in Scotland during the last years
of his Ufe, and died in the same year as the Earl of Selkirk,
1820. Thus passed away a man of independent mind and of
the highest distinction. His name is fixed upon a region that
is now coming into greater notice than ever before.

CHAPTEE XVI.
THE GEEAT BXPLOEATION.
Grand Portage on American soil — Anxiety about the boundary —
David Thompson, astronomer and surveyor — His instructions
—By swift canoe — The land of beaver — A dash to the Mandans
— Stone Indian House — Fixes the boundary at Pembina — Sources
of the Mississippi — A marvellous explorer — Pacific Slope explored
• — Thompson down the Kootenay and Columbia — Fiery Simon
Eraser in New Caledonia — Discovers Fraser River — Sturdy John
Stuart — Thompson River — Bourgeois Quesnel — Transcontinental
expeditions.
A NUMBEE of events conspired to make it necessary for the
North-West Company to be well acquainted with the location of
its forts -within the limits of the territory of the United States,
in some parts of which it carried on operations of trade, and to
understand its relation to the Hudson's Bay Company's terri
tory. The treaty of amity and commerce, which is usually
connected with the name of John Jay, 1794, seemed to say that
all British forts in United States territory were to be evacuated
in two years. This threw the partners at Grand Portage into
a state of excitement, inasmuch as they knew that the very
place of their gathering was on the American side of the
boundary Une.
DAVID THOMPSON, ASTEONOMEE AND SUEVEYOE.
At this juncture the fitting instrument appeared at Grand
Portage. This was David Thompson. This gentleman was
a Londoner, educated at the Blue Coat School, in London.
Trained thoroughly in mathematics and the use of astronomical
instruments, he had obtained a position in the Hudson's Bay
Company. In the summer of 1795, -with three companions,
two of them Indians, he had found his way from Hudson Bay
to Lake Athabasca, and thus showed his capability as an

THE GREAT EXPLORATION 133
explorer. Eetuming from his Western expedition, he reported
to Mr. Joseph Colon, the officer in charge at York Fort, by
whose orders he had gone to Athabasca, and expressed himself
as -wilUng to undertake further explorations for the Company.
The answer was curt — to the effect that no more surveys
could then be undertaken by the Company, however desirable.
Thompson immediately decided to seek employment elsewhere
in the work for which he was so weU qualified. Leaving the
Bay and the Company behind, attended only by two Indians,
he journeyed inland and presented himself at the summer
meeting of the North-West fur-traders at Grand Portage.
Without hesitation they appointed him astronomer and
surveyor of the North-West Company.
Astronomer Thompson's work was well mapped out for him.
(1) He was instructed to survey the forty-ninth paraUel of
latitude. This involved a question which had greatly per
plexed the diplomatists, viz. the position of the source of the
Mississippi. Many years after this date it was a question
to decide which tributary is the source of the Mississippi, and
to this day there is a difference of opinion on the subject,
i.e. which of the lakes from which different branches spring is
the true source of the river. The fact that the sources were a
factor in the settUng of the boundary line of this time made it
necessary to have expert testimony on the question such as
could be furnished by a survey by Thompson.
(2) The surveyor was to go to the Missouri and visit the
ancient ¦vUlages of the natives who dwelt there and who
practised agriculture.
(3) In the interests of science and history, to inquire for
the fossUs of large animals, and to search for any monuments
that might throw a light on the ancient state of the regions
traversed. (4) It was his special duty to determine the exact position
of the posts of the North-West Company visited by him, and
aU agents and employes were instructed to render him every
assistance in his work.
Astronomer Thompson only waited the departm-e of one of
the Great Northern brigades to enter upon the duties of his new
office. These departures were the events of the year, having

134 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
in the eyes of the fur-traders something of the nature of a
caravan for Mecca about them. Often a brigade consisted of
eight canoes laden with goods and well-manned. The brigade
which Thompson accompanied was made up of four canoes
under trader McGillis, and was ready to start on August 9th,
1796. He had taken the observation for Grand Portage and
found it to be 48 deg. (nearly) N. latitude and 89 deg. 3' 4"
(nearly) W. longitude.
He was now ready with his instruments — a sextant of ten
inches radius, with quicksilver and parallel glasses, an excellent
achromatic telescope, one of the smaller kind, drawing instru
ments, and a thermometer, and all these of the best make. The
portage was wearily trudged and in a few days, after a dozen
shorter portages, the height of land was reached in 48 deg. N.
latitude, and here begins the flow of water to Hudson Bay.
It was accordingly the claim of the Hudson's Bay Company that
their territory extended from this point to the Bay. At the
outlet of Eainy Lake still stood a trading post, where Verandrye
had founded his fort and the position of this was determined,
48 deg. 1' 2" N. latitude. In this locality was also a post of
the Hudson's Bay Company.
No post seems at this time to have been in use on Eainy
Eiver or Lake of the Woods by any of the trading companies,
though it will be seen that the X Y Company was at this date
beginning its operations. At the mouth of the Winnipeg
Eiver, however, there were two establishments, the one known
as Lake Winnipeg House, or Bas de la Eiviere, an important
distributing point, now found to be in 50 deg. 1' 2" N. latitude.
There was also near by it the Hudson's Bay Company post,
founded in the previous year.
Thompson, being in company with his brigade, which was
going to the west of Lake Manitoba, coasted along Lake
Winnipeg, finding it dangerous to cross directly, and after
taking this roundabout, in place of the 127 miles in a straight
line, reached what is now known as the Little Saskatchewan
Eiver on the west side of Lake Winnipeg.
Going by the little Saskatchewan Eiver through its ¦windings
and across the meadow portage, he came to Lake Winni
pegoosis and, northward along its western coast, reached Swan

THE GREAT EXPLORATION 135
IBiver, the trappers' paradise. Swan Eiver post was twelve
miles up the river from its mouth, and was found to be in
52 deg. 24' N. latitude. Crossing over to the Assiniboine
.(Stone Indian) Eiver, he visited several posts, the most con
siderable being Port Tremblant (Poplar Port), which some
•think had its name changed to Port Alexandria in honour of
,Sir Alexander Mackenzie.
John McDonnell, North-West trader of this period, says : —
" Fort Tremblant and the temporary posts established above
it furnished most of the beaver and otter in the Eed Eiver
returns, but the trade has been almost ruined since the
Hudson's Bay Company entered the Assiniboine Eiver by the
way of Swan Eiver, carrying their merchandise from one
river to the other on horseback — three days' journey — who by
that means, and the short distance between Swan Eiver and
their factory at York Fort, from whence they are equipped, can
.arrive at the coude de I'homme (a river bend or angle) in the
Assiniboine Eiver, a month sooner than we can return from
<3-rand Portage, secure the fall trade, give credits to the
Indians, and send them to hunt before our arrival ; so that we
,«ee but few in that quarter upon our arrival."
The chief trader of this locality was Cuthbert Grant, who,
.as before mentioned, was a man of great influence in the fur
¦trade. The astronomer next went to the Port between the Swan
and Assiniboine Eivers, near the spot where the famous Port
Pelly of the present day is situated. Taking horses, a rapid
land journey was made to Belleau's Fort, lying in 53 deg. N.
latitude (nearly).
The whole district is a succession of beaver meadows, and
had at this time several Hudson's Bay Company posts, as
already mentioned. Thompson decided to winter in this
beaver country, and when the following summer had fairly
set in ¦with good roads and blossoming prairies, he came, after
journeying more than 200 miles southward, to the Qu'Appelle
Eiver post, which was at that time under a trader named
Thorburn. Thompson was now fairly on the Assiniboine Eiver,
-and saw it everywhere run through an agreeable country with
s, good soil and adapted to agriculture.

130 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Arrived at Assiniboine House, he found it in charge of John;
McDonnell, brother of the well-kno-wn Miles McDonnell, who,
a few years later, became Lord Selkirk's first governor on Eed
Eiver. Ensconcing himself in the comfortable quarters at
Assiniboine House, Thompson wrote up in ink his journals,
maps, astronomical observations, and sketches which he had
taken in crayon, thus giving them more permanent form. H&
had now been in the employ of the North-West Company a
full year, and in that time had been fully gratified by the work
he had done and by the cordial reception given him in all th&
forts to which he had gone.
Assiniboine House, or, as he called it. Stone Indian House,
was found to be a congenial spot. It was on the north side of
the Assiniboine Eiver, not far from where the Souris Eiver
empties its waters into the larger stream, though the site has
been disputed.
One of the astronomer's clearly defined directions was to
visit the Mandan ¦villages on the Missouri Eiver. He was now
at the point when this could be accomplished, although the
time chosen by him, just as winter was coming on, was most
unsuitable. His journey reminds us of that made by Verandrye
to the Mandans in 1738.
The journey was carefully prepared for. With the charac
teristic shrewdness of the North-West Company, it was so
planned as to require little expenditm-e. Thompson was to be
accompanied chiefly by free-traders, i.e. by men to whom
certain quantities of goods would be advanced by the Company.
By the profits of this trade expenses would be met. The guide
and interpreter was Eene Jussaume (a man of very doubtful
character), who had fallen into the ways of the Western Indians.
He had lived for years among the Mandans, and spoke their
language. Another free-trader, Hugh McCracken, an Irish
man, also knew the Mandan country, while several French
Canadians, with Brossman, the astronomer's servant man, made
up the company. Each of the traders took a credit from Mr.
McDonnell of from forty to fifty skins in goods. Ammunition,
tobacco, and trinkets, to pay expenses, were provided, and
Thompson was supplied with two horses, and his chief trader,
Jussaume, with one. The men had their own dogs to the-

THE GREAT EXPLORATION 137
number of thirty, and these drew goods on small sleds. Cross
ing the Assiniboine, the party started south-westward, and
continued their journey for thirty-three days, with the
thermometer almost always below zero and reaching at times
36 deg. below. The journey was a most dangerous and trying:
one and covered 280 miles. Thompson found that some
Hudson's Bay traders had already made flying visits to the
Mandans. On his return, Thompson's itinerary was, from the
Missouri till he reached the angle of the Souris Eiver, seventy
miles, where he found abundant wood and shelter, and then
to the south end of Turtle Mountain, fourteen miles. Leaving
Turtle Mountain, his next station was twenty-four miles distant-
at a point on the Souris where an outpost of Assiniboine
House, known as Ash House, had been established. Another
journey of forty -five miles brought the expedition back to the
hospitable shelter of Mr; McDonnell at Stone Indian House.
Thompson now calculated the position of this comfortable fort
and found it to be 49 deg. 41' (nearly) N. latitude and
101 deg. 1' 4" (nearly) W. longitude.
The astronomer, after spending a few weeks in making up
his notes and surveys, determined to go eastward and under
take the survey of the Eed Eiver. On February 26th, 1798,
he started ¦with three French Canadians and an Indian guide.
Six dogs drew three sleds laden with baggage and provisions^
The company soon reached the sand hills, then called the
Manitou HiUs, from some supposed supernatural agency in
their neighbourhood. Sometimes on the ice, and at other times
on the north shore of the Assiniboine to avoid the bends of the
river, the party went, experiencing much difficulty from the
depth of the snow. At length, after journeying ten days over
the distance of 169 miles, the junction of the Assiniboine and
Eed Eiver, at the point where now stands the city of Winnipeg,
was reached. There was no trading post here at the time.
It seems somewhat surprising that what became the chief
trading centre of the company. Fort Garry, during the first
half of this century should, up to the end of the former
century, not have been taken possession of by any of the three
competing fur companies.
Losing no time, Thompson began, on March 7th, the survey,.

138 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and going southward over an unbroken trail, with the snow
three feet deep, reached in seven days Pembina Post, then
under the charge of a leading French trader of the company,
named Charles Chaboillez. Wearied with a journey of some
sixty-four miles, which had, from the bad road, taken seven
days, Thompson enjoyed the kind shelter of Pembina House
for six days. This house was near the forty-ninth parallel and
was one of the especial points he had been appointed to deter
mine. He found Pembina House to be in latitude 48 deg.
68' 24" N., so that it was by a very short distance on the
iSOuth side of the boundary line. Thompson marked the
boundary, so that the trading post might be removed, when
necessary, to the north side of the line. A few years later, the
-observation taken by Thompson was confirmed by Major Long
on his expedition of 1823, but the final settlement of where the
line falls was not made till the time of the boundary com
mission of 1872.
Pushing southward in March, the astronomer ascended Eed
Eiver to the trading post known as Upper Eed Eiver, near
where the town of Grand Forks, North Dakota, stands to-day.
Here he found J. Baptiste Cadot, probably the son of the
veteran master of Sault Ste. Marie, who so long clung to the
flag of the Golden Lilies.
Thompson now determined to survey what had been an
object of much interest, the lake which was the source of
the great Eiver Mississippi. To do this had been laid upon
him in his instructions from the North-West Company.
Making a detour from Grand Forks, in order to avoid the ice
on the Eed Lake Eiver, he struck the upper waters of that
river, and followed the banks until he reached Eed Lake in
what is now North-Eastern Minnesota. Leaving this lake, he
made a portage of six miles to Turtle Lake, and four days later
reached the point considered by him to be the source of the
Mississippi. Turtle Lake, at the time of the treaty of 1783,
was supposed to be further north than the north-west angle of
-the Lake of the Woods. This arose, Thompson tells us, from
the voyageurs counting a pipe to a league, at the end of which
time it was the fur-traders' custom to take a rest. Each pipe,
ihat is, the length of time taken to smoke a pipe, however, was

THE GREAT EXPLORATION 139
nearer two miles than three, so that the head waters of the
Mississippi had been counted 128 miles further north than
Thompson found them to be. It is to be noted, however, that
the Astronomer Thompson was wrong in making Turtle Lake
the source of the Mississippi. The accredited source of the
Mississippi was discovered, as we shall afterwards see, in July,
1832, to be Lake Itasca, which lies about half a degree south
west of Turtle Lake.
Thompson next visited Eed Cedar Lake, in the direction of
-Lake Superior. Here he found a North-West trading house.
Upper Eed Cedar House, under the command of a partner,
-John Sayer, whose half-blood son afterward figured in Eed
Eiver history. He found that Sayer and his men passed the
•winter on wUd rice and maple sugar as their only food.
Crossing over to Sand Lake Eiver, Mr. Thompson found a
small post of the North-West Company, and, descending this
stream, came to Sand Lake. By portage, reaching a small
stream, a tributary of St. Louis Eiver, he soon arrived at
that river itself, -with its rapids and dalles, and at length
reached the North-West trading post near the mouth of the
river, where it joined the Fond du Lac.
Having come to Lake Superior, the party could only obtain
a dilapidated northern canoe, but with care it brought them,
after making an enormous circuit and accomplishing feats
involving great daring and supreme hardship, along the north
shore of the lake to Grand Portage. On hearing his report
of two years' work, the partners, at the annual meeting at
¦Grand Portage, found they had made no mistake in their
.appointment, and gave him the highest praise.
The time had now come, after the union of the North-West
Oompany and the X Y Company, for pushing ahead the great
work in their hands and examining the vast country across the
Eocky Mountains. The United Company in 1805 naturaUy
took up what had been planned several years before, and sent
David Thompson up the Saskatchewan to explore the Columbia
Eiver and examine the vast " sea of mountains " bordering on
the Pacifie Ocean. The other partner chosen was Simon
Praser, and his orders were to go up the Peace Eiver, cross
the Eockies, and explore the region from its northern side.

I40 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
We shaU see how well Fraser did his part, and meanwhile we
may follow Thompson in his journey.
In 1806, we find that he crossed the Eockies and built in the
following year a trading-house for the North-West Company
on the Lower Columbia. Thompson called his trading post
Kootenay House, and indeed his persistent use of the term
" Kootenay " rather than " Columbia," which he well knew
was the name of the river, is somewhat remarkable. Coming
over the pass during the summer, he returned to Kootenay
House and wintered there in 1807-1808. During the summer
of 1808, he visited possibly Grand Portage, certainly Port
Vermilion. Fort Vermilion, a short distance above the present
Fort Pitt, was well down the north branch of the Saskatche
wan Eiver, and on his way to it, Thompson would pass Fort
Augustus, a short distance below where Edmonton now stands,
as well as Port George.
He left Fort Vermilion in September, and by October 21st,.
the Saskatchewan being frozen over, he laid up canoes for the
winter, and taking horses, crossed the Eocky Mountains, took
1 3 canoes on the Columbia Eiver again, and on November 10th
arrived at his fort of Kootenay House, where he wintered.
On this journey, Thompson discovered Howse's Pass, which
i3 about 52 deg. N. latitude.
In 1809, Thompson determined on extending his explorations
southward on the Columbia Eiver. A short distance south of
the international boundary line, he built a post in September of
that year. He seems to have spent the winter of this year in
trying new routes, some of which he found impracticable, and
can hardly be said to have wintered at any particular spot.
In his pilgrimage, he went up the Kootenay Eiver, which he
called McGillivray's Eiver, in honour of the famous partner,
but the name has not been retained. Hastening to his post of
Kootenay House, he rested a daj"-, and travelling by means of
canoes and horses, in great speed came eastward and reached
Port Augustus, eight days out from Kootenay, June 22nd, 1810.
From this point he went eastward, at least as far as Eainy
Lake, leaving his " little family " with his sister-in-law, a Cree
woman, at Winnipeg Eiver House.
Eeturning, he started on October 10th, 1810, for Athabasca.

THE GREAT EXPLORATION 141
He discovered the Athabasca Pass on the " divide," and
on July 3rd, 1811, started to descend the Columbia, and
did so, the first white man, as far as Lewis Eiver, from
which point Lewis and Clark in 1805, having come over
the Eocky Mountains, had preceded him to the sea. Near
the junction of the Spokane Eiver with the Columbia, he
erected a pole and tied to it a half-sheet of paper, claiming
the country north of the forks as British territory. This notice
was seen by a number of the Astor employes, for Eoss states
that he observed it in August, with a British flag flying upon
it. Thompson's name among the Indians of the coast was
" Koo-Koo-Suit." Eoss Cox states that " in the month of July, 1811, Mr.
David Thompson, Astronomer to the North-West Company, of
which he was also a proprietor, arrived with nine men in a
canoe at Astoria from the interior. This gentleman came on
a voyage of discovery to the Columbia, preparatory to the
North-West Company forming a settlement at the mouth of
the river. He remained at Astoria until the latter end of July,
when he took his departure for the interior."
Thompson was thus disappointed on finding the American
company installed at the mouth of the Columbia before him,
but he re-ascended the river and founded two forts on its banks
at advantageous points.
Thompson left the western country with his Indian wife
and children soon after this, and in Eastern Canada in
1812-13, prepared a grand map of the country, which
adorned for a number of years the banqueting-room of the
bourgeois at Fort WiUiam and is now in the Government
buildings at Toronto.
In 1814 he definitely left the upper country, and was
employed by the Imperial Government in surveying a part of
the boundary Une of the United States and Canada. He also
surveyed the watercourses between the Ottawa Eiver and
Georgian Bay. He Uved for years at the Eiver Eaisin, near
WilUamstown, in Upper Canada, and was very poor. At the
great age of eighty-seven, he died at Longueil. He was not
appreciated as he deserved. His energy, scientific know
ledge, experience, and successful work for the Company for

142 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
sixteen years make him one of the most notable men of the
period. SIMON FEASEE, FUE-TEADEE AND EXPLOEEE.
As we have seen, the entrance by the northern access to the-
Pacific slope was confided to Simon Fraser, and we may well,
after considering the exploits of David Thompson, refer to those
of his colleague in the service.
Simon Praser, one of the most daring of the fur-traders, was
the son of a Scottish U.E. Loyalist,' who was captured by the
Americans at Burgoyne's surrender and who died in prison.
The widowed mother took her infant boy to Canada, and Uved
near Cornwall. After going to school, the boy, who was of
the Eoman Catholic faith, entered the North-West Company at
the age of sixteen as a clerk, and early became a bourgeois of
the Company. His administrative ability led to his being
appointed agent at Grand Portage in 1797. A few years
afterwards, Praser was sent to the Athabasca region, which
was at that time the point aimed at by the ambitious and
determined young Nor'-Westers. By way of Peace Eiver, he
undertook to make his journey to the west side of the Eocky
Mountains. Leaving the bulk of his command at the Eocky
Mountain portage, he pushed on with six men, and reaching
the height of land, crossed to the lake, which he called
McLeod's, in honour of his prominent partner, Archibald
Norman McLeod. Stationing three men at this point, Fraser
returned to his command and wintered there.
In the spring of 1806 he passed through the mountains, and
came upon a river, which he called Stuart Eiver. John Stuart,
who was at that time a clerk, was for thirty years afterwards
identified with the fur trade. Stuart Lake, in British Columbia,
was also called after him. On the Stuart Eiver, Fraser built a
post, which, in honour of his fatherland, he called New
Caledonia, and this probably led to this great region on the
west of the mountains being called New Caledonia. Stuart
was left in charge of this post, and Praser went west to a
lake, which since that time has been called Fraser Lake. He
returned to winter at the new fort.
1 The United Empire Loyalists were those British patriots who-
left the United States after the Revolution.

THE GREAT EXPLORATION 143
Fraser' s disposition to explore and his success thus far_led
the Company to urge their confrere to push on and descend
the great Eiver Tacouche Tesse, do^wn which Alexander
Mackenzie had gone for some distance, and which was
supposed to be the Columbia. It was this expedition which
created Eraser's fame. The orders to advance had been
brought to him in two canoes by two traders, Jules Maurice-
Quesnel and (Hugh) Paries.
Lea-ving behind Paries with two men in the new fort, Praser,
at the mouth of the Nechaco or Stuart Eiver, where afterward
stood Port George, gathered his expedition, and was ready to-
depart on his great, we may well call it terrific, voyage, down
the river which since that time has borne his name. His
company consisted of Stuart, Quesnel, nineteen voyageurs, and
two Indians, in four canoes. It is worthy of note that John-
Stuart, who was Praser's lieutenant, was in many ways the
real leader of the expedition. Having been educated in
engineering, Stuart, by his scientific knowledge, was indispen
sable to the exploring party.
On May 22nd a start was made from the forks. We
have in Masson's first volume preserved to us Simon Praser s
journal of this remarkable voyage, starting from the Eockies
down the river. The keynote to the whole expedition is given
us in the seventh line of the journal. "Having proceeded
about eighteen miles, we came to a strong rapid which we ran
down, nearly -wrecking one of our canoes against a precipice
which forms the right bank of the river." A succession of
rapids, overhung by enormous heights of perpendicular rocks,
made it almost as difficult to portage as it would have been ta
risk the passage of the canoes and their loads down the boiling
cauldron of the river.
Nothing can equal the interest of hearing in the explorer's
own words an incident or two of the journey. On the first
Wednesday of June he vTrites : "Leaving Mr. Stuart and two
men at the lower end of the rapid in order to watch the
motions of the natives, I returned with the other four men to
the camp. Immediately on my arrival I ordered the five men
out of the crews into a canoe lightly loaded, and the canoe was
in a moment under way. After passing the first cascade she

^44 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
lost her course and was drawn into the eddy, whirled about for
a considerable time, seemingly in suspense whether to sink or
swim, the men having no power over her. However, she took
a favourable turn, and by degrees was led from this dangerous
vortex again into the stream. In this manner she continued,
flying from one danger to another, until the last cascade but
one, where in spite of every effort, the whirlpools forced her
against a low projecting rock. Upon this the men debarked,
saved their o-wn lives, and continued to save the property, but
the greatest difficulty was still ahead, and to continue by water
would be the way to certain destruction.
" During this distressing scene, we were on the shore looking
-on and anxiously concerned; seeing our poor fellows once
more safe afforded us as much satisfaction as to themselves,
and we hastened to their assistance ; but their situation
Tendered our approach perilous and difficult. The bank was
exceedingly high and steep, and we had to plunge our daggers
at intervals into the ground to check our speed, as otherwise
we were exposed to slide into the river. We cut steps in the
-declivity, fastened a line to the front of the canoe, with which
some of the men ascended in order to haul it up, while the
others supported it upon their arms. In this manner our
situation was most precarious ; our lives hung, as it were, upon
a thread, as the failure of the line, or a false step of one of the
men, might have hurled the whole of us into eternity. How
ever, we fortunately cleared the bank before dark."
Every day brought its dangers, and the progress was very
slow. Finding the navigation impossible, on the 26th Fraser
says: "As for the road by land, we could scarcely make our
way with even only our guns. I have been for a long period
:among the Eocky Mountains, but have never seen anything
like this country. It is so wild that I cannot find words to
describe our situation at times. We had to pass where no
human being should venture ; yet in those places there is a
Tegular footpath impressed, or rather indented upon the very
rocks by frequent travelling. Besides this, steps which are
formed like a ladder by poles hanging to one another, crossed
at certain distances with twigs, the whole suspended from the
top, furnish a safe and convenient passage to the natives down

THE GREAT EXPLORATION 145
these precipices ; but we, who had not had the advantage of
their education and experience, were often in imminent danger,
when obliged to follow their example."
On the right, as the party proceeded along the river, a
considerable stream emptied in, to which they gave the name
Shaw's Eiver, from one of the principal wintering partners.
Some distance down, a great river poured in from the left,
making notable forks. Thinking that likely the other expedi
tion by way of the Saskatchewan might be on the upper waters
of that river at the very time, they caUed it Thompson Eiver,
after the worthy astronomer, and it has retained the name
ever since.
But it would be a mistake to think that the difficulties were
passed when the forks of the Thompson Eiver were left behind.
TraveUers on the Canadian Pacific Eailway of to-day will
remember the great gorge of the Fraser, and how the railway
going at dizzy heights, and on strong overhanging ledges of
rock, stUl fills the heart with fear.
On July 2nd the party reached an arm of the sea and
saw the tide ebbing and flo-wing, showing them they were
near the ocean. They, however, found the Indians at this part
very troublesome. Praser was compelled to follow the native
custom, " and pretended to be in a violent passion, spoke loud,
with vehement gestures, exactly in their own way, and thus
peace and tranquilUty were instantly restored."
The explorer was, however, greatly disappointed that he
had been prevented by the turbulence of the natives from
going do-wn the arm of the sea and looking out upon the
Pacific Ocean. He wished to take observations on the sea-
coast. However, he got the latitude, and knowing that the
Columbia is 46 deg. 20' N., he was able to declare that the
river he had followed was not the Columbia. How difficult it
is to distinguish small from great actions ! Here was a man
making fame for all time, and the idea of the greatness of his
work had not da^wned upon him.
A short delay, and the party turned northward on July 4th,
and with many hardships made their way up the river. On
their ascent few things of note happened, the only notable
event being the recognition of the fame of the second bourgeois,

146 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Jules Quesnel, by giving his name to a river flowing into the
Praser Eiver from the east. The name is still retained, and is.
also given to the lake which marks the enlargement of the
river. On August 6th, the party rejoined Paries and his men
in the fort on Stuart Lake. The descent occupied forty-two-
days, and, as explorers have often found in such rivers as the
Praser, the ascent took less time than the descent. In this
case, their upward journey was but of thirty-three days.
Fraser returned to the east in the next year and is found in
1811 in charge of the Eed Eiver district, two years afterward
in command on the Mackenzie Eiver, and at Fort William on
Lake Superior in 1816, when the Port was taken by Lord
Selkirk. After retiring, he lived at St. Andrew's on the Ottawa,
and died at the advanced age of eighty-six, having been known
as one of the most noted and energetic fur-traders in the history
of the companies.
Thus we have seen the way in which these two kings of
adventure — Praser and Thompson — a few years after Sir
Alexander Mackenzie, succeeded amid extraordinary hardships
in crossing to the Western Sea. The record of the five trans
continental expeditions of these early times is as follows : —
(1) Alexander Mackenzie, by the Tacouche Tesse and
Bellacoola Eiver, 1793.
(2) Lewis and Clark, the American explorers, by the
Columbia Eiver, 1805.
(3) Simon Fraser by the river that bears his name, formerly
the Tacouche Tesse, 1808.
(4) David Thompson, by the Columbia Eiver, 1811.
(6) The overland party of Astorians, by the Columbia, 1811.
These expeditions shed a flood of glory on the Anglo-Saxon
name and fame.

CHAPTEE XVII.
THE X Y COMPANY.
" Le Marquis " Suuon McTavish unpopular — Alexander Mackenzie,
his rival — Enormous activity of the " Potties " — Why called X Y
— Five rival posts at Souris — Sir Alexander, the silent partner —
Old Lion of Montreal roused — " Posts of the King " — Schooner
sent to Hudson Bay — Nor'-Westers erect two posts on Hudson
Bay — Supreme foUy — Old and new Nor'-Westers unite — List
of partners.
Foe some years the Montreal fur companies, in their com
binations and readjustments, had all the variety of the kaleido
scope. Agreements were made for a term of years, and when
these had expired new leagues were formed, and in every case
dissatisfied members went into opposition and kept up the heat
and competition without which it is probable the fur trade
would have lost, to those engaged in it, many of its charms.
In 1795 several partners had retired from the North-West
Company and thrown in their lot with the famous firm that
we have seen was always inclined to follow its own course —
Messrs. Forsyth, Eichardson and Co. For a number of years
this independent Montreal firm had maintained a trade in the
districts about Lake Superior. The cause of this disruption
in the Company was the unpopularity, among the wintering
partners especially, of the strong-willed and domineering chief
in Montreal — Simon McTa^yish. One set of bourgeois spoke of
him derisively as " Le Premier," while others ¦with mock defer
ence caUed him " Le Marquis." Sir Alexander Mackenzie
had been himself a partner, had resided in the Par West,
and he was regarded by aU the traders in the " upper country "
as their friend and advocate. Although the discontent was
very great when the secession took place, yet the mere bond
of self-interest kept many within the old Company. Alexander

148 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Mackenzie most unwillingly consented to remain in the old
Company, but only for three years, reserving to himself the
right to retire at the end of that time.
Notwithstanding their disappointment, and possibly buoyed
up with the hope of having the assistance of their former
friend at a later period, the members of the X Y Company girt
themselves about for the new enterprise in the next year, so
that the usual date of this Company is from the year 1795.
Whether it was the circumstance of its origination in dislike of
" Le Premier," or whether the partners felt the need of greater
activity on account of their being weaker, it must be confessed
that a new era now came to the fur trade, and the opposition
was carried on with a warmth much greater than had ever
been known among the old companies. A casual observer can
hardly help feeling that while not a member of the new
Company at this date, Alexander Mackenzie was probably its
active promoter behind the scenes.
The new opposition developed without delay. Striking at
all the salient points, the new Company in 1797 erected its
trading house at Grand Portage, somewhat more than half a
mile from the North-West trading house and on the other
side of the small stream that there falls into the Bay. A few
years after, when the North-West Company moved to
Kaministiquia, the X Y also erected a building within a mile of
the new fort. The new Company was at some time in its
history known as the New North-West Company, but was
more commonly called the X Y Company. The origin of this
name is accounted for as follows. On the bales which were
made up for transport, it was the custom to mark the North-West
Company's initials N.W. When the new Company, which was
an offshoot of the old, wished to mark their bales, they simply
employed the next letters of the alphabet, X Y. They are
accordingly not contractions, and should not be ¦written as such.
It was the habit of members of the older Company to express
their contempt for the secessionists by caUing them the " Little
Company " or " the Little Society." In the Athabasca country
the rebellious traders were called by their opponents " Potties,"
probably a corruption of " Les Petits," meaning members of
" La Petite Compagnie." When these names were used

THE X Y COMPANY 149
by the French Canadian voyageurs, the X Y Company was
referred to.
However disrespectfully they may have been addressed, the
traders of the new Company caused great anxiety both to the
North-West Company and to the Hudson's Bay Company,
though they regarded themselves chiefly as rivals of the
former. Pushing out into the country nearest their base of
supplies on Lake Superior, they took hold of the Eed Eiver
and Assiniboine region, as well as of the Eed Lake country
immediately south of and connected with it. The point where
the Souris empties into the Assiniboine was occupied in the
same year (1798) by the X Y Company. It had been a
favourite resort for all classes of fur- traders, there having been
no less than five opposing trading houses at this point four
years before. No doubt the presence of the free-trading
element such as McCracken and Jussaume, whom we find in
the Souris region thus early, made it easier for smaller con
cerns to carry on a kind of business in which the great
North-West Company would not care to be engaged.
Meanwhile dissension prevailed in the North-West Company.
The smouldering feeling of dislike between " Le Marquis " and
Alexander Mackenzie and the other fur-trading magnates broke
out into a flame. As ex-Governor Masson says : " These three
years were an uninterrupted succession of troubles, differences,
and misunderstandings between these two opposing leaders."
At the great gathering at the Grand Portage in 1799, Alex
ander Mackenize warned the partners that he was about to
quit the Company, and though the winterers begged him not
to carry out his threat, yet he remained inexorable. The dis
cussion reported to Mr. McTavish was very displeasing to him,
and in the following year his usual letter to the gathering
written from Montreal was curt and showed much feeling, he
saying, " I feel hurt at the distrust and want of confidence that
appeared throughout all your deliberations last season."
Alexander Mackenzie, immediately after the scene at Grand
Portage, crossed over to England, pubUshed his "Voyages,"
and received his title. He then returned in 1801 to Canada.
Flushed with the thought of his successes, he threw himself
with great energy into the affairs of the opposing Company, the

15© THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
X Y,or, as it was also now called, that of " Sir Alexander Mac
kenzie and Company." If the competition had been warm
before, it now rose to fever heat. The brigandage had scarcely
any limit ; combats of clerk with clerk, trapper with trapper,
voyageur with voyageur, were common. Strong drink became,
as never before or since, a chief instrument of the rival com
panies in dealing with the Indians.
A North-West Company trader, writing from Pembina,
says : " Indians daily coming in by small parties ; nearly 100
men here. I gave them fifteen kegs of mixed liquor, and the
X Y gave in proportion ; all drinking ; I quarrelled with Little
Shell, and dragged him out of the fort by the hair. Indians
very troublesome, threatening to level my fort to the ground,
and their chief making mischief. I had two narrow escapes
from being stabbed by him ; once in the hall and soon after
wards in the shop. '
Such were the troubles of competition between the Com
panies. The new Company made a determined effort to
compete also in the far-distant Peace Eiver district. In
October of this year two prominent partners of the new Com
pany arrived with their following at the Peace Eiver. One of
these, Pierre de Eocheblave, was of a distinguished family,
being the nephew of a French officer who had fought on the
Monongahela against Braddock. The other was James Leith,
who also became a prominent fur-trader in later days.
Illustrating the keenness of the trade conflict, John
McDonald, of Garth, also says in 1798, writing from the Upper
Saskatchewan, "We had here (Fort Augustus), besides the
Hudson's Bay Company, whose fort was within a musket
shot of ours, the opposition on the other side of the new
concern I have aheady mentioned, which had assumed a
powerful shape under the name of the X Y Company, at the
head of which was the late John Ogilvy in Montreal, and at
this establishment Mr. King, an old south trader in his prime
and pride as the first among bullies."
Sir Alexander Mackenzie did wonders in the management of
his Company, but the old lion at Montreal, from his mountain
chebteau, showed a remarkable determination, and provided as
he was with great wealth, he resolved to overcome at any price

THE X Y COMPANY 151
the opposition which he also contemptuously called the " Little
Company." In 1802 he, with the skill of a great general, re
constructed his Company. He formed a combination which
was to continue for twenty years. Into this he succeeded in
introducing a certain amount of new blood ; those clerks
who had shown ability were promoted to the position of
bom-geois or partners. By this progressive and statesmanlike
policy, notwithstanding the energy of the X Y Company,
the old Company showed all the vigour and enthusiasm of
youth. An employe of the North-West Company, Livingston, had
a few years before established a post on Slave Lake. Animated
with the new spirit of his superiors, he went further north still
and made a discovery of silver, but on undertaking to open
trade communications with the Eskimos, the trader unfortu
nately lost his life.
Other expeditions were sent to the Missouri and to the
sources of the South Saskatchewan ; it is even said that in this
direction a post was established among the fierce tribes of the
Bow Eiver, west of the present town of Calgary.
Looking out for other avenues for the wonderful store of
energy in the North-West Company, the partners took into
consideration the development of the vast fisheries of the St.
La-wrence and the interior. Simon McTavish rented the old
posts of the King- — meaning by these Tadoussac, Chicoutimi,
Assuapmousoin, and Mistassini, reached by way of the
Saguenay ; and He Jeremie, Godbout, Mingan, Masquaro, and
several others along the north shore of the Lower St.
La-wrence or the Gulf. The annual rent paid for the King's
posts was 1000/.
But the greatest flight of the old fur king's ambition was to
carry his operations into the forbidden country of the Hudson
Bay itself. In furtherance of this policy, in 1803 the North-
West Company sent a schooner of 150 tons to the shores of
Hudson Bay to trade, and along -with this an expedition was
sent by land by way of St. John and Mistassini to co-operate
in establishing stations on the Bay. By this movement two
posts were founded, one at Charlton Island and the other at
the mouth of the Moose Eiver. Many of the partners were

152 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
not in favour of these expeditions planned by the strong-headed
old dictator, and the venture proved a financial loss. Simon
McTavish, though comparatively a young man, now thought
of retiring, and purchased the seigniory of Terrebonne, pro
posing there to lead a life of luxury and ease, but a stronger
enemy than either the X Y or Hudson's Bay Company came
to break up his plans. Death summoned him away in
July, 1804.
The death of Simon McTavish removed all obstacles to
union between the old and new North-West Companies, and
propositions were soon made to Sir Alexander Mackenzie and
his friends, which resulted in a union of the two Companies.
We are fortunate in having preserved to us the agreement by
which the two Companies — old and new North-West Com
panies — were united. The partners of the old Company were
given three-quarters of the stock and those of the new one-
quarter. The provisions of the agreement are numerous, but
chiefly deal with necessary administration. One important
clause is to the effect that no business other than the fur trade,
or what is necessarily depending thereon, shall be followed by
the Company. No partner of the new concern is to be allowed
to have any private interests at the posts outside those of the
Company. By one clause the new North-West Company
is protected from any expense that might arise from Simon
McTavish's immense venture on the Hudson Bay. It may
be interesting to give the names of the partners of the two
Companies, those who were not present, from being mostly in
the interior and whose names were signed by those having
powers of attorney from them, being marked Att.

NEW NOETH-WEST OE X Y COMPANY.
Alex. Mackenzie. Thomas Forsyth, Att.
Thomas Forsyth, Att. Late Leith, Jameson & Co.
John Richardson. (by Trustees).
John Inglis, Att. John Ogilvie.
James Fors3rth, Att. P. de Rocheblane, Att.
John Mure, Att. Alex. McKenzie, Att. (2).
John Forsyth. John Macdonald, Att.
Alex. EUice, Att. James Leith, At-t.
John HaJdane, Att. John Wills, Att.

THE X Y COMPANY 153

OLD NOETH-WEST COMPANY.
John Finlay, Att. Wm. Hallowell.
Duncan Cameron, Att. Rod. McKenzie.
James Hughes, Att. Angus Shaw, Att.
Alex. McKay, Att. DI. McKenzie, Att.
Hugh McGillis, Att. Wm. McKay, Att.
Alex. Henry, Jr., Att. John McDonald, Att.
John McGillivray, Att. Donald McTavish, Att.
James McKenzie, Att. John McDonnell, Att.
Simon Eraser, Att. Arch. N. McLeod, Att.
John D. Campbell, Att. Alex. McDougaU, Att.
D. Thompson, Att. Chas. Chaboillez, Att.
John Thompson, Att. John Sayer, Att.
John Gr^ory. Peter Grant, Att.
Wm. McGillivray. Alex. Fraser, Att.
Duncan McGillivray, Att. .ffineas Cameron, Att.
Anyone acquainted in the slightest degree with the early
history of Canada will see in these lists the names of legislative
councillors, members of Assembly, leaders in society, as well
as of those who, in the twenty years following the signing of
this agreement, by deeds of daring, exploration, and discovery,
made the name of the North-West Company illustrious. These
names represent likewise those who carried on that wearisome
and disastrous conflict with the Hudson's Bay Company which
in time would have ruined both Companies but for the happy
union which took place, when the resources of each were well-
nigh exhausted.

CHAPTEE XVIII.
THE LOEDS OF THE LAKES AND POEESTS. — I.
New route to Kaminis-tiquia — Vivid sketch of Fort William — " Can-
tine Salope " — Lively Christmas week — The feasting partners —
Ex-Governor Masson's good work — Four great Mackenzies — A
literary bourgeois — Three handsome demoiselles — " The man in the
moon" — Story of " Bras Croche" — Around Cape Horn — Astoria
taken over — A hot-headed trader — Sad case of " Little Labrie "
— Punch on New Year's Day — The heart of a " Vacher."
The union of the opposing companies from Montreal led to a
great development of trade, and, as we have already seen, to
important schemes of exploration.
Eoderick McKenzie, the cousin of Sir Alexander, in coming
down from Eainy Lake to Grand Portage, heard of a new route
to Kaministiquia. We have already seen that Umfreville had
found out a circuitous passage from Nepigon to Winnipeg
Eiver, but this had been considered impracticable by the fur-
traders. Accordingly, when the treaty of amity and commerce made
it certain that Grand Portage had to be given up, it was
regarded as a great matter when the route to Kaministi
quia became known. This was discovered by Mr. Eoderick
McKenzie quite by accident. When coming, in 1797, to Canada
on leave of absence, this trader was told by an Indian family
near Eainy Lake that a little farther north there was a good
route for large canoes, which was formerly used by the whites
in their trading expeditions. Taking an Indian with him,
McKenzie followed this course, which brought him out at the
mouth of the Kaministiquia. This proved to be the old French
route, for all along it traces were found of their former estab
lishments. Strange that a route at one time so well known
should be completely forgotten in forty years.

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 155
In the year 1800 the North-West Company built a fort, called
the New Fort, at the mouth of the Kaministiquia, and, abandon
ing Grand Portage, moved their headquarters to this point in
1803. In the year after the union of the North-West and
X Y Companies the name Port William was given to this estab
lishment, in honour of the Hon. William McGilli-vray, who had
become the person of greatest distinction in the united North-
West Company.
As giving us a glimpse of the life of " the lords of the lakes
and forests," which was led at Port William, we have a good
sketch written by a trader, Gabriel Pranchere, who was a
French Canadian of respectable family and began life in a
business place in Montreal. At this stage, says a local writer,
"the fur trade was at its apogee," and Pranchere was engaged
by the Astor Company and went to Astoria. Eeturning over
the mountains, he passed Fort WUliam. His book, -written in
French, has been translated into English, and is creditable
to the -writer, who died as late as 1856 in St. Paul,
Minnesota. Pranchere says of Port William, rather inaccurately, that
it was built in 1805. This lively writer was much impressed
by the trade carried on at this point, and gives the following
vivid description : —
" Port William has really the appearance of a fort from the
palisade fifteen feet high, and also that of a pretty village from
the number of buildings it encloses. In the middle of a
spacious square stands a large building, elegantly built, though
of wood, the middle door of which is raised five feet above the
ground plot, and in the front of which runs a long gallery.
In the centre of this building is a room about sixty feet long
and thirty wide, decorated with several paintings, and some
portraits in crayon of a number of the partners of the Company.
It is in this room that the agents, the clerks, and the inter
preters take their meals at different tables. At each extremity
of the room are two small apartments for the partners."
" The back part of the house is occupied by the kitchen and
sleeping apartments of the domestics. On each side of this
building there is another of the same size, but lower ; these are
divided lengthwise by a corridor, and contain each twelve

156 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
pretty sleeping rooms. One of these houses is intended for the
partners, the other for the clerks.
" On the east side of the Fort there is another house intended
for the same purpose, and a large building in which furs are
examined and where they are put up in tight bales by means
of a press. Behind, and still on the same side, are found the
lodges of the guides, another building for furs, and a powder
magazine. This last building is of grey stone, and roofed in
with tin. In the corner stands a kind of bastion or point of
observation. " On the west side is seen a range of buildings, some of which
serve for stores and others for shops. There is one for dressing
out the employes ; one for fitting out canoes ; one in which
merchandise is retailed ; another where strong drink, bread,
lard, butter, and cheese are sold, and where refreshments are
given out to arriving voyageurs. This refreshment consists of
a white loaf, a half pound of butter, and a quart of rum. The
voyageurs give to this liquor store the name ' Cantine Salope.'
" Behind is found still another row of buildings, one of which
is used as an office or counting-house, a pretty square building
well lighted ; another serves as a store ; and a third as a prison.
The voyageurs give to the last the name, ' Pot au beurre.' At
the south-east corner is a stone shed roofed with tin. Farther
back are the workshops of the carpenters, tinsmiths, black
smiths, and their spacious courts or sheds for sheltering the
canoes, repairing them, and constructing new ones.
" Near the gate of the Fort, which is to the south, are the
dwelling-houses of the surgeon and resident clerk. Over the
entrance gate a kind of guard-house has been built. As the
river is deep enough at its entrance, the Company has had quays
built along the Fort as a landing place for the schooners kept
on Lake Superior for transporting peltries, merchandise, and
provisions from Fort William to Sault Ste. Marie, and vice versa.
" There are also on the other side of the river a number of
houses, all inhabited by old French-Canadian voyageurs, worn
out in the service of the North-West Company, without having
become richer by it. Fort WiUiam is the principal factory
of the North-West Company in the interior and a general
rendezvous of the partners. The agents of Montreal and the

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 157
proprietors wintering in the north nearly all assemble here
every summer and receive the returns, form expeditions, and
discuss the interests, of their commerce.
"The employes wintering in the north spend also a portion of
the summer at Fort William. They form a great encampment
to the west, outside the palisades. Those who are only engaged
at Montreal to go to Port William or to Eainy Lake, and who
do not -winter in the North, occupy another space on the east
side. The former give to the latter the name ' mangeurs de
lard.' A remarkable difference is observed between the two
camps, which are composed of three or four hundred men each.
That of the ' mangeurs de lard ' is always very dirty and that
of the winterers neat and clean."
But the fur-traders were by no means merely business men.
Perhaps never were there assemblages of men who feasted more
heartily when the work was done. The Christmas week was a
holiday, and sometimes the jollity went to a considerable excess,
which was entirely to be expected when the hard life of the
voyage was taken into consideration. Whether at Fort William,
or in the North-West Company's house in St. Gabriel Street,
Montreal, or in later day at Lachine, the festive gatherings of
the Nor'-Westers were characterized by extravagance and often
by hilarious mirth. The luxuries of the Bast and West were
gathered for these occasions, and offerings to Bacchus were
neither of poor quality nor limited in extent. With Scotch
story and Jacobite song, intermingled with " La Claire Fon
taine " or " Malbrouck s'en va," those Uvely songs of French
Canada, the hours of evening and night passed merrily away.
At times when they had been feasting long into the morning,
the traders and clerks would sit down upon the feast-room
floor, when one would take the tongs, another the shovel,
another the poker, and so on. They would arrange themselves
in regular order, as in a boat, and, vigorously rowing, sing a
song of the voyage ; and loud and long till the early streaks of
the East were seen would the rout continue. When the
merriment reached such a height as this, ceremony was relaxed,
and voyageurs, servants, and attendants were admitted to
-witness the wild carouse of the wine-heated partners.
We are fortunate in having the daily life of the fur-traders

158 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
from the Lower St. La-wrence to the very shores of the Pacifie
Ocean pictured for us by the partners in the " Journals " they
have left behind them. Just as the daily records of the monks
and others, dreary and uninteresting as many of them at times
are, commemorated the events of their time in the " Saxon
Chronicle " and gave the material for history, so the journals of
the bourgeois, often left unpublished for a generation or two,
and the works of some of those who had influence and literary
ability enough to issue their stories in the form of books,
supply us with the material for reproducing their times.
From such sources we intend to give a few sketches of the life
of that time.
We desire to express the greatest appreciation of the work
of ex-Governor Masson, who is related to the McKenzie and
Chaboillez families of that period, and who has published no less
than fourteen journals, sketches of the time ; of the painstaking
writing of an American officer. Dr. Coues, who has with great
care and success edited the journals of Alexander Henry, Jr.,
and such remains as he could obtain of David Thompson,
thus supplementing the publication by Charles Lindsey, of
Toronto, of an account of Thompson. We acknowledge also
the patient collection of material by Tass^ in his " Canadiens
de L'Ouest," as well as the interesting journals of Harmon and
others, which have done us good service.
VALUABLE EEMINISCENCBS.
The name of McKenzie (Hon. Eoderick McKenzie) was one
to conjure by among the fur-traders. From the fact that there
were so many well-known partners and clerks of this name
arose the custom, very common in the Highland communities, of
giving nicknames to distinguish them. Pour of the McKenzies
were " Le Eouge," " Le Blanc," " Le Borgne '' (one-eyed), and
" Le Picote " (pock-marked). Sir Alexander was the most
notable, and after him his cousin, the Hon. Eoderick, of whom
we write.
This distinguished man came out as a Highland laddie from
Scotland in 1784. He at once entered the ser-vice of the fur
company, and made his first journey to the North-West in the
next year. His voyage from Ste. Anne, on Montreal Island,

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 159
up the fur-traders' route, was taken in Gregory McLeod & Co.'s
service. At Grand Portage McKenzie was initiated into the
mysteries of the partners. Pushed into the North-West, he
soon became prominent, and built the most notable post of
the upper country. Port Chipewyan.
On his marriage he became alUed to a number of the
magnates of the fur company. His wife belonged to the popular
family of ChaboUlez, two other daughters of which were
married, one to the well-known Surveyor-General of Lower
Canada, Joseph Bouchette, and another to Simon McTavish,
"Le Marquis."
Eoderick McKenzie was a man of some literary ability and
taste. He purposed at one time writing a history of the
Indians of the North-West and also of the North-West Com
pany. In order to do this, he sent circulars to leading traders,
and thus recei-?ing a number of journals, laid the foundation of
the Uterary store from which ex-Governor Masson prepared his
book on the bourgeois.
Between him and his cousin. Sir Alexander Mackenzie, an
extensive correspondence was kept up. Extracts from the
letters of the distinguished partner form the burden of the
" Eeminiscences " published by Masson. Many of the facts
have been referred to in our sketch of Sir Alexander Mackenzie's
voyages. For eight long years Eoderick McKenzie remained in the
Indian country and came to Canada in 1797. Some two years
afterward Sir Alexander Mackenzie left the old Company and
headed the X Y Company. At that time Eoderick McKenzie
was chosen in the place of his cousin in the North-West Com
pany, and this for several years caused a coolness between them.
His " Eeminiscences " extend to 1829, at which time he was
living in Terrebonne, in Lower Canada. He became a member
of the Legislative Council in Lower Canada, and he has a number
of distinguished descendants. Eoderick McKenzie closes his
interesting " Eeminiscences " with an elaborate and valuable list
of the proprietors, clerks, interpreters, &c., of the North-West
Company in 1799, gi'ving their distribution in the departments,
and the salary paid each. It gives us a picture of the magni
tude of the operations of the North-West Company.

i6o THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
TALES OP THB NOETH-WEST.
Few of the Nor'-Westers aimed at collecting and preserving
the folk-lore of the natives. At the request of Eoderick
McKenzie, George Keith, a bourgeois who spent a great part
of his life very far North, viz. in the regions of Athabasca,
Mackenzie Eiver, and Great Bear Lake, sent a series of letters
extending from 1807 onward for ten years embodying tales,
descriptions, and the history of the Indian tribes of his district.
His first description is that of the Beaver Indians, of whom he
gives a vocabulary. He writes for us a number of tales of the
Beaver Indians, viz. " The Indian Hercules," " Two Lost
Women," " The Flood, a Tale of the Mackenzie Eiver," and
" The Man in the Moon." One letter gives a good account of
the social manners and customs of the Beaver Indians, and
another a somewhat complete description of the Eocky Moun
tains and Mackenzie Eiver country. Descriptions of the Filthy
Lake and Grand Eiver Indians and the Long Arrowed Indians,
with a few more letters with reference to the fur trade, make
up the interesting collection. George Keith may be said to
have wielded the " pen of a ready writer." We give his story
of THE MAN IN THE MOON.
A Tale, or Tradition, of the Beaver Indians.
" In the primitive ages of the world, there was a man and
his wife who had no children. The former was very singular
in his manner of living. Being an excellent hunter, he lived
entirely upon the blood of the animals he killed. This circum
stance displeased his wife, who secretly determined to play him
a trick. Accordingly, one day the husband went out hunting,
and left orders with his wife to boil some blood in a kettle, so
as to be ready for supper on his return. When the time of his
expected return was drawing nigh, his ¦wife pierced a vein with
an awl in her left arm and drew a copious quantity of blood,
which she mixed with a greater quantity of the blood of a
moose deer, that he should not discover it, and prepared the
whole for her husband's supper.
" Upon his return the blood was served up to him on a bark
dish ; but, upon putting a spoonful to his mouth, he detected

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS i6i
the maUce of his wife, and only saying that the blood did not
smell good, threw the kettle with the contents about her ears.
" Night coming on, the man went to bed and told his wife to
observe the moon about midnight. After the first nap, the
woman, awaking, was surprised to find that her husband was
absent. She arose and made a fire, and, lifting up her eyes to
the moon, was astonished to see her husband, with his dog and
kettle, in the body of the moon, from which he has never
descended. She bitterly lamented her misfortunes during the
rest of her days, always attributing them to her maUcious
invention of preparing her own blood for her husband's
supper." INTEEESTINO AUTOBIOGEAPHY.
Among all the Nor'-Westers there was no one who had more
of the Scottish pride of family than John McDonald, of Garth,
claiming as he did to be descended from the lord of the isles.
His father obtained him a commission in the British army, but
he could not pass the examination on account of a blemish
caused by an accident to his arm. The sobriquet, "Bras
Croch " clung to him all his life as a fur trader.
Commended to Simon McTa^vish, the young man became his
favourite, and in 1791 started for the fur country. He was placed
under the experienced trader, Angus Shaw, and passed his first
winter in the far-off Beaver Eiver, north of the Saskatchewan,
Next ¦winter he visited the Grand Portage, and he tells us that
for a couple of weeks he was feasting on the best of everything
and the best of fish. Eeturning to the Saskatchewan, he took
part in the buUding of Fort George on that river, whence, after
wintering, the usual summer journey was made to Grand
Portage. Here, he tells us, they " met the gentlemen from
Montreal in goodfeUowship." This life continued till 1795.
He shows us the state of feeling between the Companies.
" It may not be out of the way to mention that on New Year's
Day, during the customary firing of musketry, one of our
opponent's bullies purposely fired his powder through my
window. I, of course, got enraged, and chaUenged him to
single combat with our guns ; this was a check upon him ever
after." M

1 62 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Eemaining in the same district, by the year 1800 he had,
backed as he was by po^werful influence, his sister being
married to Hon. William McGillivray, become a partner in the
Company. Two years afterward he speaks of old Cuthbert
Grant coming to the district, but in the spring, this officer
being sick, McDonald fitted up a comfortable boat with an
awning in which Grant went to the Kaministiquia, where he
died. In 1802, McDonald returned from Fort William and deter
mined to build another fort farther up the river to meet a new
tribe, the Kootenays. This was " Eocky Mountain House."
Visiting Scotland in the year after, he returned to be dispatched
in 1804 to EngUsh Eiver, where he was in competition with a
Hudson's Bay Company trader. In the next year he went back
to the Saskatchewan, saying that, although a very dangerous
department, he preferred it. Going up the south branch of the
Saskatchewan, he erected the " New Chesterfield House " at the
mouth of the Eed Deer Eiver, and there met again a detach
ment of Hudson's Bay Company people.
In 1806 he, being unweU, spent the year chiefly in
Montreal, after which he was appointed to the less exacting
field of Eed Eiver. One interesting note is given us as to
the Eed Eiver forts. He says, " I established a fort at the
junction of the Eed and Assiniboine Eivers and called it
' Gibraltar,' though there was not a rock or a stone within
three miles." As we shall see afterwards, the buUding of
this fort, which was on the site of the city of Winnipeg, had
taken place in the year preceding.
With his customary energy in erecting forts, he built one a
distance up the Qu'Appelle Eiver, probably Fort Esperance.
While do^wn at Port William in the spring, the news came
to him that David Thompson was surrounded in the Eocky
Mountains by Blackfoot war parties. McDonald volunteered
to go to the rescue, and -with thirty chosen men, after many
dangers and hardships, reached Thompson in the land of the
Kootenays. McDonald was one of the traders selected to go to Britain and
thence by the ship Isaac Todd to the mouth of the Columbia to
meet the Astor Fur Company. He started in company with

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 163
Hon. Edward ElUce. At Eio Janeiro McDonald shipped from
the Isaac Todd on board the frigate Phoebe. On the west coast
of South America they called at "Juan Fernandez, Eobinson
Crusoe's Island." They reached the Columbia on November
30th, 1813, and in company with trader McDougaU took over
Astoria in King George's name, McDonald becoming senior
partner at Astoria.
In April, 1814, McDonald left for home across the moun
tains, by way of the Saskatchewan, and in due time arrived at
Fort WUliam. He came to Sault Ste. Marie to find the fort
buUt by the Americans, and reached Montreal amid some
dangers. The last adventure mentioned in his journal was that
of meeting in Terrebonne Lord Selkirk's party who were going
to the North-West to oppose the Nor'-Westers.
The veteran spent his last days in the County of Glengarry,
Ontario, and died in 1860, between eighty-nine and ninety
years of age. His career had been a most romantic one, and
he was noted for his high spirit and courage, as well as for his
^ceaseless energy as a trader.
TWO JOUENALS AND A DESCEIPTION.
James McKenzie, brother of Hon. Eoderick McKenzie, was
•a graphic, though somewhat irritable writer with a good style.
He has left us "A Journal from the Athabasca Country," a
description of the King's posts on the Lower St. La-wrence,
-with a journal of a jaunt through the King's posts. This fur
trader joined the North-West Company.
In 1799 he was at Fort Chipewyan. His descriptions are
minute accounts of his doings at his fort. He seems to have
taken much interest in his men, and he gives a pathetic account
of one of these trappers called " Little Labrie." Labrie had
been for six days without food, and was almost frozen to death.
He says : " Little Labrie's feet are still soaking in cold water,
but retain their hardness. We watched him all last night ; he
fainted often in the course of the night, but we always brought
him to Ufe again by the help of muUed -wine. Once in parti
cular, when he found himself very weak and sick, and thought
he was dying he said, ' Adieu ; je m'en vais ; tout mon bien k
'Ceux qui ont soin de moi.' 10th, about twelve o'clock, Labrie

1 64 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
was freed from all his agonies in this world." McKenzie
evidently had a kind heart.
The candid -writer gives us a picture of New Year's Day,
January 1st, 1800. " This morning before daybreak, the men,
according to custom, fired two broadsides in honour of the New
Year, and then came in to be rewarded with rum, as usual.
Some of them could hardly stand alone before they went away ;
such was the effect of the juice of the grape on their brains.
After dinner, at which everyone helped themselves so plenti
fully that nothing remained to the dogs, they had a bowl
of punch. The expenses of this day, with fourteen men
and women, are : 61^ fathoms Spencer twist (tobacco) 7 flagons
rum, 1 ditto wine, 1 ham, a skin's worth of dried meat, about
40 white fish, flour, sugar, &c."
McKenzie had many altercations in his trade, and seems to
have been of a violent temper. He found fault -with one of the
X Y people named Perroue, saying it was a shame for him
to call those who came from Scotland " vachers " (cow-boys).
He said he did not call all, but a few of them" vachers." I
desked him to name one in the North, and told him that the
one who served him as a clerk was a 'vacher,' and had the
heart of a ' vacher ' since he remained with him."
McKenzie has frequent accounts of drunken brawls, from
which it is easy to be seen that this period of the opposition of
the two Montreal Companies was one of the most dissolute
in the history of the fur traders. The fur trader's -violent
temper often broke out against employes and Indians aUke.
He had an ungovernable dislike to the Indians, regarding them
simply as the off-scourings of all things, and for the voyageurs
and workmen of his own Company the denunciations are so
strong that his violent language was regarded as " sound and
fury, signifying nothing."

CHAPTEE XIX.
THE LOEDS OF THE LAKES AND FOEESTS. — II.
Harmon and his book — An honest man — " Straight as an arrow '' —
New views — An uncouth giant — " Gaelic, English, French, and
Indian oaths "—McDonnell, " Le Pretre " — St. Andrew's Day —
"Fathoms of tobacco" — Down the Assiniboine — An entertaining
journal— A good editor — A too frank trader — "Gun fired ten
yards away'' — Herds of bufl'alo — Packs and pemmican — "The
fourth Gospel " — Drowning of Henry — " The weather cleared
up " — Lost for forty days — " Cheepe," the corpse — Larocque and
the Mandans — McKenzie and his half-breed children.
A GOOD TEADEE AND A GOOD BOOK.
To those interested in the period we are describing there is not
a more attractive character than Daniel Williams Harmon, a
native of Vermont, who entered the North-West Company's
sdT-vice in the year 1800, at the age of 22. After a number of
years spent in the far West, he brought with him on a -visit to
New England the journal of his adventures, and this was
edited and published by a Puritan minister, Daniel Haskel, of
Andover, Massachusetts. Harmon and the book are both
somewhat striking, though possibly neither would draw forth
universal admiration. The youngest of his daughters is well
known to-d^y as a prominent citizen of Ottawa, and has a
marked reverence for the memory of her father.
Leaving Lachine in the service of McTavish, Frobisher & Co.,
the young fur trader followed the usual route up th'e Ottawa
and reached in due course Grand Portage, which he called
"the general rendezvous for the fur traders." He thus
describes the fort : " It is twenty-four rods by thirty, is buUt
On the margin of the Bay, at the foot of a hiU or mountain of
considerable height. Within the fort there is a considerable
number of dwelling-houses, shops, and stores : the houses are

1 66 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
surrounded by palisades, which are about eighteen inches in
diameter. The other fort, which stands about 200 rods from
this, belongs to the X Y Company. It is only three years since
they made an estabUshment here, and as yet they have had but
little success." Harmon was appointed to follow John
McDonald, of Garth, to the Upper Saskatchewan. On the
way out, however, Harmon was ordered to the Swan Eiver
district. Here he remained for four years, taking a lively
interest in all the parts of a trader's life. He was much on
the Assiniboine, and passed the sites of Brandon, Portage la
Prairie, and Winnipeg of to-day.
In October, 1805, Harmon, ha-dng gone to the Saskat
chewan, took as what was 'called his " country wife " a French
Canadian half-breed girl, aged fourteen. He states that it was
the custom of the country for the trader to take a ¦wife from
the natives, live with her in the country, and then, on leaving
the country, place her and her children ¦(inder the care of an
honest man and give a certain amount for her support. As a
matter of fact, Harmon, years aiter, on leaving the country,
took his native spouse with him, and on Lake Champlain some
of his younger children were born. There were fourteen
ohildren born to him, and his North-West wife was to her last
days a handsome woman, " as straight as an arrow."
During Harmon's time Athabasca had not only the X Y Com
pany, but also a number of forts of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany. Cumberland House was the next place of residence of
the fur trader, and at this point the Hudson's Bay Company
house was in charge of Peter Fidler. Harmon's journal con
tinues with most interesting details of the fur trade, which
have the charm of liveUness and novelty. Allusions are
constantly made to the leading traders, McDonald, Fraser,
Thompson, Quesnel, Stuart., and others known to us in our
researches. In the course of time (1810) Harmon found his
way over the Eocky Mountain portage and pursued the fur
trade in McLeod Lake Fort and Stuart's Lake in New
Caledonia, and here we find a fort called, after him, Harmon's
Port. His description of the Indians is always graphic, giving
many striking customs of the aborigines. About the end of
1813 Harmon's journal is taken up ¦with seriou's religious
reflections. He had been troubled with doubts as to tha

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 167
reality of Christianity. But after reading the Scriptures and
such books as he could obtain, he tells us that a new view of
things was his, and that his future Ufe became more consistent
and useful. He records us a series of the resolutions which
he adopted, and they certainly indicate a high ideal on his part.
In 1816 he had really become habituated to the upper
country. He gives us a glimpse of his family : —
" I now pass a short time every day, very pleasantly, in
teaching my little daughter Polly to read and spell words in the
EngUsh language, in which she makes good progress, though
she knows not the meaning of one of them. In conversing
¦with my children I use entirely the Cree Indian language ;
with their mother I more frequently employ the French. Her
native tongue, however, is more familiar to her, which is the
reason why our children have been taught to speak that in
preference to the French language." In his journal, which at
times fully shows his introspections, he gives an account of the
struggle in his own mind about leaving his wife in the country,
as was the custom of too many of the clerks and partners.
He had instructed her in the principles of Christianity, and by
these principles he was bound to her for life. After eight and
a half years spent on the west side of the Eocky Mountains,
Harmon arrived at Fort William, 1819, having made a
journey of three thousand miles from his far-away post in New
Caledonia. Montreal was soon after reached, and the journal
comes to a close. A BUSY BOUEGEOIS.
We have seen the energy and abiUty displayed by John
McDonald, of Garth, known as "Le Bras Croch." Another
trader, John McDonald, is described by Eoss Cox, who spent
his Ufe largely in the Eocky Mountain region. He was kno^wn
as McDonald Grand. " He was 6 ft. 4 in. in height, with
broad shoulders, large bushy whiskers, and red hair, which
he aUowed to grow for years ¦without the use of scissors,
and which sometimes, falUng over his face and should^s,
gave to his countenance a wild and uncouth appearance."
He had a most uncontrollable temper, and in his rage would
indulge in a ¦wild medley of GaeUc, English, French, and
Indian oaths.

1 68 THE HUDSON'S BAl COMPANY
But a third John McDonnell was found among the fur
traders. He was a brother of Miles McDonnell, Lord Selkirk's
first governor of the Eed Eiver Settlement. John McDonnell
was a rigid Eoman CathoUc, and was known as " Le Pr6tre "
(" The Priest ") from the fact that on the voyage through the fur
country he always insisted on observing the Church fasts along
with hig French Canadian employes. McDonneU, on leaving
the service of the North-West Company, retired to Point
Fortune, on the Otta^wU, and there engaged in trade.
We have his journal for the years 1793-6, and it is an ex
cellent example of what a typical fur trader's journal would be.
It is minute, accurate, and very interesting. During this period
he spent his time chiefly in trading up and down the Assini
boine and Eed Eivers. A few extracts will show the interesting
nature of his journal entries : —
Fort Esperance, Oct. 18th, 1793.— NeU McKay set out to
build and winter at the Forks of the river (junction of the
Qu'Appelle and Assiniboine), alongside of Mr. Peter Grant,
who has made his pitch about seven leagues from here. Mr.
N. McKay's effects were carried in two boats, managed by five
men each. Mr. C. Grant set out for his quarters of Eiver
Tremblant, about thirty leagues from here. The dogs made a
woeful howling at all the departures.
Oct. 19th. — Seventeen warriors came from the banks of the
Missouri for tobacco. They slept ten nights on their way, and
are emissaries from a party of Assiniboines who went to war
upon the Sioux.
Oct. 20th. — The warriors traded a few skins brought upon
their backs and went off ill pleased with their reception.
After dark, the dogs kept up a constant barking, which induced
a belief that some of the warriors were lurking about the fort
for an opportunity to steal. I took a sword and pistol and went
to sleep in the store. Nothing took place.
Oct. 31st. — Two of Mr. N. McKay's men came from the forts,
supposing this to be All Saints' Day. Eaised a flag-staff,
poplar, fifty feet above the ground.
Nov. 23rd. — The men were in chase of a white buffalo all
day, but could not get within shot of him. Paignant killed two
buffalo cows. A mild day.
Nov. 30th. — St. Andrew's Day. Hoisted the flag in honour

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 169
of the titulary saint of Scotland. A beautiful day. Expected
Messrs. Peter Grant and Neil McKay to dinner. They sent
excuse by Bonneau.
Dec. 2nd. — Sent Mr. Peter Grant a To-wn and Country
magazine of 1790. Poitras' -wife made me nine pairs of shoes
(moccasins). Jan. 1st, 1794. — Mr. Grant gave the men two gallons of rum
and three fathoms of tobacco, by the way of New Year's gift.
(It is interesting to follow McDonnell on one of his journeys
down the Assiniboine.)
May 1st. — Sent off the canoes early in the morning. Mr.
Grant and I set out about seven. Slept at the Forks of
Eiver Qu'AppeUe.
May ith. — Killed four buffalo cows and two calves and
camped below the Fort of Mountain k La Bosse (near Virden),
about two leagues.
May 5th. — Arrived at Ange's Eiver La Souris Port (below
Brandon). May nth. — Passed Port Des Trembles and Portage La
Prairie. May 20th. — Arrived at the Forks Eed Eiver (present city of
Winnipeg) about noon.
May 2ith. — Arrived at the Lake (Winnipeg) at 10 a.m.
May 27th. — Arrived at the Sieur's Port (Port Alexander at
the mouth of Winnipeg Eiver).
McDonnell also gives in his journal a number of particulars
about the Cree and Assiniboine Indians, describing their
religion, marriages, dress, dances, and mourning. The reader
is struck with the difference in the recital by different traders
of the lives lived by them. ' The literary faculty is much more
developed in some cases than in others, and John McDonnell was
e-vidently an observing and quick-witted man. He belonged to
a U. E. Loyalist Scottish famUy that took a good position in
the affairs of early Canada.
A FULL AND INTEEESTING AUTOBTOGEAPHY.
That the first trader of the North-West whom we have
described, Alexander Henry, should have been followed in the
North-West fur trade by his nephew, Alexander Henry, Jr.,
is in itself a thing of interest ; but that the younger Henry

I70 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
should have left us a most voluminous and entertaining journal
is a much greater matter.
The copy of this journal is in the Parliamentary Library at
Ottawa, and forms two large bound folio volumes of 1642 pages.
It is not the original, but is a well-approved copy made in 1824
by George Coventry of Montreal. For many years this manu
script has been in the ParliamentaryLibrary, and extracts have
been made and printed. Eecently an American -wtiter. Dr.
Coues, who has done good service in editing the notable work
of Lewis and Clark, and also that of Zebulon S. Pike, has
published a digest of Henry's journal and added to it very
extensive notes of great value. The greatest praise is due to
this author for the skill with which he has edited the journal,
and all students of the period are indebted to one so well fitted
to accomplish the task.
The journal opens, in 1799, with Henry on the waters of a
tributary of Lake Manitoba, he having arrived from Grand
Portage by the usual fur traders' route. In this place he built
a trading house and spent his first winter. In the following
year the trader is found on the Eed Eiver very near the forty-
ninth parallel of north latitude, and is engaged in estabUshing
a post at the mouth of the Pembina Eiver, a tributary of Eed
Eiver. At this post Henry remains until 1808, going hither
and thither in trading expeditions, establishing new outposts,
counter- working the rival traders of the X Y Company, and
paying his -visits from time to time to Grand Portage.
Henry's entries are made -with singular clearness and
realistic force. He recites with the utmost frankness the
details of drunken debauchery among the Indians, the plots of
one company to outdo the other in trading with the Indians,
and the tricks of trade so common at this period in the fur
trade. A few examples of his graphic descriptions may be given.
" At ten o'clock I came to the point of wood in which the fort
was built, and just as I entered the gate at a gallop, to take the
road that led to the gate, a gun was fired about ten yards from
me, apparently by a person who lay in the long grass. My
horse was startled and jumped on one side, snorting and
prancing ; but I kept my seat, calling out, ' Who is there ? '

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND\ FORESTS 171
No answer was returned. I instantly took my gun from my
belt, and cocked her to fire, forgetting she was not loaded and
I had no ammunition. I could still see the person running
in the grass, and was disappointed in not having a shot at him.
I again called out, 'Who is there?' 'C'est moi, bourgeois.' It
proved to be one of my men, Charbonneau. I was vexed with
him for causing me such consternation."

EED EIVEB.
'' February 28th, 1801. — Wolves and crows are very numerous,
feeding on the buffalo carcasses that lie in every direction. I
shot two buffalo cows, a calf, and two bulls, and got home
after dark. I was choking] with thirst, having chased the
buffalo on snow-shoes in the heat of the day, when the snow
so adheres that one is scarcely able to raise the feet. A
draught of water was the sweetest beverage I ever tasted. An
Indian brought in a calf of this year, which he found dead.
It was well grown, and must have perished last night in the
snow. This was thought extraordinary ; they say it denotes
an early spring.
" March 5th. — The buffalo have for some time been wander
ing in every direction. My |^ men have raised and put their
traps in order for the spring hunt, as the raccoons begin to
come out of their winter quarters in the daytime, though they
retire to the hollow trees at night. On the 8th it rained
for four hours ; fresh meat thawed. On the Oth we saw
the first spring bird. Bald eagles we have seen the whole
winter, but now they are numerous, feeding on the buffalo
carcasses." During the Eed Eiver period Henry made a notable journey
in 1806 across the plains to the Mandans on the Missouri.
Two years afterward he bids farewell to Eed Eiver and the
Assiniboine, and goes to carry on trade in the Saskatchewan.
While on the Saskatchewan, which was for three years, he was
in charge of important forts, viz. Port VermiUon, Terre
Blanche, and the Eocky Mountain House. His energy and
acquaintance with the prairie were well sho^wn in his explora
tion of this great region, and the long journeys ¦willingly

172 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
undertaken by him. His account of the western prairies,
especially of the Assiniboines, is complete and trustworthy. In
fact, he rejoices in supplying us with the details of their lives
and manners which we might well be spared.
A gap of two years from 1811 is found in Henry's journal,
but it is resumed in 1813, the year in which he crosses the
. Eocky Mountains and is found in the party sent by the North-
West Company to check the encroachments on the Columbia
of the Astor Fur Company. His account of the voyage on the
Pacific is regarded as valuable, and Dr. Coues says some
what quaintly : " His work is so important a concordance
that if Pranchere, Cox, and Eoss be regarded as the
synoptical ¦writers of Astoria, then Henry furnishes the fourth
Gospel." After the surrender of Astoria to the North-West Company
and its occupation by the British, some of the Nor'-Westers
returned. John McDonald of Garth, as we have seen, crossed
the mountains. In his journal occurs a significant entry:
" Mr. la Eogue brings the melancholy intelligence that
Messrs. D. McTavish, Alexander Henry, and five sailors were
drowned on May 22nd last, in going out in a boat from Fort
George to the vessel called the Isaac Todd." Eoss Cox gives
a circumstantial account of this sad accident, though, strange
to say, he does not mention the name of Henry, while giving
that of D. McTavish.
It is somewhat startling to us to find that Henry continued
his journal up to the very day before his death, his last
sentence being, " The weather cleared up."
A TEADEE LOST FOE FOETY DAYS.
Lying before the ¦writer is the copy of a letter of John
Pritchard of the X Y Company, written in 1805, giving an
account of a forty days' adventure of a most thriUing kind.
Pritchard was in charge of the X Y Fort at the mouth of the
Souris Eiver on the Assiniboine. He had on June 10th gone
with one of the clerks up the Eiver Assiniboine, intending to
reach Qu'Appelle Port, a distance of 120 miles. All went well
till Montague a la Bosse was reached, where there was a

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 17 j
trading house. Going westward, the two traders were
separated in looking for the horses. Pritchard lit fires for
two days, but could attract no attention. Then he realized
that he was lost. Misled by the belts of timber along the
different streams, he went along the Pipestone, thinking he
was going towards the Assiniboine. In this he was mistaken.
Painfully he crept along the river, his strength having nearly
gone. Living on frogs, two hawks, and a few other birds, he
says at the end of ten days, " I perceived my body completely
wasted. Nothing was left me but my bones, covered with a
skin thinner than paper. I was perfectly naked, my clothes
ha^ving been worn in making shoes, with which I protected my
bruised and bleeding feet."
Some days after, Pritchard found a nest of small eggs and
Uved on them. He says, " How mortifying to me to see the
buffalo quenching their thirst in every lake near to which I
slept, and geese and swans in abundance, whilst I was dying of
hunger in this land of plenty, for want of wherewith to kill.''
After trying to make a hook and Une to fish, and failing ; after
being tempted to lie do^wn and give up life, he caught a hen-
grouse, which greatly strengthened him, as he cooked and ate
it. He had now crossed the Souris Eiver, thinking it to be the
Assiniboine, and came upon a great plain where the prairie
turnip (Psoralea esculenta) grew plentifully. Pushing south
ward, being sustained by the bulbs of this " pomme blanche," as-
it is called by the French voyageurs, Pritchard came at length
to Whitewater Lake, near Turtle Mountain, and here found two
vacant wintering houses of the fur traders. He now was able
to identify his locality and to estimate that he was sixty miles
directly south of his trading post. His feet, pierced by the
spear grass (Stipa spartea), were now in a dreadful condition.
He found a pair of old shoes in the vacant fort and several pairs-
of socks.
He determined to move northward to his fort. Soon he was-
met by a band of Indians, who were alarmed at his worn
appearance. The natives took good care of him and carried
him, at times unconscious, to his fort, which he reached after
an absence of forty days. He says, " Picture to yourself a man
whose bones are scraped, not an atom of flesh remaining, then.

174 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
over these bones a loose skin, fine as the bladder of an animal ;
a beard of forty days' growth, his hair full of filth and scabs.
You will then have some idea of what I was." The Hudson's
Bay Company officer, McKay, from the neighbouring fort, was
exceedingly kind and suppUed his every want.
The Cree Indians after this adventure called Pritchard the
Manitou or Great Spirit. The Assiniboines called him Cheepe
— or the corpse, referring to his wan appearance. For weeks
after his return, the miserable trader was unable to move
about, but in time recovered, and lived to a good old age on
the banks of the Eed Eiver.
To the last day of his life he referred to his great deliverance,
and was thoroughly of the opinion that his preservation was
;miraculous. ASSINIBOINE TO MISSOUEI.
We are fortunate in having two very good journals of
journeys made in the early years of the century from the
forts at the junction of the Souris and Assiniboine Eiver to
the Missouri Eiver. As was described in the case of David
Thompson, this was a long and tedious journey, and yet it was
at one time within the plans of the North-West Company to
xiarry their trade thither. Pew of the French Canadian gentle
men entered into the North-West Company. One of these
vvho became noted as an Indian trader, was Fran9ois Antoine
Larocque, brother-in-law of Quesnel, the companion of Simon
Fraser. Of the same rank as himself, and associated with him,
was a trader, Charles McKenzie, who entered the North-West
Company as a clerk in 1803.
The expedition to the Mandans under these gentlemen, left
Port Assiniboine on November 11th, 1804, a party in all of
seven, and provided -with horses, five of which carried merchan
dise for trade. After the usual incidents of this trying journal,
the Missouri was reached.
The notable event of this journey was the meeting with the
American expedition of Lewis and Clark, then on its way to
cross overland to the Pacific Ocean. Larocque in his journey
gives information about this expedition. Lea-ving Philadelphia

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 175
in 1803, the expedition, consisting of upward of forty men, had
taken till October to reach the Mandans on the Missouri. The
purposes of the expedition of Lewis and Clark were : —
(1) To explore the territory towards the Pacific and settle the
boundary line between the British and American territories.
(2) To quiet the Indians of the Missouri by conference and
the bestowment of gifts.
Larocque was somewhat annoyed by the message given him
by Lewis and Clark, that no flags or medals could be given
by the North-West Company to the Indians in the Missouri,
inasmuch as they were American Indians. Larocque had some
amusement at the continual announcement by these leaders
that the Indians would be protected so long as they should
behave as dutiful children to the great father, the president of
the United States. In the spring the party returned, after
vnntering on the Missouri. In 1805, during the summer,
another expedition went to the Missouri ; in 1806, Charles
McKenzie went in February to the Mandans, and, returning,
made a second journey in the same year to the Missouri. The
account given by McKenzie of the journeys of 1804-6 is an
exceedingly well -written one, for this leader was fond of study,
and, we are told, delighted especially in the history of his native
land, the highlands of Scotland.
Charles McKenzie had married an Indian woman, and
became thoroughly identified -with the North-West. He was
fond of his native children, and stood up for their recognition
on the same plane as the white children. After the union of
the North-West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company,
the EngUsh influence largely prevailed. Thinking that his
son, who was well educated at the Eed Eiver Seminary, was
not sufficiently recognized by the Company, McKenzie wrote
bitterly, "It appears the present concern has stamped the Cain
mark upon aU born in this country. Neither education nor
abilities serve them. The Honourable Company are unwilling
to take natives, even as apprenticed clerks, and the favoured
few they do take can never aspire to a higher status, be their
education and capacity what they may."
McKenzie continued the fur trade until 1846, when he retired
and settled on the Eed Eiver. His son. Hector McKenzie, now

176 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
dead, was well kno-wn on the Eed Eiver, and accompanied one
of the explorations to thq far north.
Larocque did not continue long in the fur trade, but went
to Montreal and embarked in business in which he was very
unsuccessful. He spent the last years of his life in retirement
and close study, and died in the Grey nunnery in a Lower
Canadian parish.

CHAPTEE XX.
THE LOEDS OF THE LAKES AND FOEESTS. — III.
Dashing French trader — " The country of fashion " — An air of
great superiority — The road is that of heaven — Enough lo in
timidate a Csssar — " The Bear " and the " Little Branch " — Yet
more rum — A great Irishman — "In the wigwam of Wabogish
dwelt his beautiful daughter" — Wedge of gold — Johnston and
Henry Schoolcraft— Duncan Cameron on Lake Superior — His
views of trade — Peter Grant, the ready writer — Paddling the
canoe — Indian folk-lore — Chippewa burials — Remarkable men
and great financiers, marvellous explorers, facile traders.
A DASHING FEENCH TEADEE — FEANgOIS VICTOE MALHIOT.
A GAY and inteUigent French lad, taken with the desire of
leading the Ufe of the traders in the " upper country" {pays
d'en haut), at the age of fifteen deserted school and entered the
North-West Company. In 1796, at the age of twenty, he was
promoted to a clerkship and sent to a post in the upper part of
the Eed Eiver country. On account of his inferior education
he was never advanced to the charge of a post in the Com
pany's service, but he was always noted for his courage and
the great energy displayed by him in action. In 1804
Malhiot was sent to Wisconsin, where he carried on trade.
For the North-West Company there he built a fort and
waged a -vigorous warfare with the other traders, strong drink
being one of the most ready weapons in the contest. In 1801
the trader married after the " country fashion " (d la faqon du
pays), i.e. as we have explained, he had taken an Indian woman
to be his wife, -with the understanding that when he retired
from the fur trade, she should be left pro^vided for as to her
li-ving, but be free to marry another.
Malhiot tired of the fur trade in 1807 and returned to Lower
Canada, where he lived till his death. Malhiot's Indian wife
N

178 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
was afterwards twice married, and one of her sons by the third
marriage became a member of the Legislature in Lower
Canada. A brother of Malhiot's became a colonel in the
British army in India, and another brother was an influential
man in his native province.
Few traders had more adventures than this French Canadian.
Stationed west of Lake Superior, at Lac du Flambeau, Malhiot
found himself surrounded by men of the X Y Company, and he
assumed an air of great superiority in his dealings with the
Indians. Two of his companions introduced him to the
savages as the brother of WiUiam McGUlivray, the head of the
North-West Company. He says, " This thing has produced
a very good effect up to the present, for they never name me
otherwise than as their 'father.' I am glad to believe that
they -will respect me more than they otherwise would have
done, and will do themselves the honour of trading with me
this winter."
Speaking of the rough country through which he was passing,
Malhiot says, " Of all the passages and places that Ihave been
able to see during the thirteen years in which I travelled, this
is the most frightful and unattractive. The road of the portage
is truly that of heaven, for it is straight, full of obstacles,
slippery places, thorns, and bogs. The men who pass it loaded,
and who are obliged to carry over it bales, certainly deserve the
name of 'men.'
" This villainous portage is only inhabited by owls, because
no other animal could find its living there, and the cries of
these solitary birds are enough to frighten an angel and to
intimidafe a Csesar."
Malhiot maintained his dignified attitude to the Indians and
held great conferences with the chiefs, always with an eye to
the improvement of trade. To one he says: —
"My Fathee, — It is with great joy that I smoke in thy
pipe of peace and that I receive thy word. Our chief trader at
Kaministiquia will accept it, I trust, this spring, with satisfac
tion, and he will send thee a mark of his friendship, if thou dost
continue to do well. So I take courage ! Only be as one and
look at the fort of the X Y from a distance if thou dost wish to
attain to what thou desirest."

