John Kirk Townsend & the 1836 Brigade
The North Thompson river at Little Fort, B.C., where the HBC men used to cross their brigades
The 1836 Brigade is only a small part of the story that ornithologist John Kirk Townsend tells — but it is an interesting part of his story. His book, published in 1839, spurred an interest in the Oregon Country, and encouraged Americans in the east to travel across the continent, to Oregon.
I have had John Kirk Townsend’s book for ages: it is titled Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River. Townsend arrived at Fort Vancouver with Nathaniel Wyeth’s second wagon train in 1834. He, and his companion, botanist Thomas Nuttall, pulled their canoes onto the beach in front of the fort in mid-September 1834, and Townsend remained in the west (sometimes at the Sandwich Islands) for two years.
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John Kirk Townsend was born in Philadelphia on October 10, 1808, and came from a family that was strongly interested in natural history and ornithology. He obtained his Doctor of Science degree (perhaps at Harvard), and in 1834 joined Nathaniel Wyeth’s wagon train on its second journey to the Oregon Country. Thomas Nuttall also travelled west in the same wagon train, and it was he who invited Townsend along for the journey. Nuttall was collecting plant specimens, and he thought that Townsend could collect some of the bird species they would see along the way.
John Kirk Townsend was 24 years old at the time of departure for Fort Vancouver. The two naturalists travelled together on a very uncomfortable stage ride to Pittsburgh, and arranged for a steam-boat to take them to St. Louis, where they outfitted for their journey west. On April 28, Nathaniel Wyatt’s expedition left Independence with seventy men and two hundred and fifty horses, and in mid-September, 1834, they reached Fort Vancouver. (Other persons travelling in this expedition were the two Baptist missionaries Jason Lee and his nephew, Daniel.) Chief Factor John McLoughlin extended a friendly hand to the two naturalists, even going so far as offering them a bed in his own house. For the most part, the naturalists divided their time between Fort Vancouver and Wyeth’s supply ship, the May Dacre, which was moored in the river near Sauvie Island, off Wyeth’s Fort William.
Here is Townsend’s description of Fort Vancouver as it appeared to him in 1834 and 1835.
Fort Vancouver is situated on the north bank of the Columbia on a large level plain, about a quarter of a mile from the shore. The space comprised within the stockade is an oblong square, of about one hundred by two hundred and fifty feet. The houses built of logs and frame-work, to the number of ten or twelve, are ranged around in a quadrangular form, the one occupied by the doctor being in the middle. In front, and enclosed on three sides by the buildings, is a large open space where all the indoor work of the establishment is done. Here the Indians assemble with their multifarious articles of trade, beaver, otter, venison, and various other game, and here once a week, several scores of Canadians are employed beating the furs which have been collected, in order to free them from dust and vermin. (There were lots of little insects, such as carpet beetles, that resided in the furs brought in by the Indigenous traders.)
So what does John Kirk Townsend have to say about the buildings and structures that were found at Fort Vancouver?
The farm had several hundred acres fenced in and under cultivation, and the produce grown there included potatoes, carrots, parsnips, melons, and apples. Indian corn did not grow well at Fort Vancouver, as the soil was not suitable. On the farm there was a grist mill, a threshing mill, and a saw mill: the first two were horse-powered, and the latter run by water power. There were also domestic cattle on the grounds outside the fort: ten years earlier [in 1824] a few head of neat cattle [cattle that had calved] were brought to the fort by some fur traders from California, and they had now increased to almost seven hundred head. “They are large framed, long horned breed,” Townsend described the cattle, “inferior in the milch qualities to those of the United States, but the beef is excellent, and in consequence of the mildness of the climate, it is never necessary to provide them with fodder during the winter, an abundant supply of excellent pasture being always found.”
Close to the fort were thirty or forty log huts, occupied by by the Canadiens and others attached to the fort. The huts were placed in rows with broad lanes or streets between them, and when viewed resembled a neat and beautiful small town. “The most fastidious cleanliness appears to be observed; the women may be seen sweeping the streets and scrubbing the door sills as regularly as in our own proverbially cleanly city.” Of course while he was there he changed his description of the cleanliness of these houses, saying that “I can freely confess that my first estimate was too high.”
