The Canadians
In 1820-21, George Simpson (not yet Governor Simpson) spends his first winter in the HBC at Fort Wedderburn, on an island in Athabasca Lake. But this story begins even before…
Read moreSimon McGillivray Jr.
On September 22, 1820, George Simpson noted that “Messrs. [Jonas] Oxley & [George Peter] Andries have arrived” at Fort Wedderburn, “also Messrs. [Aulay] McAulay & [Amable] Grignon; the latter Gentlemen…
Read moreSimpson to Cumberland House
In August 1820, Governor locum tenans George Simpson had come upriver in canoes, from Rock Depot to Norway House, where the men of the Athabasca Brigades would load the remainder…
Read moreTo Fort George
In 1824, Governor George Simpson is making his way from York Factory to Fort George [Astoria], at the mouth of the Columbia River, on his first of three visits to…
Read moreA Look-Back at James Birnie’s life
So, in 1846, James Birnie retired, a disappointed man, after 28 years of working in the fur trade of the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. How did…
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