The Company of Adventurers E-Book

Isaac Cowie

• Herausgeber: Librorium Editions
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

A comprehensive, ancient and modern history of the Hudson’s Bay Company has yet to be written. It will probably be the work of many minds, each dealing with different aspects of its vast and varied operations, and tinged with the personality and prejudices of each writer. In the Dominion of the Fur Trade, extending far beyond the far-flung frontiers of the present Dominion of Canada, the fur traders were the pioneers of the British Empire, and, if that Empire to-day does not include all the regions they explored and exploited in the grand old days of yore, the glory of their deeds of daring should not be forgotten, nor should it be diminished, because the British Government and the Company’s directors from time to time suffered the North-Western States, Oregon and California and the interior of Alaska, to fall into the hands of American rivals.
In a vast territory where history was made at every important fur-trading post, by men who seldom attempted to leave written records which have been allowed to see the light of day in print, it is to-day a task of as great difficulty to exhume the buried remains of the human and personal history of individual pioneers as it is to find in the buried cities of the ancient Orient the material by which men of science of the present day try to interpret the past and depict it. True, many, in fact a surprisingly great number of books have been written by eminent explorers of the highest merits, as well as many by very able authors as the result of their studies of books and documents to which they had access—often denied the public; but these latter writers are all more or less special pleaders for views, more or less distorted by race and religion, and other circumstances over which they had as little control.

Leseprobe

THE COMPANY OF ADVENTURERS

THE AUTHOR “TAGGED,” JUNE, 1913. BY LADY COLLECTORS FOR NINETTE SANITARIUM.

THE COMPANY OF ADVENTURERS

A NARRATIVE OF SEVEN YEARS IN THE SERVICE OF THE

HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY DURING 1867-1874

ON THE GREAT BUFFALO PLAINS

WITH HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS

BY

ISAAC COWIE

© 2023 Librorium Editions

ISBN : 9782385744663

PREFACE

To preserve in print some of the recollections of personal experiences and oral history of the West, which are so quickly perishing by the departure of old pioneers and frontiersmen on the last lone trail, I was asked by Mr. W. Sanford Evans, Editor of The Winnipeg Telegram, in 1902, and by Mr. J. W. Dafoe, Editor of The Manitoba Free Press, in 1912, to contribute a series of articles to their Saturday issues. As other older-timers, who were much better qualified, refrained from taking up their pens in the good cause, I was happy to avail myself of the opportunities so liberally accorded me by these influential periodicals. While I felt sure of finding, for my simple narrative of things as they were, indulgent appreciation by the old timers generally, I was not prepared for the interest shown in the parts already published by so many of the newcomers, who are the pioneers of the present in this land of yet untouched—perhaps undreamt—natural resources. To meet a demand, often kindly expressed to me by those interested in the past, to have these published articles put in a collected form, and to bring down my recollections to a definite period, arrangements were made to bring out this book, ending with the time I left Fort Qu’Appelle, before the Mounted Police took effective possession of the plains, in June, 1874.

Herein are republished from The Manitoba Free Press, with slight corrections, mainly of typographical errors, the articles which I proposed in the Foreword thereto, down to “Summer Journey to Cypress Hills, 1868.” Then, the estimated space for the whole of the proposed series of articles having been exceeded, further publication ceased. When Dr. William Briggs undertook to bring out this book it was estimated that one of 316 pages would cover the period from the summer of 1868 to the spring of 1874, it being impossible to include in a book of ordinary size as well what might have been written of Lake Manitoba, Ile à la Crosse, Portage la Loche and Athabasca; but the 316 pages have been exceeded beyond expectation, and I have learned the wisdom of first completing the manuscript of a book ere making a contract for its publication. As a consequence of this and the rush of other work on the publisher, the issue of the book has been delayed far beyond the time at which I hoped it might appear.

The arrangement with the publisher having been contingent upon my obtaining a sufficient number of subscribers, I now have the pleasure of thanking those whose kindness enabled me to guarantee him against loss; and I take pride in appending the list, which contains so many eminent and respected names.

For the illustrations I here record my grateful obligations to Dr. Doughty, Dominion Archivist, for the sketches by a Swiss Selkirk settler in 1821-2; to Mrs. Cowan, the widow of Dr. William Cowan (who was in charge of Fort Garry when it was seized by Riel in 1869), for many photographs of Hudson’s Bay officials; to Mr. J. G. M. Christie for the picture of his grandfather, Governor Christie; to Mr. W. J. McLean for that of York Factory, by his father-in-law, Chief Trader Murray; and to retired Chief Factor William Clark for the view of Norway House so beautifully taken by Chief Factor James McDougall. My special acknowledgments are due to Mr. Edward Lawson, artist on the staff of The Manitoba Free Press, for touching up the Swiss artist’s sketches for printing, and for drawing from my rude diagrams the bird’s-eye view of Fort Qu’Appelle in 1867.

The country in which the Qu’Appelle Indians hunted and fought lay south and west from the great Saskatchewan trail which, passing north of Touchwood Hills to the North Saskatchewan at Carlton, followed the course of that river to Edmonton and terminated in pack trails through the Rocky Mountains. Distinguished travellers took that route, and wrote about the Saskatchewan country as the scene of their hunting exploits. The British and Canadian exploring expeditions of 1858-9, under Captain Palliser and Professor Hind, respectively, failed to cross the Couteau de Missouri to the south-west, and their farthest point west was only a few miles along the South Saskatchewan beyond the Elbow. Beyond the Couteau and the Elbow their native guides and men refused to proceed; for these marked, at that period, the limit of the hunting grounds won by the Crees and their allies from the Blackfeet and other hostile tribes. To reach the Cyprè (erroneously now called “Cypress”) Hills, Palliser was obliged to go round by Edmonton, where he obtained Blackfoot guides and men acquainted with that tribe to accompany him in sufficient force to ensure tolerance on the journey south to the hills. Even under these circumstances his followers made the journey with fear and reluctance.

In 1859 the Right Honourable Henry Chaplin and the late Sir Frederick Johnstone made a buffalo hunting dash across the Couteau to the Old Wives’ Lakes, to which Mr. Archibald McDonald gave their names, that now appear on maps; but they published no record of their intrusion into the country lying west of the Couteau and stretching to the Cyprè Hills, which continued to be the battleground between the Qu’Appelle Indians and the Blackfoot Confederacy during my seven years on the plains. The scene of my story is largely in this region, whose records, up to the spring of 1874, have never before been written.

The limits of an ordinary book have rendered the mention of many interesting persons and incidents impossible, but, I hope, the facts herein derived from my own experience and from the credible information of others may prove of some historical value in the future and also be of interest to people of the present day. The only apology I have to make for “rushing into print” is already given in the Foreword—none of those who were better qualified seemed willing to take up the task. These, however, may have the goodness to correct and amplify the statements herein contained. Indeed, I hope, in view of a possible second edition, that anyone noting any error or omission will have the kindness to point it out to me; for I am anxious that the book may furnish reliable data of history for future reference.

Isaac Cowie.

