William John Macdonald

Flintlock Guns

William John Macdonald worked at Fort Victoria in the early 1850s. He was also a member of the Victoria Voltigeurs — but when? This is what I am trying to figure out: I want to know if he was the man who was the Constable at Fort Victoria in 1852, when the Victoria Voltigeurs had a little trouble with the Songhees people who lived across the water. See this post for clarification: https://nancymargueriteanderson.com/constable/ 

Here is what Bruce Watson says about William John Macdonald, in Lives Lived:

A twenty-one year old William John Macdonald joined the HBC in 1850 and came to Vancouver Island on the Tory. After his arrival he worked in the fort’s office with Roderick Finlayson, and established a salmon fishery on San Juan Island. In 1854 he purchased a town lot in Victoria and, because Macdonald’s health was deteriorating, went south to San Francisco and on to Honolulu. In 1856, after returning to Victoria and as captain of the local militia, Macdonald, James Douglas, and part of the local militia set out on a punitive action against a member of the Cowichan tribe. With the arrival of thirty thousand men seeking gold in 1858, Macdonald had to work extremely hard at a variety of jobs such as collector of customs, postmaster, Gold Commissioner, issuer of Mining licences, etc. [In other words, he took over from A.C. Anderson after Anderson was fired from those positions.] At the end of his contract on August 1, 1858, Macdonald retired and entered the mercantile business….

So Macdonald was the captain of the local militia, the Victoria Voltigeurs, but not until 1856. The question still stands: who was the Constable?

I can’t answer that now, obviously. But here is part of what William John Macdonald has to say in his pamphlet, “A Pioneer, 1851,” found in the BC Archives. 

The end of this year [1849] my father died, also my grandmother, Mrs. McRae of Kintail. I was offered by the Hon Edward Ellicao of Glenguich, a director of the Hudson’s Bay Company, a position in the company’s service in Vancouver Island, which I could not then accept on account of my father’s death. 

1850 — Leaving for London in November, to join my ship for Vancouver Island. On my arrival in the city I went direct to the Hudson’s Bay offices, Fenchurch Sreet, to report to Mr. [Archibald] Barclay, the head secretary, who received me cordially and secured room for me at the George and Vulture Hotel. Next I went to Favel and Bonsfield, outfitters, to purchase an outfit for my long voyage… Previous to embarking I met Captain William Mitchell to be fellow passenger coming to Victoria to take command of the steamer Beaver. Also I met John M. Wark, a clerk in the service, coming out.

John McAdoo Wark was the nephew of Chief Factor John Work. Wark would be assigned, first, to Fort Simpson. He was clerk at Fort Vancouver when it closed. So let’s continue Macdonald’s story:

At the end of November I embarked on the slow old-fashioned barque, Tory, 500 tons. Captain [Alexander] Duncan, who has his wife on board. She had a piano with her, was plain looking, wore curls, and squinted. Robert Williams, first mate, a good natured man who sang well; Herbert Leis, second mate, not so agreeable, and Jay, third mate. Captain James Cooper, supercargo, with his young wife, and George Johnston, surgeon, were on board. Also Richard Golledge, a clerk, who wrote a beautiful hand and became secretary to Mr. [James] Douglas, Chief Factor. Poor Golledge was depraved, living for years among the Songhees Indians, and died at their village. John Wark was stationed at Fort Simpson, Cariboo, and Victoria respectively, died in 1909, leaving a wife and family. 

Our ship was towed down to Gravesend, where Captain [Edward] Langford, wife and five daughters, and Captain Cooper and wife came on board. Captain Pelly, ship’s husband [?], and W.G. Smith, assistant secretary, Hudson’s Bay House, came on an inspection visit before the ship sailed. Mr. Smith thoughtfully placed 10 pounds in my hand on sailing. [I wonder why?] The Langfords brought a mastive dog and a goat on board.

I think he is referring to the English Mastiff dog, not a mastive dog, whatever that might be. 

