Reverend Staines
In 1850, James Robert Anderson, and his older sister, Eliza Charlotte, traveled over the brigade trail from Fort Colvile with their father, Alexander Caulfield Anderson, to attend the school in…
Read moreTwo Canoes: Governor Simpson reaches the Fraser River
Governor Simpson has arrived at Fort St. James, and the first complaint he and his men have is about the provisions — or lack of them. As Archibald McDonald wrote…
Read moreWeather on the Lower Fraser River
I wrote this blogpost a few years ago, when there was extreme cold everywhere! The same seems to be happening again, particularly on the east side of the Rocky Mountains…
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 moreDonald Manson’s Retirement
Donald Manson was born in 1800, in Scotland, and worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company until 1857, when he retired. This is what Bruce Watson says of him in his…
Read more