So the two gentlemen-naturalists explored the Willamette Valley. They travelled downriver to Fort George where they met James Birnie and his family. On one venture down the river John Kirk Townsend landed on an island where many Chinook canoes were tied up in the boughs of the trees, and he did some snooping. “The canoes contain the dead bodies of Indians. They are carefully wrapped in blankets, and all the personal property of the deceased, bows and arrows, guns, salmon spears, ornaments &c are placed within and around his canoe. The vicinity of this, and all other cemeteries, is held so sacred by the Indians, that they never approach it, except to make similar deposits; they will often even travel a considerable distance out of their course in order to avoid intruding upon the sanctuary of their dead.” (He and his companions returned to their boat, and discovered on the opposite bank of the river a number of Indigenous people stood, silently watching them.)
John Kirk Townsend then visited Fort George, where my g.g.grandfather resided. “On the afternoon of the 8th, we anchored off Fort George, as it is called, although perhaps it scarcely deserves the name of a fort, being composed of but one principal house of hewn boards, and a number of small Indian huts surrounding it, presenting the appearance, from a distance, of an ordinary small farm house with its appropriate outbuildings. There is but one white man residing here, the superintendent of the fort; but there is probably no necessity for more, as the business done is not very considerable, most of the furs being taken by the Indians to Vancouver. The establishment is, however, of importance, independent of its utility as a trading post, as it is situated within view of the dangerous cape, and intelligence of the arrival of vessels can be communicated to the authorities at Vancouver in time for them to render adequate assistance to such vessels, by supplying them with pilots, &c. This is the spot upon once stood the fort established by the direction of our honored countryman, John Jacob Astor. One of the chimneys of old Fort Astoria is still standing, a melancholy monument of American enterprise and domestic misrule. This spot where once the fine parterre [flowerbed?] overlooked the river, and the bold stoccade [sic] enclosed the neat and substantial fort, is now overgrown with weeds and bushes, and can scarce be distinguished from the primeval forest which surrounds it on every side.”
So, the 1836 Brigade: John Kirk Townsend travelled with this brigade only as far as Walla Walla, and then he returned to Fort Vancouver. By this time, I believe, Nuttall had returned home, and Townsend was on his own. As an American he would notice and comment on things that the HBC men would probably not mention as it was so normal. And after all, for the HBC men, their journals were business journals, while Townsend’s was not. So, on June 26, he wrote…
“I left Vancouver yesterday, with the summer brigade, for a visit to Walla Walla and its vicinity. The gentlemen of the party are Peter [Skene] Ogden, Esq., chief factor, bound to New Caledonia; Archibald McDonald, Esq. for [Fort] Colvile; and Samuel Black, Esq., for Thompson’s River [Kamloops], and the brigade consists of sixty men with nine boats.
“27th. We arrived yesterday at the upper cascades, and made in the course of the day three portages. As is usual in this place, it rained almost constantly, and the poor men engaged in carrying the goods were completely drenched. A considerable number of Indians are employed here in fishing, and they supply us with an abundance of salmon. Among them I recognize many of my old friends from below.
Two days later, on the “29th. This morning the Indian wife of one of the men gave birth to a little girl. The tent in which she was lying was within a few feet of the one which I occupied and we had no intimation of the matter being in progress until we heard the crying of the infant. It is truly astonishing with what ease the parturition of these women is performed; they generally require no assistance in delivery, being fully competent to manage the whole paraphernalia themselves. In about half an hour after this event we got underway and the woman walked to the boat carrying her new born infant on her back, embarked, laughed, and talked as usual, and appeared in every respect as well as if nothing had happened.
“This woman is a most noble specimen of bone and muscle, and so masculine in appearance, that were she to cast the petticoat and don the breeches, the cheat would never be discovered, and but few of the lords of the creation would be willing to face the Amazon. She is particularly useful to her husband. As he is becoming rather infirm, she can protect him most admirably. If he wishes to cross a stream in travelling without horses or boats, she plunges in without hesitation, takes him upon her back, and lands him safely and expeditiously upon the opposite bank. She can also kill and dress an elk, run down and shoot a buffalo, or spear a salmon for her husband’s breakfast in the morning, as well as any man servant he could employ. Added in all this, she has, in several instances, saved his life in skirmishes with Indians, at the imminent risk of her own, so that he has some reason to be proud of her.” Does anyone know who her husband is or was?
John Kirk Townsend’s journal continued: “In the afternoon, we passed the bold, basaltic point, known to the voyageurs by the name of “Cape Horn.” The wind here blew a perfect hurricane, and but for the consummate skill of those who managed our boats, we must have had no little difficulty.”
In my book, The York Factory Express, I discovered that Edward Ermatinger’s “Cape Horn” was on the Columbia’s south bank, 72 miles above Fort Vancouver and across the river from the mouth of the Klickitat River. In all other journals (except this one), Cape Horn was west of the lower Cascades rapids, near Phoca Rock [named for the seals that are mentioned later.] But THIS Cape Horn is above the Cascades once again.