In the first cabin, twenty one of us; in the second cabin thirty: and in the steerage, ninety labouring men and families. Among those in the second cabin were Mr. and Mrs. [Thomas] Blinkhorn, and Mrs. Ella, then fourteen years old. Mr. Blinkhorn was bailiff to Captain [James] Cooper, on a farm at Metchosin. Miss Cameron, fresh from school, a niece of Mr. [James] Douglas, was on board, and William Henry Newton, one of the Langford party, who married the eldest daughter of John Tod, Chief trader in the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company. He was taken into the service and died at Fort Langley. Miss Cameron married W.H.G. Young, naval secretary to Captain Prevost, of the Satellite….

The Hudson’s Bay Company having a lease of Vancouver Island on certain conditions, one being to colonize, which will account for our steerage passengers. 

The Tory encountered severe gales in the Sea of Biscay, sailing with close-reefed topsails for days with “green seas washing over us.” The delay caused a shortage of food (or at least the worry of it), and the ship put into St. Jago, in the Cape de Verdes off Portugal. “On sailing from Cape de Verdes,” William John Macdonald said

we soon got to the tropics — trade winds, calms, and beautiful weather. rain occasionally, and a burning sun, our companions being porpoises and flying fish. I used to enjoy being soused in the wash deck in early mornings. Mrs. Duncan having a piano, and Aubery Dean, a second cabin passenger, having a metal flute, we used to have dances after dinner on the quarter deck. As we neared the Falkland Islands the weather became much cooler, gales, rain, thunder and lightning….

Here we enter on 1851. Sailing south with strong head wind, snow, and hail, going to 63 degrees south in trying to round Cape Horn. After getting into the Pacific Ocean our voyage was uneventful, no ships met, no land sighted. Our food was by this time three months out, became bad and scarce, cheese and biscuits full of weevils, water scarce and putrid part of the time…. Very monotonous sailing week after week without seeing any signs of life besides some sea birds and porpoises. 

Arrived at Victoria, Vancouver Island, 14th May, 1851. Although the voyage was long and tedious I had no wish to leave the ship and so many friends made on our long voyage. However, the next day after anchoring, Mr. Douglas, chief factor in charge, sent Mr. George Simpson [Jr.] in a large canoe manned by Indians, to take me on shore. On landing walked up the Fort to the Mess Hall, where I was met by Mr. Douglas and Mr. [Rockerick] Finlayson, who gave me a cordial welcome. Had early dinner, as the custom was, enjoyed the change of food from the ship — mutton, fish, grouse, etc., and fresh vegetables. 

After dinner, John Ogilvy, a stalwart young clerk in the service, brought two horses round to the hall, and off we went for a scamper round Beacon Hill and Clover Point, which I enjoyed immensely. Wild clover over those parts a foot high, which has died out. Milk and butter in abundance, the company having a dairy of one hundred cows on the hill where the Cathedral [Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral] now stands, afterwards moved to where the Pemberton house now stands…

After a few days rest, I was installed in the Company’s chief office with Chief Factor Finlayson.

At this time there were no houses outside the Fort, all the officers and men, about seventy in all, lived inside the fort…

Those of you who knew how few men there were at Fort Vancouver in 1852 will now learn that if a new man arrived in the territory, James Douglas wanted him to work at Fort Victoria. Seventy men! To continue:

All the officers and men, about seventy in all, lived inside the Fort, gates locked every night and watchmen set. In the month of June I was sent to San Juan Island to establish a salmon fishery, starting in a canoe with an Indian crew, Joseph W[illiam] McKay as pilot and locator of a site, and four French Canadian workmen….

I will leave the San Juan Island for another blogpost. “Soon the old schooner Cadboro, Captain [George] Dixon, came into our little bay with different kinds of supplies. I removed my quarters to her, and after a month we came back to Victoria, and I went back to office work.”

Every Saturday after 1 o’clock all work ceased, some of us riding out by Cedar Hill or Cadboro Bay, or canoeing to Esquimalt or up the Arm. Captain [Charles] Dodd, who had retired from the command of the Beaver to begin farming, returned to the service and to his old command, trading in the North being the chief business. Captain Mitchell was given command of a schooner called the Una, employed in the trade with the Sandwich Islands.

