Devil’s Club
You may wonder why I am beginning a post with this subject — wonder no longer. Devil’s Club is a poisonous plant that grows everywhere in the province of B.C.,…
Read moreTwo Canoes: John Work comes down the Columbia River
So in the last John Work journal, he and Peter Skene Ogden had reached Boat Encampment, having come down the Big Hill from Athabasca Pass. The year is 1823 —…
Read moreTwo Canoes: Jasper Valley
In October 1823, John Work and Peter Skene Ogden are making their way west from York Factory, on Hudson Bay, to their new employment on the Pacific slopes. For Work…
Read moreLeather Pass
As a fur trade descendant, I have always called the northern pass through the mountains “Leather Pass.” Today this is officially known as the Yellowhead, which comes from its original…
Read moreSouth of Fort Colvile, on the Columbia River
This post is the twenty first leg of the York Factory Express journey, and we are “falling down” the Columbia River south of Fort Colvile. The gentlemen who were keeping…
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