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS ijg
In April, 1805, the trader says, " My people have finished
fcuilding my fort, and it is the prettiest of any in the Indian
•country. Long live the North-West Company! Honour to
Malhiot!" Malhiot gives a very sad picture of the degeneracy of the
trade at this time, produced by the use of strong drink in
gaining the friendship of the Indians. A single example may
suffice to show the state of affairs.
April 2Qth. — "The son of 'Whetstone,' brother-in-law of
•Chorette, came here this evening and made me a present of
one otter, 16 rats, and 12 lbs. of sugar, for which I gave him
4 pots of rum. He made them drunk at Chorette's with the
'Indians,' the 'Bear,' and 'the Little Branch.' When they
were weU intoxicated, they cleared the house, very nearly killed
Chorette, shot La Lancette, and broke open the store-house.
They carried away two otters, for which I gave them more
Tum this morning, but without knowing they had been stolen.
All this destruction occurred because Chorette had promised
them more rum, and that he had not any more."
Malhiot's journal closes with the statement that after a long
journey from the interior he and his party had camped in view
of the island at Grand Portage.
AN lEISHMAN OP DISTINCTION.
In the conflict of the North-West, X Y, and Hudson's Bay
¦Companies, it is interesting to come upon the life and writing of
.an Irishman, a man of means, who, out of love for the wilds of
Lake Superior, settled down upon its shores and became a " free
trader," as he was called. This was John Johnston, who came
to Montreal, enjoyed the friendship of Sir Guy Carleton, the
Governor of Canada, and hearing of the romantic life of the fur
traders, plunged into the interior, in 1792 settled at La Pointe,
on the south side of Lake Superior, and established himself as
-an independent trader. A gentleman of birth and education,
Johnston seems to have possessed a refined and even religious
•spirit. Filled with high thoughts inspired by a rocky and
romantic island along the shore, he named it " Contemplation
Island." Determined to pass his life on the rocky but pictur-
•esque shores of Lake Superior, Johnston became friendly with

i8o THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
the Indian people. The old story of love and marriage comes
in here also. The chief of the region was Wabogish, the
" White Fisher," whose power extended as far west as the
Mississippi. In the wigwam of Wabogish dwelt his beautiful
daughter. Her hand had been sought by many young braves,
but she had refused them all. The handsome, sprightly Irish
man had, however, gained her affections, and proposed to her
father for her. Writing long afterward he describes her as she
was when he first saw her, a year after his arrival on the shores
of Lake Superior. "Wabogish or the 'White Fisher,' the
chief of La Pointe, made his sugar on the skirts of a high
mountain, four days' march from the entrance of the river to
the south-east. His eldest daughter, a girl of fourteen, exceed
ingly handsome, with a cousin of hers who was two or three
years older, rambling one day up the eastern side of the moun
tain, came to a perpendicular cliff exactly fronting the rising sun.
Near the base of the cliff they found a piece of yellow metal,
as they called it, about eighteen inches long, a foot broad, four
inches thick and perfectly smooth. It was so heavy that they
could raise it only with great difficulty. After examining it for
some time, it occurred to the eldest girl that it belonged to
the ' Gitche Manitou,' ' The Great Spirit,' upon which they
abandoned the place with precipitation.
" As the Chippewas are not idolaters, it occurs to me that
some of the southern tribes must have emigrated thus far to
the North, and that the piece either of copper or of gold is part
of an altar dedicated to the sun. If my conjectm-e is right, the
slab is more probably gold, as the Mexicans have more of that
metal than they have of copper."
The advances of Johnston toward chief Wabogish for marriage
to his daughter were for a time resisted by the forest magnate.
Afraid of the marriages made after the country fashion, he
advised Johnston to return to his native country for a time.
If, after a sufficient absence, his affection for his daughter
should still remain strong, he would consent to their marriage.
Johnston returned to Ireland, disposed of his property, and
came back to Lake Superior to claim his bride.
Johnston Settled at Sault Ste. Marie, where he had a " very
considerable establishment -with extensive plantations of corn

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS i8i
and vegetables, a beautiful garden, a comfortable house, a good
Ubrary, and carried on an important trade."
Durmg the war of 1814 he co-operated vrith the British
commandant, Colonel McDonald, in taking the island of
Michilimackinac from the Americans. WhUe absent, the
American expedition landed at Sault Ste. Marie, and set fire to
Johnston's house, stables, and other buUdings, and these were
burnt to the ground, his wife and chUdren vie-wing the destruc
tion of their home from the neighbouring woods.
Masson says : " A few years afterwards, Mr. Johnston once
more visited his native land, accompanied by his -wife and
his eldest daughter, a youn'g lady of surpassing beauty. Every
inducement was offered to them to remain in the old country,
the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland having even offered
to adopt their daughter. They preferred, however, returning
to the shores of Lake Superior, where Miss Johnston was
married to Mr. Henry Schoolcraft, the United States Indian
agent at Sault Ste. Marie, and the distinguished author of the
' History of the Indian Tribes of the United States.' " Mr.
Johnston wrote " An Account of Lake Superior " at the request
of Eoderick McKenzie. This we have, but it is chiefly a
geographical description of the greatest of American lakes.
Johnston died at Sault Ste. Marie in 1828."

A DETEEMINED TEADEE OF LAKE SUPBEIOE.
A most daring and impulsive Celt was Duncan Cameron.
He and his family were Scottish U. E. LoyaUsts from the
Mohawk Eiver in New York State. As a young man he
entered the fur trade, and was despatched to the region on
Lake Superior to serve under Mr. Shaw, the father of Angus
Shaw, of whom we have already spoken. In 1786 Cameron
became a clerk and was placed in charge of the Nepigon
district, an important field for his energies. Though this
region was a difficult one, yet by hard work he made it
remunerative to his Company. Speaking of his Ulness,
caused by exposure, he says, in ¦writing a letter to his friend,
" I can assure you it is with great difficulty I can hold my pen,
but I must teU you that the X Y sends into the Nepigon this

i82 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
year ; therefore, should I leave my bones there, I shall go to-
winter." In response to the application of Eoderick McKenzie,
Duncan Cameron sent a description of the Nepigon districti
and a journal of one of his journeys to the interior. Prom
these we may give a few extracts. Passing over his rather
full and detailed account of Saulteaux Indians of this region, we
find that he speaks in a journal which is in a very damaged
condition, of his visit to Osnaburgh Fort, a Hudson's Bay
Company fort built in 1786, and of his decision to send a party
to trade in the interior. There is abundant evidence of the
great part played by strong drink at this time in the fur
country. " Cotton Shirt, a haughty Indian chief, has always been very
faithful to me these several years past. He is, without ex
ception, the best hunter in the whole department, and passes
as having in consequence great influence over me. One of his
elder brothers spoke next and said that he was now gro^wn up
to a man ; that ' his fort,' as he calls Osnaburgh, was too far
off for the winter trade ; that if I left anyone here, he would
come to them with winter skins ; he could not live without
getting drunk three or four times at least, but that I must
leave a clerk to deal with him, as he was above trading with
any young under-strappers. I told him that if I consented
to leave a person here, I would leave one that had both sense
and knowledge enough to know how to use him well, as also
any other great man. ^ This Indian had been spoiled by the
H. B. people at Osnaburgh Fort, where he may consider him
master. He had been invited to dine there last spring."
" This great English partisan, a few weeks ago, had his nose
bit off by his son-in-law at the door of what he caUs ' his fort.'
He is not yet cured, and says that a great man like him must
not get angry or take any revenge, especially when he stands
in awe of the one who ill-used him, for there is nothing
an Indian wUl not do rather than admit himself to be a
coward." " My canoe was very much hampered ; I put a man and his
wife in the small canoe and embarked in the other smaU canoe
vrith my guides, after gi-ring some Uquor to the old man audi

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 183
his sons, who must remain here to-day to try and pack all their
three canoes. We went on as weU as we could against a cold
head wind till the big canoe got on a stone which nearly upset
her and tore a piece two feet square out of her bottom. She
filled immediately, and the men and goods were all in danger
of going to the bottom before they reached the shore ; notwith
standing their efforts, she sank in three feet of water. We
hastened to get everything out of her, but my sugar and their
molasses were damaged, but worse than all, my powder, which
I immediately examined, was considerably damaged."
"Having decided to establish a fort, we all set to work;
four men to build, one to square boards for the doors, timber
for the floors, and shelves for the shops, the two others to
attend the rest. . . . There are now eight Indians here, all
drunk and very troublesome to my neighbour, who, I believe,
is as drunk as themselves ; they are all very civil to me, and so
they may, for I am gi-ring them plenty to drink, without getting
anything from them as yet."
" This man (an Indian from Eed Lake) tells me that the
EngUsh (H. B. Co.), the X Y, and Mr. Adhemar (a free trader)
were striving who would squander the most and thereby please
the Indians best, but the consequence will be that the Indians
will get all they want for half the value and laugh at them all,
in the end. He told me that an Indian, who I know very well
to have no influence on anyone but himself, got five kegs of
mist high wines to himself alone between the three houses and
took 200 skins credit ; that all the Indians were fifteen days
without getting sober. I leave it to any rational being to judge
what that Indian's skins -will cost."
"Another circumstance which will tend to injure the trade
very much, so long as we have the Hudson's Bay Company
against us, is the premium they allow every factor or master
on whatever number of skins they obtain. Those people do
not care at what price they buy or whether their employes
gain by them, so long as they have their premium, which sets
them in opposition to one another almost as much as they are
to us. The honourable Hudson's Bay Company proprietors
very Uttle knew their own interest when they first aUowed this
interest to their ' officers,' as they call them, as it certainly had

1 84 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
not the desired effect, for, if it added some to their exertions, it
led in a great degree to the squandering of their goods, as they
are in general both needy and selfish."
PETEE GEANT, THE HISTOEIOGEAPHEE.
WhUe many journals and sketches were forwarded to Mr.
Eoderick McKenzie, none of them were of so high a character
in completeness and style as that of Mr. Peter Grant on the
Saulteaux Indians. Peter Grant, as quite a young man at the
age of twenty, joined the North-West Company in 1784. Seven
years afterward he had become a partner, had charge of Eainy
Lake district, and afterward that of the Eed Eiver department.
His sketch of the Indians marks him as a keen observer and a
facile writer. Some of his descriptions are excellent : —
" The fruits found in this country are the wild plum, a small
sort of wild cherry, wild currants of different kinds, gooseberries,
strawberries, raspberries, brambleberries, blackberries, choke
cherries, wild grapes, sand cherries, a delicious fruit which
grows on a small shrub near sandy shores, and another blue
berry, a fine fruit not larger than a currant, tasting much like
a pear and growing on a small tree about the size of a wiUow.
(No doubt the Saskatoon berry. — Ed.) In the swamps you
find two kinds of cranberries. Hazel nuts, but of very in
ferior quaUty, grow near the banks of the rivers and lakes.
A kind of wild rice grows spontaneously in the small muddy
creeks and bays."
" The North-West Company's canoes, manned with five men,
carry about 3000 lbs. ; they seldom draw more than eighteen
inches of water and go generally at the rate of six miles an
hour in calm weather. When arrived at a portage, the bow
man instantly jumps in the water to prevent the canoe from
touching the bottom, while the others tie their slings to the
packages in the canoe and s-wing them on their backs to carry
over the portage. The bow-man and the steersman carry their
canoe, a duty from which the middle men are exempt. The
whole is conducted with astonishing expedition, a necessary
consequence of the enthusiasm which always attends their long
and perilous voyages. It is pleasing to see them, when the
weather is calm and serene, paddling in their canoes, singing

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 185
in chorus their simple, melodious strains, and keeping exact
time with their paddles, which effectually beguUes their labours.
When they arrive at a rapid, the guide or foreman's business
is to explore the waters previous to their running down with
their canoes, and, according to the height of the water, they
either lighten the canoe by taking out part of the cargo and
carry it overland, or run down the whole load."
Speaking of the Saulteaux, Grant says, "The Saulteaux are,
in general, of the common stature, well proportioned, though
inclining to a slender make, which would indicate more agUity
than strength. Their complexion is a whitish cast of the
copper colour, their hair black, long, straight, and of a very
strong texture, the point of the nose rather flat, and a certain
fulness in the Ups, but not sufficient to spoil the appearance
of the mouth. The teeth, of a beautiful ivory white, are
regular, weU set, and seldom fail them even in the most ad
vanced period of life ; their cheeks are high and rather promi
nent, their eyes black and lively, their countenance is generally
pleasant, and the symmetry of their features is such as to
constitute what can be called handsome faces.
" Their passions, whether of a benevolent or mischievous
tendency, are always more -riolent than ours. I believe this
has been found to be the case with all barbarous nations who
never cultivate the mind; hence the cruelties imputed to
savages, in general, towards their enemies. Though these
people cannot be acquitted from some degree of that ferocious
barbarity which characterizes the savages, they are, however,
fre'e from that deliberate cruelty which has been so often im
puted to other barbarous natives. They are content to kill and
scalp their enemy, and never reserve a prisoner for the refined
tortures of a Ungering and cruel death."
" The Saulteaux have, properly speaking, no regular system
of government and but a very imperfect idea of the different
ranks of society so absolutely necessary in all civUized
countries. Their leading men or chief magistrates are petty
chiefs, whose dignity is hereditary, but whose authority is con
fined within the narrow circle of their own particular tribe or
relatives. There are no established laws to enforce obedience ;
all is voluntary, and yet, such is their confidence and respect

1 86 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
for their chiefs, that instances of mutiny or disobedience to
orders are very rare among them.
"As to religion, Gitche Manitou, or the 'Master of Life,'
claims the first rank in their devotion. To him they attri
bute the creation of the heavens, of the waters, and of that
portion of the earth beyond the sea from which white people
come. He is also the author of Ufe and death, taking pleasure
in promoting the happiness of the virtuous, and having, Uke-
wise, the power of punishing the wicked. Wiskendjac is next
in power. He is said to be the creator of aU the Indian tribes,
the country they inhabit and all it contains. The last of
their deities is called Matchi-Manitou, or the 'Bad Spirit.'
He is the author of evil, but subject to the control of the Gitche
Manitou. Though he is justly held in great detestation, it is
thought good poUcy to smooth his anger by singing and beating
the drum.
" When Ufe is gone, the body of the dead is addressed by some
friend of the deceased in a long speech, in which he begs of
him to take courage, and pursue his journey to the Great
Meadow, observing that all his departed friends and relations
are anxiously waiting to receive him, and that his surviving
friends wUl soon follow.
" The body is then decently dressed and -wrapped in a new
blanket, -with new shoes, garnished and painted with vermUion,
on the feet. It is kept one night in the lodge, and is next day
buried in the earth. After burial they either raise a pole of
wood over the grave, or enclose it -with a fence. At the head
of the grave a small post is erected, on which they carve the
particular mark of the tribe to whom the deceased belonged.
The bodies of some of their most celebrated chiefs are raised
Upon a high scaffold, with flags flying, and the scalps of their
enemies. It is customary with their warriors, at the funeral
of their great men, to strike the post and relate all their martial
achievements, as they do in the war dance, and their funeral
ceremonies generally conclude by a feast round the grave."
Grant, in 1794, built the post on the Assiniboine at the mouth
of SheU Eiver, and five years afterward was in charge of the
fort on the Eainy Lake. About the same time he erected a
post, probably the first on the Eed Eiver, in the neighbourhood

THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS 187
of the present vUlage of St. Vincent, near 49° N. Lat., opposite
Pembina. He seems to have been in the Indian country in
1804, and, settUng in Lower Canada, died at Lachine in 1848,
at the grand old age of eighty-four.
Thus have we sought to sketch, from their own -writings,
pictures of the lords of the fur trade. They were a remarkable
body of men. Great as financiers, marvellous as explorers,
facile as traders, brave in their spirits, firm and yet tactful in
their management of the Indians, and, except during the short
period from 1800-1804, anxious for the welfare of the Eed men.
Looking back, we wonder at their daring and loyalty, and can
weU say with Washington Irving, " The feudal state of Fort
WilUam is at an end ; its council chamber is silent and desolate ;
its banquet-hall no longer echoes to the auld world ditty ; the
lords of the lakes and forests have passed away."

CHAPTEE XXI.
THE IMPULSE OF UNION.
North-West and X Y Companies unite — Kecalls the Homeric period —
Feuds forgotten — Men perform prodigies — The new fort re-
christened — Vessel from Michilimackinac — The old canal — WUls
builds Fort Gibraltar — A lordly sway — The "Beaver Club" —
Sumptuous table — Exclusive society — " Fortitude in Distress " —
Political leaders in Lower Canada.
To the termination of the great conflict between the North-
West and the X Y Companies we have already referred. The
death of Simon McTavish removed a difficulty and served to
unite the traders. The experience and standing of the old
Company and the zeal and vigour of the new combined to
inspire new hope.
Great plans were matured for meeting the opposition of the
Hudson's Bay Company and extending the trade of the
Company. The explorations of Da-rid Thompson and Simon
Fraser, which, as we have seen, produced such great results in
New Caledonia, while planned before, were now carried forward
-with renewed vigour, the enterprise of the Nor'-Westers being
the direct result of the union. The heroic deeds of these ex
plorers recall to us the adventurous times of the Homeric period,
when men performed prodigies and risked their lives for glory.
The explanation of this hearty co-operation was that the old and
new Companies were very closely alUed. Brothers and cousins
had been in opposite camps, not because they disliked each
other, but because their leaders could not agree. Now the
feuds were forgotten, and, -with the enthusiasm of their
Celtic natures, they would attempt great things.
The " New Fort," as it had been called, at the mouth of the
Kaministiquia, was now re-christened, and the honoured name

THE IMPULSE OF UNION 189
of the chieftain McGilU-vray was given to this great depot —
Port WiUiam.
It became a great trading centre, and the additions required
to accommodate the increased volume of business and the
greater number of employes, were cheerfully made by the
united Company.
Standing within the great solitudes of Thunder Bay, Fort
WiUiam became as celebrated in the annals of the North-West
Company, as York or Albany had been in the history of the
Hudson's Bay Company.
A vessel came up from Lake Erie, bringing supplies, and,
calling at MichiUmackinac, reached the Sault Ste. Marie. Boats
which had come down the canal, built to avoid the St. Mary
Eapids, here met this vessel. From the St. Mary Eiver up
to Port William a schooner carried cargoes, and increased
the profits of the trade, while it protected many from the
dangers of the route. The whole trade was systematized,
and the trading houses, duplicated as they had been at many
points, were combined, and the expenses thus greatly reduced.
As soon as the Company could fully lay its plans, it deter
mined to take hold in earnest of the Eed Eiver district.
Accordingly we see that, under instructions from John
McDonald, of Garth, a bourgeois named John Wills, who, we
find, had been one of the partners of the X Y Company, erected
at the junction of the Eed and Assiniboine Eivers, on the
point of land, a fort caUed Fort Gibraltar. WiUs was a year
in building it, having under him twenty men. The stockade
of this fort was made of " oak trees split in two." The
wooden picketing was from twelve to fifteen feet high. The
foUowing is a list of buildings enclosed in it, with some of their
dimensions. There were eight houses in all; the residence
of the bourgeois, sixty-four feet in length ; two houses for the
servants, respectively thirty-six and twenty-eight feet long ; one
store thirty-two feet long ; a blacksmith's shop, stable, kitchen,
and an ice-house. On the top of the ice-house a watch-tower
(guerite) was built. John WiUs continued to live in this fort
up tt) the time of his death a few years later. Such was the
first buUding, so far as we know, erected on the site of the City
of the Plains, and which was foUowed first by Fort Douglas

I90 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and then by Port Garry, the chief fort in the interior of Eupert's
Land. It was to this period in the history of the United Company
that Washington Irving referred when he said : " The partners
held a lordly sway over the wintry lakes and boundless forests
of the Canadas almost equal to that of the East India Company
over the voluptuous climes and magnificent realms of the
Orient." Some years before this, a very select organization had been
formed among the fur traders in Montreal. It was known as
the " Beaver Club." The conditions of the membership were
very strict. They were that the candidate should have spent a
period of service in the " upper country," and have obtained
the unanimous vote of the members. The gatherings of the
Club were very notable. At their meetings they assembled to
recall the prowess of the old days, the dangers of the rapids,
the miraculous deliverances accomplished by their canoe men,
the disastrous accidents they had witnessed.
Their days of feasting were long remembered by the in
habitants of Montreal after the club had passed away. The
sumptuous table of the Club was always open to those of rank
or distinction who might visit Montreal, and the approval of
the Club gave the entry to the most exclusive society of
Montreal. Still may be met with in Montreal pieces of silverware and
glassware which were formerly the property of the " Beaver
Club," and even large gold medals bearing the motto, "Forti
tude in Distress," used by the members of the Club on their
days of celebration.
It was at this period that the power of the fur trading
magnates seemed to culminate, and their natural leadership of
the French Canadians being recognized in the fur trade, many
of the partners became political leaders in the affairs of Lower
Canada. The very success of the new Company, however,
stirred up, as we shall see, opposition movements of a much
more serious kind than they had ever had to meet before.
Sir Alexander Mackenzie's book in 1801 had awakened much
interest in Britain and now stimulated the movement by Lord
Selkirk which led to the absorption of the North-West

THE IMPULSE OF UNION 191
Company. The social and commercial standing of the partners
started a movement in the United States which aimed at
wresting from British hands the territory of New Caledonia,
vyhich the energy of the North-West Company of explorers had
taken possession of for the British cro-wn.
It will, however, be to the glory of the North-West
Company that these powerful opposition movements were
mostly rendered efficient by the employment of men whom the
Nor'-Westers had trained ; and the methods of trade, borrowed
from them by these opponents, were those continued in the
after conduct of the fur trade that grew up in Eupert's Land
and the Indian territories beyond.

CHAPTEE XXII.
THE ASTOE FUE COMPANY.
Old John Jacob Astor— American Fur Company— The Missouri
Company— A line of posts— Approaches the Russians— Nego-
ciates with Nor'-Westers— Fails— Pour North-West officials
join Astor— Songs of the voyageurs— True Britishers— Voyage
of the Tonguin—RoUidkmg Nor'-Westers in Sandwich Islands-
Astoria built— David Thompson appears— Terrible end of the
Tovguin — Aster's overland expedition — Washington Irving's
" Astoria, a romance "—The Beaver rounds the Cape— McDougaU
and his small-pox phial— The Beaver sails for Canton.
Among those who came to Montreal to trade ¦with the Nor'-
Westers and to receive their hospitality was a German
merchant of New York, named John Jacob Astor. This man,
who is the ancestor of the distinguished famUy of Astors at the
present time in New York, came over from London to the
New World and immediately began to trade in furs. For
several years Astor traded in Montreal, and shipped the furs
purchased to London, as there was a law against exporting
from British possessions. After Jay's treaty of amity and
commerce (1794) this restriction was removed, and Astor took
Canadian furs to the United States, and even exported them to
China, where high prices ruled.
While Aster's ambition led him to aim at controUing the fur
trade in the United States, the fact that the western posts,
such as Detroit and MichiUmackinac, had not been surrendered
to the United States till after Jay's treaty, had allowed the
British traders of these and other posts of the West to
strengthen themselves. Such daring traders as Murdoch
Cameron, Dickson, Fraser, and Eolette could not be easUy
beaten on the ground where they were so familiar, and where
they had gained such an ascendancy over the Indians. The

THE ASTOR FUR COMPANY 193
Mackinaw traders were too strong for Astor, and the hope of
overcoming them through the agency of the " American Fur
Company," which he had founded va. 1809, had to be given up
by him. What could not be accomplished by force could,
however, be gained by negotiation, and so two years afterward,
with the help of certain partners from among the Nor'-Westers
in Montreal, Astor bought out the Mackinaw traders (1811),
and established what was called the " South-West Company."
During these same years, the St. Louis merchants organized
a company to trade upon the Missouri and Nebraska Eivers.
This was known as the Missouri Company, and with its 260
men it pushed its trade, until in 1808, one of its chief traders
crossed the Eocky Mountains, and built a fort on the western
slope. This was, however, two years afterward given up on
account of the hostiUty of the natives. A short time after this,
the Company passed out of existence, leaving the field to the
enterprising merchant of New York, who, in 1810, organized
his well-known " Pacific Pur Company."
During these eventful years, the resourceful Astor was,
with the full knowledge of the American Government, steadily
advancing toward gaining a monopoly of the fur trade of the
United States. Jonathan Carver, a British officer, had, more
than thirty years before this, in company with a British
Member of Parliament named Whitworth, planned a route
across the continent. Had not the American Eevolution
commenced they would have buUt a fort at Lake Pepin in
Minnesota, gone up a tributary of the Mississippi to the West,
tiU they could cross, as they thought would be possible,
to the Missouri, and ascending it have reached the Eocky
Mountain summit. At this point they expected to come upon
a river, which they called the Oregon, that would take them to
the Pacific Ocean.
The plan projected by Carver was actually carried out by the
well-kno^wn explorers Lewis and Clark in 1804-6. Astor's
penetrating mind now saw the situation clearly. He would
erect a Une of trading posts up the Missouri Eiver and across
the Eockies to the Columbia Eiver on the Pacific Coast, and
while those on the east of the Eockies would be supplied from
St. Louis, he would send ships to the mouth of the Columbia,

194 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and provide for the posts on the Pacific slope from the West.
With great skill Astor made approaches to the Eussian Fur
Company on the Pacific Coast, offering his ships to supply
their forts with all needed articles, and he thus estabUshed a
good feeling between himself and the Eussians.
The only other element of danger to the mind of Astor was
the opposition of the North-West Company on the Pacific
Coast. He knew that for years the Montreal merchants had
had their eye on the region that their partner. Sir Alexander
Mackenzie, had discovered. Moreover, their agents, Thompson,
Fraser, Stuart, and Finlay the younger, were trading beyond
the summit of the Eockies in New Caledonia, but the fact that
they were farther. North held out some hope to Astor that an
arrangement might be made with them. He accordingly
broached the subject to the North-West Company and proposed
a combination with them similar to that in force in the co
operation in the South-West Company, viz. that they should
take a one-third interest in the Pacific Pur Company. After
certain correspondence, the North-West Company decUned the
offer, no doubt hoping to forestall Astor in his occupation of
the Columbia. They then gave orders to David Thompson to
descend the Columbia, whose upper waters he had already
occupied, and he would have done this had not a mutiny
taken place among his men, which made his arrival at the
mouth of the Columbia a few months too late.
Astor's thorough acquaintance with the North-West Com
pany and its numerous employes stood him in good stead in
his project of forming a company. After full negotiations he
secured the adhesion to his scheme of a number of well-known
Nor'-Westers. Prominent among these was Alexander McKay,
who was Sir Alexander Mackenzie's most trusted associate in
the great journey of 1793 to the Pacific Ocean. McKay had
become a partner of the North-West Company, and left it
to join the Pacific Fur Company. Most celebrated as being
in charge of the Astor enterprise on the coast was Duncan
McDougaU, who also left the North-West Company to embark
in Astor's undertaking. Two others, David Stuart and his
nephew Eobert Stuart, made the four partners of the new Com
pany who were to embark from New York with the purpose of
doubling the Cape and reaching the mouth of the Columbia.

'A

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^

i

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m^.. _

- '"^ "¦-*«'. ~
THE ASTOR FUR COMPANY 195
A company of clerks and engages had been obtained in
Montreal, and the party leaving Canada went in their great
canoe up Lake Champlain, took it over the portage to the
Hudson, and descended that river to New York. They trans
ferred the picturesque scene so often witnessed on the Ottawa
to the sleepy banks of the Hudson Eiver, and with emblems
flying, and singing songs of the voyageurs, surprised the
spectators along the banks. Arrived at New York the men
with bravado expressed themselves as ready to endure
hardships. As Irving puts it, they declared "they could
live hard, Ue hard, sleep hard, eat dogs — in short, endure
-anything." But these partners and men had much love for their own
country and Uttle regard for the new service into which desire
for gain had led them to embark. It was found out afterwards
that two of the partners had called upon the British Ambassador
in New York, had revealed to him the whole scheme of Mr.
Astor, and enquired whether, as British subjects, they might
embark in the enterprise. The reply of the diplomat assured
them of their full liberty in the matter. Astor also required of
the employes that they should become naturalized citizens of
the United States. They professed to have gone through the
ceremony required, but it is contended that they never really
did so.
The ship in which the party was to sail was the Tonquin,
commanded by a Captain Thorn, a somewhat stern officer, with
whom the fur traders had many conflicts on their outbound
journey. The report having gone abroad that a British cruiser
from HaUfax would come down upon the Tonquifi and arrest
the Canadians on board her, led to the application being
made to the United States frigate Constitution to give the
vessel protection. On September 10th, 1810, the Tonquin
¦with her convoy put out and sailed for the Southern
Main. Notwithstanding the constant irritation between the captain
^nd his fur trading passengers, the vessel went bravely on her
way. After doubling Cape Horn on Christmas Da,y, they
reached the Sandwich Islands in February, and after paying
visits of ceremony to the king, obtained the necessary suppUes
.of hogs, fruits, vegetables, and water from the inhabitants, and

196 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
also engaged some twenty-four of the islanders, or Kanakas,
as they are called, to go as employes to the Columbia.
Lie a number of rollicking lads, the Nor'-Westers made very
free with the natives, to the disgust of Captain Thorn. He
writes: — "They sometimes dress in red coats and otherwise
very fantastically, and collecting a number of ignorant natives
around them, tell them they are the great chiefs of the North-
West . . . then dressing in Highland plaids and kilts, and
making bargains with the natives, with presents of rum, wine,
or anything that is at hand."
On February 28th the Tonqidn set sail from the Sandwich
Islands. The discontent broke out again, and the fur traders
engaged in a mock mutiny, which greatly alarmed the suspicious
captain. They spoke to each other in Gaelic, had long conver
sations, and the captain kept an ever- watchful eye upon them ;
but on March 22nd they arrived at the mouth of the Columbia
Eiver. McKay and McDougaU, as senior partners, disembarked,
visited the village of the Chinooks, and were warmly welcomed
by Comcomly, the chief of that tribe. The chief treated them
hospitably and encouraged their settUng in his neighbourhood.
Soon they had chosen a site for their fort, and with busy hands
they cut down trees, cleared away thickets, and erected a
residence, stone-house, and powder magazine, which was not,
however, at first surrounded with palisades. In honour of the
promoter of thek enterprise, they very naturally called the new
settlement Astoria.
As soon as the new fort had assumed something like order, the
Tonquin, according to the original design, was despatched up
the coast to trade ¦with the Indians for furs. Alexander McKay
took charge of the trade, and sought to make the most of the
honest but crusty captain. The vessel sailed on July 5th, 1811,
on what proved to be a disastrous journey.
As soon as she was gone reports began to reach the traders.
at Astoria that a body of white men were building a fort far up
the Columbia. This was serious news, for if true it meant that
the supply of furs looked for at Astoria would be cut off. An
effort was made to find out the truth of the rumour, without
success, but immediately after came definite information that

THE ASTOR FUR COMPANY 197
the North-West Company agents were erecting a post at
Spokane. We have already seen that this was none other
than David Thompson, the emissary of the North-West Com
pany, sent to forestall the building of Astor's fort.
Though too late to fulfil his mission, on July 15th the
doughty astronomer and surveyor, in his canoe manned by
eight men and having the British ensign flying, stopped in
front of the new fort. Thompson was cordially received by
McDougaU, to the no small disgust of the other employes of
the Astor Company. After waiting for eight days, Thompson,
having received supplies and goods from McDougaU, started on
his return journey. With him journeyed up the river David
Stuart, who, with eight men, was proceeding on a fur-trading
expedition. Among his clerks was Alexander Eoss, who has
left a veracious history of the " First Settlers on the Oregon."
Stuart had little confidence in Thompson, and by a device
succeeded in getting him to proceed on his journey and leave
him to choose his own site for a fort. Going up to within 140
miles of the Spokane Eiver, and at the junction of the
Okanagan and Columbia, Stuart erected a temporary fort to
carry on his first season's trade.
In the meantine the Tonquin had gone on her way up the
coast. The Indians were numerous, but were difficult to deal
with, being impudent and greedy. A number of them had
come upon the deck of the Tonquin, and Captain Thorn, being
wearied with their slowness in bargaining and fulness of wiles,
had grown impatient with the chief and had violently thrown
•him over the side of the ship. The Indians no doubt intended
ito avenge this insult. Next morning early, a multitude of
•canoes came about the Tonquin and many savages clambered
upon the deck. Suddenly an attack was made upon the fur
traders. Alexander McKay was one of the first to fall, being
knocked down by a war club. Captain Thorn fought desper-
.ately, killing the young chief of the band, and many others, untU
at last he was overcome by numbers. The remnant of the
crew succeeded in getting control of the ship and, by discharging
some of the deck guns, drove off the savages. Next morning
the ship was all quiet as the Indians came about her. The
ship's clerk, Mr. Lewis, who had been severely wounded.

igS THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
appeared on deck and invited them on board. Soon the whole
deck was crowded by the Indians, who thought they would
secure a prize. Suddenly a dreadful explosion took place.
The gunpowder magazine had blown up, and Lewis and upward
of one himdred savages were hurled into eternity. It was a
fierce revenge ! Four white men of the crew who had escaped
in a boat were captured and terribly tortured by the maddened
Indian survivors. An Indian interpreter alone was spared to
return to Astoria to relate the tale of treachery and blood.
Astor's plan involved, however, the sending of another expe
dition overland to explore the country and lay out his projected
chain of forts. In charge of this party was WiUiam P. Hunt,
of Trenton, New Jersey, who had been selected by Astor, as
being a native born American, to be next to himself in authority
in the Company. Hunt had no experience as a fur trader, but
was a man of decision and perseverance. With him was closely
associated Donald McKenzie, who had been in the service of
the North-West Company, but had been induced to join in the
partnership with Astor.
Hunt and McKenzie arrived in Montreal on June 10th, 1811,
and engaged a number of voyageurs to accompany them.
With these in a great canoe the party left the church of La
Bonne Ste. Anne, on Montreal Island, and ascended the Ottawa.
By the usual route Michilimackinac was reached, and here
again other members of the party were enlisted. The party
was also reinforced by the addition of a young Scotchman of
energy and ability, Eamsay Crooks, and with him an experi
enced and daring Missouri trader named Eobert McLellan
At Mackinaw as well as at Montreal the influence of the North-
West Company was so strong that men engaged for the journey
were as a rule those of the poorest quality. Thus were the
difficulties of the overland party increased by the Falstaffian
rabble that attended the well-chosen leaders.
The party left Mackinaw, crossed to the Mississippi, and
reached St. Louis in September.
At St. Louis the explorers came into touch with the Missouri
Company, of which we have spoken. The same hidden opposi
tion that had met them in Montreal and Mackinaw was here
encountered. Nothing was said, but it was difficult to get

THE ASTOR FUR COMPANY 199
information, hard to induce voyageurs to join them, and delay
after delay occurred. Near the end of October St. Louis was
left behind and the Missouri ascended for 460 miles to a fort
Nodowa, when the party determined to winter. During the
winter Hunt returned to St. Louis and endeavoured to enlist
additional men for his expedition. In this he stUl had the
opposition of a Spaniard, Manuel de Lisa, who was the leading
spirit in the Missouri Company. After some difficulty Hunt
engaged an interpreter, Pierre Dorion, a drunken French half-
breed, who was, however, expert and even accomplished in his
work. A start was at last made in January, and Irving tells us of
the expedition meeting Daniel Boone, the famous old hunter of
Kentucky, one who gloried in keeping abreast of the farthest
line of the frontier, a trapper and hunter. The party went on
its way ascending the river, and was accompanied by the some
what disagreeable companion Lisa. At length they reached
the country of the Anckaras, who, like the Parthians of old,
seemed to live on horseback. After a council meeting the
distrust of Lisa disappeared, and a bargain was struck between
the Spaniard and the explorer by which he would supply them
with 130 horses and take their boats in exchange. Leaving in
August the party went westward, keeping south at first to avoid
the Blackfeet, and then, turning northward till they reached
an old trading post just beyond the summit.
The descent was now to be made to the coast, but none of
them had the slightest conception of the difficulties before them.
They divided themselves into four parties, under the four
leaders, McKenzie, McLellan, Hunt, and Crooks. The two
former took the right bank, the two latter the left bank of the
river. For three weeks they followed the rugged banks of this
stream, which, from its fierceness, they spoke of as the " Mad
Eiver." Their provisions soon became exhausted and they
were reduced to the dire necessity of eating the leather of their
shoes. After a separation of some days the plan was struck
upon by Mr. Hunt of gaining communication across the river
by a boat covered with horse skin. This failed, and the unfor
tunate voyageur attempting to cross in it was drowned. After
a time the Lewis Eiver was reached. Trading off their horses

200 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
McKenzie's party, which was on the right bank, obtained
canoes from the natives, and at length on January 18th, 1812,
this party reached Astoria. Eoss Cox says : " Then: concave
cheeks, protuberant bones, and tattered garments strongly
indicated the dreadful extent of their privations; but their
health appeared uninjured and their gastronomic powers un
impaired." After the disaster of the horse-skin boat the two parties lost
sight of one another. Mr. Hunt had the easier bank of the
river, and, falling in with friendly Indians, he delayed for ten
days and rested his wearied party. Though afterward delayed.
Hunt, with his following of thirty men, one woman, and two
children, arrived at Astoria, to the great deUght of his com
panions, on February 15th, 1812.
Various accounts have been given of the journey. Those
of Eoss Cox and Alexander Eoss are the work of actual
members of the Astor Company, though not of the party which
really crossed. Washington Irving's "Astoria" is regarded
as a pleasing fiction, and he is very truly spoken of by Dr.
Coues, the editor of Henry and Thompson's journals, in the
following fashion : — " No story of travel is more familiar to
the public than the tale told by Irving of this adventure,
because none is more readable as a romance founded upon
fact. . . . Irving plies his golden pen elasticaUy, and from
it flow wit and humour, stirring scene, and startling in
cident, character to the life. But he never tells us where
those people went, perhaps for the simple reason that he
never knew. He wafts us westward on his strong plume,
and we look down on those hapless Astorians ; but we
might as well be ballooning for aught of exactitude we can
make of this celebrated itinerary."
In October, 1811, the second party by sea left New York
on the ship Beaver, to join the traders at the mouth of the
Columbia. Eoss Cox, who was one of the clerks, gives a most
interesting account of the voyage and of the affairs of the
Company. With him were six other cabin passengers. The
ship was commanded by Captain Sowles. The voyage was
on the whole a prosperous one, and Cape Horn was doubled
on New Year's Day, 1812. More than a month after, the

THE ASTOR FUR COMPANY 201
ship called at Juan Fernandez, and two months after
crossed the Equator. Three weeks afterward she reached
the Sand-wich Islands, and on April 9th, after a further
voyage, arrived at the mouth of the Columbia.
On arriving at Astoria the new-comers had many things
to see and learn, but they were soon under way, preparing
for their future work. There were many risks in thus
venturing away from their fort. Chief Trader McDougaU
had indeed found the fort itself threatened after the disaster
of the Tonquin. He had, however, boldly grappled with
the case. Having few of his company to support him, he
summoned the Indians to meet him. In their presence he
informed them that he understood they were plotting against
him, but, drawing a corked bottle from his pocket, he
said: "This bottle contains small-pox. I have but to draw
out the cork and at once you will be seized by the plague."
They implored him to spare them and showed no more
hostility. Such recitals as this, and the sad story of the Tonquin related
to Eoss Cox and his companions, naturally increased their
nervousness as to penetrating the interior.
The Beaver had sailed for Canton with furs, and the
party of the interior was organized with three proprietors,
Eamsay Crooks, Eobert McLellan, and Eobert Stuart, who,
with eight men, were to cross the mountains to St. Louis.
At the fort there remained Mr. Hunt, Duncan McDougaU,
B. Clapp, J. C. Halsey, and Gabriel Pranchere, the last of
whom -wrote an excellent account in French of the Astor
Company affairs.

CHAPTEE XXIII.
LOED SELKIEK'S COLONY.
Alexander Mackenzie's book — Lord Selkirk interested — Emigration
a boon — ^Writes to Imperial Government — In 1802 looks to Lake
Winnipeg — Benevolent project of trade — Compelled to choose
Prince Edward Island — Opinions as to Hudson's Bay Company's
Charter — Nor'-Westers alarmed — Hudson's Bay Company's Stock
— Purchases Assiniboia — ^Advertises the new colony — Religion no
disqualification — Sends first colony — Troubles of the project —
Arrive at York Factory — The winter — The mutiny — " Essence of
Malt " — Journey inland — A second party — Third party under
Archibald Macdonald — From Helmsdale — The number of
colonists.
The pubhcation of his -work by Alexander Mackenzie, entitled,
"Voyages from Montreal through the Continent of North
America, &c.," awakened great interest in the British Isles.
Among those who were much influenced by it was Thomas,
Earl of Selkirk, a young Scottish nobleman of distinguished
descent and disposition. The young Earl at once thought of
the wide country described as a fitting home for the poor and
unsuccessful British peasantry, who, as we learn from Words
worth, were at this time in a most distressful state.
During his college days the Earl of Selkirk had often -risited
the Highland glens and crofts, and though himself a Southron,
he was so interested in his picturesque countrymen that he
learned the Gaelic language. Not only the sad condition of
Scotland, but likewise the unsettled state of Ireland, appealed
to his heart and his patriotic sympathies. He came to the
conclusion that emigration was the remedy for the iUs of
Scotland and Ireland alike.
Accordingly we find the energetic Earl writing to Lord
Pelham to mterest the British Government in the matter. We
have before us a letter with two memorials attached. This is
dated April h, 1802, and was kindly suppUed the writer by

LORD SELKIRK'S COLONY 203
he Colonial Office. The proposals, after showing the de
sirability of relieving the congested and dissatisfied population
already described, go on to speak of a suitable field for the
settlement of the emigrants. And this we see is the region
described by Alexander Mackenzie. Lord Selkirk says : " No
large tract remains unoccupied on the sea-coast of British
America except barren and frozen deserts. To find a sufficient
extent of good soil in a temperate climate we must go far
inland. This inconvenience is not, however, an insurmountable
obstacle to the prosperity of a colony, and appears to be amply
compensated by other advantages that are to be found in some
remote parts of the British territory. At the western extremity
of Canada, upon the waters which fall into Lake Winnipeg
and which in the great river of Port Nelson discharge them
selves into Hudson Bay, is a country which the Indian traders
represent as fertile, and of a climate far more temperate than
the shores of the Atlantic under the same parallel, and not
more severe than that of Germany or Poland. Here, therefore,
the colonists may, with a moderate exertion of industry, be
certain of a comfortable subsistence, and they may also raise
some valuable objects of exportation. ... To a colony in
these territories the channel of trade must be the river of Port
Nelson." It is exceedingly interesting, in view of the part afterwards
played by Lord Selkh-k, to read the following statement :
" The greatest impediment to a colony in this quaarter seems
to be the Hudson's Bay Company monopoly, which the
possessors cannot be expected easily to relinquish. They may,
however, be amply indemnified for its abolition without any
burden, perhaps even with advantage to the revenue."
The letter then goes on to state the successful trade carried
on by the Canadian traders, and gives a scheme by which both
the Hudson's Bay Company and the North-West Company may
receive profits greater than those then enjoyed, by a plan of
issuing Ucenses, and Umiting traders to particular districts.
Further, the proposal declares : "If these indefatigable
Canadians were allowed the free navigation of the Hudson
Bay they might, ¦without going so far from Port Nelson
as they now go from Montreal, extend their traffic from

204 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
«ea to sea, through the whole northern part of America, and
send home more than double the value than is now derived
from that region."
The matter brought up in these proposals was referred to
Lord Buckinghamshire, Colonial Secretary, but failed for the
time being, not because of any unsuitableness of the country,
but "because the prejudices of the British people were so
strong against emigration." During the next year Lord Selkirk
succeeded in organizing a Highland emigration of not less than
800 souls. Not long before the starting of the ships the British
Government seems to have interfered to prevent this large
number being led to the region of Lake Winnipeg, and com
pelled Lord Selkirk to choose the more accessible shore of
Prince Edward Island. After settling his colonists on the
island. Lord Selkirk visited Montreal, where he was well
received by the magnates of the North-West Company, and
where his interest in the far West was increased by witnessing,
as Astor also did about the same time, the large returns
obtained by the " lords of the lakes and forests."
Years went past, and Lord Selkirk, unable to obtain the
assent of the British Government to his great scheme of
colonizing the interior of North America, at length determined
to obtain possession of the territory wanted for his plans through
the agency of the Hudson's Bay Company. About the year
1810 he began to turn his attention in earnest to the matter.
With characteristic Scottish caution he submitted the charter
of the Hudson's Bay Company to the highest legal authorities
in London, including the names EomUly, Holroyd, Cruise,
Scarlett, and John Bell. Their clear opinion was that the
Hudson's Bay Company was legally able to seU its territory
and to transfer the numerous rights bestowed by the charter.
They say, "We are of opinion that the grant of the soil con
tained in the charter is good, and that it -wiU include aU the
country, the waters of which run into Hudson Bay, as
ascertained by geographical observation."
Lord Selkirk, now fully satisfied that the Hudson's Bay
Company was a satisfactory instrument, proceeded to obtain
control of the stock of the Company.
The partners of the North-West Company learned of the steps

LORD SELKIRK'S COLONY 205
being taken by Lord Selkirk and became greatly alarmed.
They were of the opinion that the object of Lord Selkirk was
to make use of his great emigration scheme to give supremacy
to the Hudson's Bay Company over its rivals, and to injure
the Nor'-Westers' fur trade. So far as can be seen. Lord
Selkirk had no interest in the rivalry that had been going on
between the Companies for more than a generation. His first
aim was emigration, and this for the purpose of relieving the
distress of many in the British Isles.
As sho-wing the mind of Lord Selkirk in the matter we have
before us a copy of his lordship's work on emigration published
in 1805. This copy is a gift to the -writer from Lady Isabella
Hope, the late daughter of Lord Selkirk. In this octavo
volume, upwards of 280 pages, the whole question of the
state of the Highlands is ably described. Tracing the con
dition of the Highlanders from the Eebellion of 1745, and
the necessity of emigration, Lord Selkirk refers to the demand
for keeping up the Highland regiments as being less than
formerly, and that the Highland proprietors had been opposed
to emigration.
His patriotism was also stirred in favour of preventing the
flow of British subjects to the United States, and in his desire
to see the British possessions, especially in America, filled up
with loyal British subjects. He states that in his Prince
Edward Island Company in 1803 he had succeeded in secur
ing a number from the Isle of Skye, whose friends had largely
gone to North Carolina, and that others of them were from
Eoss, Argyle, and Inverness, and that the friends of these had
chiefly gone to the United States.
After going into some detail as to the management of his.
Prince Edward Island Highlanders, he speaks of the success
of his experiment, and gives us proof of his consuming interest
in the progress and happiness of his poor fellow-countrymen.
It is consequently almost beyond doubt the fact that it was
¦his desire for carrying out his emigration scheme that led him
to obtain control of the Hudson's Bay Company and not
the desire to introduce a colony to injure the North-West trade,
as charged.
There can be no doubt of Lord Selkirk's thoroughly

2oe THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
patriotic and lofty aims. In 1808 he published a brochure
of some eighty pages on " A System of National Defence."
In this he shows the value of a local militia and proposes a
plan for the maintenance of a sufficient force to protect Great
Britain from its active enemy. Napoleon. He maintains that
a Volunteer force would not be permanent ; and that under
any semblance of peace that establishment must immediately
fall to pieces. His only dependence for the safety of the
country is in a local militia.
With his plan somewhat matured, he began in 1810 to
obtain possession of stock of the Company, and succeeded in
having much of it in the hands of his friends. By May, 1811,
he had with his friends acquired, it is said, not less than 35,000/.
of the total stock, 105,000/. sterling. A general court of the
proprietors was called for May 30th, and the proposition was
made by Lord Selkirk to purchase a tract of land lying in the
wide expanse of Eupert's Land and on the Eed Eiver of the
North, to settle, within a limited time, a large colony on their
lands and to assume the expense of transport, of outlay for the
settlers, of government, of protection, and of quieting the
Indian title to the lands. At the meeting there was
represented about 45,000/. worth of stock, and the vote on
being taken showed the representatives of nearly 30,000/. of
the stock to be in favour of accepting Lord Selkirk's proposal.
Among those who voted with the enterprising Earl were his
kinsmen, Andrew Wedderburn, Esq. (haring nearly 4500/.
stock), William Mainwaring, the Governor Joseph Berens,
Deputy-Governor John Henry Pelly, and many other well-
known proprietors.
The opposition was, however, by no means insignificant,
WilUam Th^vs'aytes, representing nearly 10,000/., voted against
the proposal, as did also Eobert Whitehead, who held 3000/.
stock. The most violent opponents, however, were the Nor'-
Westers who were in England at the time. Two of them had
only purchased stock within forty-eight hours of the meeting.
These were Alexander Mackenzie, John IngUs, and Edward
ElUce, the three together representing less than 2500/.
The projector of the colony having now beaten down all
opposition, forthwith proceeded to carry out his great plan of

LORD SELKIRK'S COLONY 207
colonization. His project has, of course, been greatly criticized.
He has been called " a kind-hearted but visionary Scottish
nobleman," and his relative, Sir James Wedderburn, spoke of
him fifty years afterwards as " a remarkable man, who had the
misfortune to live before his time." Certainly Lord Selkirk
met vrith gigantic difficulties, but these were rather from the
North-West Company than from any untimeliness in his
emigration scheme.
Lord Selkirk soon issued the advertisement and prospectus
of the new colony. He held forth the advantage to be derived
from joining the colony. His policy was very comprehensive.
He said : " The settlement is to be formed in a territory where
religion is not the ground of any disqualification, an un
reserved participation in every privilege ¦will therefore be
enjoyed by Protestant and Catholic without distinction."
The area of the new settlement was said to consist of
110,000 square miles on the Eed and Assiniboine Eivers, and
one of the most fertUe districts of North America. The name
Assiniboia was given it from the Assiniboine, and steps were
taken immediately to organize a government for the embryo
colony. Active measures were then taken by the Earl of Selkirk to
advance his scheme, and it was determined to send out the first
colony immediately. Some years before, Lord Selkirk had
carried on a correspondence with an U. B. Loyalist colonist.
Miles Macdonell, formerly an officer of the King's Eoyal
Eegiment of New York, who had been given the rank of
captain in the Canadian Militia. Macdonell's assistance was
obtained in the new enterprise, and he was appointed by his
lordship to superintend his colony at Eed Eiver.
Many incorrect statements have been made about the different
bands of colonists which found their way to Eed Eiver. No
less than four parties arrived at Eed Eiver by way of York or
ChurchUl Factories between the years 1811 and 1816. Facts
connected -with one of them have been naturally confused in
the memories of the old settlers on Eed Eiver with what hap
pened to other bands. In this way the author has found that
representations made to him and embodied in his work on
"Manitoba," pubUshed in 1882, were in several particulars

2o8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
incorrect. Fortunately in late years the letter-book of Captai
MUes Macdonell, the leader of the colony, has been acquired
from the Misses Macdonell of Brockville by the indefatigable
archivist, Douglas Brymner of Ottawa. These letters enable
us to give a clear and accurate account of the first band of
colonists that found its way to the heart of the Continent and
began the Eed Eiver settlement.
In the end of June, 1811, Captain MUes Macdonell found
himself at Yarmouth, on the east coast of England, with a fleet
of three vessels sent out by the Hudson's Bay Company for
their regular trade and also to carry the first colonists. These
vessels were the Prince of Wales, the Eddystone, and an
old craft, the Edward and Anne, with " old saU ropes, &c., and
very badly manned.' This extra vessel was evidently intended
for the accommodation of the colonists. By the middle of July
the little fleet had reached the Pentland Firth and were
compelled to put into Stromness, when the Prince of Wales
embarked a number of Orkneymen intended for the Company's
service. The men of the Hudson's Bay Company at this time
were largely drawn from the Orkney Islands.
Proceeding on their way the fleet made rendezvous at
Stornoway, the chief town of Lewis, one of the Hebrides. Here
had arrived a number of colonists or employes, some from
Sligo, others from Glasgow, and others from different parts of
the Highlands. Many influences were operating against the
success of the colonizing expedition. It had the strenuous
opposition of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, then in Britain, and the
newspapers contained articles intended to discourage and dis
suade people from embarking in the enterprise. Mr. Eeid,
collector of Customs at Stornoway, whose wife was an aunt of
Sir Alexander Mackenzie, threw every impediment in the way
of the project, and some of those engaged by Lord Selkirk were
actually lured away by enlisting agents. A so-called " Captain "
Mackenzie, denominated a "meanfeUow," came alongside the
Ediuard and Anne, which had some seventy-six men aboard —
Glasgow men, Irish, "and a few from Orkney" — and claimed
some of them as " deserters from Her Majesty's service."
The demand was, however, resisted. It is no wonder that
in his letter to Lord Selkirk, Captain Macdonell writes, " AU

LORD SELKIRK'S COLONY 209
the men that we shall have are now embarked, but it has been
an herculean task."
A prominent employ^ of the expedition, Mr. Moncrieff
Blair, posing as a gentleman, deserted on July 25th, the day
before the sailing of the vessels. A number of the deserters at
Stornoway had left their effects on board, and these were
disposed of by sale among the passengers. Among the officers
was a Mr. Edwards, who acted as medical man of the expedi
tion. He had his hands completely full during the voyage and
returned to England with the ships. Another notable person on
board was a Eoman Catholic priest, known as Father Bourke.
Captain Macdonell was himself a Eoman Catholic, but he seems
from the first to have had no confidence in the priest, who, he
stated, had "come away without the leave of his bishop, who
was at the time at Dublin." Father Bourke, we shall see,
though carried safely to the shores of Hudson Bay, never
reached the interior, but returned to Britain in the following
year. After the usual incidents of "an uncommon share of
boisterous, stormy, and cold weather " on the ocean, the ships
entered Hudson Bay. Experiencing " a course of fine mild
weather and moderate fair winds," on September 24th the fleet
reached the harbour of York Factory, after a voyage of sixty-
one days out from Stornoway, the Eddystone, which was
intended to go to ChurchUl, not having been able to reach that
Factory, coming with the other vessels to York Factory.
The late arrival of the colony on the shores of Hudson Bay
made it impossible to ascend the Nelson Eiver and reach
the interior during the season of 1811. Accordingly Captain
Macdonell made preparations for wintering on the Bay. York
Factory would not probably have afforded sufficient accommo
dation for the colonists, but in addition Captain Macdonell states
in a letter to Lord Selkirk that " the factory is very ill con
structed and not at all adapted for a cold country." In conse
quence of these considerations. Captain Macdonell at once
undertook, during the fair weather of the season yet remaining,
to build winter quarters on the north side of the river, at a
distance of some miles from the Factory. No doubt matters of
discipline entered into the plans of the leader of the colonists.
In a short time very comfortable dwellings were erected, built
p

210 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
of round logs, the front side high -with a shade roof sloping to
the rear a foot thick — and the group of huts was known as
" Nelson encampment ! "
The chief work during the earlier winter, which the captain
laid on his two score men was providing themselves with fuel,
of which there was plenty, and obtaining food from the Factory,
for which sledges drawn over the snow were utiUzed by the
detachments sent on this service. The most serious difficulty
was, however, a meeting, in which a dozen or more of the
men became completely insubordinate, and refused to yield
obedience either to Captain Macdonell or to Mr. W. H.
Cook, the Governor of the Factory. Every effort was made to
maintain discipUne, but the men steadily held to their own
way, lived apart from Macdonell, and drew their own pro
visions from the fort to their huts. This tended to make the
¦winter somewhat long and disagreeable.
Captain Macdonell, being a Canadian, knew well the
dangers of the dread disease of the scurvy attacking his in
experienced colonists. The men at the fort prophesied evil
things in this respect for the " encampment." The captain
took early steps to meet the disease, and his letters to Governor
Cook always contain demands for " essence of malt," " crystal
lized salts of lemon," and other anti-scorbutics. Though
some of his men were attacked, yet the sovereign remedy so
often employed in the " lumber camps " of America, the juice
of the white spruce, was applied with almost magical effect. As
the -winter went on, plenty of venison was received, and the
health of his -wintering party was in the spring much better
than could have been anticipated.
After the New Year had come, all thoughts were directed to
preparations for the journey of 700 miles or thereabouts to
the interior. A number of boats were required for transporta
tion of the colonists and their effects. Captain MacdoneU in
sisted on his boats being made after a different style from the
boats commonly used at that time by the Company. His
model was the fiat boat, which he had seen used in the Mohawk
Eiver in the State of New York. The workmanship displayed
in the making of these boats very much dissatisfied Captain
Macdonell, and he constantly complained of the indolence of

LORD SELKIRK'S COLONY 211
the workmen. In consequence of this inefficiency the cost of
the boats to Lord Selkirk was very great, and drew forth the
objections of the leader of the colony.
Captain Macdonell had the active assistance of Mr. Cook,
the officer in charge of York, and of Mr. Auld, the Commander
of Churchill, the latter ha-ring come down to York to make
arrangements for the inland journey of the colonists. By
July 1st, 1812, the ice had moved from the river, and the ex
pedition started soon after on the journey to Eed Eiver. The
new settlers found the route a hard and trying one with its
rapids and portages. The boats, too, were heavy, and the
colonists inexperienced in managing them. It was well on
toward autumn when the company, numbering about seventy,
reached the Eed Eiver. No special preparation had been made
for the colonists, and the winter would soon be upon them.
Some of the parties were given shelter in the Company fort
and buildings, others in the huts of the freed men, who were
married to the Indian women, and settled in the neighbourhood
of the Forks, while others still found refuge in the tents of the
Indian encampment in the vicinity. The condition of the
colonists was pitiable in the extreme. During the first winter
on Eed Eiver, and in the spring following. Governor Macdonell
bought from the North-West Company, for the use of the
settlers, considerable quantities of potatoes, barley, oats, and
garden seeds, -with four cows, a bull, pigs, poultry, &e., articles
which had been brought from Canada at a large expense.
Governor Macdonell expressed gratitude to the North-West
Company for thus affording assistance in giving his colonists a
start in the new land.
While Governor Macdonell was thus early engaged in making
a beginning in the new colony. Lord Selkirk was seeking out
more colonists, and sent out a small number to the New
World by the Hudson's Bay Company ships. Before sailing
from Stornoway the second party met with serious interruption
from the collector of Customs, who, we have seen, was related
to Sir Alexander Mackenzie. The number on board the ships
was greater, it was claimed, than the " Dundas Act " permitted.
Through the influence of Lord Selkirk the ships were allowed
to proceed on their voyage. Prison fever, it is said, broke out

212 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
on the voyage, so that a number died at sea, and others
on the shore of Hudson Bay. A small number, not more
than fifteen or twenty, reached Eed Eiver in the autumn
of 1813.
During the previous winter Governor MacdoneU had taken a
number of the colonists to Pembina, a point sixty mUes south
of the Forks, where buffalo could be had. In the second
winter (1813-14) he retired to the same spot, and at this point
a fort, calUed Fort Daer, from one of Lord Selkirk's titles, was
erected. On returning, after the second winter, to the settle
ment, the colonists sowed a small quantity of wheat, though,
not haring horses or oxen, they were compelled to prepare
the ground with the hoe.
Lord Selkirk had not been anxious in 1812 to send a large
addition to his colony. In 1813 he made greater efforts,
and in June sent out in the Prince of Wales, sailing from
Orkney, a party under Mr. Archibald Macdonald, numbering
some ninety-three persons. Mr. Macdonald has -written an
account of his voyage, and has given us a remarkably concise
and clear pamphlet. Having spent the winter at ChurchiU,
Macdonald started on April 14th with a considerable number
of his party, and, coming by way of York Factory, reached
Eed Eiver on June 22nd, when they were able to plant some
thirty or forty bushels of potatoes. The settlers were in good
spirits, having received plots of land to build houses for them
selves. Governor Macdonell went northward to meet the
remainder of Archibald Macdonald's party, and arrived with
them late in the season.
On account of various misunderstandings between the Colony
and the North-West Company, which we shall relate more
particularly in another chapter, 150 of the colonists were in
duced by a North-West officer, Duncan Cameron, to leave the
country and go by a long canoe journey to Canada. The re
mainder, numbering about sixty persons, making up about
thirteen families, were driven from the settlement, and found
refuge at Norway House (Jack Eiver) at the foot of Lake
Winnipeg. An officer from Lord Selkirk, Colin Eobertson,
arrived in the colony to assist these settlers, but found them
driven out. He followed them to Norway House, and with

LORD SELKIRK'S COLONY 213
his twenty clerks and servants, conducted them back to Eed
Biver to their deserted homes.
While these disastrous proceedings were taking place on
Eed Eiver, including the summons to Governor Macdonell to
appear before the Courts of Lower Canada to answer certain
charges made against him. Lord Selkirk was especially active
in Great Britain, and gathered together the best band of
settlers yet sent out. These were largely from the parish of
Kildonan, in Sutherlandshire, Scotland. Governor MacdoneU
ha-ring gone east to Canada, the colony was to be placed
under a new Governor, a military officer of some distinction,
Eobert Semple, who had travelled in different parts of the
world. Governor Semple was in charge of this fourth party of
colonists, who numbered about 100. With this party, hasten
ing through his journey. Governor Semple reached his
destination on Eed Eiver in the month of October, in the same
year in which they had left the motherland.
Thus we have seen the arrival of those who were kno-wn as
the Selkirk colonists. We recapitulate their numbers : —
In 1811, reaching Ked River in 1812  70
In 1812, reaching Red River in 1813  15 or 20
In 1813, reaching Red River in two parties in 1814 . . 93
In 1816, reaching Red River in the same year . . . 100
Making deduction of the Irish settlers there were of the
Highland colonists about  270
Less those led by the North-West Company in 1814 to
Canada  140
Permanent Highland settlers  130
Of these but two remained on the banks of the Eed Eiver in
1897, George Bannerman and John Matheson, and they have
both died since that time.
We shall foUow the history of these colonists further ; suffice
it now to say that their settlement has proved the country to
be one of great fertility and promise ; and their early establish
ment no doubt prevented international complications with the
United States that might have rendered the possession of
Hupert's Land a matter of uncertainty to Great Britain.

CHAPTEE XXIV.
TEOUBLB BETWEEN THE COMPANIES.
Nor'-Westers . oppose the colony — Reason why — A considerable
literature — Contentions of both parties — Both in faul-t — MUes
Macdonell's mistake — Nor'-Wester arrogance — Duncan Came
ron's ingenious plan — Stirring up the Chippewas — Nor'-Westers
warn colonists to depart — McLeod's hitherto unpublished narra
tive — Vi-rid account of a brave defence — Chain shot from the
blacksmith's smithy — Fort Douglas begun — Settlers driven out
— Governor Semple arrives — Cameron last Governor of Fort
Gibraltar — Cameron sent to Britain as a prisoner — Fort Gibraltar
captured — Fort Gibraltar decreases. Fort Douglas increases —
Free traders take to the plains — Indians favour the colonists.
To the most casual observer it must have been evident that
the colony to be established by Lord Selkirk would be regarded
with disfavour by the North-West Company officers. The
strenuous opposition shown to it in Great Britain by Sir
Alexander Mackenzie, and by all who were connected with him,
showed quite clearly that it would receive little favour on the
Eed Eiver.
First, it was a Hudson's Bay scheme, and would greatly
advance the interests of the English trading Company. That
Company would have at the very threshold of the fur country
a depot, surrounded by traders and workmen, which would
give them a great advantage over their rivals.
Secondly, civilieation and its handmaid agriculture are
incompatible with the fur trade. As the settler enters, the
fur-bearing animals are exterminated. A sparsely settled,
almost unoccupied country, is the only hope of preserving this
trade. Thirdly, the claim of the Hudson's Bay Company under
its charter was that they had the sole right to pursue the fur
trade in Eupert's Land. Their traditional policy on Hudson

TROUBLE BETWEEN THE COMPANIES 215
Bay had been to drive out private trade, and to preserve their
monopoly. Fourthly, the Nor'-Westers claimed to be the lineal suc
cessors of the French traders, who, under Verandrye, had
opened up the region west of Lake Superior. They long after
maintained that priority of discovery and earlier possession
gave them the right to claim the region in dispute as belonging
to the province of Quebec, and so as being a part of Canada.
The first and second parties of settlers were so small, and
seemed so little able to cope with the difficulties of their
situation, that no great amount of opposition was shown. They
were made, it is true, the laughing-stock of the half-breeds
and Indians, for these free children of the prairies regarded the
use of the hoe or other agricultural implement as beneath them.
The term "Pork-eaters,"' appUed, as we have seen, to the
voyageurs east of Fort William, was freely applied to these
settlers. A considerable literature is in existence dealing with the
events of this period. It is somewhat difficult, in the conflict
of opinion, to reach a basis of certainty as to the facts of this
contest. The Indian country is proverbial for the prevalence
of rumour and misrepresentation. Moreover, prejudice and
self-interest were mingled with deep passion, so that the facts
are very hard to obtain.
The upholders of the colony claim that no sooner had the
settlers arrived than efforts were made to stir up the Indians
against them; that besides, the agents of the North-West
Company had induced the Metis, or half-breeds, to disguise
themselves as Indians, and that on their way to Pembina one
man was robbed by these desperadoes of the gun which his
father had carried at Culloden, a woman of her marriage ring,
and others of various ornaments and valuable articles. There
were, however, it is admitted, no specially hostile acts
noticeable during the years 1812 and 1813.
The advocates of the North-West Company, on tbe other
hand, blame the first aggression on MUes Macdonell.
During the winter of 1813 and 1814 Governor Macdonell and
his colonists were occupying Port Daer at Pembina. The
supply of subsistence from the buffalo was short, food was

2i6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
difficult to obtain, the war with the United States was in
progress and might out off communication with Montreal, and,
moreover, a body of colonists was expected to arrive during
the year from Great Britain. Accordingly, the Governor, on
January 8th, 1814, issued a proclamation.
He claimed the territory as ceded to Lord Selkirk, and gave
the description of the tract thus transferred. The proclama
tion then goes on to say : " And whereas the welfare of the
families at present forming the settlements on the Eed Eiver,
within the said territory, with those on their way to it, passing
the winter at York or Churchill Ports on Hudson Bay, as also
those who are expected to arrive next autumn, renders it a
necessary and indispensable part of my duty to provide for
their support. The uncultivated state of the country, the
ordinary resources derived from the buffalo, and other wild
animals hunted within the territory, are not deemed more than
adequate for the requisite supply ; wherefore, it is hereby
ordered that no persons trading in furs or prorisions within
the territory, for the Honourable the Hudson's Bay Company,
the North-West Company, or any individual or unconnected
traders whatever, shall take out any provisions, either of flesh,
grain, or vegetables, procured or raised within the territory, by
water or land-carriage for one twelvemonth from the date
hereof ; save and except what may be judged necessary for the
trading parties at the present time within the territory, to
carry them to their respective destinations, and who may, on
due appUcation to me, obtain licence for the same. The
provisions procured and raised as above, shall be taken for the
use of the colony, and that no losses may accrue to the parties
concerned, they will be paid for by British bills at the
customary rates, &c."
The Nor'-Westers then recalled the ceremonies with which
Governor Macdonell had signaUzed his entrance to the
country : " When he arrived he gathered his company about
him, made before it some impressive ceremonies, drawn from
the conjuring book of his lordship, and read to it his commis
sion of governor or representative of Lord Selkirk ; afterwards
a salute was fired from the Hudson's Bay Company fort,
which proclaimed his taking possession of the neighbourhood."

TROUBLE BETWEEN THE COMPANIES 217
The Governor, however, soon gave another example of his
determination to assert his authority. It had been represented
to him that the North-West Company officers had no intention
of obeying the proclamation, and indeed were engaged in
buying up all the available supplies to prevent his getting
enough for his colonists. Convinced that his opponents were
engaged in thwarting his designs, the Governor sent John
Spencer to seize some of the stores which had been gathered
in the North-West post at the mouth of the Souris Eiver.
Spencer was un-wiUing to go, unless very specific instructions
were given him. The Governor had, by Lord Selkirk's
influence in Canada, been appointed a magistrate, and he now
issued a warrant authorizing Spencer to seize the pro-risions in
this fort.
Spencer, pro-rided with a double escort, proceeded to the
fort at the Souris, and the Nor'-Westers made no other
resistance than to retire within the stockade and shut the gate
of the fort. Spencer ordered his men to force an entrance
with their hatchets. Afterwards, opening the store-houses,
they seized six hundred skins of dried meat (pemmican) and
of grease, each weighing eighty-five pounds. This booty was
removed into the Hudson's Bay Company fort (Brandon
House) at that place.
We have now before us the first decided action that led to
the serious disturbances that followed. The question arises.
Was the Governor justified in the steps taken by him ? No
doubt, -with the legal opinion which Lord Selkirk had obtained,
he considered himself thoroughly justified. The necessities of
his starving people and the plea of humanity were certainly
strong motives urging him to action. No doubt these con
siderations seemed strong, but, on the other hand, he should
have remembered that the idea of law in the fur traders'
country was a new thing, that the Nor'-Westers, moreover,
were not prepared to credit him with purity of motive, and
that they had at their disposal a force of wild Bois Briiles
ready to follow the unbridled customs of the plains.
Further, even in civilized communities laws of non-intercourse,
embargo, and the like, are looked upon as arbitrary and of
doubtful vaUdity. All these things should have led the

2i8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Governor, ill provided as he was with the force necessary for
his defence, to hesitate before taking a course likely to be
disagreeable to the Nor'-Westers, who would regard it as an
assertion of the claim of superiority of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany and of the consequent degradation of their Company, of
which they were so proud.
In their writings the North-West Company take some credit
for not precipitating a conflict, but state that they endured the
indignity until their councU at Fort WUUam should take action
in the following summer. At this councU, which was interest
ing and full of strong feeUng against their fur-trading rivals,
the Nor'-Westers, under the presidency of the Hon. William
McGilli^vray, took decided action.
In the trials that afterwards arose out of this unfortunate
quarrel, John Pritchard, whose forty days' wanderings we have
recorded, testified that one of the North-West agents, Mac-
Kenzie, had given him the information that "the intention of
the North-West Company was to seduce and inveigle away as
many of the colonists and settlers at Eed Eiver as they could
induce to join them ; and after they should thus have
diminished their means of defence, to raise the Indians of Lac
Eouge, Pond du Lac, and other places, to act and destroy the
settlement ; and that it was also their intention to bring the
Governor, Miles Macdonell, do^wn to Montreal as a prisoner,
by way of degrading the authority under which the colony
was estabUshed in the eyes of the natives of that country.''
Simon McGillivray, a North-West Company partner, had
two years before this ¦written from London that " Lord Selkirk
must be driven to abandon his project, for his success would
strike at the very existence of our trade."
Two of the most daring partners of the North-West
Company were put in charge of the plan of campaign agreed
on at Fort WilUam. These were Duncan Cameron and
Alexander MacdoneU. The latter wrote to a friend, from
one of his resting-places on his journey, " Much is expected
of us ... so here is at them with all my heart and energy."
The two partners arrived at Port Gibraltar, situated at the
forks of the Eed and Assiniboine Eivers, toward the end
of August. The senior partner, Macdonell, leaving Cameron

TROUBLE BETWEEN THE COMPANIES 219
at Fort Gibraltar, went westward to the Qu'Appelle Eiver,
to return in the spring and carry out the plan agreed on.
Cameron had been busy during the winter in dealing with
the settlers, and let no opportunity sUp of impressing them.
Knowing the fondness of Highlanders for miUtary display, he
dressed himself in a bright red coat, wore a sword, and in
¦writing to the settlers, which he often did, signed himself,
" D. Cameron, Captain, Voyageur Corps, Commanding Officer,
Eed Eiver." He also posted an order at the gate of his fort
purporting to be his captain's commission. Some dispute has
arisen as to the validity of this authority. There seems to
have been some colour for the use of this title, under authority
given for enUsting an irregular corps in the upper lakes
dmring the American War of 1812, but the legal opinion is
that this had no vaUdity in the Eed Eiver settlement.
Cameron, aiming at the destruction of the colony, began by
ingratiating himself with a number of the leading settlers.
Knowing the love of the Highlanders for their own language,
Cameron spoke to them Gaelic in his most pleasing manner,
entertained the leading colonists at his own table, and paid
many attentions to their families. Promises were then made to
a number of leaders to provide the people ¦with homes in Upper
Canada, to pay up wages due by the Hudson's Bay Company
or Lord Selkirk, and to give a year's pro-risions free, provided
the colony would leave the Eed Eiver and accept the
advantages offered in Canada. This plan succeeded remark
ably well, and it is in sworn evidence that on three-quarters of
the colony reaching Fort William, a settler, Campbell, received
100/., several others 20/., and so on.
Some of the best of the settlers, amounting to about one-
quarter of the whole, refused all the advances of the subtle
captain. Another method was taken with this class. The
plan of frightening them away by the co-operation of the Cree
Indians had faUed, but the Bois Brtiles, or half-breeds, were a
more pliant agency. These were to be employed. Cameron
now (April, 1816) made a demand on Archibald Macdonald,
Acting Governor, to hand over to the settlers the field pieces
belonging to Lord Selkirk, on the ground that these had been
used already to disturb the peace. This startling order was

220 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
presented to the Governor by settler CampbeU on the day on
which the fortnightly issue of rations took place at the colony
buildings. The settlers in favour of Cameron then broke open
the store-house, and took nine pieces of ordnance and removed
them to Fort Gibraltar. The Governor having arrested one of
the settlers who had broken open the store-house, a number
of the North-West Company clerks and servants, under orders
from Cameron, broke into the Governor's house and rescued
the prisoner.
About this time Miles Macdonell, the Governor, returned to
the settlement. A warrant had been issued for his arrest by
the Nor'-Westers, but he refused for the time to acknowledge
the jurisdiction of the magistrates. Cameron now spread
abroad the statement that if the settlers did not deliver up the
Governor, they in turn would be attacked and driven from
their homes. Certain colonists were now fired at by unseen
assailants. About the middle of May, the senior partner, Alexander
Macdonell, arrived from Qu'Appelle, accompanied by a band of
Cree Indians. The partners hoped through these to frighten
the settlers who remained obdurate, but the Indians were too
astute to be led into the quarrel, and assured Governor Miles
Macdonell that they were resolved not to molest the new
comers. An effort was also made to stir up the Chippewa Indians
of Sand Lake, near the west of Lake Superior. The chief of
the band declared to the Indian Department of Canada that he
was offered a large reward if he would declare war against the
Selkirk colonists. This the Chippewas refused to do.
Early in June the lawless spirit followed by the Nor'-
Westers again showed itself. A party from Port Gibraltar
went down with loaded muskets, and from a wood near
the Governor's residence fired upon some of the colony
employes. Mr. White, the surgeon, was nearly hit, and a ball
passed close by Mr. Burke, the storekeeper. General firing
then began from the wood and was returned from the house, but
four of the colony servants were wounded. This expedition was
under Cameron, who congratulated his followers on the result.
The demand for the surrender of the Governor, in answer to

TROUBLE BETWEEN THE COMPANIES 221
the warrant issued, was then made, and at the persuasion of
the other officers of the settlement, and to avoid the loss of life
and the dangers threatened against the colonists. Governor
Miles Macdonell surrendered himself and was taken to Montreal
for trial, though no trial ever took place.
The double plan of coaxing away all the settlers who were
open to such inducement, and of then forcibly driving away the
residue from the settlement, seemed likely to succeed. One
hundred and thirty-four of the coloiusts, induced by promises of
free transport, two hundred acres of land in Upper Canada, as
well as in some cases by substantial gifts, deserted the colony in
June (1815), along with Cameron, and arrived at Fort William
on their way down the lakes at the end of July. These settlers
made their way in canoes along the desolate shores of Lake
Superior and Georgian Bay, and arrived at Holland Landing,
in Upper Canada, on September 5th. Many of them were
given land in the to-wnship of West Guillimbury, near New
market, and many of their descendants are there to this day.
The Nor'-Westers now continued their persecution of the
remnant of the settlers. They burnt some of their houses and
used threats of the most extreme kind. On June 26th, 1816,
the foUo-wing document was served upon the disheartened
colonists : —
" All settlers to retire immediately from the Eed Eiver, and
no trace of a settlement to remain. " CUTHBEET GeANT.
" BosTONNAis Pangman.
" William Shaw.
"bonhomme montoue."
The conflict resulting at this time may be said to be the first
battle of the war. A fiery Highland trader, John McLeod, was
in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company house at this point,
and we have his account of the attack and defence, somewhat
bombastic it may be, but which, so far as known to the author,
has never been published before.
COPY OF DIAEY in PEOVINCIAL LIBEAEY, WINNIPEG.
" In 1814-15 being in charge of the whole Eed Eiver district,
I spent the -winter at the Forks, at the settlement there. On

22 2 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.
June 25th, 1815, whUe I was in charge, a sudden attack was
made by an armed band of the N.-W. party under the leader
ship of Alexander MacdoneU (YeUow Head) and Cuthbert
Grant, on the settlement and Hudson's Bay Company fort at
the Forks. They numbered about seventy or eighty, well
armed and on horseback. Having had some warning of it, I
assumed command of both the colony and H. B. 0. parties.
Mustering with inferior numbers, and with only a few guns,
we took a stand against them. Taking my place amongst the
colonists, I fought with them. All fought bravely and kept up
the fight as long as possible. Many all about me falling
wounded; one mortally. Only thirteen out of our band
escaped unscathed.
" The brunt of the struggle was near the H. B. C. post, close
to which was oin: blacksmith's smithy — a log buUding about
ten feet by ten. Being hard pressed, I thought of trying the
Uttle cannon (a three or four pounder) lying idle in the post
where it could not well be used.
"One of the settlers (Hugh McLean) went with two of my
men, with his cart to fetch it, with all the cart chains he could
get and some powder. Finally, we got the whole to the
blacksmith's smithy, where, chopping up the chain into lengths
for shot, we opened a fire of chain shot on the enemy which
drove back the main body and scattered them, and saved the
post from utter destruction and piUage. All the colonists'
houses were, however, destroyed by fire. Houseless, wounded,
and in extreme distress, they took to the boats, and, saring
what they could, started for Norway House (Jack's Eiver),
declaring they would never return.
" The enemy still prowled about, determined apparently to
expel, dead or alive, all of our party. All of the H. B.
Company's officers and men refused to remain, except the two
brave fellows in the service, viz. Archibald Currie and James
Mcintosh, who, with noble Hugh McLean, joined in holding
the fort in the smithy. Governor Macdonell was a prisoner.
" In their first approach the enemy appeared determined
more to frighten than to kill. Their demonstration in line of
battle, mounted, and in full ' war paint ' and equipment was
formidable, but their fire, especially at first, was desultory.

TROUBLE BETWEEN THE COMPANIES 223
Our party, numbering only about half theirs, while preserving
a general line of defence, exposed itself as little as possible,
but returned the enemy's fire, sharply checking the attack,
and our line was never broken by them. On the contrary,
when the chain-firing began, the enemy retired out of range of
our artillery, but at a flank movement reached the colony
houses, where they quickly and resistlessly plied the work of
destruction. To their credit be it said, they took no life or
property. " Of killed, on our side, there was only poor John Warren
of H. B. C. service, a worthy brave gentleman, who, taking a
leading part in the battle, too fearlessly exposed himself. Of
the enemy, probably, the casualties were greater, for they
presented a better target, and we certainly fired to kill. Prom
the smithy we could and did protect the trade post, but could
not the buUdings of the colonists, which were along the bank of
the Eed Eiver, while the post faced the Assiniboine more than
the Eed Eiver. Fortunately for us in the ' fort ' (the smithy)
the short nights were never too dark for our watch and ward.
" The colonists were allowed to take what they could of
what belonged to them, and that was but little, for as yet they
had neither cow nor plough, only a horse or two. There were
boats and other craft enough to take them all — colonists and
H. B. 0. people — away, and all, save my three compaiuons
already named and myself, took ship and fled. For many days
after we were under siege, li-ring under constant peril ; but
unconquerable in our bullet-proof log walls, and with our
terrible cannon and chain shot.
" At length the enemy retired. The post was safe, -with
from 800/. to 1000/. sterling worth of attractive trade goods
belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company untouched. I was
glad of this, for it enabled me to secure the services of free
men about the place — French Canadians and haU-breeds not
in the service of the N.-W. Company — to restore matters and
prepare for the futm-e.
" I felt that we had too much at stake in the country to give
it up, and had every confidence in the resources of the H. B.
Company and the Earl of Selkirk to hold their own and
effectually repel any future attack from our opponents.

2 24 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
" I found the free men about the place wilUng to work for
me ; and at once hired a force of them for buUding and other
works in reparation of damages and in new works. So soon as
I got my post in good order, I turned to save the little but
precious and promising crops of the colonists, whose return I
anticipated, made fences where required, and in due time cut
and stacked their hay, &c.
" That done I took upon me, without order or suggestion from
any quarter, to build a house for the Governor and his staff of
the Hudson's Bay Company at Eed Eiver. There was no such
officer at that time, nor had there ever been, but I was aware
that such an appointment was contemplated.
" I selected for this purpose what I considered a suitable
site at a point or sharp bend in the Eed Eiver about two miles
below the Assiniboine, on a slight rise on the south side of the
point — since known as Point Douglas, the family name of the
Earl of Selkirk. Possibly I so christened it — I forget.
" It was of two stories ; with main timbers of oak ; a good
substantial house; with windows of parchment in default of
glass." Here ends McLeod's diary.
The Indians of the vicinity showed the colonists much
sympathy, but on June 27th, after the hostile encounter, some
thirteen famiUes, comprising from forty to sixty persons,
pursued their sad journey, pUoted by friendly Indians, to the
north end of Lake Winnipeg, where the Hudson's Bay
Company post of Jack Eiver afforded some shelter. McLeod,
and, as he teUs us, three men only were left. These
endeavoured to protect the settlers' growing crops, which this
year showed great promise.
The expulsion may now be said to have been complete.
The day after the departure of the expeUed settlers, the colony
dwelUngs, with the possible exception of the Governor's house,
were aU burnt to the ground. In July the desolate band
reached Jack Eiver House, their future being dark indeed.
Deliverance was, however, coming from two directions.
Colin Eobertson, a Hudson's Bay Company officer, arrived
from the Bast with twenty Canadians. On reaching the Eed
Eiver settlement, he found the settlers all gone, but he
foUowed them speedUy to their rendezvous on Lake Winnipeg

TROUBLE BETWEEN THE COMPANIES 225
and returned with the refugees to their deserted homes on Eed
Eiver. They were joined also by about ninety settlers from
the Highlands of Scotland, who had come through to Eed
Eiver in one season. The colony was now rising into
promise again. A number of the demolished buildings
were soon erected; the colony took heart, and under the
new Governor, Eobert Semple, a British officer who had
come with the last party of settlers, the prospects seemed to
have improved. The Governor's dwelling was strengthened,
other dwellings were erected beside it, and more necessity
being now seen for defence, the whole assumed a more military
aspect, and took the name, after Lord Selkirk's family name.
Port Douglas.
Though a fair crop had been reaped by the retm-ned settlers
from their fields, yet the large addition to their numbers made
it necessary to remove to Fort Daer, where the buffalo were
plentiful. This party was under the leadership of Sheriff
Alexander Macdonell, though Governor Semple was also there.
The autumn saw trouble at the Forks. The report of disturb
ances having taken place between the Nor'-Westers and
Hudson's Bay Company employes at Qu'Appelle was heard,
as well as renewed threats of disturbance in the colony.
Colin Eobertson in October, 1815, captured Port Gibraltar,
seized Duncan Cameron, and recovered the field-pieces and
other property taken by the Nor'-Westers in the preceding
months. Though the capture of Cameron and his fort thus
took place, and the event was speedily followed by the rein
statement of the trader on his promise to keep the peace, yet
the report of -the seizure led to the greatest irritation in all
parts of the coimtry where the two Companies had posts. AU
through the winter, threatenings of violence filled the air.
The Bois Briiles were arrogant, and, led by their faithful
leader Cuthbert Grant, looked upon themselves as the " New
Nation." Eeturning, after the New Year of 1816, from Fort Daer,
Governor Semple saw the necessity for aggressive action.
Port Gibraltar was to become the rendezvous for a Bois Brtiles
force of extermination from Qu'Appelle, Fort des Prairies
(Portage la Prairie), and even from the Saskatchewan^ To
Q

2 26 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
prevent this, Colin Eobertson, under the Governor's direction,
recaptured Fort Gibraltar and held Cameron as a prisoner.
This event took place in March or April of 1816. The legality
of this seizure was of course much discussed between the
hostile parties.
It was deemed wise, however, to make a safe disposal of the
prisoner Cameron. He was accordingly dispatched under the
care of Colin Eobertson, by way of Jack Eiver, to York
Factory, to stand his trial in England. Thus were reprisals
made for the capture and removal of Miles Macdonell in the
preceding year, both actions being of doubtful legality. On
account of the failure of the Hudson's Bay Company ship to
leave York Factory in that year, Cameron did not reach
England for seventeen months, where he was immediately
released. The fall of Fort Gibraltar was soon to follow the deportation
of its commandant. The matter of the dismantling of Fort
Gibraltar was much discussed between Governor Semple and
his lieutenant, Colin Eobertson. The latter was opposed to
the proposed destruction of the Nor'-Wester fort, knowing the
excitement such a course would cause. However, after the
departure of Eobertson to Iludson Bay in charge of Cameron,
the Governor carried out his purpose, and in the end of May,
1816, the buildings were pulled down. A force of some thirty
men were employed, and, expecting as they did, a possible
interruption from the West, the work was done in a week or a
little more.
The materials were taken apart ; the stockade was made
into a raft, the remainder was piled upon it, and all was floated
do-wn Eed Eiver to the site of Fort Douglas. The material
was then used for strengthening the fort and building new
houses in it. Thus ended Fort Gibraltar. A considerable
establishment it was in its time ; its name was undoubtedly a
misnomer so far as strength was concerned ; yet it points to
its origination in troublous times.
The vigorous policy carried out in regard to Fort Gibraltar
was likewise shown in the district south of the Porks. As we
have seen, to the south. Fort Daer had been erected, and thither,
winter by winter, the settlers had gone for subsistence. Here,

TROUBLE BETV/EEN THE COMPANIES 227
too, was the Nor'-Wester fort of Pembina House. During
the time when Governor Semple and Colin Eobertson were
maturing their plans, it was determined to seize Pembina. No
sooner had the news of Cameron's seizure reached Port Daer,
than Sheriff Macdonell, who was in charge, organized an
expedition, took Pembina House, and its officers and inhabi
tants. The prisoners were sent to Fort Douglas, and were
liberated on pledges of good behaviour, and the military stores
were also taken to Port Douglas. The reasons given by the
colony people for this course are " self-defence and the security
of the lives of the settlers." About the end of April, the
settlers returned from Port Daer, and were placed on their
respective lots along the Eed Eiver.
All events now plainly pointed to armed disturbances and
bloodshed. The policy of Governor Semple was too vigorous
when the inflammable elements in the country were borne
in mind. There was in the country a class called " Free
Canadians," i.e. those French Canadian trappers and traders
not connected with either Company, who obtained a precarious
li-ring for themselves, their Indian wives, and half-breed
children. These, fearing trouble, betook themselves to the
plains. The Indians of the vicinity seemed to have gained a
liking for the colonists and their leaders. When they heard
the threatenings from the West, two of the chiefs came to
Governor Semple and offered the assistance of their bands.
This the Governor could not accept, whereat the chiefs gave
voice to their sorrow and disappointment. Governor Semple
seems to have disregarded all these omens of coming trouble,
and to have acted almost without common prudence. No
doubt, having but lately come to the country, he failed to
^lnderstand the daring character of his opponents.