Winnipeg,

Thanksgiving Day, 20th October, 1913.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS FOR “THE COMPANY OF ADVENTURERS”

Arrived inWestern Canada

E. D. Adams, broker, Calgary

1884

Robert Adamson, Dominion Immigration Office, Winnipeg

1880

Adanac Club, Winnipeg

Alberta Government Library, Edmonton

W. G. Alcock, fruit grower, Collingwood East, B.C.

1869

W. C. Alderson, retired C.P.R. service, Winnipeg (2 copies)

1878

Montague Aldous, D.T.S., Winnipeg

J. W. Anderson, late H.B.C., Winnipeg

1882

Heber Archibald, K.C., Winnipeg (2 copies)

Robert Asham, farmer, Kinosoto, Manitoba

J. H. Ashdown, merchant, Winnipeg

1868

A. Bain, financial agent, Winnipeg

1880

G. W. Baker, barrister, Winnipeg

Reginald Beatty, general agent, Melfort, Saskatchewan

1872

Hon. Justice N. D. Beck, Edmonton

Charles N. Bell, F.R.G.S., Secretary Board of Trade, Winnipeg

1870

Joseph Bell, C.A., Winnipeg

1908

T. D. Bell, land agent, Vancouver, B.C.

R. B. Bennett, K.C., M.P., Calgary

James R. Bird, M.D., Whitewood, Saskatchewan

Born in

1863

George Black, Provincial Auditor, Winnipeg

1870

Thomas Black, merchant, Winnipeg

1872

R. J. Blanchard, M.D., surgeon, Winnipeg

1879

Rev. S. G. Bland, D.D., Winnipeg

J. T. Blowey, retired merchant, Vancouver, B.C. (2 copies)

Charles B. Booth, grocer, Winnipeg

H. N. Bowman, law clerk, Winnipeg

1898

John C. F. Bown, K.C., Edmonton

J. W. Briggs, real estate agent, Winnipeg

1883

Alfred Brown, retired, Edmonton

Edward Brown, broker, Winnipeg

1888

Thomas Bruce, insurance manager, Winnipeg

1889

Robert Bullock, retired merchant, Selkirk, Manitoba

W. J. Bulman, lithographer, Winnipeg. Born in W. Canada

John R. Bunn, Inspector of Indian Agencies, Winnipeg. Born in Western Canada

Acton Burrows, publisher, Toronto

1879

Theodore A. Burrows, ex-M.P., Winnipeg (3 copies)

1875

Lawrence Burpee, Secretary International Joint Commission, Ottawa

Donald Cameron, farmer, Headingly, Manitoba

Born in

1838

Henry Cameron, manufacturers’ agent, Winnipeg

1883

John Cameron, mine owner, Edmonton

1876

W. G. Campbell, M.D., Winnipeg

Canadian Bank of Commerce, Toronto

Captain G. F. Carruthers, Winnipeg

1871

Hugo Carstens, German Consul, Winnipeg

1884

J. F. Caldwell, retired, Winnipeg

Horace Chevrier, merchant, Winnipeg

J. G. M. Christie, H. B. officer, Winnipeg (2 copies)

Born in

1857

C. T. Christie, H. B. officer, Mackenzie River

Born in

1864

William Clark, retired Chief Factor, H.B.C., Winnipeg (2 copies)

1861

A. C. Clare, farmer, St. Andrews, Manitoba

Born in

1866

Sir Thomas Clouston, M.D., Edinburgh

Alfred A. Codd, real estate agent, Victoria, B.C.

M. C. Colcleugh, druggist, Winnipeg (5 copies)

Very Rev. Dean Coombs, The Deanery, Winnipeg

Captain Copland Cowlard, Raeburn, Manitoba

J. K. Cornwall, M.L.A., Edmonton

J. W. Dafoe, editor Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg

A. R. Davidson, capitalist, Winnipeg (5 copies)

1902

Judge Dawson, Winnipeg

1881

W. T. Devlin, merchant, Winnipeg

1882

Dominion Government Public Printing Department, Ottawa (2 copies)

Dr. A. G. Doughty, Dominion Archivist, Ottawa

George Drever, retired H. B. officer, Cupar, Saskatchewan

1870

Frederick W. Drewery, Redwood Factories, Winnipeg

R. C. Edwards, journalist, Calgary

J. L. Elvin, business broker, Winnipeg

E. C. Emery, barrister, Edmonton

C. H. Enderton, real estate agent, Winnipeg (2 copies)

John Erzinger, Swiss Consul, Winnipeg

W. J. Finucan, manager Merchants Bank, Winnipeg

1911

E. Bailey Fisher, barrister, Winnipeg

1889

W. M. Fisher, retired financial agent, Winnipeg

Joseph Fletcher, distributor of stamps, P. O., Winnipeg

Senator Forget, Banff, Alberta

William Frank, real estate agent, Winnipeg

John Freeman, conductor, C.P.R., Winnipeg

J. H. Gariepy, retired merchant, Edmonton (2 copies)

W. L. Gariepy, barrister, Edmonton

W. Scott Garrioch, real estate agent, Portage la Prairie

William T. Gibbins, real estate agent, Winnipeg

1872

E. F. Gigot, manager H.B.C., Nelson, B.C.

1872

G. A. Glines, broker, Winnipeg (2 copies)

L. A. Goodridge, hotelkeeper, Edmonton

Rev. Charles W. Gordon, D.D., Winnipeg

James Ogden Grahame, retired Chief Trader H.B.C., Victoria, B.C. (2 copies). Born in Western Canada

Donald Grant, insurance agent, Winnipeg

Captain William Grassie, 79th Highlanders, Winnipeg (3 copies)

Lieut.-Colonel W. A. Griesbach, Edmonton. Born in Western Canada

John A. Gray, clerk, St. Andrews, Manitoba

1907

F. T. Griffin, Land Commissioner C.P.R., Winnipeg

1883

C. S. Gunn, broker, Winnipeg

Rev. H. G. Gunn, Lockport, Manitoba. Born in W. Canada

John Gunn, LL.D., editor, Edinburgh

Peter Gunn, M.L.A., Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta

1883

R. E. Gunn, real estate agent, Winnipeg

1875

John Haffner, real estate agent, Winnipeg

1882

John Holroyde, manager Commercial Union Assurance Co., Winnipeg

George Ham, Literature Manager, C.P.R., Montreal

Basil G. Hamilton, land agent, Invermere, B.C.

1890

James Hargrave, rancher, Medicine Hat, Alberta

1867

Charles Hay, ex-M.L.A., Manitoba; now Vancouver, B.C. (2 copies)

1862

Thomas Hay, Reeve of St. Clements, Manitoba. Born in Western Canada

Robert Hockley, agent, Edmonton (2 copies)

J. T. Huggard, barrister, Winnipeg

1872

E. F. Hutchings, manufacturer, Winnipeg

1876

W. J. Healy, journalist, Winnipeg

Harry Heap, broker, Selkirk, Manitoba

1900

Hon. William Hespler, Winnipeg

1873

Frank C. Ingrams, Secretary, Hudson’s Bay Co., London

Hon. Colin Inkster, Sheriff, Winnipeg. Born in W. Canada

Lieut.-Colonel Jamieson, Edmonton

1893

St. George Jellett, insurance agent, Edmonton

Edwin Johnstone, accountant, Winnipeg

Miss M. L. Kennedy, The Terrace, Virden, Manitoba (2 copies). Born in Western Canada

R. W. Kenny, M.D., surgeon, Winnipeg

George J. Kinnaird, accountant, Edmonton (3 copies)

1876

Senator Kirchoffer, Brandon

Dr. Otto Klotz, astronomer, Ottawa

Senator A. A. C. LaRiviere, Ottawa

Mrs. J. E. LaRoque, Punnichy, Saskatchewan

Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Ottawa

Miss Agnes C. Laut, authoress, Wassaic, Duchess County, New York

L. C. Lawrence, contractor, Winnipeg

Very Rev. Vicar General Leduc, O.M.I., St. Albert, Alberta

1866

Legislative Library of Saskatchewan, Regina (2 copies)

Captain John Leslie, 100th Grenadiers, Winnipeg (6 copies)

N. G. Leslie, manager Imperial Bank, Winnipeg

W. Rowe Lewis, real estate broker, Winnipeg

1881

Philip C. Locke, barrister, Winnipeg

Senator Lougheed, Calgary

Victor Mager, President, Pioneers of Rupert’s Land, St. Boniface (3 copies)

