Two Canoe Journeys
This is the beginning of a new series, which covers two separate canoe journeys made from York Factory, by different routes to the West side of the Rocky Mountains. The…
Read moreJohn Work’s Journey to the Columbia District, 1823
Three years before the York Factory Express existed, John Work travelled over much of their route, on his way from York Factory to Spokane House, on the Spokane River. He…
Read morePeter Skene Ogden reports on the California gold rush
Peter Skene Ogden, Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver in 1848, was definitely a character, and his private letters prove that. However, the hard part of reading Ogden’s letters is his…
Read moreFabulous Sam Black
I know I have used the word “fabulous” before when I describe a fur trader. But some are fabulously interesting, and Chief Trader Sam Black is certainly a member of…
Read moreThe Outgoing Brigade at Fort St. James
In March 1843, clerk Alexander Caulfield Anderson came north to Fort St. James to take the place of Peter Skene Ogden who had traveled out with the express party to…
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