CHAPTEE XXV.
THE SKIEMISH OF SEVEN OAKS.
Leader of the Bois BruMs — A candid letter — Account of a prisoner —
" Yellow Head " — Speech to the Indians — The chief knows
nothing — On fleet Indian ponies — An eye witness in Fort
Douglas — A rash Governor — The massacre — " For God's sake
save my life " — The Governor and twenty others slain— Colonists
driven out — Eastern levy meets the settlers — Effects seized —
Wild revelry — Chanson of Pierre Falcon.
The troubles between the Hudson's Bay and North-West
Companies were evidently coming to a crisis. The Nor'-
Westers laid their plans with skill, and determined to send one
expedition from Fort WiUiam westward and another from
Qu'Appelle eastward, and so crush out the opposition at Eed
Eiver. From the west the expedition was under Cuthbert Grant,
and he, appealing to his fellow Metis, raised the standard of the
Bois Brlil6s and called his followers the " New Nation."
Early in March the Bois Brules' leader wrote to Trader J. D.
Cameron, detailing his plans and expectations. We quote
from his letter: " I am now safe and sound, thank God, for I
believe that it is more than Colin Eobertson, or any of his
suite, dare offer the least insult to any of the Bois Briil6s,
although Eobertson made use of some expressions which I
hope he will swallow in the spring. He shall see that it is
neither fifteen, thirty, nor fifty of his best horsemen that can
make the Bois Brules bow to him. Our people at Port Des
Prairies and English Eiver are all to be here in the spring.
It is hoped that we shall come off with flying colours, and
never to see any of them again in the colonizing way in Bed
Biver. . . . We are to remain at the Porks to pass the
summer, for fear they should play us the same trick as last

THE SKIRMISH OF SEVEN OAKS 229
summer of coming back ; but they shall receive a warm
reception." The details of this western expedition are well given by
Lieutenant Pierre Chrysologue Pambrun, an officer of the
Canadian Voltigeurs, a regiment which had distinguished itself
in the late war against the United States. Pambrun had
entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company as a trader,
and been sent to the Qu'Appelle district. Having gone west to
Qu'Appelle, he left that western post with five boat loads of pem
mican and furs to descend the Assiniboine Eiver to the Porks.
Early in May, near the Grand Eapids, Pambrun and his party
touched the shore of the river, when they were immediately
surrounded by a party of Bois Briiles and their boats and
cargoes were all seized by their assailants. The pemmican was
landed and the boats taken across the river. The unfortunate
Pambrun was for five days kept in durance vile by Cuthbert
Grant and Peter Pangman, who headed the attacking party,
and the prisoner was carried back to Qu'Appelle.
While Pambrun was here as prisoner, he was frequently told
by Cuthbert Grant that the half-breeds were intending in the
summer to destroy the Eed Eiver settlements ; their leader
often reminded the Bois Brules of this, and they frequently
sang their war songs to waken ardour for the expeditions.
Captors and prisoner shortly afterward left the western fort
and went down the river to Grand Eapids. Here the captured
pemmican was re-embarked and the journey was resumed.
Near the forks of the Qu'Appelle Eiver a band of Indians
was encamped. The Indians were summoned to meet
Commander Macdonell, who spoke to them in French,
though Pangman interpreted.
" My Friends and Eelations,— I address you bashfully, for
I have not a pipe of tobacco to give you. All our goods have
been taken by the English, but we are now upon a party to
drive them away. Those people have been spoiling the fair
lands which belonged to you and the Bois Brdles, and to which
they have no right. They have been driving away the buffalo.
You wUl soon be poor and miserable if the EngUsh stay. But
we wiU drive them away if the Indians do not, for the North-
West Company and the Bois Briiles are one. If you (speaking

230 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
to the chief) and some of your young men will join I shall be
glad." The'chief responded coldly and gave no assistance.
Next morning the Indians departed, and the party proceeded
on their journey. Pambrun was at first left behind, but in
the evening was given a spare horse and overtook Grant's
cavalcade at the North-West Fort near Brandon House. At
the North-West Fort Pambrun saw tobacco, carpenter's tools, a
quantity of furs, and other things which had been seized in the
Hudson's Bay Fort, Brandon House, and been brought over as
booty to the Nor'-Westers.
Eesuming their journey the traders kept to their boats down
the Assiniboine, while the Bois Brdles went chiefly on horse
back until they reached Portage La Prairie. Sixty miles had
yet to be traversed before the Porks were reached. The Bois
Brdles now prepared their mounted force. Cuthbert Grant
was Commander. Dressed in the picturesque garb of the
country, the Metis now arrived -with guns, pistols, lances, bows,
and arrows. Pambrun remained behind with Alexander
Macdonell, but was clearly led to believe that the mounted
force would enter Fort Douglas and destroy the settlement. On
their fleet Indian ponies these children of the prairie soon made
their journey from Portage La Prairie to the Selkirk settlement.
We are indebted to the facile narrator, John Pritchard, for
an account of their arrival and their attack. He states that in
June, 1816, he was living at Eed Eiver, and quite looked for an
attack from the western levy just described. Watch was con
stantly kept from the guerite of Fort Douglas for the approaching
foe. The half-breeds turned aside from the Assiniboine some
four miles up the Eiver to a point a couple of miles below Port
Douglas. Governor Semple and his attendants followed them
with the glass in their route across the plain. The Governor
and about twenty others sallied out to meet the western party.
On his way out he sent back for a piece of cannon, which was
in the fort, to be brought. Soon after this the half-breeds ap
proached Governor Semple's party in the form of a half moon.
The Highland settlers had betaken themselves for protection to
Fort Douglas, and in their Gaelic tongue made sad complaint.
A daring fellow named Boucher then came out of the ranks

THE SKIRMISH OF SEVEN OAKS .231
of his party, and, on horseback, approached Semple and his
body-guard. He gesticulated wUdly, and called out in broken
English, "What do you want? What do you want?"
Governor Semple answered, " What do you want ? " To this
Boucher replied, "We want our fort." The Governor said,
" WeU, go to your fort." Nothing more was said, but
Governor Semple was seen to put his hand on Boucher's gun.
At this juncture a shot was fired from some part of the line,
and the firing became general. Many of the witnesses who
saw the affair affirmed that the shot first fired was from the
Bois Brdles' line.
The attacking party were most deadly in their fire. Semple
and his staff, as well as others of his party, fell to the number
of twenty-two. The affair was most disastrous.
Pritchard says : —
" I did not see the Governor fall, though I saw his corpse
the next day at the fort. When I saw Captain Eogers fall I
expected to share his fate. As there was a French Canadian
among those who surrounded me, and who had just made as
end of my friend, I said, ' Lavigne, you are a Frenchman, you
are a man, you are a Christian. For God's sake save my life ;
for God's sake try and save it. I give myself up ; I am your
prisoner.' "
To the appeals of Pritchard Lavigne responded, and, placing
himself before his friend, defended him from the infuriated
half-breeds, who would have taken his life. One Primeau
wished to shoot Pritchard, saying that the Englishman had
formerly killed his brother. At length they decided to spare
Pritchard's life, though they called him a petit chien, told
him he had not long to live, and would be overtaken on their
return. It transpired that Governor Semple was not killed by
the first shot that disabled him, but had his thigh bone broken.
A kind French Canadian undertook to care for the Governor,
but in the fury of the fight an Indian, who was the greatest
rascal in the company, shot the wounded man in the breast,
and thus killed him instantly.
The Bois Brdles, indeed, many of them, were disguised as
Indians, and, painted as for the war dance, gave the war
whoop, and made a hideous noise and shouting. When their

232 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
victory was won they declared that their purpose was to weaken
the colony and put an end to the Hudson's Bay Company
opposition. Cuthbert Grant then proceeded to complete his
work. He declared to Pritchard that " if Port Douglas were not
immediately given up with all the public property, instantly
and without resistance, man, woman, and child would be put
to death. He stated that the attack would be made upon it
the same night, and if a single shot were fired, that would be
the signal for the indiscriminate destruction of every soul."
This declaration of CromwelUan policy was very alarming.
Pritchard believed it meant the kilUng of all the women and
children. He remonstrated with the prairie leader, reminding
him that the colonists were his father's relatives. Somewhat
softened by this appeal. Grant consented to spare the lives of
the settlers if all the arms and public property were given
up and the colony deserted. An inventory of property was
accordingly taken, and in the evening of the third day after the
battle, the mournful company, for a second time, like Acadian
refugees, left behind them homes and firesides and went into
exile. The joyful news was sent west by the victorious Metis.
Pambrun at Portage La Prairie received news from a messenger
who had hastened away to report to Macdonell the result of
the attack. Hearing the account given by the courier, the
trader was full of glee. He announced in French to the people
who were anxiously awaiting the news, " Sacre nom de Dieu,
bonnes nouvelles, -ringt-deux Anglais de tues." Those present,
especially Lamarre, Macdonell, and Sieveright, gave vent to
their feelings boisterously.
Many of the party mounted their Indian ponies and hastened
to the place of conflict; others went by water down the
Assiniboine. The commander sent word ahead that the
colonists were to be detained till his arrival. Pambrun, being
taken part of the way by water, was delayed, and so was too
late in arriving to see the colonists. Cuthbert Grant and nearly
fifty of the assailing party were in the fort.
Pambrun, having obtained permission to visit Seven Oaks,
the scene of the conflict, was greatly distressed by the sight.
The uncovered limbs of many of the dead were above ground,

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THE SKIRMISH OF SEVEN OAKS 233
and the bodies were in a mangled condition. This unfortunate
affair for many a day cast a reproach upon the Nor'-Westers,
although the prevaiUng opinion was that Grant was a brave
man and conducted himself well in the engagement.
We have now to enquire as to the movements of the expe
dition coming westward from Fort William. The route of
upwards of four hundred miles was a difficult one. Accordingly,
before they reached Eed Eiver, Fort Douglas was already in the
hands of the Nor'-Westers. With the expedition from Fort
William came a non-commissioned officer of the De Meuron
regiment, one of the Swiss bodies of mercenaries disbanded
after the war of 1812-15. Thi@ was Frederick Damien Huerter.
His account is circumstantial and clear. He had, as leading a
military life, entered the service of the Nor'-Westers, and coming
west to Lake Superior, followed the leadership of the fur trader
Alexander Norman McLeod and two of the officers of his old
regiment. Lieutenants Missani and Brumby.
Arriving at Port William, a short time was given for providing
the party with arms and equipment, and soon the lonely
voyageurs, on this occasion in a warlike spirit, were paddling
themselves over the fur traders' route in five large north canoes.
On the approach to Eainy Lake Port, as many of the party
as were soldiers dressed in full regimentals, in order to impress
upon the Indians that they had the King's authority. Strong
drink and tobacco were a sufficient inducement to about
twenty of the Indians to join the expedition. On the day before
the fight at Seven Oaks, this party had arrived at the fort
kno-wn as Bas de la Eiviere, near Lake Winnipeg. Guns and
two small brass field-pieces, three pounders, were put in order,
and the company crossed to the mouth of the Eed Eiver,
ascended to Nettley Creek, and there bivouacked, forty mUes
from the scene of action and two days after the skirmish.
They had expected here to meet the Qu'Appelle brigade of
Cuthbert Grant. No doubt this was the original plan, but the
rashness of the Governor and the hot blood of the Metis had
brought on the engagement with the result we have seen.
Knowing nothing of the fight, the party started to ascend the
river, and soon met seven or eight boats, laden with colonists,
xmder the command of the sheriff of the Eed Eiver settlement.

234 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
McLeod then heard of the fight, ordered the settlers ashore,
examined all the papers among their baggage, and took
possession of all letters, account books, and documents what
soever. Even Governor Semple's trunks, for which there were
no keys, were broken open and examined. The colonists were
then set free and proceeded on their sad journey, Charles Grant
being detailed to seeing them safely away.
Huerter says : —
" On the 26th I went up the river to Fort Douglas. There
were many of the partners of the North-West Company with
us. At Fort Douglas the brigade was received with discharges
of artillery and fire-arms. The fort was under Mr. Alexander
Macdonell, and there was present a great gathering of Bois
Brdles, clerks, and interpreters, as well as partners of the
Company. On our arrival .Archibald Norman McLeod, our
leader, took the management and direction of the fort, and all
made whatever they chose of the property it contained. The
Bois Brules were entirely under the orders and control of
McLeod and the partners. McLeod occupied the apartments
lately belonging to Governor Semple. After my arrival I saw
all the Bois Brdles assembled in a large outer room, which
had served as a mess-room for the officers of the colony.
"I rode the same day to the field of 'Seven Oaks,' where
Governor Semple and so many of his people had lost their
lives, in company with a number of those who had been
employed on that occasion — all on horseback. At this period,
scarcely a week after June 19th, I saw a number of human
bodies scattered about the plain, and nearly reduced to
skeletons, there being then very little flesh adhering to the
bones ; and I was informed on the spot that many of the
bodies had been partly devoured by dogs and wolves."
There was a scene of great rejoicing the same evening at
the fort, the Bois Brdles being painted and dancing naked,
after the manner of savages, to the great amusement of their
masters. On June 29th most of the partners and the northern brigade
set off for the rapids at the mouth of the Saskatchewan. The
departure of the grand brigade -ft as signalized by the discharge
of artillery from Fort Douglas.

THE SKIRMISH OF SEVEN OAKS 235
The Nor'-Westers were now in the ascendant. The Bois
Brdles were natm'ally in a state of exultation. Their wild
Indian blood was at the boiling point. Port Douglas had been
seized -without opposition, and for several days the most riotous
scenes took place. Threats of violence were freely indulged in
against the Hudson's Bay Company, Lord Selkirk, and the
colonists. As Pritchard remarks, there was nothing now for
the discouraged settlers but to betake themselves for the second
time to the rendezvous at the north of Lake Winnipeg, and
there await deliverance at the hands of their noble patron. Lord
Selkirk. The exuberance of the French half-breeds found its
way into verse. We give the chanson of Pierre Falcon and
the translation of it : —
Chanson iSceite pae Pieeee Falcon.
Voulez-vous Scouter chanter une chanson de v6rit6
Le dix-neuf de Juin les Bois Bruits sont arrives
Comme des braves guerriers,
Sont arrives £1, la grenouillere.
Nous avons fait trois prisonniers
Des Orcanais ? lis sont ici pour piUer notre pays,
Etant sur le point de dSbarquer,
Deux de nos gens se sont ^cri^s,
" Voil^ 1' Anglais qui vient nous attaquer.''
Tons aussitot nous nous sommes d^virSs
Pour aller les rencontrer.
J'avons cern6 la bande de grenadiers ;
lis sont immobiles ? lis sont dSment^s ?
J'avons agi comme des gens d'honneur,
Nous envoyames un ambassadeur.
" Gouverneur, voulez-vous arreter un petit moment
Nous voulons vous parler."
Le gouverneur, qui est enrag^,
II dit a ses soldats, " Tirez."
Le premier coup 1' Anglais le tire,
L'ambassadeur a presque manqu^ d'etre tuS,
Le gouverneur se croyant I'empereur,
II agit avec rigueur,
Le gouverneur, se croyant I'empereur,
A son maUieur agit avec trop de rigueur.
Ayant vu pass6 les Bois Brdles,
II a parti pour nous ^pouvanter.
II s'est trompe ; il s'est bien fait tuer
Quantity de ses grenadiers.

236 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
J'avons tu6 presque toute son arm6e ;
De la bande quatre de cinq se sont sauv6s
Si vous aviez vu les Anglais
Et tons les Bois Br-iilSs apres —
De butte en butte les Anglais culbutaient ;
Les Bois BrulSs jetaient des cris de joie.
Qui en a compost la chanson ?
C'est Pierre Falcon, le bon garden.
EUe a 6t^ faite et compos^e
Sur la viotoire que nous avons gagn^e.
Elle a 6t6 faite et composfie.
Ohantons la gloire de tons ces Bois Bruits.
Song weitten by Pieeee Falcon.
Come, listen to this song of truth,
A song of the brave Bois Bruits,
Who at Frog Plain took three captives,
Strangers come to rob our country.
When dismounting there to rest us,
A cry is raised, " The English !
They are coming to attack us."
So we hasten forth to meet them.
1 looked upon their army.
They are motionless and downcast ;
So, as honour would incline us.
We desire with them to parley.
But their leader, moved with anger,
Gives the word to fire upon us ;
And imperiously repeats it.
Rushing on to his destruction.
Having seen us pass his stronghold,
He has thought to strike with terror
The Bois Brdles. Ah ! mistaken.
Many of his soldiers perish.
But a few escaped the slaughter,
Rushing from the field of battle ;
Oh, to see the English fleeing!
Oh, the shouts of their pursuers !
Who has sung this song of triumph ?
The good Pierre Falcon has composed it,
That his praise of these Bois Bruli5s
Might be evermore recorded.

CHAPTEE XXVI.
LOED SELKIEK TO THE EESCUE.
The Earl in Montreal — .Alarming news — Engages a body of Swiss —
The De Meurons — Embark for the North-West — Kawtawabetay's
story — Hears of Seven Oaks — Lake Superior — Lord Selkirk — A
doughty Douglas — Seizes Fort William — Canoes upset and Nor'-
Westers drowned — "A Banditti" — The Earl's blunder — A
-winter march — Fort Douglas recaptured — His Lordship soothes
the settlers— An Indian Treaty— " The Silver Chief"— The
Earl's note-book.
The sad story of the beleaguered and excited colonists reached
the ears of Lord Selkirk through his agents. The trouble
threaterung his settlers determined the energetic founder to
¦risit Canada for himself, and, if possible, the infant colony.
Accordingly, late in the year 1815, in company with his family
— consisting of the Countess, his son, and two daughters — he
reached Montreal. The news of the first dispersion of the
colonists, their flight to Norway House, and the further
threatenings of the Bois Brules, arrived about the time of
their coming to New York. Lord Selkirk hastened on to
Montreal, but it was too late in the season, being about the
end of October, to penetrate to the interior.
He must winter in Montreal. He was here in the very
midst of the enemy. With energy, characteristic of the man,
he brought the matter of the protection of his colony urgently
before the Government of Lower Canada. In a British
colony surely the rights of property of a British subject would
be protected, and surely the safety of hundreds of loyal people
could not be trifled with. As we shall see in a later chapter,
the high-minded nobleman counted without his host ; he had
but to live a few years in the New World of that day to find

238 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
how skilfully the forms of law can be adapted to carry out
Uegal objects and shield law-breakers.
As early as February of that year (1815), dreading the
threatenings even then made by the North-West Company, he
had represented to Lord Bathurst, the British Secretary of
State, the urgent necessity of an armed force, not necessarily
very numerous, being sent to the Eed Eiver settlement to
maintain order in the colony. Now, after the outrageous
proceedings of the summer of 1815 and the arrival of the
dreary intelligence from Eed Eiver, Lord Selkirk again brings
the matter before the authorities, this time before Sir Gordon
Drummond, Governor of Lower Canada, and encloses a full
account of the facts as to the expulsion of the settlers from
their homes, and of the many acts of violence perpetrated at
Eed Eiver.
Nothing being gained in this way, his Lordship determined
to undertake an expedition himself, as soon as it could be
organized, and carry assistance to his persecuted people, who,
he knew, had been gathered together by Colin Eobertson, and
to whom he had sent as Governor, Mr. Semple, in whom he
reposed great confidence. We have seen that during the
winter of 1816-16, peace and a certain degree of confidence
prevailed among the settlers, more than half of whom were
spending their first winter in the country. Fort Douglas was
regarded as strong enough to resist a considerable attack, and
the presence of Governor Semple, a military officer, was
thought a guarantee for the protection of the people. During
the winter, however. Lord Selkirk learned enough to assure
him that the danger was not over — that, indeed, a more
determined attack than ever would be made as soon as the
next season should open. He had been sworn in as a Justice
of the Peace in Upper Canada and for the Indian territories ;
he had obtained for his personal protection from the Governor
the promise of a sergeant and six men of the British army
stationed in Canada, but this was not sufficient.
He undertook a plan of placing upon his own land in the
colony a number of persons as settlers who could be called
upon in case of emergency, as had been the intention in the
case of the Highland colonists, to whom muskets had been

LORD SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE 239
furnished. The close of the Napoleonic wars had left a large
number of the soldiers engaged in these wars out of employ
ment, the British Government having been compelled to reduce
the size of the army. Among the brave regiments which had
rendered Britain so famous on her continental battle-fields
were several enlisted for her service in Switzerland. Two of
these regiments, one named "De Meuron," and the other
" Watteville," had been sent to Canada to assist in the war
against the United States. This war being now over also,
orders came to Sir Gordon Drummond to disband the two
regiments in May, 1816. The former of the regiments was at
the time stationed at Montreal, the latter at Kingston.
From these bodies of men Lord Selkirk undertook to provide
his colony with settlers willing to defend it. The enemies
of Lord Selkirk have been very free in their expression of
opinion as to the worthlessness of these soldiers and their
unfitness as settlers. It is worthy of notice, however, that the
Nor'-Westers did not scruple to use Messrs. Missani and
Brumby, as well as Eeinhard and Huerter of the same corps,
to carry out their own purposes. The following order, given
by Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, effectually disposes of such a
calumny : — " Quebec, July 26th, 1816.
"In parting with the regiments ' De Meuron' and
' WatteviUe,' both of which corps his Excellency has had
the good fortune of having under his command in other parts
¦of the world. Sir John Shdrbrooke desires Lieutenant-Colonel
De Meuron and Lieutenant-Colonel May, and the officers and
men of these corps will, accept his congratulations on having,
by their conduct in the Canadas, maintained the reputation
which they have deservedly acquired by their former services.
His Excellency can have no hesitation in saying that his
Majesty's service in these provinces has derived important
.advantages during the late war from the steadiness, discipline,
and efficiency of these corps.
" J. Haevby, Lieutenant-Colonel, D.A.G."
Testimony to the same effect is given by the officer in
-command of the garrison of Malta, on their leaving that island
±0 come to Canada.

240 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
These men afforded the material for Lord Selkirk's purpose,
viz. to till the soil and protect the colony. Like a wise man,
however, he made character the ground of engagement in the
case of all whom he took. To those who came to terms with
him he agreed to give a sufficient portion of land, agricultm-al
implements, and as wages for working the boats on the voyage
eight dollars a month. It was further agreed that should any
choose to leave Eed Eiver on reaching it, they should be taken
back by his Lordship free of expense.
Early in June, 1816, four officers and about eighty men of
the " De Meurons " left Montreal in Lord Selkirk's employ,
and proceeded westward to Kingston. Here twenty more of
the " Watteville " regiment joined their company. Thence the
expedition, made up by the addition of one hundred and
thirty canoe-men, pushed on to York (Toronto), and from
York northward to Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay.
Across this Bay and Lake Huron they passed rapidly on to
Sault Ste. Marie, Lord Selkirk leaving the expedition before
reaching that place to go to Drummond's Isle, which was the
last British garrison in Upper Canada, and at which point
he was to receive the sergeant and six men granted for
his personal protection by the Governor of Canada. At
Drummond's Island a council was held with Ka-wtawabetay,
an Ojibeway chief, by the Indian Department, Lieut. -Colonel
Maule, of- the 104th Eegiment, presiding. Kawtawabetay there
informed the council that in the spring of 1815 two North-
West traders, McKenzie and Morrison, told him that they
would give him and Ms people all the goods or merchandise
and rum that they had at Fort William, Leach Lake, and
Sand Lake, if he, the said Ka-wtawabetay and his people
would make and declare war against the settlers in Eed Eiver.
On being asked by the chief whether this was at the request
of the "great chiefs" at Montreal or Quebec, McKenzie and
Morrison said it was solely from the North-West Company's
agents, who wished the settlement destroyed, as it was an
annoyance to them. The chief further stated that the last
spring (1816), whilst at Fond Du Lac Superior, a Nor'-Wester
agent (Grant) offered him two kegs of rum and two carrots of
tobacco if he would send some of his yoifng men in search of

LORD SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE 241
certain persons employed in taking despatches to the Eed
Eiver, pillage these bearers of despatches of the letters and
and papers, and kill them should they make any resistance.
The chief stated he had refused to have anything to do with
these offers. On being asked in the council by Lord Selkirk,
who was present, as to the feelings of the Indians towards the
settlers at Eed Eiver, he said that at the commencement of
the Eed Eiver settlement some of the Indians did not like it,
but at present they are all glad of its being settled.
Lord Selkirk soon hastened on and overtook his expedition
at Sault Ste. Marie, now consisting of two hundred and fifty
men all told, and these being maintained at his private expense.
They immediately proceeded westward, intending to go to the
extreme point of Lake Superior, near where the to-wn of
Duluth now stands, and where the name Fond du Lac is still
retained. The expedition would then have gone north-west
ward through what is now Minnesota to Eed Lake, from which
point a descent could have been made by boat, through Eed
Lake Eiver and Eed Eiver to the very settlement itself. This
route would have avoided the Nor'-Westers altogether.
Westward bound, the party had little more than left Sault
Ste. Marie, during the last week of July, when they were met
on Lake Superior by two canoes, in one of which was Miles
Macdonell, driven forth from Eed Eiver, and who brought the
sad intelligence of the second destruction of the colony and
of the murder of Governer Semple and his attendants. His
Lordship was thrown into the deepest despair. The thought
of his Governor killed, wholesale murder committed, the poor
settlers led by him from the Highland homes, where life at
least was safe, to endure such fear and privation, was indeed
a sore trial. To any one less moved by the spirit of
philanthropy, it must have been a serious disappointment,
but to one feeling so thorough a sympathy for the suffering
and who was himself the very soul of honour, it was a crushing
blow. He resolved to change his course and to go to Fort William,
the headquarters of the Nor'-Westers. He now determined
to act in his office as magistrate, and sought to induce two
gentlemen of Sault Ste. Marie, Messrs. Ermatinger and Askin,
E

242 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
both magistrates, to accompany him in that capacity. They
were unable to go. Compelled to proceed alone, he -writes
from Sault Ste. Marie, on July 29th, to Sir John Sherbrooke,
and after speaking of his failure to induce the two gentlemen
mentioned by him to go, says, " I am therefore reduced to the
alternative of acting alone, or of allowing an audacious crime
to pass unpunished. In these circumstances I cannot doubt
that ft is my duty to act, though I am not without apprehension
that the law may be openly resisted by a set of people who
have been accustomed to consider force as the only true
criterion of right."
One would have said, on looking at the matter dispassionately,
that the Governor-General, with a military force so far west as
Drummond Isle in Georgian Bay, would have taken immediate
steps to bring to justice the offenders.
Governor Sherbrooke seems to have felt himself powerless,
for he says in a despatch to Lord Bathurst, " I beg leave to
call your Lordship's serious attention to the forcible and, I
fear, too just description given by the Earl of Selkirk of the
state of the Eed Eiver territory. I leave to your Lordship to
judge whether a banditti such as he describes will yield to the
influence, or be intimidated by the menaces of distant authority."
It may be well afterwards to contrast this statement of the
Governor's with subsequent despatches. It must not be for
gotten that whUe "the banditti '' was pursuing its course of
violence in the far-off territory, and, as has been stated,
thoroughly under the direction and encouragement of the
North-West Company partners, the leading members of this
Company, who held, many of them, high places in society and
in the Government in Montreal, were posing as the lovers of
peace and order, and were lamenting over the excesses of the
Indians and Bois Brdles. By this course they were enabled to
thwart any really effective measures towards restoring peace
at the far-away " seat of war."
The action of the North-West Company may be judged
from the following extracts from a letter of the Hon. John
Eichardson, one of the partners, and likewise a member of the
executive council of Lower Canada, addressed to Governor
Sherbrooke. He says on August 17th, 1816: "It is with

LORD SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE 243
much concern that I have to mention that blood has been
shed at the Eed Eiver to an extent greatly to be deplored ; but
it is consolatory to those interested in the North-West Company
to find that none of their traders or people were concerned, or
at the time within a hundred miles of the seene of contest."
What a commentary on such a statement are the stories of
Pambrun and Huerter, given in a previous chapter ! What a
cold-blooded statement after all the plottings and schemes of
the whole winter before the attack ! What a heartless false
hood as regards the Indians, who, under so great temptations,
refused to be partners in so bloody an enterprise !
The resolution of Lord Selkirk to go to Fort WilUam in the
capacity of a magistrate was one involving, as he well knew,
many perils. He was not, however, the man to shrink from
a daring enterprise having once undertaken it.
To Port William, then, with the prospect of meeting several
hundreds of the desperate men of the North-West Company,
Lord Selkirk made his way. So confident was he in the
rectitude of his purpose and in the justice of his cause, that he
pushed forward, and without the slightest hesitation encamped
upon the Kaministiquia, on the south side of the river, in sight
of Port William. The expedition arrived on August 12th. A
demand was at once made on the officers of the North-West
Company for the release of a number of persons who had been
captured at Eed Eiver after tbe destruction of the colony and
been brought to Fort William. The Nor'-Westers denied
having arrested these persons, and to give colour to this
assertion immediately sent them over to Lord Selkirk's
encampment. On the 13th and following days of the month of August, the
depositions of a number of persons were taken before his Lord
ship as a justice of the peace. The depositions related to the
guilt of the several Nor'-Wester partners, their destroying the
settlement, entering and removing property from Port Douglas,
and the like ; and were made by Pambrun, Lavigne, Nolin,
Blondeau, Brisbois, and others. It was made so clear to Lord
Serkirk that the partners were guUty of inciting the attacks on
the colony and of approving the outrages committed, that he
determined to arrest a number of the leaders. This was done

244 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
by regular process— by warrants served on Mr. McGillivray,,
Kenneth McKenzie, Simon Fraser, and others, but these
prisoners were allowed to remain in Fort William.
In one case, that of a partner named John McDonald,.
resistance having been offered, the constables called for the aid
of a party of the De Meurons, who had crossed over from the-
encampment -with them in their boats. The leaving of the
prisoners with their liberty in Fort William, however, gave the
opportunity for conspiracy ; and it was represented to Lord
Selkirk that Port William would be used for the purposes of
resistance, and that the prisoners arrested would be released.
The facts leading to this belief were that a canoe, laden with
arms, had left tbe fort at night ; that eight barrels of gunpowder
had been secreted in a thicket, and that these had been taken
from the magazine ; while some forty stand of arms, fresh-
loaded, had been found in a barn among some hay. These
indications proved that an attempt was about to be made to
resist the execution of the law, and accordingly the prisoners
were placed in one building and closely guarded, while Lord
Selkirk's encampment was removed across the river and
pitched in front of the fort to prevent any surprise.
A further examination of the prisoners took place, and their
criminality being so evident, they were sent to York, Upper
Canada. Three canoes, well manned and containing the
prisoners, left the fort on August 18th, under the charge of
Lieutenant Fauche, one of the De Meuron officers. The journey
down the lakes was marred by a most unfortunate accident.
One of the canoes was upset some fifteen miles from Sault Ste.
Marie. This was caused by the sudden rise in the wind. The
affair was purely accidental, and there were drowned one of
the prisoners, named McKenzie, a sergeant and man of the
De Meurons, and six Indians. The prisoners were taken to-
Montreal and admitted to bail. The course taken by Lord
Selkirk at Port William has been severely criticized, and
became, indeed, the subject of subsequent legal proceedings.
One of the Nor'-Wester apologists stated to Governor Sher
brooke " that the mode of proceeding under Lord Selku-k's
orders resembled nothing British, and exceeded even the
military despotism of the French in Holland."

LORD SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE 245
No doubt it would have been better had Lord Selkirk
obtained other magistrates to take part in the proceedings at
Port WiUiam, but we have seen he did try this and failed.
Had it been possible to have had the arrests effected without
the appearance of force made by the De Meurons, it would
have been more agreeable to our ideas of ordinary legal
proceedings ; but it must be remembered he was dealing with
those called by a high authority "a banditti." Could Port
WUliam have been left in the hands of its possessors, it would
liave been better ; but then there was clear evidence that the
Nor'-Westers intended violence. To have left Fort William in
their possession would have been suicidal. It would probably
have been better that Lord Selkirk should not have stopped
the canoes going into the interior with North-West merchan
dise, but to have allowed them to proceed was only to have
assisted his enemies — the enemies, moreover, of law and order.
Thousands of pounds' worth of his property stolen from Port
Douglas by the agents of the North-West Company, and
the fuUest evidence in the depositions made before him that
this was in pursuance of a plan devised by the Company
and deliberately carried out ! Several hundreds of lawless
voyageurs and unscrupulous partners ready to use violence
in the wild region of Lake Superior, where, during fifty years
preceding, they had committed numerous acts of bloodshed,
and had never been called to account ! The worrying reflec
tion that homeless settlers and helpless women and children
were crying, in some region then unknown to him, for his
assistance, after their wanton dispersion by their enemies
from their homes on the banks of Eed Eiver! All these
things were sufficient to nerve to action one of far less
generous impulses than Lord Selkirk.
Is it at all surprising that his Lordship did not act with all
the calmness and scrupulous care of a judge on the bench,
who, under favourable circumstances, feels himself strong in his
consciousness of safety, supported by the myriad officers of the
law, and surrounded by the insignia of Justice ? The justifica
tion of his course, even if it be interpreted adversely, is, that in
a state of -riolence, to preserve the person is a prehminary to
the settlement of other questions of personal right. One thing

246 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
at least is to Lord Selkirk's credit, that, as soon as possible, he
handed over the law-breakers to be dealt with by the Canadian
Courts, where, however, unfortunately, another divinity
presided than the blind goddess of Justice.
Let us now see where we are in our story. Lord Selkirk is
at Port William. The Nor'-Wester partners have been sent to
the East. It is near the end of August, and the state of affairs
at Port WiUiam does not allow the founder to pass on to his
colony for the winter. He is smTounded by his De Meuron
settlers. During the months of autumn the expedition is
engaged in laying in supplies for the approaching winter, and
opening up roads toward the Eed Eiver country. The season
was spent in the usual manner of the Lake Superior country,
shut out from the rest of the world. The winter over. Lord
Selkirk started on May 1st, 1817, for Eed Eiver, accompanied
by his body-guard. The De Meurons had preceded him in the
month of March, and, reaching the interior, restored order.
The colonizer arrived at his colony in the last week of June,
and saw, for the first time, the land of his dreams for the pre
ceding fifteen years. In order to restore peace, he endeavoured
to carry out the terms of the proclamation issued by the
Government of Canada, that all property taken during the
troubles should be restored to its original o-wners. This
restitution was made to a certain extent, though much that
had been taken from Port Douglas was never recovered. The
settlers were brought back from their refuge at Norway House,
and the settlement was again organized. The colonists who
survive still relate, with great satisfaction, how Lord Selkirk
cheered them by his presence. After their return to their
despoiled homesteads a gathering of the settlers took place,
and a full consideration of all their affairs was had in their
patron's presence.
This gathering was at the spot where the chm-ch and
burying-ground of St. John's are newfound. "Here," said
his Lordship, pointing to lot number four, on which they stood,
"here you shall build your church; and that lot," said he,
pointing to lot number three across the little stream called
Parsonage Creek, " is for a school." The people then
reminded his Lordship that he had promised them a minister.

LORD SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE 247
who should follow them to their adopted country. This he at
once acknowledged, saying, "Selkirk never forfeited his word;"
while he promised to give the matter attention as soon as
practicable. In addition. Lord Selkirk gave a document
stating that, "in consideration of the hardships which the
settlers had suffered, in consequence of the lawless conduct
of the North-West Company, his intention was to grant
gratuitously the twenty-four lots which had been occupied to
those of the settlers who had made improvements on their
lands before they were driven away from them in the previous
year." Before the dispersion of this public gathering of the people,
the founder gave the name, at the request of the colonists, to
their settlement. The name given by him to this first parish
in Eupert's Land was that of Kildonan, from their old home in
the valley of Helmsdale, in Sutherlandshire, Scotland. In
more fully organizing the colony, his Lordship ordered a
complete survey to be made of the land, and steps to be
taken towards laying out roads, building bridges, erecting
mills, &c.
It will be remembered, as already stated, that at the incep
tion of the colony scheme, in 1811, the Nor'-Westers had
threatened the hostility of the Indians. It may be mentioned
as a strange fact that, to this day, it is a trick of the Bois
Brdles, taking their cue from the Nor'-Westers, when making
any demand, to threaten the Government with the wrath
of the Indians, over whom they profess to exercise a con
trol. We have already seen that the Nor'-Westers' boast
as to their influence over the Indians was empty. In the
publications of the Nor'-Westers of 1816-20 a speech is some
times set forth of an Indian chief, " Grandes Oreilles," breath
ing forth threatenings against the infant settlement. It is
worthy of notice that even this resource is swept away by the
author of the speech, a Nor'-Wester trader, confessing that he
had manufactured the speech and " Grandes Oreilles " had
never spoken it.
Within three weeks of his arrival at Eed Eiver Lord Selkirk
carried out his promise of making a treaty with the Indians.
All the Indians were most willing to do this, as on many

248 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
occasions during the troubles they had, by giving early
information as to the movements of the Nor'-Westers, and by
other means, shown their sympathy and feeling toward the
settlers. The object of the treaty was simply to do what has
since been done all over the north-west territories — to
extinguish the Indian title. The treaty is signed alike by
Ojibeway, Cree, and Assiniboine chiefs, the last mentioned
being a tribe generally considered to belong to the Sioux stock.
Lord Selkirk afterwards made a treaty, on leaving the Eed
Eiver, with the other Sioux nations inhabiting his territory.
The chiefs were met at Eed Eiver by his Lordship, and those
whose names are attached to the treaty are, giving their French
names in some cases as shorter than the Indian, Le Sonent,
Eobe Noire, Peguis, L'Homme Noir, and Grandes Oreilles.
His Lordship seems to have had a most conciliatory and
attractive manner. It is worth while closing this chapter by
giving extracts from the speeches of these Indian chiefs, taken
do-wn at the grand council at which Lord Selkirk smoked the
pipe of peace with the assembled warriors.
Peguis, the Saulteaux chief, always the fast friend of the
colonists, said, "When the English settlers first came here we
received them with joy. It was not our fault if even the
stumps of the brushwood were too rough for their feet ; but
misfortunes have since overtaken them. Evil-disposed men
came here, calling themselves great chiefs, sent from our Great
Father across the big lake, but we believe they were only
traders, pretending to be great chiefs on purpose to deceive us.
They misled the young men who are near us (a small party of
Bois Brdles encamped in the neighbourhood), and employed
them to shed the blood of your children and to drive away the
settlers from this river. We do not acknowledge these men as
an independent tribe. They have sprung up here and there
like mushrooms and we know them not.
" At the first arrival of the settlers we were frequently
solicited by the North-West Company to frighten them away ;
but we were pleased to see that our Great Father had sent
some of his white children to live among us, and we refused to
do or say anything against them. The traders even demanded
our calumets, and desired to commit our sentiments to paper,

LORD SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE 3.19
that they might send to our Great Father ; but we refused to
acknowledge the speeches which they wished to put into our
mouths. We are informed that they have told a tale that it
was the Indians who drove away and murdered the children
of our Great Father, but it is a falsehood.
" As soon as I saw the mischief that happened I went to
Lake Winnipeg with a few friends to wait for news from the
EngUsh, but I could meet none. We have reasons to be
friends of the colony. When there were only traders here,
we could not get a blanket, or a piece of cloth, without furs to
give in exchange. Our country is now almost destitute of furs,
so that we were often in want ; from the people of the colony
we get blankets and cloth for the meat we procure them. The
country abounds with meat, which we can obtain, but to obtain
furs is difficult."
Next, L'Homme Noir, a chief of the Assiniboines, who had
come from a long distance, addressing Lord Selkirk,
particularly declares, " we were often harassed with solicita
tions to assist the Bois Brdles in what they have done against
your children, but we always refused. We are sure you must
have had milch trouble to come here. We have often been
told you were our enemy ; but we have to-day tbe happiness
to hear from your own month the words of a true friend. We
receive the present you give us with great pleasure and
thankfulness." After this, Eobe Noire, an Ojibeway chief, spoke in like
terms ; when the veritable Grandes Oreilles, to whose spurious
war speech we have already referred, said as follows : —
" I am happy to see here our own father. Clouds have
overwhelmed me. I was a long time in doubt and difficulty,
but now I begin to see clearly.
" We have reason to be happy this day. We know the
dangers you must have encountered to come so far. The truth
you have spoken pleases us. We thank you for the present
you give us. There seems an end to our distress, and it is you
who have relieved us.
" When our young men are drunk they are mad ; they know
not what they say or what they do; but this must not be
attended to ; they mean no harm."

2 so THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Long after, Selkirk was remembered and beloved by these
Indian tribes, who spoke of him as the " Sil-^-er Chief."
So much for the founder's work in his colony in 1817. His
affairs urgently required attention elsewhere. In the language
of a writer on the period, " having thus restored order, infused
confidence in the people, and given a certain aid to their
activity, Lord Selkirk took his final leave of the colony."
With a guide and a few attendants he journeyed southward,
passing through the country of the war-Uke Sioux, with whom
he made peace.
The writer had at one time in his possession a note-book
with, in Lord Selkirk's writing, an itinerary of his journey from
Eed Eiver Colony, in which familiar names, such as Eiviere
Sale, Eiviere Aux Gratias, Pembina, and the like, appear with
their distances in leagues. Among other memoranda is one,
" lost on the Prairie," and the distance in leagues estimated as
lost by the misadventure. Every traveller over the Manitoba
prairie will take a feeling interest in that entry.
Passing through the Mississippi country, he seems to have
proceeded eastward to Washington ; he next appears in
Albany, and hastens back to Upper Canada, without even
visiting his family in Montreal, though he had been absent
from them for upwards of a year. In Upper Canada his
presence was urgently needed to meet the artful machinations
of his enemies.

CHAPTEE XXVII.
THE BLUE-BOOK OP 1819 AND THE NOETH-WEST TEIALS.
British law disgraced — Governor Sherbrooke's distress — A Commission
decided on — Pew unbiassed Canadians — Colonel Coltman chosen
— Over ice and snow — Alarming rumours — The Prince Regent's
order — Coltman at Red River — The Earl submissive— The Com
missioner's report admirable — The celebrated Reinhart case —
Disturbing lawsuits — Justice perverted — A storehouse of facts — •
Sympathy of Sir Walter Scott— Lord Selkirk's death — Tomb at
Orthes, in France.
The state of things in Eupert's Land in 1816 was a disgrace
to British institutions. That subjects of the realm, divided
into two parties, should be virtually carrying on war against
each other on British soil, was simply intolerable. Not only
was force being used, but warrants were being issued and the
forms of law employed on both sides to carry out the selfish
ends of each party. An impartial historian cannot but say
that both parties were chargeable with grievous wrong.
Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, Governor-General of Canada,
felt very keenly the shameful situation, and yet the difficulties
of transport and the remote distance of the interior where the
conflict was taking place made interference almost impossible.
He was in constant communication with Lord Bathurst, the
Imperial Colonial Secretary.
Governor Sherbrooke's difficulties were, however, more than
those of distance. The influence of the North-West Company
in Canada was supreme, and public sentiment simply reflected
the -riews of the traders. The plan of sending a commission
to the interior to stop hostilities and examine the conflicting
statements which were constantly coming to the Governor,
seemed the most feasible ; but with his sense of British fair-

252 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
play. Governor Sherbrooke knew he could find no one suitable
to recommend.
At last, driven to take some action, Sir John named Mr.
W. B. Coltman, a merchant of Quebec and a lieutenant-colonel
in the Militia, a man accustomed to Government matters, and
one who bore a good reputation for fairness and justice. With
this Commissioner, who did not enter on his task with much
alacrity, was associated Major Fletcher, a man of good legal
qualifications. The Commissioners were instructed to proceed immediately
to the North-West. They were invested with the power of
magistrates, and were authorized to make a thorough investi
gation into the troubles which were disturbing the country.
"You are particularly," say the instructions, "to apply your
selves to mediate between the contending parties in the afore
said territories ; to remove, as far as possible, all causes of
dissension between them; to take all legal measures to
prevent the recurrence of those violences which have already
so unhappily disturbed the public peace ; and generaUy to
enforce and establish, within the territory where you shall be,
the influence and authority of the laws."
Various accidents prevented the Commissioners from leaving
for the Indian country as soon as had been expected. They
did not reach York (Toronto) till November 23rd, and on their
arriving on the shores of Lake Huron they found the lake
frozen over and impassable. They could do nothing them
selves other than return to York, but they succeeded in fitting
out an expedition under North- Western auspices to find its
way over the ice and snow to Fort William, carrying the
revocation of all the commissions of magistrates west of Sault
Ste. Marie and the news of the new appointments in their
stead. Eeports during the -winter continued to be of a dis
quieting kind, and as the spring drew nigh, preparations were
made for sending up the Commissioners with a small armed
force. The gravity of the situation may be judged from the steps
taken by the Imperial Government and the instructions sent
out by the authority of George, the Prince Eegent, to Governor
Sherbrooke to issue a proclamation in his name calling on all

BLUE-BOOK OF 1819 &' NORTH-WEST TRIALS 253
parties to desist from hostilities, and requiring all military
officers or men employed by any of the parties to immediately
retire from such service. AU property, including forts or
trading stations, was to be immediately restored to the
rightful owners, and any impediment or blockade preventing
transport to be at once removed.
It is worthy of note that the proclamation and instructions
given had the desired effect. Coltman and his fellow Com
missioner left in May for the field of their operations, accom
panied by forty men of the 37th Eegiment as a body-guard.
On arriving at Sault Ste. Marie, Commissioner Coltman, after
waiting two or three weeks, hastened on to Fort William,
lea-ring Fletcher and the troops to follow him. On July 2nd
he wrote from the mouth of the Eiver Winnipeg, stating that
his presence had no doubt tended to preserve peace in the
North-West, and that in two days he would see Lord Selkirk
in his own Fort Douglas at Eed Eiver.
Three days after the despatch of this letter. Commissioner
Coltman arrived at Eed Eiver. H^ immediately grappled with
the difficulties and met them with much success. The new^s
of Lord Selkirk's actions had all arrived at Montreal through
the North-West sources, so that both in Quebec and London a
strong prejudice had sprung up against his Lordship. Colonel
Coltman found, however, that Lord Selkirk had been much
misrepresented. The illegal seizures he had made at Port
William were dictated only by prudence in dealing with what
he considered a daring and treacherous enemy. He had
submitted to the ordinance recalling magistrates' commissions
immediately on receiving it. Colonel Coltman was so im
pressed -with Lord Selkirk's reasonableness and good faith that
he recommended that the legal charges made against him
should not be proceeded with.
Colonel Coltman then started on his return journey, and
wrote that he had stopped at the mouth of the Winnipeg Eiver
for the purpose of investigating the conspiracy, in which he
states he fears the North-West Company had been implicated,
to destroy the Selkirk settlement. The energetic Commis
sioner returned to Quebec in November of that year. Governor
Sherbrooke had the satisfaction of reporting to Lord Bathurst

254 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
the return of Mr. Coltman from his mission to the Indian
territories, and " that the general result of his exertions had
been so far successful, that he had restored a degree of
tranquilUty there which promises to continue during the
winter." Colonel Coltman's report of about one bundred folio pages
is an admirable one. His summary of the causes and events
of the great struggle between the Companies is well arranged
and clearly stated. The -writer in an earlier work strongly
took up Lord Selkirk's view of the case, and criticized
Coltman. Subsequent investigations and calmer reflection
have led him to the conclusion that while Lord Selkirk was
in the right and exhibited a high and noble character, yet the
provoking circumstances came from both directions, and
Colonel Coltman's account seems fairly impartial.
The cessation of hostilities brought about by the influence of
Colonel Coltman did not, however, bring a state of peace. The
conflict was transferred to tbe Courts of Lower and Upper
Canada, these having been given power some time before by the
Imperial Parliament to deal with cases in the Indian territories.
A cause celebre was that of the trial of Charles Eeinhart, an
employe of the North-West Company, who had been a sergeant
in the disbanded De Meuron Eegiment. Haring gone to the
North-West, he was during the troubles given charge of a
Hudson's Bay Company official named Owen Keveny, against
whom it was urged that be had maltreated a servant of the
North-West Company. In bringing Keveny do-wn from Lake
Winnipeg to Eat Portage, it was brought against Eeinhart
that at a place called the Palls of the Eiver Winmpeg, he
had brutally killed the prisoner under his charge. WhUe Lord
Selkirk was at Port WilUam, Eeinhart arrived at that point
and made a voluntary confession before his Lordship as a
magistrate. This case was afterwards tried at Quebec and
gave rise to an argument as to the jurisdiction of the Court, viz.
whether the point where the murder occurred on the Eiver
Winnipeg was in Upper Canada, Lower Canada, or the Indian
territories. Though Eeinhart was found guilty, sentence
was not carried out, probably on account of the uncertainty of
jurisdiction. The Eeinhart case became an important precedent

BLUE-BOOK OF 1819 ^ NORTH-WEST TRIALS 255
in settling the boundary line of Upper Canada, and also in
dealing -with the troubles arising out of the Eiel rebellion of 1869.
In the year after Colonel Coltman's return, numerous cases
were referred to the Courts, all these arising out of the violence
at Eed Eiver. Colonel Coltman had bound Lord Selkirk, though
only accused of an offence amounting to a misdemeanour, in
the large sum of 6000Z. and under two sureties of 3000Z. each —
in all 12,000L Mr. Gale, Lord Selkirk's legal adviser, called
attention to the illegality of this proceeding, but all to no effect.
After Lord Selkirk had settled up his affairs with his colonists,
he journeyed south from the Eed Eiver to St. Louis in the
Western States, and then went eastward to Albany in New
York, whence he appeared in Sandwich in Upper Canada, the
circuit to-wn where information had been laid. Here he found
four accusations made against him by the North-West Company.
These were : (1) Haring stolen eighty-three muskets at Fort
WUUam ; (2) Having riotously entered Fort William, August
18th ; (8) Assault and false imprisonment of Deputy- Sheriff
Smith ; (4) Eesistance to legal warrant.
On these matters being taken up, the first charge was so
contradictory that the magistrates dismissed it ; but the other
three could not be dealt with on account of the absence of
witnesses, and so bail was accepted from Lord Selkirk of 350?.
for his appearance. When Lord Selkirk presented himself at
Montreal to answer to the charges for which Colonel Coltman's
heavy bail had bound him, the Court admitted it had no
jurisdiction, but with singular high-handedness bound Lord
Selkirk to appear in Upper Canada under the same bail.
In Montreal in May, 1818, an action was brought before Chief
Justice Monk and Justice Bowen against Colin Eobertson and
four others, charging them with riotously destroying Port
Gibraltar, the Nor'-Wester fort. A number of witnesses were
caUed, including Miles Macdonell, John Pritchard, Auguste
Cadot, and others. A verdict of not guilty was rendered.
In September of the same year a charge was laid against Lord
Selkirk and others of a conspiracy to ruin the trade of the
North-West Company. This was before the celebrated Chief
Justice PoweU. The grand jury refused to give the Chief
Justice an answer in the case. The Court was summarily

2S6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
adjourned, and legislation was introduced at the next meet
ing of the Legislature of Upper Canada to remedy defects in
the Act in order that the case might be tried. Afterward the
cases \Tere taken up in York, and Deputy-Sheriff Smith was
given a verdict against Lord Selkirk for 500Z., and McKenzie,
a North-West partner, a verdict of 1500Z. for false imprisonment
at Port William. Thegeneral impression has always prevailed
there that the whole procedure in these cases against Lord
Selkirk was high-handed and unjust, though it is quite possible
that Lord Selkirk had exceeded his powers in the troubled
state of affairs at Fort William.
On his Lordship's side charges were also brought in October,
1818. In the full Court Chief Justice Powell and Justices
CampbeU and Boulter presided. The most notable of these
cases was against Cuthbert Grant, Boucher, and sixteen others
as either principals or accessories in the murder of Eobert
Semplo on June 19th, 1816. A few days later, in the same
month, a slightly different charge was brought against six of the
North-West partners in connection with the murder of Governor
Semple. Upwards of three hundred pages of evidence gave a
minute and complete account of the affair of Seven Oaks and of
the whole conflict as found in a volume of Canadian trials.
In these two cases a verdict of not guilty was also rendered.
Two other trials, one by Lord Selkirk's party against Paul
Brown for robbery of a blanket and a gun, and the other against
John Cooper and Hugh Bannerman for stealing a cannon in
a dwelling house of Lord Selkirk, were also carried through,
with in both cases a verdict of not guilty. The evidence in
these cases was printed by both parties, with foot-notes, giving
a colour to each side concerned of a more favourable kind.
So much for this most disheartening controversy. It would
be idle to say tliat Lord Selkirk was faultless ; but as we dis
passionately read the accounts of the trials, and consider that
while Lord Selkirk was friendless in Canada, the North-West
Company had enormous influence, we cannot resist the conclu
sion that advantage was taken of his Lordship, and that justice
was not done. It is true that, in the majority of cases, the
conclusion was reached that it was impossible to precisely
place the blame on either side ; but we cannot be surprised that

BLUE-BOOK OF 1819 6- NORTH-WEST TRIALS 257
Lord Selkirk, harassed and discouraged by the difficulties of
his colony and his treatment in the courts of Upper Canada and
Lower Canada, should write as he did in October, 1818, to the
Duke of Eichmond, the new Governor-General of Canada : —
" To contend alone and unsupported, not only against a
powerful association of individuals, but also against all those
whose official duty it should have been to arrest them in the
prosecution of their crimes, was at the best an arduous task ;
and, however confident one might be of the intrinsic strength of
his cause, it was impossible to feel a very sanguine expectation
that this alone would be sufficient to bear him up against the
swollen tide of corruption which threatened to overwhelm him.
He knew that in persevering under existing circumstances he
must necessarily submit to a hea-vy sacrifice of personal comfort,
incur an expense of ruinous amount, and possibly render
himself the object of harassing and relentless persecution."
Though Lord Selkirk crossed the Atlantic in 1818, yet the
sounds of the judicial battle through which he had passed were
still in his ears. In June his friend. Sir James Montgomery,
brought the matter before the British House of Commons,
mo-ring for all the official papers in the case. The motion was
carried, and the Blue Book containing this matter is a store
house where we may find the chief facts of this long and
heart-breaking struggle recorded.
In June, 1818, we find in a copy of a letter in the possession
of the writer, written by Sir Walter Scott, a reference to the
very poor health of his Lordship. Worn out and heart-broken
by his trials. Lord Selkirk did not rally, but in the course of a
few months died at Pan, in the South of France, April, 1820.
His Countess and daughters had accompanied him to Montreal
on his Canadian visit, and they were now with him to soothe
his dying hours and to see him laid to rest in the Protestant
cemetery of Orthes.
Though he was engaged in a difficult undertaking in seeking
so early in the century to estabUsh a colony on the Eed Eiver,
and though it has been common to represent him as being half
a century before his time, yet we cannot resist the conclusion
that he was an honourable, patriotic, and far-seeing man, and
that the burden of right in this grand conflict was on his side.
s

CHAPTEE XKViri.
MEN WHO PLAYED A PAET.
The crisis reached — Consequences of Seven Oaks — The noble Earl —
His generous spirit— His mistakes — Determined courage-
Deserves the laurel crown — The first Governor — Macdonell's
difficulties — His unwise step — A Captain in red — Cameron's
adroitness — A wearisome imprisonment — Last governor of Fort
Gibraltar — The Metis chief — Half-breed son of old Cuthbert — A
daring hunter — Warden of the plains — Lord Selkirk's agent —
A Red River patriarch — ^A faithful witness — The French bard —
Western war songs — Pierriche Falcon.
The skirmish of Seven Oaks was the most notable event
that ev€»r occurred on the prairies of Eupert's Land or in the
limits of the fur country. It was the crisis which indicated the
determination of the Company, whose years were numbered by
a century and a half, to hold its own in a great contest, and of
the pluck of a British nobleman to show the " perfervidum in-
genium Scotorum," and unflinchingly to meet either in arms or
legal conflict tbe fur-trading oligarchy of that time in Canada.
It represented, too, the fierce courage and desperate resource
of the traders of the great Canadian Company, who, we have
seen, were called by Washington Irving " the lords of the
lakes and forests."
It was also the denouement which led the Old and the
New Worlds' fur companies, despite the heat of passion and
their warmth of sentiment, to make a peace which saved both
from impending destruction.
It led, moreover, to the sealing up for half a century of
Eupert's Land to all energetic projects and influx of population,
and allowed Sir George Simpson to build up for the time being
the empire of the buffalo, the beaver, and the fox, instead of
developing a home of industry.
Crises such as this develop character and di-aw out the
powers of men who would otherwise waste their sweetness on

MEN WHO PLAYED A PART 259
the desert air. The shock of meeting of two such great bodies
as the Hudson's Bay Company and the North-West Company
enabled men to show courage, loyalty, honest indignation,
decision of character, shrewdness, diplomatic skill, and great
endurance. These are the elements of human character. It
is ever worth while to examine the motives, features of action,
and ends aimed at by men under the trying circumstances of
such a conffict. At the risk of some repetition we give sketches
of the lives of several of the leading persons concerned.
THE EAEL OP SELKIEK.
Chief, certainly, of the actors who appeared on this stage
was Lord Selkirk. Born to the best traditions of the Scottish
nobiUty, Thomas Douglas belonged to the Angus-Selkirk family,
which represented the Douglases of Border story, one of whom
boasted that no ancestor of his had for ten generations died
within chambers. Lord Daer, as his title then was, had
studied at Edinburgh University, was an intimate friend of
Sir Walter Scott, and though a Lowlander, had formed
a great attachment for the Highlanders and had learned
their language. He was, moreover, of most active mind,
broad sympathies, and generous impulses. At the age of
thirty years, having become Earl of Selkirk, he sought to take
part in assisting the social condition of Britain, which was
suffering greatly from the Napoleonic wars. He took a large
colony of Highlanders to Prince Edward Island, acquired land
in Upper Canada and also in New York State, and then, solely
for the purpose of helping on his emigration project, entered
on the gigantic undertaking of gaining control of the Hudson's
Bay Company. In all these things he succeeded. We have
seen the conflicts into which he was led and the manly way
in which he conducted himself.
We do not say he made no mistakes. We frankly admit that
he went beyond the ordinary powers of a magistrate's commis
sion at Port William. But we beUeve his aim was good. He
was convinced that the Nor'-Westers had no legal right to the
Hudson's Bay Company lands over which they traded. He
believed them to be unscrupulous and dangerous, and his
course was taken to meet the exigency of the case. It must be

26o THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
remembered his responsibiUty was a great one. His Highland
and Irish colonists at Eed Eiver were helpless ; he was their
only defence ; no British law was present at Eed Eiver to help
them. They were regarded as intruders, as enemies of the fur
trade, and he felt that loyalty and right compelled him to act
as he did.
No doubt it seemed to the Canadian traders — who considered
themselves as the successors of the French who, more than
three quarters of a century before, had established forts at
what was called the post of the Western Sea — a high-handed
and even foolhardy thing to bring his colony by way of Hudson
Bay, and to plant them down at the forks on Eed Eiver, in
a remote and probably unsuccessful colony. However, in the
main the legal right was with his Lordship. The popular
feeling in Canada toward Lord Selkirk was far from being a
pure one, and a fair-minded person can hardly refrain from
saying it was an interested and selfish one.
Certainly, as we see him. Lord Selkirk was a high-minded,
generous, far-seeing, adventm'ous, courageous, and honourable
man. We may admit that his opinion of tbe North-West Com
pany opponents was a prejudiced and often unjust one. But we
linger on the picture of his Lordship returning from Montreal
with his Countess, their two young daughters, the one after
ward Lady Isabella Hope, and the other Lady Katharine
Wigram, with the young boy who grew up to be the last Earl
of Selkirk : we think of him worried by the lawsuits and
penalties of which we have spoken, going home to meet the
British Government somewhat prejudiced against him as
having been a personage in what they considered a dangerous
emeute : we follow him passing over to France, attended
by his family, and dying in a foreign land — and we are com
pelled to say, how often does the world persecute its bene
factors and leave its greatest uncrowned. The Protestant
cemetery at Orthes contains the bones of one who, under other
cu-cumstances, might have been cro-wned with laurel.
GOVEENOE MILES MACDONELL.
Engaged by Lord Selkirk to lead his first company and
superintend the planting of his colony, Capt. MUes Macdonell

tOED SELKIEK.

SIE GEOESE SIMPSON.

[Page_2m.

MEN WHO PLAYED A PART 261
found himself thrust into a position of danger and responsibility
as local governor at Eed Eiver. He was a man with a con
siderable experience. Of Highland origin, he had with his
father, John Macdonell, called " Scotas," from his residence in
Scotland, settled in the valley of the Mohawk Eiver, on the
estates of Sir WilUam Johnson, in New York State. The
estates of Sir WUUam were a hotbed of loyalism, and here was
enUsted by his son. Sir John Johnson, under the authority of
the British Government at the time of the American Eevolu
tion, the well-known King's Eoyal Eegiment of New York,
famUiarly known as the " Eoyal Greens." The older Mac
donell was a captain in this regiment, and Miles, as a boy of
fifteen, was commissioned as ensign. Afterward the young
Macdonell returned to Scotland, where he married, and again
came to Canada. Following a military career, he was engaged
by Lord Selkirk shortly before the war of 1812 to lead his
colony to the Eed Eiver. We have seen how faithfully, both at
York Factory and the Eed Eiver, he served his Lordship. The
chief point in dispute in connection with Governor Macdonell
is whether the embargo against the export of supplies from
Eed Eiver in 1814 was legal or not. If it was not, then on him
rests much of the responsibiUty for the troubles which ensued.
The seizure of pemmican, belonging to the North-West Com
pany, at the mouth of the Souris Eiver, seems to have been
high-handed. Undoubtedly Miles Macdonell believed it to be
necessary for the support of the settlers in the country. His
life was one of constant worry after this event. Eeprisals
began between the parties. These at length ended in Miles
MacdoneU being seized by the North-West Company agents
on June 22nd, 1816, and taken as a prisoner to Fort WUUam,
and thence to Montreal. Macdonell lived upon the Otta-wa till
the time of his death in 1828.
He was a man of good mind and seemingly honest inten
tions. His military education and experience probably gave
him the habits of regularity and decision which led to the
statement made of him by the Hon. WUliam McGUlivray,
"that he conducted himself like a Turkish bashaw." The
justification of Governor Macdonell seems to be that the
Nor'-Westers had determined early in the history of the colony

262 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
to destroy it, so that the charges made against the Governor
were merely an advantage taken of disputed points. Capt.
Macdonell's management at York Factory was certainly
judicious, and there seems but the one debatable point in his
administration of Eed Eiver, and that was the'proclamation of
January 8th, 1814. DUNCAN CAMEEON.
One of the most notable leaders on the Nor'-Wester side
was Duncan Cameron, who has the distinction of being the
last commanding officer of Fort Gibraltar. Like Miles
Macdonell, Duncan Cameron was the son of a Highland U. E.
LoyaUst, who had been settled on the Hudson in New York
State. He entered the North-West Company in 1785 and
fourteen years after was in charge of Nepigon district, as we
have seen. He gained much distinction for his company by
his daring and skilful management of the plan to induce the
Selkirk settlers to leave Eed Eiver and settle in Upper Canada.
Coming from the meeting of the Nor'-Westers in Grand
Portage, in 1814 Cameron took up his abode in Port Gibraltar,
and according to the story of his opponents did so with much
pomp and circumstance. Miles Macdonell says: — "Mr.
Duncan Cameron arrived at Eed Eiver, sporting a suit of
military uniform, gave himself out as captain in his Majesty's
service, and acting by the King's authority for Sir George
Prevost." Every weU-informed person looked upon this as a
self-created appointment, at most a North-West trick ; but it
had a very considerable effect upon the lower class of people.
In regard to this the writer in his work on "Manitoba,"
London, 1882, took up strong ground against Cameron. The
calming influence of years, and the contention whicb has been
advanced that there was some ground for Cameron claiming the
commission in the " Voyageur Corps " which he formerly held,
has led the writer to modify his opinion somewhat as to
Cameron. Cameron succeeded in leading away about three quarters
of the colony. This he was appointed to do and he
seems to have done it faithfully. The means by which he
appealed to the Highland colonists may have been less digni-

MEN WHO PLAYED A PART 263
fied than might have been desired, yet his warm Highland
nature attracted his own countrymen in the settlement, and
they probably needed little persuasion to escape from their
hardships to what was to them the promised land of Upper
Canada. In the following year (1816), as already stated, Cameron was
in command of Fort Gibraltar, and it was determined by
Governor Semple to destroy the North-West fort and bring its
material down the river to supplement the colony establish
ment. Port Douglas. Before this was done the same treatment
that was given to Governor Macdonell by the Nor'-Westers in
arresting him was meted out to Cameron. He was seized by
Colin Eobertson and carried away to York Factory, to be taken
as a prisoner to England. This high-handed proceeding was
objectionable on several grounds. The Imperial Parliament
had transferred the right of dealing with offences committed in
Eupert's Land to the Courts of Canada, so that Eobertson's
action was clearly ultra vires. Moreover, if the Hudson's Bay
Company, under its charter exercised authority, it is questionable
whether that gave the right to send a prisoner to Britain for
trial, the more that no definite charge was laid against
Cameron. Certainly Cameron had reason to complain of great
injustice in this arrest. Taking him all in all, he was a hot,
impulsive Highland leader of men, persuasive and adroit, and
did not hesitate to adopt the means lying nearest to attain his
purpose. The fact that from 1823 to 1828, after he had left the
Company's service, he represented the County of Glengarry in
the Upper Canadian Legislature, shows that those who knew
him best had a favourable opinion about this last commander
of Port Gibraltar. Fort Gibraltar was never re-built, its place
and almost its very site under the United Company being taken
by the original Fort Garry. Sir Eoderick Cameron of New
York, who has been connected with the Australian trade, is a
son of Duncan Cameron, and still survives.
CUTHBEET GEANT.
The skirmish of Seven Oaks brought into view a fact that
had hardly made itself known before, viz., that a new race, the
Metis, or half-breed chUdren of the fm- traders and employes

264 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
by Indian women, were becoming a guild or body able to exert
its influence and beginning to realize its power.
Of this rising and somewhat dangerous body a young Scottish
half-breed, Cuthbert Grant, had risen to sudden prominence as
the leader. His father of the same name had been a famous
North-West trader, and was looked upon as the special
guardian of the Upper Assiniboine and Swan Eiver district.
He had died in 1799, but influential as he had been, the son
became from circumstances much more so. The North-West
Company knew that the Scottish courage and endurance would
stand them in good stead, and his Indian blood would give him
a great following in the country. Educated in Montreal, he
was fitted to be the leader of his countrymen. His dash and
enthusiasm were his leading characteristics. When the war
party came down from Qu'Appelle and Portage La Prairie,
young Cuthbert Grant was its natural leader. When the fight
took place he was well to the front in the mSlee, and it is
generally argued that his influence was exerted toward saving
the wounded and preventing acts of barbarity, such as savage
races are prone to when the passions are aroused. On the
night of June 19th, when the victory had come to his party,
Cuthbert Grant took possession of Port Douglas, and the night
was one for revelry exceeding what his Highland forbears had
ever seen, or equal to any exultation of the Eed man in his hour
of triumph.
In after years, when peace had been restored, Cuthbert Grant
settled in the neighbourhood of White Horse Plains, a region
twenty miles west of Eed Eiver on the Assiniboine, and here
became an influential man. He was the leader of the hunt
against the buffalo, on which every year the adventurous young
men went to bring back their winter supply of food. In order
that this might be properly managed, to protect life in a
dangerous sport and to preserve the buffalo from wanton
destruction, strict rules were agreed on and penalties attached
to their breach. The officer appointed by the Council of
Assiniboia to carry out these laws was called the " Warden of
the Plains." This office Cuthbert Grant 'filled. Of the fifteen
members of the Council of Assiniboia, Grant was one, and he
largely reflected the opinion of the French half-breed population

MEN WHO PLAYED A PART 265
of the Eed Eiver settlement. He was the hero of the plain
hunters, and the native bards never ceased to sing his praises.
His case is a remarkable example of the power that native
representatives obtain among mixed communities.
JOHN PEITCHAED.
The name of John Pritchard carries us back on the Eed Eiver
to the beginning of the century — to a time even before the coming
of the Selkirk colony. His descendants to the fourth generation
are still found in Manitoba and are well known. He was born
in 1777 in a small village in Shropshire, England, and received
his education in the famous Grammar School of Shrewsbury.
Early in the century he emigrated to Montreal. At that time
the ferment among the fur traders was great. The old North-
West Company of Montreal had split into sections, and to the
new Company, or X Y Company, young Pritchard was attached.
We fiLrst hear of him at the mouth of the Souris Eiver in 1805,
and shortly after in charge of one of the forts at that point
where the Souris Eiver empties into the Assiniboine.
We have already given the incident of Pritchard being lost
on the prairie for forty days. Pritchard does not seem to have
taken kindly to the United North-West Company, for at the
time of the Seven Oaks affair we find him as one of the
garrison occupying Fort Douglas, although he represents
himself as being a settler on the Eed Eiver.
After the skirmish of Seven Oaks Pritchard sought to
escape with the other settlers to the north of Lake Winnipeg,
but was made prisoner by the North-West Company's agents
and taken to Port WilUam. Thence he went east to Montreal
and gave evidence in connection with the trials arising out of the
Eed Eiver troubles. Pritchard was a capable and ready man.
His evidence is clear and well expressed. He had much
faciUty in doing business, and had a smooth, diplomatic
manner that stood him in good stead in troublous times.
Pritchard afterwards entered Lord Selkirk's service and as
his agent went over to London. Eeturning to the Eed Eiver
settlement, he married among the people of Kildonan, and
lived not far from the KUdonan Church, on the east 'side of
the river. A number of his letters have been printed which

266 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
show that he took a lively interest in the affairs of the settle
ment, especially in its religious concerns. It is not, then,
remarkable that among his descendants there should be no
less than seven clergymen of the Church of England. It is
interesting to know that the Hudson's Bay Company voted him
about 1838 a gratuity of 251. in consideration of valuable
services rendered by him to education, and especially in the
establishment of Sunday schools and day schools. This man,
whose life was a chronicle of the history of the settlement,
passed away in 1856 and was buried in St. John's Churchyard.
PIEEEE FALCON, THE EHYMESTEE.
Among the wild rout of the Nor'-Westers at the skirmish of
Seven Oaks was a young French half-breed, whose father
was a French Canadian engaged in the fur trade, and his
mother an Indian woman from the Missouri country. The
young combatant had been born in 1793, at Elbow Fort, in the
Swan Eiver district. Taken as a chUd to Canada, young
Pierre lived for a time at Laprairie, and at the age of fifteen
returned with his father to the Eed Eiver, and with him en
gaged in the service of the North-West Company. What
part Falcon took in the affair at Seven Oaks we are not told,
except that he behaved bravely, and saw Governor Semple
kiUed. Pierre Falcon was, however, the bard or poet of his people.
This characteristic of Falcon is quite remarkable, considered
in connection with the time and circumstances. That a man
who was unable to read or write should have been able to
describe the striking events of his time in verse is certainly a
notable thing. He never tires singing in different times and
metres the valour of the Bois Brdles at Seven Oaks.
"Voulez-vous ^couter chanter
Une chanson de v6rit6 ?
Le dix-neuf Juin, la bande des Bois Brdl&
Sont arrives comme des braves guerriers."
Then with French gaiety and verve he gives an account of
tbe attack on the Orkneymen, as he caUs them, and recites
the Governor's action and his death. Falcon finishes up the
chanson with a wild hurrah of triumph —
" Les Bois BrM^s jetaient des cris de joie."

MEN WHO PLAYED A PART 267
The lively spirit of the rhymester broke out in song upon all
the principal events which agitated the people of the settle
ment. Joseph Tasse, to whom we are chiefly indebted in this
sketch, says of him, " all his compositions are not of the same
interest, but they are sung by our voyageurs to the measured
stroke of the oar, on the most distant rivers and lakes of the
North-West. The echoes of the Assiniboine, the Mackenzie,
and Hudson Bay will long repeat them."
The excitable spirit of the rhymer never left him. At the
time of the Eiel rebellion (1869-70) Falcon was still alive, and
though between seventy and eighty years of age, he wished to
march off with his gun to the fray, declaring that "while the
enemy would be occupied in killing him his friends would be
able to give hard and well-directed blows to them."
For about half a century he lived on the White Horse Plains,
twenty miles or more up the Assiniboine from Winnipeg, and
became an influential man in the neighbourhood. His mer
curial disposition seems to have become more settled than in
his fiery youth, for though unlettered, he was made a justice
of the peace.
His verse-making was, of course, of a very simple and
unfinished kind. One of his constant fashions was to end it
with a declaration that it was made by Falcon, the singer of
his people. " Qui en a fait la chanson?
Un poete de canton ;
Au bout de la chanson
Nous vous le nommerons.
Un jour etant ^ table,
A boire et ^ chanter,
A chanter tout au long
La nouveUe chanson.
Amis, buvons, trinquons,
Saluons la chanson
De Pierriche Falcon,
Ce faiseur de chanson."
The last line being often varied to
" Pierre Falcon, le bon garden."

CHAPTEE XXIX.
GOVEENOE SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTEEESTS.
Both Companies in danger — Edward Ellice, a mediator — George •
Simpson, the man of destiny — Old feuds buried — Gatherings at
Norway House — Governor Simpson's skill — His marvellous
energy — Reform in trade — Morality low — A famous canoe voyage
— Salutes fired — Pompous ceremony at Norway House — Strains
of the bagpipe — Across the Rocky Mountains — Fort Vancouver
risited — Great executive ability — The governor knighted — Sir
George goes around the world — Troubles of a book— Meets the
Russians — Estimate of Sir George.
Afpaies in Eupert's Land had now reached their worst and
had begun to mend, the strong hand of British law had made
itself felt and hostilities had ceased from Port William to far-
off Qu'Appelle and to the farther distant Mackenzie Eiver.
The feeling of antagonism was, however, stirring in the bosoms
of both parties. The death of Lord Selkirk in Prance, brought
the opposing fur traders closer together, and largely through
the influence of Hon. Edward Ellice, a prominent Nor'-Wester,
a reconciliation between the hostile Companies took place and
a union was formed on March 26th, 1821, under the name of
the Hudson's Bay Company.
The affairs of both Companies had been brought to the verge
of destruction by the conflicts, and the greatest satisfaction
prevailed both in England and Canada at the union. The
prospect now was that the stabiUty of the English Company
and the energy of the Canadian combination would result in a
great development of the fur trade.
As is so often the case, the man for the occasion also
appeared. This was not an experienced man, not a man
long trained in the fur trade, not even a man who had done
more than spend the winter in the fur country at Lake

SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTERESTS 269
Athabasca. He was simply a young clerk, who had approved
himself in the London Hudson's Bay Company office to Andrew
Colville, a relation of the Earl of Selkirk. He was thus free
from the prejudices of either party and young enough to be
adaptable in the new state of things. This man was George
Simpson, a native of Eosshire, in Scotland. He was short of
stature, but strong, vigorous, and observing. He was noted for
an ease and affability of manner that stood him in good stead
all through his forty years of experience as chief officer of the
Hudson's Bay Company. He became a noted traveller, and
made the canoe voyage from Montreal to the interior many
times. For many years the Nor'-Westers, as we have seen,
held their annual gathering at Grand Portage on Lake Superior,
and it was to this place that the chief officers had annually
resorted. The new element of the English Company coming
in from Hudson Bay now made a change necessary.
Accordingly, Norwajr House on Lake Winnipeg, became the
new centre, and for many years the annual gathering of the
Company leaders in the active trade took place here. The
writer has had the privilege of perusing the minutes of some
of these gatherings, which were held shortly after Governor
Simpson was appointed. These are valuable as showing the
work done by the young Governor and his method of dealing
with difficulties.
While it has always been said that Governor Simpson was
dictatorial and overbearing, it will be seen that at this stage
he was conciliatory and considerate. He acted like the chair
man of a representative body of men called together to consult
over their affairs, the members having equal rights. On June
23rd, 1823, one of his first meetings was held at Norway House.
Eeports were given in detail from the various posts and
districts in turn. Bow Eiver at the foot of the Eocky Moun
tains was reported as abandoned ; from the Upper Eed Eiver,
it was stated that on account of prairie fires the buffalo were
few, and that the wild Assiniboines had betaken themselves to
the Saskatchewan to enjoy its plenty.
Prom Lower Eed Eiver came the news that the attempt to
prevent the natives trading in furs had been carried rather too
far. Furs belonging to a petty trader, Laronde, had been seized.

