Leaving the Columbia

Fort George [Astoria] where James Birnie spent many years in the service of the HBC. Image from Library and Archives Canada, number C-040856, and used with their permission.

I find Sir George Simpson’s book, An Overland Journey Round the World, an interesting read, partly because of what he says of the reasons he made the plans for the Beaver that so upset Chief Factor John McLoughlin. “According to the whole tenor of my journal,” he wrote, “this labyrinth of waters is peculiarly adapted for the powers of steam. In the case of a sailing vessel, our delays and dangers would have been tripled and quadrupled — a circumstance which raised my estimation of Vancouver’s skill and perseverance at every step of my progress.” He is speaking of Captain George Vancouver’s skill here, and not that of the ship Vancouver. The labyrinth of waters he speaks of is the sheltered waters behind Vancouver’s Island, as well as those that lie between the islands off the mainland to the north. As we know, the only waters exposed to the winds and waves of the northern Pacific are those in Queen Charlotte’s Sound.

A few clarifications here: the London ship Columbia was somewhere off the northwest coast at the same time that Sir George Simpson was travelling up and down the coast. The Vancouver is on her way to Fort Vancouver. She was somewhere off the coast of South America, making her way past the Falkland Islands and around the Horn. We know this because she is carrying Thomas Lowe to the Sandwich Islands, where he will meet Governor Simpson in 1842. Lowe will sail north with Simpson in the Cowlitz to Sitka and Fort Durham. So, this is where Thomas Lowe is in October and November 1841, at the same time that Simpson is at Fort Vancouver. https://nancymargueriteanderson.com/thomas-lowe-6/  

So, we are back at Fort Vancouver, having come down from the northwest coast with Governor Simpson. You will remember that James Sinclair and his Red River migrants travelled across the continent with Governor Simpson, as he made his way west to Edmonton House and the Rocky Mountains. Sinclair’s people crossed the Rocky Mountains by Whiteman Pass and Sinclair Pass to Windermere Lake and Canal Flats, before following Simpson’s party south to Pend d’Oreille Lake. They did not travel north to Fort Colvile, as Simpson did. Sinclair’s party travelled west and reached Fort Nez Perces (Walla Walla) on October 4, 1841. On the same night of their arrival, the wooden fort caught fire and burned down, and Sinclair’s immigrants helped to carry the goods out of the fort and also worked to put out the fire. From Fort Nez Perces, the migrants under Sinclair reached Fort Vancouver on October 12. They had left Fort Garry, Red River, on June 3, 1841. The distance between Fort Garry and Fort Vancouver was 1,700 miles, and it took them 130 days to make their way there. (The person who wrote this article did not make it clear whether these distances and times were to Fort Vancouver or to Fort Nisqually, so I have presumed Fort Vancouver was meant, although I might be wrong.)

Sinclair arrived at Fort Vancouver, as I said, on October 12, and were still there when Simpson returned to the post from the northwest coast. Simpson returned to Fort Vancouver on October 22. In November, James Douglas guided James Sinclair’s migrants to their new homes on the Cowlitz Farm, and outside Fort Nisqually. James Sinclair and his party was at Fort Vancouver to greet Simpson on his return.

Along with Sinclair’s settlers travelled their First Nations guide, a Cree man who Sir George Simpson called Bras Croche. This is what Simpson said of Bras Croche: 

After the arrival of the emigrants from Red River, their guide, a Cree of the name of Bras Croche, took a short trip in the Beaver. When asked what he thought of her, “Don’t ask me,” was his reply; “I cannot speak; my friends will say that I tell lies when I let them know what I have seen; Indians are fools and know nothing; I can see that the iron machinery makes the ship to go but I cannot see what makes the iron machinery itself to go.” Bras Croche, though very intelligent, and like all the Crees partially civilized, was nevertheless so full of doubt and wonder, that he would not leave the vessel till he got a certificate to the effect, that he had been on board of a ship which needed neither sails nor paddles. Though not one of his countrymen would understand a word of what was written, yet the most skeptical among them would not dare to question the truth of a story which had a document in its favor. A savage stands nearly as much in awe of paper, pen and ink as of steam itself; and, if he once puts his cross to any writing, he has rarely been known to violate the engagement which such writing is supposed to embody or to sanction. To him the very look of black and white is a powerful “medicine.”