“30th. We were engaged almost the whole of this day in making portages, and I had in consequence some opportunities of prosecuting my researches on the land. We have now passed the range of vegetation; there are no trees or even shrubs; nothing but huge, jagged rocks of basalt, and interminable sand heaps. I found here a large and beautiful species of marmot (the Arctomys Richardsonii), several of which I shot. Encamped in the evening at the village of the Indian chief, Tilki. I had often heard of this man, but I now saw him for the first time. His person is rather below the middle size, but his features are good, with a Roman cast, and his eye is deep back and unusually fine. He appears to be remarkably intelligent, and half a century before the generality of his people in civilization.
“July 3. This morning we came to the open prairies, covered with wormwood bushes. The appearance and strong odor of these forcibly remind me of my journey across the mountains, when we frequently saw no vegetation for weeks except this dry and barren looking shrub.” Its interesting to learn that the wormwood had a strong odour, as none of the HBC men mention that.
“The Indians here are numerous, and are now engaged in catching salmon, lamprey eels, &c. They take thousands of the latter, and they are seen hanging in great numbers in their lodges to dry in the smoke.” This is the Pacific lamprey, who migrate to the Ocean and return to spawn. “As soon as the Indians see us approach, they leave their wigwams and run out towards us, frequently wading to their breasts in the water to get near the boats. Their constant cry is pi-pi, pi-pi (tobacco, tobacco) and they bring a great variety of matters to trade for this desirable article; fish, living birds of various kinds, young wolves, foxes, minks &c.
“On the evening of the 6th, we arrived at Walla Walla or Nez Perces fort, where I was kindly received by Mr. Pambrun, the superintendent. On his way into the territory in 1834, John Kirk Townsend described Fort Nez Perces:
The fort is built of drift logs and surrounded by a stoccade [sic] of the same, with two bastions, and a gallery around the inside. It stands about a hundred yards from the river, on the south bank, in a bleak and unprotected situation, surrounded on every side by a great sandy plain which supports little vegetation, except the wormwood and thorn bushes. On the banks of the little river, however, there are narrow strips of rich soil, and here Mr. Pambrun raises the few garden vegetables necessary for the support of his family. Potatoes, turnips, carrots, &c, thrive well, and Indian corn produces eighty bushels to the acre.
So Indian corn grew well at Walla Walla, but not so well in the good earth found at Fort Vancouver.
“The next day the brigade left us for the interior, and I shouldered my gun for an excursion through the neighborhood. On the west side of the little Walla Walla River, I saw during a walk of two miles at least thirty rattlesnakes, and killed five that would not get out of my way. They all seemed willing to dispute the ground with me, shaking their rattles, coiling and darting at me with great fury. I returned to the fort in the afternoon with twenty-two sharp tailed grouse (Tetrao phasianellus), the product of my day’s shooting.”
Townsend returned to Fort Vancouver, travelling downriver with John McLeod, Jr., a newly created Chief trader in the HBC. He had begun his HBC career as a clerk at Fort Halkett, Liard River, where he made some important explorations, as you will see in the Journeys thread. By 1835 he was in the Columbia district. At about this time he was visiting the 1836 Rendezvous at Green River, where he was to gather information from the mountain men who trapped and traded in that region. One year later, in 1837, he would buy out the interests of Nathaniel Wyeth from Captain John Thing, Wyeth’s lieutenant.
“September 3. Mr. McLeod and myself embarked in a large batteau with six men, and bidding farewell to Mr. Pambrun and the missionaries, were soon gliding down the river. We ran, today, several large rapids, and in the evening encamped about fifteen miles below the mouth of the Utalla River. [Umatilla River?]
“This running of rapids appears rather a dangerous business to those unaccustomed to it, and it is in reality sufficienty hazardous, except when performed by old and skilful hands. Everything depends upon the men who manage the bow and stern of the boat. The moment she enters the rapid, the two guides lay aside their oars, taking instead paddles such as are used in the management of a canoe. The middle-men ply their oars; the guides brace themselves against the gunwale of the boat, placing their paddles edgewise down her sides, and away she goes over the curling, foaming, and hissing waters, like a race horse….
So at this time they were using oars in the Columbia boats, not paddles. But I guess we knew that, as in 1828 John Work told us that the HBC men now used oars instead of paddles.