1858

C. A. Magrath, C.E., ex-M.P., International Joint Commission, Ottawa

Charles Mair, poet and author, Fort Steele, B.C. (2 copies)

1868

Chester Martin, Professor of History, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg

Duncan Matheson, retired Factor, H.B.C., Inverness, Scotland

1864

Lieut.-Colonel J. B. Mitchell, Winnipeg

H. J. Moberly, retired Chief Trader, H.B.C., Duck Lake, Saskatchewan

1854

Hon. W. H. Montague, M.D., Winnipeg

John Mooney, clerk, Kirkwall, Orkney

John G. Morgan, insurance agent, Winnipeg

1880

Rev. A. G. Morice, historian, St. Boniface

John G. Mowat, clerk H.B.C., Moose Factory. Born in Western Canada

W. Redford Mulock, K.C., barrister, Winnipeg

Alexander Munro, retired clerk H.B.C., Minitonas, Manitoba

1860

James Munroe, Lord Selkirk Settlers’ Association, Winnipeg. Born in Western Canada

J. H. Munson, K.C., barrister, Winnipeg

1881

W. W. Musgrove, M.D., Winnipeg. Born in W. Canada

D. W. MacDonald, druggist, Edmonton

R. MacFarlane, retired Chief Factor H.B.C., Winnipeg (2 copies)

1852

Venerable Archdeacon J. A. MacKay, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Born in Western Canada

Hugh MacKenzie, barrister, Winnipeg

Rev. Dr. John MacLean, author, Winnipeg

George Stewart MacRae, prospector, Selkirk, Manitoba

1873

A. McAllister, wholesale stationer, Winnipeg

Archibald McDonald, retired Chief Factor H.B.C., Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan

1854

Donald H. McDonald, private banker, Fort Qu’Appelle, Winnipeg

1867

Donald McDonald, fur trader (late H. B. Co.), Fairford, Manitoba (2 copies)

1862

E. C. McDonald, farmer, Lockport, Man. Born in W. Canada

James H. McDonald, broker, Strathcona, Alberta

James McDougall, retired Chief Factor H.B.C., Victoria, B.C.

1860

Rev. John McDougall, D.D., Calgary

1860

John McDougald, Commissioner of Customs, Ottawa

M. W. N. McElheran, Stovel Co., Winnipeg

D. A. McIvor, fur trader, Norway House, Manitoba

1877

J. D. McIntosh, librarian, Winnipeg

1882

Daniel McIntyre, LLD., Superintendent of Schools, Winnipeg

James McKay, K.C., M.P., Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (5 copies). Born in Western Canada

Hon. Thomas McKay, farmer, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (2 copies). Born in Western Canada

W. C. McKay, M.L.A., farmer, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Born in

1858

N. E. McKechnie, salesman, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

George McKenzie, retired H.B.C. officer, Winnipeg. Born in Western Canada

Lieut.-Colonel Archibald McLean, Ottawa

W. J. McLean, ex-H. B. officer, President Old Timers’ Association, Winnipeg

1859

H. C. McLeod, fur trader, Cross Lake, Nelson River

1874

J. A. McLeod, farmer, Armstrong, B.C.

John W. McLeod, Clerk Executive Council, Regina

1878

Lendrum McMeans, K.C., M.L.A., Winnipeg

1872

Hon. Sir Daniel H. McMillan, Winnipeg

1870

Donald C. McTavish, retired Chief Factor H.B.C., Colborne, Ontario

1864

Gordon C. McTavish, barrister, Winnipeg

Major W. Hill Nash, Winnipeg

1870

William Nimmons, retired farmer, Victoria, B.C.

1869

Alexander Norquay, Dominion Lands Agent, Edmonton. Born in Western Canada

Andrew J. Norquay, broker, Winnipeg. Born in W. Canada

Hon. Frank Oliver, M.P., Edmonton (12 copies)

1873

F. H. Paget, Indian Office, Ottawa

S. K. Parson, retired Chief Factor H.B.C., Montreal

1862

W. F. Payne, journalist, Winnipeg

J. H. Pickard, retired merchant, Edmonton

O. H. Pollard, printer, Winnipeg

T. J. Porte, jeweller, Winnipeg

1897

Mrs. C. A. Pritchard, Prince Albert

R. A. Pritchard, banker, Prince Albert

Provincial Library of British Columbia, Victoria, B.C.

Provincial Library of Manitoba, Winnipeg (2 copies)

William Pruden, farmer, Talbot, Alberta

Born in

1869

W. J. Ptolemy, Deputy Provincial Treasurer, Winnipeg

Rt. Rev. Bishop Reeve, D.D., Toronto

1869

Captain Hugh Richardson, Department of Indian Affairs, Winnipeg

Hon. W. J. Roche, M.D., M.P., Minister of the Interior, Ottawa

W. D. Rogers, farmer, Prince Albert

Hon. W. R. Ross, Minister of Lands, Victoria, B.C. Born in Western Canada

Hon. Philippe Roy, M.D., General Commissioner for Canada, Paris, France

Arthur Robertson, retired broker, Victoria, B.C.

1883

W. Scott Robertson, sheriff, Edmonton

W. J. Robinson, real estate agent, Winnipeg

1880

Edgar W. Rugg, publisher, Winnipeg

1882

Most Reverend Archbishop of Rupert’s Land, Winnipeg. Born in Western Canada

F. W. Russell, land agent C.P.R., Winnipeg

1885

Hon. A. C. Rutherford, LL.D., ex-Premier of Alberta, Strathcona

Colonel H. N. Ruttan, C.E., Winnipeg

George H. Saults, printer, Winnipeg

James Scott, real estate agent, Winnipeg (2 copies)

1879

Osborne Scott, passenger agent C.N.R., Winnipeg. Born in Western Canada

Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Scott, ex-Collector of Customs, Winnipeg

1870

Hon. Walter Scott, Premier of Saskatchewan, Regina

E. C. Scythes, broker, Winnipeg

Richard Secord, capitalist, Edmonton

Rt. Hon. the Countess of Selkirk, London

George H. Shaw, General Traffic Manager, C. N. Ry., Toronto

C. D. Shepard, real estate broker, Winnipeg

William Short, K.C., Mayor of Edmonton

Adam Shortt, M.A., C.M.G., Civil Service Commission, Ottawa

Mrs. J. B. Simpson, Secretary Women’s Canadian Historical Society, Ottawa

W. Scott Simpson, Indian Agent, Telegraph Creek, B.C. (3 copies). Born in Western Canada

C. C. Sinclair, manager, Peace River Land & Trading Co., Edmonton (2 copies). Born in Western Canada

John E. Sinclair, Dominion Fisheries Commissioner, Prince Albert (2 copies). Born in Western Canada

Captain John M. Smith, late H.B.C., Birds’ Hill, Manitoba

1871

J. Obed Smith, Dominion Commissioner of Immigration, London, S.W.

1882

Richard W. Smith, accountant, Winnipeg

1884

Robert Russell Smith, pioneer rancher, Devil’s Lake, Saskatchewan (2 copies)

1868

R. W. Smith, farmer, Dauphin, Manitoba

1865

Thomas H. Smith, ex-M.L.A., Springfield, Manitoba

1865

William Thomson Smith, financial agent, London, Ont.