The Cree name of Sinclair’s guide was Mackipitoon, or “Crooked Arm.” (Yes, indeed: Bras Croche translates as “Crooked Arm.”) Its interesting that Bras Croche made it all the way to Fort Vancouver! But it is late in the year; presumably he spent the winter in the region and returned home the following spring and summer. 

On his return to Fort Vancouver on October 22, 1841, Sir George Simpson described the place. “Fort Vancouver, the company’s grand depot, on the west side of the Rocky Mountains, is situated about ninety miles from the sea, the Columbia in front of it being about one mile in width.” The quote continues:

Within an oblong enclosure of upwards of six hundred feet by two hundred, which is surrounded by pickets, there are contained several houses, stores, magazines, granaries, workshops, &c, while the dwellings of the servants, the stables, the hospital, &c, form a little village on the outside of the walls.

The people of the establishment, besides officers and native labourers, vary in number, according to the season of the year, from one hundred and thirty to upwards of two hundred. They consist of Canadians, Sandwich Islanders, Europeans, and half breeds; and they contain among them agriculturists, voyageurs, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, carpenters, masons, tailors, shoemakers, &c &c &c. 

Did you notice that Simpson used the word “voyageurs?” Yes, that old word was still used at Fort Vancouver as late as 1841, and I have found it wherever George Simpson is in attendance. It is he who uses that word, and he that teaches other people (generally the visitors) to use that word.

So when Simpson returned to Fort Vancouver on October 22, he told Chief Factor John McLoughlin what he had decided. John McLoughlin’s horrified reaction appears in this blogpost: https://nancymargueriteanderson.com/john-mcloughlin/

This is the decision that the governor has reached, as expressed in his letters to the London Committee, written at Fort Vancouver:

The trade of the coast cannot, with any hope of making it a profitable business, afford the maintenance of so many establishments as are now occupied for its protection. I am of opinion that the establishments of Fort McLoughlin, Stikine, & Taacow [Fort Durham], might be abandoned without any injury to the trade, and that the establishment of Fort Simpson alone, with the Beaver Steamer, will answer every necessary & useful purpose.” 

Simpson thought that McLoughlin would become reconciled to the changes, but McLoughlin continued to argue against his plan. “The Doctor is as much opposed to the abandonment of the posts on the N.W. Coast, as he has all along been to the Steamer, & for no other reason that I can discover than that the measure did not originate with himself. To do him justice, however, although he never ceases talking about any measures which are forced upon him, he nevertheless pushes them when determined upon, with as much energy as if his own.” 

We know that Simpson left Fort Vancouver by December 1, 1841, because James Douglas says so: in a letter written on that date to Fort Nisqually employee Angus McDonald, Douglas says: “In the absence of Chief Factor McLoughlin, who has accompanied Sir George Simpson on a visit to California and the Sandwich Islands, I have to address you….” In his book, Sir George Simpson says that McLoughlin and he left Fort Vancouver on the last day of November, 1841, with a boat and ten men. Why were they travelling downriver in a boat, rather in one of the ships? As Simpson says,

Towards the close of November, the two barques dropped down the river, first the Columbia, bound for England, and then the Cowlitz, destined to convey me to California, the Sandwich Islands and Sitka. In the latter [the Cowlitz] were Mr. [Horatio] Hale, of the American Exploring Squadron, Mr. de Mofras, and Mrs. Rae and family, all passengers for California, while my own immediate party remained behind at Vancouver, to make the most of our time while the vessel should be creeping along to the lowest point for safe embarkation.

Accordingly, on the last day of the month, we left the fort about three in the afternoon with a boat and ten men. As the rain was pouring in torrents, we made very little progress, so that it was dark before we were abreast of the upper branch of the Willamette, opposite to which we encamped on the right [north] bank of the Columbia, paying pretty well for very indifferent accommodation…

Remember that the “right bank” of a river referred to the bank of the river as they were descending. Had they been travelling upriver, the north bank would still be called the right bank, as it was still the “right bank, descending.”

