Fort McLoughlin
Fort McLoughlin was a Hudson’s Bay Company post, built on what the HBC men called “Milbanke Sound,” on the Northwest Coast, in 1833. Alexander Caulfield Anderson had only just arrived…
Read moreJames Birnie Retires
James Birnie was a big man; a broad-shouldered and deep-chested man who stood six feet tall, according to Irene Martin, who wrote the book Beach of Heaven. He spoke in…
Read moreBetsy Birnie
Betsy was the eldest daughter of James and Charlot Birnie, born in 1822 at the North West Company’s Spokane House. She was a toddler at Fort Okanogan. When she was…
Read moreCarlton House Journal
From John Stuart’s Carlton House Journals of 1824-25 we find some unexpected information about the Hudson’s Bay Company west of the Rocky Mountains, and the creation of the York Factory…
Read moreMurder at Pillar Rock
James Birnie played a role in the punishment of the murderers of the HBC fisherman at Pillar Rock in August 1840. This is the story that I promised you a…
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