2 70 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
confiscated, and sent to Hudson Bay. It was learned that
Laronde had not been duly aware of the new regulations, and
it was ordered that compensation be made to him. This was
done, and he and his family were fully satisfied. The Catholic
Mission at Pembina had been moved down to the Forks, where
now St. Boniface stands, and the desire was expressed that the
traders should withdraw their trade as much as possible from
the south side of the United States' boundary line.
The reports from the Selkirk settlement were of a favourable
kind. The Sioux, who had come from their land of the Dakotas
to meet Lord Selkirk, were not encouraged to make any
further visits. The Selkirk colony was said to be very
prosperous, and it is stated that it was the intention of the
new Company soon to take over the property belonging to
Lord Selkirk in the colony.
Some conflicts had arisen in the Lac La Pluie (Eainy Lake)
district, and these were soothed and settled. Eeference is
made to the fact that Grand Portage having been found to be
on United States' territory, new arrangements had been made
for avoiding colUsion with the Americans.
Eeports were even given in of prosperous trade in the far-
distant Columbia, and steps were taken at various points to
reduce the number of posts, the union of the Companies having
made this possible.
In all these proceedings, there may be seen the influence
of the diplomatic and shrewd young Governor doing away
with difficulties and making plans for the extension of a
successful trade in the future. It was not surprising that the
Council invested Governor Simpson with power to act during
the adjournment.
Sometimes at Moose Factory, now at York, then at Norway
House, and again at Eed Eiver, the energetic Governor paid
his visits. He was noted for the imperious and impetuous
haste with which he drove his voyageurs through the lonely
wilds. For years a story was prevalent in the Eed Eiver
country that a stalwart French voyageur, who was a favourite
with the Governor, was once, in crossing the Lake of the
Woods, so irritated by the Governor's unreasonable urging, that
he seized his tormentor, who was small in stature, by the

SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTERESTS 271
shoulders, and dipped him into the lake, giving vent to his
feelings in an emphatic French oath.
The Governor knew how to attach his people to himself, and
he gathered around him in the course of his career of forty
years a large number of men most devoted to the interests of
the Company. His visits to Fort Garry on the Eed Eiver were
always notable. He was approachable to the humblest, and
Ustened to many a complaint and grievance with apparent
sympathy and great patience. He had many of the arts of the
courtier along with his indomitable will.
At another of his gatherings at Norway House with the
traders in 1823 we have records of the greatest interest. The
canoe had been the favourite craft of the Nor'-Westers, but he
now introduced boats and effected a saving of one-third in
wages, and he himself superintended the sending of an expedi
tion of four boats with twenty men by way of Nelson Eiver
¦from York Factory to far distant Athabasca. He was quick
to see those who were the most profitable as workmen
for the Company. On one occasion he gives his estimate as
foUows : " Canadians (i.e., French Canadians) preferable to
Orkneymen. Orkneymen less expensive, but slow. Less
physical strength and spirits. Obstinate if brought young
into the service. Scotch and Irish, when numerous, quarrel
some, independent, and mutinous."
At this time it was determined to give up the practice of
besto-wing presents upon the Indians. It was found better to
pay them Uberally for their pelts, making them some advances
for clothing.
The minutes state at this time that there was little progress
in the moral and religious instruction of the Indians. The
excessive use of spirits, which still continued, was now checked ;
the quantity given in 1822 and 1823 was reduced one half and
the strength of the spirits lowered. Missionaries could not
be employed with success, on account of the small number of
Indians at any one point. The only hope seemed to be to have
schools at Eed Eiver and to remove the children from their
parents to these. Many difficulties, arising from the objections
of the parents, were, however, sure to come in the way.
Evidences were not wanting of chief factors being somewhat

2 72 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
alienated from the Governor, but those dissatisfied were
promptly invited to the Council and their coolness removed.
In carrying out discipline among the men some difficulty was
experienced, as the long conflicts between the Companies
had greatly demoraUzed the employes. One plan suggested
was that offenders should be fined and the fines vested in a
charitable fund. It was found that this would only do for
Europeans. " A blow was better for a Canadian," and
though this was highly reprobated, it was justified by
experience. At a meeting at York Factory instructions were given to
Chief Factor Stuart on Lake Superior to complete and launch
a new vessel much larger than the Discovery, then afloat.
Captain Bayfield, E.N., the British officer surveying the lakes,
wintered at this time with his crew at Port William, and the
work of surveying the lakes promised to take him three
summers. The following entry, September 5th, 1823, shows the con
siderate way in which the Governor sought the advice of his
Council: — "Governor Simpson requested permission to visit
England. If granted, will hold himself ready to return to
Canada in 1826 and proceed by express canoe in time to make
arrangements for the season." At the same date, 1823, a step
in advance was taken in having a permanent and representative
council to regulate the affairs of Eed Eiver Settlement. The
entry reads, " Captain Eobert Parker Pelly, Governor of
Assiniboia, Eev. Mr. West, Eev. Mr. Jones, Mr. Logan added
to the council. Jacob Corrigal, chief trader, appointed sheriff,
vice Andrew Stewart, deceased. Eev. Mr. Jones appointed
chaplain at a salary of 1001. during absence of Mr. West. He
wUl officiate at Eed Eiver."
There Ues before the -writer a work entitled " Peace Eiver ;
a Canoe Voyage from the Hudson Bay to the Pacific." It
was written by Archibald Macdonald and annotated between
forty and fifty years after by Malcolm McLeod of Ottawa. It
gives a graphic account of the state maintained by Governor
Simpson and his method of appealing to the imagination of the
Indians and Company servants alike. The journey was made
from ocean to ocean, the point of departure being York

SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTERESTS 273
Factory, on Hudson Bay, and the destination Port Vancouver,
on the Columbia Eiver. In addition to Macdonald, Governor
Simpson took -with him Dr. Hamlyn as medical adviser, and
in two Ught canoes, provided with nine men each, the party
went with extraordinary speed along the waterways which
had already been the scenes of many a picturesque and even
sanguinary spectacle.
Fourteen chief officers — factors and traders — and as many
more clerks were summoned on July 12th, 1828, to give a send-
off to the important party. As the pageant passed up Hayes
Eiver, loud cheers were given and a salute of seven guns by
the garrison. The voyageurs then struck up one of the
famous chansons by which they beguiled the lonely water
ways, and with then- dashing paddles, hastened away to the
interior. So well pro-rided an expedition, with its tents for camping,
suitable utensUs for the camp fire, arms to meet any danger,
provisions including wine for the gentlemen, and spu'its for
the voyageurs, was not long in ascending the watercourses to
Norway House, where the outlet of Lake Winnipeg was
reached. The arrival at Norway House was signalized by much
pomp. The residents of the fort were on the qui vive for the
important -risitor. The Union Jack, with its magic letters
" H. B. C," floated from the tall flagstaff of Norway pine,
erected on Signal Hill. Indians from their neighbouring
haunts were present in large numbers, and the lordly Eed men,
at their best when " en f6te," were accompanied by bevies of
their dusky mates, who looked with admiring gaze on the
" Kitche Okema " who was arriving.
The party had prepared for the occasion. They had, before
reaching the fort, landed and put themselves in proper trim
and paid as much attention to their toilets as circumstances
would permit. Fully ready, they resumed their journey, and
with flashing paddles speeded through the deep rocky gorge,
quickly turned the point, and from the gaudily painted canoe
of the Governor with high prow, where sat the French Canadian
guide, who for the time commanded, there pealed forth the
strains of the bagpipes, while from the second canoe was heard
T

274 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
the sound of the chief factor's bugle. As the canoes came-
near the shore, the soft and lively notes fell on the ear of
" La Claire Fontaine " from the lively voyageurs. Altogether,
it was a scene very impressive to the'quiet residents of the
post. The time of the Governor was very fully occupied at each
stopping-place. A personal examination and inspection of
each post, of its officers and employes, buildings, books, trade,
and prospects was made with " greatest thoroughness." Fond
as the Governor was of pomp, when the pageant was passed,
then he was a man of iron will and keenest observation. Hia
correspondence at each resting-place was great, and he was
said to be able to do the work of three men, though twelve
years after the date of the present journey he became affected
with partial blindness.
Fort Chipewyan had always maintained its pre-eminence as
an important depot of the fur trade. The travelling ^emperor of
the fur traders was captured by its picturesque position as
well as by its historic memories. Here he found William
McGillivray, with whose name the fur traders conjm-ed, and
under invitation from the Governor tbe former Nor'-Wester
and his family joined the party in crossing the Eockies. The
waving of flags, firing of guns, shouting of the Indians- and
employes, and the sound of singing and bagpipe made the
arrival and departure as notable as it had been at Norway
House. A little more than a month after they had left York Factory
the indomitable travellers entered Peace Eiver, in order to
cross the Eocky Mountains. Fort Vermilion, Fort Dunvegan,
St. John, all had their objects of interest for the party, but one
of the chief was that it was a scarce year, and at Dungevan, as
well as at Fort McLeod across the mountains, there was not
enough of food at hand to supply the visitors. Cases of
dispute were settled by the Governor, who presided with the
air of a chief justice. Caution and advice were given in the
most impressive fashion, after the manner of a father con
fessor, to the Indians, fault being found with their revelries
and the scenes of violence which naturally followed from these.
From McLeod to Fort St. James the journey was made by

SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTERESTS 275
land. Thus the crest of the Eocky Mountains was crossed,
the voyageurs packing on their shoulders the impedimenta, and
horses being provided for the gentlemen of the party. This
was the difficult portage which so often tried the traders.
Fort St. James, it will be remembered, was at Lake Stuart,
where Fraser started on his notable journey down the Fraser
Eiver. It was the chief place and emporium of New Caledonia.
The entry is thus described : " Unfurling the British ensign, it
was given to the guide, who marched first. After him came
the band, consisting of buglers and bagpipers. Next came the
Governor, mounted, and behind him Hamlyn and Macdonald
also on horses. Twenty men loaded like beasts of burden,
formed the line ; after them a loaded horse ; and finally,
McGUli-vray with his -wife and famUy brought up the rear."
Thus arranged, the imposing body was put in motion.
Passing over a gentle elevation, they came in full view of the
fort, when the bugle sounded, a gun was fired, and the bag
pipes struck up the famous march of the clans, " Si coma leum
codaghna sha " (" If you will it, war "). Trader Douglas, who
was in charge of the fort, replied with small ordnance and guns,
after which he advanced and received the distinguished visitors
in front of the fort.
Passing on, by September 24th the party came to Port
Alexandria, four days down the Fraser, and reached Kamloops,
the junction of the North and South Thompson. At every
point of importance, the Governor took occasion to assemble
the natives and employes, and gave them good advice,
" exhorting them to honesty, frugality, temperance," finishing
his prelections -with a gift of tobacco or some commodity
appreciated by them. Eunning rapids, exposed to continual
danger, but fortunate in their many escapes, they reached Port
Langley, near the mouth of the Praser Eiver, two days less
than three months from the time of their starting from York
Factory. From this point, Governor Simpson made his way
to Fort Vancouver on the Columbia, then the chief post on the
Pacific Coast, and in the following year returned over the
mountains, satisfied that he had gained much knowledge and
that he had impressed himself on trader, engage, and Indian
chief aUke.

2 76 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
With marvellous energy, the Governor-in-Chief, as he was
called, covered the vast territory committed to his care.
Establishments in unnecessary and unremunerative places
were cut do-wn or closed. Governor Simpson, while in some
respects fond of the " show and circumstance " which an old
and honourable Company could afford, was nevertheless a keen
business man, and never forgot that he was the head of a
Company whose object was trade. It cannot be denied that
the personal element entered largely into his administration.
He had his favourites among the traders, he was not above
petty revenges upon those who thwarted his plans, and his
decisions were sometimes harsh and tyrannical, but his long
experience, extending over forty years, was marked on the
whole by most successful administration and by a restoration
of the prestige of the Company, so nearly destroyed at the
time of the union.
In the year 1839, when the Colonial Office was engaged in
settling up the Canadian rebellion which a blundering colonial
system had brought upon both Lower and Upper Canada, the
British Government sought to strengthen itself among those
who had loyally stood by British infiuence. Governor Simpson
and the whole staff of the Hudson's Bay Company had been
intensely loyal, and it was most natural and right that tbe
young Queen Victoria, who had lately assumed the reins of
power, should dispense such a favour as that of knighthood on
the doughty leader of the fur traders. Sir George Simpson
worthily bore the honours bestowed upon him by his Sovereign,
and in 1841 undertook a voyage round the world, crossing, as
he did so, Eupert's Land and the territories in his rapid march.
Two portly volumes containing an itinerary of the voyage,
filling nine hundred pages, appeared some five years after this
journey was completed. This work is given in the first person
as a recital by the Governor of what he saw and passed through.
Internal evidence, however, as well as local tradition on the
Eed Eiver show another hand to have been concerned in
giving it a literary form. It is reported that the moulding
agent in style and arrangement was Judge Thom, the
industrious and strong-minded recorder of the Eed Eiver
Settlement.

SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTERESTS 277
The work is dedicated to the directors of the Hudson's Bay
Company. These were nine in number, and their names are
nearly all well known in connection with the trade of this
period. Sir John Henry Pelly, long famous for his leadership,
Andrew Col-rille, Deputy-Governor, who, by family connection
with Lord Selkirk, long held an important place, Benjamin
Harrison, John Halkett, another kinsman of Lord Selkirk, H.
H. Berens, A. Chapman, M.P., Edward Ellice, M.P., a chief
agent in the Union and a most famous trader, the Earl of
Selkirk, the son of the founder, and E. Weynton. The
names of almost all these traders will be found com
memorated in forts and trading-posts throughout Eupert's
Land. Lea-ring London, March 3rd, 1841, the Governor called at
Halifax, but disembarked at Boston, went by land to Montreal,
and na-rigation being open on May 4th on the St. Lawrence,
he and his party started and soon reached Ste. Anne, on
Montreal Island. The e-ridence of the humour of Sir George's
editor, who knew Montreal well, is seen in his referring to
Moore's " Canadian Boat Song," in saying, " At Ste. Anne's
Eapid, on the Ottawa, we neither sang our evening hymn
nor bribed the Lady Patroness with shirts, caps, &c., for a
propitious journey ; but proceeded." Following the old canoe
route, Georgian Bay and Lake Superior were soon passed over,
though on the latter lake the expedition was delayed about a
week by the ice, and here too Sir George met the sad news of
the unfortunate death of his kinsman, Thomas Simpson, of
whom we shall speak more fully in connection with Arctic
exploration. Taking the route from Port William by
Kaministiquia, the travellers hastened over the course by way
of Eainy Lake and Eiver and Lake of tbe Woods. In referring
to Eainy Eiver the somewhat inflated style of the editor makes
Sir George speak without the caution which every fur trader
was directed to cultivate in revealing the resources of the fur
country. A decade afterwards Mr. Eoebuck, before the Com
mittee of the House of Commons, " hackled" Sir George over
this fulsome passage. The passage is : " Prom the very brink
of the river (Eainy Eiver) there rises a gentle slope of green
wood, crowned in many places with a plentiful growth of birch.

278 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
poplar, beech, elm, and oak. Is it too much for the eye of
philanthropy to discern, through the vista of futurity, this
noble stream, connecting, as it does, the fertile shores of two
spacious lakes, with crowded steamboats on its bosom and
populous towns on its borders? "
FoUo-wing the usual route by Eiver Winnipeg, Lake
V/innipeg, and Eed Eiver, Port Garry was soon reached, and
here the Governor somewhat changed his plans. He determined
to cross the prairies by light conveyances, and accordingly on
July 3rd, at five in the morning with his fellow-travellers, with
only six men, three horses, and one light cart, the Emperor of
the Plains left Fort Garry under a salute and with the shout
ing of the spectators, as he started on his journey to skirt the
winding Assiniboine Eiver.
A thousand miles over the prairie in July is one of the most
cheery and delightsome journeys that can be made. The
prairie flowers abound, their colours have not yet taken on the
full blaze of yellow to be seen a month later, and the mosquitoes
have largely passed away on the prairies. The weather,
though somewhat warm, is very rarely oppressive on the
plains, where a breeze may always be felt. This long journey
the party made with most reckless speed — doing it in three
weeks, and arriving at Edmonton House to be received by the
firing of guns and the presence of nine native chiefs of the
Blackfeet, Piegans, Sarcees, and Bloods, dressed in their
grandest clothes and decorated -with scalp locks. " They
implored me," says the Governor, "to grant their horses
might always be swift, that the buffalo might instantly abound,
and that their wives might live long and look young."
Four days sufficed at Edmonton on the North Saskatchewan
to provide the travellers with forty-five fresh horses. They
speedily passed up the Saskatchewan Eiver, meeting bands of
hostile Sarcees, using supplies of pemmican, and soon catching
their first -riew of the white peaks of the Eocky Mountains.
Deep muskegs and dense jungles were often encountered, but
all were overcome by the skill and energy of the expert fur
trader Eowand, their guide. Through clouds of mosquitoes
they advanced until the sublime mountain scenery was beheld
whenever it was not obscm'ed with tbe smoke arising from the

SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTERESTS 279
fires through this region, which was suffering from a very dry
season. At length Port Col-rille, on the Columbia Eiver, was
gained after nearly one thousand miles from Edmonton ; and
this journey, much of it mountaim travelling, had averaged forty
miles a day. The party from Fort Garry had been travelling
constantly for six weeks and five days, and they had averaged
eleven and a half hours a day in the saddle. The weather had
been charming, -with a steady cloudless sky, the winds were
light, the nights cool, and the only thing to be lamented was
the appearance of the whole party, who, -with tattered garments
-and cro-wnless hats, entered the fort.
Embarking below the Chaudiere Falls of the Columbia, the
company took boats, worked by six oars each, and the water
being high they were able to make one hundred, and even
more mUes a day, in due course reaching Fort Vancouver.
At Fort Vancouver Governor Simpson met Trader Douglas
— afterward Sir James Douglas. He accompanied the party,
which now took horses and crossed country by a four days'
journey to Port Nisqually. Here on the shore of Puget Sound
lay the ship Beaver, and embarking on her the party went on
their journey to Sitka, the chief place in Alaska, whence the
Governor exchanged dignified courtesies with tbe Eussian
Governor Etholin, and enjoyed the hospitality of his " pretty
and lady-like " -wife. In addition. Governor Simpson examined
into the Company's operations (the Hudson's Bay Company
had obtained exclusive licence of this sleepy Alaska for twenty
years longer), and found the trade to be 10,000 fur seals, 1000
sea otters, 12,000 beaver, 2600 land otters,  foxes and
martins, 20,000 sea-horse teeth.
The return journey was made, the Beaver calling, as she
came down the coast, at Forts Stikine, Simpson, and
McLoughlin. In due course Port Vancouvdr was reached
again. Sir George's journey to San Francisco, thence to
Sandwich Islands, again direct to Alaska, and then westward
to Siberia, and over the long journey through Siberia on to St.
Petersburg, we have no special need to describe in connection
with our subject. The great traveller reached Britain, having
journeyed round the globe in the manner we have seen, in
nioeteen months and twenty-six days.

2 8o THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Enough has been shown of Sir George's career, his admi
nistration, method of travel, and management, to bring before
us the character of the man. At times he was accompanied on
his voyages to more accessible points by Lady Simpson, alnd
ber name is seen in tbe post of Fort Frances on Eainy Eiver
and in Lake Prances on the upper waters of the Liard Eiver,
discovered and named by Chief Factor Eobert Campbell. Sir
George lived at Lachine, near Montreal, where so many retired
Hudson's Bay Company men have spent the sunset of their
days. He took an interest in business projects in Montreal,
held stock at one time in the Allan Line of steamships, and
was regarded as a leader in business and affairs in Montreal..
He passed away in 1860. Sir B. W. Watkin, in his work,
" EecoUections of Canada and the States," gives a letter from
Governor Dallas, who succeeded Sir George, in which refe
rence is made to " the late Sir George Simpson, who for a
number of years past lived at his ease at Lachine, and attended
more apparently to his own affairs than to those df the
Company." Whether this is a true statement, or simply the
biassed view of Dallas, who was rather rash and inconsiderate,
it is hard for us to decide.
Governor Simpson lifted the fur trade out of the depth into
which it had fallen, harmonised the hostile elements of the two
Companies, reduced order out of chaos in the interior, helped, as
we shall see, various expeditions for the exploration of Eupert's
Land, and though, as tradition goes and as his journey around
tbe world shows, he never escaped from the witchery of a
pretty face, yet the business concerns of tbe Company were
certainly such as to gain the approbation of the financial
world.

CHAPTEE XXX.
THE LIFE OF THE TEADEES.
Lonely trading posts — Skilful letter writers — Queer old Peter Fidler
— Famous library — A remarkable will — ^A stubborn Highlander —
Life at Red River — Badly-treated Pangman — Founding trading
houses — Beating up recruits — Priest Provencher — A fur-trading
mimic — Life far north — " Ruled with a rod of iron " — Seeking a
fur country — Life in the canoe — A trusted trader — Sheaves of
letters — A find in Edinburgh — Faithful correspondents— The
Bishop's cask of wine — Red River, a " land of Canaan" —
Governor Simpson's letters — The gigantic Archdeacon writes —
" MacArgrave's " promotion — Kindly Sieveright — Traders and
their books.
It was an empire that Governor Simpson established in the
solitudes of Eupert's Land. The chaos which had resulted
from the disastrous conflict of the Companies was by this
Napoleon of the fur trade reduced to order. Men who had
been in arms against one another — Macdonell against
Macdonell, McLeod against McLeod — learned to work
together and gathered around the same Council Board. The
trade was put upon a paying basis, the Indians were en
couraged, and under a peaceful rule the better life of the
traders began to grow up.
It is true this social life was in many respects unique. The
trading posts were often hundreds of miles apart, being
scattered over the area from Labrador to New Caledonia.
Still, during the summer, brigades of traders carried communi
cations from post to post, and once or twice in winter the
swift-speeding dog-trains hastened for hundreds of miles with
letters and dispatches over the icy wastes. There grew
up during the well-nigh forty years of George Simpson's
governorship a comradeship of a very strong and influential
kind. .

282 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Leading posts like York Factory on Hudson Bay, Fort Garry
in the Eed Eiver settlement. Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie
Eiver, and Fort Victoria on the Pacific Coast, were not only
business centres, but kept alive a Hudson's Bay Company
sentiment which those who have not met it can hardly under
stand. Letters were written according to the good old style.
Not mere telegraphic summaries and business orders as at the
present day, but real news-letters — necessary and all the more
valuable because there were no newspapers in the land. The
historian of to-day finds himself led back to a very remarkable
and interesting social life as he reads the collection of traders'
letters and hears the tales of retired factors and officers.
Specimens and condensed statements from these materials
may help us to picture the life of the period.
QUEEE OLD PETEE FIDLEE.
Traditions have come down from this period of men who
were far from being commonplace in their lives and habits.
Among the most peculiar and interesting of these was an
English trader, Peter Fidler, who for forty years played bis
part among the trying events preceding Governor Simpson's
time, and closed bis career in the year after the union of the
Companies. The quaint old trader, Peter Fidler, is said to
have belonged to the town of Balsover, in the County of Derby,
England, and was born August 16th, 1769. From his own
statement we know that he kept a diary in the ser-rice of the
Company beginning in 1791, from which it is inferred that
he arrived in Eupert's Land about that time and was then
engaged in the fur trade. Eight years afterwards he was at
Green Lake, in the Saskatchewan district, and about the
same time in Isle k la Crosse. In this region he came into
active competition with the North-West Company traders,
and became a most strenuous upholder of the claims of the
Hudson's Bay Company.
Promoted on account of his administrative ability, he is
found in the early years of the new century at Cumberland
House, the oldest post of the Company in the interior. His
length of service at the time of the establishment of the Selkirk
colony being above twenty years, he was entrusted with the

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS 283
conduct of one of the parties of Settlers from Hudson Bay to
Eed Eiver.
In his will, a copy of which lies before the writer, it is made
quite e-rident that Fidler was a man of education, and he left his
collection of five hundred books to be the nucleus of a library
which was afterwards absorbed into the Eed Eiver library, and
of which volumes are to be Seen in Winnipeg to this day.
But Fidler was very much more than a mere^ fur trader.
He is called in his will " Surveyor " and trader for the
Honourable Hudson's Bay Company. He was stated to have
made the boundary survey of the district of Assiniboia, the
limits of which have been already referred to in the chapter on
Lord Selkirk. He also surveyed the lots for the Selkirk
settlers, in what was at that time the parish of Kildonan. The
plan of the Selkirk settlement made by him may be found in
Amos's Trials and in the Blue Book of 1819, and this proved
to be of great value in the troublesome lawsuits arising out
of the disputes between the fur companies. The plan itself
states that the lots were established in 1814 ; and we find
them to be thirty-six in number.
About the same time Fidler was placed in charge of the
Eed Eiver district, and it is said that the traders and clerks
found him somewhat arbitrary and headstrong. As the
troubles were coming on, and Governor Semple had taken
command of the Eed Eiver Company's fort and colony, Fidler
was placed in charge of Brandon House, then a considerable
Hudson's Bay Company Fort. He gives an account of the
hostilities between the Companies there and of the seizure of
arms. He continues actively engaged in the Company's service,
and from his will being made at Norway House, this would
seem to have been his headquarters, although in the official
statement of the administration of his effects he is stated to
be " late of York Factory."
Mr. Justice Archer Martin in his useful book, "Hudson's
Bay Company's Land Tenure," gives us an interesting letter
of Alexander McLean to Peter Fidler, dated 1821. This is the
time of the Union of the Hudson's Bay Company and the
North-West Company. In the letter mention is made of the
departure for New York of (Mr. Nicholas) Garry, a gentleman

284 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
of the honourable committee, and of Mr. Simon McGillivray,
one of the North-West Company. We have spoken elsewhere
of Mr. Garry's -risit, and a few years afterward Fort Garry
was named after this officer.
The chief interest to us, however, centres in Pidler's
eccentric will. We give a synopsis of it : —
(1) He requests that he may be buried at the colony of Eed
Eiver should he die in that vicinity.
(2) He directs that his journals, covering twenty-five or thirty
years, also four or five vellum bound books, being a fair copy
of the narrative of his journeys, as well as astronomical and
meteorological and thermometrical observations, also his
manuscript maps, be given to the committee of the Honourable
Hudson's Bay Company.
(3) The books already mentioned making up his library,
his printed maps, two sets of twelve inch globes, a large
achromatic telescope, Wilson's microscope, and a brass sextant,
a barometer, and all bis thermometers were to be taken by the
Governor of the Eed Eiver colony and kept in Government
hands for the general good of the Selkirk colonists.
(4) Cattle, swine, and poultry, which he had purchased for
one hundred pounds from John Wills of the North-West
Company, the builder of Fort Gibraltar, were to be left for
the sole use of the colony, and if any of his children were to
ask for a pair of the aforesaid animals or fowls their request
was to be granted.
(5) To his Indian wife, Mary Fidler, he bequeathed fifteen
pounds a year for life to be paid to her in goods from the
Hudson's Bay Company store, to be charged against his
interest account in the hands of the Company.
(6) The will required further that of all the rest of the money
belonging to him, in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company
or the Bank of England, as well as the legacy left him by hiff
Uncle Jasper Fidler and other moneys due him, the interest be
divided among his children according to their needs.
(7) After the interest of Pidler's money had been dirided
among his children till the youngest child Peter should come
of age, the testator makes the following remarkable disposal of
tbe residue : " All my money in the funds and other personal

w'jmmi^'^t-^k

_->)

^v.

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS 285
property after the youngest child has attained twenty-one
years of age, to be placed in the pubUc funds, and the interest
annually due to be added to the capital and continue so until
August 16th, 1969 (I being born on that day two hundred
years before), when the whole amount of the principal and
interest so accumulated I will' and desire to be then placed at
the disposal of the next male child heir in direct descent from
my son Peter Fidler" or to the next-of-kin. He leaves his
" Copyhold land and new house situated in tbe town of
Bolsover, in the county of Derby," after the death of Mary
Fidter, the mother of the testator, to be given to his youngest
son, Peter Fidler.
This will was dated on August 16th, 1821, and Fidler died
in the foUo-wing year. The executors nominated were the
Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, the Governor of the
Selkirk settlement, and the secretary of the Hudson's Bay
Company. Some time after the death of this peculiar man, John Henry
Pelly, Governor-in-Chief of the Hudson's Bay Company,
Donald McKenzie, Governor of the Selkirk settlement, and
WilUami Smith, Secretary of the Hudson's Bay Company,
renounced the probate and execution of the will, and in
October, 1827, " Thomas Fidler," his natural and lawful son,
was appointed by the court to administer the will.
A considerable amount of interest in this will has been
sho-wn by the descendants of Peter Fidler, a number of whom
stUl live in the province of Manitoba, on the banks of the Eed
and Assiniboine Eivers. Lawyers have from time to time
been appointed to seek out the residue, which, under tbe will,
ought to be in process of accumulation till 1969, but no trace
of it can be found in Hudson's Bay Company or Bank of
England accounts, though diligent search has been made.
STUBBOEN JOHN MCLEOD.
John McLeod has already figured in our story. Coming
out with Lord Selkirk's first party from the Island of Lewis,
as one of the " twelve or thirteen young gentleman clerks,"
he, as we have seen, gave a good account of himself in the
*' imminent and deadly breach," when he defended the

286 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Hudson's Bay Company encampment at the Forks against the
fierce Nor'-Westers. His journal account of that struggle we
found to be well told, even exciting. It further gives a
picture of the fur trader's life, as seen with British eyes,
and by one of Hudson's Bay Company sympathies.
He met at the Forks, immediately on his arrival, three
chiefs of the Nor'-Westers. One of these was John WiUs,
who, as an old X Y trader, had joined the Nor'-Westers and
shortly after built Port Gibraltar. A second of the trio was
Benjamin Frobisher, of the celebrated Montreal firm of that
name, who perished miserably, and the last was Alexander
Macdonell, who was commonly kno-wn as " Yellow Head,"
and afterward became the " Grasshopper Governor."
McLeod vividly describes the scene on his arrival, when the
Hudson's Bay Company, as represented by trader William
Hillier, formally transferred to Miles Macdonell, Lord Selkirk's
agent, the grant of land and the privileges pertaining thereto.
The ceremony was performed in the presence of the settlers
and other spectators. McLeod quaintly relates that tbe
three bourgeois mentioned were present on his invitation, but
Wills would not allow his men to witness the transaction,
which consisted of reading over the concession and handing
it to Macdonell. Hugh Henney, the local officer in charge
of the Hudson's Bay Company affairs, then read over the
concession in French for the benefit of the voyageurs and free
traders. McLeod relates a misadventure of irascible Peter Fidler in
deaUng with a trader, Pangman, who afterward figured in Eed
Eiver affairs. After Henney had taken part in the formal
cession, he departed, leaving McLeod and Pangman in charge
of the Hudson's Bay Company interests at the Forks.
McLeod states that prior to this time (1813), the Hudson's
Bay Company " had no house at this place," thus disposing of
a local tradition that there was a Hudson Bay trading post
at the Porks before Lord Selkirk's time. McLeod, however,
proceeded immediately to build "a good snug house." This
was ready before the return of the fall craft (trade), and it was
this house that McLeod so valiantly defended in the following
year.

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS 287
During the summer McLeod found Pangman very useful in
meeting the opposition of the North-West Company traders.
Peter Pangman was a German who had come from the United
States, and was hence called " Bostonnais Pangman," the title
Bostonnais being used in the fur-trading country for an
American. Fidler, who had charge of the district for the
Hudson's Bay Company, refused to give the equipment
promised by Henney to Pangman. McLeod speaks of the
supreme blunder of thus losing, for the sake of a few pounds,
the service of so capable a man as Pangman. Pangman left
the Hudson's Bay Company service, joined the Nor'-Westers,
and was ever after one of the most bitter opponents of the
older Company. After many a hostile blow dealt to his
opponents, Pangman retired to Canada, where he bought the
Seigniory of Lachenaie, and his son was an influential public
man in Lower Canada, Hon. John Pangman.
Events of interest rapidly followed one another at the time
of the troubles. After the fierce onset at the Porks had been
met by McLeod, he was honoured by being sent 500 miles
south-westward by his senior officer, Colin Eobertson, with
horses, carts, and goods, to trade with the Indians on the
plains. This daring journey he accompUshed with only three
men — " an Orkneyman and two Irishmen." In early winter
he had returned to Pembina, where he was to meet the newly-
appointed Governor, Eobert Semple. McLeod states that
Semple was appointed under the resolution of the Board of
Directors in London on May 19th, 1811, first Governor of
Assiniboia. From this w^e are led to think that Miles
Macdonell was Lord Selkirk's agent only, and was Governor
by courtesy.
The unsettled state of the country along the boundary line
is sho-wn in a frightful massacre spoken of by McLeod. On a
journey down the Eed Eiver, McLeod had spent a night near
Christmas time in a camp of the Saulteaux Indians. He had
taken part in their festivities and passed the night in their
tents. He was horrified to hear a few days after at Pembina
that a band of Sioux had, on the night of the feast, fallen
upon the camp of Saulteaux, which was composed of thirty-six
warriors, and that all but three of those making up the camp

288 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
had been brutally killed in a night attack. On his return to
his post McLeod passed the scene of the terrible massacre,
and he says he saw "the thirty-three slain bodies scalped, the
knives and arrows and all that had touched their flesh being
left there."
McLeod was noted for his energy in building posts. He
erected an establishment on Turtle Eiver ; and in the year
after built a trading house beyond Lake Winnipeg, at the
place where Oxford House afterward stood.
McLeod, being possessed of courage and energy, was sent
west to Saskatchewan, where, having wintered in the district
with traders Bird and Pruden, and faced many dangers and
hardships, he returned to Eed Eiver and was among those
arrested by the Nor'-Westers. He was sent to Montreal,
where, after some delay, the charge against him was
summarily dismissed. He was, while there, summoned as a
witness in the case against Eeinhart in Quebec.
In Montreal McLeod was rejoiced to meet Lady Selkirk, the
wife of his patron, from whom he received tokens of confidence
and respect.
The trader bad a hand in the important movement by which
Lord Selkirk provided for his French and German dependents
on the Eed Eiver, who belonged to tbe Eoman Catholic faith,
the ordinances of religion. As we shall see. Lord Selkirk
secured, according to his promise, the two priests Provencher
and Dumoulin, and with them sent out a considerable number
of French Canadians to Eed Eiver.
McLeod's account of his part in the matter is as follows : —
' ' On my way between Montreal and Quebec, I took occasion,
with the help of the good Eoman Catholic priests Dumoulin of
Three Eivers, and Provencher of Montreal, to beat up recruits
for the Hudson's Bay Company service and the colony among
the French Canadians. On the opening of navigation about
May 1st, I started, in charge with a brigade of seven large
canoes, and with about forty Canadians, some with their families
headed by my two good friends the priests — the first mission
aries in the north since the time of the French before the
conquest. Without any loss or difficiUty, I conducted the
whole through to Norway House, whence in due course they

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS 289
were taken in boats and schooner to Eed Eiver. At this place
we had a navy on the lake, but lately under the command of
Lieutenant Holt, one of the victims of 1816. Holt had been of
the S-«'edish navy."
At Norway House McLeod's well-known ability and trust
worthiness led to his appointment to the far West, " and from
this time forth his field was northward to the Arctic." He had
the distinguished honour of establishing a permanent highway,
by a Une of suitable forts and trade establishments to the Peace
Eiver region. While in charge of his post he had the pleasure
of entertaining Franklin (the noble Sir John) on his first
Arctic land expedition, and afterwards at Norway House saw
the same distinguished traveller on his second journey to the
interior of the North land.
After the union of the Companies, McLeod, now raised to the
position of Chief Trader, was the first officer of the old Hudson's
Bay Company to be sent across the Eocky Mountains to take
charge of the district in New Caledonia. Among the restless
and vindictive natives of that region he continued for many
years with a good measure of success, and ended up a career of
thirty-seven years as a successful trader and thorough defender
of the name and fame of the Hudson's Bay Company, by
retiring to spend the remainder of his days, as so many of the
traders did, upon the Ottawa Eiver.
WILLAED FEEDINAND WENTZEL'S DISLIKES AND THE NEW
E]fiGIME.
Wentzel was a Norwegian who had entered the North-West
Company in 1799, and spent most of his time in the Athabasca
and Mackenzie Eiver districts, where he passed the hard life of
a "-winterer" in the northern department. He was intelligent,
but a mimic — and this troublesome cleverness prevented his
promotion in the Company. He co-operated with Franklin the
explorer in his journey to the Arctic Ocean. Wentzel was a
musician — according to Franklin "an excellent musician."
This talent of his brightened the long and dreary hom-s of life
and contributed to keep all cheerful around him. A collection
of the voyageur songs made by him is in existence, but they
are somewhat gross. Wentzel married a Montagnais Indian
u

2 90 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
woman, by whom he had two children. One of them lived
on the Eed Eiver and built the St. Norbert Eoman Catholic
Church in 1855. From Wentzel's letters we quote extracts
showing the state of feeling at the time of the union of the fur
companies in 1821 and for a few years afterwards.
March 26th, 1821. — " In Athabasca, affairs seem to revive ;
the natives are beginning to be subjected by the rivalship in
trade that has been carried on so long, and are heartily desirous
of seeing themselves once more in peaceable times, which
makes tbe proverb true that says, ' Too much of a good thing
is good for nothing.' Besides, the Hudson's Bay Company
have apparently realized the extravagance of their measures ;
last autumn they came into the department with fifteen canoes
only, containing each about fifteen pieces. Mr. Simpson
(afterward Sir George), a gentleman from England last spring,
superintends their business. His being a stranger, and
reputedly a gentlemanly man, will not create much alarm, nor
do I presume him formidable as an Indian trader. Indeed,
Mr. Leith, who manages the concerns of the North-West
Company in Athabasca, has been so liberally supplied with
men and goods that it will be almost wonderful if the opposi
tion can make good a subsistence during the winter. Fort
Chipewyan alone has an equipment of no less than seventy
men, enough to crush their rivals." (Editor's note. — Another
year saw Simpson Governor of the United Company.)
Ap-il 10th, 1823. — " Necessity rather than persuasion, how
ever, influenced me to remain ; my means for future support
are too slender for me to give up my employment, but the late
revolution in the affairs of the country (the coalition of the
Hudson's Bay Company with the North-West Company in
1821) now obliges me to leave it the ensuing year, as the
advantages and prospects are too discouraging to hold forth a
probability of clearing one penny for future support. Salaries
do not exceed one hundred pounds sterling, out of which clerks
must purchase every necessity, even tobacco, and the prices
of goods at the Bay are at the rate of one hundred and fifty or
three hundred per cent, on prime cost, therefore I shall take
this opportunity of humbly requesting your adrice how to
settle my little earnings, which do not much exceed five
hundred pounds, to the best advantage."

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS

2QI

March 1st, 1824. — " Eespecting the concerns of the North-
West (country), little occurs that can be interesting to Canada.
Furs have lost a great deal of their former value in Europe, and
many of the chief factors and traders would -wilUngly compound
for their shares -with the Company for one thousand five
hundred pounds, in order to retire from a country which has
become disgusting and irksome to all classes. Still, the returns
-are not altogether unprofitable ; but debts, disappointments,
and age seem to oppress everyone alike. Engages' prices are
now reduced to twenty-five pounds annually to a boute (fore
man), and twenty pounds to middlemen, without equipment or
any perquisites whatever. In fact, no class enjoys the gratuity
•of an equipment. Besides, the committee at home insist upon
being paid for families residing in posts and belonging to
partners, clerks, or men, at the rate of two shillings for every
woman and child over fourteen years of age, one shilling for
every chUd under that age. This is complained of as a
-grievance by all parties, and must eventually become very hard
on some who have large families to support. In short, the
North-West is now beginning to be ruled -with a rod of
iron." (Evidently Wentzel is not an admirer of the new
Tegime.) finlay' S SBAECH FOE FUE.
The name of Finlay was a famous one among the traders.
As we have seen, James Finlay was one of the first to leave
Montreal, and penetrate among the tribes of Indians, in search
of fur, to the far distant Saskatchewan. His son James was a
trader, and served in the firm of Gregory, McLeod & Co. As was
not uncommon, ¦ these traders had children by the Indian
women, ha-ring a " country marriage," as it was caUed. As
the result of these there was connected with the Finlay family
a half-breed named Jaceo, or Jacko Finlay, who took his part
in exploration in the Eocky Mountains in company with David
Thompson. Besides these, there was a well-known trader,
John Finlay, who is often difficult to separate from the other
traders of the name.
The writer has lying before him a manuscript, never hitherto
published, entitled " A Voyage of Discovery from the Eocky

293 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Mountain Portage in Peace Eiver, to the Sources of Pinlay's
Branch, and North-Westward: Summer, 1824." This is
certified by Chief Factor McDougaU, to-day of Prince Albert,
to be the journal of John Finlay. As it illustrates the methods
by which the fur country was opened, we give a few extracts.
May 13th. — " Eainy weather. In the evening, left Eocky
Mountain Portage establishment. Crossed over to the portage
and encamped for the night. . . . The expedition people are
as follows : six effective canoe men, Joseph Le Guard, Antoine
Perreault (bowman), Joseph Cunnayer, J. B. Tourangeau,
J. M. Bouche, and Louis Olsen (middleman), M. McDonald,
Manson, and myself, besides Le Prise and wife, in all ten
persons. Le Prise is in the double capacity of hunter and
interpreter." Finlay speaks of ' ' The existing troubles in this quarter
caused by the murderers of our people at St. John's, roving
about free and, it is said, menacing all; but as this is an
exploratory voyage, and the principal motive to ascertain the
existence of beaver in the country we are bound for, we shall
do our best to accomplish the intentions of the voyage."
11th. — " Encamped at the hill at the little lake on the top
of the hills at the west side of the Portage. Mr. M. shot a
large fowl of the grouse kind, larger than the black heath cock
in Scotland. Found some dried salmon in exchange with Mr.
Stunt for pemmican — a meal for his men, and this year he seems
independent of the Peace Eiver, at least as far as Dunvegan :
they have nothing in prorisions at the Portage."
Finlay is very much in the habit of describing the rock
formations seen on his voyage. His descriptions are not very
valuable, for he says, " I am not qualified to give a scientific
description of the different species and genera of the different
substances composing the strata of the Eocky Mountains."
22nd May. — "In this valley, about four mUes before us right
south, Pinlay's branch comes in on the right : a mile and a
half below Pinlay's branch made a portage of five hundred
paces. At a rapid here we found the Canny cache (a hiding
place for valuables) ; said to be some beaver in it of last year's
hunt." '2,3rd. — "Met a band of Indians, who told us they were

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS 293
going up the small river — (evidently this had been named after
the elder Finlay, as this instances its famUiarity) — on the left,
to pass the summer, and a little before another river on the
right ; that there were some beavers in it, but not so many as
the one they were to pass the summer in."
24i/i. — "To-day some tracks of the reindeer, mountain sheep,
and goats, but the old slave (hunter) has kUled nothing but a
fowl or beaver now and then."
25th. — " I have never seen in any part of the country such
luxuriance of wood as hereabout, the valley to near the tops of
the mountains on both sides covered with thick, strong, dark-
green branching pines. We see a good many beaver and some
fowl, game (bustards), and duck, but kill few."
Finlay declares to the slave, the hunter of his party, his
'intention to go up the large branch of the Finlay. " This is a
disappointment to him as well as to the people, who have
indulged their imaginations on this route falling on the Liard
Eiver, teeming in beaver and large animals."
Ith June. — " This afternoon we have seen a great deal of
beaver work, and killed some bustards and Canadian grey
geese ; we have seen no swans, and the ducks, with few
exceptions, are shabby."
Finlay gives a statement of his journey made so far, thus : —
Rocky Mountain Portage to entrance of Pinlay's
Branch  6 days.
To Deserter's Portage  4 »>
To Large Branch  5 „
To Point Du Mouton  4 „
To end of Portage  4 „
To Fishing Lakes  3 „
26 days.
FINLAY GIVES HIS VIEWS AS TO A " BEAVBE OOUNTEY."
" In some of the large rivers coming into Pinlay's branch,
where soft ground with wood, eligible for beaver, had been
accumulated, beaver were to be found. Otherwise, except
such places as here and there, the whole country is one con
tinued mountain valley of rock and stone, and can by no
means come under the denomination of a beaver country, in

294 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
the common acceptation of the word, on the waters of the-
Hudson's Bay and Mackenzie Eiver."
June 15th. — "Very fine warm weather ; huge masses of snow
falling down from the mountains with a noise resembling-
thunder. Those snow d&boules seem irresistible, shivering the-
trees to atoms, carrying all clean before them, forming ruins
as if the Tower of Babel or the Pyramids of Egypt had been
thrown down from their foundations."
Jwie 29th. — " Made a good fishery to-day : 7 trout, 12 carp,
1 small white fish, like those at McLeod's lake in Western
Caledonia." Pinlay closes his journal of seventy-five closely-written
quarto pages at the lake high in the mountains, where he
saw a river rising. This lake we see from the map to be the
source of the Liard Eiver.
A TEUSTED TEADEE AND HIS FEIENDS.
Not very long ago it was the good fortune of the -writer to
be in Edinburgh. He was talking to his friend, a well-known
Writer to the Signet. The conversation turned on the old fur-
trading days, and in a short time author and la-wyer found
themselves four stories high, in a garret, examining boxes,
packages, and effects of James Hargrave and his son Joseph,
who as fur traders, father and son, had occupied posts in
the Hudson's Bay Company service extending from 1820 to
1892. Several cases were filled with copies of a book entitled "Eed
Eiver," published by the younger Hargrave in 1871. Other
boxes enclosed tbe library of father and son. Two canvass
bags contained many pounds of new farthings, which, by some
strange mischance, had found their way to the Hudson Bay
and had been returned as useless. Miscellaneous articles of
no value to the searchers lay about, but in one large valise
were many bundles of letters. These were done up in the most
careful manner. The packages were carefully tied with red
tape, and each, securely sealed with three black ominous seals,
emphasized the effect of the directions written on them, in
some cases " to be opened only by my son," in others, " to be
opened only by my children." After some delay the per-

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS 295
mission of the heirs was obtained, and the packages were
opened and examined.
They were all letters written between 1821 and 1869 by
fur-trading friends to James Hargrave, who had carefully
preserved them, folded, docketed, and arranged them, and
who had, in the last years of his life at " Burnside House," his
residence at Brockville, Canada, kept the large correspondence
as the "apple of his eye." The vast majority of the letters,
numbering many hundreds in all, had been addressed to York
Factory. For most of his life Hargrave had been in charge of
York Factory, on Hudson Bay. York Factory was during the
greater part of this fur trader's life, as it had been for more
than a century before his time, the port of entry to which
goods brought by ship from Britain had been borne to the
interior of Eupert's Land, and also the port from which the
ships had carried their precious cargoes of furs to the mother
country. James Hargrave had thus become the trusted
correspondent of governor and merchant, of bishop and clergy
man, of medical man and educationist. He was emphatically
a middleman, a sort of Janus, looking with one face to the
London merchants and with the other to the dwellers in
Eupert's Land.
But Hargrave was also a letter-writer, and a receiver of
many news letters and friendly letters, a man who enjoyed
conversation, and when this could not be had with his friends
tete-a-tete, his social chats were carried on by means of letters,
many months and even years apart. By degrees he rose in
the service. From the first a friend of the emperor-governor,
he has the good wishes of his friends expressed for his first
rise to the post of chief trader, which he gained in 1833,
and by-and-bye came his next well-deserved promotion to be
chief factor in 1844.
Along with all these letters was a book handsomely bound
for keeping accounts and private memoranda. This book
shows James Hargrave to have been a most methodical and
painstaking man. In it is contained a list of all the
promotions to official positions of commissioned officers for
nearly forty years, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Here
also is an account of his investments, and the satisfactory

296 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
statement that, during his nearly forty years of service, his
shares of the profits, investments, and re-investments of what
he did not use, allowed him to retire from active service with,
as tbe result of his labour, about 8700Z.
The writer has sought to glean from the hundreds of letters
in the Edinburgh garret what is interesting in the life of
Eupert's Land, so far as is shown in the writing and acting of
this old fur trader and his friends.
Many of the letters are from Governor Simpson. These
letters of the Governor are chiefly written from Eed Eiver or
Norway House — the former the " Fur Traders' Paradise," the
latter the meeting-place of the Council, held once a year to
decide all matters of business. Occasionally a letter of the
Governor's is from Bas de la Eiviere (i.e. the mouth of the
Winnipeg Eiver), written by that energetic officer, as might be
said, " on the wing," and in a few cases from London, England,
whither frequently Governor Simpson crossed on the business
of the Company.
Governor Simpson's remarks as to society in Eed Eiver,
1831, are keen and -amusing : — " As yet we have had one fete,
which was honoured by the presence of all the elegance and
dignity of the place from his Eeverence of Juliopolis (Bishop
Provencher) down to friend Cook, who (the latter) was as
grave and sober as a bishop. . . . By-the-bye, we have got a
very ' rum ' fellow of a doctor here now : the strangest com
pound of skill, simplicity, selfishness, extravagance, musical
taste, and want of courtesy, I ever fell in with. The people
are living on the fat of the earth, in short, Eed Eiver is a
perfect land of Canaan as far as good cheer goes. ... Do me
me the favour to pick out a couple pounds of choice snuff for
me and send them by Mr. Miles."
A short time after this, Governor Simpson, -writing, says,
speaking of the completion of St. John's Church, afterward
the Cathedral Church, and referring to the discontent of the
Selkirk settlers, with which he had small sympathy, " We have
got into the new church, which is really a splendid edifice for
Eed Eiver, and the people are less clamorous about a Gaelic
minister than they were." The good Governor had his pleasant
fling at the claim made by the Highlanders to have their

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS 297
private stills when he says, " And about whiskey they say not
one word, now that rum is so cheap, and good strong ' heavy
wet ' in general use." Speaking of one of the chief officers
who was off duty, the Governor says, " Chief Factor Charles is
like a fish out of water, having no musquash to count, nor
Chipewyans to trade with ; he is as brisk and active as a boy,
and instead of sho-wing any disposition to retire, wishes to
volunteer to put a finishing hand to the as yet fruitless attempt
at discovering the North-West passage."
Governor Simpson knows well the art of flattery, and his
skill in managing his large force of Company officers and men
is well seen. He states to Hargrave that he once predicted at
the board that the traders of York Factory would yet have a
seat at the Board. This, he stated, gave mortal offence to
some members, but he was to bear the prediction in mind. He
compliments him on sending the best-written letter that he
has received for a long time, and we find that in the following
year Hargrave was made Chief Trader. This was the occasion
for numerous congratulations from his friends Archdeacon
Cochrane of Eed Eiver, Trader Sieveright, and others.
The news of the time was common subject of discussion
between the traders in their letters. Governor Simpson gave
an account of the outbreak of cholera in the eastern states
and pro-rinces, and traces in a very graphic way its dangerous
approach towards Eupert's Land. Up to August, 1832, fifteen
hundred people had died in Montreal. The pestilence had
reached Mackinaw, and two hundred of the steam-boat
passengers were carried off, and some near Sault Ste. Marie.
"God grant," says the Governor, "it may not penetrate
further into our wilds, but the chances are decidedly against
us." That the Hudson's Bay Company officers were not traders
only is made abundantly e-rident. In one of his letters,
Governor Simpson states that their countryman. Sir Walter
Scott, has just passed away, he thanks Hargrave for sending
him copies of Blackwood's Magazine, and orders are often
given for fresh and timely books. A little earlier we find the
minute interest which the fur traders took in public events in
a letter from Chief Factor John Stuart, after whom Stuart's

298 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Lake, in New Caledonia, was named. He speaks to Hargrave
of the continuation of Southey's " History of tbe War of the
Peninsula " not being published, and we know from other
sources that this History fell still-born, but Stuart goes on to
say that he had sent for Col. Napier's History of the Penin
sular War." " Napier's politics," says Stuart, " are different,
and we shall see whether it is the radical or a laurel (Southey was
poet laureate) that deserves the palm." These examples but
illustrate what all close observers notice, that the officers of
the Hudson's Bay Company not only read to purpose, but
maintained a keen outlook for the best and most finished
contemporary Uterature. Much additional evidence might be
supplied on this point.
All through Governor Simpson's letters there is a strain of
sympathy for the people of the Company that is very beautiful.
These show that instead of being a hard and tyrannical man,
the Governor had a tender heart. In one of his letters he
expresses sympathy for Trader Heron, who had met misfortune.
He speaks of his great anxiety for a serious trouble that had
arisen in Eev. Mr. Jones's school at Eed Eiver, and hopes that
it may not injure education ; he laments at considerable length
over Mr. J. S. McTavish's unfortunate accident. Having heard
of Hargrave's long illness he sends a letter of warm sympathy,
and this in the midst of a flying visit, and in London in tbe
following year pays every attention by giving kind, hospitable
invitations to Hargrave to enjoy the society of himself and
Lady Simpson.
The racy letters of Governor Simpson are by no means more
interesting than those of many others of Hargrave's friends.
Ordinary business letters sometimes seem to have a humorous
turn about them even fifty years after they were written. The
Eoman Catholic Bishop Provencher (Bishop of Juliopolis in
partibus infidelium) affords an example of this. He writes in
great distress to Hargrave as to the loss of a cask of white
wine {une barrique de vin blanc). He had expected it by the
York boats sent do-wn by the great Eed Eiver merchant, Andrew
McDermott. . . . The cask had not arrived. The good Bishop
cannot understand it, but presumes, as it is December when
he writes, that it wUl come in tbe spring. The Bishop's last

THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS 299
remark is open to a double meaning, when he says, " Leave it
as it is, for he will take it without putting it in barrels."
The Bishop in a more important matter addresses Governor
Simpson, and the Governor forwards his letter to York Factory.
In this Bishop Provencher thanks him for giving a voyage in
the canoes, from Eed Eiver to Montreal, to Priest Harper, and
for bringing up Sub-Deacon Poir^, a " young man of talent."
He also gives hearty thanks for a passage, granted by the
Governor on the fur traders' route from the St. Lawrence, to
two stone masons. " I commence," he said, " to dig the
foundation of my church to-morrow." He asks for a passage
down and up for members of his ecclesiastical staff. He wants
from York Factory forty or fifty hoes for Mr. Belcour to use in
teaching the Indians to cultivate potatoes and Indian corn, and
he naively remarks, " while thus engaged, he will at the same
time cultivate their spirits and their hearts by the preaching
of the Word of God." The eye for business is seen in the
Bishop's final remark that he thinks " that the hoes from the
Bay will cost much less than those made by the smiths at Eed
Eiver." Archdeacon Cochrane, a man of gigantic form and of
amazing bonhomie, who has been called the ' ' founder of the
Church of England on Eed Eiver," writes several interesting
letters. Beginning with business he drifts into a friendly talk.
One of his letters deals with the supplies for the school he had
opened (1831) at St. Andrew's, Eed Eiver, another sings the
praises of his new church at the rapids : " It is an elegant little
church, pewed for three hundred and forty people, and finished
in the neatest manner it could be for Eed Eiver. The ceiUng
is an arc of an ellipse, painted light blue. The moulding and
pulpit bro-wn ; the jambs and sashes of the windows white."
A little of the inner working of the fur-trading system in the
predominance of Scottish influence is exhibited by Archdeacon
Cochrane in one letter to Hargrave. Eecurring to Hargrave's
promotion to the chief tradership, not yet bestowed, the old
clergyman quaintly says, "Are you likely to get another feather
in your cap ? I begin to think that your name will have to
be changed into MacArgrave. A 'mac ' before your name would
produce a greater effect than all the rest of your merits put

300 THE HUDSON'S BA Y COMPANY
together. Can't you demonstrate that you are one of the
descendants of one of the great clans ? "
Among the correspondence is a neat little note to Hargrave
(1826) from Eev. David Jones, the Archdeacon's predecessor,
written at Eed Eiver, asking his company to a family dinner
on the next Monday, at 2 p.m. ; and a delicate missive from
Acting-Governor Bulger of Eed Eiver, asking Hargrave to
accept a small quantity of snuff.
Among Hargrave's correspondents are such notable fur
traders as Cuthbert Grant, the leader of the Bois Brdles, who
had settled down on White Horse Plains, on the Assiniboine
Eiver, and was the famous captain of the buffalo hunters ; and
WilUam ConoUy, the daring Chief Factor of New Caledonia.
Events, in Port ChurchiU, are well described in the extensive
correspondence of J. G. McTavish, long stationed there ; and
good Governors Finlayson and McMillan of Eed Eiver are well
represented ; as well as Alexander Eoss, the historian of the
Eed Eiver affairs. A full account of the wanderings from
York Factory to the far distant Pacific slope of Mr. George
Barnston, who afterwards was well known in business circles
as a resident of Montreal, could be gathered, did time permit,
from a most regular correspondence with Hargrave.
Probably the man most after the York Chief Factor's own
heart was a good letter writer, John Sieveright, who early
became Chief Trader and afterwards Chief Factor in 1846.
Sieveright had become acquainted with Hargrave at Sault Ste.
Marie. Afterwards he was removed to Fort Coulonge on the
Upper Ottawa, but he still kept up his interest in Hargrave
and the affairs of Eupert's Land. Sieveright has a play of
humour and pleasant banter that was very agreeable to
Hargrave. He rallies him about an old acquaintance, the
handsome daughter of Fur Trader Johnston, of Sault Ste.
Marie, who, it will be remembered, married an Indian princess.
He has a great faculty of using what other correspondents
write to him, in making up very readable and well written
letters to his friends.
For many years Sieveright was at Port Coulonge, and thus
was in touch with the Hudson's Bay Company house at
Lachine, the centre of the fur trade on this continent. Every

THE LIFE OP THE TRADERS 301
year he paid a visit to headquarters, and had an advantage
over the distant traders on the Saskatchewan, Mackenzie, and
Nelson Eivers. He, however, seemed always to envy them
their lot. Writing of Port Coulonge, he gives us a picture of
the fur trader's life : " This place has the advantage of being
so near the civilized world as to allow us to hear now and
then what is going on in it ; but no society or amusement to
help pass the time away. In consequence I cannot help
reading a great deal too much — injurious at any time of life —
particularly so when on the wrong side of fifty. I have been
lately reading John Gait's ' Southernan,' not much to be
admired. His characters are mostly all caricatures. If place
-will be aUowed in paper trunk, I shall put that work and
' Laurie Todd ' in for your acceptance."

CHAPTEE XXXI.
THE VOYAGEUES FEOM MONTEEAL.
Lachine, the fur traders' Mecca — The departure — The flowing bowl —
The canoe brigade — The voyageurs' song^" En roulant ma
boule " — VUlage of St. Anne's — Legend of the Church — The
sailor's guardian — Origin of " Canadian Boat Song " — A loud
invocation — " A la Claire Fontaine " — " Sing, nightingale " — ^At
the rapids — The ominous crosses — " Lament of Cadieux " — A
lonely maiden sits — The Wendigo — Home of the Ermatingers—
A very old canal — The rugged coast — Fort William reached — A
famous gathering — The joyous return.
MoNTEEAL, to-day the chief city of Canada, was, after the
union of the Companies, the centre of the fur trade in the New
World. The old Nor'-Wester influence centered on the St.
Lawrence, and while the final court of appeal met in London,
the forces that gave energy and effect to the decrees of the
London Board acted from Montreal. At Lachine, above the
rapids, nine miles from the city, lived Governor Simpson, and
many retu-ed traders looked upon Lachine as the Mecca of the
fur trade. Even before tbe days of the Lachine Canal, which
was built to avoid tbe rapids, it is said the pushing traders had
taken advantage of the little Eiver St. Pierre, which falls into
the St. Lawrence, and had made a deep cutting from it up
which they dragged their boats to Lachine. To the hardy
French voyageurs, accustomed to " portage " their cargoes up
steep cliffs, it was no hardship to use the improvised canal and
reach Lachine at the head of the rapids.
Accordingly, Lachine became the port of departure for the
voyagem-s on then- long journeys up the Ottawa, and on to the
distant fur country. Hea-?y canoes carrying four tons of
merchandise were buUt for the freight, and light canoes, some-

THE VOYAGEURS FROM MONTREAL 303
times manned with ten or twelve men, took the officers at
great speed along the route. The canoes were marvels of
durabiUty. Made of thin but tough sheets of birch bark,
securely gummed along the seams with pitch, they were so
strong, and yet so light, that the Indians thought them an
object of wonder, and said they were the gift of the
Manitou. The voyageurs were a hardy class of men, trained from
boyhood to the use of the paddle. Many of them were
Iroquois Indians — pure or with an admixture of white blood.
But the French Canadians, too, became noted for their expert
management of the canoe, and were favourites of Sir George
Simpson. Like all sailors, the voyageurs felt the day of their
departure a day of fate. Very often they sought to drown
their sorrows in the flowing bowl, and it was the trick of the
commander to prevent this by keeping the exact time of the
departure a secret, filUng up the time of the voyagem's with
plenty to do and lea-ring on very short notice. However, as
the cargo was well-nigh shipped, wives, daughters, children,
and sweethearts too, of the departing canoe men began to
linger about the docks, and so were ready to bid their sad
farewells. In the governor's or chief factor's brigade each voyageur
wore a feather in his cap, and if the wind permitted it a British
ensign was hoisted on each light canoe. Farewells were soon
over. Cheers filled the air from those left behind, and out
from Lachine up Lake St. Louis, an enlargement of the St.
Lawrence, the brigade of canoes were soon to shoot on their
long voyage. No sooner had " le maitre " found his cargo
afloat, his officers and visitors safely seated, than he gave the
cheery word to start, when the men broke out with a
" chanson de voyage." Perhaps it was the story of the
" Three Fairy Ducks," with its chorus so lively in French, but
so prosaic, even in the hands of the poetic McLennan, when
translated into English as the " EolUng Ball " : —
" Derrifere chez nous, il y a un Stang
(Behind the manor lies the mere),
En roulant ma boule. (Chorus.)
Trois beaux canards s'en vont baignant.
(Three ducks bathe in its water clear.)

304 THE HUDSON'S BA\ COMPANY
En roulant ma boule.
Rouli, roulant, ma boule roulant.
En roulant, ma boule roulant,
En roulant ma boule."
And now the paddles strike with accustomed dash. The
voyageurs are excited with the prospect of the voyage, all
scenes of home swim before their eyes, and the chorister leads
off with his story of the prince (fils du roi) drawing near the
lake, and with his magic gun cruelly sighting the black duck,
but killing the white one. With falling voices the swinging
men of the canoe relate how from the snow-white drake his
" Life blood falls in rubies bright,
His diamond eyes have lost their light.
His plumes go floating east and west.
And form at last a soldier's bed.
En roulant ma boule
(Sweet refuge for the wanderer's head),
En roulant ma boule,
Rouli, roulant, ma boule roulant,
En roulant ma boule roulant,
En roulant ma boule."
As the brigade hies on its way, to the right is the purplish
brown water of the Ottawa, and on the left the green tinge of
the St. Lawrence, till suddenly turning around the western
extremity of the Island of Montreal, the boiling waters of the
mouth of the Ottawa are before the voyageurs. Since 1816
there has been a canal by which the canoes avoid these rapids,
but before that time all men and officers disembarked and the
goods were taken by portage around the foaming waters.
And now the village of Ste. Anne's is reached, a sacred place
to the departing voyageurs, and here at the old warehouse
the canoes are moored. Among the group of pretty Canadian
houses stands out the Gothic church with its spire so dear an
object to the canoe men. The superstitious voyageurs relate
that old Breboeuf, who had gone as priest with the early
French explorers, had been badly injured on the portage by the
fall of earth and stones upon him. The attendance possible
for him was small, and he had laid himself down to die on the
spot where stands the church. He prayed to Ste. Anne, the
sailors' guardian, and on her appearing to him he promised
to build a church if he survived. Of course, say the voyageurs.

I. — PORTAGE.

II. — -DEOHARSE.

[Pa^e 301.

THE VOYAGEURS FROM MONTREAL 305
with a merry twinkle of the eye, he recovered and kept his
word. At the shrine of "la bonne Ste. Anne" the voyageur
made his vow of devotion, asked for protection on his voyage,
and left such gift as he could to the patron saint.
Coming up and down the river at this point the voyageurs
often sang the song : —
" Dans mon chemin j'ai rencontr^
Deux cavaliers tres bien montfe ;"
with the refrain to every verse : —
" A I'ombre d'un bois je m'en vais jouer,
A I'ombre d'un bois je m'en vais jouer."
(" Under the shady tree I go to play.")
It is said that it was when struck with the movement and
rhythm of this French chanson that Thomas Moore, the Irish
poet, on his visit to Canada, while on its inland waters, wrote
the " Canadian Boat Song," and made celebrated the good
Ste. Arme of the voyageurs. Whether in the first lines he
succeeded in imitating the original or not, his musical notes
are agreeable : — •
" Faintly as tolls the evening chime,
Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time."
Certainly the refrain has more of the spirit of the boatman's
song : — " Row, brothers, row ; the stream runs fast.
The rapids are near and the daylight's past."
The true colouring of the scene is reflected in
" We'U sing at Ste. Anne ;"

and-

" Uttawa's tide, this trembling moon.
Shall see us float over thy surges soon."

Ste. Ann p. really had a high distinction among all the resting-
places on the fur trader's route. It was the last point in the
departure from Montreal Island. Eeligion and sentiment fot a
hundred years had consecrated it, and a short distance above
it on an eminence overlooking the narrows — the real mouth of
the Ottawa — was a venerable ruin, now overgrown with ivy

3o6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and young trees, " CbfLteau brillant," a castle speaking of
border foray and Indian warfare generations ago.
If the party was a distinguished one there was often a priest
included, and he, as soon as the brigade was fairly off and the
party had settled down to the motion, reverently removing his
hat, sounded forth a loud invocation to the Deity and to a long
train of male and female saints, in a loud and full voice, while
all the men at the end of each versicle made response, " Qu'il
me benisse." This done, he called for a song. None of the
many songs of France would be more likely at this stage than
the favourite and most beloved of all French Canadian songs,
" A la Claire Fontaine."
The leader in solo would ring out the verse —
" A la claire f ontaine,
M'en allant promener,
J'ai trouve I'eau si belle,
Que je m'y suis baignS."
(" Unto the crystal fountain,
For pleasure did I stray ;
So fair I found the waters.
My limbs in them I lay.")
Then in full chorus all would unite, followed verse by verse.
Most touching of all would be the address to the nightingale —
" Chantez, rossignol, chantez,
Toi qui as le coeur gai ;
Tu as le coeur a rire,
Moi, je I'ai k pleurer."
(" Sing, nightingale, keep singing.
Thou hast a heart so gay ;
Thou hast a heart so merry,
While mine is sorrow's prey.")
The most beautiful of all, the chorus, is again repeated, and
is as translated by Lighthall : —
" Long is it I have loved thee,
Thee shall I love alway,
My dearest ;
Long is it I have loved thee.
Thee shall I love alway."
The brigade swept on up the Lake of Two Mountains, and
though the work was hard, yet the spirit and exhilaration of
the way kept up the hearts of the voyageurs and officers, and

THE VOYAGEURS FROM MONTREAL 307
as one song was ended, another was begun and carried through.
Now it was the rollicking chanson, " C'est la Belle Fran9oise,"
then the tender " La Violette Dandine," and when inspiration
was needed, that song of perennial interest, " Malbrouck s'en
va-t-en guerre."
A distance up the Ottawa, however, the scenery changes,
and the river is interrupted by three embarrassing rapids. At
Carillon, opposite to which was Port Fortune, a great resort for
retired fur traders, the labours began, and so these rapids,
Carillon, Long Sault, and Chute au Blondeau, now avoided by
canals, were in the old days passed by portage with infinite
toil. Up the river to the great Chaudiere, where the City of
Ottawa now stands, they cheerfully rowed, and after another
great portage the Upper Ottawa was faced.
The most dangerous and exacting part of the great river was
the well-kno-wn section where two long islands, the lower the
Calumet, and the Allumette block the stream, and fierce rapids
are to be encountered. This was the piece de resistance of
the canoe-men's experience. Around it their superstitions
clustered. On the shores were many crosses erected to mark
the death, in the boiling surges beside the portage, of many
comrades who had perished here. Between the two islands on
the north side of the river, the Hudson's Bay Company had
founded Port Coulonge, used as a depot or refuge in case of
accident. No wonder the region, with " Deep Eiver " above,
leading on to the sombre narrows of " Hell Gate " further up
the stream, appealed to the fear and imagination of the
voyageurs. Ballad and story had gro-wn round the boiling flood of the
Calumet. As early as the time of Champlain, the story goes
that an educated and daring Frenchman named Cadieux had
settled here, and taken as his wife one of the dusky Ottawas.
The prowling Iroquois attacked his dwelling. Cadieux and
one Indian held the enemy at bay, and firing from different
points led them to beUeve that the stronghold was well
manned. In the meantime, the spouse of Cadieux and a few
Indians launched their canoes into the boiling waters and
escaped. Prom pool to pool the canoe was whirled, but in|its
course the Indians saw before them a female figure, in misty

3o8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
robes, leading them as protectress. The Christian spouse said
it was the " bonne Ste. Anne," who led them out of danger
and saved them. The Iroquois gave up the siege. Cadieux's
companion had been killed, and the surviving settler himself
perished from exhaustion in the forest. Beside him, tradition
says, was found his death song, and this "Lament de Cadieux,"
with its touching and attractive strain, tbe voyageurs sang
when they faced the dangers of the foaming currents of the
Upper Ottawa.
The whole route with its rapids, whirlpools, and deceptive
currents, came to be surrounded, especially in superstitious
minds, with an air of dangerous mystery. A traveller tells us
that a prominent fur trader pointed out to him the very spot
where his father had been swept under the eddy and drowned.
The camp-fire stories were largely the accounts of disasters and
accidents on the long and dangerous way. As such a story
was told on the edge of a shadowy forest the voyageurs were
filled with dread. The story of the Wendigo was an alarming
one. No crew would push on after the sun was set, lest they
should see this apparition.
Some said he was a spirit condemned to wander to and fro
in the earth on account of crimes committed, others believed
the Wendigo was a desperate outcast, who had tasted human
flesh, and prowled about at night, seeking in camping-places of
the traders a victim. Tales were told of unlucky trappers who
had disappeared in the woods and had never been heard of
again. The story of the Wendigo made the camping-place
to be surrounded with a sombre interest to the traders.
UnbeUevers in this mysterious ogre freely declared that it
was but a partner's story told to prevent the voyageurs delaying
on their journey, and tq hinder them from wandering to lonely
spots by the rapids to fish or hunt. One of the old writers
spoke of the enemy of the voyageurs —
" II se nourrit des corps des pauvres voyageurs,
Des malheureux passants et des navigateurs."
(" He feeds on the bodies of unfortunate men of the river, of
unlucky travellers, and of the mariners.")
Impressed by the sombre memories of this fur traders'
route, a traveller in the light canoes in fur-trading days. Dr.

THE VOYAGEURS FROM MONTREAL 309
Bigsby, relates that he had a great surprise when, picking his
way along a rocky portage, he " suddenly stumbled upon a
young lady sitting alone under a bush in a green riding habit
and white beaver bonnet." The impressionable doctor looked
upon this forest sylph and doubted whether she was
" One of those fairy shepherds and shepherdesses
Who hereabouts live on simplicity and watercresses."
After confused explanations on the part of both, the lady was
found to be an- Ermatinger, daughter of the well-known trader
of Sault Ste. Marie, who with his party was then at the other
end of the portage.
We may now, with the privilege accorded the writer, omit
the hardships of hundreds of miles of painful journeying, and
waft the party of the voyageurs, whose fortunes we have been
foUowing, up to the head of the west branch of the Ottawa,
across the Vaz portages, and down a little stream into Lake
Nipissing, where there was an old-time fort of the Nor'-
Westers, named La Eonde. Across Lake Nipissing, down the
French Eiver, and over the Georgian Bay with its beautiful
scenery, the voyageurs' brigade at length reached the Eiver
St. Mary, soon to rest at the famous old fort of Sault Ste.
Marie. Sault Ste. Marie was the home of the Ermatingers,
to which the fairy shepherdess belonged.
The Ermatinger family, whose name so continually associates
itself -with Sault Ste. Marie, affords a fine example of energy
and influence. Shortly after the conquest of Canada by Wolfe,
a S-wiss merchant came from the United States and made
Canada his home. One of his sons, George Ermatinger, jour
neyed westward to the territory now making up Michigan, and,
finding his way to Sault Ste. Marie, married, engaged in the fm*
trade, and died there.
Still more noted than his brother, Charles Oaks Ermatinger,
going westward from Montreal, also made Sault Ste. Marie his
home. A man of great courage and local influence in the war
of 1812, the younger brother commanded a company of volun
teers in the expedition from Fort St. Joseph, which succeeded
that summer in capturing Michilimackinac. His fur-trading

3IO THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
establishment at Sault Ste. Marie was situated on the south side
of the river, opposite the rapids. When this territory was taken
possession of by the troops of the United States in 1822, the fur
trader's premises at Sault Ste. Marie were seized and became
the American fort. For some years after this seizure trader
Ermatinger had a serious dispute with the United States
Government about his property, but finally received compensa
tion. True to tbe Ermatinger disposition, the trader then with-
drew'to the Canadian side, retained his British connection, and
carried on trade at Sault Ste. Marie, Drummond Island, and
elsewhere. A resident of Sault Ste. Marie informs the -writer that the
family of Ermatinger about that place is now a very numerous
one, " related to almost all the families both white and red. ' ' Very
early in tbe century (1814), a passing trader named Pranchere
arrived from tbe west country at the time that the American
troops devastated Sault Ste. Marie. Charles Ermatinger then
had his buildings on the Canadian side of the river, not far
from the houses and stores of the North-West Company, which
had been burnt down by the American troops. Ermatinger at
the time was living on the south side of tbe river temporarily
in a house of old trader Nolin, whose family, the traveller tells
us, consisted of " three half-breed boys and as many girls, one
of whom was passably pretty." Ermatinger had just erected
a grist mill, and was then building a stone house "very
elegant." To this home the young lady overtaken by Dr. Bigsby
on the canoe route belonged. Of the two nephews of the
doughty old trader of Sault Ste. Marie, Charles and Francis
Ermatinger, who were prominent in the fur trade, more
anon. The dashing rapids of the St. Mary Eiver are tbe natural
feature which has made the place celebrated. The exciting feat
of " running the rapids " is accomplished by all distinguished
visitors to the place. John Busheau, or some other dusky
canoe-man, with unerring paddle, conducts the shrinking tourist
to within a yard of the boiling cauldron, and sweeps down
through the spray and splash, as his passenger heaves a sigh of
relief. Tbe obstruction made by the rapids to the navigation of the

'^ at

THE VO YA GE URS FROM MONTREAL 3 1 1
river, which is the artery connecting the trade of Lakes Huron
and Superior, early occupied the thought of the fur traders. A
century ago, during the conflict of the North-West Company
and the X Y, the portage past the rapids was a subject of grave
dispute. Ardent appeals were made to the government to
settle the matter. The X Y Company forced a road through
the disputed river frontage, while the North-West Company
used a canal half a mile long, on which was built a lock ; and
at the foot of the canal a good wharf and storehouse had been
constructed. This waterway, built at the beginning of the
century and capable of carrying loaded canoes and considerable
boats, was a remarkable proof of the energy and skill of the
fur traders.
The river and rapids of St. Mary past, the joyful voyageurs
hastened to skirt the great lake of Superior, on whose shores
their destination lay. Deep and cold, Lake Superior, when
stirred by angry winds, became the grave of many a voyageur.
Few that feU into its icy embrace escaped. Its rocky shores
were the death of many a swift canoe, and its weird legends
were those of the Inini-Wudjoo, the great giant, or of the hungry
heron that devoured the unwary. Cautiously along its shores
Jean Baptiste crept to Michipicoten, then to the Pic, and on to
Nepigon, places where trading posts marked the nerve centres
of the fur trade.
At length, rounding Thunder Cape, Fort WilUam was reached,
the goal of the " mangeur de lard " or Montreal voyageur.
Around the walls of the fort the great encampment was made.
The Eiver Kaministiquia was gay with canoes ; the East and
West met in rivalry — the wild couriers of the West and the
patient boatmen of the East. In sight of the fort stood, up the
river, McKay Mountain, around which tradition had woven
fancies and tales. Its terraced heights suggest man's work,
but it is to this day in a state of nature. Here in the days of
conflict, when the opposing trappers and hunters went on their
expeditions, old Trader McKay ascended, foUowed them with his
keen eye in their meanderings, and circumvented them in their
plans. The days of waituag, unloading, loading, feasting, and con
tending being over, the Montreal voyageurs turned their faces

313 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
homeward, and with flags afloat, paddled away, now cheerfully
singing sweet " Alouette."
" Ma mignonette, embrassez-moi
Nenni, Monsieur, je n'oserais
Car si mon papa le savait."
(My darling smUe on me,
No ! No ! good sir, I do not dare
My dear papa would know ! would know I )
" But who would teU papa ? "
" The birds on the forest tree."
" Hs parlent franp ais, latin aussi
H^las ! que le monde est malin
D'apprendre aux oiseaux le latin.''
(" They speak French and Latin too,
Alas ! the world is very bad
To tell its tales to the naughty birds.")
Bon voyage ! Bon voyage, mes voyageurs !

CHAPTEE XXXII.
EXPLOEEES IN THE FAE NOETH.
The North-West Passage again^Lieut. John Franklin's land expedition
— Two lonely winters — Hearne's mistake corrected — Franklin's
second journey — Arctic sea coast explored — Franklin knighted —
Captain John Ross by sea — Discovers magnetic pole — Magnetic
needle nearly perpendicular — Back seeks for Ross — Dease and
Simpson sent by Hudson's Bay Company to explore — Sir John
in Erebus and Terror — The Paleocrystic Sea — Franklin never
returns — Lady Franklin's devotion — The historic search — Dr.
Rae secures relics — Captain McOlintock finds the cairn and
written record — Advantages of the search.
The British people were ever on the alert to have their famous
sea captains explore new seas, especially in the line of the
discovery of the North-West Passage. From the time of
Dobbs, the discomfiture of that bitter enemy of the Hudson's
Bay Company had checked the advance in foUowing up the
explorations of Davis and Baffin, whose names had become
fixed on the icy sea channels of the North.
Captain Phipps, afterwards Lord Mulgrave, had been the
last of the great captains who had taken part in the spasm of
north-west interest set agoing by Dobbs. Two generations
of men had passed when, in 1817, the quest for the North-West
Passage was taken up by Captain WUliam Scoresby. Scoresby
advanced a fresh argument in favour of a new effort to attain
this long-harboured dream of the English captains. He main
tained that a change had taken place in the seasons, and the
position of the ice was such as probably to allow a successful
voyage to be made from Baffin's Bay to Behring Strait.
Sir John Barrow with great energy advocated the project of
a new expedition, and Captain John Eoss and Edward Parry
were despatched to the northern seas. Parry's second
expedition enabled him to discover Fury and Hecla Strait,

314 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
to pass through Lancaster Strait, and to name the continuation
of it Barrow Strait, after the great patron of northern explora
tion. feanklin's land expedition.
Meanwhile John Franklin was despatched to cross the plains
of Eupert's Land to forward Arctic enterprise. This notable
man has left us an heritage of undying interest in connection
with this movement. A native of Lincolnshire, a capable
and trusted naval officer, who had fought with Nelson at
Copenhagen, who had gone on an Arctic voyage to Spitzbergen,
and had seen much service elsewhere, he was appointed to
command the overland expedition through Eupert's Land to
the Arctic Sea, while Lieutenant Parry sought, as we have seen,
tbe passage with two vessels by way of Lancaster Sound.
Accompanied by a surgeon — Dr. Eichardson — two midship
men. Back and Hood, and a few Orkneymen, Lieutenant Frank
lin embarked from England for Hudson Bay in June, 1819.
Wintering for the first season on the Saskatchewan, the party
were indebted to the Hudson's Bay Company for supplies, and
reached Fort Chipewyan in about a year from the time of their
departure from England. The second winter was spent by the
expedition on the famous barren grounds of the Arctic slope.
Their fort was called Fort Enterprise, and the party obtained
a living chiefly from the game and fish of the region. In the
following summer the Franklin party descended the Copper
mine Eiver to the Arctic Sea. Here Hearne's mistake of four
degrees in the latitude was corrected and the latitude of the
mouth of the Coppermine Eiver fixed at 67° 48' N. Having
explored the coast of the Arctic Sea eastward for six degrees to
Cape Tumagain and suffered great hardships, the survivors of
the party made their return journey, and reached Britain after
three years' absence. Franklin was given the rank of captain
and covered with social and literary honours.
Three years after his return to England, Captain Franklin
and his old companions went upon their second journey
through Eupert's Land. Having reached Fort Chipewyan, they
continued the journey northward, and the winter was spent at
their erection known as Fort Franklin, on Great Bear Lake.

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EXPLORERS IN THE FAR NORTH 15
Here the party divided, one portion under Franklin going down
the Mackenzie to the sea, and coasting westward to Eeturn
Eeef, hoping to reach Captain Cook's icy cape of 1778. In this
they failed. Dr. Eichardson led the other party down the
Mackenzie Eiver to its mouth, and then, going eastward,
reached the mouth of the Coppermine, which he ascended.
By September both parties had gained their rendezvous. Fort
Franklin, and it was found that unitedly they had traced the
coast Une of the Arctic Sea through thirty-seven degrees of
longitude. On the return of the successful adventurer, after
an absence of two years, to England, he was knighted and
received the highest scientific honours.
captain JOHN BOSS BY SEA.
When the British people become roused upon a subject,
failure seems but to whet the public mind for new enterprise
and greater effort. The North-West Passage was now regarded
as a possibility. After the coast of the Arctic Ocean had been
traced by the Franklin-Eichardson expedition, to reach this shore
bya passage from Parry's Fury and Hecla Strait seemed feasible.
Two years after the return of Franklin from his second
overland journey, an expedition was fitted out by a wealthy
distiller. Sheriff Felix Booth, and the ship the Victory,
provided by him, was placed under the command of Captain
John Eoss, who had already gained reputation in exploring
Baffin's Bay. Captain Eoss was ably seconded in his
expedition by his nephew. Captain James Eoss. Going by
Baffin's Bay and through Lancaster Sound, Prince Eegent's
Inlet led Eoss southward between Cockburn Island and
Somerset North, into an open sea called after his patron. Gulf
of Boothia, on the west side of which he named the newly-
discovered land Boothia PeUx. He even discovered the land to
the west of Boothia, calling it King William Land. His ship
became embedded in the ice. After four winters in the Arctic
regions he was rescued by a whaler in Barrow Strait.
One of the most notable events in this voyage of Boss's was
his discovery of the North Magnetic Pole on the west side of
Boothia Felix. Difring his second winter (1831) Captain Eoss
determined to gratify his ambition to be the discoverer of the

3i6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
point where tbe magnetic needle stands vertically, as show
ing the centre of terrestrial magnetism for the northern hemi
sphere. After four or five days' overland journey, with a trying head
wind from the North-West, he reached the sought-for point on
June 1st. We deem it only just to state the discovery in the
words of the veteran explorer himself : —
" The land at this place is very low near the coast, but it
rises into ridges of fifty or sixty feet high about a mile inland.
We could have wished that a place so important had possessed
more of mark or note. It was scarcely censurable to regiet
that there was not a mountain to indicate a spot to which so
much interest must ever be attached ; and I could even have
pardoned any one among us who had been so romantic or
absurd as to expect that the magnetic pole was an object as
conspicuous and mysterious as the fabled mountain of Sinbad,
that it was even a mountain of iron, or a magnet as large as
Mont Blanc. But Nature had here erected no monument to
denote the spot whicb she had chosen as the centre of one of
her great and dark powers ; and where we could do little our
selves towards this end, it was our business to submit, and to
be content in noting in mathematical numbers and signs, as
with things of far more importance in the terrestrial system,.
what we could ill distinguish in any other manner.
' ' The necessary observations were immediately commenced,
and they were continued throughout this and the greater part
of the following day. . . . The amount of the dip, as indicated
by my dipping-needle, was 89° 59', being thus within one
minute of the vertical; while the proximity at least of this
pole, if not its actual existence where we stood, was further
confirmed by the action, or rather by the total inaction, of
several horizontal needles then in my possession. . . . There
was not one which showed the slightest effort to move from
the position in which it was placed.
As soon as I had satisfied my own mind on this subject, I
made known to the party this gratifying result of all our joint
labours ; and it was then that, amidst mutual congratulations,
we fixed the British flag on the spot, and took possession of
the North Magnetic Pole and its adjoining territory, in the

EXPLORERS IN THE FAR NORTH 317
name of Great Britain and King William the Fourth. We had
abundance of material for building in the fragments of limestone
that covered the beach ; and we therefore erected a cairn of
some magnitude, under which we buried a canister containing a
record of the interesting fact, only regretting that we had not
the means of constructing a pyramid of more importance and
of strength sufficient to withstand the assaults of time and of
the Esquimaux. Had it been a pyramid as large as that of
Cheops I am not quite sure that it would have done more than
satisfy our ambition under the feelings of that exciting day.
The latitude of this spot is 70° 5' 17" and its longitude
96° 46' 45"."
Thus much for the magnetic pole. This pole is almost
directly north of the city of Winnipeg, and within less than
twenty degrees of it. One of Lady Franklin's captains —
Captain Kennedy, who resided at Eed Eiver — elaborated a
great scheme for tapping the central supply of electricity of the
magnetic pole, and developing it from Winnipeg as a source of
power. SIE GEOEGE back, the EXPLOEEE.
In the third year of Captain Boss's expedition his protracted
absence became a matter of public discussion in Britain. Dr.
Eichardson, who had been one of Franklin's followers, offered
to take charge of an overland expedition in search of Eoss, but
his proposition was not accepted. Mr. Eoss, a brother of Sir
John and father of Captain James Eoss, was anxious to find
an officer who would take charge of a relief expedition, and the
British Government favoured the enterprise. Captain George
Back, one of the midshipmen who had accompanied Franklin,
was favourably regarded for the important position.
The Hudson's Bay Company was in sympathy with the
exploration of its Arctic possessions and gave every assistance
to the project. Nicholas Garry, tbe Deputy-Governor of the
Company, ably supported it ; and the British Government at
last gave its consent to grant two thousand pounds, provided
the Hudson's Bay Company would furnish, according to its
promise, the supplies and canoes free of charge, and that
Captain Boss's friends would contribute three thousand pounds.

