Impossible Journey
When I was doing research some time ago for another book (“The Brigades”), I ran across one man who made an impossible journey through New Caledonia, heading north to the…
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 moreJoseph and Josephine Rondeau
I get asked a lot of questions, for the most part because people think I know everything about the Hudson’s Bay Company. I do not, although I have a lot…
Read moreLeather Pass
As a fur trade descendant, I have always called the northern pass through the mountains “Leather Pass.” Today this is officially known as the Yellowhead, which comes from its original…
Read moreTwo Canoes: Peace River Canyon
In 1828, Governor George Simpson and Chief Trader Archibald McDonald made their way from Hudson Bay to the Peace River, on their way west to Fort Langley. McDonald had been…
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