1858

F. R. Sproule, barrister-at-law, Winnipeg

W. J. Squires, Winnipeg Cab Co., Winnipeg

1874

G. S. Sutherland, farmer, Kipiegun, Manitoba. Born in Western Canada

R. Ross Sutherland, barrister-at-law, Victoria, B.C. (Lord Selkirk’s Settlers Association)

Born in

1862

Hay Stead, journalist, Winnipeg

Colonel S. B. Steele, C.B., M.V.O., D.O.C., Military District

10, Fort Osborne, Winnipeg (2 copies)

1870

Herbert C. Stevenson, farmer, St. Louis Guilbert, Manitoba

Andrew Strang, Collector of Customs, Winnipeg

1868

W. E. Strang, merchant, Winnipeg. Born in W. Canada

Strathcona Public Library, South Edmonton (2 copies)

R. D. Stratton, barrister, Winnipeg

1902

E. A. Struthers, Western Agent, Dr. Bernardo’s Homes, Winnipeg

Magnus Tait, farmer, Mervin, Saskatchewan

Alexander Taylor, Clerk of Supreme Court, Edmonton

Judge H. C. Taylor, Edmonton

Thomas W. Taylor, M.L.A., Winnipeg

1877

Joseph M. Tees, Secretary Army and Navy Veteran Association, Winnipeg

1880

D. M. Telford, H. M. Customs, Winnipeg

J. A. Thompson, real estate agent, Winnipeg

1882

James Thomson, Land Commissioner, Hudson’s Bay Co., Winnipeg (2 copies)

Capel Tilt, broker, Grain Exchange, Winnipeg

James H. Tofield, M.D., Tofield, Alberta

W. E. Traill, retired Chief Trader H.B.C., Meskanaw, Saskatchewan

1864

Thomas Turnbull, C.E., Winnipeg

T. M. Turnbull, Canadian Bank of Commerce, Edmonton

J. P. Turner, insurance agent, Winnipeg

Charles Vokes, financial agent, Winnipeg

A. E. Voyer, telegraphist, Edmonton

L. A. Walch, real estate dealer, Winnipeg

Robety C. Wallace, D.Sc., Professor of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg

J. Bruce Walker, Commissioner of Immigration, Winnipeg

1903

Arthur Wickson, retired banker, Winnipeg

1882

John Williams, retired insurance agent, Winnipeg

1882

H. F. Willson, Willson Stationery Co., Winnipeg

1900

David Wilson, accountant, Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask.

1904

J. A. Wilson, Manitoba Civil Service, Winnipeg

Winnipeg Public Library, Winnipeg (2 copies)

C. A. Whipple, artist, New York

Sir William Whyte, Winnipeg

1886

David Young, M.D., Winnipeg

Henry Young, solicitor, Winnipeg

Walter B. Young, C.E., Winnipeg

A French Idea Adopted by Prince Rupert.

Radisson and Groseillers.

The Tipping of the Scales—From New France to Old England.

Prince Rupert.

The First Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort.

The Royal Charter.

A Century on the Coast.

Forty Years Before Vérandrye.

Hearne, the Great Explorer.

The Daring Enterprise of the North-West Company.

The Struggle Between the Rival Companies Begins.

The North-West Company Formed.

The Commercial War in the Wilderness.

The Schemes of Selkirk.

The Earl’s Gamekeepers vs. The Native and North-West Poachers.

The Tragedy of Seven Oaks.

The Surrender of Fort Douglas.

The Nameless Brave.

War Still in the North.

The Union of the Companies.

The Far-Reaching Effect of the Union.

The Red River Settlement Rendered Permanent.

CHAPTER I. THE ORKNEY ISLANDERS AND RUPERT’S LAND—THE HALF CASTES.

The Orkney Pioneers of Red River.

York Factory versus Montreal.

The Origins of the Halfbreeds.[1]

CHAPTER II. THE PRINCE RUPERT—HER CREW, CARGO AND PASSENGERS.

Form of Contract Between the Employees and the Company.

Neither Board nor Lodging.

Land Grants Promised.

Many Grants Still Withheld.

The “Prince Rupert” Described.

The Crew.

Passengers.

The Cargo.

Cabin Fare and the Mate.

CHAPTER III. ACROSS THE WESTERN OCEAN.

All Aboard.

Hoist “Blue-Peter.”

Upon the Atlantic.

The Dog Watch Entertainments.

The Bosun Bold.

Spun Yarns.

Exercise Below and Aloft.

Sail Ho!

Off Cape Farewell.

Greenland’s Icy Mountains.

Crossing Davis Straits.

CHAPTER IV. THROUGH STRAITS AND BAY—THE HUDSON BAY ROUTE.

Off Cape Resolution.

Savage Islands.

Meet a Yankee Whaler.

Capes Wolstenholme and Digges.

Storm and Fog.

Round Mansfield Island.

In Hudson Bay.

Off Churchill.

Anchor in York Roads.

Cruise in the Gig.

Our Mentor the Mate.

The Hudson Bay Route.

CHAPTER V. YORK FACTORY.

York Roads and “Five Fathom Hole.”

“Ocean Nymph” and Yankee Whaler.

We Disembark.

Officers’ Quarters.

Bellicose Bachelors.

The Commercial Capital of Rupert’s Land.

Far-Sighted Business Methods.

The Manufactures of York.

Packing Goods for Portage.

All Eggs Not in One Basket.

Description of the Factory.

A Valuable Library.

Outside the Pickets.

The Graveyards.

Governor Sinclair’s Descendants.

Officials of the Factory.

Passengers to England.

The Officers’ Mess.

Get Billets and Set to Work.

Minutes of Council.

A Wedding.

Kindness and Hospitality.

CHAPTER VI. FROM INLAND SEA TO LAKE INLAND—YORK FACTORY TO NORWAY HOUSE.

Our Chums at York.

Prepare to Start.

Voyaging Outfit and Rations.

The Red River Brigade.

The Hayes River Route.

Tracking Up Stream.

The Spur of Rivalry.

By Strength and Skill.

Fortitude in Distress.

Their Food.

The Black Cup That Cheers.

Muscle-Driven Transport.

The Highland Laddies.

Our First Camp.

Yelling “ ’Leve, ’Leve.”

The Scenery Improves.

Absence of Game.

Picturesque Hill River.

“With a Long, Strong Pull.”

A Sailing Race on Knee Lake.

The “Long” Portage Brigade Passes.

Oxford House.

Through Hell Gates.

Tournaments of the Tripmen.

The Height of Land.

CHAPTER VII. NORWAY HOUSE AND ACROSS LAKE WINNIPEG.

Norway House.

Norwegians.

“Divide and Rule.”

Important Base.

The First Hudson’s Bay Road.

Where East and West Meet.

The Old Transportation Problem.

Manning the Boats.

The Bucking Brigades.

The Old York Boat Freight Rates.

Wintering and Training Recruits.[10]

Place Well kept, with Fine Garden.

The Swan River Boats.

Other Good Fellows.

On Lake Winnipeg.

CHAPTER VIII. IN THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT.

St. Peter’s.

At Lower Fort Garry.

From Lower to Upper Fort Garry.

At Fort Garry.

Predisposing Causes of the Red River Troubles.

A Contented Community.

Governed by Consent of the Governed.

A Benevolent Despotism Tempered by Riot.

The Stone Forts and Their Builder.

Governor Christie.

CHAPTER IX. THE RISE OF FORT GARRY AND THE DECLINE OF YORK FACTORY.

Increasing Traffic with United States.

York Factory Side-tracked.

The Steamboat Age.

Journey Resumed.

An Attractive Start.

Deserters, Mormons and “Rouge.”

Cuthbert Grant.

Métis’ Warlike Virtues.

A Burden of a Beast.

My French Chef.

Poplar Point.

Portage la Prairie.

The Honored Founders.

“Governor” Spence—His Reign.

Bill Watt, O’Donoghue’s Captor.

Join Swan River Men.

CHAPTER X. SWAN RIVER DISTRICT.

Brandon.

Chief Factor Colin Robertson.

