Two Canoes: Jasper Valley
In October 1823, John Work and Peter Skene Ogden are making their way west from York Factory, on Hudson Bay, to their new employment on the Pacific slopes. For Work…
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: the Athabasca River
What shall I write about today? A question often asked, and almost always answered. Lets do John Work’s journal, as he travels up the Athabasca River west of newly constructed…
Read more“Eatables”
As George Traill Allan made his way down the Jasper Valley at the head of the outgoing York Factory Express party, he wrote these words in his journal: About 8…
Read moreThe York Factory Express, Introduction
Welcome to the York Factory Express, and its many stories of Scottish traders and Métis voyageurs and others who travelled across the continent in the Express boats. This is my…
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