Athabasca River North
The year is 1843, and it is now the beginning of August. Augustus Richard Peers has now reached Clearwater River (sometimes called the Little Athabasca), and is ready to make…
Read moreSamuel Black
Samuel Black was the oddest of all the HBC men. Black, born in 1780, was a young highlander of enormous size when he came to Canada and joined the fur…
Read moreFort St. James
Fort St. James was the centre of the fur trade in north-central British Columbia, and played an important role in HBC’s exploration history. It was also where the HBC Brigades…
Read moreImpossible Journey
When I was doing research some time ago for another book (“The HBC Brigades”), I ran across one man who made an impossible journey through New Caledonia, heading north to…
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 more