Brigade Journey North, from the Similkameen Forks
The junction of the Similkameen River with the Okanogan was, from the early days of the HBC in the Canadian Okanagan, known as the Similkameen Forks. In later years, Anderson…
Read moreTracking: Using the Lines, and Using the Poles
“Rowing.” “Tracking.” “Portage.” “Tracking Lines.” “Lining the Boats.” “Tracking the Boats.” “Use the Poles.” I use these words and phrases all the time, both in my tweets, and in my…
Read moreBuilding Fort Shepherd
In this April 1856 letter to Angus McDonald of Fort Colvile, James Douglas described the HBC buildings that were to be erected at the new Fort Shepherd, on the Columbia…
Read moreFrom Ile-a-la-Crosse to the Clearwater River
In our dueling journals — that of John Work, 1823, and of Archibald McDonald, 1828 — we have reached the post of Ile-a-la-Crosse, on Lac Ile-a-la-Crosse. As you know by…
Read moreGrand Coulee
In 1848 Thomas Lowe’s York Factory Express went out by the Grand Coulee. No other express had taken that out of the way route, as far as I am aware,…
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