3i8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Captain Back cordially accepted the offer to command the
expedition, and his orders from the Government were to find
Captain Eoss, or any survivors or survivor of his party ; and,
" subordinate to this, to direct his attention to mapping what
remains unknown of the coasts which he was to visit, and
make such other scientific observations as his leisure would
admit." In 1833 Captain Back crossed the Atlantic, accompanied by
a surgeon. Dr. Eichard King, and at Montreal obtained a party
of four regulars of the Eoyal Artillery. Pushing on by the
usual route, he reached Lake Winnipeg, and thence by light
canoe arrived at Fort Eesolution on Great Slave Lake in
August. He wintered at Fort Eeliance, near the east end of
Great Slave Lake, which was established by Eoderick McLeod,
a Hudson's Bay Company officer, who had received orders to
assist the expedition. Before leaving this point a message
arrived from England that Captain Eoss was safe. Notwith
standing this news, in June of the following year Back and his
party crossed the country to Artillery Lake, and drew their
boats and baggage in a most toilsome manner over the ice of
this and three other lakes, till the Great Fish Eiver was reached
and its difficult descent begun.
On July 30th the party encamped at Cape Beaufort, a pro
minent point of the inlet of the Arctic Ocean into which the
Great Pish Eiver empties. The expedition again ascended the
river and returned to England, where it was well received, and
Captain Back was knighted for his pluck and perseverance.
An expedition under Back in the next year, to go by ship to
Wager Bay and then to cross by portage the narrow strip of
land to the Gulf of Boothia, was a failure, and the party vrith
difficulty reached Britain again.
A Hudson's bay company expedition — dease and simpson.
Dr. Eichard King, who had been Back's assistant and
surgeon, now endeavoured to organize an expedition to the
Arctic Ocean by way of Lake Athabasca and through a chain
of lakes leading to the Great Fish Eiver. This project received
no backing from the British Government or from the Hudson's
Bay Company. The Company now undertook to carry out an

EXPLORERS IN THE FAR NORTH 319
expedition of its own. The reasons of this are stated to have
been (1) The interest of the British public in the effort to
connect the discoveries of Captains Back and Eoss ; (2) They
are said to have desired a renewal of their expiring lease for
twenty-one years of the trade of the Indian territories ; (3) The
fact was being pointed out, as in former years, that their charter
required the Company to carry on exploration.
In 1836 the Hudson's Bay Company in London decided on
carrying out the expedition, and gave instructions to Governor
Simpson to organize and despatch it. At Norway House, at
the meeting of the Governor and officers of that year, steps
were taken to explore the Arctic Coast. An experienced
Hudson's Bay Company officer, Peter Warren Dease, and
with him an ardent young man, Thomas Simpson, a relation of
the Governor, was placed in charge.
The party, after various preparations, including a course of
mathematics and astronomy received by Thomas Simpson at
Eed Eiver, made its departure, and Fort Chipe-wyan was
reached in February, where the remainder of the winter was
spent. As soon as navigation opened, the descent of the
Mackenzie Eiver was made to the mouth. The party then
coasting westward on the Arctic Ocean, passed Franklin's
" Eeturn Eeef," reached Boat Extreme, and Simpson made a
foot journey thence to Cape Barrow.
Having returned to the mouth of the Mackenzie Eiver, the
Great Bear Lake, where Fort Confidence had been erected by
the advance guard of the party, was reached,
The winter was passed at this point, and in the following
spring the expedition descended the Coppermine Eiver, and
coasting eastward along the Polar Sea reached Cape Tumagain
in August. Eetuming and ascending the Coppermine for a
distance, the party halted, and Simpson made a land journey
eastward to new territory which he called Victoria Land, and
erected a pillar of stones, taking possession of the country, " in
the name of the Honourable Company, and for the Queen of
Great Britain." Their painful course was then retraced to
Port Confidence, where the second winter was spent.
On the opening of spring, the Company descended to the
coast to carry on their work. Going eastward, they, after much

320 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
difficulty, reached new ground, passed Dease's Strait, and
discovered Cape Britannia.
Taking two years to return, Simpson arrived at Port Garry,
and disappointed at not receiring further instructions, he joined
a freight party about to cross the plains to St. Paul, Minnesota.
While on the way he was killed, either by his half-breed
companions or by his own hand. His body was brought back
to Fort Garry, and is buried at St. John's cemetery.
The Hudson's Bay Company thus made an earnest effort to
explore the coast, and through its agents, Dease and Simpson,
may be said to have been reasonably successful.
THE SBAECH FOE FEANKLIN,
After the return of Sir John Franklin from his second over
land expedition in Eupert's Land, Sir John was given the
honourable position of Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania, and
on his coming again to England, was asked by the Admiralty to
undertake a sea voyage for the purpose of finding bis way from
Lancaster Sound to Behring's Strait.
Sir John accepted the trust, and his popularity led to the
offer of numerous volunteers, who were willing to undertake
tbe hazards of the journey. Two excellent vessels, the Erebus
and Terror, well fitted out for the journey, were provided, and
his expedition started with the most glowing hopes of success,
on May 19th, 1845. Many people in Britain were quite
convinced that the expectation of a north-west passage was
now to be realized.
We know now only too well the barrier which lay in
Franklin's way. Almost directly north-east of the mouth of
Fish Eiver, which Back and Simpson had both found, there
lies a vast mass of ice, which can neither move toward
Behring's Strait on account of the shallow opening there, or to
Baffin's Bay on account of the narrow and tortuous winding
of the channels. This, called by Sir George Nares the
Paleocrystic Sea, we are now aware bars the progress of any
ship. Franklin had gone down on the west side of North
Somerset and Boothia, and coming against the vast barrier of
the Paleocrystic Sea, had been able to go no further.
Two years after the departure of the expedition from which

SIE -rni-lX FEANKLIN.

lADY FEANKLIN.

SIE GEOEGE BACK.

SIE .JOHN EICHARDSON.

SEARCHERS IN THE NORTH.

[Page 320.

EXPLORERS IN THE FAR NORTH 321
so much was expected, there were still no tidings. Prepara
tions were made for an expedition to rescue the adventurers,
and in 1848 the first party of relief saUed.
For the next eleven years the energy and spirit and liberality
of the British public were something unexampled in the annals
of public sympathy. Eegardless of cost or hazard, not less than
fifteen expeditions were sent out by England and the United
States on their sad quest. Lady Franklin, with a heroism and
skill past all praise, kept the eye of the nation steadily on her
loss, and sacrificed her private fortune in the work of rescue.
We are not called upon to give the details of these expeditions,
but may refer to a few notable points.
The Hudson's Bay Company at once undertook a journey
by land in quest of the unfortunate navigator. Dr. Eichardson,
who had gone on Franklin's first expedition along -with a well-
known Hudson's Bay Company officer. Dr. Eae, scoured the
coast of the Arctic Sea, from the mouth of the Mackenzie to
that of the Coppermine Eiver. For two years more, Dr. Eae
continued the search, and in the fourth year (1851) this
facile traveller, by a long sledge journey in spring and boat
voyage in summer, examined the shores of WoUaston and
Victoria Land.
A notable expedition took place in the sending out by Lady
Pranklui herself of the Prince Albert schooner, under Captain
Kennedy, who afterwards made his home in the Eed Eiver
settlement. His second in command was Lieutenant Bellot,
of the French Na-vy, who was a plucky and shrewd explorer,
and who, on a long sledge journey, discovered the Strait which
bears his name between North Somerset and Boothia.
The names of McClure, Austin, CoUinson, Sir Edmund
Belcher, and Kellett stand out in bold reUef in the efforts —
fruitless in this case — made to recover traces of the unfortunate
expedition. The first to come upon remains of the Franklin expedi
tion was Dr. John Eae, who, we have seen, had thoroughly
examined the coast along the Arctic Ocean. The -writer well
remembers meeting Dr. Eae many years after in the city of
Winnipeg and hearing his story.
Eae was a lithe, active, enterprising man. In 1858, he
Y

32 2 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
announced that the drawback in former expeditions had been
the custom of carrying a great stock of provisions and useless
impedimenta, and so under Hudson's Bay Company auspices he
undertook to go with gun and fishing tackle up the west coast
of Hudson Bay. This he did, ascended Chesterfield Inlet, and
wintered with eight men at Eepulse Bay.
In the next season he made a remarkable journey of fifty-six
days, and succeeded in connecting the discoveries of Captain
James Eoss with those of Dease and Simpson, proring King
William Land to be an island. Eae discovered on this journey
plate and silver decorations among the Eskimos, which they
admitted had belonged to the Franklin party. Dr. Eae was
awarded a part of the twenty thousand pounds reward offered
by the Imperial Government.
The British people could not, however, be satisfied until
something more was done, and Lady Franklin, with marvellous
self-devotion, gave the last of her available means to add to
the public subscription for the purchase and fitting out of the
Uttle yacht Fox, which, under Captain Leopold McClintock,
sailed from Aberdeen in 1857. Having in less than two years
reached Bellot Strait, McClintock's party was divided into
three sledging expeditions. One of them, under Captain
McClintock, was very successful, obtaining relics of the lost
Franklin and his party and finding a cairn which contained an
authoritative record of the fortunes of the company for three
years. Sir John had died a year before this record was -written.
Captain McClintock was knighted for his successful effort, and
the worst was now at last known.
The attempt of Sir John and tbe efforts to find him reflect
the highest honour on the British people. And not only senti
ment, but reason was satisfied. As had been said, "the
catastrophe of Sir John Franklin's expedition led to seven
thousand miles of coast line being discovered, and to a vast
extent of unknown country being explored, securing very con
siderable additions to geographical knowledge. Much attention
was also given to the collection of information, and the
scientific results of the various search expeditions were con
siderable."

CHAPTEE XXXIII.
EXPEDITIONS TO THE FEONTIEE OP THE FUE COUNTEY.
A disputed boundary — Sources of the Mississippi — The fur traders
push southward— Expedition up the Missouri— Lewis and Clarks
meet Nor'-Westers — Claim of United States made — Sad death
of Lewis — Lieutenant Pike's journey — Pike meets fur traders —
Cautions Dakotas — Treaty with Chippewas — Violent death —
Long and Keating fix 49 deg. N. — Visit Fort Garry — Follow old
fur traders' route — An erratic Italian — Strange adventures —
Almost finds source — Beltrami County— Cass and Schoolcraft
fail — Schoolcraft afterwards succeeds — Lake Itasca — Curious
origin of name — The source determined.
The Treaty of Paris was an example of magnanimity on tbe
part of Great Britain to the United States, her wayward Trans
atlantic chUd, who refused to recognize her authority. It is
now clearly shown that Lord Shelbourne, the English Premier,
desired to promote good feeling between mother and daughter
as nations. Accordingly the boundary line west of Lake
Superior gave over a wide region where British traders had
numerous establishments, and where their occupation should
have counted for possession.
In the treaty of amity and commerce, eleven years afterward,
it was agreed that a line drawn from Lake of the Woods
overland to the source of the Mississippi should be the
boundary. But, alas ! the sources of the Mississippi for fifty
years afterward proved as difficult a problem as the source of
the Nile. In the first decade of this century it was impossible
to draw the southern line of Eupert's Land. The United States
during this period evinced some anxiety in regard to this
boundary, and, as we shall see, a number of expeditions were
despatched to explore the country. The sources of the
Mississippi naturally afforded much interest to the Government

324 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
at Washington, even though the convention of London of 181S
had settled the 49 deg. N. as the boundary.
The region west of the Mississippi, which was known as-
Louisiana, extended northward to the British possessions, having
been transferred by Spain to the United States in 1808. A
number of expeditions to the marches or boundary land claim
a short notice from us, as being bound up with the history and
interests of the Hudson's Bay Company.
LEWIS AND CLAEKE's EXPEDITION.
Of these, a notable and interesting voyage was that of
Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clarke of the United
States army. This expedition consisted of nearly fifty men —
soldiers, volunteers, adventurers, and servants. Being a
Government expedition, it was well provided with stores, Indian
presents, weapons, and other necessary articles of travel.
Leaving Wood Eiver, near St. Louis, the party started up the
Missouri in three boats, and were accompanied by two horses
along the bank of the Eiver to bring them game or to hunt
in case of scarcity. After many adventures the expedition,.
which began its journey on May 14th, 1804, reached the
headquarters of the Mandan Indians on the Missouri on
October 26th.
The Mandans, or, as they have been called, the White Bearded
Sioux, were at this time a large and most interesting people.
Less copper-coloured than the other Indians, agricultural in
habit, pottery makers, and dwelling in houses partly sunk in the
earth, their trade was sought from different directions. We
have seen already that Verandrye first reached them ; that David
Thompson, the astronomer of the North-West Company, visited
them ; that Harmon and others, North-West traders, met them ;,
that fur traders from the Assiniboine came to them ; that even
the Hudson's Bay Company had penetrated to their borders.
Tbe Mandans themselves jom-neyed north to the Assiniboine
and carried Indian corn, which they grew, to Eupert's Land to
exchange for merchandise. Tbe Mandan trail can still be
pointed out in Manitoba.
A fur trader, Hugh McCracken, met Lewis and Clarke at
this point, and we read, " That he set out on November 1st on

EXPEDITIONS TO THE FUR COUNTRY 325
Tiis return to the British fort and factory on the Assiniboine
Eiver, about one hundred and fifty miles from this place. He
took a letter from Captain Lewis to the North-West Company,
enclosing a copy of the passport granted by the British
Minister in the United States."
This shows the uncertainty as to the boundary line, the
leaders of the expedition having provided themselves with this
permission in case of need.
In dealing with the Mandans, Captain Lewis gave them
presents, and "told them that they had heard of the British
trader, Mr. Laroche, having attempted to distribute medals
and flags among them ; but that these emblems could not be
received from any other than the American nation, without
incurring the displeasure of their Great Father, 'the President.'
On December 1st the party was visited by a trader, Henderson,
who came from the Hudson's Bay Company. He had been
about eight days on his route in a direction nearly south,
and brought with him tobacco, beads, and other merchandise
to trade for furs, and a few guns which were to be exchanged
for horses. On December 17th Hugh Harvey and two com
panions arrived at the camp, having come in six days from
the British establishment on the Assiniboine, with a letter
from Mr. Charles Chaboillez, one of the North-West Company,
who, with much politeness, offered to render us any service in
his power."
With the expedition of Lewis and Clarke we have little
more to do. It successfully crossed from the sources of the
Missouri, over the Eocky Mountains to the Columbia,
descended it to the mouth, and returned by nearly the same
route, reaching the mouth of the Missouri in 1806.
The expedition of Lewis and Clarke has become the most
celebrated of the American transcontinental ventures. Its
early presence at the mouth of the Columbia Eiver gave
strength to the claim of the United States for that region ; it
was virtually a taking possession of the whole country from
the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean ; it had a picturesqueness
and an interest that appealed to the national mind, and the
melancholy death of Captain Lewis, who, in 1809, when the
American Government refused to fulfil its engagements with

326 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
him, blew out his brains, lends an impressiveness to what was
really a great and successful undertaking.
pike's EXPEDITION.
The source or sources of the Mississippi was, as we have
seen, an important matter in settling the boundary line between
the possessions of Great Britain and the United States. The
matter having occupied the authorities at Washington, Zebulon
M. Pike, a lieutenant of the United States army, was sent to
examine the country upon the Upper Mississippi and to
maintain the interests of the Government in that quarter.
Leaving St. Louis on August 9th, 1805, he ascended the
" Father of Waters," and reached Prairie du Chien in Sep
tember. Here he was met by the well-known free-traders
who carried on the fur trade in this region. Their names were
Fisher, Prazer, and Woods. These men were in tbe habit of
working largely in harmony with tbe North-West Company
traders, and, on account of their British origin, were objects
of suspicion to the United States authorities. Pushing on
among the Indians, by tbe help of French Canadian inter
preters, he came to Lake Pepin. On the shores of this lake
Pike met Murdoch Cameron, the principal British free-trader
on the upper Minnesota Eiver. Cameron was a shrewd and
daring Scotchman, noted for his generosity and faithfulness.
He was received with distinction by Pike, and the trader,
as shown by his grave, pointed out many years afterward on
the banks of the Minnesota, was in every way worthy of the
attention. Shortly after this. Pike passed near where the
city of St. Paul, Minn., stands to-day, the encampment of
J. B. Faribault, a French Canadian free-trader of note, whose
name is now borne by an important town south of St. Paul.
Pike held a council with the Dakota Indians, and purchased
from them a considerable amount of land for military purposes,
for which the Senate paid them the sum of two thousand
dollars. Pike seems to have cautioned the Dakotas or Sioux
to beware of the influence of the English, saying, "I think
the traders who come from Canada are bad birds among the
Chippeways, and instigate them to make war upon their red
brothers, the Sioux."

EXPEDITIONS TO THE FUR COUNTRY 327
About the end of October, unable to proceed further up the
Mississippi on account of ice. Pike built a blockhouse, which
he enclosed with pickets, and there spent the most severe part
of the winter.
At his post early in December he was visited by Eobert
Dickson, a British fur trader, described by Neill as "a red-
haired Scotchman, of strong intellect, good family, and ardent
attachment to the crown of England, who was at the head
of the Indian trade in Minnesota." Pike himself speaks of
Dickson as a " gentleman of general commercial knowledge
and of open, frank manners." Explanations took place
between the Government agent and the trader as to the
excessive use of spirits by the Indians.
On December 10th Pike started on a journey northward in
sleds, taking a canoe with him for use so soon as the river
should open. When Pike arrived near Eed Cedar Lake, he
was met by four Chippewa Indians, a Frenchman, and one
of the North-West traders, named Grant. Going with Grant
to his establishment on the shores of the lake, Pike tells us,
" When we came in sight of the house I observed the flag cf
Great Britain flying. I felt indignant, and cannot say what
my feelings would have excited me to had Grant not told me
that it belonged to the Indians."
On February 1st Pike reached Leech Lake, which he con
sidered to be the main source of the Mississippi. He crossed
the lake twelve miles to the establishment of the North-West
Company, which was in charge of a well-known North-West
trader, Hugh McGUlies. While he was treated with civUity,
it is plain from his cautions to McGUlies and his bearing to
him, that he was jealous of the influence which British traders
were then exercising in Minnesota.
Ha-ring made a treaty -with the Chippewa Indians of Eed
Lake, Pike's work was largely accomplished, and in AprU he
departed from this region, where he had shown great energy
and tact, to give in his report after a voyage of some nine
months. A most melancholy interest attaches to this gentlemanly
and much respected officer of the United States. In the war
of 1812-15, Pike, then made a general, was killed at the taking

328 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
of York (Toronto), in Upper Canada, by the explosion of the
magazine of the fort evacuated by General Sheaffe. Pike, as
leader on this Mississippi expedition, as commanding an
expedition on the Eio Grande, where he was captured by tbe
Spaniards, and as a brave soldier, has handed down an
honourable name and fame.

LONG AND KEATING.
The successful journey of Lewis and Clarke, as well as the
somewhat useful expedition of Lieutenant Pike, led the United
States Government to send in 1823 an expedition to the
northern boundary line 49 deg. N., which had been settled a few
years before. In charge of this was Major Stephen H. Long.
He was accompanied by a scientific corps consisting of Thomas
Say, zoologist and antiquary; Samuel Seymour, landscape
painter and designer ; and William H. Keating, mineralogist and
geologist, who also acted as historian of the expedition.
Leaving Philadelphia in April, the company passed overland
to Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi, ascended this river, and
going up its branch, the Minnesota, reached tbe town of
Mendota in the month of July. A well-known French half-
breed, Joseph Eenville, acted as guide, and several others
joined the party at this point. After journeying up the Minne
sota Eiver, partly by canoe, and partly by the use of horses,
they reached in thirteen days Big Stone Lake, which is
considered to be the somxe of the river. Following up the
bed of a dried-up stream for three miles, they found Lake
Traverse, the source of the Eed Eiver, and reached Pembina
Village, a collection of fifty or sixty log huts inhabited by half-
breeds, numbering about three hundred and fifty. We have
already seen how the North-West and Hudson's Bay Companies
had posts at this place, and that it had been visited regularly
by the Selkirk settlers as being in proximity to the open plains
where buffalo could be obtained. On the day after Long's
arrival he saw the return of the buffalo hunters from the chase.
The procession consisted of one hundred and fifteen carts, each
loaded with about eight hundred pounds of the pressed buffalo
meat. There were three hundred persons, including the women.

EXPEDITIONS TO THE FUR COUNTRY 329
The number of horses was about two hundred. Twenty
hunters, mounted on their best steeds, rode abreast, giving a
salute as they passed the encampment of the expedition.
One of Major Long's objects in making his journey was to
ascertain the point where the parallel of 49 deg. N. crossed the
Eed Eiver. For four days observations were taken and a flag
staff planted a short distance south of the 49th parallel. The
space to the boundary line was measured off, and an oak
post fixed on it, having on the north side the letters G. B.,
and on the south side U. S. This post was kept up and was
seen by the writer in 1871. In 1872, a joint expedition of
British and American engineers took observations and found
Long's point vurtually correct. They surveyed the line of
49 deg. eastward to Lake of the Woods and westward to the
Eocky Mountains. Posts were erected at short distances along
the boundary line, many of them of iron, with the words on
them, "Convention of London, 1818."
His work at Pembina having been accomplished. Major Long
gave up, on account of the low country to be passed, the
thought of following the boundary line eastward to the Lake of
the Woods. He sold his horses and took canoes down the
river to the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Garry, where he
was much interested in the northern civilization as well as in
the settlers who had Fort Douglas as their centre.
It was August 17th when Long's expedition left Port
Douglas and went down the Eed Eiver. It took but two days
to reach the mouth of the river and cross Lake Winnipeg to
Fort Alexander at the mouth of the Winnipeg Eiver. Six days
more brought the swift canoe-men up the river to Lake of the
Woods. At the falls of Eainy Eiver was the Hudson's Bay
Company establishment, then under the charge of fur trader
McGiUi-vray. On the opposite side of the river was the fort of
the American Pur Company. Following the old route, they
reached Grand Portage, September 12th, and thence the
expedition returned to the East. Major Long's expedition was
a well-conducted and successful enterprise. Its members
were of the highest respectability, and the two volumes written
by Secretary Keating have the charm of real adventure about
them.

33° THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
BELTEAMl's DASH.
When Major Long was leaving Fort Snelling, on the-
Mississippi, to go upon the expedition we have just described^
an erratic but energetic and clever Italian, named J. C.
Beltrami, asked to be allowed to accompany him. This aspir
ing but wayward man has left us a book, consisting of letters
addressed to Madame la Comtesse Compagoni, a lady of rank
in Florence, which is very interesting. On starting he -wrote r
" My first intention, that of going in search of the real source-
of the Mississippi, was always before my eyes."
Beltrami, while clever, seems to have been a man of
insufferable conceit. On the journey to Big Stone Lake and
thence along the river, in the buffalo hunts, in conferences with
the Sioux, the Italian adventurer awakened the resentment of
the commander of the expedition, who refused to allow him to
accompany his party further. This proved rather favourable
to the purpose of Beltrami, who, with a half-breed guide and
Chippewa Indians, started to go eastward, having a mule and a
dog train as means of transport. After a few days' journey the
guide left him, returning with the mule and dog train to
Pembina. Next his Indian guide deserted him, fearing the
Sioux, and Beltrami was left to make his way in a canoe up
the river to Eed Lake. Inexperienced in the management of a
bu'ch bark canoe, Beltrami was upset, but he at length pro
ceeded along the bank and shallows of the river, dragging the
canoe with a tow line after him, and arrived in miserable plight
at Eed Lake.
Here he engaged a guide and interpreter, and -writes that he
went "where no white man had previously travelled." He
was now on the highway to renown. He was taken from point
to point on the many lakes of Northern Minnesota, and affixed
names to them. On August 20th, 1823, he went over several
portages led by his guide to Turtle Lake, which was to him a
source of wonder, as he saw from it the flow of waters south
to the Gulf of Mexico, north to the Frozen Sea, east to the
Atlantic, and west toward tbe Pacific Ocean.
His own words are : "A vast platform crosses this distin
guished supreme elevation, and, what is more astonishing, in

EXPEDITIONS TO THE FUR COUNTRY 331
the midst of it rises a lake. How is this lake formed?
Whence do its waters proceed ? This lake has no issue ! And
my eyes, which are not deficient in sharpness, cannot discover
in the whole extent of the clearest and widest horizon any land
which rises above it. All places around it are, on the contrary,
considerably lower."
Beltrami then went to examine the surrounding country,
and found the lake, to which he gave the name of Lake Julia,
to be bottomless. This lake he pronounces to be the source of
the Mississippi Eiver. This opinion was published abroad and
accepted by some, but later explorations proved him to be wrong.
A small lake to the south-west, afterwards found to be the true
source, was described to him by his guide as Lac La Biche,
and he placed this on his chart as " Doe Lake," the west source
of the Mississippi. It is a curious fact that Lake Julia was
the same lake surveyed twenty-five years before by astronomer
Thompson. After further explorations, Beltrami returned to Fort Snelling,
near St. Paul, Minn., being clothed in Indian garments, with a
piece of bark for a hat.
The intrepid explorer found his way to New Orleans, where
he published " La Decouverte des Sources du Mississippi."
Though the work was criticized with some severity, yet
Beltrami, on his arrival at London in 1827, published " A
Pilgrimage in Europe and America " in two volumes, which
are the source of our information. The county in Minnesota,
which includes both Julia and Doe Lakes, is appropriately
called Beltrami County. CASS AND SCHOOLCEAFT.
Lewis Cass, of New Hampshire, was appointed Governor of
Michigan in 1818. Six years after this he addressed the
Secretary of War in Washington, proposing an expedition to
and through Lake Superior, and to the sources of the Missis
sippi. It was planned for an examination of the principal
features of the North-West, tributary to Lake Superior and the
Mississippi Eiver. This was sanctioned in 1820, and the
expedition embarked in May of that year at Detroit, Michigan,

332 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Henry Schoolcraft being mineralogist and Captain D. B.
Douglas topographer and astronomer.
The expedition, after much contrary weather, reached Sault
Ste. Marie, and the Governor, after much difficulty, here
negotiated a treaty with the Indians. Going by way of the
Fond du Lac, the party entered the St. Louis Eiver, and made
a tiresome portage to Sandy Lake station. This fur-trading
post the party left in July, and ascended the Upper Mississippi
to the Upper Cedar Lake, the name of which was changed to
Lake Cassina, and afterwards Cass Lake. From the Indians
Governor Cass learned that Lac La Biche — some fifty miles
further on — was the true source of the river, but he was
deterred by their accounts of the lowness of the water and
the fierceness of the current from attempting the journey any
further. The expedition ingloriously retired from the project,
going down to St. Anthony Falls, ascending tbe Wisconsin
Eiver, and thence down Fox Eiver. The Governor himself in
September arrived in Detroit, having crossed the Southern
Peninsula of Michigan on horseback.
Hon. J. W. Brown says : " When Governor Cass abandoned
his purpose to ascend the Mississippi to its source, he was
within an easy distance, comparatively speaking, of the goal
sought for. Less timidity had often been displayed in canoe
voyages, even in the face of low water, and an O-z-a-win-dib or
a Keg-wed-zis-sag, Indian guides, would have easily won the
battle of the day for Governor Cass."
SCHOOLCEAFT AT LENGTH SUCCEEDS.
Henry Eowe Schoolcraft, of good family, was born in New
York State, and was educated in that State and in Vermont.
His first expedition was in company with De Witt Clinton in a
journey to Missouri and Arkansas. On his return he published
two treatises which gave him some reputation as an explorer
and scientist. We have already spoken of the part taken by
him in the expedition of Governor Cass. He received after
this the appointment of " Superintendent of Indian Affairs " at
Sault Ste. Marie, and to this we are indebted for the treasury
of Indian lore published in four large quarto volumes, from
which Longfellow obtained his tale of " Hiawatha."

EXPEDITIONS TO THE FUR COUNTRY 333
In 1830 Schoolcraft received orders from Washington,
ostensibly for conference with the Indians, but in reality
to determine the source of the Mississippi. The Eev. W. T.
Boutwell, representing a Board of Missions, accompanied the
expedition. Lac La Biche was already known to exist, and to this
Schoolcraft pointed his e^^pedition. On their journey outward
Schoolcraft suddenly one day asked Boutwell the Greek and
Latin names for the headwaters or true source of a river. Mr.
Boutwell could not recall the Greek, but gave the two Latin
words — Veritas (truth) and caput (head). These were written
on a sUp of paper, and Mr. Schoolcraft struck out the first and
last three letters, and announced to Boutwell that "Itasca
shall be the name." It is true that Schoolcraft wrote a stanza
in which he says, " By fair Itasca shed," seemingly referring to
an Indian maiden. Boutwell, however, always maintained his
story of the name, and this is supported by the fact that the
word was never heard in the Ojibeway mythology.
The party followed the same route as that taken by
Governor Cass on his journey, reaching Cass Lake on
July lOtb, 1832. Taking the advice of Ozawinder, a Chippewa
Indian, they followed up their journey in birch bark canoes,
went up the smaller fork of the Mississippi, and then by
portage reached the eastern extremity of La Biche or Itasca
Lake. The party landed on the island in the lake which has since
been known as Schoolcraft Island, and here raised their flag.
After exploring the shores of the lake, he returned to Cass
Lake, and, full of pride of his discovery, journeyed home to
Sault Ste. Marie. On the map drawn to illustrate School
craft's inland journey occurs, beside the lake of his discovery,
the legend, " Itasca Lake, the source of the Mississippi Eiver;
length from Gulf of Mexico, 3160 miles; elevation, 1500 ft.
Beached July 13th, 1832."

CHAPTEE XXXIV.
FAMOUS JOUENEYS IN EUPEET'S LAND.
Fascination of an unknown land — Adventure, science, or gain —
Lieutenant Lefroy's magnetic survey — Hudson's Bay Company
assists — Winters at Fort Chipewyan — First scientific -visit to
Peace River — Notes lost — Not "gratuitous canoe conveyance"
— Captain Palliser and Lieutenant Hector — Journey through
Rupert's Land — Rocky Mountain passes— On to the coast— A
successful expedition — Hind and Dawson — To spy out the land
for Canada — The fertile belt — Hind's description good — Milton
and Cheadle — Winter on the Saskatchewan — Reach Pacific Ocean
in a pitiable condition — Captain Butler — The horse Blackie and
dog " Cerf Vola " — Fleming and Grant — " Ocean to ocean " —
" Land fitted for a healthy and hardy race " — Wagon road and
railway.
The vast area of Eupert's Land and the adjoining Indian terri
tories have always had a fascination for the British imagina
tion ; and not alone its wide extent, but its being a fur traders'
Paradise, and in consequence largely a "terra incognita," has
led adventurous spirits to desire to explore it.
Just as Sir John Mandeville's expedition to the unknown
regions of Asia in the fourteenth century has appealed to the
hardy and brave sons of Britain from that early day ; and in
later times the famous ride of Colonel Burnaby to Khiva in our
own generation has led Central Asia to be viewed as a land
of mystery ; so the plains of Eupert's Land, with the reputed
Chinese wall thrown round them by the Hudson's Bay Com
pany's monopoly, have been a favourite resort for the traveUer,
the mighty hunter, and the scientist.
It is true no succeeding records of adventure can have the
interest for us that gathers around those of the intrepid Veran
drye, the mysterious Hearne, or the heroic Alexander Mackenzie,
whose journeys we have already described, yet many daring

FAMOUS JOURNEYS IN RUPERT'S LAND 335
a,dventurers who have gone on scientific or exploratory expedi
tions, or who have travelled the wide expanse for sport or for
mere curiosity, may claim our attention.
lepeoy's magnetic suevey.
The discovery of the magnetic pole by Sir John Eoss, and the
continued interest in the problems connected with the Arctic
Sea, the romance of the North land, and the dream of a North-
West Passage, led to the desire to have a scientific survey of
the wide expanse of Eupert's Land. The matter was brought
to the notice of the Eoyal Society by Major, afterwards
General Sir Edward Sabine, a noted student of magnetism.
Sir John Herschell, the leading light on the subject of physics,
succeeded in inducing the Society to pronounce a favour
able opinion on the project, and the strong influence of
the Eoyal Society, under the presidency of the Marquis of
Northampton, induced the Lords of the Treasury to meet the
estimated expenses, nine hundred and ten pounds, with the
nnderstanding that, as stated by the President, gratuitous canoe
conveyance would be provided by the Hudson's Bay Company
in the territories belonging to them.
Lieutenant, afterwards General Sir Henry Lefroy, a young
artillery officer, was selected to go upon the journey. A circular
letter was sent to the Hudson's Bay Company posts by Governor
Simpson, directing that every assistance should be given to
the survey. Lefroy, having wintered in Montreal, was given
a passage on May 1st, 1842, on the canoes for the North-
West. Passing up the Ottawa and along the fur traders'
route, he soon reached Sault Ste. Marie and Fort William ;
magnetic observations, accurate observations of latitude and
longitude being made at the Hudson's Bay Company posts
along tbe route. Kakabeka Falls and the various points along
the Kaministiquia route were examined, and exchanging the
" canot de maitre " for the " canot de Nord," by way of Lake
of the Woods and Lake Winnipeg, the observer arrived at Fort
Garry on June 29th, having found Sir George Simpson at
Lower Port Garry.
After a close examination of the Eed Eiver Valley and some
geological observations on the west side of Lake Winnipeg,

336 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Lefroy made his way to Norway House, and then by the water
courses, four hundred miles, to York Factory. Having done
good work on the Bay, he made the return journey to Norway
House, and on August 22nd, Cumberland House on the Saskat
chewan was gained. Here he adopted the latitude and longi
tude taken by FrankUn's two land expeditions, and here took
seven independent observations of variation and dip of the
magnetic needle.
Now striking energetically northward, and stopping long
enough at the posts to take the necessary observations, the
explorer arrived at Port Chipewyan on September 23rd. It
was twelve years since the dwellers on Lake Athabasca had
been visited by any traveller from the south, and Lefroy's
voyageurs, as they completed their three thousand miles of
journey, decked out in their best apparel, made the echoes of
the lake resound with their gay chansons. Lefroy wintered in
the fort, where the winter months were enjoyed in the well-
selected library of the Company and the new experiences of tbe
fur trader's life, while his voyageurs went away to support
themselves at a fishing station on the lake.
The summer of 1843 was spent in a round of thirteen
hundred and forty miles, going from Lake Athabasca, up the
Peace Eiver to Fort Dunvegan, then by way of Lower Slave
Lake to Edmonton, and down the Saskatchewan to Cumber
land. Lefroy claims that no scientific traveller had visited tbe
Peace Eiver since the time of Alexander Mackenzie, fifty-five
years before. Unfortunately, Lefroy's notes of this journey
and some of his best observations were lost in his return
through the United States, and could not be replaced.
In March, 1844, Lieutenant Lefroy left Lake Athabasca, and
traveUed on snow shoes to Fort Eesolution on Great Slave Lake,
and thence to Fort Simpson, four hundred and fifty miles,
having his instruments for observation borne on dog sleds.
This journey was made in nineteen days. Waiting at the Port
till May, he accomplished the descent of the Mackenzie Eiver
after the breaking up of the ice, and reached Port Good Hope.
The return journey to Fort Eesolution was made at a very
rapid rate, and the route thence to Lake Athabasca was
followed. The diary ends June 30th, 1844.

FOKT EDMOKTON, ON THE NOETH SASKATCHEWAN.

f <r(^'/3

4 '"«/

J-ASPEK HOUSE, EOCKY MOUNTAINS.

[Page 336.

FAMOUS JOURNEYS IN RUPERT'S LAND 337
At the close of the expedition some misunderstanding arose
as to the settlement of the accounts. The Hudson's Bay Com
pany had promised to give "gratuitous canoe conveyance."
The original plan of the journey was, however, much changed,
and Lieutenant Lefroy was a much greater expense to the
Company than had been expected. A bill of upwards of twelve
hundred pounds was rendered by the Hudson's Bay Company
to the Eoyal Society. After certain explanations and negotia
tions a compromise of eight hundred and fifty pounds was
agreed on, and this was paid by the Treasury Department to
the Company.
The work done by Lieutenant Lefroy was of the most
accurate and valuable kind. His name is remembered as that
of one of the most trustworthy of the explorers of the plains of
Eupert's Land and the North, and is commemorated by Port
Lefroy in the Eocky Mountains. It is true his evidence,
recorded in the Blue Book of 1857, was somewhat disappointing,
but his errors were those of judgment, not of prejudice or
intention. palliser and hectoe.
The approach of the time when the twenty-one years' lease
of the Indian territories granted by the Imperial Parliament to
the Hudson's Bay Company was drawing near a close in 1857,
when the Committee of the House of Commons met in
February of this year to consider the matter. A vast mass of
evidence was taken, and the consideration of the Blue Book
containing this will afford us material for a very interesting
chapter. The interest in the matter, and the necessity for
obtaining expert information, led the Imperial Government to
organize an expedition under Captain John Palliser, E.N. A.,
of the Eoyal Engineers. With Captain Palliser, who was to
go up the Canadian lakes to the interior, was associated
Lieutenant Blakiston, E.N., who received orders to proceed by
ship to York Factory and meet the main expedition at some
point in Eupert's Land. The geologist of the expedition was
James Hector, M.D. (Edin.). J. W. Sullivan was secretary and
M. E. Bourgeau, botanist.
After the usual incidents of an ocean voyage, some difficulty z

338 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
with the Customs authorities in New York arose as to the entry
of astronomical instruments, which was happily overcome, and
after a long journey by way of Detroit, Sault Ste. Marie was
reached, where Palliser found two birch bark canoes and
sixteen voyageurs awaiting him, as provided by the Hudson's
Bay Company. Sir George Simpson had lately passed this
point. Journeying along the fur traders' route, the explorers
found themselves expected at Fort Prances on Eainy Eiver.
Here a deputation of Indians waited upon them, and the old
chief discoursed thus : "I do not ask for presents, although I
am poor and my people are hungry, but I know you have
come straight from the Great Country, and we know that no
men from that country ever came to us and lied. I want you
to declare to us truthfully -what the Great Queen of your
country intends to do to us when she wUl take the country
from the fur company's people. All around me I see tbe
smoke of the white men to rise. The ' Long Knives ' (the
Americans) are trading with our neighbours for their lands and
they are cheating them and deceiving them. Now, we will
not sell nor part with our lands."
Having reached Port Garry, Captain Palliser divided his
party, sending one section west, and himself going south to tbe
boundary line with the other. Going west from Pembina,
Palliser reached the French half-breed settlement of St. Joseph
(St. Jo.), and some days afterwards Turtle Mountain. Thence
he hurried across country to Fort Ellice to meet the other
portion of his expedition.
While the tired horses rested here he made an excursion of
a notable kind to the South-West. This was to the " Eoches
Percees " on the Souris Eiver. This is a famous spot, noted
for the presence of Tertiary sandstone exposures, which have
weathered into the most fantastic shapes. It is a sacred spot of
the Indians. Here, as at the "Eed Pipestone Quarry," de
scribed by Longfellow, and not more than one hundred and fifty
miles distant from it, Sioux, Assiniboines, and Crees meet in peace.
Though war may prevail elsewhere, this spot is by mutual
agreement kept as neutral. At this point Palliser saw a great
camp of Assiniboines.
Eeturning from this side excursion, the Captain resumed his

FAMOUS JOURNEYS IN RUPERT'S LAND 339
command, and having obtained McKay, the Hudson's Bay
Company officer at Port Ellice, with Governor Christie's
permission, set off by way of Qu'Appelle Lakes for the elbow
of the Saskatchewan.
On the South Saskatchewan Palliser came to the " heart of
the buffalo country." The whole region as far as the eye
could reach was covered with buffalo in bands varying from
hundreds to thousands. So vast were the herds, that he began
to have serious apprehensions for his horses, as " the grass was
eaten to the earth, as if the placehad been devastated by locusts."
Crossing the Saskatchewan the explorers went northward to
Fort Carlton on the north branch, where the party -wintered
while Captain Palliser returned to Canada, paying 65L to a
Eed Eiver trader to drive him five hundred and twenty miles
from Port Garry to Crow Wing, the nearest Minnesota settle
ment. Palliser's horse, for which he had bargained, was
killed at Pembina, and he walked the. four hundred and fifty
miles of the journey, which was made with painful slowness
by the struggling horses and sleds of the traders.
In June of the following year PaUiser left Fort Carlton,
part of his command going to the Eed Deer Eiver, the other
part to visit Fort Pitt and Edmonton House. From Edmonton
the explorer reports that during the summer, his men had
succeeded in finding a pass through the Eocky Mountains, one
not only practicable for horses, but which, -with but little
expense, could be rendered available for carts also.
He also states the passes discovered by him to be : —
(1) Kananaskis Pass and VermUion Pass ;
(2) Lake Pass and Beaver Foot Pass ;
(3) Little Pork Pass ;
(4) Kicking Horse Pass — six in all, which, with the North
Kootenay (on British territory), make up seven known passes.
Ha-ring wintered at Edmonton, he satisfied himself that this
region so far north and west is a good agricultural region, that
the Saskatchewan region compares favourably with that of the
Eed Eiver Valley, that the rule of the country should be given
over by the Hudson's Bay Company to the general Govern
ment, and that a railway could be built easily from the Eed
Eiver to the eastern foot of the Eocky Mountains.

340 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Orders having reached Palliser to proceed, he undertook, in
the summer of 1859, a journey across the Eocky Mountains,
foUo-wing in part the old Hudson's Bay Company trail. On
St. Andrew's Day, the party arrived at the Hudson's Bay post
at Vancouver on the Columbia, and was welcomed by Mr.
Graham, the officer in charge.
Taking steamer down the Columbia with his assistant
Sullivan, Captain Palliser went to Victoria, a Hudson's Bay
Company establishment on Vancouver Island, whither they
were followed by Dr. Hector. Journeying south-west to San
Francisco, he returned, via Isthmus of Panama, to New York
and England.
The expedition was one of the best organized, best managed,
and most successful that visited Eupert's Land. The report is
a sensible, well-balanced, minute, and reliable account of the
country passed over.
HIND AND DAWSON's EXPLOEATION.
In the same year that Palliser's expedition was despatched
by the British Government to examine the resources and
characteristics of Eupert's Land, a party was sent by the
Canadian Government with similar ends in view, but more
especially to examine the routes and means of access by which
the prairies of the North-West might be reached from Lake
Superior. The staff of the party was as follows : George Gladman,
director ; Professor Henry Youle Hind, geologist ; W. H. E.
Napier, engineer ; S. J. Dawson, surveyor. These, along with
several foremen, twelve Caughnawaga Iroquois, from near
Lachine, and twelve Ojibeway Indians from Port William,
made up a stirring canoe party of forty-four persons.
In July, 1857, the expedition left Toronto, went by land
to ColUngwood on Lake Huron, embarked there on the
steamer ColUngwood, and passing by Sault Ste. Marie, reached
on August 1st Fort William at the mouth of the Kaministiquia.
Mr. John Mclnte, the officer of the Hudson's Bay Company
in charge of Fort William, has given to the writer an account
of the arrival of the party there with their great supply canoes,
trading outfit, and apparatus, piled up high on the steamer's

FAMOUS JOURNEYS IN RUPERT'S LAND 341
deck — a great contrast to the scanty but probably more efficient
means of transport found on a Hudson's Bay Company trading
journey. The party in due time went forward over the usual fur
traders' route, which we have so often described, and arrived at
Fort Garry early in September.
As the object of the expedition was to spy out the land,
the Eed Eiver settlement, now grown to considerable size,
afforded the explorers an interesting field for study. Simple
though the conditions of life were, yet the fact that six or seven
thousands of human beings were gaining a livelihood and
were possessed of a number of the amenities of life, made
its impress on the visitors, and Hind's chapters VI. to X. of
his first volume are taken up with a general account of
the settlement, the banks of the Eed Eiver, statistics
of population, administration of justice, trade, occupations
of the people, missions, education, and agriculture at Eed
Eiver. Having arrived at the settlement, the leaders devised plans
for overtaking their work. The approach of winter made it
impossible to plan expeditions over the plains to any profit.
Mr. Gladman returned by canoe to Lake Superior early in
September, Napier and his assistants took up their abode
among the better class of English-speaking half-breeds
between the upper and lower forts on the banks of the Eed
Eiver. Mr. Dawson found shelter among his Eoman Catholic
co-religionists half a mile from Port Garry. He and his
party were to be engaged during the winter between Eed Eiver
and the Lake of the Woods, along the route afterwards called
the Dawson Eoad, while Hind followed his party up the western
bank of Eed Eiver to Pembina, and his own account is that
there was of them " aU told, five gentlemen, five half-breeds,
six saddle horses, and five carts, to which were respectively
attached four poor horses and one refractory mule."
This party was returning to Canada, going by way of Crow
Wing, thence by stage coach to St. Paul, on the Mississippi,
then by raU unbroken to Toronto, which was reached after an
absence of three and a half months.
The next season Hind was placed in charge of the expedition
and with new assistants w^ent up the lakes in May, leading

342 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
them by the long-deserted route of Grand Portage instead of
by Kaministiquia. The journey from Lake Superior to Port
Garry was made in about twenty-one days. On their arrival at
Eed Eiver the party found that Mr. Dawson had gone on an
exploring tour to the Saskatchewan. Having organized his
expedition Hind now went up the Assiniboine to Fort ElUce.
The Qu'Appelle Valley was then explored, and the lake reached
from which two streamlets flow, one into the Qu'Appelle and
thence to the Assiniboine, the other into the Saskatchewan.
Descending the Saskatchewan, at the mouth of which the
Grand Eapids impressed the party, they made the journey
thence up Lake Winnipeg and Eed Eiver to the place of
departure. The tour was a most interesting one, having
occupied all the summer. Hind was a close observer, was
most skilful in working with the Hudson's Bay Company
and its officers, and he gained an excellent view of the most
fertUe parts of the country. His estimate of it on the whole has
been wonderfully borne out by succeeding years of experience
and investigation. MILTON AND CHEADLE.
The world at large, after Hind's expedition and the publica
tion of bis interesting observations, began to know more of the
fur traders' land and showed more interest in it. In the
years succeeding Hind's expedition a number of enterprising
Canadians reached Port Garry by way of St. Paul, Minn., and
took up their abode in the country. A daring band of nearly
200 Canadians, drawn by the gold fever, started in 1862, on
an overland journey to Cariboo ; but many of them perished
by the way. Three other well-known expeditions deserve
notice. The first of these was in 1862 by Viscount Milton and Dr.
Cheadle. Coming from England by way of Minnesota to
Fort Garry, they stopped at Eed Eiver settlement, and by
conveyance crossed the prairies in their first season as far as
Fort Carlton on the North Saskatchewan, and wintered there.
The season was enjoyable, and in spring the explorers ascended
the Saskatchewan to Edmonton, and then, by way of the Yellow
Head Pass, crossed the Eocky Mountains. Their descen

FAMOUS JOURNEYS IN RUPERT'S LAND 343
down the Thompson Eiver was a most difficult one. The
explorers were nearly lost through starvation, and on
their arrival by way of Praser Eiver at Victoria their
appearance was most distressing and their condition most
pitiable. A few years ago, in company with a party of members
of the British Association, Dr. Cheadle visited Winnipeg, and
at a banquet in the city expressed to the writer his surprise
that the former state of scarcity of food even on Eed Eiver had
been so changed into the evident plenty which Manitoba
now enjoys. Milton and Cheadle's " The North-West Passage
by Land" is a most enjoyable book.
CAPTAIN BUTLBE.
In the early months of the year 1870, when Eed Eiver
settlement was under the hand of the rebel Louis Eiel, a tall,
distinguished-looking stranger descended the Eed Eiver in the
steamer International. News had been sent by a courier on
horseback to the rebel chief that a dangerous stranger was
approaching. The stalwart Irish visitor was Captain W. P.
Butler, of H. M. 69th regiment of foot. As the International
neared Fort Garry, Butler, with a well-known resident of Eed
Eiver settlement, sprang upon the river-bank from the steamer
in the dark as she turned into the Assiniboine Eiver.
He escaped to the lower part of the settlement, but the know
ledge that he had a letter from the Eoman Catholic Archbishop
Tache led to the rebel chief sending for and promising him a
safe-conduct. Butler came and inspected the fort, and again
departed to Lake Winnipeg, Eiver Winnipeg, and Lake of the
Woods, where he accomplished his real mission, in telling to
General Wolseley, of the relief expedition coming to drive
away the rebels, the state of matters in the Eed Eiver.
Captain Butler then went west, crossed country to the
Saskatchewan, descended this river, and in winter came
through, by snow-shoe and dog train, over Lakes Winnipegoosis
and Manitoba to the east, and then to Europe.
Love of adventure brought Captain Butler back to the North-
West. In 1872 he journeyed through the former fur traders'
land, reaching Lake Athabasca in March, 1873. Ascending the
Peace Eiver, he arrived in Northern British Columbia in May.

344 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Through three hundred and fifty miles of the dense forests of
New Caledonia he toiled to reach Quesnel, on the Fraser, four
hundred miles north of Victoria, British Columbia, where he
in due time landed.
Captain Butler has left a graphic, perhaps somewhat em
bellished, account of his travels in the books, " Great Lone
Land " and " Wild North Land." The central figure of his first
book is the faithful horse "Blackie" and of the second the
Eskimo dog " Cerf- Vola." The appreciative reader feels, how
ever, especially in the latter, the spirit and power of Milton's
and Cheadle's " North-West Passage by Land " everywhere in
these descriptive works. FLEMING AND GEANT.
Third of these expeditions was that undertaken in 1872,
under the leadership of Sandford Fleming, which has been
chronicled in the work " Ocean to Ocean," by Eev. Principal
Grant. The writer saw this expedition at Winnipeg in the
summer of its arrival. It came for the purpose of crossing the
plains, as a preliminary survey for a railway. The party came
up the lakes, and by boat and portage over the traders' route,
and the Dawson Eoad from Lake of the Woods to Eed Eiver, and
halted near Fort Garry. Going westward, they for the most
part followed the path of Milton and Cheadle. Fort Carlton
and then Edmonton House were reached, and the Yellow Head
Pass was followed to the North Thompson Eiver. The forks of
the river at Kamloops were passed, and then the canoe way
down the Fraser to the sea was taken. The return journey
was made by way of San Francisco. The expedition did much
to open the way for Canadian emigration and to keep before
the minds of Canadians the necessity for a waggon road across
the Eocky Mountains and for a railway from ocean to ocean as
soon as possible. Dr. Grant's conclusion was : " We know
that we have a great North-West, a country like old Canada —
not suited for lotus-eaters to live in, but fitted to rear a healthy
and hardy race."

CHAPTEE XXXV.
EED EIVEE SETTLEMENT.
1817-1846.
Chiefly Scottish and French settlers — Many hardships — Grass
hoppers — YeUow Head — " Gouverneur Sauterelle " — Swiss set
tlers — Remarkable parchmen-t — Captain Bulger, a military
governor — Indian troubles — Donald Mackenzie, a fur trader,
governor — Many projects faU — The flood — Plenty follows — Social
condition^ — Lower Fort built — Upper Fort Garry — Council of
Assiniboia — The settlement organized — Duncan Finlayson
governor — English farmers — Governor Christie — Serious
epidemic — A regiment of regulars — The unfortunate major — The
people restless.
The cessation of hostiUties between the rival Companies
afforded an opportunity to Lord Selkirk's settlement to proceed
with its development. To the scared and harassed settlers it
gave the prospects of peace under their Governor, Alexander
Macdonell, who had been in the fur trade, but took charge of
the settlement after the departure of Miles Macdonell. The
state of affairs was far from promising. The population of
Scottish and Irish settlers was less than two hundred. There-
were a hundred or thereabout of De Meurons, brought up by
Lord Selkirk, and a number of French voyageurs, free traders
or " freemen " as opposed to engages, and those who, with their
half-breed families, had begun to assemble about the forks and
to take up holdings for themselves. For the last mentioned,
the hunt, fishing, and the fur trade afforded a living ; but as to
the settlers and De Meurons, Providence seemed to favour them
but little more than the hostUe Nor'-Westers had done.
The settlers were chiefly men who were unacquainted with
farming, and they had few implements, no cattle or horses, and
the hoe and spade were their only means of fitting the soil for

346 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
the small quantity of grain supplied them for sowing. Other
means of employment or livelihood there were none. In 1818
the crops of the settlers were devoured by an incursion of
locusts. On several occasions clouds of these destructive
insects have visited Eed Eiver, and their ravages are not only
serious, but they paralyze all effort on the part of the husband
men. The description given by tbe prophet Joel was precisely
reproduced on the banks of the Eed Eiver, " the land is as the
Garden of Eden before them, and behind them is a desolate
wilderness ; yea, and nothing shall escape them." There
was no resource for the settlers but to betake themselves to
Pembina to seek the buffalo. In the next year they sowed
their scanty seed, but the young " grass-hoppers," as they
were called, rose from the eggs deposited in the previous year,
and while the wheat was in the blade, cleared it from the fields
more thoroughly than any reaper could have done. This
scourge continued till the spring of 1821, when the locusts dis
appeared suddenly, and the crop of that year was a bountiful
one. During these years the colony was understood to be under
the personal ownership of Lord Selkirk. He regarded himself
as responsible, as lord paramount of the district, for tbe safety
and support of the colonists. In the first year of the settle
ment he had sent out supplies of food, clothing, implements,
arms, and ammunition ; a store-house had been erected ; and
this continued during these years to be supplied with what was
needed. It was the governor's duty to regulate the distribution
of these stores and to keep account of them as advances to the
several settlers, and of the interest charged upon such advances.
Whilst the store was a boon, even a necessity, to the settlers, it
was also an instrument of oppression. Alexander Macdonell was
called "Gouverneur Sauterelle" ("Grasshopper Governor"),
the significant statement being made by Eoss " that he was so
nicknamed because he proved as great a destroyer vrithin
doors as the grasshoppers in the fields." He seems, more
over, to have been an extravagant official, being surrounded by
a coterie of kindred spirits, who lived in " one prolonged scene
of debauchery."
With the departure of the grasshoppers from the country

RED RIVER SETTLEMENT 347
departed also the unpopular and unfaithful Governor. It
was only on the visit of Mr. Halkett, one of Lord Selkirk's
executors, that Macdonell's course of "false entries, erro
neous statements, and over-charges " was discovered, and the
accounts of the settlers adjusted to give them their rights.
The disgraceful reign of Governor Macdonell was brought to
a close none too soon.
During the period of Governor Macdonell's rule a number
of important events had taken place. The union of the two
rival Companies was accomplished. Clergy, both Eoman
Catholic and of the Church of England, had arrived in the
colony. A farm had been begun by the Colony officers on the
banks of the Assiniboine,. and the name of Hayfield Farm was
borne by it. Perhaps the most notable event was the arrival at
Eed Eiver of a number of Swiss settlers. These were brought
out by Colonel May, late of the De Watteville regiment. A
native of Berne, he had come to Canada, but not to Eed Eiver.
The Swiss were in many ways an element of interest.
Crossing the ocean by Hudson's Bay Company's ships they
arrived at York Factory in August, 1821, and were borne in
the Company's York boats to their destination. Gathered, as
they had been, from the towns and villages of Switzerland, and
being chiefly "watch and clock makers, pastry cooks, and
musicians," they were ill-suited for such a new settlement
as that of Eed Eiver, where they must become agriculturists.
They seem to have been honest and orderly people, though
very poor.
It wUl be remembered that the De Meurons had come as
soldiers ; they were chiefly, therefore, unmarried men. The
arrival of the Swiss, with their handsome sons and daughters,
produced a flutter of excitement in the wifeless De Meuron
cabins along German Creek. The result is described in the
words of a most trustworthy eye-witness of what took place :
" No sooner had the Swiss emigrants arrived than many of
the Germans, who had come to the settlement a few years ago
from Canada and had houses, presented themselves in search
of a wife, and having fixed their attachment with acceptance,
they received ithose families in which was their choice into
their habitations. Those who had no daughters to afford this

348 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
introduction were obliged to pitch their tents along the banks
of the river and outside the stockades of the fort, till they
removed to Pembina in the better prospects of provisions for
the winter." The whole affair was a repetition of the old
Sabine story.
In connection with these De Meurons and Swiss, it may be
interesting to mention a remarkable parchment agreement
which the writer has perused. It is eleven feet long
and one and a half feet wide, containing the signatures of
forty-nine settlers, of which twenty-five are those of De
Meurons or Swiss, the remainder being of Highlanders and
Norwegians. Among these names are Bender, Lubrevo,.
Quiluby, Bendowitz, Kralic, Wassloisky, Joli, Jankosky,
Wachter, Lassota, Laidece, Warcklur, Krusel, Jolicoeur,
Maquet, and Lalonde.
This agreement binds the Earl of Selkirk or his agents not
to engage in the sale of spirituous liquors or the fur trade, but
to provide facilities for transport of goods from and into the
country, and at moderate rates. The settlers are bound to
keep up roads, to support a clergyman, and to provide for
defence. The document is not only a curiosity, but historically
valuable. There is no date upon it, but the date is fixed
by the signatures, viz. " for the Buffalo Wool Company, John
Pritchard." That Company, we know, began, and as we shall
see afterwards, failed in the years 1821 and 1822. This,,
accordingly, is the date of the document marking the era of the
fusion of the Hudson's Bay Company and the Nor'-Westers.
The De Meurons and Swiss never took kindly to Eed Eiver.
So early as 1822, after wintering at Pembina, a number of them,
instead of turning their faces toward Fort Garry, went up the
Eed Eiver into Minnesota, and took up farms where St. Paul
now stands, on the Mississippi. They were the first settlers
there. Among their names are those of Garvas, Pierrie, Louis
Massey, and that of Perry, men who became very rich in herds-
in the early days of Minnesota.
On the removal of Governor Macdonell, Captain A. Bulger
was, in June, 1822, installed as Governor of Assiniboia. His
rule only lasted one year and proved troublous, though he was
a high-minded and capable official. There lies before the

RED RIVER SETTLEMENT 349
writer, " Papers Eeferring to Eed Eiver," consisting chiefly of
a long letter published by the Captain in India, written in 1822
to Andrew Colville, one of the executors of Lord Selkirk.
One of his chief troubles was the opposition given him by
the Hudson's Bay Company officer Clarke, who was in charge
of their establishment at the Porks. Every effort was put
forth by Clarke to make Bulger's position uncomfortable, and
the opposition drove the Captain away.
Bulger also had a worrying experience with Peguis, the
chief of the Indians on the Lower Eed Eiver. Though Peguis
and the other chiefs had made a treaty with Lord Selkirk and
ceded certain lands to his Lordship, they now, with the fickle
ness of children, repented of their bargain and sought additional
payment for the concession. Bulger's military manner, how
ever, overcame the chief, and twenty-five lashes administered
to an Indian who had attempted violence had a sobering effect
upon the Eed man.
Governor Bulger expresses himself very freely on the
character of the De Meuron settlers. He says : " It is quite
absurd to suppose they will ever prove peaceable and
industrious settlers. The only charm that Eed Eiver possesses
in their eyes, and, I may say in the eyes of almost all the
settlers, is the colony stores. Their demands are insatiable,
and when refused, their insolence extreme. United as they
are among themselves, and ferocious in their dispositions,
nothing can be done against them." It is but fair, however,
to state that the Captain had a low opinion both of the Hudson's
Bay Company's officers and of the French Canadian freemen.
Governor Bulger, on retiring, made the following suggestions,
which show the evils which he thought needed a remedy, viz.
" to get courts and magistrates nominated by the King ; to get
a company of troops sent out to support the magistrates and
keep the natives in order ; to circulate money ; to find a market
for the surplus grain ; to let it be determined whether the
council at York Factory are justified in preventing the settlers
from buying moose or deer skin for clothing and provisions."
The Governor's closing words are, "if these things cannot be
done, it is my sincere advice to you to spend no more of Lord
Selkirk's money upon Eed Eiver."

350 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Governor Bulger was succeeded by Eobert Pelly, who was
the brother of Sir J. H. Pelly, the Governor of the Company in
London. It seems to have been about this time that the
executors of Lord Selkirk, while not divesting themselves of
their Eed Eiver possessions, yet in order to avoid the unseemly
conflicts seen in Bulger's time, entrusted the administration of
their affairs to the Company's officers at Eed Eiver. We have
seen in a former chapter the appointment of the committee to
manage these Eed Eiver affairs at Norway House council.
After two years Pelly retired, and Donald McKenzie, a fur
trader who had taken part in the stirring events of Astoria, to
which we have referred, became Governor.
The discontent of the settlers, and the wish to advance the
colony, led the Company for a number of years after the union
of the Companies to try various projects for the development
of the colony. Though the recital of these gives a melancholy
picture of failure, yet it shows a heartiness and willingness on
the part of the Company to do the best for the settlers, albeit
there was in every case bad management.
Immediately after the union of the two fur Companies in
1821, a company to manufacture cloth from buffalo wool was
started. This, of course, was a mad scheme, but there was a
clamour that work should be found for the hungry immigrants.
The Company began operations, and every one was to become
rich. 110,000 of money raised in shares was deposited in the
Hudson's Bay Company's hands as the bankers of the "Buffalo
Wool Company," machinery was obtained, and the people
largely gave up agriculture to engage in killing buffalo and
collecting buffalo skins. Trade was to be the phUosopher's.
stone. In 1822 the bubble burst. It cost $12.50 to manufac
ture a yard of buffalo wool cloth on Eed Eiver, and the cloth
only sold for $1.10 a yard in London. The Hudson's Bay
Company advanced $12,500 beyond the amount deposited, and
a few years afterwards was under the necessity of forgiving
the debt. The Hudson's Bay Company had thus its first
lesson in encouraging the settlers.
The money distributed to the settlers through this.
Company, however, bought cattle for them, several hundred
cattle having been brought from Illinois that year. A

RED RIVER SETTLEMENT 351
model farm for the benefit of the settlers was next undertaken.
Buildings, implements, and also a mansion, costing $3000, for
the manager, were provided. A few years of mismanagement
and extravagance brought this experiment to an end also, and
the founders were $10,000 out of pocket. Such was another
scheme to encourage the settlers.
Driven to another effort by the discontent of the people.
Governor Simpson tried another model farm. At a fine spot
on the Assiniboine, farm dwellings, bams, yards, and stables
were erected and fields enclosed, well-bred cattle were imported,
also horses. The farm was well stocked -with implements.
Mismanagement, however, again brought its usual result, and
after six years the trial was given up, there having been a loss
to the Company of $17,500.
Nothing daunted, tbe Eed Eiver settlers started the " Assini
boine Wool Company," but as it fell through upon the first
demand for payment of the stock, it hurt nobody, and ended,
according to the proverb, with " much cry and little wool."
Another enterprise was next begun by Governor Simpson,
" The Flax and Hemp Company," but though the farmers grew
a plentiful quantity of these, the undertaking failed, and the
crop rotted on the fields. A more likely scheme for the
encouragement of the settlers was now set on foot by the
Governor, viz. a new sheep speculation. Sheep were purchased
in Missouri, and after a journey of nearly fifteen hundred miles,
only two hundred and fifty sheep out of the original fourteen
hundred survived the hardships of the way.
A tallow company is said to have swallowed up from $3000
to $5000 for the Hudson's Bay Company, and a good deal of
money was spent in opening up a road to Hudson Bay. Thus
was enterprise after enterprise undertaken by the Company,
largely for the good of the settlers. If ever an honest effort
was made to advance an isolated and difficult colony, it was
in these schemes begun by the Hudson's Bay Company here.
The most startling event during the rule of Governor
Mackenzie was the Eed Eiver flood in 1826. The winter of
this year had been severe, and a great snow fall gave promise
of a wet and dangerous spring. The snow had largely cleared
away, when, early in the month of May, the waters began rising

352 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
with surprising rapidity. The banks of the rivers were soon
unable to contain the floods, and once on the prairie "level the
waters spread for miles east and west in a great lake. The
water rose several feet in the houses of the settlers. When the
wind blew the waves dashed over the roofs. Buildings were
undermined and some were floated away. The settlers were
compelled to leave their homes, and took flight to the heights
of Stony Mountain, Little Mountain, Bird's HUl, and other
elevations. For weeks the flood continued, but at last, on its
receding, the homeless settlers returned to their battered and
damaged houses, much disheartened. The crops, however,
were sown, though late, and a fair harvest was gathered in that
unpromising year.
The flood was the last straw that broke the back of the
endurance of De Meurons and Swiss colonists. They almost
all withdrew from the country and became settlers in Minnesota
and other States of the American Union. Either from pride
or real dislike, the Selkirk settlers declared that they were well
rid of these discontented and turbulent foreigners.
The year of the flood seems to have introduced an era of
plenty, for the people rebuilt their houses, cultivated their
fields, received full returns for their labour, and were enabled
to pay off their debts and improve their holdings. During
Governor McKenzie's regime at the time of the flood, the
population of the Eed Eiver settlement had reached fifteen
hundred. After this, though the colony lost by desertions, as we have
seen, yet it continued to gain by the addition of retiring
Hudson's Bay Company officers and servants, who took up
land as allowed by the Company in strips along the river after
the Lower Canadian fashion, for which they paid small sums.
There were in many cases no deeds, simply the registration of
the name in the Company's register. A man sold his lot for a
horse, and it was a matter of chance whether the registration
of the change in the lot took place or not. This was certainly
a mode of transferring land free enough to suit an English
radical or even Henry George. The land reached as far out
from the river as could be seen by looking under a horse, say
two miles, and back of this was the limitless prairie, which

RED RIVER SETTLEMENT 353
became r species of common where all could cut hay and
where herds could run unconfined. Wood, water, and hay
were the necessaries of a Eed Eiver settler's life ; to cut poplar
rails for his fences in spring and burn the dried rails in the
following winter was quite the authorized thing. There was
no inducement to grow surplus grain, as each settler could
only get a market for eight bushels of wheat from the Hudson's
Bay Company. It could not be exported. Pemmican from
the plains was easy to get ; the habits of the people were
simple ; their wants were few ; and while the condition of Eed
Eiver settlement was far from being that of an arcadia, waait
was absent and the people were becoming satisfied.
To Governor McKenzie, who ruled well for eight years,
credit is largely due for the peace and progress of the period.
Alexander Eoss, who came from the Eocky Mountains to Eed
Eiver in 1825, is the chronicler of this period, and it is with
amusement we read his gleeful account of the erection of the
first stone building, small though it was, on the banks of Eed
Briver. Lime had been burnt from the limestone, found
abundantly along the lower part of the Eed Eiver, during the
time of Governor Bulger. It was in 1830 that the Hudson's
Bay Company built a small powder magazine of stone, near
Fort Garry. This was the beginning of solid architecture in
the settlement.
In the foUowing year the Hudson's Bay Company, evidently
encouraged by the thrift and contentment of the people, began
the erection of a very notable and important group of buildings,
some nineteen miles down the river from the forks. This was
called Lower Port Garry. It was built on the solid rock, and
was, and is to this day, surrounded by a massive stone wall.
Various reasons have been advanced for the building of this, the
first permanent fort so far from the old centre of trade, and of
the old associations at the " forks." Some have said it was
done to place it among the English people, as the French
settlers were becoming turbulent; some that it was at the
head of navigation from Lake Winnipeg, being north of the
St. Andrew's rapids ; and some maintained that the site was
chosen as having been far above the high water during the year
of flood, when Fort Douglas and Upper Fort Garry had been
A a

354 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
surrounded. The motive will probably never be known ; but
for a time it was the residence of the Governor of Eupert's Land
when he was in the country, and was the seat of government.
Four years afterwards, when Alexander Christie had replaced
Mr. Donald McKenzie as local governor, Fort Garry or Upper
Fort Garry was begun in 1835 at the forks, but on higher
ground than the original Port Garry of 1821, which had been
erected after the union of the Companies.
This fort continued the centre of business, government,
education, and public affairs for more than three decades and
was the nucleus of the City of Winnipeg. Sold in the year
1882, the fort was demoUshed, and the front gate now o-wned by
the city is all that remains of this historic group of buildings.
The destruction of the fort was an act of vandalism, reflecting
on the sordid man who purchased it from the Hudson's Bay
Company. In Governor Christie's time the necessity was recognized of
having a form of government somewhat less patriarchal than
the indi-ridual rule of the local governor had been. Accordingly,
the Council of Assiniboia was appointed by the Hudson's Bay
Company, the president being Sir George Simpson, the Governor
of Eupert's Land, and with him fourteen councillors. It may be
of interest to give the names of the members of this first council.
Besides the president there were : Alexander Christie, Governor
of the Colony ; Eev. D. T. Jones, Chaplain H. B. C. ; Eight
Eev. Bishop Provencher ; Eev. William Cochrane, Assistant
Chaplain ; James Bird, formerly Chief Factor, H. B. C. ; James
Sutherland, Esq. ; W. H. Cook, Esq. ; John Pritchard, Esq. ;
Eobert Logan, Esq. ; Sheriff Alex. Eoss ; John McCallum,
Coroner ; John Bunn, Medical Adviser ; Cuthbert Grant, Esq.,
Warden of the Plains ; Andrew McDermott, Merchant.
It is generally conceded, however, that the Council did not
satisfy the public aspirations. The President and CounoUlors
were all declared either sinecurists or paid servants of the
Company. The mass of the people complained at not being
represented. It was, however, a step very much in advance of
what had been, although there was a suspicion in the pubUe
mind that it had something of the form of popular government
without the substance.

RED RIVER SETTLEMENT 355
At the first meeting of the Council a number of measures
were passed. To preserve order a volunteer corps of sixty men
was organized, with a small annual allowance per man. Of
this body. Sheriff Eoss was commander. The settlement was
divided into four districts, over each of which a Justice of the
Peace was appointed, who held quarterly courts in their several
jurisdictions. At this court small actions only were tried, and
the presiding magistrate was allowed to refer any case of
exceptional difficulty to the court of governor and council. This
higher court sat quarterly also. In larger civil cases and in
criminal cases the law required a jury to be called. A jail and
court-house were erected outside the walls of Fort Garry. To
meet the expense involved under the new institutions a tax of
1\ per cent, duty was levied on imports and a like duty on
exports. The Hudson's Bay Company also agreed to contribute
three hundred pounds a year in aid of public works throughout
the settlement.
The year 1839 was notable in the history of the colony. A
New Governor, Duncan Finlayson, was appointed, and steps
were taken also to improve the judicial system which had been
introduced. An appointment was made of the first recorder for
Eed Eiver settlement. The new appointee was a young Scottish
la-wyer from Montreal, named Adam Thom. He had been a
joumaUst in Montreal, was of an ardent and somewhat aggres
sive disposition, but was a man of ability and broad reading.
Judge Thom was, however, a Company officer, and as such
there was an antecedent suspicion of him in the public mind.
It was pointed out that he was not independent, receiving his
appointment and his salary of seven hundred pounds from the
Company. In Montreal he had been known as a determined
loyaUst in the late Papineau rebellion, and the French people
regarded him as hostile to their race.
The population of the settlement continued to increase. In
the last year of Governor Finlayson's rule, twenty famiUes of
Lincolnshire farmers and labourers came to the country to
assist with their knowledge of agriculture. After five years'
rule Governor Finlayson retired from office, and was succeeded
for a short time by his old predecessor Mr. Alexander
Christie.

356 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
A serious epidemic visited the Eed Eiver in the year 1846.
Eoss describes it in the following graphic way: "In January
the influenza raged, and in May the measles broke out ; but
neither of these visitations proved fatal. At length in June
a bloody flux began its ravages first among the Indians, and
others among the whites ; like the great cry in Egypt, ' There
was not a house where there was not one dead.' On Eed
Eiver there was not a smiling face on ' a summer's day.'
From June 18th to August 2nd, the deaths averaged
seven a day, or three hundred and twenty-one in all, being
one out of every sixteen of our population. Of these one-
sixth were Indians, two-third half-breeds, and the remainder
white. On one occasion thirteen burials were proceeding at
once." During this year also the Oregon question, with which we
shall afterwards deal, threatened war between Great Britain
and the United States. The policy of the British Government
is, on the first appearance of trouble, to prepare for hostilities.
Accordingly the 6th royal regiment of foot, with sappers and
artillery, in all five hundred strong, was hurried out under
Colonel Crofton to defend the colony. Colonel Crofton took
the place of Alexander Christie as Governor. The addition of
this body of military to the colony gave picturesqueness to the
hitherto monotonous life of Eed Eiver. A market for produce
and the circulation of a large sum of money marked their stay
on Eed Eiver. The turbulent spirits who had made much
trouble were now silenced, or betook themselves to a safe place
across the boundary line.

CHAPTEE XXXVI.
THE PEAIEIES : SLEDGE, KEEL, WHEEL, CAYUSE, CHASE.
A picturesque life — The prairie hunters and traders — Gaily-capari
soned dog trains — The great winter packets — Joy in the lonely
forts — The summer trade — The York boat brigade — Expert
voyageurs — The famous Red River cart — Shagganappe ponies —
The screeching train— Tripping — The western cayuse — The great
buffalo hunt — Warden of the plains — Pemmican and fat — ^the
return in triumph.
The great prairies of Eupert's Land and their intersecting
rivers afforded the means for the unique and picturesque life of
the prairie hunters and traders. The frozen, snowy plains and
lakes were crossed in winter by the serviceable sledge drawn
by Eskimo dogs, familiarly called " Eskies " or " Huskies."
When summer had come, the lakes and rivers of the prairies,
formerly skimmed by canoes, during the fifty years from the
union of the Companies tiU the transfer of Eupert's Land to
Canada, were for freight and even rapid transit crossed and
foUowed by York and other boats. The transport of furs and
other freight across the prairies was accomplished by the use
of carts — entirely of wood — drawn by Indian ponies, or by oxen
in harness, whUe the most picturesque feature of the prairie
life of Eed Eiver was the departure of the brigade of carts -with
the hunters and their families on a great expedition for the
exciting chase of the buffalo. These salient points of the
prairie life of the last half-century of fur-trading life we may
with profit depict. SLEDGE AND PACKET.
Under the regime estabUshed by Governor Simpson, the
communication -with the interior was reduced to a system.
The great winter event at Eed Eiver was the leaving of the

3S8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
North-West packet about December 10th. By this agency
every post in the northern department was reached. Sledges
and snowshoes were the means by which this was accom
plished. The sledge or tobogan was drawn by three or four
" Huskies," gaily caparisoned ; and with these neatly harnessed
dogs covered with bells, the traveller or the load of valuables
was hurried across the pathless snowy wastes of the plains or
over the ice of the frozen lakes and rivers. The dogs carried
their freight of fish on which they lived, each being fed only
at the close of his day's work, and his allowance one fish.
The winter packet was almost entirely confined to the
transport of letters and a few newspapers. During Sir George
Simpson's time an annual file of the Montreal Gazette was
sent to each post, and to some of the larger places came a year's
file of the London Times. A box was fastened on the back
part of the sledge, and this was packed with the important
missives so prized when the journey was ended.
Going at the rate of forty or more miles a day with the
precious freight, the party with their sledges camped in the
shelter of a clump of trees or bushes, and built their camp
fire ; then each in his blankets, often joined by the favourite
dog as a companion for heat, sought rest on the couch of
spruce or -willow boughs for the night with the thermometer
often at 30 deg. or 40 deg. below zero P.
The winter packet ran from Port Garry to Norway House, a
distance of 350 miles. At this point the packet was all re
arranged, a part of the freight being carried eastward to
Hudson Bay, the other portion up the Saskatchewan to the
western and northern forts. The party which had taken the
packet to Norway House, at that point received the packages
from Hudson Bay and with them returned to Fort Garry.
The western mail from Norway House was taken by another
sledge party up the Saskatchewan Eiver, and leaving parcels
at posts along the route, reached its rendezvous at Carlton
House. The return party from that point received the mail
from the North, and hastened to Fort Garry by way of Swan
Eiver district, distributing its treasures to the posts it passed
and reaching Fort Garry usually about the end of February.
At Carlton a party of runners from Edmonton and the Upper

THE PRAIRIES 359
Saskatchewan made rendezvous, deposited their packages,
received the outgoing mail, and returned to their homes. Some
of the matter collected from the Upper Saskatchewan and that
brought, as we have seen, by the inland packet from Fort Garry
was taken by a new set of runners to Mackenzie Eiver and
Athabasca. Thus at Carlton there met three parties, viz. from
Port Garry, Edmonton, and Athabasca. Each brought a
packet and received another back in return. The return
packet from Carlton to Fort Garry, arriving in February, took
up the accumulated material, went with it to Norway House,
the place whence they had started in December, thus carrying
the "Eed Eiver spring packet," and at Norway House it was
met by another express, known as the " York Factory spring
packet," which had just arrived. The ruimers on these various
packets underwent great exposure, but they were fleet and
athletic and knew how to act to the best advantage in storm
and danger. They added a picturesque interest to the lonely
life of the ice-bound post as they arrived at it, delivered their
message, and again departed. KEEL AND CANOE.
The transition from winter to spring is a very rapid one on
the plains of Eupert's Land. The ice upon the rivers and
lakes becomes honey-combed and disappears very soon. The
rebound from the icy torpor of winter to the active life of the
season that combines spring and summer is marvellous. No
sooner were the waterways open in the fur-trading days than
freight was hurried from one part of the country to another by
means of inland or York boats.
These boats, it will be remembered, were introduced by
Governor Simpson, who found them more safe and economical
than the canoe generally in use before his time.
Each of these boats could carry three or four tons of freight,
and was manned by nine men, one of them being steersman,
the remainder, men for the oar. Pour to eight of these craft
made up a brigade, and the skill and rapidity with which these
boats could be loaded or unloaded, carried past a portage or
decharge, guided through rapids or over considerable stretches
of the lakes, was the pride of their Indian or half-breed

360 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
tripsmen, as they were called, or the admiration of the officers
dashing past them in their speedy canoes.
The route from York Factory to Fort Garry being a long and
continuous waterway, was a favomite course for the York boat
brigade. Many of the settlers of the Eed Eiver settlement
became well-to-do by commanding brigades of boats and carry
ing freight for the Company. In the earlier days of Governor
Simpson the great part of the furs from the interior were
carried to Fort Garry or the Grand Portage, at the mouth of
the Saskatchewan, and thence past Norway House to Hudson
Bay. From York Factory a load of general merchandise was
brought back, which had been cargo in the Company's ship
from the Thames to York. Lake Winnipeg is generally clear
of ice early in June, and the first brigade would then start
with its seven or eight boats laden to the gunwales with furs ;
a week after, the second brigade was under way, and thus, at
intervals to keep clear of each other in crossing the portages,
the catch of the past season was carried out. The return with
full supplies for the settlers were earnestly looked for, and
the voyage both ways, including stoppages, took some nine
weeks. Far up into the interior the goods in bales were taken. One
of the best known routes was that of what was called, " Tbe
Portage Brigade." This ran from Lake Winnipeg up the
Saskatchewan northward, past Cumberland House and He
a la Crosse to Methy Portage, otherwise known as Portage
la Loche, where the waters part, on one side going to Hudson's
Bay, on the other flowing to the Arctic Sea. The trip made
from Fort Garry to Portage la Loche and return occupied
about four months. At Portage la Loche the brigade from
the Mackenzie Eiver arrived in time to meet that from the
south, and was itself soon ui motion, carrying its year's supply
of trading articles for the Par North, not even leaving out
Peel's Eiver and the Yukon.
The frequent transhipments required in these long and
dangerous routes led to the secure packing of bales, of about
one hundred pounds each, each of them being called an
"inland piece." Seventy-five made up the cargo of a York
boat. The skill with which these boats could be laden was

THE PRAIRIES 361
surprising. A good half-breed crew of nine men was able to
load a boat and pack the pieces securely in five minutes.
The boat's crew was under the command of the steersman,
who sat on a raised platform in the stern of the boat. At the
portages it was the part of the steersman to raise each piece
from the ground and place two of them on the back of each
tripsman, to be held in place by the " portage strap " on the
forehead. It will be seen that the position of the captain was
no sinecure. One of the eight tripsmen was knownas " bows-
man." In running rapids he stood at the bow, and with a
light pole directed the boat, giving information by word and
sign to the steersman. The position of less responsibility
though great toil was that of the " middlemen," or rowers.
When a breeze blew, a sail hoisted in the boat lightened their
labours. The captain or steersman of each boat was respon
sible to the " guide," who, as a commander of the brigade,
was a man of much experience, and consequently held a
position of some importance. Such were the means of trans
port over the vast water system of Eupert's Land up to the
year 1869, although some years before that time transport by
land to St. Paul in Minnesota had reached large proportions.
Since the date named, railway and steamboat have directed
trade into new channels, for even Mackenzie Eiver now has a
Hudson's Bay Company steamboat.
CAET AND CAYUSE.
The lakes and rivers were not sufficient to carry on the
trade of the country. Accordingly, land transport became a
necessity. If the Ojibeway Indians found the birch bark
canoe and the snowshoe so useful that they assigned their
origin to the Manitou, then certainly it was a happy thought
when the famous Eed Eiver cart was similarly evolved.
These two-wheeled vehicles are entirely of wood, without any
iron whatever.
The wheels are large, being five feet in diameter, and are
three inches thick. The felloes are fastened to one another by
tongues of wood, and pressure in revolving keeps them from
falling apart. The hubs are thick and very strong. The axles
are wood alone, and even the lynch pins are wooden. A light

362 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
box frame, tightened by wooden pegs, is fastened by the same
agency and poised upon the axle. The price of a cart in Eed
Eiver of old was two pounds.
The harness for the horse which drew the cart was made of
roughly-tanned ox hide, which was locally known as " shag
ganappe." The name "shagganappe" has in later years
been transferred to the small-sized horse used, which is thus
called a " shagganappe pony."
The carts were drawn by single ponies, or in some cases by
stalwart oxen. These oxen were harnessed and wore a collar,
not the barbarous yoke which the ox has borne from time
immemorial. The ox in harness has a swing of majesty as he
goes upon his journey. The Indian pony, with a load of four
or five hundred pounds in a cart behind him, will go at a
measured jog-trot fifty or sixty miles a day. Heavy freighting
carts made a journey of about twenty miles a day, the load
being about eight hundred pounds.
A train of carts of great length was sometimes made to go
upon some long expedition, or for protection from the thievish
or hostile bands of Indians. A brigade consisted of ten carts,
under the charge of three men. Five or six more brigades
were joined in one train, and this was placed under the charge
of a guide, who was vested with much authority. He rode
on horseback forward, marshalling his forces, including the
management of the spare horses or oxen, which often amounted
to twenty per cent, of the number of those drawing the carts.
The stopping-places, chosen for good grass and a plentiful
supply of water, the time of halting, the management of
brigades, and all the detaUs of a considerable camp were under
the care of this officer-in-ohief.
One of the most notable cart traUs and freighting roads on
the prairies was that from Port Garry to St. Paul, Minnesota.
This was an excellent road, on the west side of the Eed Eiver,
through Dakota territory for some two hundred miles, and
then, by crossing the Eed Eiver into Minnesota, the road led
for two hundred and fifty miles down to St. Paul. The -writer,
who came shortly after the close of the fifty years we are
describing, can testify to the excellence of this road over the
level prairies. At the period when the Sioux Indians were in

THE PRAIRIES 363
revolt and the massacre of the whites took place in 1862, this
route was dangerous, and the road, though not so smooth and
not so dry, was foUowed on the east side of the Eed Eiver.
Every season about three hundred carts, emplojring one
hundred men, departed from Port Garry to go upon the " trip,"
as it was calied, to St. Paul, or in later times to St. Cloud,
when the railway had reached that place. The visit of this
band coming from the north, with their wooden carts, "shag
ganappe " ponies, and harnessed oxen, bringing huge bales of
precious furs, awakened great interest in St. Paul. The late
J. W. Taylor, who for about a quarter of a century held the
position of American Consul at Winnipeg, and who, on account
of his interest in the North-West prairies, bore the name of
" Saskatchewan Taylor," was wont to describe most graphi
cally the advent, as he saw it, of this strange expedition,
coming, like a Midianitish caravan in the East, to trade at the
central mart. On Sundays they encamped near St. Paul.
There was the greatest decorum and order in camp ; their
religious demeanour, their honest and well-to-do appearance,
and their peaceful disposition were an oasis in the desert of the
¦wUd and reckless inhabitants of early Minnesota.
Another notable route for carts was that westward from
Fort Garry by way of Fort Ellice to Carlton House, a distance
of some five hundred miles. It will be remembered that it
was by this route that Governor Simpson in early days,
Palliser, Milton, and Cheadle found their way to the West. In
later days the route was extended to Edmonton House, a
thousand miles in all. It was a whole summer's work to
make the trip to Edmonton and return.
On the Hudson's Bay Company reserve of five hundred
acres around Port Garry was a wide camping-ground for the
" trippers " and traders. Day after day was fixed for the
departure, but stiU the traders lingered. After much leave-
taking, the great train started. It was a sight to be remem
bered. The gaily-comparisoned horses, the hasty farewells,
the hurry of women and children, the multitude of dogs, the
balky horses, the subduing and harnessing and attaching of
the restless ponies, all made it a picturesque day.
The train in motion appealed not only to the eye, but to the

364 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
ear as well, the wooden axles creaked, and the creaking of a
train with every cart contributing its dismal share, could be
heard more than a mile away. In the Par West the early
traders used the cayuse, or Indian pony, and " travoie," for
transporting burdens long distances. The " travoie " consisted
of two stout poles fastened together over the back of the horse,
and dragging their lower ends upon the ground. Great loads —
almost inconceivable, indeed — were thus carried across the
pathless prairies. The Eed Eiver cart and the Indian cayuse
were the product of the needs of the prairies.
PLAIN HUNTEES AND THE BUFFALO.
A generation had passed since the founding of the Selkirk
settlement, and the little handful of Scottish settlers had
become a community of five thousand. This gro-wth had not
been brought- about by immigration, nor by natural increase,
but by what may be called a process of accretion. Throughout
the whole of Eupert's Land and adjoining territories the
employes of the Company, whether from Lower Canada or
from the Orkney Islands, as well as the clerks and officers of
the country, had intermarried with the Indian women of the
tribes. When the trader or Company's servant had gained a com
petence suited to his ideas, he thought it right to retire from
the active fur trade and float down the rivers to the settlement,
which the first Governor of Manitoba called the "Paradise of
Eed Eiver." Here the hunter or officer procured a strip of
land from the Company, on it erected a house for the shelter
of his " dusky race " and engaged in agriculture, though his
former life largely unfitted him for this occupation. In this-
way, four-fifths of the population of the settlement were half-
breeds, with their own traditions, sensibilities, and prejudices
— the one part of them speaking French, with a daSh of Cree
mixed with it, the other English which, too, had the form of a
Eed Eiver patois.
We have seen that tripping and hunting gave a livelihood to
some, if not the great majority, but these occupations unfitted
men for following the plough. In addition there was no
market for produce, so that agriculture did not in general

THE PRAIRIES 365
thrive. One of the favourite features of Eed Eiver, which
fitted in thoroughly with the roving traditions of the large part
of the poptdation, was the annual buffalo hunt, which, for those
who engaged in it, occupied a great portion of the summer.
We have the personal reminiscences of the hunt by
Alexander Eoss, sometime sheriff of Assiniboia, which, as
being Uvely and graphic, are worthy of being reproduced.
Eoss says : " Buffalo hunting here, like bear baiting in India,
has become a popular and favourite amusement among all
classes ; and Eed Eiver, in consequence, has been brought into
some degree of notice by the presence of strangers from foreign
countries. We are now occasionally visited by men of science
as weU as men" of pleasure. The war road of the savage and
the solitary haunt of the bear have of late been resorted to by
the florist, the botanist, and the geologist ; nor is it uncommon
nowadays to see officers of the Guards, knights, baronets, and
some of the higher nobility of England and other countries
coursing their steeds over the' boundless plains and enjoying
the pleasures of the chase among the half-breeds and ,savages
of the country. Distinction of rank is, of course, out of the
question, and, at the close of the adventurous day all squat
do-wn in merry mood together; enjoying the social freedom of
equality round Nature's table and the novel treat of a fresh
buffalo steak served up in the style of the country, that is to
say, roasted on a forked stick before the fire ; a keen appetite
their only sauce, cold water their only beverage. Looking at
this assemblage through the medium of the imagination, the
mind is led back to the chivalric period of former days, when
chiefs and vassals took counsel together. . . .
" With the earliest dawn of spring the hunters are in motion
like bees, and the colony in a state of confusion, from their
going to and fro, in order to raise the wind and prepare them
selves for the fascinating enjoyments of hunting. It is now
that the Company, the farmers, the petty traders are all beset
by their incessant and irresistible importunities. The plain
mania brings everything else to a stand. One wants a horse,
another an axe, a third a cart ; they want ammunition, they
want clothing, they want provisions ; and though people refuse
one or two they cannot deny a whole population, for, indeed,

366 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
over-much obstinacy would not be unattended with risk.
Thus the settlets are reluctantly dragged into proffigate
speculation. " The plain hunters, finding they can get whatever they
want without ready money, are led into ruinous extravagances ;
but the evil of the long credit system does not end here. . . .
So many temptations, so many attractions are held out to
the thoughtless and giddy, so fascinating is the sweet air of
freedom, that even the offspring of the Europeans, as well as
natives, are often induced to cast off their habits of industry
and leave their comfortable homes to try their fortunes in the
plains. " The practical result of all this may be stated in a few words.
After the expedition starts there is not a man-servant or maid
servant to be found in the colony. At any season but seed .
time and harvest-time, tbe settlement is literally swarming -with
idlers ; but at these urgent periods money cannot procure them.
" The actual money value expended on one trip, estimating
, also their lost time, is as follows : —
1210 carts (in 1840) ....;... £1815
620 hunters (two months) at Is. a day . . . 1860
650 women (two months) at ^d  1460
360 boys and girls (two months) at 4A . . . 360
403 buffalo runners (horses) at Ihl. .... 6045
656 cart horses at 8^  5240
586 draught oxen at 6/  3516
Guns, gunpowder, knives, axes, harness, camp equi
page, and utensils (estimate approaching) . . 3700
Say £24,000
" From Port Garry, June 15th, 1840, the cavalcade and camp
followers went crowding on to the public road, and thence,
stretching from point to point, till the third day. in the evening,
when they reached Pembina (sixty mUes south of Port Garry),
the great rendezvous on such occasions. When the hunters
leave the settlement it enjoys that relief which a person feels
on recovering from a long and painful sickness. Here, on
a level plain, the whole patriarchal camp squatted do-wn like
pUgrims on a journey to the Holy Land in ancient days, only
not quite so devout, for neither scrip nor staff were consecrated
for the occasion. Here the roll was called and general muster

THE PRAIRIES 367
taken, when they numbered on this occasion 1630 souls ; and
here the rules and regulations for the journey were finally
settled. The officials for the trip were named and installed
into office, and all without the aid of writing materials.
" The camp occupied as much ground as a modern city, and
was formed in a circle. AU the carts were placed side by side,
the trams outward. Within this line of cireumvallation, the
tents were placed in double, treble rows, at one end, the
animals at the other, in front of the tents. This is the order in
aU dangerous places, but where no danger is apprehended, the
animals are kept on the outside. Thus the carts formed a
strong barrier, not only for securing the people and their
animals within, but as a place of shelter and defence against an
attack of the enemy from without.
In 1820 the number of carts assembled for the first trip was . 540
„ 1826 „ „ „ „ „ „ t 680
„ 1830 „ „ „ „ „ „ . ^-0
„ 1835 „ „ „ „ „ „ ¦ 970
„ 1840 „ „ „ „ „ „ . vm
" There is another appendage belonging to the expedition,
and these are not always the least noisy, viz. the dogs or camp
followers. On the present occasion they numbered no fewer
than 542. In deep snow, where horses caimot conveniently be
used, dogs are very serviceable animals to the hunters in these
parts. The half-breed, dressed in his wolf costume, tackles two
or three sturdy curs into a flat sled, throws himself on it at full
length, and gets among the buffalo unperceived. Here the bow
and arrow play their part to prevent noise. And here the
skilful hunter kills as many as he pleases, and returns to
camp without disturbing the band.
"But now to the camp again — the largest of the kind,
perhaps, in the world. The first step was to hold a council for
the nomination of chiefs or officers for conducting the expedition.
Ten captains were named, the senior on this occasion being
Jean Baptiste Wilkie, an English half-breed, brought up among
the French, a man of good sound sense and long experience,
and withal a fine, bold-looking, and discreet fellow, a second
Nimrod in his way.
" Besides being captain, in common with the others, he was

368 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
styled the great war chief or head of the camp, and on all
public occasions he occupied the place of president. All articles
of property found without an owner were carried to him, and
he disposed of them by a crier, who went round the camp
every evening, were it only an awl. Each captain had ten
soldiers under his orders, in much the same way as policemen
are subject to the magistrate. Ten guides were likewise
appointed, and here we may remark that people in a rude state
of society, unable either to read or write, are generally partial
to the number ten. Their duties were to guide the camp each
in his turn — that is day about — during the expedition. The
camp flag belongs to the guide of the day; he is therefore
standard bearer in virtue of his office.
"The hoisting of the flag every morning is the signal for
raising camp. Half an hour is the full time allowed to prepare for
the iparch ; but if anyone is sick or their animals have strayed,
notice is sent to the guide, who halts till all is made right.
From the time the flag is hoisted, however, till the hour of
camping arrives it is never taken down. The flag taken down
is a signal for encamping. While it is up the guide is chief of
the expedition. Captains are subject to him, and the soldiers of
the day are his messengers ; he commands all. The moment
the flag is lowered his functions cease, and the captains' and
soldiers' duties commence. They point out the order of the
camp, and every cart as it arrives moves to its appointed place.
This business usually occupies about the same time as raising
camp in the morning ; for everything moves with the regu
larity of clock work.
All being ready to leave Pembina, the captains and other
chief men hold another council and lay down the rules to be
observed during the expedition. Those made on the present
occasion were : —
(1) No buffalo to be run on the Sabbath day.
(2) No party to fork off, lag behind, or go before, without
permission. (3) No person or party to run buffalo before the general
order. (4) Every captain with his men in turn to patrol the camp
and keep guard.