John Richards McKay, P.M.

Fort Ellice.

Walter Traill.

“Billy” McKay, Chief Trader.

Rev. Thomas Cook.

Buffalo “Go West.”

The Sioux.

Paz-zy-o-tah—Buffoon or Fiend?

A Good Time.

Gaelic Predominates.

Old Highland Feuds.

Leave Fort Ellice.

Indians Against Bi-lingualism.

Tom Lamack.

Wooded Country.

An Ancient Firearm.

Long Barrels.

Elk Antler Hill.

Calling River.

Favel a Fisherman.

About the Ponies.

At the Fort.

The McDonalds.

The Assiniboines or “Stonies.”

The Blackfeet.

Religion and Rum.

A Post of Danger and of Honor.

CHAPTER XII. A BUFFALO “PROVISION POST.”

La Belle Qu’Appelle.

The Lovely Lakes.

Fort Qu’Appelle.

The People of the Fort.

Jerry McKay, Interpreter.

Alick Fisher, Horse Guard and Counsellor.

The Rest of the Garrison.

Oral Instruction.

Good Reading.

Lynx and Whitefish.

The Account Books.

Post Accounts.

The Journal of Daily Occurrences.

Perished Historical Records.

The Indian Debt Book.

My First Temporary Charge.

A Real Greenhand.

A Native Dandy.

Attempt to “Play Over a Moonyass.”

A Real Indian Missionary.

A Traveller From New Caledonia.

An Imperialist Free Trader.

Fooled on a Silver Fox.

Ka-no-cees.

CHAPTER XIV. A WINTER TRIP TO THE PLAINS.

Enter Jack Frost.

“Tender Feet” and Native-born.

Chief “Growing Thunder.”

The Mis-ny-gan Amulet.

Heliographed Signals.

Tay-put-ah-um Perished in a Blizzard.

On the First Ice.

Christmas and New Year.

My First Trip With Dog Train.

A Blizzard on the Prairie.

At Pile of Bones.

At The Turn.

Buffalo Bulls.

Prairie Wolves.

CHAPTER XV. WOOD MOUNTAIN, OLD WIVES’ CREEK, AND RETURN TRIP TO QU’APPELLE.

Crossing the Couteau.

Safety Beneath the Snow.

Arrive at Wood Mountain.

Henry Jordan.

The Americans on the Missouri.

At Wood Mountain.

The Assiniboines.

My Friend Flemmand.

Old Wives’ Creek.

Start for the Fort.

Terror of the Old Wives.

Again Cross the Grande Couteau.

The Fury of Flemmand.

The Fury Abated.

Another Flare-up Extinguished.

Pile of Bones and Their Ghosts.

The Driver Driven.

CHAPTER XVI. THE CLOSE OF THE FUR TRADE YEAR.

The Winter Packets.

Spring the Busy Season.

Indian Debts.

Arrival of Cree Chief.

Pipe of Peace.

Packing the Furs.

Outdoor Athletics.

Trading in Sterling and Skins.

Closing the Outfit.

CHAPTER XVII. OUTFIT 1868 BEGINS—WITH CARTS TO INDIAN CAMP.

The Brigade to York Factory.

Joseph Finlayson.

Shipping Out the “Returns of Trade.”

Early Summer.

Newsmongers.

Prowling Sioux Spies.

My First Summer Trip to the Plains.

Surprised by Indians.

Defeated Warriors.

Scouting Ahead.

Fresh Buffalo Meat.

Indian Legends.

CHAPTER XVIII. THE CAMP OF THE ALLIED TRIBES.

A Field of Slaughter.

Escort into Camp.

Peter La Pierre.

Pee-wa-kay-win-in, Pemmican Purveyor to the Queen.

Big Camp of the Allies.

Cypress Hills.

Blackfeet Massacre Sixty Young Warriors.

Causes of Conflict.

Warriors’ Council Lodge.

Revenue Tariff.

Traders Resist the Impost.

Smouldering Enmities.

Destruction of a Prairie Sodom and Gomorrah.

CHAPTER XIX. A CAMP IN TURMOIL.

The Dogs Demand Tribute.

Led to Judgment.

From Prisoner to Dictator.

Great Slaughter of Blackfeet.

The Company’s Peaceful Policy.

A Grand Whoop-up.

Female Police.

All Traders Retire.

The Serenaders.

CHAPTER XX. IN THE MIDST OF ALARMS.

Moving Camp.

The Travois.

The Pack Dog.

Bad Water.

Marching Order.

The Fear of the Enemy.

Bear Baiting.

The Shadow Passes.

Tempted of Conspirators.

A Grand Buffalo Hunt.

The Spoils of the Chase.

A Night Attack.

Yellow Head Begs a Solatium.

We Plan to Depart.

CHAPTER XXI. THE RETURN TRIP TO THE FORT.

We Break Bounds.

Stony Refugees Follow.

Humphrey Favel, Renegade.

Scout After Scout.

A Forced March.

A Natural Stronghold.

Asleep on Guard.

The Blackfeet Let Up.

Wood Mountaineers Elope.

The Party Disperses.

Jerry and Traill Held Up.

CHAPTER XXII.[23] THE LATE SUMMER OF 1868 AND WINTER 1868-9.

Explanation.

A Thunderous Summer.

Haymaking and Horsekeeping.

A Sioux Cattle Stampede.

Police Duty.

Flemmand, a Walking Advertisement.

Caught in a Prairie Blizzard.

CHAPTER XXIII. HISTORY OF FORT PELLY AND A VISIT TO IT IN 1868-69.

Fort Pelly.

A Winter Visit to Fort Pelly.

A Fight for Furs.

Tom McKay, Second in Command.

William Thomson Smith.

Alan McIvor.

Mechanics.

The Missionary.

A Horseguard and Wolf-runner.

CHAPTER XXIV. THE SUMMER OF 1869.

The Navigation of Qu’Appelle River.

Deserting Boatmen.

Buffalo Close.

Moving Millions.

A Lone Hunt.

A Camp of Plenty.

Total Eclipse of the Sun.

Blackskin—Eclipse Breaker.

My First Buffalo Bull.

Smallpox on the Missouri.

The Qu’Appelle Indians are Vaccinated.

W. E. Traill.

CHAPTER XXV. LAST MOUNTAIN HOUSE, WINTER 1869-70.

On Horseback “Light.”

Native Antiseptic Surgery.

On the Trail Again.

A Blizzard.

Last Mountain House.

Piapot—“Lord of Heaven and Earth.”

The Brute Blackskin.

Métis Festivities.

“The New Nation.”

The Red River Rebellion Against the Company.

Frozen Feet.

Wood Saulteaux go to War.

Attempt to Break Into the Store.

CHAPTER XXVI. THE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER OF 1870.

The Gathering of the Clans.

Messrs. Breland and Amlin Counsel Non-Intervention.

Measures to Prevent Pillage of Other Posts.

Swan River Furs Sent Direct to St. Paul, Minnesota.

We Hold the Fort.

The Reception of the Troops.

“The Protection” of the Provisional Government Spurned.

Brown Bess Bellows.

CHAPTER XXVII. FALL OF 1870, AND WINTER 1870-1.

Last Mountain Post—The Hunters Return.

Failure of the Summer Hunt.

A Métis “Medicine Man.”

Civilized Society.

A Burglar, His Arrest and Attempted Revenge.

A Spring Trip to the Plains.

The Transformation of Flemmand.

Sitting Bull Robs a Company’s Trader.

A Man With a Buffalo Tooth.

A Hard Journey to Qu’Appelle.

CHAPTER XXVIII. THE SUMMER AND FALL OF 1871.

Starvation on the Plains.

Oxen Sacred—Starvation a Frivolous Excuse.

