John Stuart’s Notes
This is a lovely little document I discovered a few years ago, and want to look at it again. It was written in 1840 by John Stuart, and I suspect…
Read moreMeasles and Dysentery
I wrote about the 1847-1848 measles epidemic in my first book, The Pathfinder, in which I said: Measles began to sicken a few Dakelh around the fort [Fort Alexandria, Fraser…
Read moreNorway House fire
I am proofing my York Factory Express manuscript, which is an interesting process. It is a chance to catch errors, and I found one. This is what I said in…
Read moreFort Pitt
Fort Pitt was a provisioning post, constructed in 1829-31, 217 miles downriver from Edmonton House. Before this post was built, the men of the outgoing Saskatchewan Brigades (which included…
Read moreA Look-Back at James Birnie’s life
So, in 1846, James Birnie retired, a disappointed man, after 28 years of working in the fur trade of the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. How did…
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