THE PRAIRIES 369
(5) For the first trespass against these laws, the offender to
have his saddle and bridle out up.
(6) For the second offence the coat to be taken off the
offender's back and to be cut up.
(7) For the third offence the offender to be flogged.
(8) Any person convicted of theft, even to the value of a
sinew, to be brought to the middle of the camp, and the crier
to call out his or her name three times, adding the word
"Thief" at each time.
" On the 21st the start was made, and the picturesque line of
march soon stretched to the length of some five or six miles in
the direction of south-west towards Cote a Pique. At 2 p.m.
the flag was struck, as a signal for resting the animals. After
a short interval it was hoisted again, and in a few minutes the
whole Une was in motion, and continued the route till five or six
o'clock in the evening, when the flag was hauled down as a signal
to encamp for the night. Distance travelled, twenty miles.
" The camp being formed, all the leading men, officials, and
others assembled, as the general custom is, on some rising
ground or eminence outside the ring, and there squatted them
selves do-wn, tailor-like, on the grass in a sort of council,
each having his gun, his smoking bag in his hand, and his pipe
in his mouth. In this situation the occurrences of the day
were discussed, and the line of march for the morrow agreed
upon. This Uttle meeting was full of interest, and the fact
struck me very forcibly that there is happiness and pleasure in
the society of the most illiterate men, sympathetically if not
inteUeetually inclined, as well as among the learned, and I
must say I found less selfishness and more liberaUty among
these ordinary men than I had been accustomed to find in
higher circles. Their conversation was free, practical, and
interesting, and the time passed on more agreeably than could
be expected among such people, till we touched on politics.
" Of late years the field of chase has been far from Pembina,
and the hunters do not so much as know in what direction
they may find the buffalo, as these animals frequently shift
their ground. It is a mere leap in the dark, whether at the
outset the expedition takes the right or the wrong road ; and
their luck in the chase, of course, depends materiaUy on the
B b

370 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
choice they make. The year of our narrative they travelled a
south-west or middle course, being the one generally preferred,
since it leads past most of the rivers near their sources, where
they are easily crossed. The only inconvenience attending this
choice is the scarcity of wood, which in a warm season is but a
secondary consideration.
" Not to dwell on the ordinary routine of each day's journey,
it was the ninth day from Pembina before we reached the
Cheyenne Eiver, distant only about 150 miles, and as yet we
had not seen a single band of buffalo. On July 3rd, our nine
teenth day from the settlement, and at a distance of little more
than 250 miles, we came in sight of our destined hunting
grounds, and on the day following we had our first buffalo race.
Our array in the field must have been a grand and imposing
one to those who had never seen the like before. No less
than 400 huntsmen, all mounted, and anxiously waiting for the
word " Start ! " took up their position in a line at one end of
the camp, while Captain Wilkie, with his spyglass at his eye,
surveyed the buffalo, examined the ground, and issued his
orders. At eight o'clock the whole cavalcade broke ground,
and made for the buffalo ; first at a slow trot, then at a gallop,
and lastly at full speed. Their advance was over a dead level,
the plain having no hollow or shelter of any kind to conceal
their approach. We need not answer any queries as to the
feeling and anxiety of the camp on such an occasion. When
the horsemen started the cattle might have been a mile and a
half ahead, but they had approached to within four or five
hundred yards before the bulls curved their taUs or pawed the
ground. In a moment more the herd took flight, and horse
and rider are presently seen bursting in among them. Shots
are heard, and all is smoke, dash, and hurry. The fattest are
first singled out for slaughter, and in less time than we have
occupied with the description, a thousand carcasses stre-w the
plain. " The moment the animals take to fiight the best runners dart
forward in advance. At this moment a good horse is invalu
able to his o-wner, for out of the 400 on this occasion, not
above fifty got the first chance of the fat cows. A good horse
and an experienced rider will select and kill from ten to twelve

THE PRAIRIES 371
animals at one heat, while inferior horses are contented with
two or three. But much depends on the nature of the ground.
On this occasion the surface was rocky, and full of badger
holes. Twenty-three horses and riders were at one moment
sprawling on the ground. One horse, gored by a bull, was
killed on the spot, two men disabled by the fall. One rider
broke his shoulder blade ; another burst his gun and lost three
of his fingers by the accident ; and a third was struck on the
knee by an exhausted ball. These accidents will not be
thought over-numerous considering the result ; for in the
evening no less than 1375 buffalo tongues were brought
into camp.
" The rider of a good horse seldom fires till within three or
four yards of his object, and never misses. And, what is
admirable in point of training, the moment the shot is fired
his steed springs on one side to avoid stumbling over the
animal, whereas an awkward and shy horse will not approach
within ten or fifteen yards, consequently the rider has often to
fire at random and not infrequently misses. Many of them,
however, will fire at double that distance and make sure of
every shot. The mouth is always full of balls ; they load and
fire at the gallop, and but seldom drop a mark, although some
do to designate the animal.
" Of all the operations which mark the hunter's life and are
essential to his ultimate success, the most perplexing, perhaps,
is that of finding out and identifying the animals he kills
during a race. Imagine 400 horsemen entering at full speed
a herd of some thousands of buffalo, all in rapid motion.
Eiders in clouds of dust and volumes of smoke which darken
the aur, crossing and recrossing each other in every direction
shots on the right, on the left, behind, before, here, there, two,
three, a dozen at a time, everywhere in close succession, at
the same moment. Horses stumbling, riders faUing, dead and
wounded animals tumbling here and there, one over the other ;
and this zigzag and bewUdering m lee continued for an hour
or more together in wild confusion. And yet, from practice,
so keen is the eye, so correct the judgment, that after getting
to the end of the race, he can not only tell the number of
animals which he had shot down, but the position in which

372 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
each lies — on the right or on the left side — the spot where
the shot hit, and the direction of the ball ; and also retrace his
way, step by step, through the whole race and recognize every
animal he had the fortune to kill, without the least hesitation
or difficulty. To divine how this is accomplished bewilders
the imagination.
" The main party arrived on the return journey at Pembina
on August 17th, after a journey of two months and two days.
In due time the settlement was reached, and the trip being a
successful one, the returns on this occasion may be taken as a
fair annual average. An approximation to the truth is all we
can arrive at, however. Our estimate is nine hundred pounds
weight of buffalo meat per cart, a thousand being considered
the full load, which gives one million and eighty-nine thousand
pounds in all, or something more than two hundred pounds
weight for each individual, old and young, in the settlement.
As soon as the expedition arrived, the Hudson's Bay Company,
according to usual custom, issued a notice that it would take a
certain specified quantity of provisions, not from each fellow
that had been on the plains, but from each old and recognized
hunter. The established price at this period for tbe three
kinds over head, fat, pemmican, and dried meat, was two pence
a pound. This was then the Company's standard price ; but
there is generally a market for all the fat they bring. During
the years 1839, 1840, and 1841, the Company expended five
thousand pounds on the purchase of plain provisions, of which
the hunters got last year the sum of twelve hundred pounds,
being rather more money than all the agricultural class
obtained for their produce in the same year. It will be
remembered that the Company's demand affords the only
regular market or outlet in the Colony, and, as a matter of
course, it is the first supplied."

CHAPTEE XXXVII.
LIFE ON THE SHOEES OP HUDSON BAY AND LABEADOE.
The bleak shores unprogressive — ^Now as at the beginning — York
Factory — Description of Ballant3me — The weather — ^Summer
comes with a rush — Picking up subsistence — The Indian trade —
Inhospitable Labrador — Establishment of Ungava Bay — McLean
at Fort Chimo — Herds of cariboo — Eskimo rafts — "Shadovfy
Tartarus " — The king's domains — Mingan — Mackenzie — The Gulf
settlements — The Moravians — Their four missions — Rigolette,
the chief trading post — A school for developing character — Chief
Factor Donald A. Smith — Journeys along the coast — A barren
shore.
Life on the shores of Hudson Bay is as unchangeable as the
shores and scenery of the coast are monotonous. The swampy,
treeless flats that surround the Bay simply change from the
frozen, snow-clad expanse which stretches as far as the eye can
see in winter, to the summer green of the unending grey
willows and stunted shrubs that cover the swampy shores.
For a few open months the green prevails, and then nature for
eight months assumes her winding sheet of icy snow.
For two hundred and fifty years life has been as unvarying
on these wastes as travellers tell us are the manners and
customs of living of the Bedouins on their rocky Araby. No
log shanties give way in a generation to the settler's house,
and then to the comfortable, well-built stone or brick dwelling,
which the fertile parts of America so readily permit. The
accounts of McLean, Eae, Eyerson, and Ballantyne of the
middle of the nineteenth century are precisely those of Eobson,
EUis, or Hearne of the eighteenth century, or indeed practically
those of the early years of the Company in the seventeenth
century. The ships saU from Gravesend on the Thames with tha same
ceremonies, with the visit and dinner of the committee of the

374 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
directors, the " great guns," as the sailors call them, as they
have jdone for two centuries and a quarter, from the days of
Zachariah Gillam and Pierre Esprit Eadisson. No more
settlement is now seen on Hudson Bay than in the early time,
unless it be in the dwellings of the Christianized and civilized
swampy Crees and in the mission houses around which the
Indians have gathered.
York Factory, up to the middle of the nineteenth century,
retained its supremacy. However, at times, Fort Churchill,
with its well-built walls and formidable bastions, may have
disputed this primacy, yet York Factory was the depot for the
interior almost uninterruptedly. To it came the goods for the
northern department, by way in a single season of the vessel
the Prince Bupert, the successor of a long line of Prince
Rupert's, from the first one of 1680, or of its companions, the
Prince Albert or the Prince of Wales. By these, the furs from
tbe Far North found their way as at the first, to the Company's
house in London.
York Factory is a large square of some six acres, lying along
Hayes Eiver, and shut in by high stockades. The houses are
all wooden, and on account of the swampy soil are raised up
to escape the water of the spring time floods. At a point of
advantage, a lofty platform was erected to serve as a " look-out "
to watch for the coming ship, the great annual event of the
slow-passing lives of the occupants of the post. The flagstaff,
on which, as is the custom at all Hudson's Bay Company posts,
the ensign with the magic letters H. B. C. floats, speaks at
once of many an old tradition and of great achievements.
Ballantyne in his lively style speaks of his two years at the
pdst, and describes the life of a young Hudson's Bay Company
officer. The chief factor, to the eye of the young clerk,
represents success achieved and is the embodiment of
authority, which, on account of the isolation of the posts and
the absence of all law, is absolute and unquestioned. York
Factory, being a depot, has a considerable staff, chiefly yomig
men, who live in the bachelors' hall. Here dwell the surgeon,
accountant, postmaster, half a dozen clerks, and others.
In winter, Ballantyne says, days, if not weeks, passed
without the arrival of a visitor, unless it were a post from the

LIFE ON THE SHORES OF HUDSON BAY 375
interior, or some Cree trader of the neighbourhood, or some
hungry Indian seeking food. The cold was the chief feature of
remark and consideration. At times the spirit thermometer
indicated 65 deg. below zero, and the uselessness of the
mercury thermometer was then sho-wn by a pot of quicksilver
being made into bullets and remaining solid. Every precau
tion was taken to erect strong buildings, which had double
windows and double doors, and yet in the very severe weather,
water contained in a vessel has been known to freeze in a room
where a stove red hot was doing its best. It is worthy of
notice, however, that even in Arctic regions, a week or ten days
is as long as such severe weather continues, and mild intervals
come regularly.
On the Bay the coming of spring is looked for with great
expectation, and when it does come, about the middle of May,
it sets in with a " rush; " the sap rises in the shrubs and bushes,
the buds burst out, the rivers are freed from ice, and indeed, so
rapid and complete is the change, that it may be said there are
only two seasons — summer and winter — in these latitudes.
As summer progresses the fare of dried geese, thousands of
which are stored away for winter use, of dried fish and the
white ptarmigan and wood partridge that linger about the
bushes and are shot for food, is superseded by the arrival of
myriads of ducks and geese and the use of the fresh fish of the
Bay. In many of the posts the food throughout the whole year
is entirely flesh diet, and not a pound of farinaceous food is
obtainable. This leads to an enormous consumption of the
meat diet in order to supply a sufficient amount of nourishment.
An employe -will sometimes eat two whole geese at a meal.
In Dr. Eae's celebrated expedition from Fort Churchill, north
-along the shore of Hudson Bay, on his search for Sir John
Franklin, the amount of suppUes taken was entirely inadequate
for his party for the long period of twenty-seven months, being
indeed only enough for four months' full rations. In Eae's
instructions from Sir George Simpson it is said, "For the
remaining part of your men you cannot fail to find subsistence,
animated as you are and they are by a determination to fulfil
your mission at the cost of danger, fatigue, and privation.
Whenever the natives can live, I can have no fears with respect

376 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
to you, more particularly as you will have the advantage of
the Eskimos, not merely in your actual supplies, but also in
the means of recruiting and renewing them."
The old forts still remained in addition to the two depot
posts, York and Moose Factory, there being Churchill, Severn,
Eupert's House, Fort George, and Albany — and the life in
them all of the stereotyped description which we have pic
tured. Besides the preparation in summer of supplies for the
long winter, the only variety was the arrival of Indians with
furs from the interior. The trade is carried on by means of
well-known standards called the " castor " or " beaver." The
Indian hands his furs over to the trader, who sorts them into
different lots. The value is counted up at so many — say
fifty — castors. The Indian then receives fifty small bits of
wood, and with these proceeds to buy guns, knives, blankets,
cloth, beads, or trinkets, never stopping till his castors are all
exhausted. The castor rarely exceeds two shillings in value.
While resembling in its general features the life on the Bay,
the conduct of the fur trader on the shore of Labrador and
throughout the Labrador Peninsula, is much more trying and
laborious than around the Bay. The inhospitable climate, the
heavy snows, the rocky, dangerous shore, and the scarcity in
some parts of animal life, long prevented the fur companies
from venturing upon this forbidding coast.
The northern part of Labrador is inhabited by Eskimos ;
further south are tribes of swampy Crees. Between the
Eskimos and Indians deadly feuds long prevailed. The most
cruel and bloody raids were made upon the timid Eskimos, as
was done on the Coppermine when Hearne went on his famous
expedition. McLean states that it was through the publication of a
pamphlet by the Moravian missionaries of Labrador, which
declared that " the country produced excellent furs," that the
Hudson's Bay Company was led to establish trading posts in
Northern Labrador. The stirring story of "Ungava," -written
by Ballantyne, gives what is no doubt in the main a correct
account of the estabUshment of the far northern post called
" Fort Chimo," on Ungava Bay.
The expedition left Moose Factory in 1831, and after escaping

LIFE ON THE SHORES OF HUDSON BA Y 377
the dangers of floating ice, fierce storms, and an unknown
coast, erected the fort several miles up the river running into
Ungava Bay. The story recalls the finding out, no doubt
somewhat after the manner of the famous boys' book, "The
Swiss Family Eobinson," the trout and salmon of the waters,
the walrus of the sea, and the deer of the mountain valleys, but
the picture is probably not overdrawn. The building of Port
Chimo is plainly described by one who was famiUar with
the exploration and life of the fur country ; the picture of the
tremendous snow storm and its overwhelming drifts is not an
unUkely one for this coast, which, since the day of Cortereal,
has been the terror of navigators.
McLean, a somewhat fretful and biassed writer, though
certainly not lacking in a clear and lively style, gives an
account of his being sent, in 1837, to take charge of the district
of North Labrador for the Company. On leaving York Factory
in August the brig encountered much ice, although it escaped
the mishaps which overtook almost all small vessels on the
Bay. The steep cUffs of the island of Akpatok, which stands
before Ungava Bay, were very nearly run upon in the dark,
and much difficulty was experienced in ascending the Ungava,
or South Eiver, to Port Chimo.
The trader's orders from Governor Simpson were to push
outposts into the interior of Labrador, to siipport his men on
the resources of the country, and to open communication with
Esquimaux Bay, on the Labrador coast, and thus, by means of
the rivers, to establish an inland route of intercommunication
between the two inlets. McLean made a most determined
attempt to establish the desired route, but after innumerable
hardships to himself and his company, retired, after nearly
four months' efforts, to Fort Chimo, and sent a message to his
superior officer that the proposed line of communication was
impracticable. McLean gives an account of the arrival of a herd of three
hundred reindeer or cariboo, and of the whole of them being
captured in a " pound," as is done in the case of the buffalo.
The trader was also visited by Eskimos from the north side
of Hudson Strait, who had crossed the rough and dangerous
passage on " a raft formed of pieces of driftwood picked up

378 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
along the shore.'' The object of their visit was to obtain wood
for making canoes. The trader states that the fact of these
people having crossed " Hudson's Strait on so rude and frail a
conveyance" strongly corroborates the opinion that America
was originally peopled from Asia by way of Behring's Strait.
It became more and more evident, however, that the Ungava
trade could not be profitably continued. Great expense was
incurred in supplying Ungava Bay by sea; the country was
poor and barren, and the pertinacity of the Eskimos in adhering
to their sealskin dresses made the trade in fabrics, which was
profitable among the Indians, an impossibility at Ungava.
McLean continued his explorations and was somewhat success
ful in opening the sought-for route by way of the Grand Eiver,
and, returning to Port Chimo, wintered there. Having been
promoted by Sir George Simpson, McLean obtained leave to
visit Britain, and before going received word from tbe directors
of the Company that his recommendation to abandon Ungava
Bay had been accepted, and that the ship would call at that
point and remove the people and property to Esquimaux Bay.
McLean, in speaking of the weather of Hudson Straits during
the month of January (1842), gives expression to his strong dis-
Uke by saying, " At this period I have neither seen, read, nor
heard of any locality under heaven that can offer a more cheer
less abode to civilized man than Ungava."
Eeferring also to the fog that so abounds at this point as well
as at the posts around Hudson Bay, the discontented trader
says : " If Pluto should leave his own gloomy mansion in tene-
bris Tartari, he might take up his abode here, and gain or lose
but little by the exchange."
But the enterprising fur-traders were not to be deterred by
the iron-bound coast, or foggy shores, or dangerous life of
any part of the peninsula of Labrador. Early in the century,
while the Hudson's Bay Company were penetrating southward
from the eastern shore of Hudson Bay, which had by a kind
of anomaly been called the "East Main," the North-West
Company were occupying the north shore of the St. Lawrence
and met their rivals at the head waters of the Saguenay.
The district of which Tadousac was the centre had from the
earliest coming of the French been noted for its furs. That

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[Page 378.
LIFE ON THE SHORES OF HUDSON BA Y 379
district all the way down to the west end of the island of Anti-
costi was known as the " King's Domains." The last parish
was called Murray Bay, from General Murray, the first British
governor of Quebec, who had disposed of the district, which
furnished beef and butter for the King, to two of his officers.
Captains Nairn and Praser.
The North-West Company, in the first decade of the nine
teenth century, had leased this district, which along with the
Seigniory of Mingan, that lay still further down the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, was long known as the " King's Posts."
Beyond the Seigniory of Mingan, a -writer of the period
mentioned states that the Labrador coast had been left un
appropriated, and was a common to which all nations at peace
with England might resort, unmolested, for furs, oU, cod-fish,
and salmon.
A well-kno-wn trader, James McKenzie, after returning from
the Athabasca region, made, in 1808, a canoe journey through
the domains of the King, and left a journal, with his description
of the rocky country and its inhabitants. He pictures strongly
the one-eyed chief of Mingan and Father Labrosse, the Nestor
for twenty-five years of the King's posts, who was priest,
doctor, and poet for the region. McKenzie's voyage chiefly
inclined him to speculate as to the origin and religion of the
natives, while his description of the inland Indians and their
social life is interesting. His account of the manners and
customs of the Montagners or Shore Indians was more
detaUed than that of the Nascapees, or Indians of the interior,
and he supplies us with an extensive vocabulary of their lan
guage. McKenzie gives a good description of the Saguenay Eiver, of
Chicoutimi, and Lake St. John, and of the ruins of a Jesuit
estabUshment which had flourished during the French regime.
WhUst the bell and many implements had been dug up from the
scene of desolation, the plum and apple trees of their garden
were found bearing fruit. From the poor neglected fort of
Assuapmousoin McKenzie returned, since the fort of Mis
tassini could only be reached by a further journey of ninety
leagues. This North-West post was built at the end of Lake
Mistassini, while the Hudson's Bay Company Port, called Birch

38o THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Point, was erected four days' journey further on toward East
Main House.
Leaving the Saguenay, McKenzie followed the coast of the
St. Lawrence, passing by Portneuf, with its beautiful chapel
"good enough for His Holiness the Pope to occupy," after
which — the best of the King's posts for furs — He Jeremie was
reached, with its buUdings and chapels on a high eminence.
Irregularly built Godbout was soon in view, and the Seven
Islands Fort was then come upon. Mingan was the post of
which McKenzie was most enamoured. Its fine harbour and
pretty chapel drew his special attention. The "Man Eiver''
was famous for its fisheries, while Masquaro, the next port, was
celebrated for the supply of beavers and martins in its vicinity.
The salmon entering the river in the district are stated to be
worthy of note, and the traveller and his company returned to
Quebec, the return voyage being two hundred leagues.
Since the time of McKenzie the fur trade has been pushed
along the formerly unoccupied coast of Labrador. Even before
that time the far northern coast had been taken up by a brave
band of Moravians, who supported themselves by trade, and at
the same time did Christian work among the Eskimos. Their
movement merits notice. As early as 1749 a brave Hollander
pilot named Erhardt, stimulated by reading the famous book of
Henry Ellis on the North-West Passage, made an effort to form
a settlement on the Labrador coast. He lost his life among the
deceitful Eskimos.
Years afterward. Count Zinzendorf made application to the
Hudson's Bay Company to be allowed to send Moravian mis
sionaries to the different Hudson's Bay Company posts. The
union of trader and missionary in the Moravian cult made the
Company unwilling to grant this request. After various
preparations the Moravians took up unoccupied ground on the
Labrador coast in 56 deg. 36' N., where they found plenty of
wood, runlets of sparkling water and a good anchorage. They
erected a stone marked G.E. IIL, 1770, for the King, and
another with the inscription V.F. (Unitas fratrum), the name
of their sect.
Their first settlement was caUed Nain, and it was soon
followed by another thirty miles up the coast known as

LIFE ON THE SHORES OF HUDSON BAY 381
" Okkak." Thirty miles south of Nain they found remains of
the unfortunate movement first made by the Society, and here
they established a mission, calling it " Hopedale." When
they had become accustomed to the coast, they showed still
more of the adventurous spirit and founded their most northerly
post of Hebron, well nigh up to the dreaded "Ungava Bay."
A community of upwards of eleven hundred Christian Eskimos
has resulted from the fervor and self-denial of these humble
but faithful missionaries. Their courage and determination
stand well beside that of the daring fur traders.
The Hudson's Bay Company was not satisfied with Mingan
as their farthest outward point. In 1832 and 1834, Captain
Bayfield, E.N., surveyed the Labrador coast. In due time the
Company pushed on to the inlet known as Hamilton Inlet or
Esquimaux Bay, on the north side of which the fort grew up,
know as Eigolette. Here a farm is maintained stocked with
" Cattle, sheep, pigs and hens," and the place is the depot of the
Hudson's Bay Company and of the general trade of the coast.
Farther up two other sub-posts are found, viz., AilUk, and on
the opposite side of the Inlet Kaipokok. The St. La-wrence
and Labrador posts of the Hudson's Bay Company have been
among the most difficult and trying of those in any part where
the Company carries on its vast operations from Atlantic to
Pacific. This Labrador region has been a noble school for the
development of the firmness, determination, skill, and faithful
ness characteristic of both the officers and men of the Hudson's
Bay Company.
Most notable of the officers of the first rank who have con
ducted the fur trade in Labrador is Lord Stratheona and Mount
Eoyal, the present Governor of the Company. Coming out at
eighteen, Donald Alexander Smith, a well-educated Scottish
lad, related to Peter and Cuthbert Grant, and the brothers
John and James Stuart, prominent officers, whose deeds
in the North-West Company are still remembered, the future
Governor began his career. Young Smith on arriving at
Montreal (1838) was despatched to Moose Factory, and for
more than thirty years was in the service, in the region of
Hudson Bay and Labrador. Eising to the rank of chief
trader, after fourteen years of laborious service he reached in

382 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
ten years more the acme of desire of every aspirant in the
Company, the rank of chief factor. His years on the coast of
Labrador, at Eigolette, and its subordinate stations were most
laborious. The writer has had the privilege from time to time
of hearing his tales, of the long journey along the frozen coast,
of camping on frozen islands, without shelter, of storm-staid
journeys rivalling the recitals of Ballantyne at Port Chimo, of
cold receptions by the Moravians, and of the doubtful hospi
talities of both Indians and Eskimos. Every statement of
Cortereal, Gilbert, or Cabot of the inhospitable shore is corro
borated by this successful officer, who has lived for thirty
years since leaving Labrador to fill a high place in the affairs
both of Canada and the Empire. One of his faithful subor
dinates on this barren coast was Chief Factor P. W. Bell, who
gained a good reputation for courage and faithfulness, not only
in Labrador, but on the barren shore of Lake Superior. The
latter returned to Labrador after his western experience, and
retired from the charge of the Labrador posts a few years ago.
It is to the credit of the Hudson's Bay Company that it has
been able to secure men of such calibre and standing to man
even its most difficult and unattractive stations.

CHAPTEE XXXVIII.
ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE EIVEE, AND THE YUKON.
Peter Pond reaches Athabasca River — -Fort Chipewyan established —
Starting point of Alexander McKenzie — The Athabasca Library
— The Hudson Bay Company roused — Conflict at Fort Wedder
burn — Suffering — The dash up the Peace River — Fort Dunvegan
— Northern extension — Fort Resolution — Fort Providence — The
great river occupied — Loss of life — Fort Simpson, the centre —
Port Reliance — Herds of cariboo — Fort Norman built — Fort
Good Hope — The Northern Rockies — The Yukon reached and
occupied — -The fierce Liard River — Fort Halkett in the Mountains
— Robert CampbeU comes to the Stikine — Discovers the Upper
Yukon — His great fame — The districts — Steamers on the water
stretches.
(The map on page 384 should be consulted whUe this chapter is
being read.)
Less than twenty years after the conquest of Canada by the
British, the traders heard of the Lake Athabasca and Mac
kenzie Eiver district. The region rapidly rose into notice, until
it reached the zenith as the fur traders' paradise, a position it
has held tUl the present time.
As we have seen, Samuel Hearne, the Hudson's Bay Com
pany adventurer — ^the Mungo Park of the North — first of white-
men, touched, on his way to the Coppermine, Lake Athabasca,
or as it was called Lake of the Hills, at its north-east corner.
It was the good fortune, however, of the North-West Com
pany to take possession of this region first for trade.
LAKE AND EIVEE ATHABASCA.
The daring Montreal traders, who had seized upon the Sas
katchewan and pushed on to Lake He a la Crosse, having a
surplus of merchandise in the year 1778, despatched one of their
agents to Lake Athabasca, and "took seisin" of the country.
As already stated, the man selected was the daring and afterwards

384 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
violent trader Peter Pond. On the Eiver Athabasca, some
thirty miles south of the Lake, Pond built the first Indian
trading post of the region, which, however, after a few years
was abandoned and never afterwards rebuilt.
POET CHIPEWYAN.
Less than ten years after this pioneer led the way, a fort
was built on the south side of Lake Athabasca, at a point a few
miles east of the entrance of the river. To this, borrowing the
name of the Indian nation of the district, was given the name
Port Chipe-wyan. This old fort became celebrated as the
starting-place of the great expedition of Alexander Mackenzie,
when he discovered the river that bears his name and the
Polar Sea into which it empties. At this historic fort also,
Eoderick McKenzie, cousin of the explorer, founded the famous
" Athabasca Library," for the use of the officers of the Company
in the northern posts, and in its treasures Lieutenant Lefroy
informs us he revelled during his winter stay.
At the beginning of the century the X Y Company aggres
sively invaded the Athabasca region, and built a fort a mile
north of Port Chipewyan, near the site of the present Eoman
Catholic Mission of the Nativity.
As the conflict between the North-West and Hudson's Bay
Companies waxed warm, the former Company, no doubt for
the purpose of being more favourably situated for carrying on
the trade with the Mackenzie Eiver, removed their fort on
Lake Athabasca to the commanding promontory near the exit
of Slave Eiver from the lake. Eenewed and often enlarged,
Fort Chipewyan has until recently remained the greatest depot
of the north country.
THE Hudson's bay company aeoused.
The fierceness of the struggle for the fur trade may be seen
in the fact that the Hudson's Bay Company (1815) -with
vigour took up a site on an island in front of Port Chipewyan
and built Port Wedderburn, at no greater distance than a single
mile, and though it was not their first appearance on the lake,
yet they threw themselves in considerable force into the

ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE RIVER, YUKON 385
contest, numbering, under John Clark, afterward Chief Factor,
ten clerks, a hundred men, and fourteen large canoes, loaded
vTith supplies. Many misfortunes befell the new venture of
the Company. A writer of the time says, " No less than
fifteen men, one woman, and several children perished by
starvation. They built four trade posts on the Peace Eiver
(lower) and elsewhere in the autumn ; but not one of them was
able to weather out the foUo-wing winter. All were obUged to
come to terms with their opponents to save the party from
utter destruction. That year the Athabasca trade of the North-
West Company was four hundred packs against only five in all
secured by the Hudson's Bay Company.
Three years afterward the old Company, with British pluck,
again appeared on this lake, having nineteen loaded canoes.
Trader Clark was now accompanied by the doughty leader,
Colin Eobertson, whose prowess we have already seen in the
Eed Eiver conflict.
It will be remembered that in the year before the union of
the Companies, George Simpson, the young clerk, arrived on
Lake Athabasca -with fifteen loaded canoes. He was chiefly
found at Port Wedderburn and a short distance up the Peace
Eiver. It is not certain that the prospective Governor ever
-visited Slave Lake to the north. He gives, however, the follow
ing vi-vid summary of his winter's experience in Athabasca :
" At some seasons both whites and Indians live in wasteful
abundance on venison, buffalo meat, fish, and game of all
kinds, while at other times they are reduced to the last degree
of hunger, often passing several days without food. In the
year 1820 our pro-visions fell short at the establishment, and on
two or three occasions I went for two or three whole days and
nights without having a single morsel to swallow, but then
again, I was one of a party of eleven men and one woman
which discussed at one sitting meal no less than three ducks
and twenty-two geese 1 " This winter's knowledge was of great
value to the man afterwards called to be the arbiter of destiny
of many a hard-pressed trader.
Other forts are mentioned as having been established by
both Companies at different points on the Athabasca Eiver, but
their period of duration was short. In some cases these
c c

386 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
abandoned forts have been followed by new forts, in recen
times, on the same sites. THE PEACE EIVEE.
Soon after the arrival of the first traders in the Athabasca
district, the fame of the Peace Eiver — the Indian " Unjijah,"
a mighty stream, whose waters empty into the river flowing
from Lake Athabasca — rose among the adventurers. An enter
prising French Canadian trader, named Boyer, pushed up the
stream and near a small tributary — Eed Eiver — established the
first post of this great artery, which flows from the West,
through the Eocky Mountains. Long abandoned, this post has
in late years been re-established.
The Peace Eiver has ever had a strange fascination for
trader and tourist, and a few years after Boyer's establishment
became known, a trading house was built above the " Chutes "
of the river. This was afterwards moved some distance up
stream and became the well-kno-wn Fort Vermilion. This fort
has remained tiU the present day.
Farther still up the Peace Eiver, where the Smoky Eiver
makes its forks, a fort was erected whose stores and dwelling-
houses were on a larger scale than those of the mother
establishment of Fort Chipewyan, having had stockaded walls,
a good powder magazine, and a good well of water. This fort
for a time was kno-wn as McLeod's Port, but in the course of
events its site was abandoned. Port Dunvegan, famous to
later travellers, was first built on the south side of the river,
and was the head-quarters of the Beaver Indians, from whom
the North-West Company received a formal gift of the site.
The present fort is on the opposite side of the Peace Eiver.
It will be remembered, however, that it was from the post
at the mouth of Smoky Eiver that Alexander Mackenzie,
having wintered, started on his great journey to the Pacific.
In later years the Hudson's Bay Company has maintained a
fort at this point as an outpost of Dunvegan.
Early in the century we find allusions to the fact that the
catch of beaver was, from over-hunting, declining in the Peace
Eiver country, and that, in consequence, the North-West
Company had been compelled to give up several of their

ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE RIVER, YUKON 387
forts. Around Fort St. John's a tragic interest gathers. John
McLean, in his " Notes of a Twenty-five Years' Service,"
speaks of reaching on his journey — 1833 — ^the " tenantless
fort," where some years before a massacre had taken place.
It had been determined by the Hudson's Bay Company to
remove the fort to Eocky Mountain Portage. The tribe of
Tsekanies, to whom the fort was tributary, took this as an
insult. At the time of removal the officer in charge, Mr.
Hughes, had sent off a part of his men with effects of the
fort intended for the new post. Hughes was shot down on
the riverside by the Indians. The party of boatmen, on
returning, " altogether unconscious of the fate that awaited
them, came paddUng towards the landing place, singing a
voyageur' s song, and just as the canoe touched the shore a
voUey of bullets was discharged at them, which silenced them
for ever. They were all killed on the spot." An expedition
was organized by the traders to avenge the foul murder, but
more peaceful counsels prevailed. Most of the fugitives paid
the penalty of their guilt by being starved to death. The
deserted fort was some twenty miles below the present Port
St. John's. The present fort was built in the latter half of the
century, and its outpost of Hudson's Hope, together with the
trade station at Battle Eiver, below Dunvegan, was erected
about a generation ago. GEEAT SLAVE LAKE.
The extension of the fur trade to Great Slave Lake dates
back to within seven years after the advent of Peter Pond on
the Athabasca Eiver. The famous trader, Cuthbert Grant,
father of the " Warden of the Plains," who figured in the
Seven Oaks fight, led the way, and with him a Frenchman,
Laurent Leroux. Eeaching this great lake, these ardent
explorers buUt a trading post on Slave Eiver, near its mouth.
A short time afterwards the traders moved their first post to
Moose Deer Island, a few miles from the old site, and here
the North-West Company remained until the time of the
union of the Companies. The impulse of union led to the
construction of a new establishment on the site chosen by the
Hudson's Bay Company for the erection of their post some

388 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
six years before. The new post was called Fort Eesolution,
and was on the mainland two miles or more from the island.
This post marked the extreme limit of the operations of the
Hudson's Bay Company up to the time of the union.
When Alexander Mackenzie determined to make his first
great voyage, he started from Fort Chipewyan and bravely
pushing out into the unknown wilds, left Great Slave Lake and
explored the river that bears his name. Here he promised the
tribe of the Yellow Knife Indians to establish a post among
them in the next year. The promise was kept to the letter.
The new post, built at the mouth of the Yellow Knife Eiver,
was called Fort Providence. It was afterwards removed to a
large island in the north arm of the lake, and to this the name
Fort Eae, in honour of the celebrated Arctic explorer, John
Eae, was given. Near this new station there has been for
years a Eoman Catholic Mission. It was from the neighbour
hood of these forts on the lake that Captain Franklin set out to
build his temporary station. Port Enterprise, one hundred
miles from his base of suppUes. Port Eae has remained since
the time of its erection a place of some importance. It formed
the centre of the northern operations of Captain Dawson, E.A.,
on his expedition for circum-polar observation in recent times.
After the Hudson's Bay Company had transferred Eupert's
Land to Canada, a new post was opened on the Slave Eiver,,
midway between Athabasca and Great Slave Lake. It was
called Fort Smith, in honour of Chief Commissioner Donald A.
Smith, now Lord Stratheona and Mount Eoyal. Near the site
of Fort Smith are the dangerous Noye Eapids of Slave Eiver,
where Grant and Leroux, on their voyage to Great Slave Lake,
lost a canoe and five of its occupants. From Port Smith
southward to Smith Landing a wagon or cart road has been in
use up to the present time. Now this is to be converted into a
tramway. MACKENZIE EIVEE.
Northward the course of the fur traders' empire has continu
ally made its way. Leaving Great Slave Lake four years
before the close of the eighteenth century, along the course of
Alexander Mackenzie's earUer exploration, Duncan Livingston,

MAP OF MACKENZIE EIVEE AND THB YUKON.

[Page 388.

ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE RIVER, YUKON 389
a North-West Company trader, built the first fort on the river,
eighty miles north of the lake. Three years later the trader,
his three French-Canadian voyageurs and Indian interpreter
were basely killed by the Eskimos on the Lower Mackenzie
Eiver. A year or two afterward a party of fur traders, under
John Clark, started on an expedition of exploration and retalia
tion down the river, but again the fury of the Eskimos was
roused. In truth, had it not been for a storm of fair -wind
•which favoured them, the traders would not have escaped with
their Uves.
Very early in the present century. Fort Simpson, the former
and present head-quarters of the extensive Mackenzie Eiver
district, was built, and very soon after its estabUshment the
prominent trader, and afterwards Chief Factor, George Keith,
is found in charge of it. It is still the great trading and
Church of England Mission centre of the vast region reaching
to the Arctic Sea.
During the first half of the century. Big Island, at the point
where the Mackenzie Eiver leaves Great Slave Lake, was, on
account of its good supply of white fish, the wintering station
for the supernumerary district servants of the Hudson's Bay
Company. Though this point is stiU visited for fishing in the
autumn, yet in later years the trade of this post has been
transferred to another built near the Eoman Catholic Mission at
Port Pro-vidence, forty mUes farther do-wn the river. On Hay
Eiver, near the point of departure of the Mackenzie Eiver from
the lake, several forts have been built from time to time and
abandoned, among them a Port George referred to by the old
traders. The eastern end of the lake, known as Fond du Lac,
became celebrated, as we have already seen, in connection with
the Arctic explorers. Sir George Back and Dr. Eichard
King, for here they built Port EeUance and -wintered, going
in the spring to explore the Great Pish Eiver. In after years,
on account of the district being the resort for the herds of
cariboo. Fort EeUance was rebuilt, and was for a time kept
up as an outpost of Fort Eesolution for collecting furs and
¦" country pro-visions." It may be re-occupied soon on account
of the discoveries of gold and copper in the region.
Journeying do-wn the Mackenzie Eiver, we learn that there

39° THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
was a fur traders' post of the Montreal merchants sixty miles
north of Port Simpson. In all probability this was but one of
several posts that were from tune to time occupied in that
locality. At the beginning of the century the North-West
Company pushed on further north, and had a trading post on
the shore of Great Bear Lake, but almost immediately on its
erection they were met here by their rivals, the X Y Company.
At this point, reached by going up the Bear Eiver from its
junction -with the Mackenzie on the south-west arm of the
lake. Chief Factor Peter Dease built Fort Franklin for the use
of the great Arctic explorer, after whom he named the fort.
FOET NOEMAN, ON THE MACKENZIE.
To explore new ground was a burning desire in the breasts
of the Nor'-Westers. Immediately in the year of their
reunion with the X Y Company, the united North-West
Company established a post on the Mackenzie Eiver, sixty
miles north of the mouth of Bear Eiver. Indeed, the mouth
of Bear Eiver on the Mackenzie seems to have suggested itself
as a suitable point for a post to be built, for in 1810 Port
Norman had been first placed there. For some reason the
post was moved thirty or forty miles higher up the river, but
a jam of ice having occurred in the spring of 1851, the fort
was mainly swept away by the high water, though the
occupants and all the goods were saved. In the same year the
mouth of the Bear Eiver came into favour again, and Port
Norman was built at that point. After this time the fort was
moved once or twice, but was finally placed in its present
commanding position. It was in quite recent times that,
under Chief Factor Camsell's direction, a station half-way
between Port Norman and Fort Simpson was fixed and the
name of Fort Wrigley given to it.
FOET GOOD HOPE.
Not only did the impulse of union between the North-West
and X Y Companies reach Bear Eiver, but in the same year, at
a point on the Mackenzie Eiver beyond the high perpendicular
cUffs kno-wn as " The Eamparts," some two hundred miles

ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE RIVER, YUKON 391
further north than Port Norman, was Port Good Hope erected.
Here it remained for nearly a score of years as the farthest
north outpost of the fur trade, but after the union of the North-
West and Hudson's Bay Companies it was moved a hundred
miles southward on the river and erected on Manitoulin Island.
After some years (1836) an ice jam of a serious kind took
place, and though the inmates escaped in a York boat, yet the
fort was completely destroyed by the rushing waters of the
angry Mackenzie. The fort was soon rebuilt, but in its
present beautiful situation on the eastern bank of the river,
opposite the old site on Manitoulin Island.
During Governor Simpson's time the extension of trade
took place toward the mouth of the Mackenzie Eiver. A
trader, John Bell, who not only faced the hardships of the
region within the Arctic Circle, but also gained a good name
in connection with Sir John Eichardson's expedition in search
of PrankUn, buUt the first post on Peel's Eiver, which runs
into the delta of Mackenzie Eiver. Bell, in 1846, descended
the Eat Eiver, and first of British explorers set eyes on the
Lower Yukon.
In the foUowing year the Hudson's Bay Company established
La Pierre's House in the heart of the Eocky Mountains toward
the Arctic Sea, and Chief Trader Murray built and occupied
the first Port Yukon. This fort the Hudson's Bay Company
held for twenty-two years, until the territory of Alaska passed
into the hands of the people of the United States. Eampart
House was buUt by the Hudson's Bay Company within British
territory. Both Eampart House and La Pierre's House were
abandoned a few years ago as unprofitable. A simUar fate
befell Port Anderson, two degrees north of the Arctic Ckcle,
buUt for the Eastern Eskimos on the Anderson Eiver, discovered
in 1857 by Chief Factor E. MacParlane, a few years before the
transfer of the territory of the Hudson's Bay Company to
Canada. No doubt the withdrawal from Fort Anderson was
hastened by the terribly fatal epidemic of scarlatina which
prevaUed all over the Mackenzie Eiver district in the autumn
and early winter of 1865. More than eleven hundred Indians
and Eskimos, out of the four thousand estimated population,
perished. The loss of the hunters caused by this disease, and

392 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
the difficulties of overland transport, led to the abandonment of
this out-of-the-way post. THE LIAED EIVEE.
The conflict of the North-West and X Y Companies led to
the most extraordinary exploration that Eupert's Land and
the Indian territories have witnessed. At the time when the
Mackenzie Eiver, at the beginning of the century, was being
searched and occupied, a fort known as The Porks was
estabUshed at the junction of the Liard and Mackenzie Eivers.
This fort, called, after the union of the Hudson's Bay and
North-West Companies, Fort Simpson, became the base of
operations for the exploration of the Liard Eiver. We have
followed the course of trade by which the Mackenzie itself was
placed under tribute; it may be well also to look at the
occupation of the Liard, the most rapid and terrible of all the
great eastern streams that dash down from the heart of the
Eocky Mountains.
The first post to be established on this stream was Fort
Liard, not far below the junction of tbe western with the east
branch of the river. There was an old fort between Fort Liard
and Fort Simpson, but Fort Liard, which is still occupied by
the Hudson's Bay Company, began almost with the century,
and a few years afterwards was under the experienced trader
George Keith. Probably, at an equally early date. Fort
Nelson, on the eastern branch of the river, was estabUshed. In
the second decade of the century, Alexander Henry, the officer
in charge, and all of his people were murdered by the Indians.
The post was for many years abandoned, but was rebuilt in
1865, and is still a trading post.
It was probably shortly after the union of the North-West
and Hudson's Bay Companies that Fort Halkett, far up the
western branch of the river, was erected. After forty or fifty
years of occupation. Fort Halkett was abandoned, but a small
post called Toad Eiver was built some time afterward, half way
between its site and that of Fort Liard. In 1834, Chief Trader
John M. McLeod, not the McLeod whose journal we have
quoted, pushed up past the dangerous rapids and boiling
whirlpools, and among rugged cliffs and precipices of the Eocky

ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE RIVER, YUKON 393
Mountains, discovered Dease Eiver and Dease Lake, from
which the river flows.
Eobert Campbell, an intrepid Scottish officer of the Hudson's
Bay Company, in 1838, succeeded in doing what his pre
decessors had been unable to accomplish, -viz. to establish a
trading post on Dease Lake. In the summer of the same year
Campbell crossed to the Pacific Slope and reached the head
waters of the Stikine Eiver.
In opening his new post Campbell awakened the hostUity of
the coast Indians. He and his men became so reduced in
supplies that they subsisted for some time on the skin thongs
of their moccasins and snow shoes and on the parchment
-windows of their huts, boiled to supply the one meal a day
which kept them alive. In the end CampbeU was compelled
to leave his station on the Dease Lake, and the fort was burnt
by the Indians. DISCOVEEY OP THE UPPBE YUKON.
Under orders from Governor Simpson, Campbell, in 1840,
undertook the exploration that has made his name famous.
This was to ascend the northern branch of the wild and
dangerous Liard Eiver. For this purpose he left the mountain
post, Port Halkett, and passing through the great gorge arrived
at Lake Frances, where he gave the promontory which divides
the lake the name " Simpson's Tower." Leaving the Lake
and ascending one of its tributaries, called by him Finlayson's
Eiver, he reached the interesting reservoir of Finlayson's Lake,
of which, at high water, one part of the sheet runs west to the
Pacific Ocean and the other to the Arctic Sea. With seven
trusty companions he crossed the height of land and saw the
high cUffs of the splendid river, which he called "Pelly
Banks," in honour of the then London Governor of the Com
pany. The Company would have called it Campbell's Eiver,
but the explorer refused the honour. Going down the stream
a few miles on a raft, Campbell then turned back, and reached
Port Halkett after an absence of four months.
Highly complimented by Governor Simpson, Campbell,
under orders, in the next year built a fort at Lake Frances, and

394 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
in a short time another establishment at Pelly Banks.
Descending the river, the explorer met at the junction of the
Lewis and Pelly Banks a band of Indians, who would not
allow him to proceed further, and indeed plotted to destroy
him and his men. Eight years after his discovery of Pelly
Banks, Campbell started on his great expedition, which was
crcwned with success. Eeaching again tbe junction of the
Pelly and Lewis Eivers, he erected a post, naming it Fort
Selkirk, although it was long locally known as Campbell's
Fort. Two years after the buUding of Port Selkirk, CampbeU,
journeying in all from the height of land for twelve hundred
miles, reached Port Yukon, where, as we have seen. Trader
Murray was in charge. Making a circuit around by the
Porcupine Eiver and ascending the Mackenzie Eiver, Campbell
surprised his friends at Port Simpson by coming up the river
to Fort Simpson.
In 1852, a thievish band of coast Indians called the Chilkats
plundered Port Selkkk and shortly afterward destroyed it. Its
ruins remain to this day, and the site is now taken up by the
Canadian Government as a station on the way to the Yukon
gold-fields. Campbell went home to London, mapped out with the aid of
Arrowsmith the country he had found, and gave names to its
rivers and other features. A few years ago an officer of the
United States army. Lieutenant Schwatka, sought to rob
Campbell of his fame, and attempted to rename the important
points of the region. Campbell's merit and modesty entitle
him to the highest recognition.
The trading posts of the great region we are describing have
been variously grouped into districts. Previous to the union
of the North-West and Hudson's Bay Companies, from
Athabasca north and west was kno-wn as the " Athabasca-
Mackenzie Department," their returns all being kept in one
account. This northern department was long under the
superintendency of Chief Factor Edward Smith.
A new district was, some time after the transfer of the Indian
territories to Canada, formed and named " Peace Eiver." The
management has changed from time to time. Port Dunvegan,
for example, for a period the head-quarters of the Peace Eiver

ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE RIVER, YUKON 395
district, having lost its pre-eminence and been transferred to
be under the chief officer on Lesser Slave Lake.
The vast inland water stretches of which we have spoken
have been the chief means of communication throughout the
whole country. Without these there could have been Uttle fur
trade. The distances are bewildering. The -writer remembers
seeing Bishop Bompas, who had left the far distant Fort
Yukon to go to England, and who by canoe, York boat, dog
train, snow shoe, and waggon, had been nine months on the
journey before he reached Winnipeg.
The first northern inland steamer in these remote retreats
was the Graham (1882), buUt by the Company at Port Chipewyan
on Lake Athabasca, by Captain John M. Smith. Three years
later the same captain built the screw-propeller Wrigley, at
Fort Smith, on the Slave Eiver ; and a few years afterward,
this indefatigable builder launched at Athabasca landing the
stern-wheeler Athabasca, for the water stretches of the Upper
Athabasca Eiver.
How remarkable the record of adventure, trade, rivalry,
bloodshed, hardship, and successful effort, from the time, more
than a century ago, when Peter Pond started out on his
seemingly desperate undertaking !

CHAPTEE XXXIX.
ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE.
Extension of trade in New Caledonia — The Western Department —
Fort Vancouver buUt — Governor's residence and Bachelor's
Hall — Fort Colville — James Douglas, a man of no-te — A dignified
official — An Indian rising — A brave woman — The fertile
Columbia VaUey — Finlayson, a man of action — Russian fur
traders — Treaty of Alaska — Lease of Alaska to the Hudson's
Bay Company — Port Langley— The great farm — ^Black at
Kamloops — Fur trader v. botanist—" No soul above a beaver's
skin " — A tragic death — Chief Nicola's eloquence — A murderer's
fate.
The great exploration early in the century secured the Pacific
Slope very largely to the North-West Company. Several of
their most energetic agents, as the names of the rivers running
into the Pacific Ocean show, had made a deep impression on
the region even as far south as the mouth of the Columbia
Eiver. On the union of the North-West and Hudson's Bay
Companies, Governor Simpson threw as much energy into the
development of trade in the country on the western side of
the Eocky Mountains as if he had been a thorough-going
Nor'-Wester. In his administration from ocean to ocean he divided the
trading territory into four departments, viz. Montreal, the
Southern, the Northern, and the Western. In each of these
there were four factors, and these were, in the Western or
Eocky Mountain department, subject to one chief. Under
the chief factor the gradation was chief trader, chief clerk,
apprenticed clerk, postmaster, interpreter, voyageur, and
labourer. This fuller organization and the cessation of strife resulted in
a great increase of the trade of the Hudson's Bay Company on

ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 397
the coast as well as the east side of the Eocky Mountains. The
old fort of Astoria, which was afterwards known as Fort George,
was found too far from the mountains for the convenience of the
fur traders. Accordingly, in 1824-5, a new fort was erected on
the north side of the Columbia Eiver, six mUes above its junction
-with the WiUamette Eiver. The new fort was called Fort
Vancouver, and was built on a prairie slope about one mile back
from the river, but it was afterwards moved nearer the river
bank. The new site was very convenient for carrying on the
overland traffic to Puget Sound. This fort was occupied for
twenty-three years, until international difficulties rendered its
removal necessary.
Port Vancouver was of considerable size, its stockade mea
suring 750 ft. in length and 600 ft. in breadth. The Governor's
residence. Bachelor's HaU, and numerous other buildings
made up a considerable establishment. About the fort a farm
was under cultivation to the extent of fifteen hundred acres,
and a large number of cattle, sheep, and horses were bred upon
it and supplied the trade carried on with the Eussians in the
Far North.
Farther up the Columbia Eiver, where the Walla Walla Eiver
emptied in, a fort was constructed in 1818. The material
for this fort was brought a considerable distance, and being in
the neighbourhood of troublesome tribes of Indians, care was
taken to make the fort strong and defensible.
StiU further up the Columbia Eiver and near the mountains, an
important post. Port Col-ville, was built. This fort became the
depot for all the trade done on the Columbia Eiver ; and from
this point the brigade which had been organized at Fort Van
couver made its last caU before undertaking the steep mountain
cUmb which was necessary in order that by the middle of March
it might reach Norway House and be reported at the great
summer meeting of the fur traders' council there. This task
needed a trusty leader, and for many years Chief Factor, after
ward Sir James, Douglas became the man on whom Governor
and Council depended to do this service.
The mention of the name of James Douglas brings before
us the greatest and most notable man developed by the fur
trade of the Pacific slope. The history of this leader was for

398 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
fifty years after the coalition of- the Companies in 1821, the
history of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Pacific.
Born near the beginning of the century, a scion of the noble
house of Douglas, young Douglas emigrated to Canada, entered
the North-West Company, learned French as if by magic, and
though little more than a lad, at once had hea-vy responsibilities
thro-wn upon him. He was enterprising and determined, with
a judicious mixture of prudence. He had capital business
talents and an adaptability that stood him in good stead in
deaUng with Indians. The veteran Chief Factor, McLoughUn,
who had served his term in the Nor'-Wester service about Lake
Superior and Lake Nepigon, was appointed to the charge of the
Pacific or Western District. He discerned the genius of his
young subordinate, and with the permission of the directors in
London, after a short interval, took Douglas west of the moun
tains to the scene of his future successes. The friendship
between these chiefs of the Pacific Coast was thus early
begun, and they together did much to mould the British
interests on the Pacific Coast into a comely shape.
While McLoughlin crossed at once to the Columbia and took
charge of Fort Vancouver, he directed Douglas to go north
to New Caledonia, or what is now Northern British Columbia,
to learn the details of the fur trade of the mountains. Douglas
threw himself heartUy into every part of his work. He not only
learned the Indian languages, and used them to advantage in
the advancement of the fur trade, but studied successfully the
physical features of the country and became an authority on
the Pacific Slope which proved of greatest value to the Com
pany and the country for many a day.
Douglas had as his head-quarters Fort St. James, near the
outlet of Stuart Lake, i.e. just west of the summit of -the
Eocky Mountains. He determined to enforce law and do away
with the disorder which prevailed in the district. An Indian,
who some time before had murdered one of the servants of the
Hudson's Bay Company, had been allowed to go at large.
Judgment being long deferred, the murderer thought himself
likely to be unmolested, and -visited Stuart Lake. Douglas,
learning of his presence, with a weak garrison seized the criminal
and visited vengeance on him. The Indians were incensed,

SIE JAMES DOUGLAS.

[Page 398.

ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 399
but knowing that they had to deal with a doughty Douglas,
employed stratagem in their reprisals. The old chief came very
humbly to 'the fort and, knocking at the gate, was given
admittance. He talked the affair over with Douglas, and the
matter seemed in a fair way to be settled when another knock
was heard at the gate. The chief stated that it was his brother
who sought to be admitted. The gate was opened, when in
rushed the whole of the Nisqually tribe. McLean vividly
describes the scene which ensued : " The men of the fort were
overpowered ere they had time to stand on their defence.
Douglas, however, seized a wall-piece that was mounted in the
hall, and was about to discharge it on the crowd that was
pouring in upon him, when the chief seized him by the hands
and held him fast. For an instant his Ufe was in the utmost
peril, surrounded by thirty or forty Indians, their knives drawn,
and brandishing them over his head with frantic gestures, and
calling out to the chief, " Shall we strike? Shall we strike? "
The chief hesitated, and at this critical moment the inter
preter's -wife (daughter of an old trader, James McDougaU)
stepped forward, and by her presence of mind saved him and
the establishment.
" Observing one of the inferior chiefs, who had always pro
fessed the greatest friendship for the whites, standing in the
crowd, she addressed herself to him, exclaiming, ' What ! you
a friend of the whites, and not say a word in their behalf at such
a time as this ! Speak ! You know the murderer deserved to
die ; according to your own laws the deed was just ; it is blood
for blood. The white men are not dogs ; they love their o-wn
kindred as well as you; why should they not avenge their
murder? ' "
The moment the heroine's voice was heard the tumult sub
sided ; her boldness struck the savages with awe. The chief
she addressed, acting on her suggestion, interfered, and
being seconded by the old chief, who had no serious inten
tion of injuring the whites, and was satisfied -with showing them
that they were fairly in his power, Douglas and his men were
set at liberty ; and an amicable conference having taken place,
the Indians departed, much elated with the issue of their
enterprise.

400 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Douglas spent his four years in the interior in a most
interesting and energetic life. The experience there gained
was invaluable in his after career as a fur trader. In 1826, at
Bear Lake, at the head of a branch of the Eiver Skeena, he
built a fort, which he named Fort CoimoUy, in honour of his
superior officer, the chief of the Pacific department. Other
forts in this region date then- origin to Douglas's short stay in
this part of the mountains. Douglas also had an "affair of
the heart " while at Fort St. James. Young and impressionable,
he fell in love with Nellie, the daughter of Mr. Connolly, a
young " daughter of the country," aged sixteen. She became
his wife and survived him as Lady Douglas.
His life of adventure in the Eocky Mountains came to an
end by the summons of Chief Factor McLoughlin to appear at
Fort Vancouver, the chief point of the Company's trade on the
Pacific slope. In two years more the rising young officer
became chief trader, and three years afterward he had reached
the high dignity of chief factor. His chief work was to estab
lish forts, superintend the trade in its different departments,
and inspect the forts at least annually. His vigilance and
energy were surprising. He became so noted that it was said
of him : " He was one of the most enterprising and inquisitive
of men, famous for his intimate acquaintance with every service
of the coast."
Though James Douglas rose by well marked tokens of
leadership to the chief place on the Pacific Coast, yet the men
associated with him were a worthy and able band. His friend.
Chief Factor Dr. John McLoughlin, who had been his patron,
was a man of excellent ability. McLoughlin was of a sym
pathetic and friendly disposition, and took an interest in the
settlement of the fertile valley of the Columbia. His course
seems to have been disapproved of by the London Committee
of the Company, and his place was given to Douglas, after
which he spent his life in Oregon. His work and influence
cannot, however, be disregarded. He passed through many
adventures and dangers. He was fond of show, and had a
manner which might well recommend him to Sir George
Simpson, Governor-in-chief.
From a trader's journal we learn : " McLoughlin and his;

ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 401
suite would sometimes accompany the south-bound expeditions
from Port Vancouver, in regal state, for fifty or one hundred
miles up the Willamette, when he would dismiss them with
his blessing and return to the fort. He did not often travel,
and seldom far ; but on these occasions he indulged his men
rather than himself in some little variety. ... It pleased Mrs.
McLoughlin thus to break the monotony of her fort life. Upon
a gaily-caparisoned steed, with silver trappings and strings
of bells on bridle reins and saddle skirt, sat the lady of Port
Vancouver, herself arrayed in brilliant colours, and wearing
a smile which might cause to blush and hang its head the
broadest, warmest, and most fragrant sunflower. By her side,
also gorgeously attired, rode her lord, king of the Columbia,
and every inch a king, attended by a train of trappers, under a
chief trader, each upon his best behaviour."
But a group of men, notable and competent, gathered around
these two leaders of the fur trade on the Pacific Coast. These
comprised Eoderick Finlayson, John Work, A. C. Anderson,
W. P. Tolmie, John Tod, H. Black, and others. These men,
in charge of important posts, were local magnates, and really,
gathered together in council, determined the policy of the
Company along the whole coast.
In 1827 the spirit of extension of the trading operations took
possession of the Hudson's Bay Company. In that year the
officers at Port Vancouver saw arrive from the Thames the
schooner Cadboro, seventy-two tons burthen. She became as
celebrated on the Pacific Coast as any prominent fur trader
could have become. It was said of this good ship, " She saw
buried every human body brought by her from England, save
one, John Spence, ship carpenter." Her arrival at this time
was the occasion for an expedition to occupy the Lower Praser
with a trading post. John McMillan commanded the expe
dition of twenty-five men. Leaving Port Vancouver in boats,
and, after descending the Columbia for a distance, crossing the
country to Puget's Sound, they met the Cadboro, which had
gone upon her route. Transported to the mouth of the Fraser
Eiver, which empties into the Gulf of Georgia, they, with
some difficulty, ascended the river and planted Port Langley,
where in the first season of trade a fair quantity of beaver was
D d

402 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
purchased, and a good supply of deer and elk meat was brought
in by the hunters. The founding of Fort Langley meant
virtually the taking hold of what we now know as the mainland
of British Columbia.
The reaching out in trade was not favoured by the Indians
of the Columbia. Two years after the founding of Fort
Langley, a Hudson's Bay Company ship from London, the
William and Ann, was wrecked at the mouth of the Columbia
Eiver. The survivors were murdered by the Indians, and
the cargo was seized and secreted by the savage wreckers.
Chief Factor McLoughlin sent to tbe Indians, demanding the
restoration of the stolen articles. An old broom was all that
was brought to the fort, and this was done in a spirit of
derision. The schooner Vancouver — the first ship of that
name — (150 tons burthen), built on the coast, was -wrecked five
years after, and became a total loss.
In tbe same year as the wreck of the William and Ann, it
was strongly impressed upon the traders that a sawmill should
be erected to supply the material for building new vessels.
Chief Factor McLoughUn determined to push this on. He
chose as a site a point on the WUlamette Eiver, a tributary of
the Columbia from the south, where Oregon city now stands.
He began a farm in connection with the mill, and in a year or
two undertook the construction of the mill race by blasting in
the rock, and erected cottages for his men and new settlers.
The Indians, displeased with the signs of permanent residence,
burnt McLoughlin's huts. It is said it was this enterprise
that turned the Hudson's Bay Company Committee in London
against the veteran trader. Years afterwards, Edward Ellice,
the fur- trade magnate residing in England, said, " Dr.
McLoughUn was rather an amphibious and independent per
sonage. He was a very able man, and, I believe, a very good
man ; but he had a fancy that he would like to have interests
in both countries, both in United States and in EngUsh territory.
. . . While he remained with the Hudson's Bay Company he
was an excellent servant."
Among the traders far up in the Ulterior in command of
Fort Kamloops, which was at the junction of the North and
South Thompson, was a Scotchman named Samuel Black.

ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 403
There came as a visitor to his fort a man of science and a
countryman of his own. This man was David Douglas. He
was an enthusiast in the search for plants and birds. He was
indefatigable as a - naturalist, did much service to the botany
of Western America, and has his name preserved in the
characteristic tree of the Pacific slope — the Douglas Fir.
Douglas, on visiting Black, was very firm in the expression
of his opinions against the Company, saying, " The Hudson's
Bay Company is simply a mercenary corporation ; there is not
an officer in it with a soul above a beaver's skin." Black's
Caledonian blood was aroused, for he was a leading spirit
among the traders, having on the union of the Companies been
presented with a ring with the inscription on it, " To the most
worthy of the worthy Nor'-Westers." He challenged the
botanist to a duel. The scientist deferred the meeting tiU the
morning, but early next day Black tapped at the parchment
window of the room where Douglas was sleeping, crying,
"Mister Douglas, are ye ready?" Douglas disregarded the
invitation. David Douglas some time after visited Hawaii,
where, in examining the snares for catching wild cattle, he
fell into the pit, and was trampled to death by a wUd bullock.
The death of Samuel Black was tragic. In 1841, Tran-
quiUe, a chief of the Shushwaps, who dwelt near Kamloops,
died. The friends of the chief blamed the magic or " evil
medicine" of the white man for his death. A nephew of
TranquUle waited his opportunity and shot Chief Trader Black.
The Hudson's Bay Company was aroused to most vigorous
action. A -writer says: "The murderer escaped. The news
spread rapidly to the neighbouring posts. The natives were
scarcely less disturbed than the white men. The act was
abhorred, even by the friends and relatives of TranquUle.
Anderson was at Nisqually at the time. Old John Tod came
over from Port Alexandria, McLean from Port Colville, and
McKinley and Ermatinger from Port Okanagan. From Port
Vancouver McLoughlin sent men. . . . Cameron was to assist
Tod in taking charge of Kamloops. All traffic was stopped.
" Tod informed the assembled Shushwaps that the murderer
must be delivered up. Th^ address of Nicola, chief of the
Okanagans, gives a fine example of Indian eloquence. He

404 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
said : ' The winter is cold. On all the hills around the deer
are plenty ; and yet I hear your children crying for food. Why
is this ? You ask for powder and ball, they refuse you with
a scowl. Why do the white men let your children starve ?
Look there ! Beneath yon mound of earth lies him who was
your friend, your father. The powder and ball he gave you
that you might get food for your famishing wives and children^
you turned against him. Great heavens ! And are the
Shushwaps such cowards, dastardly to shoot their benefactor
in the back while his face was turned ? Yes, alas, you have
killed your father I A mountain has fallen ! The earth is
shaken ! The sun is darkened ! My heart is sad. I cannot
ook at myself in the glass, I cannot look at you, my neighbours
and friends. He is dead, and we poor Indians shall never see
his like again. He was just and generous. His heart was
larger than yonder mountain, and clearer than the waters of
the lake. Warriors, do not weep, but sore is my breast, and
our wives shall wail for him. Wherefore did you kill him ?
But you did not. You loved him. And now you must not
rest until you have brought to justice his murderer.'
" The old man was so rigid in expression that his whole
frame and features seemed turned to stone.
" Archibald McKinley said, ' Never shall I forget it ; it was
the grandest speech I ever heard.'
" The murderer was soon secured and placed in irons, but in
crossing a river he succeeded in upsetting the boat in the sight
of Nicola and his assembled Indians. The murderer floated
down the stream, but died, his death song hushed by the crack
of rifles from the shore."
Thus by courage and prudence, alas ! not without the sacrifice
of valuable lives, was the power of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany and the prestige of Great Britain established on the
Pacific Coast.

CHAPTEE XL.
FEOM OEEGON TO VANOOUVEE ISLAND.
Fort Vancouver on American soil — Chief Factor Douglas chooses a
new site— Young McLoughlin killed — Liquor selling prohibited —
Dealing with the Songfies — A Jesuit father — Fort Victoria —
Finlayson's skill — Chinook jargon — The brothers Ermatinger — ^A
fur-trading Junius — " Fifty-four, forty, or fight " — Oregon Treaty
— Hudson's Bay Company indemnified — The waggon road —
A colony established — First governor — Gold fever — British
Columbia — Fort Simpson — Hudson's Bay Company in the
interior — The forts — A group of worthies — Service to Britain —
The coast become Canadian.
The Columbia Eiver grew to be a source of wealth to the
Hudson's Bay Company. Its farming facilities were great, and
its products afforded a large store for supplying the Eussian
settlements of Alaska. But as on Eed Eiver, so here the
influx of agricultural settlers sounded a note of warrung to the
fur trader that his day was soon to pass away. With the
purpose of securing the northern trade, Port Langley had been
buUt on the Fraser Eiver. The arrival of Sir George Simpson
on the coast on his journey round the world was the occasion
of the Company taking a most important step in order to hold
the trade of Alaska.
In theyear following Sir George's visit. Chief Factor Douglas
crossed Puget Sound and examined the southern extremity of
Vancouver Island as to its suitability for the erection of a new
fort to take the place in due time of Port Vancouver. Douglas
found an exceUent site, close beside the splendid harbour of
Esquimalt, and reported to the assembled council of chief
factors and traders at Fort Vancouver that the advantages
afforded by the site, especially that of its contiguity to the sea,
would place the new fort, for all their purposes, in a much better

4o6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
position than Port Vancouver. The enterprise was accordingly
determined on for the next season.
A tragic incident took place at this time on the Pacific Coast,
which tended to make the policy of expansion adopted appear
to be a -wise and reasonable one. This was the violent death
of a young trader, the son of Chief Trader McLoughlin, at
Port Taku on the coast of Alaska, in the territory leased from
the Eussians by the Hudson's Bay Company. The murder
was the result of a drunken dispute among the Indians, in
which, accidentally, young McLoughlin had been shot.
Sir George Simpson had just returned to the fort from his
visit to the Sandwich Islands, and was startled at seeing the
Eussian and British ships, with flags at half mast, on account
of the young trader's death. The Indians, on the arrival of
the Governor, expressed the greatest penitence, but the stern
Lycurgus could not be appeased, and this calamity, along with
one of a similar kind, which had shortly before occurred on the
Stikine Eiver, led Sir George Simpson and the Eussian Governor
Etholin to come to an agreement to discontinue at once the
sale of spirituous liquor in trading with the Indians. The
Indians for a time resorted to every device, such as -withhold
ing their furs unless liquor was given them, but the traders
were unyielding, and the trade on the coast became safer and
more profitable on account of the disuse of strong drink.
The decision to build a new fort having been reached in the
next spring, the moving spirit of the trade on the coast, James
Douglas, with fifteen men, fully supplied -with food and
necessary implements, crossed in the Bea/ver from Nisqually,
like another Eneas leaving his untenable city behind to build
a new Troy elsewhere. On the next day, March 13th, the
vessel came to anchor opposite the new site.
A graphic -writer has given us the description of the beauti
ful spot : " The view landwards was enchanting. Before them
lay a vast body of land, upon which no white man then stood.
Not a human habitation was in sight ; not a beast, scarcely a
bird. Even the gentle murmur of the voiceless wood was
dro-wned by the gentle beating of the surf upon the shore.
There was something specially charming, bewitching in the
place. Though wholly natural it did not seem so. It was not

FROM OREGON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND 407
at all like pure art, but it was as though nature and art had
combined to map out and make one of the most pleasing
prospects in the world."
The visitor looking at the City of Victoria in British
Columbia to-day will say that the description is in no way
overdrawn. Not only is the site one of the most charming on
the earth, but as the spectator turns about he is entranced with
the view on the mainland, of Mount Olympia, so named by that
doughty captain, John Meares, more than fifty years before the
founding of this fort.
The place had been already chosen for a village and fortifica
tion by the resident tribe, the Songhies, and went by the Indian
name of Camosun. The Indian village was a mile distant from
the entrance to the harbour. When the Beaver came to
anchor, a gun was fired, which caused a commotion among the
natives, who were afraid to draw near the intruding vessel.
Next morning, however, the sea was alive with canoes of the
Songhies. The trader immediately landed, chose the site for his post,
and found at a short distance tall and straight cedar-trees,
which afforded material for the stockades of the fort. Douglas
explained to the Indians the purpose of his coming, and held
up to them bright visions of the beautiful things he would
bring them to exchange for their furs. He also employed the
Indians in obtaining for him the cedar posts needed for his
palisades. The trader showed his usual tact in employing a most potent
means of gaining an influence over the savages by bringing the
Jesuit Father Balduc, who had been upon the island before
and was known to the natives. Gathering the three tribes of
the south of the island, the Songhies, Clallams, and Cowichins,
into a great rustic chapel which had been prepared. Father
Balduc held an impressive religious service, and shortly after
visited a settlement of the Skagits, a thousand strong, and
there too, in a building erected for public worship, performed
the important religious rites of his Church before the wondering
savages. It -was the intention of the Hudson's~Bay Company to make
the new fort at Camosun, which they first called Fort Albert,

4o8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and afterwards Port Victoria — the name now borne by the
city, the chief trading depot on the coast.
As soon as the buildings were well under way. Chief Factor
Douglas sailed northward along the coast to re-arrange the
trade. Fort Simpson, which was on the mainland, some
fifteen degrees north of the new fort and situated between the
Portland Canal and the mouth of the Skeena Eiver, was to be
retained as necessary for the Alaska trade, but the promising
officer, Eoderick Finlayson, a young Scotchman, who had
shown his skill and honesty in the northern post, was removed
from it and given an important place in the new establishment.
Living a useful and blameless life, he was allowed to see the
new fort become before his death a considerable city. Charles
Eoss, the master of Port McLoughlin, being senior to Finlay
son, was for tbe time being placed in charge of the new
venture. The three minor forts, Taku, Stikine, and McLoughlin,
were now closed, and the policy of consolidation led to Port
Victoria at once rising into importance.
On the return of the chief factor from his northern expedi
tion, with all the employes and stores from the deserted posts,
the work at Fort Victoria went on apace. The energetic
master had now at his disposal fifty good men, and while some
were engaged at the buildings — either storehouses or dwellings
— others built the defences. Two bastions of solid block work
were erected, thirty feet high, and these were connected by
palisades or stockades of posts twenty feet high, driven into
the earth side by side. The natives encamped alongside the
new work, looked on with interest, but as they had not their
wives and children with them, the traders viewed them with
suspicion. On account of the watchfulness of the builders, the
Indians, beyond a few acts of petty theft, did not interfere with
the newcomers in their enterprise.
Three months saw the main features of the fort completed.
On entering the western gate of the fort, to the right was to
be seen a cottage-shaped building, the post office, then the
smithy; further along the walls were the large storehouse,
carpenter's shop, men's dormitory, and the boarding-house-for
the raw recruits. Along the east wall were the chapel,
chaplain's house, then the officers' dining-room and cook-house

FROM OREGON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND 409
attached. Along the north wall was a double row of store
houses for furs and goods, and behind them the gunpowder
magazine. In the north-west corner was the cottage resi
dence of the chief factor and his family.
The defences of the fort were important, consisting of two
bastions on the western angles, and these contained six or
eight nine-pounders. The south tower was the real fort from
which salutes were fired ; the north tower was a prison ; and
near the western or front gate stood the belfry erection and on
its top the flag-staff. Such was the first Port St. Albert or
Victoria. Victoria rapidly grew into notice, and in due time Eoderick
Finlayson, the man of adaptation and force, on the death of
his superior officer, became chief factor in charge. The writer
met the aged fur trader years after he had retired from active
service, and spent with him some hours of cheerful discourse.
Large and commanding in form, Finlayson had the marks of
governing ability about him. He lacked the adroitness of
McLoughlin, the instability of Tod, and the genius of Douglas,
but he was a typical Scotchman, steady, patient, and trustworthy.
Like an old patriarch, he spent his last days in Victoria,
keeping a large extent of vacant city property in a common.
Urged again and again to sell it when it had become valuable,
the sturdy pioneer replied that he " needed it to pasture his
* coo.' "
One of the things most striking in all the early traders was
their ability to master language. Many of the officers of the
Company were able to speak four languages. On the Pacific
Coast, on account of the many Indian tongues differing much
from each other, there grew up a language of commerce, known
as the Chinook jargon. It was a most remarkable pheno
menon ; it is still largely in use. The tribe most familiar to
the traders at the beginning of the century was the Chinooks.
English-speaking, French, and United States traders met with
them, and along with them the Kanakas, or Sandwich Island
workmen, with many bands of coast Indians.
A trade has developed upon the Pacific Coast, the Chin
jargon has grcwn, and now numbers some five hundred words.
Of these, nearly half were Chinook in origin, a number were

410

THE HUDSON'S BA\ COMPANY

from other Indian languages, almost a hundred were French,
and less than seventy English, while several were doubtful.
The then leading elements among the traders were known
in the jargon as respectively, Pasai-ooks, French, a corruption
of Fran9ais ; King Chautchman (King George man), English ;
and Boston, American. The following wiU show the origin
and meaning of a few words, showing changes made in
consonants which the Indians cannot pronounce.

French.
Le mouton.
Chapeau. Sauvage. English.
Fire. Coffee.Handkerchief. Chinook.
Tkalaitanam.Thliakso.

Jargon.
Lemoots. Seahpo.
Siwash. Jargon.
Piah.
Kaupy.
Hat'atshum. Jargon.
Kali-tan.
Yokso. Klootohman.

Meaning.
Sheep.
Hat.Indian. Meaning.
Fire or cook.
Coffee. Handkerchief. Meaning.
Arrow.Hair. Woman.

Songs, hymns, sermons, and translations of portions of the
Bible are made in the jargon, and used by missionaries and
teachers. Several dictionaries of the dialect have been
published. Among the out-standing men who were contemporaries
upon the Pacific Coast of Finlayson were the two brothers
Ermatinger. Already it has been stated that they were
nephews of the famous old trader of Sault Ste. Marie. Their
father had preferred England to Canada, and had gone thither.
His two sons, Edward and Francis, were, as early as 1818,
apprenticed by their father to the Hudson's Bay Company and
sent on the Company's ship to Eupert's Land, by way of York
Factory. Edward, whose autobiographical sketch, hitherto
unpublished, lies before us, tells us that he spent ten years
in the fur trade, being engaged at York Factory, Oxford
House, Eed Eiver, and on the Columbia Eiver. Desirous of
returning to the service after he had gone back to Canada, he
had received an appointment to Eupert's Land again from
Governor Simpson. This was cancelled by the Governor on

FROM OREGON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND 411
account of a grievous quarrel with old Charles, the young
trader's uncle, on a sea voyage with the Governor to Britain.
For many years, however, Edward Ermatinger lived at
St. Thomas, Ontario, where his son, the respected Judge
Ermatinger, still resides. The old gentleman became a great
authority on Hudson's Bay affairs, and received many letters
from the traders, especially, it would seem, from those who had
grievances against the Company or against its strong-willed
Governor. Francis Ermatinger, the other brother, spent between thirty
and forty years in the Par West, especially on the Pacific Coast.
An unpubUshed journal of Francis Ermatinger lies before us.
It is a clear and vi-vid account of an expedition to revenge the
death of a trader, Alexander Mackenzie, and four men who had
been basely murdered (1828) by the tribe of Clallam Indians.
The party, under Chief Factor Alexander McLeod, attacked
one band of Indians and severely punished them ; then from
the ship Cadboro on the coast, a bombardment of the Indian
village took place, in which many of the tribe of the murderers
were killed, but whether the criminals suffered was never
kno-wn. That Francis Ermatinger was one of the most hardy, deter
mined, and capable of the traders is shown by a remarkable
journey made by him, under orders from Sir George Simpson
on his famous journey round the world. Ermatinger had left
Fort Vancouver in charge of a party of trappers to visit the
interior of CaUfornia. Sir George, having heard of him in the
upper waters of one of the rivers of the coast, ordered him to
meet him at Monterey. This Ermatinger undertook to do, and
after a terrific journey, crossing snowy chains of mountains,
fierce torrents in a country full of pitfalls, reached the imperious
Governor. Ermatinger had assumed the disguise of a Spanish
caballero, and was recognized by his superior officer with some
difficulty. Ermatinger -wrote numerous letters to his brothers
in Canada, which contained detaUs of the hard but exciting
life he was leading.
Most unique and peculiar of all the traders on the Pacific
Coast was John Tod, who first appeared as a trader in, the
Selkirk settlement and wrote a number of the Hargrave letters.