A Surprise Packet of Pemmican.

A Starving Trip Down the Assiniboine.

Held in Quarantine.

At Fort Garry.

Ride Back to Fort Ellice.

Return Again to Fort Garry.

Fall of 1871.

CHAPTER XXIX. WINTER AT CYPRÈ HILLS, 1871-2.

A Natural Game Preserve.

A Blackfoot War Party.

An American Métis Liquor Trader.

Blackfeet Hovering Around.

The Métis Retreat—Assiniboines Killed by Blackfeet.

A Hard Trip to Qu’Appelle.

Numerous Grizzlys and Elk.

CHAPTER XXX. IN FULL CHARGE OF QU’APPELLE, SUMMER, 1872.

My Apprenticeship Ended.

Colonel Robertson-Ross Slays a Sacred Ox.

Factor McKay Transferred to Fort Pitt.

New Plan for Trade.

All Advances to Indians Forbidden.

They Determine to Help Themselves.

Wiser Counsels.

A Widespread Conspiracy to Raid Manitoba.

The Crees and Saulteaux Refuse to Join it.

Teton Sioux Send an Armed Delegation.

Shaman, the Notorious.

The Rev. Père Lestanc and the Rebellion.

Americans at Cyprè Hills Clean Out a Camp of Assiniboines.

The Fall of 1872.

Inspecting Chief Factor, the Hon. W. J. Christie.

CHAPTER XXXI. SPRING AND SUMMER, 1873.

The Spring Rush.

Currency and Banking.

The Hon. Pascal Breland Again Peacemaker.

A Canadian Geological Survey Party.

Need of New Posts on South Saskatchewan River.

Chief Commissioner Smith.

CHAPTER XXXII. WINTER ON THE PLAINS, 1873-74.

Whiskey and Bloodshed.

A Badger at Bay.

Whiskey Seized and a Ball Given.

A German Noble Apprentice Clerk.

Relinquish My Charge.

To Fort Garry Again.

Robert Campbell.

Dr. Dawson’s Tribute to the Fur-trading Pioneers.

John Bell and Alexander Hunter Murray.

Nichol Finlayson and Ungava.

John McLean at Ungava.

Dease, Simpson, Anderson, Stewart and Rae.

Other Men of Mark Among the Adventurers.

New System of Trade.

FOREWORD

TO THE ARTICLES WHICH WERE PUBLISHED IN SATURDAY ISSUES OF THE MANITOBA FREE PRESS FROM FEBRUARY 17th TO DECEMBER 14th, 1912.

Listening to many a splendid story of adventure in the wilderness, around camp fires, and during the long winter nights before a blazing open chimney of the quarters in an isolated post, I have often urged the narrators to preserve in writing such interesting and valuable material. A few said they might take that trouble if it did not look like boasting, and others, who could tell the best of stories, were incapable of putting them on paper. But nearly all thought that there was nothing in their lives and adventures of interest to anyone outside of the Company’s people and their friends and companions—the missionaries in the wilds. There was also an understanding, amounting to the effect of an unwritten law, that the Company’s employees should publish nothing, and above all, when they occasionally visited parts civilized enough to have newspapers, to avoid reporters as they would his satanic majesty himself, lest some of the trade secrets of the solitudes might be revealed to rivals and other possible invaders of the fur preserves.

Since I ceased to be connected with the Company all this old policy of secrecy as to the Indian country has become a thing of the past in those parts in which I was stationed; and as those much better able and experienced than myself still refrain from recording their memories of life in the Hudson’s Bay service, under many conditions which have passed away, never to return, and the few survivors of those participants in the past are rapidly, one by one, leaving on the last lone trail, I shall attempt in the papers which follow to record such typical experiences and incidents as may serve to give newcomers to this country some idea of the life of their predecessors—the pioneers of Rupert’s Land.

At the time of my coming to the country, in 1867, it was as much in the state of nature, outside the Red River Settlement and the pickets of the posts and mission stations, as it was when originally discovered and explored. Only nature’s highways through the webs of interlocking waterways were in use, except where the Red River cart roved complainingly o’er the plains. But great changes to come were already casting their shadows before, and eighteen years after my arrival the prairies had been swept of their buffalo, and the great transcontinental railway had invaded the domain of the cart and cayuse, leaving only picturesque memories of a wild and romantic past. The prairie Indians, when I first saw them, were monarchs of all they surveyed, living like princes on the fat of abundant game, hunting their sport, and war their glorious pastime; for they were

“Free as the day when nature first made man,

Ere the base laws of servitude began,

When wild in woods the noble savage ran.”

No more pitiful result of the coming of civilization into the North-West can be seen than the contrast between “the chief his warriors leading,” in barbaric splendor arrayed, when buffalo covered the plains, and the poor, ragged outcasts who now pick up the leavings of the people who are now lords of the land. To a less unfortunate extent have the circumstances of the bold and the free Métis hunters, the freighters of the plains and the traders been affected, but they, too, when all things became new, found their old happy days were over, and many of them were too old ever to become reconciled to the civilization which had eclipsed the things of the past. Yet these are the men who were the forerunners of and blazed the trail and beat the path for the newcomers, and who, recommending them to the friendship of the Indians, gave freely also the benefit of their long experience and acquaintance of the country. Their successors owe them a debt which can never be repaid; but at least we should try to keep their memory green, and this writing is my mite towards that object.

The space, so kindly accorded me by the Free Press, will permit only of such matters as may serve as samples of things as they were in the days when the silent West had neither newspapers (except one in Red River) nor telegraphs nor railways; before the buffalo king of the prairies had been superseded by the cereal king, No. 1 hard. These papers will allude to the long and intimate connection of the men of the Orkney Islands with the Hudson’s Bay Company and territories; the recruits annually engaged in the northern and western isles of Scotland for the service, and the terms of their contracts; the voyage from Orkney to Hudson Bay; York Factory, the seaport of Rupert’s Land; the boat voyage from York Factory to Red River; the Red River Settlement; journey to Fort Qu’Appelle; Swan River district; winter trip to Wood Mountain; summer journey to Cypress Hills, 1868; the Red River troubles of 1869-70; smallpox on the plains; winter, 1871-2, at Cypress Hills; American whiskey traders, and plotted Indian raid on Manitoba, 1873; Lake Manitoba; Ile à la Crosse; Portage la Loche; and the opening of the Edmonton route to Athabasca. The articles, under some such headings, will appear serially in weekly instalments of two or three columns until completed.

Some ten years ago I wrote for the Winnipeg Telegram, from memory only, without the aid of the few notes which I have lately found in an old cassette, an account of my journey through Hudson Bay and Red River to Qu’Appelle. Part of these papers will present the same facts in different manner, which I hope may prove as true to life as my former effort, which was pronounced by many who had gone through similar experiences to be a faithfully simple record of things as they were in the old days. With the addition of some rather thrilling experiences among the wild Indians of the prairies, these papers may prove interesting to anyone connected with the “days of auld lang syne” in Western Canada, and perhaps to a few of the numerous newcomers who have come to build an empire of infinite possibilities therein.

Isaac Cowie.

Winnipeg, February 1, 1912.

INTRODUCTION

A comprehensive, ancient and modern history of the Hudson’s Bay Company has yet to be written. It will probably be the work of many minds, each dealing with different aspects of its vast and varied operations, and tinged with the personality and prejudices of each writer. In the Dominion of the Fur Trade, extending far beyond the far-flung frontiers of the present Dominion of Canada, the fur traders were the pioneers of the British Empire, and, if that Empire to-day does not include all the regions they explored and exploited in the grand old days of yore, the glory of their deeds of daring should not be forgotten, nor should it be diminished, because the British Government and the Company’s directors from time to time suffered the North-Western States, Oregon and California and the interior of Alaska, to fall into the hands of American rivals.