Simpson and his men may have regretted their decision to travel downriver by boat. They had a terrible journey! It poured rain, and a storm came in and the wind blew hard. On December 3 they reached Fort George,

about nine o’clock, wet, cold, and comfortless, as in fact, we had been, with little or no intermission, during the three days and nights of our downward passage. If we had enjoyed at Vancouver a week longer than our friends who had started in the Cowlitz, we had paid quite enough for our whistle. The Columbia had already arrived at Astoria [Fort George], and as the Cowlitz joined her in the course of the afternoon, we immediately embarked, and on comparing notes with her passengers, found that, on the whole, the balance, as we had anticipated, was in their favor.

Simpson and his party travelled in the Cowlitz to Baker’s Bay on December 3, 1841, where “the sea was breaking too heavily on the bar. During fourteen days, one southeaster followed another, each bringing its deluges of rain at mid-winter, while, to mark the difference of climate between the two sides of the continent, the good folks of Montreal, though occupying a lower parallel than ourselves, were sleighing it merrily through the clearest and driest of atmospheres. But, towards the close of the fortnight, the weather occasioned something much worse than mere detention. On the sixteenth of the month [December]… our mainmasts were simultaneously struck by lightning, that of the Cowlitz escaping with a slight scorching, but that of the Columbia being so severely shattered, as perhaps to require replacing at the Sandwich Islands, before she could safely proceed to England.” At last,

About the eighteenth of the month [December], the wind veered to the northward, with frost and clear weather; but it was not before the twenty-first, that the bar became sufficiently tranquil. There being now a favorable breeze from the northeast as well as smooth water we prepared to escape from the prison which had held us in durance vile for seventeen days; and accordingly, about two in the afternoon, both vessels got underway….

The Cowlitz left Baker’s Bay for the open Pacific on December 21, after a two and a half week delay. In conversations with the captain, Simpson learned that the ships could be delayed in Baker’s Bay for up to seven weeks at a time. (The HBC ships could also be delayed outside the river mouth: as we know, on his return from the northwest coast in 1834, Peter Skene Ogden and his crew were delayed a month outside the bar.)

So, Simpson took the long delay of 17 days, and the still present danger of the crossing of the bar, into consideration when he and McLoughlin held their conference in the Sandwich Islands. Here is what Simpson said in his book:  

Even under the conditions of fair wind and smooth water we had reason for not feeling quite secure. On a depth of four or five fathoms the river and the ocean, even in their mildest moods, could hardly meet without raising a swell the more dangerous on account of its shallowness; and the slightest caprice of the breeze, while we were entangled amid the intricate and narrow channels, might have left us to be driven by an impetuous tide on sands where the stoutest ship, in the finest weather, would be knocked to pieces in very few hours. We contrived, however to turn our consort to good account. The Columbia, having been anchored nearer to the bar, took the lead; and the Cowlitz, of course, was careful to make something of a pilot out of her wake, professional pilots being clearly out of the question. On gaining the safe side of the passage, the Columbia hoisted her colors and fired a salute for Old England — a signal of safey, which in a few minutes we had the happiness of returning. Here the vessels separated for their immediate destinations of Woahoo and California; and as our present breeze was a perfectly fair wind for both, they diverged so rapidly that before the day failed them, they had pretty nearly lost sight of each other. 

So they made it safely across the bar and into deep water. Who is travelling with Governor Simpson? Chief Factor John Rowand of Edmonton House is here, as is his son, Doctor Alexander Rowand. Chief Factor John McLoughlin is travelling with him, while Douglas remained behind to look after the business of the Fort, and to guide Sinclair’s migrants on to Fort Nisqually. Simpson’s secretary, Edward Martin Hopkins, is here. Hopkins was picked up as Simpson’s returning party passed through Fort Nisqually. (If you remember he was sick and stayed behind at that place while the others sailed up the coast.) Who else? Who was the Captain of the Cowlitz? Well, I am happy to find that it was one of my favorite sea-captains, William Brotchie! Horatio Hale, scientist in the USSEX, and son of the woman who wrote “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” was here, if you remember. Also aboard the Cowlitz was a Mr. de Mofras, and Mrs. Rae, John McLoughlin’s daughter who was married to the man now in charge of the California post. Have I forgotten anyone?