412 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
In 1823 he was sent by Governor Simpson, it is said, to New
Caledonia as to the final settlement of the fur traders, but the
young Scotchman cheerfully accepted his appointment. He
became the most noted letter- writer of the Pacific Coast, indeed,
he might be called the prince of controversialists among the
traders. There lies before the writer a bundle of long letters
written over a number of years by Tod to Edward Ermatinger.
Tod, probably for the sake of argument, advocated loose views
as to the validity of the Scriptures, disbeUef of many of the
cardinal Christian doctrines, and in general claimed the
greatest latitude of belief. It is very interesting to see how the
solemn-minded and orthodox Ermatinger strives to lead him
into the true way. Tod certainly had little effect upon his
faithful correspondent, and shows the greatest regard for his
admonitions. The time of Sir George Simpson's visit to the coast on his
journey round the world was one of much agitation as to the
boundary line between the British and United States possessions
on the Pacific Coast. By the treaty of 1825 Eussia and Britain
had come to an agreement that the Eussian strip along the
coast should reach southward only to 54 deg. 40' N. lat. The
United States maintained its claim to the coast as far north as
the Eussian boundary. However preposterous it may seem,
yet it was maintained by the advocates of the Munroe doctrine
that Great Britain had no share of the coast at all. The
urgency of the American claim became so great that the
popular mind seemed disposed to favour contesting this claim
with arms. Thus originated the famous saying, " Fifty-four,
forty, or fight." The Hudson's Bay Company was closely
associated with the dispute, the more that Port Vancouver on
the Columbia Eiver might be south of the boundary Une, though
their action of building Fort Victoria was sho-wn to be a wise
and timely step. At length in 1846 the treaty between Great
Britain and the United States was made and the boundary
Une established. The Oregon Treaty, known in some quarters
as the Ashburton Treaty, provided that the 49th paraUel of
latitude should on the mainland be the boundary, thus handing
over Fort Vancouver, Walla Walla, Colville, Nisqually, and
Okanagan to the United States, and taking them from their

FROM OREGON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND 413
rightful o-wners, the Hudson's Bay Company. Article two of
the great treaty, however, stated that the Company should enjoy
free na-vigation of the Columbia Eiver, whUe the third article
pro-vided that the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany and all other British subjects on the south side of the
boundary line should be respected.
The decision in regard to the boundary led to changes in the
Hudson's Bay Company establishments. Dr. McLoughlin,
having lost the confidence of the Company, threw in his lot
with his United States home, and retired in the year of the
treaty to Oregon City, where he died a few years after. His
name is remembered as that of an impulsive, good-hearted,
somewhat rash, but always well-meaning man.
Though Port Victoria became the depot for the coast of the
trade of the Company, Port Vancouver, with a reduced staff,
was maintained for a number of years by the Company. While
imder charge of Chief Trader Wark, a part of the fields belong
ing to the Company at Fort Vancouver were in a most high
handed manner seized by the United States for miUtary pur
poses. The senior officer, Mr. Grahame, on his return from an
absence, protested against the invasion. In June, 1860, how
ever, the Hudson's Bay Company withdrew from the Columbia.
The great herd of wild cattle which had grown up on the
Columbia were disposed of by the Company to a merchant of
Oregon. The Company thus retired to the British side of the
boimdary Une during the three years closing with 1860.
Steps were taken by the Hudson's Bay Company to obtain
compensation from the United States authorities. A long and
wearisome investigation took place ; -witnesses were called and
great diversity of opinion prevailed as to the value of the
interest of the Company in its forts. The Hudson's Bay Com
pany claimed indemnity amounting to the sum of 2,000,000 dols.
Witnesses for the Uinted States gave one-tenth of that amount
as a fair value. Compensation of a moderate kind was at length
made to the Company by the United States.
On its withdrawal from Oregon the Hudson's Bay Company
decided on opening up communication with the interior of the
mainland up the Praser Eiver. This was a task of no small
magnitude, on account of the rugged and forbidding banks of

414 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
this great river. A. Caulfield Anderson, an officer who had
been in the Company's service for some fourteen years before
the date of the Oregon Treaty and was in charge of a post on
the Fraser Eiver, was given the duty of finding the road to the
interior. He was successful in tracing a road from Fort
Langley to Kamloops. The Indians offered opposition to
Anderson, but he succeeded in spite of all hindrances, and
though other routes were sought for and suggested, yet Ander
son's road by way of the present to-wn of Hope and Lake Nicola
to Kamloops afterwards became one great waggon road to the
interior. No sooner had the boundary line been fixed than
agitation arose to prepare the territory north of the line for a
possible influx of agriculturists or miners and also to maintain
the coast true to British connection. The Hudson's Bay Com
pany applied to the British Government for a grant of Vancouver
Island, which they held under a lease good for twelve years
more. Mr. Gladstone opposed the application, but, considering
it the best thing to be done in the circumstances, the Govern
ment made the grant (1847) to the Company under certain
conditions. The Company agreed to colonize the island, to
sell the lands at moderate rates to settlers, and to apply nine-
tenths of the receipts toward public improvements. The Com
pany entered heartily into the project, issued a prospectus for
settlers, and hoped in five years to have a considerable colony
established on the Island.
Steps were taken by tbe British Government to organize the
new colony. The head of the Government applied to the
Governor of the Company to name a governor. Chief Factor
Douglas was suggested, but probably thinking an independent
man would be more suitable, the Government gave the appoint
ment to a man of respectability, Eichard Blanshard, in the end
of 1849.
The new Governor arrived, but no preparations had been
made for his reception . No salary was provided for his main
tenance, and the attitude of the Hudson's Bay Company
officially at Port Victoria was decidedly lacking in heartiness.
Governor Blanshard's position was nothing more than an empty
show. He issued orders and proclamations which were disre
garded. He visited Fort Eupert, which had been founded by

FROM OREGON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND 415
the Company on the north-east angle of the island, and there
held an investigation of a murder of three sailors by the Newitty
Indians. Governor Blanshard spent much of his time -writing
pessimistic reports of the country to Britain, and after a
residence of a year and a half returned to England thoroughly
soured on account of his treatment by the officers of the
Company. The colonization of Vancouver Island proved very slow. A
company of miners for Nanaimo, and another of farmers for
Sooke, near Victoria, came, but during Governor Blanshard's
rule only one bond-fide sale of land was made, and five years
after the cession to the Company there were less than five
hundred colonists. Chief Factor Douglas succeeded to the
governorship and threw his accustomed energy into his
administration. The cry of monopoly, ever a popular one,
was raised, and inasmuch as the colony was not increasing
sufficiently to satisfy the Imperial Government, the great Com
mittee of the House of Commons of 1857 was appointed to
examine the whole relation of the Company to Eupert's Land
and the Indian territories. The result of the inquiry was that
it was decided -to relieve the Hudson's Bay Company of the
charge of Vancouver Island at the time of expiry of their lease.
The Hudson's Bay Company thus withdrew on the Pacific
Coast to the position of a private trading company, though Sir
James Douglas, who was knighted in 1863, continued Governor
of the Cro-wn Colony of Vancouver Island, with the added
responsibility of the territory on the mainland.
At this juncture the gold discovery in the mainland called
much attention to the country. Thousands of miners rushed
at once to the British possessions on the Pacific Coast. Fort
Victoria, from being a lonely traders' post, grew as if by magic
into a city. Thousands of miners betook themselves to the
Fraser Eiver, and sought the inland gold-fields. All this
compelled a more complete organization than the mere over
sight of the mainland by Governor Douglas in his capacity as
head of the fur trade. Accordingly the British Government
determined to reUeve the Hudson's Bay Company of responsi
bility for the mainland, which they held under a Ucense soon
to expire, and to erect New Caledonia and the Indian territories

4i6 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
of the coast into a separate Crown Colony under the name of
British Columbia. In Lord Lytton's dispatches to Governor
Douglas, to whom the governorship of both of the colonies of
Vancouver Island and British Columbia was offered, the con
dition is plainly stated that he would be required to sever hia
connection with the Hudson's Bay Company and the Puget
Sound Agricultural Company, and to be independent of all
local interests. Here we leave Sir James Douglas immersed in
his pubUc duties of governing the two colonies, which in time
became one province under the name of British Columbia, thus
gi-ving up the guidance of the fur-trading stations for whose
up-building he had striven for fifty years.
The posts of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Pacifie
Coast in 1857 were : —
Vancouver Island — North- West Coast —
Fort Victoria. Fort Simpson.
Fort Rupert. Neiv Caledonia —
Nanaimo. Stuart Lake.
Fraser Biver — McLeod Lake.
Fort Langley. Fraser Lake.
Thompson Biver — Alexandria.
Kamloops. Fort George.
Fort Hope. Babines. ConnoUy Lake.

CHAPTEE XLI.
PEO GLOEIA DEI.
A vast region — First spiritual ad-viser — A locum tenens — Two French
Canadian priests — St. Boniface founded — Missionary zeal in
Mackenzie River district — Red River parishes — The great Arch
bishop Tach6 — John West — Archdeacon Cochrane, the founder
— John McOaUum — Bishop Anderson — English Missionary
Societies — Archbishop Machray — Indian Missions — John Black,
the Presbyterian apostle — Methodist Missions on Lake
Winnipeg^The Cree syUabio — Chaplain Staines^Bishop Cridge
— Missionary Duncan — Metlakahtla — Roman Catholic coast
missions — Church of England bishop — Diocese of New West
minster — Dr. Evans — Robert Jamieson — Education.
Wheeevbe British influence has gone throughout the world
the Christian faith of the British people has followed. It is
true, for one hundred and fifty years the ships to Hudson Bay
crossed regularly to the forts on the Bay, and beyond certain
suggestions as to service to the employes, no recognition of
religion took place on Hudson Bay, and no Christian clergyman
or missionary visitor found his way thither. The Company
was primarily a trading company, its forts were far apart, and
there were few men at any one point.
The first heralds of the Cross, indeed, to reach Eupert's Land
were the French priests who accompanied Verandrye, though
they seem to have made no settlements in the territory. It is
said that after the conquest of Canada, when the French
traders had withdrawn from the North-West, except a few
traditions in one of the tribes, no trace of Christianity was left
behind. The first clergyma'n to arrive in Eupert's Land was in con
nection with Lord Selkirk's colony in 1811. A party of Lord
Selkirk's first colonists having come from Sligo, the founder sent
one Father Bourke to accompany the party to Eed Eiver. The
E e

4i8 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
wintering at York Factory seems to have developed some un
satisfactory traits in the spiritual ad-viser, and he did not proceed
further than the shore of the Bay, but returned to his native
land. The necessity of providing certain spiritual oversight for his
Scottish colonists occupied Lord Selkirk's mind. In 1815
James Sutherland, an elder authorized by the Church of Scot
land to baptize and marry, arrived with one of the bands of
colonists at Eed Eiver. The first point in the agreement
between Lord Selkirk and his colonists was "to have the
services of a minister of their o-wn church." This was Lord
Selkirk's wish, and Mr. Sutherland was sent as locum tenens.
For three years this devout man performed the duties of his
sacred office, until in the conflict between the rival Companies
he was forcibly taken away to Canada by the North-West
Company. Lord Selkirk entered into correspondence with the Eoman
Catholic authorities in Lower Canada as to their appointing
priests to take charge of the French and De Meurons of his
colony. We have already seen in the sketch of John McLeod
that two French priests, Joseph Norbert Provencher and Severe
Dumoulin, proceeded to the North-West and took up a position
on the east side of Eed Eiver nearly opposite the site of the
demolished Fort Gibraltar. On account of the preponderance
of the German-speaking De Meurons, the settlement was called
St. Boniface, after the German patron saint. Though these
pioneer priests endured hardships and poverty, they ener
getically undertook their work, and maintained a school in
which, shortly after, we are told, there were scholars in the
" Humaiuties." With great zeal the Eoman Catholic Church has Carried its
missions to the Indians, even to distant Athabasca and Mac
kenzie Eiver. In 1822 the Priest Provencher was made a
bishop under the title of Bishop of Juliopolis (m partibus in
fidelium). His jurisdiction included Eupert's Land and the
North-West or Indian territories. Besides the work among
the Indians,the Bishop organized the French settlements along
the Eed and Assiniboine Eivers into parishes. In addition to
St. Boniface, some of these were St. Norbert, St. Fran9ois

PRO GLORIA DEI 419
Xavier, St. Charles, St. Vital, and the Uke, untU, at the close
of the Hudson's Bay Company's rule in 1869, there were nine
French parishes.
The Indian missions have been largely carried on by a
-Society of the Eoman Catholic Church kno-wn as the Oblate
Fathers. A sisterhood of the Grey Nuns have also, taken
a strong hold of the North-West.
In the year 1844 a young French priest named Alexandre
Antonin Tache came to the North-West and led the way in
carrying the faith among the Indians of the Mackenzie Eiver.
A most interesting work of Father Tache, called " Vingt Annees
de Missions," gives the life and trials of this devoted missionary.
In a few years the young priest was appointed coadjutor of
Bishop Provencher, and on the death of that prelate in 1853,
young Monseigneur Tache succeeded to the see under the name
of the Bishop of St. Boniface. Bishop Tache became a riotable
man of the Eed Eiver settlement. He was a man of much
breadth of view, kindliness of manner, and of great religious
zeal. As an educationalist and public man, he wielded, during
the whole time of the Hudson's Bay Company's later regime, a
potent influence. A year or two after the elevation of Bishop
Tache to the vacant place of Bishop Provencher, Bishop
Grandin was appointed a bishop of the interior and took up his
abode at He a la Crosse. The Eoman Catholic Church has
done much in bringing many wild tribes under the civilizing
influence of Christianity.
Though Lord Selkirk was compelled to betake himself to
Prance in 1820 in search of health, he did not forget his promise
to his Scottish colonists on Eed Eiver. He entrusted the task of
procuring a clergyman for them to Mr. John Pritchard, who, we
have seen, had entered the service of his Lordship. Pritchard,
acting under the direction of the committee of the Hudson's
Bay Company, seems to have taken a course that Lord
Selkirk would hardly have approved. To some extent disre
garding the promise made to the Scottish settlers, either the
agent or the committee applied to the Church Missionary
Society to appoint a chaplain for the Hudson's Bay Company
jat Eed Eiver.
The choice made was a most judicious one, being that of

420 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Eev. John West, who wrote a very readable book on his-
experiences, in which the. condition of the settlement, along
with an account of his missionary labours, are described.
A little volume, written by Miss Tucker, under the name of
" The Eainbow of the North," also gives an interesting account-
of the founding of tbe Protestant faith in the settlement.
Mr. West arrived in Eed Eiver settlement in October, 1820,.
and at once began his labours by holding services in Fort Garry.
For a time he was fully occupied in marrying many who had
formerly lived as man and wife, though already married after
the Indian fashion, and in baptizing the children. He at once:
opened a school. Mr. West made an exploratory journey five-
or six hundred miles westward, visiting Indian tribes. In
1833 he erected the first Protestant place of worship on the
Eed Eiver, and in the same year was joined by Eev. David
Jones, who was left in charge when Mr. West returned ta
England. Two years afterwards Eev. WUliam Cochrane and his wife-
arrived at Eed Eiver. Mr. Cochrane, afterward Archdeacon
Cochrane, was a man of striking personality, and to him has
been given tbe credit of laying the foundation of the Church of
England in the Eed Eiver settlement. The Indians to the north
of the settlement on Eed Eiver were visited and yielded readily
to the solicitations of the missionaries. Early among these
self-denying Indian missionaries was the Eev., afterwards
Archdeacon, Cowley. Churches were erected in the parishes
that were set apart in the same way as the French parishes,
St. John's, St. Paul's, St. Andrew's, St. Clement's, St. James,
Headingly, and the like to the number of ten were each
provided with chm'ch and school.
Eev. Mr. Jones did not neglect the educational interests of
his wide charge. Having become convinced of the necessity
of establishing a boarding-school to meet the wants of the
scattered families of Eupert's Land, Mr. Jones brought out
Mr. John McCallum, a student of King's College, Aber
deen, who had found his way to London. Coming to
Eed Eiver in 1833, McCallum began the school which has-
since become St. John's College. At first this school was
under the Church Missionary Society, but a decade after its.

PRO GLORIA DEI 421
founding it was conducted by McCallum himself, with an
¦allowance from the Company.
In 1844 an episcopal visit was made to Eed Eiver by the
first Protestant Bishop who could reach the remote spot. This
was Dr. Mountain, Bishop of Montreal. He published a smaU
work giving an account of his visit. Many confirmations took
place by the Bishop, and Mr. Cowley was made a priest.
John McCallum had taken such a hold upon the Selkirk
settlers that it was deemed advisable to ordain him, and for
-Several years he carried on the school along with the incum
bency of the parish church. McCallum only lived for five
years after the Bishop's visit.
In 1838 James Leith, a wealthy chief factor of the Hudson's
Bay Company, bequeathed in his will twelve thousand pounds
to be expended for the benefit of the Indian missions in
Eupert's Land. Leith's family bitterly opposed this dis
position of their patrimony, but the Master of the EoUs, hear
ing that the Hudson's Bay Company was willing to add three
liundred pounds annually to the interest accruing from the
Leith bequest, gave the decision against them, and thus secured
an income to the see of seven hundred pounds a year. In
1849 the diocese of Eupert's Land was establisbed by the
Crown, and Eev. Da-vid Anderson, of Oxford University, was
•consecrated first Bishop of Eupert's Land. In the autumn of
the same year Bishop Anderson arrived at Eed Eiver, by way
of York Factory, and his first public duty was to conduct the
funeral of the lamented John McCallum. After an incum
bency of fifteen years Bishop Anderson returned to England
and resigned the Bishopric.
In 1865 Dr. Eobert Machray arrived at Eed Eiver, having
been consecrated Bishop by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Under Bishop Anderson the college successfully begun by
McCallum languished, for the Bishop seemed more intent on
mission work than education. In the year after his arrival,
Bishop Machray revived the institution under the name of
St. John's College. It was of much service to the colony.
By the time of the passing away of the power of the Hudson's
Bay Company, four years after the arrival of Bishop Machray,
substantial stone churches and school-houses had been erected

422 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
in almost all of the parishes mentioned, as organized by th&
Chm-ch of England. To the Church of England belonged nearly
all the English-speaking half-breed population of the colony, as
well as a large number of the Hudson's Bay Company officers.
' Bishop Machray's diocese covered a vast area. From
Hudson Bay to the Eocky Mountains was under his jurisdic
tion. Much work was done amongst the Indian tribes. At
Moose Factory on the Bay, another devoted labourer was
working diUgently. It is true the missions were widely scat
tered, but of the twenty-four clergymen belonging to the diocese
of Eupert's Land, fifteen were among the Indians at the time
of the cessation of the Hudson's Bay Company's rule. The
remainder were in the parishes of Eed Eiver such as St. John's,.
St. Andrew's, St. Paul's, Headingly, Poplar Point, and Portage
la Prairie.
The assistance rendered not only by the Chm-ch Missionary
Society, but also by the Society for tbe Propagation of the
Gospel in Foreign Parts, the Colonial and Continental Church
Society, and the Society for the Promotion of Christian
Knowledge, was very great, and future generations vnll be
indebted to the benevolence and liberality of the English
people in sending spiritual assistance to Eupert's Land.
A perusal of the work, " Eed Eiver Settlement," by Alex
ander Eoss, shows that a long and somewhat disappointing
struggle was maintained by the Selkirk settlers to obtain the
fulfilment of Lord Selkirk's promise to send them a minister of
their own faith. Scottish governors came and departed, but no
Scottish minister came. Sir George Simpson arrived on his
yearly visits at Port Garry, and was often interviewed by the
settlers of Kildonan, but the Governor, though pleasant and
plausible enough, was impenetrable as the sphinx. Petitions;
were sent to the Hudson's Bay Company and to the Scottish
General Assembly, but they seldom reached their destination
and effected nothing.
The people conformed to the service of the Church of
England in tbe vicinity of their parish. They were treated by
the Episcopal clergy -with much consideration. Their own
psalter was used in their worship, the service was made as
simple as they could weU desire, but the people with High-

PRO GLORIA DEI 423
land tenacity held to their o-wn tenets for forty years and
maintained among themselves regular cottage meetings for
prayer and praise.
At length the question arose as to the possession of the
church property and the right of burial in St. John's burial-
ground. The Scottish settlers maintained their right to the
church and churchyard. A very acrimonious discussion arose.
In the end the matter was referred to Mr. Eden Col-viUe, a
Company director, who was in the settlement on business.
Mr. Colville informed the writer that he claimed the credit of
settling the dispute. Another site on the river bank two or
three mUes to the north of St. John's, called La Grenouillere,
or Frog Plain, consisting of several hundred acres, was handed
over to the Scottish settlers for church, manse, and glebe.
This was in 1851, and though the KUdonan people were still
given the right to bury their dead in St. John's, in the future
their chief interest centred in the new plot.
The presence in Eed Eiver of Mr. Ballenden, a countryman
of the Kildonan people, as Hudson's Bay Company Governor
of Port Garry, led to an application being made to their
friends in Scotland to send them a minister. Indeed, the call
had been made again and again for a generation. This request
was transmitted to Canada to Dr. Eobert Burns, a man of warm
missionary zeal and great wisdom. Sir George Simpson had
been communicated with, and deemed it wise to reverse his
former policy of inaction and promised certain aid and counten
ance, should a Presbyterian minister be found to care for the
parish of Kildonan.
Dr. Burns had among his acquaintances a recent graduate
of Knox College, Toronto, named John Black. Him the
zealous doctor urged, if not commanded, to go to Eed Eiver.
This trust was accepted, and after a tedious and uncertain
journey Eev. John Black arrived at Eed Eiver, September,
1851. The Kildonan people immediately rallied around their
new clergyman, who, though not able to speak Gaelic as they
desired, yet became an idol to his people. In 1853 a church
was erected, with the aid of a small grant from the Hudson's
Bay Company, and the- foundations of Presbyterianism were
laid.

424 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
In 1865 Eev. James Nisbet, who had come a few years
before to assist Mr. Black, organized a mission to the Cree
Indians, and named his mission church on the banks of the
Saskatchewan, Prince Albert. Growing by slow degrees, the
Presbyterian interest increased and was represented at the end
of the Hudson's Bay Company's rule by four or five clergymen.
Schools as maintained by voluntary contributions were erected
in the Presbyterian parishes of Kildonan and Little Britain.
Manitoba College was planned and arranged for in the
closing year of the Hudson's Bay Company's regime.
The Methodists, with the fervour and missionary zeal which
has always characterized them, determined to aid in evangelizing
the Indians of Eupert's Land. It was the English Methodists-
who first showed a desire in this direction. They agreed
to send the Indians a clergyman suited for the work, if the
Canadian Methodist Church would send a few labourers
trained in Indian work in Canada.
James Evans, an Englishman who had been long in Canada,
and had laboured for years among the Indians of Upper Canada,
consented to go to Eupert's Land and take the superintendence
of the others sent out. Leaving Montreal with the three
English missionaries and two educated young Ojibeways, Peter
Jacobs and Henry B. Steinhauser, the party went by canoes up
the lakes and then along the old fur traders' route, and arrived
at Norway House, at the foot of Lake Winnipeg, in 1840.
Evans made Norway House his head-quarters, George Barnley
went to Moose Factory, William Mason to Eainy Lake and
Eiver Winnipeg, and Eobert T. Bundle to Edmonton.
The missions to the Hudson Bay and Eainy Lake were soon
given up, but Eossville and Oxford House, on Lake Winnipeg,
and several points near Edmonton, are the evidence to-day of
the faithful self-denying work done by these early Methodist
pioneers. Having no whites in the country, the operations of
the Methodist Church in Eupert's Land were, up to the time
of the Hudson's Bay Company's transfer, confined to the
Indians of Eupert's Land.
Mr. Evans, the superintendent of these missions, became
very celebrated by the invention of a syllabic system of writing
introduced among the Crees. The plan is simple, and an

PRO GLORIA DEI 425
intelligent Indian who has never seen the system ' can in a short
time learn to read and -write the syllabic. The syllabic has
-spread widely over Eupert's Land, and the different Churches
use, especially among the Crees, this ingenious invention in
printing the Bible and service books. When Lord Dufferin, a
number of years ago, visited the North-West as Governor-
General of Canada, on hearing of Evans' invention he remarked,
' ' The nation has given many a man a title and a pension and
a resting-place in Westminster Abbey who never did half so
much for his feUow-creatures."
Some claim has been made for Mason as being the inventor
of this character, but there seems to be no ground for the claim.
John Eyerson, a Canadian Methodist divine, in 1854 visited
Eupert's Land from Canada, and after seeing the missions on
Lake Winnipeg, went from York Factory to England. The
taking over of the mission by the Canadian Methodist Church
resulted from this visit.
These are the main movements of a religious kind that took
place within the borders of Eupert's Land and the territories
east of the Eocky Mountains up to the end of the Hudson's
Bay Company's regime. A great service was rendered to the
whites and Indians alike, to the Hudson's Bay Company, to
the Kildonan settlers, and all the native people by the patient
work of the four churches named. The best feeling, and in
many cases active co-operation, were given by these churches
to each other. The work done by these churches laid the
foundation for the general morality and advanced social life
which prevailed in Efed Eiver and in the regions beyond.
On the Pacific slope the Hudson's Bay Company took an
immediate control of the religious and educational instruction
of the people, upon the organization of Vancouver Island as a
colony (1849). The Eev. Eobert Staines was sent as chaplain
and teacher to Port Victoria, and was given a salary and an
allowance for carrying on a boarding-school in which he was
assisted by his wife. Mr. Staines did not agree with the
Company, went to Britain as a delegate from the dissatisfied
employes, but died of injuries received on his homeward voyage.
Mr. Staines' successor was the Eev. Edward Cridge. The
* See Appendix F.

426 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
new chaplain was well provided for by the Company, being
secured a parsonage and glebe of one hundred acres, and three
hundred pounds a year, one hundred pounds annually being
as chaplain of the Company. Mr. Cridge became a prominent
clergyman of the colony, but in later years left his mother
church to become Bishop of the Eeformed Episcopal Church. In
1859 Bishop HiUs was made first bishop of the united colonies of
Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Twenty years after
ward the diocese was divided into (1) Vancouver Island and the
islands, as Diocese of Columbia, (2) the southern mainland as
Diocese of New Westminster, and (3) the northern mainland as
Diocese of New Caledonia. The Church of England in British
Columbia has enjoyed large gifts from the Baroness Burdett-
Goutts. One of the most remarkable missions of modern times is
that of Metlakahtla, begun under the auspices of the Church
of England by William Duncan . The village he founded became
an example of civilization among the Indians, as well as a
handmaid to the Christian work done. Unfortunately, the
model Indian village has been largely broken up by a
misunderstanding between Mr. Duncan and his bishop.
The first missionary of note of the Eoman Catholic Church
on the coast was Father Demers, who became Bishop of
Vancouver Island and New Caledonia. The Oblate Fathers
were early on the ground in British Columbia, the first of the
Order having baptized upwards of three thousand men, women,
and children of Indian tribes, the Songhies, Saanechs, and
Cowichins, near Victoria. Many churches, schools, and
hospitals have been founded by the energetic and self-denying
Eoman Catholics who have made British Columbia their home.
Bishop Seghers succeeded the venerable Bishop Demers in his
diocese. Ten years after the formation of Vancouver Island as a Crown
colony, Eevs. Dr. Evans, L. Eobson, and two other ministers
undertook work for the Methodist Chm-ch on the coast. Good
foundations were laid by the clergymen named, and still better
by Eev. Thomas Crosby, who joined them after a few years'
service, and entered heartUy into efforts to evangeUze the
Indians. He had great success among the Flathead Indians.

PRO GLORIA DEI 427
In 1861 the first Presbyterian minister arrived — Eev. John
Hall from Ireland, and he undertook work in Victoria. In the
year following, Eev. Eobert Jamieson came from Canada as a
representative of the Canadian Presbyterian Church and settled
at New Westminster. Churches were soon built in Victoria,
Nanaimo, and New Westminster, that now contain strong and
vigorous congregations.
All of the churches were under deep obUgations to the
Hudson's Bay Company for protection, assistance, and
sympathy in their undertakings on the coast. The inrush of
gold seekers threw a great responsibility upon all the churches ,
and it was well that the Company, merely for motives of self-
interest, should regard the influence of the missionaries among
the fierce tribes of the mountains, of. both island and mainland,
as of the greatest importance. The record of self-denying
missionaries of the churches has justified aU the patronage
and favour rendered them by the Hudson's Bay Company.

CHAPTEE XLII.
THE Hudson's bay company and the Indians.
The Company's Indian policy — Character of officers — A race of hunters
— Plan of advances — Charges against the Company — Liquor
restriction — Capital punishment — Starving Indians — Diseased
and helpless — Education and religion — The age of missions —
Sturdy Saulteaux — The Muskegons — Wood Crees — Wandering
Plain Crees — The Chipewyans — WUd Assiniboines — Blackfeet
Indians — Polyglot coast tribes — Eskimos — No Indian war — No
police — Pliable and docUe — Success of the Company.
Feom time to time the opponents of the Company have
sought to find grounds for the overthrow of the licence to
trade granted by the Government of Britain over the Indian
territories. One of the most frequent lines of attack was in
regard to the treatment of the Indians by the fur traders. It
may be readily conceded that the ideal of the Company's
officials was in many cases not the highest. The aim of
Governor Simpson in his long reign of forty years was that of
a keen trader. A politic man, the leader of the traders when
in Montreal conformed to the sentiment of the city, abroad in
the wilds he did very little to encourage his subordinates to
cultivate higher aims among the natives. Often the missionary
was found raising questions very disturbing to the monopoly,
and this brought the Company officers into a hostile attitude
to him. Undoubtedly in some cases the missionaries were
officious and unfair in their criticisms.
But, on the other hand, the men and officers of the Company
were generally moral. Men of education and reading the
officers usually were, and their sentiment was likely to be in
the right direction. The spirit of the monopoly — the golden
character of silence, and the need of being secretive and

HUDSON'S BA Y COMPANY AND INDIANS 429
¦uncommunicative — was instilled into every clerk, trapper, and
trader. But the tradition of the Company was to keep the Indian a
hunter. There was no effort to encourage the native to
agriculture or to any industry. To make a good collector of
fur was the chief aim. For this the Indian required no
education, for this the wandering habit needed to be cultivated
rather than discouraged, and for this it was well to have the
home ties as brittle as possible. Hence the tent and teepee
were favoured for the Indian hunter more than the log cottage
or village house.
It was one of the most common charges against the Company
that in order to keep the Indian in subjection advances were
made on the catch of furs of the coming season, in order
that, being in debt, he might be less independent. The
experience of the writer in Eed Eiver settlement in former days
leads him to doubt this, and certainly the fur traders deny the
allegation. The improvident half-breed or Indian went to the
Company's store to obtain all that he could. The traders at the
forts had difficulty in checking the extravagance of their wards.
Frequently the storekeeper refused to make advances lest he
should fail in recovering the value of the articles advanced.
Fitzgerald, a -writer who took part in the agitation of 1849,
makes the assertion in the most flippant manner that to keep
the Indians in debt was the invariable policy of the Company.
No evidence is cited to support this statement, and it would
seem to be very hard to prove.
The same -writer undertakes, along the line of destructive
criticism, to show that the Hudson's Bay Company does not
deserve the credit given it of discouraging the traffic in strong
drink, and asserts that " a beaver skin was never lost to the
Company for want of a pint of rum." This is a very grave
charge, and in the opinion of the -writer cannot be substantiated.
The Bishop of Montreal, E. M. Ballantyne, and the agents of
the missionary societies are said either to have little experience
or to be unwilling to tell on this subject what they knew.
This critic then quotes various statements of -writers, extending
back in some cases thirty or forty years, to show that spirituous
liquors were sold by the Company. It is undoubted that at

43° THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
times in the history of the fur trade, especially at the beginning
of the century, when the three Companies were engaged in a
most exacting competition, as we have fully shown, in several
cases much damage was done. On the Pacific Coast, too, eight
or ten years before this critic wrote, there was, as we have
seen, excess. At other times also, at points in the wide field
of operations, over half a continent, intoxicating liquor was
plentiful and very injurious, but no feeUng was stronger in a
Hudson's Bay Company trader's mind than that he was in a
country without police, without military, without laws, and
that his own and his people's lives were in danger should
drunkenness prevail. Self-preservation inclined every trader
to prevent the use of spirits among the Indians. The -writer
is of opinion that while there may have been many violations
of sobriety, yet the record of the Hudson's Bay Company has
been on the whole creditable in this matter.
The charges of executing capital punishment and of neg
lecting the Indians in years of starvation may be taken
together. The criticism of the people of Eed Eiver was that
the Company was weak in the execution of the penalties of the
law. They complained that the Company was uncertain of its
powers and that the hand of justice was chained. The marvel
to an unprejudiced observer is that the Company succeeded in
ruling so vast a territory with so few reprisals or executions.
In the matter of assisting the Indians in years of scarcity, it
was the interest of the fur company to save the li-^es of its
trappers and workers. But those unacquainted with the vast
wastes of Eupert's Land and the Far North little know the
difficulties of at times obtaining food. The readers of Milton
and Cheadle's graphic story or our account of Eobert
CampbeU' s adventures on the Stikine, know the hardships
and the near approach to starvation of these travellers. Dr.
Cheadle, on a visit to Winnipeg a few years ago, said to the
writer that on his first visit the greatest difficulty his party had
was to secure suppUes. There are years in which game and
fish are so scarce that in remote northern districts death is
inevitable for many. The conditions make it impossible for
the Company to save the lives of the natives. EeUef for the
diseased and aged is at times hard to obtain. SmaU-pox and

HUDSONS BAY COMPANY AND INDIANS 431
other epidemics have the most deadly effect upon the semi-
civiUzed people of the far-off hunters' territory.
The charge made up to 1849 that the Hudson's Bay Com
pany had done little for the education and religious training
of the Indians was probably true enough. Outside of Eed
Eiver and British Columbia they did not sufficiently realize
their responsibility as a company. Since that time, with the
approval and co-operation in many ways of the Company,
the various missionary societies hava grappled with the
problem. The Indians about Hudson Bay, on Lake Winnipeg,
in the Mackenzie Eiver, throughout British Columbia, and on
the great prairies of Assiniboia, are to-day largely Christianized
and receiving education.
The Saulteaux, or Indians who formerly Uved at Sault Ste.
Marie, but wandered west along the shore of Lake Superior
and even up to Lake Winnipeg, are a branch of the Algonquin
Ojibeways. Hardy and persevering, most conservative in
preser-ving old customs, hard to influence by religious ideas,
they have been pensioners of the Hudson's Bay Company, but
their country is very barren, and they have advanced but
little. Very interesting, among their relations of Algonquin origin,
are the Muskegons, or Swampy Crees, who have long occupied
the region around Hudson Bay and have extended inland to
Lake Winnipeg. Docile and peaceful, they have been largely
influenced by Christianity. Under missionary and Company
guidance they have gathered around the posts, and flnd a
living on the game of the country and in trapping the wild
animals. Belated to the Muskegons are the Wood Crees, who live
along the rivers and on the belts of wood which skirt lakes
and hills. They cling to the birch-bark wigwam, use the bark
canoe, and are nomadic in habit. They may be called the
gipsies of the West, and being in scattered families have been
little reached by better influences.
Another branch of the Algonquin stock is the Plain Crees.
These Indians are a most adventurous and energetic people.
Leaving behind their canoes and Huskie dogs, they obtained
horses and cayuses and hied them over the prairies. Birch-

432 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
bark being unobtainable, they made their tents, better fitted
for protecting them from the searching winds of the prairies
and the cold of winter, from tanned skins of the buffalo
and moose-deer. For seven hundred miles from the mouth
of the Saskatchewan they extend to the foot hills of the
Eocky Mountains. Meeting in their great camps, seemingly
untameable as a race of plain hunters, they were, up to the
time of the transfer to Canada, almost untouched by missionary
influence, but in the last thirty years they have been placed on
reserves by the Canadian Government and are in almost all
cases yielding to Christianizing agencies.
N orth of the country of the Crees live tribes with very wide
connections. They call themselves " Tinne " or "People,"
but to others they are known as Chipewyans, or Athabascans.
They seem to be less copper-coloured than the other Indians,
and are docile in disposition. This nation stretches from Fort
Churchill, on Hudson Bay, along the English Eiver, up to
Lake Athabasca, along tbe Peace Eiver into the very heart of
the Eocky Mountains, and even beyond to the coast. They
have proved teachable and yield to ameliorating influences.
Probably the oldest and best known name of the interior of
Eupert's Land, the name after which Lord Selkirk called his
Colony of Assiniboia, is that belonging to the Wild Assiniboines
or Stony Eiver Sioux. The river at the mouth of which
stands the city of Winnipeg was then- northern boundary, and
they extended southward toward the great Indian confederacy of
the Sioux natives or Dakotas, of which indeed they were at one
time a branch. Tall, handsome, with firmly formed faces, agile
and revengeful, they are an intelligent and capable race. These
Indians, known familiarly as the " Stonies," have greatly
diminished in numbers since the time of Alexander Henry, jun.^
who describes them fully. In later years they have been cut
down with pulmonary and other diseases, and are to-day but
the fragment of a great tribe. They have long been friendly
with the Plain Crees, but are not very open to Christianity,
though there are one or two small communities which are
exceptions in this respect.
Very little under Hudson's Bay Company control were the
Blackfeet nation, along the foot hills of the Eocky Mountains,

BLOOD INDIANS.
(Squaws and Popcoses.'

ASSINIBOINES.
(Indians and Squaws on their ponies.)

INDIANS OF THE PLAINS.

[Page 432.

HUDSON'S BA Y COMPANY AND INDIANS 433
near the national boundary. Ethnically they are related to
the Crees, but they have always been difficult to approach.
Living in large camps during Hudson's Bay Company days,
they spent a wild, happy, comfortable life among the herds of
wandering buffalo of their district. Since the beginning of the
Canadian regime they have become more susceptible to civiliz
ing agencies, and live in great reserves in the south-west of
their old hunting grounds.
A perfect chaos of races meets us among the Indians of
British Columbia and Alaska, and their language is polyglot.
Seemingly the result of innumerable immigrations from
Malayan and Mongolian sources in Asia, they have come
at different times. One of the best known tribes of the coast is
the Haidas, numbering some six thousand souls. The Nutka
Indians occupy Vancouver Island, and have many tribal
divisions. To the SeUsh or Flatheads belong many of the
tribes of the Lower Fraser Eiver, while the Shushwaps hold the
country on the Columbia and Okanagan Eivers. Mention has
been made already of the small but influential tribe of Chinooks,
near the mouth of the Columbia Eiver.
While differing in many ways from each other, the Indians
of the Pacific Coast have always been turbulent and excitable.
From first to last more murders and riots have taken place
among them than throughout all the vast territory held by the
Hudson's Bay Company east of the Eocky Mountains. While
missionary zeal has accomplished much among tbe Western
Coast Indians, yet the. "bad Indian" element has been a
recognized and appreciable quantity among them so far as the
Company is concerned.
Last among the natives who have been under Hudson's Bay
Company influence are the Eskimos or Innuits of the Par
North. They are found on the Labrador Coast, on Copper
mine Eiver, on the shore of the Arctic Sea, and on the Alaskan
peninsula. Dressed in sealskin clothing and dwelling in huts
of snow, hastening from place to place in their sledges drawn
by wolf-Uke dogs called " Eskies " or " Huskies," these people
have found themselves comparatively independent of Hudson's
Bay Company assistance. Living largely on the products of
the sea, they have shown great ingenuity in manufacturing F f

434 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
articles and implements for themselves. The usual experience
of the Company from Ungava, through the Macfarlane Eiver
posts, and the trading houses in Alaska has been that they were
starved out and were compelled to give up their trading .houses
among them. Little has been done, unless in the Yukon
country, to evangelize the Eskimos.
The marvel to the historian, as he surveys the two centuries
and a quarter of the history of the Hudson's Bay Company, is
their successful management of the Indian tribes. There has
never been an Indian war in Eupert's Land or the Indian
territories — nothing beyond a temporary emeute or incidental
outbreak. Thousands of miles from the nearest British garrison
or soldier, trade has been carried on in scores and scores of
forts and factories with perfect confidence. The Indians have
always respected the " Kingchautch man." He was to them
the representative of superior ability and financial strength,
but more than this, he was the embodiment of civilization and
of fair and just dealing. High prices may have beem imposed
on the Indians, but the Company's expenses were enormous.
There are points among the most remote trading posts from
which the returns in money were not possible in less than
nine years from the time the goods left the Fenchurch Street
or Lime Street warehouses. With all his keen bargaining and
his so-called exacting motto, " Pro pelle cutem," the trader
was looked upon by the Indians as a benefactor, bringing into
his barren, remote, inhospitable home the commodities to
supply his wants and make his life happier. While the Indians
came to recognize this in their docile and pliable acceptance
of the trader's decisions, the trader also became fond of the
Eed man, and many an old fur trader freely declares his
affection for his Indian ward, so faithful to his promise, un
swerving in his attachment, and celebrated for never forgetting
a kindness shown him.
The success of the Company was largely due to honourable,
capable, and patient officers, clerks, and employes, who with
tact and justice managed their Indian dependents, many of
whom rejoiced in the title of " A Hudson's Bay Company
Indian."

CHAPTEE XLIII.
UNBEST IN EUPEET'S LAND (1844 — 69),
Discontent on Red River — Queries to the Governor — A courageous
Recorder — Free trade in furs held illegal — Imprisonment — New-
land deed — Enormous freights — Petty revenge — Turbulent pen
sioners — Heart burnings — Heroic Isbister — Half-breed memorial
— Mr. Beaver's letter — Hudson's Bay Company notified — Lord
Elgin's reply — Voluminous correspondence — Company's full
ans-wer — Colonel Crofton's statement— Major Caldwell, a partisan
— French petition — Nearly a thousand signatures — Love, a factor
— The elder Riel — A court scene — Violence — "Vive la liberty " —
The Recorder checked— A new judge — Unruly Corbett — The
prison broken — Another rescue — A valiant doctor— A Red River
Nestor.
The fuller organization of Assiniboia, after its purchase by the
Hudson's Bay Company from the heirs of the Earl of Selkirk,
encouraged the authorities at Eed Eiver to assert the rights
which the Company had always claimed — viz. the monopoly
of the fur trade in Eupert's Land and the imposition of heavy
freights on imports and exports by way of Hudson Bay. The
privilege of exporting tallow, the product of the buffalo, had
been accorded on reasonable terms to a prominent resident of
the Eed Eiver, named James Sinclair. The first venture, a
small one, succeeded ; but a second larger consignment was
refused by the Company, and, after lying nearly two years at
York Factory, the cargo was sold to the Company.
Twenty leading half-breeds then petitioned the Company to
be allowed to export their tallow and to be given a reasonable
freight charge. No answer was returned to this letter. The
half-breeds were thus rising in intelUgence and means ; being
frequently employed as middlemen in trafficking in furs, they
learned something of the trade and traffic. The half-breed
settlers of the Eed Eiver settlement have always claimed special

436 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
privileges in Eupert's Land as being descended from the
aboriginal owners. It was under such circumstances that
Governor Christie, following, it is supposed, legal direction,
in 1844 issued two proclamations, the first, requiring that each
settler, before the Company would carry any goods for him,
should be required to declare that he had not been engaged in
the fur trade ; the second, that the writer of every letter -write
his name on the outside of it, in order that, should he be sus
pected of dealing in furs, it might be opened and examined.
This was a direct issue, and they determined to bring the
matter to a crisis. Twenty leading natives (half-breeds of Eed
Eiver settlement), among them a number well known, such
as James Sinclair, John Dease, John Vincent, William Bird,
and Peter Garrioch, in 1845 approached Alexander Christie,
Governor of the settlement, requesting answers to fourteen
queries. These questions required satisfaction as to whether
half-breeds could hunt, buy, sell, or traffic in furs, and also
what were the restrictions in this matter upon Europeans, &c.
A pacific and soothing reply was made by Governor Christie,
but the Company soon began to take steps to repress the free
trade in furs, and the Council of Eupert's Land passed certain
regulations, among others one placing a duty of twenty per
cent, upon imports, but exempting from their tax settlers who
were free of the charge of trading in furs. This was a vexatious
regulation and roused great opposition.
All these de-vices had a legal smack about them, and were no
doubt the suggestions of Judge Thom, the Eecorder of Eed
Eiver, a remarkable man, who, six years before this time, had
come from Montreal to put legal matters in order in the Eed
Eiver settlement. The Eecorder entered con amore into
the matter and advised the assertion of claims that had fallen
into disuse for many years among the different classes of resi
dents in the settlement. The redoubtable judge, who, it will be
remembered, was said to have been at the elbow of Sir George
Simpson in writing his "Journey round the World," now
evolved another tyrannical expedient.
A new land deed was devised, and whosoever wished to hold
land in the settlement was compelled to sign it. This inden
ture provided that if the land-holder should invade any

UNREST IN RUPERT'S LAND 437
pri-vUeges of the Company and fail to contribute to the main
tenance of clergy and schools, or omit to do his work upon the
public roads, or carry on trade in skins, furs, peltry, or dressed
leather, such offender should forfeit his lands.
This was certainly un-British and severe, and we may look
upon it as the plan of the judge, who failed to understand
the spirit of his age, and would have readily fallen in with a
system of feudal tenure. The writer in after years met this
judge, then very old, in London, and found him a kindly man,
though -with Scottish determination, willing to follow out his
opinions logically, however rash or out of place such a course
might be. If the Hudson's Bay Company found itself in a sea
of trouble, and hostile to public sentiment in the settlement, it
had to blame its own creation, the valorous Eecorder of Eed
Eiver. The imposition of enormous freights, adopted at this time for
carrying goods by way of York Factory to England, in order to
check trade, was a part of the same poUcy of "Thorough"
recommended by this legal adviser. Sinclair, already men
tioned, became the " Village Hampden " in this crisis. Taking
an active part in his opposition to this policy of restriction, he
found that he was to be punished, by the " Company's ship"
from England to York Factory refusing to carry for him any
freight. It was partly the Oregon question and partly the un
settled state of public opinion in Eed Eiver that led to a British
regiment being for a time stationed at the Eed Eiver settlement.
On the removal of these troops the pensioners, a turbulent
band of old discharged soldiers, came from Britain and were
settled upon the Assiniboine, above Fort Garry. A -writer who
knew them well ventures to suggest that they were of the same
troublesome disposition as the former De Meurons of Lord
Selkirk. Coming ostensibly to introduce peace, they brought a
sword. Sooner or later the discontent and irritation produced
by Judge Thorn's inspiration was sure to reach its culmination,
and this it did in the Sayer affair afterwards described.
The cause of the complaints from the Eed Eiver settlement
found a vnlling and powerful advocate in Mr. Alexander K.
Isbister, a young London barrister, and afterwards a prominent
educationalist. He was a native of Eupert's Land, and had a

438 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
dash of Indian blood in his veins, and so took up the brief for
his compatriots in a formidable series of documents. Mr.
Isbister' s advocacy gave standing and weight to the contention
of the Eed Eiver half-breeds, and a brave and heroic fight was
made, even though the point of view was at times quite unjust
to the Company.
In 1847 Isbister, with five other half-breeds of Eed Eiver,
forwarded, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a long and
able memorial setting forth the grievances of the petitioners.
The document sets forth in short that the Company had
" amassed a princely revenue " at the expense of the natives,
allowed their wards to pass their lives in the darkest heathenism,
broke their pledges to exclude strong drink from the Indian
trade, were careless of the growing evil of want and suffering
in the territory, paid little for the furs, and persecuted the
natives by checking them in their barter of furs, and followed a
short-sighted and pernicious policy.
This was assuredly a serious list of charges. Earl Grey in
due time called on Isbister and his friends for a more specific
statement of the grievances, and -wrote to the Governor of
Assiniboia, to the London Governor of the Hudson's Bay
Company, and to the Governor-General of Canada, Lord
Elgin, asking their attention to the allegations of the
petition. Some two months after Lord Grey's letter was received, the
Hudson's Bay Company Governor, Sir J. H. Pelly, submitted
a long and minute answer to the various charges of the
petitioners. As is usually the case, both parties had some
advantages. As to the enormous profits, the Company was
able to show that they had unfortunately not been able to make
" more than the ordinary rate of mercantUe profit." They
replied as to the religious interests of the natives, that their
sole objects, as stated in the Charter, were trade and the
discovery of a North-West Passage, but that they had helped
at a considerable annual expense the Church Missionary
Society, Wesleyan Missionary Society, and a Eoman CathoUc
Missionary Society. The Company gives a most indignant
denial to the charge that they had resumed the trade in
spirituous liquors with the Indians, though admitting in the

UNREST IN RUPERT'S LAND 439
neighbourhood of Eed Eiver the use of small quantities of
strong drink in meeting the American traders.
This answer did not, however, quiet the storm. Isbister
returned to the attack, giving the evidence of Mr. Alexander
Simpson, a trader on the Pacific Coast, and the extensive and
strong letter of the Eev. Herbert Beaver, the former chaplain
of the Hudson's Bay Company at Port Vancouver. Isbister
also raised the question of the validity of the Company's
Charter. The Company again replied, and so the battle raged,
reply and rejoinder, quotations and evidence ad libitum.
Isbister may not have proved his ease, but his championship
won the approbation of many independent observers.
Lord Elgin, the efficient and popular Governor- General of
Canada, gave such reply as he was able. He states that the
distance of Eed Eiver was so great and the intercourse so little,
that taking into account the peculiar jurisdiction of the Com
pany, he found it difficult to obtain the information sought.
As to the complaints about the religious neglect of the Indians,
Lord Elgin states that disappointments in this matter occur in
other quarters as well as in the Hudson's Bay Company terri
tories, but declares that the result of his inquiries in the matter
" is highly favourable to the Company, and that it has left in
his mind the impression that the authority which they exercise
over the vast and inhospitable region subject to their jurisdic
tion is on the whole very advantageous to the Indians. '
Lord Elgin states that he is much indebted for his informa
tion to Colonel Crofton, the commander of the 6th Eoyal
Eegiment, which we have seen was stationed for a time
at Eed Eiver. Colonel Crofton afterwards gave to the
Colonial Secretary what one would say was rather an un
judicial reply. He said, " I unhesitatingly assert that the
government of the Hudson's Bay Company is mild and pro
tective, and admirably adapted, in my opinion, for the state
of society existing in Eupert's Land, where Indians, half-
breeds, or Europeans are happily governed, and live protected
by laws which I know were mercifully and impartially
administered by Mr. Thom, the Eecorder, and by the magis
trates of the land." In regard to this opinion, while no doubt
an honest expression of views, it is plain that Colonel Crofton

440 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
did not understand the aspiration for self-government which
prevails in Western communities. The reply of the Governor
of Assiniboia, Major Caldwell, was likewise favourable to the
Company. Alexander Eoss, in his "Eed Eiver Settlement,"
criticizes the method taken by Major Caldwell to obtain
information. According to Eoss, the Governor sent around
queries to a few select individuals, accepting no one " below
what the Major considered a gentleman." This, the critic
says, was the action of a man " who had never studied the
art of governing a people." Eoss, who did not admire the
Company greatly, however, sums up the whole matter by
saying, " The allegations of harsh conduct or maladminis
tration preferred against the Hudson's Bay Company by
Mr. Isbister and his party were in general totally unfounded
and disproved," and therefore neither Major Caldwell's in
quiries nor the inspiration of his genius were required.
Notwithstanding Major Caldwell's optimism and Lord
Elgin's favourable reply, there was really a serious condition
of affairs in Eed Eiver settlement. Along with the petition
of Isbister and his five English half-breed compatriots, there
was one far more formidable from the French half-breeds, who
to the number of nine hundred and seventy-seven subscribed
their names. Presented to Her Majesty the Queen, in most
excellent terms, in the French language, their petition sought,
decrying the monopoly as severe : —
1. That as good subjects they might be governed by the
principles of the British constitution ;
2. That as British subjects they demanded their right to
enjoy the liberty of commerce ;
3. They requested the sale of lands to strangers, and that a
portion of the proceeds should be applied to improve the
means of transport.
French and English half-breeds were now united in a
common purpose. A strange story is related as to the way in
which the English-speaking half-breeds came to throw in their
lot with their French fellow-countrymen. A Company officer
had left his two daughters at Fort Garry to be educated. One
of them was the object of the affection of a young Scotch half-
breed, and at the same time of a young Highlander. The

UNREST IN RUPERT'S LAND 441
young lady is said to have preferred the Metis, but the stern
parent favoured the Highlander. The Scotchman, fortified by
the father's approval, proceeded to upbraid the Metis for his
temerity in aspiring to the hand of one so high in society as
the lady. As love ruined Troy, so it is said this affair joined
French and EngUsh half-breeds in a union to defeat the
Company. The agitation went on, as Isbister and his friends corre
sponded with the people of Eed Eiver and succeeded so well
in gaining the ear of the British Government. Among the
French people one of the fiercest and most noisy leaders was
Louis Eiel, the revolutionary " miller of the Seine." This man,
the father of the rebel chief of later years, was a French half-
breed. A tribune of the people, he had a strong ascendency
over the ignorant half-breeds. He was ready for any emergency.
It is often the ease that some trifling incident serves to
bring on a serious crisis in affairs. A French settler, named
Guillaume Sayer, half-breed son of an old bourgeois in the
North-West Company, had bought a quantity of goods, intend
ing to go on a trading expedition to Lake Manitoba. The
Company proceeded to arrest him, and, after a stiff resistance,
he was overcome by force and imprisoned at Fort Garry.
As the day of trial drew near the excitement grew intense.
Governor Caldwell was a well-kno-wn martinet ; the Eecorder
was regarded as the originator of the policy of restriction. He
was, moreover, believed to be a Francophobe, having -written
a famous series of newspaper communications in Montreal,
known as the " Antigallic Letters." The day of trial had been
fixed for Ascension Day, May 17th, and this was taken as a
religious affront by the French. The Court was to meet in the
morning. On the day of the trial, hundreds of French Metis, armed,
came from all the settlements to St. Boniface Church, and,
leaving their guns at the church door, entered for service. At
the close they gathered together, and were addressed in a fiery
oration by Eiel. A French Canadian admirer, -writing of the
matter, says, " Louis Eiel obtained a veritable triumph on that
occasion, and long and loud the hurrahs were repeated by the
echoes of the Eed Eiver."

442 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Crossing by way of Point Douglas, the Metis surrounded the
unguarded Court House at Fort Garry. The governor, judge,
and magistrate arrived, and took their seats at eleven o'clock.
A curious scene now ensued : the magistrates protested
against the violence ; Eiel in loud tones declared that they
would give the tribunal one hour, and that if justice were not
done them, they would do it themselves. An altercation then
took place between Judge Thom and Eiel, and with his loud
declaration, " Et je declare que de ce moment Sayer est
libre  " dro-wned by the shouts of the Metis, the trial was
over. Sayer and his fellow-prisoners betook themselves to
freedom, while the departing Metis cried out, " Le commerce
est libre ! le commerce est libre ! Vive la Uberte ! " This
crisis was a serious one. Judge Thom, so instructed by
Governor Simpson, never acted as Eecorder again. The five
years' struggle was over.
The movement for liberty continued to stimulate the people.
Five years afterward the plan of the agitators was to obtain
the intervention of Canada. Accordingly a petition, signed by
Eoderick Kennedy and five hundred and seventy-four others,
was presented to the Legislative Assembly of Canada. The
grievances of the people of Eed Eiver were recited. It was
stated that application had been made to the Imperial Parlia
ment without result, and this through " the chicanery of the
Company and its false representations." In 1857 the Toronto
Board of Trade petitioned the Canadian Assembly to open the
Hudson's Bay Company territories to trade. Eestlessness and
uncertainty largely prevailed in Eed Eiver, though there were
many of the colonists who paid little attention to what they
considered the infatuated conduct of the agitators.
No truer test of the success of government can be found
than the respect and obedience shown by the people for the
law. Eed Eiver settlement, judged by this standard, had a
woful record at this time. After the unfortunate Sayer affair,
Eecorder Thom was superseded, and for a time (1855 to 1858)
Judge Johnson, of Montreal, came to Port Garry to administer
justice and to act as Governor.
Judge Black, a capable trader who had received a legal
training, was appointed to the office of recorder, but soon

-<»II>.I>J

COUNCIL OP Hudson's bay company commissioned opficebs hbid in Winnipeg, 1887,
(See Appendix G. for names.)

[Page 4i2.

UNREST IN RUPERT'S LAND 443
found a case that tried his judicial ability and skill. A clergy
man named Corbett, who had been bitterly hostile to the
Company, testified to certain extreme statements against the
Company in the great investigation of 1857. He then returned
to his parish of Headingly in the settlement. A criminal
charge was brought against him, for which he was found guilty
in the courts and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. The
opponents of the Company seemingly, without ground, but none
the less fiercely, declared that the trial was a persecution by
the Company and that Corbett was innocent. Strong in this
belief, the mob surrounded the prison at Fort Garry, overawed
the old French jailor, and, rescuing Corbett, took him home to
his parish.
Among those who had been prominent in the rescue was
James Stewart, long afterward a druggist and meteorological
observer in Winnipeg. Stewart and some of his companions
were arrested for jail-breaking and cast into prison. Some
forty or fifty friends of Stewart threatened violence should he be
kept a prisoner. The governor, bishop, and three magistrates
met to overawe the insurgents, but the determined rescuers tore
up the pickets enclosing the prison yard, broke open the jail,
and made the prisoner a free man.
Such insubordination and tumult marked the decline of the
Company's power as a governing body. This lawlessness was
no doubt stimulated by the establishment of a newspaper in
1859 — The Nor'-Wester — which from the first was hostile to
the Company. The system of government by the Council of
Assiniboia had always been a vulnerable point in the manage
ment by the Company, and the newspaper constantly fanned
the spirit of discontent. In the year 1868, when the Hudson
Bay Company regime was approaching its end, another violent
and disturbing affair took place. This was the arrest of Dr.
Sehultz, a Canadian leader of great bodily strength and
determination, who had thrown in his lot with the Eed Eiver
people. As a result of a business dispute, Sehultz was
proceeded against in the Court, and an order issued for seizure
of his goods. On his resisting the sheriff in the execution of
his duty, he was, after a severe struggle, overpowered, taken
captive, and confined in Port Garry jail.

444 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
On the following day the wife of Dr. Sehultz and some
fifteen men forcibly entered the prison, overpowered the
guards, and, breaking open his cell, rescued the redoubtable
doctor. Hargrave says, " This done, the party adjourned
along with him to his house, where report says, ' They made
a night of it.' "
These events represented the decadence of the Company's
rule ; they indicated the rise of new forces that were to compel
a change ; and however harmful to those immediately involved,
they declared unmistakably that the old order changeth,
giving place to new.
Typical of his times, there sat through the court scenes of
these troublous days the old " clerk of court and council,"
William Eobert Smith. With long grey beard he held his
post, and was the genius of the place. He was the Nestor
of Eed Eiver. A Bluecoat boy from London, he had come
from school far back in 1813, to enter on the fur trade in
Eupert's Land. At Oxford house. He & la Crosse, Little
Slave Lake, and Norway House, he served eleven faithful
years as a clerk, when be retired and became a settler of
Eed Eiver. He was the first to settle near Lower Port Garry,
and named the spot " Little Britain," from one of his old
London localities. Farming, teaching, catechizing for the
church, acting precentor, a local encyclopaedia, and collector
of Customs, he passed his versatile life, till, the year before the
Sayer emeute, he became Clerk of Court, which place, with
slight interruption, he held for twenty years. How remarkable
to think of the man of all work, the Company's factotum,
reaching in his experience from the beginning to well-nigh
the ending of the Selkirk settlement ! One who knew him
says, " From his long residence in the settlement he has seen
governors, judges, bishops, and clergymen, not to mention
such birds of passage as the Company's local officers, who
come and go, himself remaining to record their doings to
their successors.''

CHAPTEE XLIV.
CANADA COVETS THE HUDSON'S BAY TEEEITOEY.
Renewal of Ucense — Labouchere's letter — Canada claims to Pacific
Ocean — Commissioner Chief-Justice Draper — Rests on Quebec
Act, 1774 — Quebec overlaps Indian territories — Company loses
Vancouver Island — Cauchon's memorandum — Committee of
1857 — Company on trial — A brilliant committee — Four hundred
folios of evidence — To transfer Red River and Saskatchewan — ¦
Death of Sir George — Governor Dallas — A cunning scheme-
Secret negotiations — The Watkin Company floated — Angry
winterers — Dallas's soothing circular — The old order still —
Ermatinger's letters — McDougaU's resolutions — Cartier and
McDougaU as delegates — Company accepts the terms.
As is well kno-wn to those who have followed the history of the
Hudson's Bay Company, while the possession of Eupert's Land
was secured by charter, the territory outside Eupert's Land
was secured to the Company by license. This license ended
every twenty-one years. The license in force at the time of the
troubles, which have been described, was to terminate in 1859.
Accordingly, three or four years before this date, as their
Athabasca, New Caledonia, and British Columbia possessions
had become of great value to them, the Company with due fore
sight approached the British Government with a request for
the renewal of their tenure. Men of understanding on both
sides of the Atlantic saw the possible danger of a refusal to their
request, on account of the popular ferment which had taken
place both in Eed Eiver and British Columbia. Others thought
the time had come for ending the power of the Company.
Sir Henry Labouchere, Secretary of State for the Colonies,
entered into correspondence with Sir Edmund Head, Governor-
General of Canada, on the subject. Anxious about the state
of things in every part of the Empire as the Colonial Office

446 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
always is, the turbulence and defiance of law in Eed Eiver
settlement called for special attention. Accordingly the
Governor-General was informed that it was the intention of
the Home Government to have, not only the question of the
license discussed, but also the " general position and prospects "
of the Company considered, by a Committee of the House of
Commons. The Canadian Government was therefore cordially
invited to have its views, as well as those of the Canadian
community, represented before the Committee.
This invitation was the thing for which Canada had been
waiting. A dispatch was sent by the Canadian Government,
in less than seven weeks from the time when the invitation left
Downing Street, accepting the proposal of the Mother Country.
The Canadian Ministry was pleased that British-American
affairs were receiving such prominent notice in England. It
suggested the importance of determining the limits of Canada
on the side towards Eupert's Land, and went on to state that
the general opinion strongly held in the New World was " that
the western boundary of Canada extends to the Pacific Ocean."
Eeference is made to the danger of complications arising with
the United States, and the statement advanced that the
" question ofthe jurisdiction and title claimed by the Hudson's
Bay Company is to Canada of paramount importance."
In 1857 Chief Justice Draper crossed to Great Britain as
Canadian representative with a very wide commission to
advance Canadian interests. He was called before the Com
mittee appointed by the House of Commons, and answered
nearly two hundred questions relating to Canada and to the
Hudson's Bay Company interests in Eupert's Land and beyond.
The capable and active-minded Chief Justice kept before the
Committee these points : —
(1) What he conceived to be the true western boundary of
Canada, and in so doing gave his opinion, based on the Quebec
Act of 1774, that Canada should be allowed to extend to the
Eocky Mountains and should have the pri-vilege of exploring
and building roads in that region.
(2) The earnest desire of the Canadian people that Eupert's
Land and the Indian territories should be maintained as British
territory.

CANADA CO VE TS HUDSON'S BA Y TERRITOR Y 447
(3) That Canada should be allowed to extend her settlements
into these territories.
Chief Justice Draper argued his case with great clearness
and cogency, and made an excellent impression upon the
Committee. The matter of the Company's hold on Vancouver Island
seems to have been settled without any great difficulty. Mr.
Eichard Blanshard, the former Governor, who received so cool
a reception in Vancouver Island, gave a plain and unvarnished
tale. The Company had evidently made up its mind to surrender
all its claim to Vancouver Island. And the island, as we have
seen, became independent.
Canada entered with great spirit into the case presented
before the Committee. The question of the license was quite
overshadowed by the wider discussion covering the validity of
the Hudson's Bay Company charter, the original boundary line
of the province of Canada, and the manner in which the Com
pany had carried out its responsibilities. An industrious
minister of the Canadian Government, Hon. Joseph Cauchon,
with true Gallic fire and French Canadian spirit, prepared
a memorandum of a most elaborate kind on the Hudson's Bay
Company's claim and status. In this, Mr. Cauchon goes back to
the earliest times, shows the limits of occupation by the French
explorers, follows do-wn the line of connection established by
the North-West traders, deals with the troubles of Lord Selkirk,
and concludes that the Eed Eiver and the Saskatchewan are
not -within the limits of the Company's charter. This vigorous
writer then deals with the Treaty of Paris, the Quebec Act, and
the discoveries of Canadian subjects as giving Canada a juris
diction even to the Eocky Mountains.
As might have been expected, the Committee of 1857 became
a famous one. The whole economy of the Company was
discussed. The ground gone over by Isbister and others
during the preceding decade supplied the members with
material, and the proceedings, of the Committee became notable
for their interest. The Committee held eighteen meetings,
examined twenty-nine witnesses, and thoroughly sifted the
evidence. The personnel of the Committee was brilliant. The Secre-

448 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
tary of State was Chairman. Mr. Eoebuck and Mr. Gladstone
represented the inquiring and aggressive element. Lord
Stanley and Lord John Eussell added their experience, Edward
Ellice — "the Old Bear " — watched the case for the Company,
and Mr. Lowe and Sir John Pakington took a lively interest in
the proceedings and often interposed. Altogether the Com
mittee was constituted for active ser-vice, and every nook and
cranny of Eupert's Land and the adjoining territories was
thoroughly investigated.
Among the witnesses was the distinguished Governor
Simpson. He was at his best. Mr. Eoebuck and he had
many a skirmish, and although Sir George was often driven
into a corner, yet with surprising agility he recovered him
self. Old explorers such as John Eoss, Dr. Eae, Col.
Lefroy, Sir John Eichardson, Col. Crofton, Bishop Anderson,
Col. Caldwell, and Dr. King, gave information as having
visited Eupert's Land at different periods. Their evidence
was fair, with, as could be expected in most cases, a "good
word " for the Company. Eev. Mr. Corbett gave testimony
against the Company, Governor Blanshard in the same strain,
A. K. Isbister, considerably moderated in his opposition, gave
e-vidence as a native who had travelled in the country, while
John McLoughlin, a rash and heady agitator, told of the excite
ment in Eed Eiver settlement. Edward Ellice became a
witness as well as a member of the Committee, and with
adroitness covered the retreat of any of his -witnesses when
necessity arose.
Prom time to time, from February to the end of July the Com
mittee met, and gathered a vast amount of evidence, making
four hundred pages of printed matter. It is a thesaurus
of Hudson's Bay Company material. It revealed not only
the localities of this unknown land to England and the world,
but made everyone familiar with the secret methods, devices,
and working of the fur trade over a space of well-nigh half a con
tinent. The Committee decided to recommend to Parliament
that it is " important to meet the just and reasonable -wishes of
Canada to assume such territory as may be useful for settle
ment ; that the districts of the Eed Eiver and the Saskatchewan
seem the most available ; and that for the order and good

CANADA COVETS HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY 449
government of the country," arrangements should be made
for their cession to Canada. It was also agreed that those
regions where settlement is impossible be left to the exclusive
control of the Hudson's Bay Company for the fur trade. The
Committee not only recommended that Vancouver Island
should be made independent, but that the territory of the
mainland in British Columbia should be united with it.
Pour years after the sitting of this Committee, which gave
such anxiety to the Hudson's Bay Company, Sir George
Simpson, after a very short illness, passed away, having served
as Governor for forty years. In an earlier chapter his place
and influence have been estimated and his merits and defects
shown. Sir George in his high office as Governor of Eupert's Land
was succeeded by A. J. Dallas, a Scottish merchant, who had
been in business in China, had retired, and afterwards acted as
Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Port Victoria,
in Vancouver Island, and had then married the daughter of
Governor James Douglas. Dallas had shown great nerve and
judgment in British Columbia, in a serious brush with the
United States authorities in 1859. Three years after this
event he was called to succeed the great Governor of Eupert's
Land. On his appointment to this high position, he took up
his residence at Fort Garry, and had, in conjunction with the
local Governor, WUliam McTavish, to face the rising tide of
dissatisfaction which showed itself in the Corbett and Stewart
rescues. Writers of the period state that Dallas lacked the
dignity and tact of old Sir George. In his letters, however.
Governor DaUas shows that he thoroughly appreciated the
serious state of matters. He says: "I have had great
difficulty in persuading the magistrates to continue to act.
Mr. WiUiam McTavish, Governor of Assiniboia, has resigned
his post." Governor Dallas says he " finds himself with all the
responsibiUty and semblance of authority over a vast territory,
but tmsupported, if not ignored, by the cro-wn." He states that
people do not object to the personnel of the Hudson's Bay
Company government, but to the " system of government."
He fears the formation of a provisional government, and a
movement for annexation to the United States, which had
G g

450 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
been threatened. He is of opinion that the " territorial right
should revert to the crown." These are strong, honest words
for an official of the Company whose rule had prevailed for
some two centuries.
And now Governor Dallas appears co-operating in an
ingenious and adroit financial scheme with Mr. E. W.
Watkin, a member of the British House of Commons, by
which the Hudson's Bay Company property changed hands.
Edward Watkin was a financial agent, who had much to do
with the Grand Trunk Eailway of Canada, and had an intimate
knowledge of Canadian affairs. He had succeeded in
interesting the Colonial Secretary of State, the Duke of
Newcastle, in a railway, road, and telegraphic scheme for
connecting the British possessions in North America.
Difficulties having arisen in inducing staid old Governor
Berens, the London head of the Company, to accept modern
ideas, a plan was broached of buying out the whole Hudson's
Bay Company possessions and rights. Difficulty after
difficulty was met and surmounted, and though many a time
the scheme seemed hopeless, yet, in the end it succeeded,
though not -without much friction and heartburning. Watkin
describes graphically the first interview between three members
of the Hudson's Bay Company, Berens, Eden Colville, and
Lyall, of the first part, and Glyn, Newmarch, himself, and
three other capitalists of the second part. The meeting took
place in the Hudson's Bay Company House, Fenchurch Street,
February 1st, 1862. " The room was the ' Court ' room, dark
and dirty, faded green cloth, old chairs almost black, and a fine
picture of Prince Eupert. Governor Berens, an old man and
obstinate, was somewhat insulting in his manner. We took
it patiently." It was a day of fate for the old Company.
Many interviews afterwards took place between Watkin and
the accountant and solicitors of the Company. The Company
would hear of no deaUngs, except on the basis of a cash
payment. The men of capital accordingly succeeded in
interesting the " International Financial Association," a new
corporation looking for some great scheme to lay before the
public. At length the whole shares, property, and rights of the

CANADA CO VETS HUDSON'S BAY TERRITOR Y 45 1
Hudson's Bay Company were taken over, the final arrange
ments being made by Mr. Eichard Potter on June 1st, 1863.
Thus the Company begun in so small a way by Prince Eupert
and his associates nearly two centuries before sold out, and the
purchase money of one and a half millions of pounds was paid
over the counter to the old Company by the new Association.
A new company was now to be organized whose stock
would be open for purchase, and the International Association
would, on such organization being formed, hand over the
Company's assets to the new stockholders. In a short time
the Company was reconstituted. Sir Edmund Head being the
new Governor, with, as prominent members of the Board of
Directors, Eichard Potter, Eden ColvUle, E. B. Watkin, and
an American fur trader of experience, Sir Curtis Lampson.
Secretly as the negotiations for the formation of a new
company had been conducted, the news of the affair reached
Canada and Eupert's Land, and led to anxious inquiries being
made and to a memorial from the Company's officers being
presented to the Board of Directors asking for information.
So thoroughly secret had the inter-views between the London
parties been carried on that the officials of the London office
knew nothing of them, and stated in their reply to the
memorialists that the rumours were incorrect. In July, when
the transfer had been consummated and the news of it
appeared in the public press, it created surprise and indigna
tion among the chief factors and chief traders, who, under
the deed poll or Company arrangement which had been
adopted in 1821, though somewhat modified thirteen years
later, had been regarded as having certain partnership rights
in the Company.
Mr. Edward Watkin informs us, in his interesting " Eemi
niscences," that he had intended that the "wintering
partners," as the officers in Eupert's Land were called, should
have been indi-vidually communicated with, but that on
account of his hasty departure to Canada the matter had been
overlooked. It certainly was irritating to the officers of the
fur trade to learn for the first time from the public press of
an arrangement being perfected invol-ving their whole private
interests.

452 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Watkin expresses his great apprehension lest the news in
a distorted form should reach the distant regions of the fur
country, where the Company had one hundred and forty-four
posts, covering the continent from Labrador to Sitka^
Vancouver Island, and San Francisco. He feared also that
there would be a new company formed to occupy the ground
¦with the old.
On reaching Canada, Mr. Watkin was agreeably surprised at
the arrival of Governor Dallas from Eed Eiver in Montreal.
After consultation it was decided on that the Governor should
send a conciUatory circular to the commissioned officers of the
Company, explaUiing the objects of the new Company, and
stating that all the interests of the wintering partners would be
conserved. It is evident that the attitude of the officers had
alarmed even such stout-hearted men as Watkin and Dallas.
There lies before the writer also a personal letter, dated
London, July 23rd, 1863, signed by Edmund Head, Governor,
to a chief trader of the Company, stating that it was the
intention of the Committee " to carry on the fur trade as it
has been hitherto carried on, under the provisions of the deed
poll." None of the collateral objects of the Company " should
interfere with the fur trade." He begs the officers to " have.
vrith him free and unreserved communication through the
usual channel." Evidently the echo of the angry voices in
Athabasca had been heard in London.
The old deed poll, which they had intended to suspend, as
sho-wn by Watkin, was thus preserved. This document secured
them as foUows : According to both deed polls of 1821 and
1834, forty per cent, of the net profits of the trade, divided into
eighty-five shares of equal amount, were distributed annually
among the wintering partners of the Company. A chief
trader received an eighty-fifth share of the profits, and a chief
factor two eighty-fifth shares. Both had certain rights after
retiring. The proposed aboUtion of these terms of the deed poll and
the substitution therefor of certain salaries with the avowed
purpose of reducing the expenses, of course meant loss to every
wintering partner. The interests thus involved justified the
most strenuous opposition on the part of the partners, and,.

CANADA CO VETS HUDSON'S BA Y TERRITOR K 453
unless the proposal were modified, would almost certainly have
led to a disruption of the Company.
In harmony with Governor Head's circular letter no action
in the du-ection contemplated was taken until 1871, when, on
the receipt of the three hundred thousand pounds voted by
Canada to the Company, the sum of one hundred and seven
thousand and fifty-five pounds was appUed to buying out the
vested rights of the wintering partners, and the agitation was
quieted. The effect of the arrangement made for the payment of
officers of the Company since 1871, as compared with their
previous remuneration, has been a subject of discussion.
There lies before the -writer an elaborate calculation by an
old Hudson's Bay Company officer to the effect that under the
old deed poll a chief factor would receive two eighty-fifth
shares, his total average being seven hundred and twenty
pounds per annum ; and under the new (taking the average
of twenty-five years) two and one half-hundredths shares,
amounting to five hundred and thirty-two pounds annually,
or a loss nearly of one hundred and eighty-eight pounds ;
similarly that a chief trader would receive three hundred and
nineteen pounds, as against three hundred and sixty formerly,
or a loss per annum of forty-one pounds.
Besides this, the number of higher commissioned officers was
reduced when the old deed poll was cancelled, so that the
stockholders received the advantage from there being fewer
officials, also the chances of promotion to higher offices were
diminished. During the progress of these internal dissensions of the
Hudson's Bay Company pubUc opinion had been gradually
maturing in Canada in favour of acquiring at least a portion of
Eupert's Land. At the time of the Special Committee of 1857,
it -will be remembered the Hind-Gladman expedition had gone
to spy out the land. A company, called the North-West Trans
portation Company, was about the same time organized in
Toronto to carry goods and open communication from Port
William by way of the old fur traders' route to Port Garry.
The merits and demerits of the north-western prairies were
discussed in the public press of Canada. Edward Ermatinger,

454 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
whose name has been already mentioned, was a steady sup
porter of the claim of the Hudson's Bay Company in a series
of well--written letters in the Hamilton Spectator, a journal of
Upper Canada. Taking the usual line of argument followed by
the Company, he showed the small value of the country, its
inhospitable climate, its inaccessibility, and magnified the legal
claim of the Hudson's Bay Company against the Canadian
contention. It is amusing to read in after years, when his
opinion of Sir George Simpson was changed, his declaration of
regret at having been led to so strenuously present his views
in the Spectator.
Ten years had passed after the sitting of the great Committee
of 1857, and nothing practical as to the transfer of the country
to Canada had been accomplished. The confederation move
ment had now widened the horizon of Canadian public men.
In the very year of the confederation of the Canadian provinces
(1867), Hon. William McDougaU, who had been a persistent
advocate of the Canadian claim to the North-West, moved in
the Dominion Parliament a series of resolutions, which were
carried. These resolutions showed the advantage, both to
Canada and the Empire, of the Dominion being extended to the
Pacific Ocean ; that settlement, commerce, and development of
the resources of the country are dependent on a stable Govern
ment being established ; that the welfare of the Eed Eiver
settlers would be enhanced by this means ; that provision was
contained in the British North-American Act for the admission
of Eupert's Land and the North-West territory to the Dominion ;
that this wide country should be united to Canada ; that in
case of union the legal rights of any corporation, as the
Hudson's Bay Company, association, or individual should be
respected ; that this should be settled judicially or by agreement ;
that tbe Indian title should be legally extinguished ; and that
an address be made to Her Majesty to this effect. The
resolutions were carried by a large majority of the House.
This was a bold and well-conceived step, and the era of dis
cussion and hesitancy seemed to have passed away in favour of
a policy of action.
The Hudson's Bay Company, however, insisted on an under
standing being come to as to terms before giving consent to the

CANADA CO VETS HUDSON'S BA Y TERRITOR Y 45 S
proposed action, and a despatch to the Dominion Government
from Her Majesty's Government called attention to this fact.
As soon as convenient, a delegation, consisting of Hon. George
E. Cartier and Hon. WiUiam McDougaU, proceeded to England
to negotiate with the Company as to terms. The path of the
delegates on reaching England proved a thorny one. The
attitude of the Imperial Government was plainly in favour of
recognizing some legal value in the chartered rights of the
Company, a thing denied by some, specially Mr. McDougaU.
No progress was being made. At this juncture D'Israeli's
government was defeated, and a delay resulted in waiting for a
new government. Earl Granville was the new Secretary of
State for the Colonies. While negotiations were going on, the
Hudson's Bay Company sent in to the Secretary of State a
rather hot complaint that Canadian surveyors and road builders
had entered upon their territory to the west of the Lake of the
Woods. This was quite true, but the action had been taken
by the Canadian Government under the impression that all
parties would willingly agree to it. Not being at this juncture
able to settle anything, the commissioners returned to Canada.
The Imperial Government was, however, in earnest in the
matter, and pressed the Hudson's Bay Company to consent to
reasonable terms, the more that the government by the Com
pany in Eed Eiver was not satisfactory — an indisputable fact.
At length the Company felt bound to accept the proposed terms.
The main provisions of bargain were that the Company should
surrender all rights in Eupert's Land ; that Canada pay the
Company the sum of three hundred thousand pounds ; that
the Company be allowed certain blocks of land around their
posts ; that they be given one-twentieth of the arable land of
the country ; and that the Company should be allowed every
privilege in carrying on trade as a regular trading company.
Thus was the concession of generous Charles the Second
surrendered after two centuries of honourable occupation.