In a vast territory where history was made at every important fur-trading post, by men who seldom attempted to leave written records which have been allowed to see the light of day in print, it is to-day a task of as great difficulty to exhume the buried remains of the human and personal history of individual pioneers as it is to find in the buried cities of the ancient Orient the material by which men of science of the present day try to interpret the past and depict it. True, many, in fact a surprisingly great number of books have been written by eminent explorers of the highest merits, as well as many by very able authors as the result of their studies of books and documents to which they had access—often denied the public; but these latter writers are all more or less special pleaders for views, more or less distorted by race and religion, and other circumstances over which they had as little control.

Every one of the books written has recorded occurrences and the names of those who participated in these events, which, by the master hand of the great historian, who may yet arise, will be gathered and assorted and reconstructed into a properly proportioned historical body inspired by the soul of the past. Gathering together the dead bones of history, he will clothe them with flesh, infuse blood into the flesh, and into the reincarnation breathe the breath of life. But we may have long to wait for the advent of this great historian, and within the compass of a short sketch it is impossible to give even a list of the probable titles of the volumes upon volumes which such a history would fill. However, what follows is an attempt to give some data of the history of the Hudson’s Bay Company from the fur traders’ point of view.

A French Idea Adopted by Prince Rupert.

In Old Quebec, even as in the old Red River Settlement later, while a few small farmers had been established and found a market in the home consumption for their produce, the trading and trapping in furs afforded the first and chief motives of the early French, their source of personal profit and sole source of public revenue. That revenue had not only to provide for local expenditures but also tribute to the French Crown or its resident or non-resident favorites. Heavy license fees and duties were levied for permission to trade in furs and on the furs themselves, which, as in the case of the Hudson’s Bay Territories later, were the only articles exportable with profit from the colony.

The laborious occupation of farming was regarded with contempt by the gentlemen of old feudal France who had come to try their fortune in the new country and to fight for it in their genteel profession of arms. They had souls above any kind of trade—except that in furs, which afforded rich prizes in profits, and demanded in the wilds the best qualities of the courageous soldier in its prosecution.

The results of the adventures of these daring soldier fur traders were enviably lucrative, as a monopoly guarded by licenses only given to favorites. Hence there arose “free traders” even in those days, who took the liberty, without having the license, to try their fortunes in the alluring depths of the unexplored forests of New France and the regions unknown beyond. And two of these “free traders,” who were detested by the colonial governors as smugglers and criminals as such, became, through the persecutions to which they were subjected in that regard, the founders of that “Last Great Monopoly”—“The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay.”

Radisson and Groseillers.

These two great worthies were Pierre Esprit Radisson and Medard Chouart Groseillers, both of whom were born in France. The latter was first married to a daughter of Abraham Martin, who gave his name to the historic Plains of Abraham, the field of Wolfe’s conquest and death, and whose second wife was Radisson’s sister. Groseillers had been a lay helper to the Jesuit missionaries while a youth, but Radisson appears to have never allowed any religious leanings to interfere with his secular objects, and is sometimes said to have incurred animosity on the part of the priests for his suspected Protestantism. The yoke of his allegiance to France, and when he changed it to England, sat as lightly on Radisson as did the ties of religion.

The histories of Radisson and the diverse estimates of his almost incomprehensible character and almost incredible adventures and achievements have been told in many books, which, with others, no doubt to follow, will be read with intense interest in this truly remarkable man, and with admiration of his unique exploits, if not of the methods he often adopted to achieve them. In this place, however, only a brief synopsis of his romantic career may be given, principally taken from Miss Laut’s fascinating book, “The Pathfinders of the West.”

Radisson was born at St. Malo, in Normandy, in 1632. At the age of seventeen he sallied out from the shelter of the settlement of Three Rivers, Quebec, for sport in the woods, and was captured by the Iroquois Indians. With characteristic adaptability he took to the Indian life and was adopted into the tribe, from whom he escaped to the Dutch Fort Orange, and found his way by sea, via Europe, back to Three Rivers, in 1654, after two years’ absence, and was welcomed home as one back from the dead. Three years afterwards he joined the Onondaga expedition, was besieged with it and saved it from the Iroquois. In 1658 he started on a trapping and exploring expedition, and passing by Lakes Nipissing and Huron wintered at Green Bay; then by way of modern Wisconsin he reached and discovered the Upper Mississippi, and explored in the present Minnesota and Manitoba. On his return he had an encounter with the Iroquois on the Ottawa, and arrived at Montreal in 1660. Next year, eluding the authorities, he set out with Groseillers again, hoping to reach Hudson Bay, and built a wintering post near the present Duluth, from which he visited the Sioux camps, and is supposed to have reached Lake Winnipeg. From this expedition he returned to Quebec in 1663. Says Miss Laut: “England and France alike conspired to crush the man while he lived; and when he died they quarrelled over the glory of his discoveries.” The point is not whether he reached Hudson or James Bay or not, but that he found where the bay lay and the watershed sloping towards it. The cargo of furs brought back, from the wilderness they had discovered, was worth $300,000 in modern money. Of this, after being mulcted by the governor of New France for leaving without his permission, and for royalties and revenue, Radisson and Groseillers had less than $20,000 left.

The Tipping of the Scales—From New France to Old England.

“Had the governors of New France encouraged instead of persecuted the discoverers,” says Miss Laut, “France could have claimed all North America but the narrow strip of New England on the east and the Spanish settlements on the south. Having repudiated Radisson and Groseillers, France could not claim the fruits of deeds which she punished.”

Groseillers spent his time and money in a vain attempt to obtain justice and restitution in Paris. The influence of the licensed trading company, to whom the monopoly in fur trade was given as favorites at court, was too strong against him. Radisson and he then determined to find their way into Hudson Bay by sea, without asking French leave, but by taking it from Canada. In Boston they met Captain Zechariah Gillam, and set out in his ship for the voyage, but had to turn back owing to the lateness of the season. Next spring, 1665, one of the two ships contracted for with their owners in Boston was wrecked on Sable Island, which resulted in a lawsuit which exhausted all their resources, but brought their exploits to the ear of a British Commissioner in New England, who urged them to renounce their allegiance to ungrateful France and go to England, where they arrived in 1666. The plague was then raging in London, and there was war with the Dutch during which nothing could be done. But the court favored the plan to trade in Hudson Bay laid before King Charles II., who meanwhile allowed the adventurers forty shillings per week.

Prince Rupert.

“A fellow-feeling makes one wondrous kind.” To the equally adventurous, dashing cavalry leader and free rover of the seas, Prince Rupert, these free rovers of the wilds appealed as kindred spirits. His own needs as well as his quick intelligence also urged his sympathies into taking up their promising project as his own. So, the Dutch war being over, in the spring of 1668, two vessels were despatched with the first trading outfit for Hudson Bay. The Eagle, in which went Radisson, was driven back to London, badly damaged, but the Nonsuch, Captain Gillam, with Groseillers on board, anchored at the mouth of Rupert’s River on the 29th of September, after a voyage of three months from Gravesend, of which two were occupied in reaching Resolution Island at the mouth of Hudson Straits.

The First Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort.

Near the mouth of Rupert’s River Groseillers built a palisaded fort which was named by him after King Charles (but the modern successor has long been called Rupert’s House instead), and in the summer of 1669 the Nonsuch returned to London with a full cargo of furs, and Groseillers received honor and reward.

The Royal Charter.

