Leather 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 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 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…
Read moreSnowshoeing
The HBC’s “Rupertsland” was a land of winter, and for the HBC men snow-shoes were essential. At some point in their lives, every man who worked for the HBC (and…
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