“We are enjoying a most magnificent sight at our camp this evening. On the opposite side of the river, the Indians have fired the prairie, and the whole country for miles around is most brilliantly illuminated. Here I am sitting crosslegged on the ground, scribbling by the light of the vast conflagration with as much ease as if I had a ton of oil burning by my side; but my eyes are every moment involuntariy wandering from the paper before me, to contemplate and admire the gradeur of the distance scene. The very heavens themselves appear ignited, and the fragments of ashes and burning grass blades, ascending and careering about through the glowing firmament, look like brilliant and glorious birds let loose to roam and revel amid this splendid scene…
“5th. The Indians are numerous along the river, and all engaged in fishing; as we pass along, we frequently see them posted upon the rocks overhanging the water, surveying the boiling and roaring flood below, for the passing salmon. In most instances, an Indian is seen entirely alone in these situations, often standing for half an hour perfectly still, his eyes riveted upon the torrent, and his long fish spear poised above his head. The appearance of a solitary and naked savage thus perched like an eagle upon a cliff, is sometimes (when taken in connexion with the wild and rugged river scenery) very picturesque. The spear is a pole about twelve feet in length, at the end of which a long wooden fork is made fast, and between the tines is fixed a barbed iron point. They also, in some situations, use a hand scoopnet, and stand upon scaffolds ingeniously constructed over the rapid water. Their winter store of dried fish is stowed away in little huts of mats and branches, closely interlaced, and also in caches underground. It is often amusng to see the hungry ravens tearing and tugging at the strong twigs of the houses in a vain attempt to reach the savory food within.
“In the afternoon we passed John Day’s River, and encamped about sunset at the “shoots.” Here is a very large village of Indians…and we are this evening surrounded by some scores of them.
“6th. We made the portage of the shoots this morning by carrying our boat and baggage across the land, and in half an hour, arrived at one of the upper dalles. Here Mr. McLeod and myself debarked, and the men ran the dalles. We walked on ahead to the most dangerous part and stood upon the rocks about a hundred feet above to observe them. It really seemed exceedingly dangerous to see the boat dashing ahead like lightning through the foaming and roaring waters, sometimes raised high above the enormous swells, and dashed down again as if she were seeking the bottom with her bows, and at others whirled around and nearly sucked under by the whirlpools constantly forming around her. But she stemmed everything gallantly, under the direction of our experienced guides, and we soon embarked again and proceeded to the lower dalles. Here it is utterly impossible, in the present state of the water, to pass, so that the boat and baggage had to be carried across the whole portage. This occupied the remainder of the day, and we encamped in the evening at a short distance from the lower villages. The Indians told us with sorrowful faces of the recent death of their principal chief, Tilki. Well, thought I, the white man has lost a friend…
“We see a great numbers of seals as we pass along. Immediately below the Dalles they are particularly abundant, being attracted thither by the vast shoals of samon which seek the turbulent water of the river. We occasionally shoot one of them as he raises his dog-like head above the surface, but we make no use of them they are only valuable for the large quantity of oil which they yield…” Phoca Rock, in the Columbia Gorge below the Cascades, is named for these seals.
“At 11 o’clock next day we arrived at the cascades, where we made the long portage, and at nine in the evening encamped in an ash grove, six miles above Prairie de Thé. On the 8th, reached Vancouver, where we found two vessels which had just arrived from England.”
In 1836, these two vessels would be — the newly arrived steamer Beaver, and the London ship, Columbia. Yes, the Columbia is still in the river: she left for London in November of that year. So John Kirk Townsend hardly mentions these two historic ships! Would Townsend have been one of the “gentlemen” who were given tours on the Beaver??
Townsend and Nuttal spent the winter together in the Sandwich Islands in 1834-35. Nuttal also sailed for the Sandwich Islands for the next winter (1835-36), and from there returned home to the Eastern States by ship. Townsend left Fort Vancouver on November 30, 1836. By ship? Yes, in the above mentioned Columbia. The Columbia reached the Sandwich Islands on December 22, 1836, he and he spent the next three months there before sailing home, via Tahiti and Chili and rounding Cape Horn. His book, Narrative of a Journey, was published in 1839, and its publication may well have encouraged people to come to the west via the Oregon Trail.
And I have just learned from this book that “One of Mr. [James] Birnie’s children found, a few days since, a large silver medal, which had been brought here by Lewis and Clark, and had probably been presented to some chief, who lost it. On one side was a head with the name “Th. Jefferson, President of the United States, 1801.” On the other, two hands interlocked, surmounted by a pipe and tomahawk; and above the words, “Peace and Friendship.” As you know, James Birnie is my g.g.grandfather. I wonder where this medal is now. Does anyone know?
Copyright, Nancy Marguerite Anderson, 2025. All rights reserved.
Love these stories … so interesting.