CHAPTEE XLV.
TBOUBLES OP THE TEANSFBE OP EUPEET'S LAND.
Transfer Act passed — A moribund government — The Canadian sur
veying party — Causes of the rebellion — Turbulent Metis — ^Ameri
can interference — Disloyal ecclesiastics — Governor McDougaU —
Riel and his rebel band — A blameworthy governor — The
"blawsted fence" — Seizure of Fort Garry — Riel's ambitions —
Loyal rising — Three wise men from the Bast — The New
Nation — A winter meeting — Bill of Rights — Canadian shot —
The Wolseley expedition — Three renegades sUnk away — The
end of company rule — The new Province of Manitoba.
The old company had agreed to the bargain, and the Imperial
Act was passed authorizing the transfer of the vast territory
east of the Eocky Mountains to Canada. Canada, with the
strengthening national spirit rising from the young confedera
tion, with pleasure saw the Dominion Government place in the
estimates the three hundred thousand pounds for the payment
of the Hudson's Bay Company, and an Act was passed by the
Dominion Parliament providing for a government of the
north-west territories, which would secure the administration
of justice, and the peace, order, and good government of Her
Majesty's subjects and others. It was enacted, however, that
all laws of the territory at the time of the passing of the Act
should remain in force until amended or repealed, and all
officers except the chief to continue in office until others were
appointed. And now began the most miserable and disreputable exhi
bition of decrepitude, imbecility, Jesuitry, foreign interference,
blundering, and rash patriotism ever witnessed in the fur traders'
country. This was known as the Eed Eiver rebellion. The
writer arrived in Fort Garry the year following this wretched
affair, made the acquaintance of many of the actors in the

TROUBLES OF TRANSFER OF RUPERT'S LAND 457
rebellion, and heard their stories. The real deep significance
of this rebellion has never been fully made known. Whether
the -writer will succeed in teUing the whole tale remains to
be seen.
The Hudson's Bay Company officials at Eed Eiver were
still the government. This fact must be distinctly borne in
mmd. It has been stated, however, that this government had
become hopelessly weak and inefficient. Governor DaUas,
in the words quoted, admitted this and lamented over it.
Were there any doubt in regard to this statement, it was
shown by the utter defiance of the law in the breaking of jail
in the three cases of Corbett, Stewart, and Dr. Sehultz. No
government could retain respect when the solemn behests
of its courts were laughed at and despised. This is the real
reason lying at the root of the apathy of the English-speaking
people of Eed Eiver in dealing with the rebellion. They were
not cowards ; they sprang from ancestors who had fought
Britain's battles ; they were intelligent and moral ; they loved
their homes and were prepared to defend them ; but they had
no guarantee of leadership ; they had no assurance that their
efforts would be given even the colour of legality ; the broken-
down jail outside Port Garry, its uprooted stockades and help
less old jailor were the symbol of governmental decrepitude
and were the sport of any determined law-breaker.
It has been the habit of their opponents to refer to the
annoyance of the Hudson's Bay Company Committee in
London with Canada for 1869 sending surveyors to examine
the country before the transfer was made. Eeference has also
been made to the dissatisfaction of the local officers at the
action taken by the Company in dealing with the deed poll in
1863 ; some have said that the Hudson's Bay Company officials
at Fort Garry did not admire the Canadian leaders as they
saw them ; and others have maintained that these officers
cared nothing for the country, provided they received large
enough dividends as wintering partners.
Now, there may be something in these contentions, but they
do not touch the core of the matter. The Hudson's Bay Com
pany, both in London and Fort Garry, were thoroughly loyal to
British institutions; the officers were educated, responsible

458 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and high-minded men ; they had acted up to their light in a
thoroughly honourable manner, and no mere prejudice, or
fancied grievance, or personal dislike would have made them
untrue to their trusts. But the government had become
decrepit ; vacillation and uncertainty characterized every act ;
had the people been behind them, had they not felt that the
people distrusted them, they would have taken action, as it was
their duty to do.
The chronic condition of helplessness and governmental
decay was emphasized and increased by a sad circumstance.
Governor WiUiam McTavish, an honom-able and well-meaning
man, was sick. In the midst of the troubles of 1863 he would
willingly have resigned, as Governor Dallas assures us ; now
he was physically incapable of the energy and decision
requisite under the circumstances. Moreover, as we shall see,
there was a most insidious and dangerous influence dogging
his every step. His subordinates would not act without him,
he could not act without them, and thus an absolute deadlock
ensued. Moreover, the Council of Assiniboia, an appointed
body, had felt itself for years out of touch with the sentiment of
the colony, and its efforts at legislation resulted in no improve
ment of the condition of things. Woe to a country ruled by
an oligarchy, however well-meaning or reputable such a body
may be !
Turn now from this picture of pitiful weakness to the un
accountable and culpable blundering of the Canadian Govern
ment. Cartier and McDougaU found out in England that
sending in a party of surveyors before the country was trans
ferred was offensive to the Hudson's Bay Company. More
offensive still was the method of conducting the expedition.
It was a mark of sublime stupidity to profess, as the Canadian
Government did, to look upon the money spent on this survey
as a benevolent device for relieving the people suffering from
the grasshopper visitation. The genius who originated the
plan of combining charity with gain should have been canonized.
Moreover, the plan of contractor Snow of paying poor wages,
delaying payment, and giving harsh treatment to such a people
as the half-breeds are known to be was most ill advised.
The evidently selfish and grasping spirit shown in this

TROUBLES OF TRANSFER OF RUPERT S LAND 459
expedition sent to survey and build the Dawson Eoad, yet
turning aside to claim unoccupied lands, to sow the seeds of
doubt and suspicion in the minds of a people hitherto secluded
from the world, was most unpatriotic and dangerous. It
cannot be denied, hi addition, that whUe many of the small
band of Canadians were reputable and hard-working men, the
course of a few prominent leaders, who had made an illegiti
mate use of the Nor'-Wester newspaper, had tended to keep
the community in a state of alienation and turmoil.
What, then, were the conditions? A helpless, moribund
government, without decision, without actual authority on the
one hand, and on the other an irritating, selfish, and aggres
sive expedition, taking possession of the land before it waa
transferred to Canada, and assuming the air of conquerors.
Look now at the combustible elements awaiting this com
bination. The French half-breeds, descendants of the turbulent
Bois Briiles of Lord Selkirk's times ; the old men, companions of
Sayer and the elder Eiel, who defied the authority of the court,
and left it shouting, "Vive la liberty!" now irritated by the
Dawson Eoad being built in the way just described ; the road
running through the seigniory given by Lord Selkirk to the
Eoman Catholic bishop, the road in rear of their largest
settlements, and passing through another French settlement
at Pointe des Chenes ! Further, the lands adjacent to these
settlements, and naturally connected with them, being seized by
the intruders! Furthermore, the natives antagonized by the
action of certain Canadians who had for years maintained the
country in a state of turmoil ! Were there not all the elements
of an explosion of a serious and dangerous kind ?
Two other most important forces in this complicated state of
things cannot be left out. The first of these is a matter which
requires careful statement, but yet it is a most potential factor
in the rebellion. This is the attitude of certain persons in the
United States. For twenty years and more the trade of the
Eed Eiver settlement had been largely carried on by way of St.
Paul, in the State of Minnesota. The Hudson Bay route and
York boat brigade were unable to compete with the facilities
offered by the approach of the railway to the Mississippi Eiver.
Accordingly long lines of Eed Eiver carts took loads of furs to

46o THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
St. Paul and brought back freight for the Company. The Eed
Eiver trade was a recognized source of profit in St. Paul.
Familiarity in trade led to an interest on the part of the
Americans in the public affairs of Eed Eiver. Hot-headed
and sordid people in Eed Eiver settlement had actually spoken
of the settlement being connected with the United States.
Now that irritation was manifested at Eed Eiver, steps were
taken by private parties from the United States to fan the
flame. At Pembina, on the border between Eupert's Land
and the United States, lived a nest of desperadoes willing to
take any steps to accomplish their purposes. They had access
to all the mails which came from England to Canada marked
"Via Pembina." Pembina was an outpost refuge for law
breakers and outcasts from the United States. Its people
used all their power to disturb the peace of Eed Eiver settle
ment. In addition, a considerable number of Americans had
come to the little village of Winnipeg, now being begun near the
walls of Fort Garry. These men held their private meetings,
all looking to the creation of trouble and the provocation of
feeling that might lead to change of allegiance. Furthermore,
the writer is able to state, on the information of a man high in
the service of Canada, and a man not unknown in Manitoba,
that there was a large sum of money, of which an amount was
named as high as one million dollars, which was available in
St. Paul for the purpose of securing a hold by the Americans
on the fertile plains of Eupert's Land.
Here, then, was an agency of most dangerous proportions, an
element in the vUlage of Winnipeg able to control the election
of the first delegate to the convention, a desperate body of men
on the border, who with Machiavelian persistence fanned the
flame of discontent, and a reserve of power in St. Paul ready
to take advantage of any emergency.
A stUl more insidious and threatening influence was at work.
Here again the -writer is aware of the gravity of the statement
he is making, but he has evidence of the clearest kind for his
position. A dangerous religious element in the country —
ecclesiastics from old France — who had no love for Britain, no
love for Canada, no love for any country, no love for society, no
love for peace ! These plotters were in close association with

SOUTH AND EAST FACES, 1840.
Prom sketch by wife of Grovernor Finlayson.

/',>.-,' T;

BAST FACE IN YEAK 1882, WHEN FOET WAS DISMANTLED.
X Spot where Scott was executed.

FORT QARRY— WINTER SCENES.

[Page 460.

TROUBLES OF TRANSFER OF RUPERT'S LAND 461
the half-breeds, dictated their policy, and freely mingled with
the rebels. One of them was an intimate friend of the
leader of the rebellion, consulted with him in his plans, and
exercised a marked influence on his movements. This same
foreign priest, with Jesuitical cunning, gave close attendance
on the sick Governor, and through his family exercised a con
stant and detrimental power upon the only source of authority
then in the land. Furthermore, an Irish student and teacher,
with a Fenian hatred of all things British, was a " famUiar " of
the leader of the rebellion, and with true Milesian zeal advanced
the cause of the revolt.
Can a more terrible combination be imagined than this ? A
decrepit government with the executive officer sick ; a rebellious
and chronically dissatisfied Metis element; a government at
Ottawa far removed by distance, committing with unvarying
regularity blunder after blunder ; a greedy and foreign cabal
planning to seize the country, and a secret Jesuitical plot to
keep the governor from action and to incite the fiery Metis to
revolt !
The drama opens with the appointment, in September, 1869,
by the Dominion Government, of the Hon. William McDougaU
as Lieutenant-Governor of the north-west territories, his depar
ture from Toronto, and his arrival at Pembina, in the Dakota
territory, in the end of October. He was accompanied by his
family, a small staff, and three hundred stand of arms with
ammunition. He had been preceded by the Hon. Joseph
Howe, of the Dominion Government, who visited the Eed
Eiver settlement ostensibly to feel the pulse of public
opinion, but as Commissioner gaining little information. Mr.
McDougaU's commission as governor was to take effect after
the formal transfer of the territory. He reached Pembina,
where he was served with a notice not to enter the territory,
yet he crossed the boundary line at Pembina, and took
possession of the Hudson's Bay Fort of West Lynn, two
mUes north of the boundary.
Meanwhile a storm was brewing along Eed Eiver. A young
French half-breed, Louis Eiel, son of the excitable miller of
the Seine of whom mention was made — a young man, educated
by the Eoman CathoUc Bishop Tache, of St. Boniface, for a

462 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
time, and afterwards in Montreal, was regarded as the hope of
the Metis. He was a young man of fair abiUty, but proud,
vain, and assertive, and had the ambition to be a Csesar or
Napoleon. He with his followers had stopped the surveyors in
their work, and threatened to throw off the approaching tyranny.
Professing to be loyal to Britain but hostile to Canada, he
succeeded, in October, in getting a small body of French half-
breeds to seize the main highway at St. Norbert, some nine
mUes south of Fort Garry.
The message to Mr. McDougaU not to enter the territory
was forwarded by this body, that already considered itself the
de facto government. A Canadian settler at once swore an
affidavit before the officer in charge of Port Garry that an
armed party of French half-breeds had assembled to oppose the
entrance of the Governor.
Here, then, was the hour of destiny. An outbreak had taken
place, it was illegal to oppose any man entering the country,
not to say a Governor, the fact of revolt was immediately
brought to Fort Garry, and no amount of casuistry or apology
can ever justify Governor McTavish, sick though he was, from
immediately not taking action, and compelling his council
to take action by summoning the law-abiding people to
surround him and repress the revolt. But the government
that would allow the defiance of the law by permitting men
to live at liberty who had broken jail could not be expected to
take action. To have done so would have been to work a
miracle. The rebellion went on apace, two of tbe so-called governor's
staff pushed on to the barricade erected at St. Norbert. Captain
Cameron, one of them, with eye-glass in poise, and with
affected authority, gave command, "Eemove that blawsted
fence," but the half-breeds were unyielding. The two
messengers returned to Pembina, where they found Mr.
McDougaU likewise driven back and across the boundary.
Did ever British prestige suffer a more humiliating blow ?
The act of rebellion, usually dangerous, proved in this ease a
tri-nal one, and Eiel's little band of forty or fifty badly-armed
Metis began to grow. The mails were seized, freight coming
into the country became booty, and the experiment of a rising

TROUBLES OF TRANSFER OF RUPERT'S LAND 463
was successful. In the meantime the authorities of Port Garry
were inactive. The rumour came that Eiel thought of seizing
the fort. An affidavit of the chief of police under the Govern
ment shows that he urged the master of Port Garry to meet
the danger, and asked authority to call upon a portion of the
special police force sworn in, shortly before, to preserve the
peace. No governor spoke ; no one even closed the fort as a
precaution ; its gates stood wide open to friend or foe.
This exhibition of helplessness encouraged the conspirators,
and Eiel and one hundred of his followers (November 2nd)
unopposed took possession of the fort and quartered themselves
upon the Company. In the front part of the fort lived the
Governor ; he was now flanked by a body-guard of rebels ; the
master of the fort, a burly son of Britain, though very gruff and
out of sorts, could do nothing, and the young Napoleon of the
Metis fattened on the best of the land.
Eiel now issued a proclamation, calling on the English-
speaking parishes of the settlement to elect twelve repre
sentatives to meet the President and representatives of the
French-speaking population, appointing a meeting for twelve
days afterwards.
Mr. McDougaU, on hearing of the seizure of the fort, wrote
to Governor McTavish stating that as the Hudson Bay
Company was still the government, action should be taken
to disperse the rebels. A number of loyal inhabitants also
petitioned Governor McTavish to issue his proclamation call
ing on the rebels to disperse. The sick and helpless Governor,
fourteen days after the seizure of the fort and twenty-
three days after the affidavit of the rising, issued a tardy pro
clamation condemning the rebels and calling upon them to
disperse. The Convention met November 16th, the EngUsh
parishes having been cajoled into electing delegates, thinking
thus to soothe the troubled land. After meeting and discussing
in hot and useless words the state of affairs, the Convention
adjourned till December 1st, it being evident, however, that
Eiel desired to form a provisional government of which he
should be the joy and pride.
The day for the reassembling of the Convention arrived.
Eiel and his party insisted on ruling the meeting, and passed a

464 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
" Bill of Eights " consisting of fifteen provisions. The English
people refused to accept these propositions, and, after vainly
endeavouring to take steps to meet Mr. McDougaU, withdrew
to their homes, ashamed and confounded.
Meanwhile Mr. McDougaU was chafing at the strange and
humiliating situation in which he found himself. With his
family and staff poorly housed at Pembina and the severe
winter coming on, he could scarcely be blamed for irritation
and discontent. December 1st was the day on which he
expected his commission as governor to come into effect, and
wonder of wonders, he, a lawyer, a privy councillor, and an
experienced statesman, went so far on this mere supposition
as to issue a proclamation announcing his appointment as
governor. As a matter of fact, far away from communication
with Ottawa, he was mistaken as to the transfer. On account
of the rise of the rebellion this had not been made, and Mr.
McDougaU, in issuing a spurious proclamation, became a thing
of contempt to the insurgents, an object of pity to the loyalists,
and the laughing-stock of the whole world. His proclamation
at the same time authorizing Colonel Dennis, the Canadian
surveyor in Eed Eiver settlement, to raise a force to put
do-wn the rebellion, was simply a brutum fulmen, and was the
cause to innocent, well-meaning men of trouble and loss.
Colonel Dennis succeeded in raising a force of some four
hundred men, and would not probably have failed had it not
transpired that the two proclamations were illegal and that the
levies were consequently unauthorized. Such a thing to be
carried out by William McDougaU and Colonel Dennis, men
of experience and abUity ! Surely there could be no greater
fiasco !
The Canadian people were now in a state of the greatest
excitement, and the Canadian Government, aware of its
blundering and stupidity, hastened to rectify its mistakes.
Commissioners were sent to negotiate with the various parties
in Eed Eiver settlement. These were Vicar-General Thibault,
who had spent long years in the Eoman CathoUc Missions of
the North-West, Colonel de Salaberry, a French Canadian,
and Mr. Donald A. Smith, the chief officer of the Hudson's
Bay Company, then at Montreal. On the last of these Com-

TROUBLES OF TRANSFER OF RUPERT S LAND 465
missioners, who had been clothed with very wide powers, lay
the chief responsibUity, as will be readily seen.
A number of Canadians — nearly fifty — ^had been assembled
in the store of Dr. Sehultz, at the village of Winnipeg, and, on
the faUure of Mr. McDougaU's proclamation, were left in a
very awkward condition. With arms in their hands, they
were looked upon by Eiel as dangerous, and with promises of
freedom and of the intention of Eiel to meet McDougaU and
settle the whole matter, they (December 7th) surrendered.
Safely in the fort and in the prison outside the wall, the
prisoners were kept by the truce-breaker, and the Metis con
tingent celebrated the victory by numerous potations of rum
taken from the Hudson's Bay Company stores.
Eiel now took a step forward in issuing a proclamation,
"which has generaUy been attributed to the crippled postmaster
at Pembina, one of the dangerous foreign clique longing to
seize the settlement. He also hoisted a new flag, with the
.fleur-de-lis worked upon it, thus giving evidence of his
disloyalty and impudence. Other acts of injustice, such as
seizing Company funds and interfering with personal liberty,
were committed by him.
On December 27th — a memorable day — Mr. Donald A.
Smith arrived. His commission and papers were left at
Pembina, and he went directly to Fort Garry, where Eiel
reeeived him. The interview, given in Mr. Smith's o-wn
words, was a remarkable one. Eiel vainly sought to induce
the Commissioner to recognize his government, and yet
was afraid to show disrespect to so high and honoured an
¦officer. For about two months Commissioner Smith lived
.at Fort Garry, in a part of the same building as Governor
McTavish. Mr. Smith says of this period, " The state of matters at this
time was most unsatisfactory and truly humUiating. Upwards
of fifty British subjects were held in close confinement as
political prisoners ; security for persons or property there was
none. . . . The leaders of the French half-breeds had declared
their determination to use every effort for the purpose of
annexing the territory to the United States."
Mr. Smith acted -with great wisdom and decision. His plan
H h

466 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
evidently was to have no formal breach with Eiel, but graduaUy
to undermine him, and secure a combination by which he
could be overthro-wn. Many of the influential men of the
settlement called upon Mr. Smith, and the affairs of the
country were discussed. Eiel was restless and at times im
pertinent, but the Commissioner exercised his Scottish caution,.
and bided his time.
At this time a newspaper, called The New Nation, appeared.
as the organ of the Provisional Government. This paper
openly advocated annexation to the United States, thus showing;
the really dangerous nature of the movement embodied in the
rebellion. During all these months of the rebellion. Bishop Tache,
the influential head of the Eoman Catholic Church, had been
absent in Eome at the great CouncU of that year. One of hi»
most active priests left behiad was Father Lestanc, the prince-
of plotters, who has generally been credited with belonging
to the Jesuit Order. Lestanc had sedulously haunted the
presence of the Governor ; he was a daring and extreme man,
and to him and his fellow-Frenchman, the cur^ of St. Norbert,
much of Eiel's obstinacy has been attributed. Commissioner
Smith now used his opportunity to weaken Eiel. He offered
to send for his Commission to Pembina, if he were allowed to
meet the people. Eiel consented to this. The Commission
was sent for, and Eiel tried to intercept the messenger, but
failed to do so. The meeting took place on January 19th.
It was a date of note for Eed Eiver settlement. One thousand
people assembled, and as there was no building capable of
holding the people, the meeting took place in the open air, the
temperature being twenty below zero.
The outcome of this meeting was the election and sub
sequent assembling of forty representatives — one half French,
the other half English — to consider the matter of Commissioner
Smith's message. Six days after the open-air meeting the
Convention met. A second "Bill of Eights" was adopted,
and it was agreed to send delegates to Ottawa to meet the
Dominion Government. A provisional government was formed,
at the request, it is said, of Governor McTa-vish, and Eiel
gained the height of his ambition in being made President,

TROUBLES OF TRANSFER OF RUPERT'S LAND 467
whUe the fledgling Fenian priest, O'Donoghue, became
" Secretary of the Treasury."
The retention of the prisoners in captivity aroused a deep
feeUng in the country, and a movement originated in Portage
La Prairie to rescue the unfortunates. This force was joined
by recruits at Kildonan, making up six hundred in all. Awed
by this gathering, Eiel released the prisoners, though he was
guilty of an act of deepest treachery in arresting nearly fifty
of the Assiniboine le-vy as they were returning to their homes.
Among them was Major Boulton, who afterward narrowly
escaped execution, and who has -written an interesting account
of the rebellion.
The failure of the two parties of loyalists, and their easy
capture by Eiel, raises the question of the wisdom of these
efforts. No doubt the inspiriag motive of these levies was in
many cases true patriotism, and it reflects credit on them as
men of British blood and British pluck, but the management
of both was so unfortunate and so lacking in skill, that one
is disposed, though lamenting their failures, to put these
expeditions do-wn as dictated by the greatest rashness.
The elevation of Eiel served to awaken higher ambitions.
The late Archbishop Tache, in a later rebellion, characterized
Eiel as a remarkable example of inflated ambition, and called
his state of mind that of "megalomania." Eiel now became
more irritable and domineering. He seemed also bitter against
the EngUsh for the signs of insubordination appearing in all
the parishes. The influence of the violent and dastardly
Lestanc was strong upon him. The anxious President now
determined to awe the English, and condemned for execution
a young Irish Canadian prisoner named Thomas Scott. Com
missioner Smith and a number of influential inhabitants did
everything possible to dissuade Eiel, but he persisted, and
Scott was publicly executed near Port Garry on March 4th,
1870. " Whom the gods destroy, they first make mad." The
execution of Scott was the death kneU of Eiel's hopes. Canada
was roused to its centre. Determined to have no further
communication with Eiel, Commissioner Smith as soon as
possible left Port Garry and returned to Canada.

468 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
The arrival of Bishop Tache, who had returned at the
request of the Canadian Government, took place in due time.
Probably the real attitude of Bishop Tach6 will never be
known, though his strong French Canadian associations and
love of British connection make it seem hardly possible that
he could have been implicated in the rebellion. Bishop Tache
endeavoured to overcome the terrible mistake of Eiel. Com
missioners were despatched to Ottawa, the most important of
them Father Eitchot, of St. Norbert, whose hand had been in
the plot from the beginning. Carrying down a "Bill of Eights"
from the provisional government, which, however, there is
clear evidence Eitchot and others took the liberty of altering,
they were instrumental in ha-ving a bill passed through the
Dominion Parliament, establishing Manitoba as a province.
For the establishment of peace, an expedition was organized
by Canada, consisting of British regulars and Canadian volun
teers, under Colonel Wolseley. Coming from Canada up the
fur-traders' route, through Lake of the Woods, down Winnipeg
Eiver, across Lake Winnipeg, and up the Eed Eiver, the
expedition arrived, to the great joy of the suffering people of
the settlement, on August 24th, 1870. After eleven months
of the most torturing anxiety had been endured, the sight
of the rescuing soldiery sent the blood pulsing again through
their veins. As the troops approached Port Garry, three
slinking figures were seen to leave the fort and escape
across the Assiniboine. These were the " President Eiel,"
"Adjutant-General" Lepine, and the scoundrel O'Donoghue.
" They folded their tents like the Arabs, and as sUently stole
away." Colonel Wolseley says, " The troops then formed
line outside the fort, the Union Jack was hoisted, a royal
salute fired, and three cheers were given for the Queen,
which were caught up and heartily re-echoed by many of the
civilians and settlers who had followed the troops from the
-village." The transfer of Eupert's Land had been completed, and the
governing power of the famous old Company was a thing of
the past.

CHAPTEE XLVI;
PBESENT STATUS OP THE COMPANY.
A great land Company — Port Garry dismantled — The new buUdings
— ^NewD. Old — ^NewUfe in the Company — Palmy days are recalled
^Governors of ability — The present distinguished Governor —
Vaster operations — Its eye not dimmed.
Believed of the burden of government, the Hudson's Bay
Company threw itself heartily into the work of developing its
resources. Mr. Donald A. Smith, who had done so much
to undermine the power of Eiel, returned to Manitoba as Chief
Commissioner of the Company, and proceeded to manage its
affairs in the altered conditions of the country. Eepresenting
enormous interests in the North-West, Mr. Smith entered the
first local legislature at Winnipeg, and soon after became for
a time a member of the Canadian House of Commons. One
of the most important matters needing attention was the land
interests of the Company. The Company claimed five hundred
acres around Port Garry. This great tract of land, covering
now one of the most important parts of the City of Winnipeg,
was used as a camping-ground, where the traders from the
far west posts, even as far as Edmonton, made their " corrals "
and camped during their stay at the capital. Some opposition
was developed to this claim, but the block of land was at length
handed over to the Company, fifty acres being reserved for
public purposes.
The allotment of wild land to the Company of one-twentieth
went on in each township as it was surveyed, and though all
this land is taxable, yet it has become a great source of revenue
to the Company. Important sites and parcels of land all over
the country have helped to swell its resources.
The great matter of adapting its agencies to meet the changed

470 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
conditions of trade was a difficult thing. The methods of two
centuries could not be changed in a day. The greatest difficulty
lay in the officers and men remote from the important centres.
It was reported that in many of the posts no thorough method
of book-keeping prevailed. The dissatisfaction arishig from
the sale made by the Company in 1863, and the uncertainty as
to the deed poll, no doubt introduced an element of fault-finding
and discontent into the Company's business. Some of the most
trusted officers retired from the service. The resources of the
Company were, however, enormous, its credit being practicaUy
unlimited, and this gave it a great advantage in competing with
the Canadian merchants coming to the country, the majority of
whom had Uttle capital. Ten years after the transfer Fort
Garry was sold, and though it came back on the hands of the
Company, yet miser abile dictu, the fort had been dismantled,
thrown down, and even the stone removed, with the excep
tion of the front gate, which still remains. This gate, with a
portion of ground about it, has been given by the Hudson's
Bay Company to the City of Winnipeg as a small historic
park. Since the time of sale, large warehouses have been
erected, not filled, as were the old shops, with bright coloured
cloths, moccasins, and beads, fitted for the Indian and native
trade, but aiming at full departments after the model of Maple
and Shoolbred of the mother city of London. These shops
are represented in the plate accompanying this description.
The trade thus modified has been under the direction of
men of ability, who succeeded Mr. Donald A. Smith, such
as Messrs. Wrigley, Brydges, and a number of able sub
ordinates. The extension of trade has gone on in many of
the rising towns of the Canadian West, where the Hudson's
Bay Company was not before represented, such as Portage La
Prairie, Calgary, Lethbridge, Prince Albert, Vancouver, &c.
In all these points the Company's influence has been a very
real and important one.
The methods of trade, now employed, require a skill and
knowledge never needed in the old fur -trading days. The
present successful Commissioner, C. C. Chipman, Esq.,
resident in Winnipeg, controls and directs interests far greater
than Sir George Simpson was called upon to deal with.

COMMISSIONER CHIPMAN (WINNIPEG-).
Executive Officer of H.B. Co. in Canada.

PRESENT STATUS OF THE COMPANY 471
Present and Past presents a contrast between ceaseless
competition and a sleepy monopoly.
The portions of the country not reached, or likely to be
reached by settlement, have remained in possession of the
Hudson's Bay Company almost solely. The Canadian Govern
ment has negotiated treaties with the Indians as far north as
Lake Athabasca, leaving many of the Chipewyans and Eskimos
still to the entire management of the Company.
The impression among the officers of the Company is that
under the deed poll of 1871 they are not so well remunerated
as under the former regime. It is difficult to estimate the exact
relation of the present to the past, inasmuch as the opening
up of the country, the improvement of transportation facilities,
and the cheapening of all agricultural supplies has changed the
relative value of money in the country. Under this arrangement,
which has been in force for twenty-four years, the profits of the
¦wintering partners are divided on the basis of one-hundredth
of a share. Of this an inspecting chief factor receives three
shares ; a chief factor two and a half ; a factor two ; and a
chief trader one and a half shares. The average for the
twenty-five years of the one-hundredth share has been
213Z. 12s. 2\d. Since 1890 a more liberal provision has been
made for officers retiring, and since that time an officer
on withdrawing in good standing receives two years' full pay
and six years' half pay.
A -visit to the Hudson's Bay House on the comer of Leadenhall
and Lime Streets, London, still gives one a sense of the presence
of the old Company. While in the New World great changes
have taken place, and the visitor is struck -with the complete
departure from the low-ceiling store, with goods in disorder
and confusion, with natives smoking " kinni-kinnik " till the
atmosphere is opaque — all this to the palatial buildings with
the most perfect arrangements and greatest taste; yet in
London " the old order changeth " but slowly. It is true the
old building on Fenchurch Street, London, where " the old
Hady" was said by the Nor'-Westers to sit, was sold in 1859,
and the proceeds divided among the shareholders and officers
for four years thereafter. But the portraits of Prince Eupert;
Sir George Simpson, and the copy of the Company Charter

472 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
were transferred bodily to the directors' room in the building-
on Lime Street. The strong room contains the same rows of
minutes, the same dusty piles of documents, and the journals-
of bygone years, but the business of a vast region is still
managed there, and the old gentlemen who control the
Hudson's Bay Company affairs pass their dividends as com
fortably as in years gone by, with, in an occasional year, some
restless spirit stirring up the echoes, to be promptly repressed
and the current of events to go on as before.
Since 1871, however, it is easy to see that men of greater-
financial ability have been at the head of the councils of the
Hudson's Bay Company, recalling the palmy days of the first
operations of the Company. After five years' service. Sir
Edmund Head, the first governor under the new deed poll,
gave way, to be followed for a year by the distinguished
politician and statesman, the Earl of Kimberley. For five years-
thereafter. Sir Stafford Northcote, who held high government
office in the service of the Empire, occupied this position. He
was followed for six years by one who has since gained a very
high reputation for financial ability, the Et. Hon. G. J.
Goschen. Eden Colville, who seems to carry us back to-
the former generation — a man of brisk and alert mind, and
singularly free from the prejudices and immobility of
Governor Berens, the last of the barons of the old regime —
held office for three years after Mr. Goschen.
For the last ten years the veteran of kindly manner, warm
heart, and genial disposition. Lord Stratheona and Mount Eoyal,
has occupied this high place. The clerk, junior officer, and
chief factor of thirty hard years on the inhospitable shores of
Hudson Bay and Labrador, the commissioner who, as Donald
A. Smith, soothed the Eiel rebellion, and for years directed the
reorganization of the Company's affairs at Fort Garry and the
whole North-West, the daring speculator who took hold, with
his friends, of the Minnesota and Manitoba Eailway, and with
Midas touch turned the enterprise to gold, a projector and a
builder of the Canadian Pacific Eailway, the patron of art and
education, has worthily filled the office of Governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company, and -with much success reorganized
its administration and directed its affairs.

PRESENT STATUS OF THE COMPANY 473
The Company's operations are vaster than ever before. The
greatest mercantile enterprise of the Greater Canada west of
Lake Superior ; a strong land Company, still keeping up its
traditions and conducting a large trade in furs ; owning vessels
and transportation facilities ; able to take large contracts ;
exercising a fatherly care over the Indian tribes ; the helper
and assistant of the vast missionary organizations scattered
over Northern Canada, the Company since the transfer of
Eupert's Land to Canada has taken a new lease of life ; its
eye is not diin, nor its natural force abated.

CHAPTEE XLVII.
THE PUTUEE OF THE CANADIAN WEST.
The Greater Canada — Wide -wheat fields — Vast pasture lands —
Huronian mines — The Kootenay riches — Yukon nuggets —
Forests — Iron and coal — Fisheries — Two great cities — To-wns and
-viUages — Anglo-Saxon institutions — The great outlook.
In the year after Eupert's Land and the Indian territories were
transferred to Canada, it was the fortune of the writer to take
up his abode in Winnipeg, as the -village in the neighbourhood
of Port Garry was already called. The railway was in that
year still four hundred miles from Winnipeg. From the
terminus in Minnesota the stage coach drawn by four horses,
with relays every twenty miles, sped rapidly over prairies
smooth as a la-wn to the site of the future City of the Plains.
The fort was in its glory. Its stone walls, round bastions,
threatening pieces of artUlery and rows of port-holes, spoke of
a place of some strength, though even then a portion of stone
wall had been taken down to give easier access to the " Hudson's
Bay Store." It was still the seat of government, for the
Canadian Governor lived within its walls as the last Company
Governor, McTavish, had done. It was still the scene of gaiety,
as the better class of the old settlers united with the leaders
of the new Canadian society in social joys, under the hospitable
roof of Governor Archibald.
Since that time a generation has well nigh passed. The
stage coach, the Eed Eiver cart, and the shagganappe pony are
things of the past, and two railways with richly furnished
trains connect St. Paul and Minnesota with the City of
Winnipeg. More important still, the skill of the engineer has
blasted a way through the Archsean rocks to Fort WilUam,
Lake Superior, more direct than the old fur-traders' route ; the

THE FUTURE OF THE CANADIAN WEST 475
tremendous cliffs of the north shore of Lake Superior have
been levelled and the chasm bridged. To the west the prairies
Tiave been gridironed -with numerous lines of railway, the
enormous ascents of the four Eocky Mountain ranges rising a
mile above the sea level have been crossed, and the giddy heights
of the Fraser Eiver canon traversed. The iron band of the
Canadian Pacific Eailway, one of whose chief promoters was
Lord Stratheona and Mount Eoyal, the present Governor of
the Company, has joined ocean to ocean, and the City of
Winnipeg sees every day the Atlantic and Pacific expresses
hastening on their journeyings, connecting with lines of swift
ocean steamers, and carrying to and fro the commerce of the
Orient and Occident. It is said that Liverpool and Yokohama
are the termini of the Canadian Pacific Eailway.
A wonderful. transformation has taken place in the land since
the days of Sir George Simpson and his band of active chief
factors and traders. It is true, portions of the wide territory
reaching from Labrador to the Pacific Ocean will always be the
domain of the fur-trader. Hudson Bay and Labrador will
always remain inhospitable, though there are those who
maintain that the fisheries, mines, and even land of Hudson
Bay -will yet be developed and a new route from the prairies
to Great Britain opened up by a railway from York Factory
or Churchill to the interior, through what is now known as
the rocky region of Keewatin. The barren land running inland
from the Arctic Sea -will in certain districts remain for ever
useless. Mackenzie Eiver district is still the famous scene of
the fur trade, and may long continue so, though there is always
the possibility of any portion of the vast waste of the Far North
developing, as the Yukon territory has done, mineral wealth
rivalUng the famous sands of Pactolus or the riches of King
Solomon's Mines.
Under Canadian sway, law and order are preserved through
out this -wide domain, although the Hudson's Bay Company
officers stUl administer law and in many cases are magistrates
or officers for the government, recei-ving their commissions from
Ottawa. Peace and order prevail, the arm of the law has been
felt in Keewatin, the Mackenzie Eiver, and distant Yukon.
But it is to the fertile prairies of the West and valleys and

476 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
slopes of the Pacific Coast we look for the extension of the Greater
Canada. While the Hon. William McDougaU was arguing
the value of the prairie land of the West, his Canadian and other
opponents maintained ' ' that in the North-West the soil never
thawed out in summer, and that the potato or cabbage would
not mature." With this opinion many of the Hudson's Bay
Company officers agreed, though it is puzzling to the resident
of the prairie to-day to see how such honourable and observing
men could have made such statements. The fertile plains have
been divided into four sections, the Province of Manitoba and
the three wide territories of Assiniboia, Alberta, and Sas
katchewan, these being kno-wn as the North-West Territories.
Manitoba, which at the time of the closing of the Hudson's Bay
Company regime, numbered its twenty-five thousand people,
more than one half Indians and the remainder whites and half-
breeds, has multiplied ten times up to its present population,
estimated at a quarter of a million. The North-West Territories
are said to have ninety-five thousand inhabitants, and British
Columbia, including Indians, upwards of one hundred thousand \
making in all west of Lake Superior well nigh one half of a
million of people dwelling in the old land of the fur-traders.
The City of Winnipeg, which, when the -writer first saw the
hamlet bearing that name, had less than three hundred souls,
is estimated now at the end of the century to have a population
of from forty-five to fifty thousand. The Hudson's Bay Com
pany store was a low buUding, a wooden erection made of
lumber sa-wn by whip-saw or by some rude contriyance, having
what was known in the old Eed Eiver days as a "pa-viUon
roof." Its highly-coloured fabrics suited to the trade of the
country did not relieve its dingy interior. To-day the great
departmental stores and offices, built of dark red St. Louis
brick, speak of the enormous progress made in the de
velopment of the country. Every town upon the prairies
bears testimony, by its towering elevators, to the over
flowing abundance of what the old fur-traders contended
could not be produced, viz. agricultural products of every
kind characteristic of the north temperate zone. The returns
made by the Government show that Manitoba, -with a
population not exceeding a quarter of a million, and of these

THE FUTURE OF THE CANADIAN WEST 477
not more than twenty-five thousand being farmers, pro
duced in the last year of record sixty millions of bushels
of cereals, valued at, say, twenty-five millions of dollars.
Not less remarkable is the development of the North-
West territories. Assiniboia shows a remarkable production
of grains, and the Far West abounds in great herds of
cattle, exceeding in its ranching capabilities even many
parts of Marutoba.
British Columbia, including the New Caledonia, Kootenay
Country, and Vancouver Island of the fur-traders, is a land of
great resources. Its population has increased three times
over. Its great salmon fisheries, trade in timber, coal mines,
agricultural productiveness, and genial oUmate have long
made it a favourite dwelling-place for English-speaking
colonists. In late years much prominence has been given to this
pro-vdnce by the discovery of its mineral products. Gold,
silver, and lead mines in the Kootenay region, which was
discovered by old David Thompson, and in the Cariboo district,
have lately attracted many immigrants to British Columbia;
the adjoining territory of the Yukon, brought to the knowledge
of the world by Chief Factor Eobert Campbell, has surpassed
aU other parts of the fur-traders' land in rich productiveness,
although the region lying between the Lake of the Woods and
Lake Superior along the very route of the fur-traders, is
becoming famous by its production of gold, silver, and other
valuable metals.
Throughout the -wide West great deposits of coal and iron are
found, the basis of future manufactures, and in many districts
great forests to supply to the world material for increasing
development. What, then, is to be the future of this Canadian West ? The
possibilities are ilUmitable. The Anglo-Saxon race, with its
energy and pluck, has laid hold of the land so long shut in by
the wall built round it by the fur-traders. This race, -with its
dominating forcefulness, will absorb and harmonize elements
coming from all parts of the world to enjoy the fertile fields
and mineral treasures of a land whose laws are just, whose
educational policy is thorough and progressive, whose moral

478 THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
and religious aspirations are high and noble, and which gives
a hearty welcome to the industrious and deserving from aU
lands. Winnipeg, it is said, now ranks third in its commercial
standing, as represented by banking statistics, among the
cities of Canada, and will be one of her three great cities.
Those who are hopeful of its future, and who forecast
its position as the financial, commercial, educational, and
religious centre of the great prairie land, speak of it as the
Chicago of Western Canada.
On the shores of Burrard Inlet on the Pacific Ocean another
place of great importance is rising — ^Vancouver City, the
terminus of the Canadian Pacific Eailway. Victoria, begun,
as we have seen, by Chief Factor Douglas as the chief fort
along the Pacific Coast, long held its own as the commercial
as well as the political capital of British Columbia, but in the
meantime Vancouver has surpassed it in population, if not in
influence. All goes to show that the Hudson's Bay Company was
preserving for the generations to come a most valuable heritage.
The leaders of opinion in Canada have frequently, withui the
last five years of the century, expressed their opinion that the
second generation of the twentieth century may see a larger
Canadian population to the West of Lake Superior than will
be found in the provinces of the East. William CuUen Bryant's
lines, spoken of other prairies, wUl surely come true of the wide
Canadian plains : — " I listen long
.... and think I hear
The sound of that advancing multitude
Which soon shaU fill these deserts. From the ground
Comes up the laugh of chUdren, the soft voice
Of maidens, and the s-weet and solemn hymn
Of Sabbath -worshippers. The low of herds
Blends with the rustling of the heavy grain
Over the dark brown furrows."
The French explorers are a reminiscence of a century and a
half ago ; the lords of the lakes and forests, with aU their -wild
energy, are gone for ever ; the Astorians are no more ; no
longer do the French Canadian voyageurs make the rivers

*#*;--;-

^ PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, VICTORIA, B.C.
With Statue of Capt. George Vancouver above ; figures of Sir James Douglas and Chief Justice Begbie in niches •
and the obeUslj of Sir James Douglas, erected by the people of British Columbia.

[Page 478.

THE FUTURE OF THE CANADIAN WEST 479
TOcal with their chansons ; the pomp and circumstance of
the emperor of the fur-traders has been resolved into the
ordinary forms of commercial life ; and the rude barter of the
early trader has passed into the fulfilment of the poet's dream,
of the " argosies of magic saUs," and the " costly bales "
of an increasing commerce. The Hudson's Bay Company
stUl lives and takes its new place as one of the potent forces.
of the Canadian West.

APPENDIX A.
AUTHOEITIES AND EBFEEENCES.
(Chapters I.— VI.)
Voyages among the North American Indians, 1652-84
(Prince Society).
Histoire de I'Amerique Septentrionale, 1772, by M. Bacque
ville de la Potherie.
M. Jeremie.
The British Empire in America, 2 vols. London, 1708. Anon.
(John Oldmixon.)
Minutes and Stock Book of Hudson's Bay Company, Hudson's
Bay Company House, Lime Street, London.
Imperial (Hudson's Bay Company) Blue Book, 1749.
Memo, of Chief Justice Draper. Imperial Blue Book, 1857.
Imperial Hudson's Bay Company Blue Book, 1857. Appen
dix 9.
Stock Book of Hudson's Bay Company Offices, Lime Street,
London.
Documents, &c., on Boundaries. (Ottawa, 1871.) Hudson's
Bay Company Statement of Eights, 1850.
Documents, &c., on Boundaries. (Ottawa, 1871.)
Documents of Early French Settlements.
The materials for Chapters III. and IV. are almost exclusively
obtained from the unpubUshed minutes of the Company,
1671-1690, at Hudson's Bay Company House, Lime Street,
London.
The material of Chapter V. is largely from the minutes
and letter-books of the Company at the Hudson's Bay
Company's House, Lime Street, London. The complete
story of Eadisson's life is now for the first time given
to the world by the Author.
Instructions to Sieur de Troyes. Documents, &c. Ottawa,
1871.
N.Y. Hist. Collection. Vol. IX., p. 67.
Massachusetts Archives, Boston. French Documents.
Hist, de la NouveUe Prance, par Marc L'Escarbot (1618).
Minutes of Hudson's Bay Company, Lime Street, London. I i

482 APPENDIX A.
Bacqueville de la Potherie. Histoire de I'Amerique Septen
trionale.
Histoire du Canada, par P. X. Garneau.
Letter-books of Hudson's Bay Company, Lime Street, London.
(Chapters VIL— X.)
Extracts from Treaty of Eyswick in Documents on Boundary.
Ottawa, 1873.
Minutes and Letter-book of Hudson's Bay Company. (London.)
Extracts from Treaty of Utrecht, in Documents, &c., on
Boundary. (Ottawa), 1873.
Letter-books of Hudson's Bay Company. (London.)
Account of the countries adjoining Hudson Bay, by Arthur
Dobbs, Esq. London, 1744.
Discovery of the N.-W. Passage. (Several authors. Ottawa
Parliamentary Library.)
Middleton. Eeply to Arthur Dobbs, 1744.
John Barrow — Voyages.
A voyage to Hudson Bay by the Dobbs galley and California,
by Henry EUis, Gentleman. London, 1748.
Six Years' Eesidence in Hudson Bay, by Joseph Eobson, late
Surveyor, &c. London, 1769.
Imperial Blue Book of Imperial Parliament relating to
Hudson's Bay Company. 1749.
N. Y. Hist. CoU., Vol. IX. pp. 205, 209.
Archives de Paris, 2nd series, vol. IV. p. 263.
Canadian Archives. Ottawa.
Manuscripts Canadian Pari. Lib. (Ottawa. Third series,
vol. 6).
Pierre Margry in Paris, Moniteur of 1852.
Journal of Verandrye, (original) 1738, Canadian Archives.
(Ottawa.)
De Bougainville's Memoir, given in Pierre Margry's Eelations,
&c. (Paris), 1867.
"Memoirs and Documents, &c." from Library, Paris. Five
Volumes by Pierre Margry.

(Chapters XL— XIII.)
Canadiens de I'Ouest. Joseph Tasse, 2 vols. (Montreal),
1878.
Papers of Governor Haldimand. Canadian Archives.
(Ottawa.)
Astoria. Washington Irving.
Sketches of N. W. of America. Bishop Tach6. (Montreal.)
1870.

APPENDIX A. 483
Travels and Adventures, &c., between 1760-1766. Alex. Henry,
Senr., 1809.
Alexander Mackenzie's Voyages. London, 1801.
Memorial of North-West Traders. Canadian Archives.
(Ottawa.) (Original.)
Les Bourgeois du Nord-Ouest, par L. E. Masson. 2 vols.,
Quebec, 1889-90.
A Journey from Prince of Wales Fort, in Hudson Bay, to the
Northern Ocean, by Samuel Hearne. 4to. London :
Strahan and Cadell, 1795.
Voyage de la Perouse autour du Monde. 4 vols. 8vo.
Paris, 1798.
The Present State of Hudson Bay, by Edward Umfreville.
Charles Stalker. London, 1796.
Observations on Hudson Bay, by Andrew Graham, Factor.
Presented to James Fitzgerald, (Manuscript, 1771.)
Hudson's Bay Company House, London.
(Chapters XIV.— XXII.)
Voyages of Alexander Mackenzie. (History of Fur Trade.)
London, 1801. 8vo.
Haldimand Papers Archives Dept. Ottawa. (Unpublished.)
Umfreville. (Supra.)
Masson's Bourgeois du Nord-Ouest. (Supra.)
Journal of Alexander Henry. Manuscript. (Ottawa Library.)
Journals- of Alexander Henry and of David Thompson, by
EUiott Coues. 3 vols. P. P. Harper. New York, 1897.
The Columbia Eiver, by Eoss Cox. 2 vols. London. H.
Colbren and N. Bentley, 1832.
Simon Praser's Journal, 1808. Masson. (Supra.)
Voyage, 1811-14, by Gabriel Pranchere. (Translation, New
York, 1854.)
Eoderick McKenzie's Eeminiscences. Masson. (Supra.)
James McKenzie. George Keith. John McDonald of Garth.
Masson. (Supra.)
Journal, 1820, by Daniel Harmon. Andover.
Letters of John Pritchard. Edited by Writer, published in
Winnipeg.
Charles McKenzie's Journeys. Masson. (Supra.)
Malhiot's Journeys. Masson. (Supra.)
Trader John Johnston, of Sault Ste. Marie. Masson. (Supra.)
Duncan Cameron and Peter Grant. (Masson.)
Astoria, by Washington Irving.
Eoss Cox. (Supra.)
The Columbia Eiver, by Alex. Eoss, 1849.
Journal of Gabriel Pranchfere. (Supra.)

484 APPENDIX A.
(Chapters XXIIL— XXVIII.)
{Selkirk Literature.)
Highland Emigration, by Lord Selkirk (1805).
Highland Clearances. Pamphlets, Advocates' Library, Edin
burgh.
Eed Eiver Settlement, by Alex. Eoss. London : Smith, Elder,
& Co.
Narrative of Destruction, &c. Archibald Macdonald, London,
1816.
Narrative of Occurrences in N.A. Anon., London, 1817.
Lord Selkirk's Settlement in N.A. Anon., London, 1817.
Blue-book on Eed Eiver Settlement of Imperial House of
Commons, 1819.
Eeport of Canadian Trials, &c. A. Amos, London, 1820.
Do. Do. Anon., Montreal.
Memorial to Duke of Eichmond. Earl of Selkirk, Montreal.
Canadiens de I'Ouest, by Joseph Tasse.
Diary of John McLeod, in Prov. Library, Winnipeg. (Un
published.)
Manitoba, by the Writer. London, 1882.

(Chapters XXIX.— XXXI.)
Minutes of Council Meetings in Norway House, in Hudson's
Bay House, London, and in Toronto. (UnpubUshed.)
Journey Bound the World, by Governor Simpson, 1847.
" Peace Eiver," by Archibald Macdonald. Annotated by
Malcolm McLeod, Ottawa.
Peter Pidler's Will. Copy in possession of Writer.
Hudson's Bay Company Land Tenures, by Mr. Justice Martin,
Victoria, B.C.
Journal of John McLeod. Pari. Library, Winnipeg. (Supra.)
Wentzel's Journal. F. Masson. (Supra.)
Journal of John Finlay. Manuscript, unpublished, property
of Chief Factor MacDougall, Prince Albert, N.-W.T.
Collection of 100 letters from many fur traders to Chief Factor
James Hargrave. Curwen, Edinburgh. (UnpubUshed.)
The Shoe and Canoe. London, 1850. Dr. J. Bigsby.
Gabriel Pranchfere. (Supra.)
Picturesque Canada. Toronto.
Collection of letters in possession of Judge Ermatinger, St.
Thomas, Ont.
Letter of Judge Steere. Sault Ste. Marie.
Songs of Dominion, by W. D. Lighthall. London, 1889.

APPENDIX A. 485
(Chapters XXXII.— XXXVI.)
Journey to Polar Sea, 1819-22, by John Franklin.. London,
1823.
Second Journey, 1825-7. London, 1823.
Arctic Expedition, 1829, by John and James Eoss.
Arctic Land Expedition, by George Back, 1836.
Arctic Searching Expedition. 2 vols., 1851.
Expedition to Shores of Arctic Sea, by John Eae, 1850.
Arctic Voyages (several authors, Pari. Library, Ottawa).
Travels, by Lewis and Clark, 3 vols. London, 1815.
Travels on the Western Territories, 1805-7, by Zebulon M.
Pike.
Keating (and Long)'s Expedition, 2 vols., 1825.
J. C. Beltrami. Pilgrimage of discovery of Sources of Missis
sippi. London, 1828.
Brewer (Cass and Schoolcraft), Sources of the Mississippi,
published by Minn. Historical Society.
J. H. Lefroy. Magnetic Survey.
Journal of Explorations, by Palliser (and Hector). London,
1863.
Narrative of the Canadian Exploring Expedition, by Hind (and
Dawson), 2 vols., 1860.
The North-West Passage by Land, by Milton and Cheadle.
London, 1865.
Ocean to Ocean, by G. M. Grant, 1873.
Eed Eiver, by Alex. Eoss. London, 1856.
Captain Bulger's letters, published for private circulation,
1823.
Notes of the Flood of Eed Eiver of 1852, by Bishop Anderson.
Eed Eiver. J. J. Hargrave, Montreal, 1871.
Parchment Eoll, property of late George McTavish, Winnipeg.
Journal of the Eed Eiver Country, by the Eev. John West.
London, 1824. (Chapters XXXVII., XXXVIII.)
Hudson Bay, by E. M. Ballantyne. London, 1848.
Dr. Eae. (Supra.)
Notes of 25 Years of Service, by John McLean, 2 vols.
London, 1849.
Ungava Bay, by E. M. BaUantyne. London, 1871.
Explorations in Labrador, by H. Y. Hind, 1863.
Mora-vian Missions.
The important Chapter XXXVIII. was largely prepared by a
Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, who had long
served on the Mackenzie Eiver.

486 APPENDIX A.
Chief Factor Campbell's discoveries were chiefly obtained from
a Journal of that officer now in the hands of his son at
Norway House. (Chapters XXXIX.— XLVII.)
Bancroft's North-West Coast, 2 vols. San Francisco, 1884.
,, History of British Columbia, 1890.
Begg's History of British Columbia.
Journal of Trader Ermatinger, property of Judge Ermatinger,
St. Thomas, Ont.
Chinook Jargon, by Horatio Hall. London, 1890.
Todd, collection of letters belonging to Judge Ermatinger.
(Supra.)
Coues, Alex. Henry. (Supra.)
Miles Macdonell's letters. Archives vol. Ottawa.
Vingt Annees de Missions, &c., by Bishop Tache, 1888.
Eainbow of the North, by A.L.O.E. (Miss Tucker).
Notes by Eev. John West. (Supra.)
Eed Eiver, by Hargrave. (Supra.)
Journey of Bishop of Montreal, 1844. Pub. 1849.
Eed Eiver Settlement, by Alex. Eoss. (Supra.)
John Black, Apostle of Eed Eiver, by the Writer, 1898.
Hudson Bay, by Eev. John Eyerson. Toronto, 1855.
James Evans. Wm. Briggs, Toronto.
Cree Syllabic.
History of British Columbia. (Supra.)
Hudson's Bay Territories, &c., by E. M. Fitzgerald and
Martin. London, 1849.
Indian Tribes. " Canada." — An Encyclopedia. Article by
Writer.
Bancroft's Tribes of the Pacific Coast.
Imperial Government Blue-books, 1849-51.
History of Manitoba, by Donald Gunn. Ottawa, 1880.
Imperial Blue-book of 1857.
Canada and the States, by Sir E. W. Watkin, London.
Blue-books of Canada.
Ermatinger letters. (Supra.)
Begg's Creation of Manitoba. Toronto, 1871.
Eeport of Donald A. Smith. Canadian Blue-book of 1871.
Boulton's Eeminiscences of the North-West Eebellion, by
Major Boulton, 1886.
Eed Eiver Troubles. Eeport of Canadian House of Commons.
Facts and figures, from Hudson's Bay Company Offices.

APPENDIX B.

SUMMAEY OF LIFE OP PIEEEE ESPEIT EADISSON.
A. Eabliee Life and Voyages (1636 — ^1663).
I. Birth and Immigration.
Pierre Esprit Eadisson, born in Paris (afterwards
lived at St. Malo)  1636
(Though some claim that he was born in 1620,
this is incorrect, for in his petition read in the
House of Commons, London, March 11th, 1698,
he states that he is sixty-two years of age.)
Arrived with his father's family in Canada, May . 1651
(Settled at Three Eivers.)
II. Western Voyages.
First voyage to the Iroquois country .... 1652
(Captured by the Iroquois.)
Escaped and fled to Holland . . . 1653
Eeturned to Canada .... . . 1654
Second voyage to Onondaga  1667
Third voyage, visited Sioux and Assiniboines through
the Mississippi country  1668-60
Eeturned to Montreal with 500 Indians . . 1660
Fourth voyage, to region north of Lake Superior . 1661
Held great council with the Indians .... 1662
Leaves the country of the Crees and returns to
Montreal  1663
III. In English Service.
Quarrels with French Governor. Goes to Boston from
Quebec  1664
Crosses to England .... . . 1665
Vessel engaged to go to Hudson Bay delayed . . 1666
Disturbed condition of England causes further delay . 1667
Eaglet, on which Eadisson embarked, did not reach
Hudson Bay; Nonsuch, -with GroseiUiers on
board, did  1668

488 APPENDIX B.
Nonsuch returns to England ..... 1669
Hudson's Bay Company chartered through assistance
of Groseilliers and Eadisson .... 1670
Eadisson first -visits Hudson Bay .... 1670
Eadisson returns and winters in London . . . 1671
Eadisson, with Captain GiUam, goes to Hudson Bay . 1672
Eeturns to London and winters there . . . 1673
IV. Enters French Service,
Eadisson and GroseilUers desert England for Prance,
October  1674
Eadisson goes on expedition to the Antilles
Crosses under French auspices to Canada . . . 1681
Goes to Hudson Bay on Erench ship .... 1682
Winters in Hudson Bay, captures Gillam's ship, and
returns to Canada ...... 1683
Crosses to France, and undertakes new expedition to
Hudson Bay .  1684
V. Deserts France and returns to England.
Eadisson joins English, and goes immediately to
Hudson Bay, May 12th  1684
Seizes 20,000 furs from French and comes to London 1684
Sails again to Hudson Bay ..... 1685
VI. Further History.
Made a denizen of England  1687
SaUs for Hudson Bay  1688
Eeeeives share of the great di-vidend . . . 1690
Sir John Young applies for increase of Eadisson's
allowance  1692
Eadisson files a biU in Chancery against Company . 1694
,, petitions Parliament for consideration . . 1698
,, applies to Company for position . . . 1700
,, receives last allowance from Company (pro
bably his death)  1710

APPENDIX C.

List of Hudson's Bay Company Posts in 1856, with the
seveeal Distbicts and the Numbeb op Indians in each.

Athaiasca District
(1550)—
Fort Chipewyan.
Dunvegan.Termilion. Fond du Lao.
Mackenzie Biver District
(10,430) —
Fort Simpson.
Fort au Liard.
Fort Halkett.
Yukon. Peel's Eiver.
Lapierre's House.
Fort Good Hope.
Fort Eae.
Fort Resolution.
Big Island.
Fort Norman.
English Biver District
(1370)—
He k la Crosse.
Eapid Eiver.
Grreen Lake.
Deer's Lake.
Portage la Loche.
Saskatchewa/n District
(28,050)—
Edmonton. Carlton.
Fort Pitt.
Eocky Mount House.
Lao la Biche.
Lesser Slave Lake.
Fort Assiniboine.
Jasper's House.
Fort h, la Corne.
Ouniberland District
(750)-
Cumberland House.
Moose Lake.
The Pas.
Swan Biver District
(2200)—
Fort Pelly.

Fort EUioe.
Qu'Appelle Lakes.
Shoal Eiver.
Touch-vTood Hills.
Egg Lake.
Bed River District (8250,
including half-
breeds and
-whites) —
Fort Garry.
Lo-vrer Fort Garry.
White House Plain.
Pembina.Manitoba. Reed Lake.
Lac to Fluie District
(2850)—
Fort Frances.
Fort Alexander.
Eat Portage.
White Dog.
Lao du Bonnet.
Lao de Boisblanc.
Shoal Lake.
Norway Souse District
(1080)—
Nor-way House.
Berens Eiver.
Nelson Eiver.
Torh District (1500)—
York Factory.
Churchill.Severn.
Trout Lake.
Oxford House.
Albany District (1100)—
Albany Factory.
Marten's Falls.
Osnaburg.
Lac Seul.
Kinogumissee District
(400)—
Meta-wagamingue .
Kuckatoosh.

Lake Superior District
(1330)—
Michipicoten.Batohewana.Mamainse.Pic.Long Lake.
Lake Nipigon.
Fort William.
Pigeon Eiver.
Lao d'Orignal.
Lake Huron Dist/rict
(1100)—
Lacloche.Little Current.

Green Lake.
Whitefish Lake.
Sault Ste. Ma/rie District
(150)-
Sa-ult Ste. Marie.
Moose District (730) —
Moose Factory.
Hannah Bay.
Abitibi. New Brunswick.
East Main District
(700)—
Great Whale Eiver.
Little Whale Eiver.
Fort George.
Bupert's Biver District
(985)—
Eupert's House.
Mistasiui. Teniskamay.
Wos-wonaby. Mechiskan. Pike Lake.
Nitohequou. Kauiapisoo-w.
Temiscam,ingue District
(1030)—
Temisoamingne House.

49°

APPENDIX C.

Grand Lao.

gmo.
Lake Nipissing.
Hunter's Lodge.
Temagamingue.
Fort Coulonge District
(375)-
Lac des Allumettes.
Joachin.Mata-wa.
Lac des Sables Dist/rict
(150)-
Buckingham. Eivifere Desert.
Lachine District —
Lachine House.
St. Maurice District
(280)—
Three Rivers.
Weymontaohingue. Kikandatch.
King's Posts District
(1100)—
Tadousac. Chicoutime.Lake St. John's.
He Jeremie.
Godbout.
Seven Islands.
Mingan District (700) —
Mingan.Musquarro.Natosquan.
Esquimaux Bay District
(500)—
North-West Eiver.

Fort Nascopie.
Eigolette.
Kikokok.
Columbia District
(2200)—
Fort Vancouver.
Umpqua. Cape Disappoint
ment.
Chinook Point.
Carveemau.Champoeg.
Nisqually. Co-welitz.
Colville District
(2500)—
Fort Colville.
Pend Oreilles Eiver.
Flat Heads.
Kootenay.Okanagan.
Snahe Country District
(700)-
Walla Walla.
Fort Hall.
Fort Boise.
Vancouver Island District
(12,000)—
Fort Victoria.
Fort Rupert.
Nanaimo.
Fraser Biver District
(4000)—
Fort Langley.

N.W. Coast District
(45,000)—
Fort Simpson.
Thomson Biver District
(2000)—
Kamloops.Fort Hope.
New Caledonia District
(12,000)—
Stuart Lake.
McLeod's Lake.
Fraser's Lake.
Alexandria. Fort George.
Babines.
ConoUy's Lake.
Honolulu (Sandwich Isles).
Total 34 Districts : —
Indians . 149,060
Not enumer
ated . . 6,000
Eskimos 4,000

Total . 159,060
Less whites
andhalf- breeds . 10,000

149,060

In all under Hud
son's Bay Com
pany rule, about
150,000.

APPENDIX D.
List of Chief Factoes in the Hudson's Bay Company
Seevice feom the Coalition op 1821 to the Yeae 1896.

Note.— Under the Deed PoUs of 1821, 1834, and 1871,
there were 263 commissioned officers, and it is estimated that
their nationalities were as follows : —
French Canadian ....
Irish . . . .
English . ...
Scotch . . . .
Total .

1821.
Thomas Vincent.
John MacDonald.
John Thompson.
James Bird.
James Leith.
John Haldane.
Colin Eobertson.
Alexander Stewart.
James Sutherland.
John George McTavish.
John Clarke.
George Keith.
John Dugald Cameron.
John Charles.
John Stuart.
Alexander Kennedy.
Edward Smith.
John M'Loughlin.
John Davis.
James Keith.
Joseph Beioly.
Angus Bethune.
Donald McKenzie.
Alexander Christie.
John MoBean. 1823.
William Mcintosh.

1825.
WiUiam Connolly.
John Eowand. 1827.
James McMillan. 1828.
Allan McDonnell.
John Lee Lewis.
Peter Warren Dease,
1830.
Eoderick McKenzie,
Senr. 1832.
Duncan Finlayson. 1834.
Peter S. Ogden. 1836.
John P. Pruden.
Alex. McLeod. 1838.
John Faries.
Angus Cameron.
Samuel Black. 1840.
James Douglas.
Donald Eoss.

1842.
Archibald McDonald.
1844.
Eobert S. Miles.
James Hargrave. 1845.
Niool Finlayson. 1846.
John E. Harriott.
John Work.
John Sieveright. 1847.
Murdo McPherson.
George Barnston. 1848.
John Ballenden. 1850.
John Rae.
William Sinclair. 1851,
Hector McKenzie.
William McTavish.
Dugald McTavish.

492

APPENDIX D.

1854.
Edward H. Hopkins.
John Swanston.
John McKenzie. 1855.
James Anderson. (A).
1856.
William McNeill.
William F. Tolmie.
1859.
James Anderson. (B).
Eoderick Finlayson.
1860.
William J. Christie.
Charles Dodd. 1861.
John M. Simpson.
James A. Grahame.
1862.
James R. Clare.
Wemyss M. Simpson.
Donald A. Smith.
1864.
James S. Clouston.
Joseph Gladman. 1866.
William MoMnrray. 1867.
Robert Campbell.
Robert Hamilton.

1868.
William L. Hardisty.
Joseph W. Wilson.
1869.
James G. Stewart.
1872.
James Bissett.
George S. McTavish.
Eichard Hardisty. 1873.
Eobert Cra-wford (Fac
tor).
WiUiam H. Watt (Fac
tor).
John Maclntyre (Fac
tor). 1874.
William Charles.
John H. McTavish.
Alexander Munro.
1875.
La-wrence Clarke.
R. MaoFarlane.
Eoderick Eoss (Factor).
1879.
Peter Warren Bell.
Joseph Fortescue. 1879.
Colin Eankin.
Archibald McDonald.
Samuel K. Parson.

James H. Lawson (Fac
tor).
Ewen Macdonald (Fac
tor).
Joseph J. Hargrave
(Chief Trader).1883.
James L. Cotter.
1884.
Julian S. Camsell.
1885.
Horace Belanger. 1886.
William H. Adams
(Factor). 1887.
James McDougaU. 1888.
Peter McKenzie.
E. K. Beeston (Chief
Trader). 1892.
William Clark.
W. S. Becher (Chief
Trader). 1893.
William K. Broughton.
1896.
Alexander Matheson
(Factor).

APPENDIX E.
EUSSIAN AMEEICA (ALASKA).
In 1825 Great Britain made a treaty -with Eussia as to the
north-west coast of America. The boundary line that has
since been a subject of much dispute with the United States,
which bought out the rights of Eussia, was thus laid down in
the Treaty : —
III. " The line of demarcation between the possessions of
the high contracting parties, upon the coast of the Continent
and the islands of America to the north-west, shall be drawn
in the manner foUowing : — Commencing from the southern
most point of the island called Prince of Wales's Island, which
point Ues in the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, north
latitude, and between the 131st and 133rd degree of west
longitude (meridian of Green-wich) ; the said line shall ascend
to the north along the channel called Portland Channel, as far
as the point of the Continent where it strikes the 56th degree
of north latitude ; from this last-mentioned point the line of
demarcation shall foUow the summits of the mountains
situated parallel to the coast, as far as the point of intersection
of the 141st degree of west longitude (of the same meridian) ;
and finally, from the said point of intersection, the said
meridian line of the 141st degree in its prolongation as far as
the Frozen Ocean, shall form the limit between the Eussian
and British possessions on the Continent of America to the
north-west. IV. " With reference to the line of demarcation laid down
in the preceding article, it is understood : —
1st. " That the island called Prince of Wales's Island shall
belong wholly to Eussia.
2nd. " That wherever the summit of the mountains which
extend in a direction parallel to the coast, from the 56th
degree of north latitude to the point of intersection of the
141st degree of west longitude, shall prove to be at the
distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the
Umit between the British possessions and the line of coast
which is to belong to Eussia, as above mentioned, shaU be
formed by a Une paraUel to the windings of the coast, and

494 APPENDIX E.
which shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues
therefrom." The Hudson's Bay Company, in the year following the
Treaty, pushed their posts to the interior, and obtained a hold
on the Indians from the coast inward. Making use of their
privilege of ascending the river from the coast, they under
took to erect a post upon one of these rivers. This led the
Eussian American Pur Company to make a vigorous protest,
and a long correspondence ensued on the matter. At length,
in 1839, the Hudson's Bay Company, chiefly in order to gain
access to their Indians of the interior, leased the strip of
coast territory from Fort Simpson to Cross Sound for a period
of ten years. The following is an extract from the agreement
made February 6th, 1839, between the Hudson's Bay and
Eussian American Fur Companies : —
" The Eussian Fur Company cede to the Hudson's Bay
Company for a period of ten years, commencing June 1st,
1840, the coast (exclusive of the islands) and the interior
country situated between Cape Spencer and latitude 54° 40'
or thereabouts for an annual rental of two thousand seasoned
otters. " The Hudson's Bay Company agree to sell to the Eussian
Fur Company 2000 otters taken on the west side of the
mountains at the price of 23s. sterling per skin, and 3000
seasoned otters taken on the east side of the Eocky Mountains
at 32s. sterling per skin. The Hudson's Bay Company agree
to sell to the Eussian Fur Company 2000 Ferragoes (120 lbs.
each) of wheat annually for a term of ten years, at the price
of 10s. 9d. sterling per ferrago, also flour, peas, barley, salted
beef, butter, and pork hams at fixed prices, under certain pro
visions. " The Hudson's Bay Company relinquish the claim preferred
by them for damages sustained by them, arising from the
obstruction presented by the Eussian authorities to an exhibi
tion fitted out by the Hudson's Bay Company for entering the
Stikine Eiver."
The agreement was continued after the expiration of ten
years, but the rental fine changed from a supply of otters to a
money payment of 1500Z. a year. The Hudson's Bay Com
pany, as we have seen, pushed their posts down the Yukon
Eiver, and only withdrew them after Alaska, in 1867, passed
into the possession of the United States. An officer of the
Hudson's Bay Company, James McDougaU, at present a chief
factor of the Company, was the last in command of the Com
pany posts in Alaska, and performed the duty of withdrawing
them.

APPENDIX F.
THE CEEE SYLLABIC CHAEACTEES.

I. INITIALS

OE PEIMALS.

V

A
[>
<]
a
e
6
a
II.
SYLLABIC S.
V
A
>
<
pa
pe
po
pa
U
n
)
C
ta
te
to
ta
n
r
J
L
cha
che
cho
cha
q
P
6
b
ka
ke
ko
ka
~1
r
J
L
ma
me
mo
ma
-D
a-
.£>
Q.
na
ne
no
na
^
t'
A
^
sa
se
so
sa
^
i^
-c"
b-
ya
ye
ya
ya
III. FINALS
OE TEEMINALS.
c =
m
\
= k
. = w
3 =
n
1
= P
I = r
r\ 
s
/
= t
S = l
~ =
h
II
= aspirate
= Christ
o = OW
EXAMPLES OF WOED POEMATION.
Lo-c = ma-ne-to := spirit.
o-A = ne-pe = water.
>rr = o-me-me = the pigeon.
r"cn' = me-s-ta-te-m = horse (big dog).
(tA» = ne-pa-n = summer.
r-dV* = ka-na-pa-k ^ a snake.
APPENDIX G.
Key to Plate, facing page 442.

6th how
(standing)

B. K. Beeston,
Jr. Chief Trader.

W.

H. Adama,
Factor,

Murdoch Matheson,
Jr. Chief Trader.

Ith row

W. J. McLean,
Chief Trader.

Dr. W. M. McKay,
Chief Trader.

Holiert CampbeU, Wm. Clark,
Ex-Chief Factor. Factor
(now Chief Factor).

•las. MoDougall,
Factor
(now Chief Factor).

Arch. McDonald,
Chief Factor.

Alex. E. Lillie,
Fx-Chief Trader.

3ed EOW
(atandinff)

Cuthbert Sinclair,
Jr. Chief Trader.

Jaa. Anderson,
Jr. Cliief Trader.

Colin Rankin,
Chief Factor.

Saml. K. Paraon,
Chief Factor.

Peter Bell,
Chief Factor.

Rodk. Macfarlane,
Chief Factor.

Jas. L. La-WKon,
Factor.

W. F. Galrd .
Jr. Chief Tram

2nd row
(sitting)

Alex. Matheson,
Chief Trader
(now Factor).

Alex. Munro. Thos. Smith, Richard Hardisty, Laurence Clarke,
Chief Factor. Asmt.-Commissioner. Chief Factor. Chief Factor.
Commissioner Horace Belanger,
Joseph Wrigley. Chief Factor.

1st EOW
(Bittinff)

David Armit,
Jr. Chief Trader.

S. S. Camsell,
Chief Factor.

Joseph Fortescue,
Chief Factor.

James L. Cotter,
Chief Factor.

James Alexander,
Chief Factor.

Commissioned Officers of H.B. Co. at Winnipeg Council, 1887.

INDEX

" A. LA claire fontaine," 306.
Albemarle, Duke of, 9.
•' Alouette," 312.
Alliance, The Grand, 56.
Allumette, 307.
American Fur Company, 329.
Anderson, A. C, 414.
Arlington, Earl of, 9.
Astor, John Jacob, 192.
Astoria founded, 196.
Assiniboia, Council of, 354.
Assiniboine Indians, 87, 482.
,, Wool Company, 351.
Athabasca, First Traders of, 97.
,, Lake and River, 883.
Back, Sir George, 317.
Beaver Club, 190.
Beaver, Ship, 200.
Beaulieu, Fran9ois, 127.
Beltrami, J. C. (Explorer), 380.
,, Work of, 331.
Black, Eev. John, Pioneer, 423.
,, Judge, 442.
,, Samuel, Trader, 402.
Blackfeet Indians, 432.
Blanshard, Governor, 414.
Bois-brAles turbulence, 219.
Boothia, Felix, Discovery of, 315.
Boulton, Major, 467.
Bourbon, Fort, 50, 52.
Bourdon, Jean, 49.
Bourke, Father, 417.
Brandon House, 112.
Brymner, Douglas, Archivist, 86.
BufEalo Wool Company, 350.
,, hunting, 365.
Bulger, Governor, 348.
Butler, Capt. W. F., 343.
Button, Sir Thomas, 48.
Cadieux's lament, 308.
Cadot, J. Baptiste, 91.
Caldvyell, Major, 440.

California, Ship, 67.
Calumet, 307.
Campbellj Eobert, 393 et seq.
Cameron, Duncan, 181-184, 219, 263.
,, Murdoch, Fur Trader, 323.
Canada Company, 2.
Canadian Boat Song, 305.
Canoe voyage by Gov. Simpson, 273-
275.
Cart and Cayuse, 361.
Cart trails, 362.
Carver, Jonathan, 193.
Cass, Lewis, Explorer, 331.
Cauchon, Joseph, Memo, of, 447.
Cavalcade, The hunting, 366.
Charter, H. B. C, 18 et seq.
Charters, Royal, 12.
Charles, Fort, 11.
Chilkats, The, 394.
Chimo, Fort, 877.
Chinook jargon, 409.
Chipewyan, Fort, 124, 126, 384.
,, Tribe, 482.
Chipman, C. C, 470.
Christie, Governor, 354.
Christinos (Kris), 5, 6.
Christy, Miller, 7.
Churchill, Lord, Governor, 30.
,, )i in Tower, 31.
Church Societies on Eed River, 422.
Cochrane, Archdeacon, 299, 420.
Colbert, M., 49.
CoUeton, Sir Peter, 9.
Coltman, W. B., Commissioner,
252-4.
Columbia, British, of to-day, 477.
Colville, Gov. Eden, 423.
Committee of 1857, 446.
Company, The Northern, 50.
Connolly, Trader, 400.
Coppermine Eiver discovered, 104.
Councils of Traders, 271.
Couture, William, 49.
Cox, Ross, 200.
K k

498

INDEX

Craven, Earl of, 9.
Cree syllabic, 424.
Cridge, Bishop, 426.
Crofton, Col., 439.
Crosby and Evans, Eevs., 426.
Cumberland, first house built, 97.
Curry, Thomas, 93.
Daeb, Fort, 212, 225.
Dallas, Gov. A. J., 449.
Da-wson, S. J., surveyor, 340.
,, Eoad, 841.
Dease Lake, 893.
, , and Simpson, Arctic Explorers,
318.
Deed Polls, Old and new, 452.
D'lberville, 52, 53.
,, Victory of, 53.
Demers, Bishop, 426.
De Meurons, 239.
Denonville, Marquis de, 47.
De Witt, Dutch Ambassador, 8.
Dickson, Eobert, Free Trader, 327.
Dionne, Dr. N. B., 88.
Dividends, Company, 24.
Dobbs, Arthur, 62.
Dohhs, Galley, 67.
Douglas, Fort, 224, 226.
„ Sir James, 897.
„ David, botanist, 403.
Draper, Chief Justice, 446.
Duluth, Greysolon, 79.
Duncan of Meltakahtla, 426.
Eaglet, Ship, 10.
Elgin, Lord, 439.
EUioe, Hon. Edward, 268.
ElUs, Henry, 68.
Enterprise, Port, 388.
Ermatinger, Miss, 309.
,, Family, 309, 310.
„ Traders, 410.
,, Francis, 411.
,, Edward, 410, 454.
Eskimos, 433.
Evans, Eev. James, 424.
Falcon, Pierre, 235.
,, (Song of Triumph), 235.
„ Translation, 286.
Sketch of, 266.
Faribault, J. B., 326.
Fidler, Peter, Sketch of, 282.
„ Will of, 284.
Finlay John, Journal of, 291-294.
Finlay, James, 93.
Finlayson, Gov. D., 355.
„ Eoderick, 408.

Fleming and Grant, Expedition of,
344.
Flax and Hemp Co., 351.
Flood, Red River, 351.
Fort William built, 155.
,, ,, description of, 155 et
seq., 189.
Franohere, Gabriel, 155, 201.
Franklin, Sir John, 314.
, , , , Search for, 320.
i> 1) 1, ,, by Dr. Rae,
321.
Franklin, Sir John, Search for, by
Capt. McClintock, 322.
Fraser, Simon, 142 et seq.
French half-breeds' petition, 440.
,, ,, turbulent, 1869,
458.
French priests interfere, 460.
Gabby, Fort, 355.
,, ,, camping-ground, 366.
,, ,, Lower, 853.
Gibraltar, Fort, 189.
,, ,, destroyed, 226.
Gillam, Capt. Zachariah, 10.
Gold discovery in B. C, 415.
Gonor, Father, 83.
Good Hope, Fort, 390.
Governors, Recent, 472.
Graham, Andrew, Journal of, 108.
Grand Portage, 95.
Grant, Cuthbert, Senr., 120.
,, ,, Junr., 263.
,, P. (Historiographer), 184-7.
Gravesend, 20.
Gregory, McLeod and Co., 116.
Groseilliers (Medard Chouart), 3,
33.
Groseilliers, J. Baptiste, 37.
Halj-bbeeds dissatisfied, 436.
Halifax, LoiSd, 71.
Hargrave, Jas., Letters of Traders,
294.
Hargrave, Joseph, Work of, 294.
Harmon, Daniel, 165-7.
Hayes, Sir James, 36.
Head, Gov. Edmund, 452.
Hearne, Samuel, 99 et seq., 383.
Hector, Dr. James, 337.
Henry, Alex., Senr., 93.
„ Jr., 169-173.
HiUs, Bishop, 426.
Hind, H. T., explorer, 340.
Hudson, Henry, 48.
Hudson Bay, Early Governors on,
22.

INDEX

499

Hudson Bay, Early Forts, 108.
,, ,, Bleak shore of, 373.
. ,, ,, House, 20.
,, „ Co. Ships, 20.
,, ,, ,, Claims of, 54.
,, ,, ,, stores, 470.
H-Qnt, WiUiam, Astorian, 198.
Hunting regulations, 368.
Indian chiefs on Red River, 248.
Indians and H. B. C, 429.
„ iu debt, 429.
,, ofB. C, 433.
,, loyal to Co., 434.
Isbister, A. K., 487 et seq.
James, Capt., 48.
Jamieson, Rev. Robert, 427.
Johnson, Judge, 442.
Johnston, John, Trader (Sault Ste.
Marie), 179-181, 800.
Johnston, Miss, 181.
Jones, Rev. David, 300, 420.
Kaministiquia, 94, 311.
Kamloops rising, 403.
Keating, W. H., Expedition of, 328.
Keel and canoe, 359.
Keith, George, Tales of, 160.
Kelsey, Henry, 73.
Kennedy and Bellot, Expedition of,
321.
Keveny, Owen (Murdered), 254.
King, Dr. Richard, 318.
" King's Domains," 379.
,, Posts," 379.
Kirke, Sir John, 20.
Labeadob, McLean on, 376.
Lachine, 302.
La France, Joseph, 67.
Lefroy, Lieut. (Sir Henry), 335.
,, (Expedition), 385.
Leith's bequest, 421.
Le Moyne, The brothers, 51.
Lescarbot, 48.
Lestane, 'The dastard, 466.
Lewis and Clark, Expedition of, 324.
Liard, River, 392.
Lincolnshire farmers, 355.
Locust visitation, 346.
Long, Stephen H., Expedition of,
328.
MoCallum, Rev. John, 420.-
Maodonell, MUes, 207.
,, Estimate of, 260.

MacdoneU, Alexander (Grasshopper
Governor), 84?.
McDonald of Garth (autobiography),
161. ,, on the Pacific, 163.
„ Grand, 167.
McDonnell, John, Diary, 169.
MoDougall, Duncan, Astorian, 194.
,, Hon. WiUiam, 455, 461.
MoGilUes, Hugh, Free Trader, 337.
Machray, Archbishop, 421.
Mackay, Alexander, 127, 196.
MoKay, Trader, 311.
Mackenzie, Alexander, 116, 123 et
seq.
Mackenzie, Alexander, 1st Voyage,
124.
Mackenzie, Alexander, 2nd Voyage,
127 et seq.
Mackenzie, Alexander, Book of, 130.
Mackenzie, River, 388.
McKenzie, Roderick, 158.
McKenzie, James, Journals, 163, 379.
McKenzie, Charles (Journey to
Mandans), 174.
McKenzie, Governor, Donald, 350.
McLeod, Alex. Norman, 116.
,, John, Diary of, 221, 285.
McLean, John, On Labrador, 377.
McLoughlin, Chief Factor, 400.
,, Young (murdered), 406.
McTavish, Simon, 115, 121.
McTavish, Governor WiUiam, 449.
, , , , , , (siok and weak) , 458.
Magnetic Pole, Discovery of, 815.
,, ,, and Capt. Kennedy,
317.
Magnetic Survey by Lefroy, 335.
Malhiot, Francois V., 177-179.
Mandans, 98, 325.
Manitoba College, 424.
Margry, Pierre, 81.
Maurepas, River, 85.
Metis, 442.
Michilimackinac, 81.
Middleton, Capt. C, 61 et seq.
Milton and Cheadle, Explorations by,
342.
Mingan, 379.
Missouri Company, 193.
Model Farms, 351.
Montague^ 8.
Moravians in Labrador, 380.
Mulgrave, Lord, 813.
Muskegons (Crees), 431.
Nelson, Port, 52.
Nemisco, River, 10.

500

INDEX

Nepigon, 79.
New England Company, 2.
Nicola's Eloquence, 403.
Nisbet, Eev. James, 424.
Nonsuch Ketch, 10.
North-West Company formed, 115.
„ ,, ofiicers, 152.
Nor'-Westers unite, 188-191.
North-West Passage sought (early),
63.
North-West Passage by Land, 343.
Norman, Fort, 390.
Norton, Moses, 111.
Noue, De la, 80.
OOHAGAOH, 82.
Oldmixon, 4.
Oppression of Judge Thom, 436.
Orkneymen, Early, 97.
,, vs. French Canadians,
271.
Ottawa, 302.
Ouinipegon, Lake, 88.
Pal;eocbystic sea, 320.
Pacific Fur Company, 193.
Palliser, Capt. J., 337.
Pambrun's story, 229-30.
Pangman, Peter, 116, 286, 287.
Parker, Gilbert, NoveUst, 38.
Peace Eiver, 386.
Peel's River Post, 391.
PeUy, Governor, 350.
,, Gov. J. H., 438.
Perouse on Hudson Bay, 106.
Pigeon River, 95.
Pike, Zebulon M., Explorer, 826.
Plain hunters, 364.
Pond, Peter, 97, 116, 119, 125. / / I
Portaging, 307. -p rf.-,
Portman, Mr., 20. 3 i^J
Posts ou Pacific, 416.
Potherie, De la, 4.
Prince Society, 39.
Prince of Wales Fort taken, 106.
Pritchard, John (lost), 172-174.
Story of, 230.
,, Estimate of, 265.
" Pro pelle cutem," 19.
Provencher, Bishop, 288, 296, 299,
418.
Providence, Fort, 388.
Prudhomme, Judge, 38.
Quesnel, Jules Maubice, 143.
Radisson, Pibbbe Espeit, 8, 83 et

Eae, Dr. John, Explorer, 321.
Eed Eiver Plague, 356.
,, RebeUion, 460.
Reine, de la. Fort, 88.
Reinhart, Charles, prisoner, 254.
ReUance, Fort, 389.
RenvUle, Joseph, guide, 328.
Resolution, Fort, 888.
Riel, Elder, 441.
,, Younger, rebellion, 461.
Rigolette, 381.
Robertson, Colin, 226, 228.
Roberval, Sieur de, 48.
Robinson, Sir John, 9.
Robson, Joseph, 75.
Roches Percees, 338.
Rooky Mt. passes, 339.
EoUing BaU, The, 808.
Eoss, Capt. John, 315.
,, Alexander, 358.
Eouge, Fort, 88.
Eupert, Prince, 8.
,, ,, Sketch of, 27 ei stg.
,, ,, Eiver, 10.
Eyswick, 56 et seq.
,, Treaty, Terms of, 57.
Ste. Anne's, 304.
St. Charles, Fort, Massacre, 86.
St. James, Fort, outbreak, 398.
St. John's College, 421.
St. Pierre, Legardeur de, 89.
Sargeant, Governor, 52.
Saskatchewan River discovered, 89.
Saulteaux Indians, 431.
Sault Ste. Marie, 310.
Sayer " rising," 441.
Schoolcraft, H. R., Explorer, 832.
,, ,, discovers Lake
Itasca, 383.
Sehultz, Dr., rescued, 444.
Scoresby, Capt. W., 313.
Scott, Thomas, executed, 467.
Selkirk, Earl of, 202.
,, ,, purchases H.B.C.
stock, 206.
Selkirk, Earl of, on Emigration, 205.
,, ,, Colony to Prince
Edward Island, 205.
Selkirk, Earl of, colony to Red
Eiver, 208-213.
Selkirk, Earl of, opposition to, 214.
,, „ Rescue by, 237-242.
,, ,, Estimate of, 259.
Semple, Governor, 225 et seq.
Shagganappe, 362.
Shelburne, Lord, 15, 323.
Sherbrooke, Gov. Gen., 242, 251.

INDEX

S°i

Sieveright, Trader, 300.
Simpson, Gov. G., 269, 297, 385,
410, 412.
Simpson, Gov. G. , knighted, 276.
,, ,, Voyage round the
world, 277.
Simpson, Lady, 280.
„ Port, 389.
,, ,, on Pacific, 408.
,, Thos., death of, 320.
Sinclair, a leader, 436.
Slave Lake, 387.
Sledge and packet, 357.
Smith, Donald A., 381, 464.
,, William Eobert, clerk, 444.
South-West Pur Company, 193.
Staines, Eev. Eobert, 425.
Stannard, Captain, 10.
Status, present, of Co., 473.
Stewart, Jas., rescued, 443.
Stikine River, 893.,
Stratheona and Mt. Royal, Lord,
381, 475.
Stuart, John, 142.
Sturgeon Lake, Fort, built, 96.
Sutherland, James, catechist, 418.
Swiss settlers, 347.
,, depart, 348.
Taoh£, Archbishop, 419, 468.
TaUow Company, 351.
Terms of Company's Transfer, 455.
Thom, Recorder Adam, 355.
Thompson, David, Astronomer, 132
et seq.
Thom, Captain, 195.
Tod, John, Trader, 411.
Tonquin, Ship, 195.
Trade standards. Early, 22.
Transcontinental journeys (earlv),
146.
Trials, North-West, 255, 256.

Troyes, Chevalier de, 50.
Turner, Astronomer, 126.
Umfebville, Edw., 106, 113.
Ungava, 377.
Utrecht, Treaty of, 58.
Vancouver, Fort, 397.
, , Given up, 413.
,, Island, Lease of, 414.
,, Colonization, 415.
„ . City, 478.
Verandrye, 82 et seq.
Victoria, Fort, founded, 406.
Vyner, Sir Robert, 9.
Wabk, Chief Trader, 413.
Watkin, E. W., Scheme of, 451.
Wedderburn, Fort, 384.
Wendigo, The, 308.
Wentzel, W. F., Story of, 289.
,, Opinions of, 291.
West, Rev. John, 420.
Western Sea, 79.
yVilliam and Ann, Wreck of, 402.
William III., Address to, 25.
,, Great dividend paid, 25.
Winnipeg, City of, 476.
Wolseley, Col., 468.
Woods, Lake of, 84.
X Y Company, 147 et seq.
Officers, 152.
York, Duke of, 9.
,, ,, Made Governor, 29.
,, Factory, Description of, 374.
Young, Sir William, 36.
Yukon, Fort, 391.
, , Upper, Discovery of, 393.
Zinzendorf, Count, 380.

LONDON
PRINTED BT GILBERT AND RITINGTON, LTD.,
ST. John's house, clerkenwell, e.g.

^ALE UNIVERSITY

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