James Birnie Retires
James Birnie was a big man; a broad-shouldered and deep-chested man who stood six feet tall, according to Irene Martin, who wrote the book Beach of Heaven. He spoke in…
Read moreSaskatchewan River
As the York Factory Express men rushed down the flooding Saskatchewan River in their boats and canoes, they passed historic posts almost without noticing them. On their way upriver, they…
Read moreJohn Kirk Townsend
John Kirk Townsend was a naturalist who trekked west to the Columbia River, travelling in with Nathaniel Wyeth’s 1834 expedition. He spent two years in the Columbia district before traveling…
Read moreBirnie and the Missionaries
It seems that James Birnie was the first HBC man to greet the many missionaries who arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River. I have many stories in my…
Read moreThe Destruction of Fort Selkirk
Now, as some of you may remember, I started this journey through the Yukon as a result of finding the Fort Selkirk Journals online. WordPress has made it so irritatingly…
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