And who was “Mr. de Mofras,” you might ask? I did, and discovered he was perhaps the most interesting man aboard this ship! Eugene Duflot de Mofras, of Toulouse, France, was a French naturalist, botanist, diplomat, and explorer. In 1839 he came north from his French legation post in Mexico City to explore the Pacific Coast of North America, particularly California and Oregon Territory. He is now on his way to California on the Cowlitz! While stationed at Yerba Buena, he traveled inland to John Sutter’s post on the Sacramento River, which is apparently called Rancho New Helvetia.  

When did the Cowlitz reach the California post? The Cowlitz left the mouth of the Columbia in the early afternoon of December 21, 1841. A southeaster blew in and the ship sailed out to the safety of the open ocean. They sailed for three days: and the gale moderated on Christmas Day, December 25. On the 17th the wind died and they steered for land. At dawn, December 28, Simpson said he caught sight of the coast somewhere between Cape Mendocino and Bodega Bay, and that afternoon they sailed past Bodega Bay. On December 28 (afternoon) and all day December 29, they lay becalmed (“like a log in the sea,” he said) outside San Francisco Bay. “The sails flapped listlessly against the masts; the vessel heaved reluctantly on the sluggish waters; and the long swell slowly rolled the weight of this giant ocean towards the whitened sand.”  When did they drop the anchor outside Yerba Buena, where the HBC post was, Simpson did not say. He does say, however, that when his secretary, Edward Hopkins, visited the Russian ship just inside the harbour, it was Friday for them, and Thursday for the HBC men. That means that the Cowlitz made it into the harbour on Thursday, December 30. On that same day they sailed for Yerba Buena, where:  

On our right, just opposite to the ground occupied by the Constantine and the California, stretched the pretty little bay of Yerba Buena, whose shores are doubtless destined, under better auspices, to be the site of a flourishing town, though at present they contain only eight or nine houses in addition to The Hudson’s Bay Company’s establishment. Here we dropped anchor in the neighbourhood of four other vessels, the American barque Alert and brig Bolivar, the British barque Index and the Mexican brig Catilina, and after firing a salute, went ashore to visit Mr. Rae, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s representative in this quarter.

The Mr. Rae, who is manager of the HBC store, is William Glen Rae, husband to McLoughlin’s daughter who is travelling on the Cowlitz with her father. The Constantine was a Russian brig, and the California a “government schooner.” We also see our old friend, the Bolivar Liberator, lying at anchor off the Yerba Buena store. She is one of the American-owned brigs that in the 1830s sailed up the northwest coast, and all the HBC men knew her captain. She was owned by Alpheus Basil Thompson and John Coffin Jones, and she first arrived at the Sandwich Islands in 1832, sailing under Captain Nye. Between 1836 and 1841 the ship made three or four trips to California, returning with 60,000 hides. She was also involved in the sea otter trade beginning in 1834, mostly, it seems, in California. However, she does appear in the Fort Simpson post journals at the time that James Birnie was at that northern post: the HBC men seemed to like the captain. who was probably at that time the owner, Captain Alpheus Basil Thompson. 

I want to see what Governor Simpson says of the meetings with John McLoughlin, that took place in the Sandwich Islands — although I think he does not speak of those meetings in his book. He spent some time in San Francisco Harbour before sailing for the Sandwich Islands. If I find that what he says in the future is interesting enough to post, then I will add a post here. But there are a lot of extra words to go through here. He is not a focused writer, and includes so much information that is irrelevant to my story, at least.  

If I continue on with this series (depending what I find at the California post, the Sandwich Islands, and the journey north to Sitka in the Cowlitz, I will post it here: https://nancymargueriteanderson.com/if-i-write-another-post-in-this-serries/  If not, there will not be a post here. 

If you want to go to the very beginning of this story, go here: https://nancymargueriteanderson.com/rough-notes/

In the end, finding that stray document in the BC Archives, and identifying the author of it, was a really interesting project for me. The document itself isn’t important: there is no information contained in it that isn’t in Simpson’s book, An Overland Journey Round the World. Nevertheless, it led me to that book, and to a new story, and a new way to address the book I am now writing. It wasn’t working! It was not gelling: I had too much information that I thought had to be in the book I was writing. Then, in the middle of the night, a few nights ago, my brain (unasked) came up with a solution to a problem that I didn’t even know I had.

And another realization: Did you know that every time Governor Simpson came to the west side of the Rocky Mountains, he travelled by a different route?

Copyright, Nancy Marguerite Anderson, 2025. All rights reserved. 

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