Blackeye Folklore
At the turn of the century, a small group of Athapascan warriors from the Chilcotins crossed the Fraser River and made their way south, toward Kamloops Lake. They knew they…
Read moreThe fur trade “Harangue”
In Alexander Caulfield Anderson’s journal of exploration, 1847, the explorer writes about a fur trade harangue. He doesn’t call it that, of course. But he harangued the Natives who accompanied…
Read moreBlackeye, and Blackeye’s Son: Who are They?
In Alexander Caulfield Anderson’s 1846 journal, we come across the Similkameen Native man named Blackeye. This is what Anderson wrote of him [it has been edited for length]: Saty 6th…
Read moreTattoos in the Fur Trade
Tattoos are everywhere nowadays it seems, and everyone is wearing them. But I am interested in these body decorations for one reason only. They are part of the fur trade,…
Read moreTsilaxitsa, Okanagan chief
Alexander Caulfield Anderson left Kamloops for the last time (as a fur trader, at least) in 1849 when he led the Fort Colvile brigades out to Fort Langley. He would…
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