Robert Birnie
Robert Birnie was the son of James Birnie, of the NWC and HBC. He was born in “Oregon [Country] in the year 1824, 7th February, place now called Astoria, it…
Read moreTwo 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 moreGrand Coulee
In 1848 Thomas Lowe’s York Factory Express went out by the Grand Coulee. No other express had taken that out of the way route, as far as I am aware,…
Read moreSouth of Fort Colvile, on the Columbia River
This post is the twenty first leg of the York Factory Express journey, and we are “falling down” the Columbia River south of Fort Colvile. The gentlemen who were keeping…
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