So I see no sign that William John Macdonald was part of the Victoria Voltigeurs in 1851 and 1852. His story skips suddenly from winter 1852 to 1855, when “the Russian war was going on, but we had very meagre news of what was being done in the Crimea and Sevastopol. Two British ships, the Pique and President, with Admiral Evans went north to Pretopauleski, to attack a small Russian settlement, accompanied by two French ships…” You will remember that the Russians were still living on the northwest coast, and those who lived in the Colony worried about their safety. Macdonald actually describes some sort of battle that supposedly happened between the Pique and President, and a Russian ship, a frigate called the Aurora. But where it happened??? A little research told me that the HMS Pique and the HMS President sailed north from Fort Victoria, along the coast and all the way to the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia, to play a part in the very unsuccessful siege of the Russian port of Petropavlovsk. Both the Pique and the President returned to Fort Victoria with news of the battle (and Macdonald describes this battle), which they lost. But look what comes next: 

This year a little trouble arose in the Songhees camp. An Indian shot an ox. The guilty man was demanded by Mr. Douglas and Mr. Finlayson, but the Indians refused to give him up, whereupon two boats with raw labourers were manned and armed in command of Mr. Finlayson. They pulled over to the village and demanded that the guilty man be surrendered. When the boats got into shoal water the Indians, instead of giving up the guilty man, made a dash for the boats, hauled them up high and dry, wrenched the guns out of the mens’ hands, leaving the war expedition helpless, but were allowed to return to the Fort with their boats. Then the steamer Beaver dropped down in front of the village with her guns run out ready to fire. On this demonstration the Indians gave in, surrendered the guilty man, who was taken to the Fort, lashed to an oak tree, flogged, and let go.

This occurred in 1852. The occurrences listed in this pamphlet are slightly out of order, and the description of the event is incorrect. I suspect Macdonald has combined the two attempts to have the man arrested: this describes the first attempt, when the boats and guns were seized. I wonder if Finlayson was leading the first attempt at arresting the man? Was he the Constable? I think not: he probably led the second unsuccessful expedition, when the HBC demanded the return of the two guns seized, and the boat. 

In 1855, it appears, William John Macdonald got sick and sailed to San Francisco, and on to the Sandwich Islands. In 1856, he returned to Fort Victoria in the Recovery, where his story continues [it begins in the Sandwich Islands]:

The time now came for the Recovery to sail back to Victoria. I took passage in her. Weather very fine. We were six days becalmed in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Arrived at Victoria middle of March, and after seeing and greeting old friends, went back to office work. Nothing of any consequence taking place. Ships of war coming and going. An Indian has shot a white shepherd [Peter Brown?], the tribe refusing to give him up, an expedition was organized to proceed to Cowichan to arrest and punish the guilty man. Captain Houston, with the sloop of war Trincomalee, the Otter with Sir James Douglas, Captain Mowat, myself as Captain of Militia, with fifty men. 

But this cannot be Peter Brown, as Peter Brown was shot in Victoria in 1852. Macdonald has confused two stories: the man who was shot at Cowichan in 1856 was a settler named Thomas Williams. Nevertheless, we’ve been able to confirm that this is when William John Macdonald was the Captain of the Victoria Voltigeurs! Let us continue: 

On landing we were met by 200 armed Indians, with their faces blackened, who danced and shouted in front of us. We marched on, not taking notice of the Indian demonstrations, halted at a fine plateau of grass and oak trees, told the Indians we were to remain until the guilty man was given up.  Soon he was led up by the tribe, was captured, tried and punished. In addition to office duty I had to train and organize a body of 50 armed men to guard the Coast from the depredations of the Northern Indians, who used to land on their way home and shoot cattle.

That more or less agrees with James Douglas’s description of events, if I remember correctly. So, pretty interesting stories: and a few of them are confirmed. I am still looking to figure out who the Constable was in 1852.

Copyright, Nancy Marguerite Anderson, 2025. All rights reserved. 

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