Although Radisson had been baffled in making the voyage in the Eagle, like a good general he turned the defeat into victory; for on his return to London he allied himself to the daughter of Sir John Kirke and assisted Prince Rupert in organizing the fur company, to which the success of the voyage of the Nonsuch assured the royal charter granted in May, 1670, to Prince Rupert, as Governor, and his Company of Adventurers of England, consisting of a duke, an earl, two barons, three baronets, four knights, five esquires, “and John Portman, citizen and goldsmith of London.”

Prince Rupert actively directed the operations of the Company till the time of his death. Had he lived longer no doubt his schemes of activity and enterprise would have been carried out and left as a legacy of success for his successors to follow. He was succeeded by the Duke of York, afterwards James II, the last of the Stuart kings. The great general, John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, followed the Duke of York as governor; and the office and that of director has ever after been filled by men of title and station, with strong influence at court and with the government of the day, as well as others of established business ability and standing.

A Century on the Coast.

Till 1674 the two great French explorers and traders remained on the Bay, having, in addition to Fort Charles, established a post at Moose, in 1671, and made a trading voyage to the mouth of the Nelson. After the first three years of most successful trade with the Indians at Fort Charles it began to fall off on account of the increased activity of the French from the south. Groseillers counselled moving inland and driving off such competition, but the English factor (Bailey) objected, and proposed moving to the west coast of the Bay, where there would be no rivalry. Divided counsels, intensified by the Englishman’s suspicion of foreigners and his ignorance of a trade in which his French associates were past masters, led to quarrels, and Radisson was recalled home by the ship in 1674. After six years, which he spent in the service of France, from which he had received pardon and a commission in the navy, Radisson returned to Quebec in 1681, and set out with his nephew, Baptiste Groseillers, in two small vessels, which entered Hayes River, and, ascending it fifteen miles from salt water, anchored. While Groseillers built a trading post, Radisson paddled up stream towards Lake Winnipeg to notify the Indians of their presence. The post was named Fort Bourbon and the river was named Ste. Therese, and York Fort, which became the great emporium of the Hudson’s Bay Company, was afterwards established in the vicinity, within easier reach of the sea.

It is impossible to follow the romantic and varied career of this prince of explorers further than to say that a ship under Captain Gillam’s son from Boston and a Hudson’s Bay ship from London both entered the Nelson River while the French were on the Hayes, that Radisson outwitted and captured both, and on returning to Quebec was again assailed with similar ill-treatment by his fellow countrymen there. Again he was driven by French injustice to the English side, and, returning with the Company’s ship to Hayes River, in 1684, he secured from his nephew the transfer of his fort and his furs to the English, between whom and the Indians he then arranged a peace treaty, which has endured to this day. It will well repay all interested readers to look up his detailed history in “The Pathfinders of the West” and other books. The last trace of this wonderful man, the actual originator of the great Company, is to be found merely in the final entry of the payment of an annual allowance of £50 in their books in 1710.

Space also forbids anything but a mere mention of the capture by the French of the posts on the Bay, and their restoration, generally by negotiation in treaties between the two countries on the termination of their frequently recurring wars. The necessity of attempting to defend the Bay posts while they remained in their own hands, and the impossibility of attempting to extend their trade into the interior when these were in the hands of the French, are very good reasons why the Company made no very great effort to reach the interior. Again, it was much more profitable to allow the Indians to bring the furs to the Bay than for the traders to go to the expense and privation, not to speak of the risk, of penetrating into the vast unknown regions of the interior. Neither was the class of officers and men of the English company suitable, or rendered suitable by training, to encounter the dexterous and daring coureur de bois in his chosen ground and occupation. It was not until the cession of Canada by France in 1763 that it became possible for British fur traders to employ the French-Canadians, with complete confidence in their reliability, in the fur-trading operations in the Indian countries for which they were so admirably adapted by nature and training, qualities of which the North-West Company made such great use subsequently.

In spite of these adverse considerations, the directors in London frequently urged their factors on the Bay to at least send men to the up-country to attract new tribes to resort to the factories of the coast. Beckles Wilson, in his book on “The Great Company,” after dwelling upon the unsuitable character of the servants for such service, says that the factors dreaded equally the prospect of leading an expedition into the interior themselves, and the prestige which might be gained by a subordinate in doing so. The inducements offered by the Company do not appear either to have been adequate to induce men to volunteer for such unusual and dangerous service, and Mr. Wilson only mentions three young men as exceptions to the general rule. These were William Bond, who was drowned in the Bay some years later, and Thomas Moore and George Geyer, who continued for some years to set an example which was not followed by others, and of which they finally got tired, before subsequently attaining the rank of governors.

Forty Years Before Vérandrye.

“Indeed,” says Mr. Wilson, “almost without exception, once a fort was built the servants seem to have clung closely to it, and it was not till the year 1688 that a really brave, adventurous figure, bearing considerable resemblance to the bushrangers of the past and the explorers of the future, emerges into the light of history. Henry Kelsey, a lad of barely eighteen years of age, was the forerunner of all the hardy British pioneers of the ensuing century. He is described as active, ‘delighting much in Indians’ company, being never better pleased than when he is travelling among them.’ Young as he was, Kelsey volunteered to find out a site for a fort on Churchill River. No record exists of this voyage; but a couple of years later he repeated it, and himself kept a diary of his tour.”

He set out in July, 1691, and penetrated to the country of the Assiniboines, the buffalo and the grizzly bear, forty years before Vérandrye’s voyages of discovery; “and in behalf of the Hudson’s Bay Company had taken possession of the lands he traversed, and had secured for his masters the trade of Indians hitherto considered hostile.” That the success of Kelsey was as much due to his adapting himself to ways suited to the circumstances of the country at that time, and long afterwards, as well as to his other qualities, is shown by this next quotation: “He returned to York Factory after this first expedition, apparelled after the manner of his Indian companions, while at his side trudged a young woman with whom he had gone through the ceremony of marriage after the Indian fashion. It was his desire that Mistress Kelsey should enter with her husband into the court, but this desire quickly found an opponent in the Governor, whose scruples, however, were soon undermined when the explorer flatly declined to resume his place and duties in the establishment unless his Indian wife were admitted with him.”

Hearne, the Great Explorer.

While the exploits of Radisson, and those less dazzling of Kelsey, may be comparatively unknown to the general public, the name of Samuel Hearne, the discoverer of the Coppermine River to the Arctic Ocean and the Athabasca Lake in his voyages alone with Indians, which ended successfully in 1772, those who have studied geography have often read. In the Athabasca he preceded the grand explorers of the North-West Company, who completed the work on the Mackenzie which he had begun to the eastward.

That Hearne was a man of intrepid courage his wonderful journeys testify. His horror at the massacre of the poor Esquimaux by his Indians at the Bloody Fall of the Coppermine also bore witness to his humanity, and he showed moral courage of the highest order when, to prevent the needless slaughter of his garrison of forty men in Fort Prince of Wales, he surrendered that great stronghold—impregnable had it been manned by its complement of four hundred men—to the overwhelming force of the famous French admiral, La Perouse, in three great ships of war, by whom he was surprised.

Hearne was originally of the Company’s sea service and had taken part in several of the many expeditions fitted out by the Company for the discovery of the North-West Passage from Hudson Bay, to which this passing allusion only can be made here.

The Daring Enterprise of the North-West Company.

The very important fact may be news to many that the present Hudson’s Bay Company is the lineal successor to the honor and glory acquired by the old North-West Company of Montreal, in its discoveries in and occupation of the countries which are now Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. It is well to recall to the recollection of Canadians that the union of the North-West with the old Hudson’s Bay Company was effected upon equal terms, each supplying an equal amount of capital and the Canadian company putting in their rights of discovery and occupancy of the country as a set-off to the claims of the English company under their royal charter, to retain the benefit of which the proud Nor’-Westers consented to the elimination of their name in the united concern.