Up the Columbia River
In August 1849, clerk Thomas Lowe journeyed up the Columbia River as far as Fort Nez Percés, following the same river route that the York Factory Express had travelled in…
Read morePaul Kane on the Columbia River
In this post on Paul Kane’s journey to the Pacific Slopes (otherwise known as the west side of the Rocky Mountains), we are leaving Boat Encampment and making our way…
Read moreDescending the Columbia River
I thought that for this series on the Columbia River, I might be able to access and read Samuel Black’s journal of his descent of the river in 1825. He…
Read moreJoe Burke
In his outgoing York Factory Express journal of 1847, Thomas Lowe lists the passengers who are travelling up the Columbia River with him. A mysterious “Joe Burke” was among…
Read moreThe Railway vs the Express
Everything ends. Even the York Factory Express, that ran for twenty-six years across the Rocky Mountains to Edmonton House, came to a sudden, crashing, end. Surprisingly, its death was caused…
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