[Illustration: PRINCE RUPERT,
_First Governor_.
JAMES, DUKE OF YORK,
_Second Governor_.
LORD CHURCHILL, _afterwards_
DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH,
_Third Governor_.
LORD STRATHCONA AND
MOUNT ROYAL,
_Present Governor_.
FOUR GREAT GOVERNORS OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.]
[_Frontispiece._]
THE REMARKABLE HISTORY
OF THE
HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
INCLUDING THAT OF
_The French Traders of North-Western Canada
and of the North-West, X Y, and
Astor Fur Companies_
BY
GEORGE BRYCE, M.A., LL.D.
PROFESSOR IN MANITOBA COLLEGE, WINNIPEG; DÉLÉGUÉ RÉGIONAL DE
L'ALLIANCE SCIENTIFIQUE DE PARIS; MEMBER OF GENERAL COMMITTEE
OF BRITISH ASSOCIATION; FELLOW OF AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE; PRESIDENT ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
(1909); MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION ON CANADIAN RESOURCES (1909);
MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION (1910);
AUTHOR OF "MANITOBA" (1882); "SHORT HISTORY OF CANADIAN PEOPLE"
(1887), MAKERS OF CANADA SERIES (MACKENZIE, SELKIRK AND SIMPSON);
"ROMANTIC SETTLEMENT OF LORD SELKIRK'S COLONISTS" (1909); "CANADA"
IN WINSOR'S NAR. AND CRIT. HIST. OF AMERICA, ETC., ETC.
_THIRD EDITION_
WITH NUMEROUS FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO., LTD.
PREFACE
The Hudson's Bay Company! What a record this name represents of British
pluck and daring, of patient industry and hardy endurance, of wild
adventure among savage Indian tribes, and of exposure to danger by
mountain, precipice, and seething torrent and wintry plain!
In two full centuries the Hudson's Bay Company, under its original
Charter, undertook financial enterprises of the greatest magnitude,
promoted exploration and discovery, governed a vast domain in the
northern part of the American Continent, and preserved to the British
Empire the wide territory handed over to Canada in 1870. For nearly a
generation since that time the veteran Company has carried on successful
trade in competition with many rivals, and has shown the vigour of youth.
The present History includes not only the record of the remarkable
exploits of this well-known Company, but also the accounts of the daring
French soldiers and explorers who disputed the claim of the Company
in the seventeenth century, and in the eighteenth century actually
surpassed the English adventurers in penetrating the vast interior of
Rupert's Land.
Special attention is given in this work to the picturesque history
of what was the greatest rival of the Hudson's Bay Company, viz. the
North-West Fur Company of Montreal, as well as to the extraordinary
spirit of the X Y Company and the Astor Fur Company of New York.
A leading feature of this book is the adequate treatment for the first
time of the history of the well-nigh eighty years just closing, from the
union of all the fur traders of British North America under the name
of the Hudson's Bay Company. This period, beginning with the career
of the Emperor-Governor. Sir George Simpson (1821), and covering the
life, adventure, conflicts, trade, and development of the vast region
stretching from Labrador to Vancouver Island, and north to the Mackenzie
River and the Yukon, down to the present year, is the most important
part of the Company's history.
For the task thus undertaken the author is well fitted. He has had
special opportunities for becoming acquainted with the history,
position, and inner life of the Hudson's Bay Company. He has lived for
nearly thirty years in Winnipeg, for the whole of that time in sight
of Fort Garry, the fur traders' capital, or what remains of it; he has
visited many of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts from Fort William
to Victoria, in the Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods region,
in Manitoba, Assiniboia, Alberta, and British Columbia; in those
districts he has run the rapids, crossed the portages, surveyed the
ruins of old forts, and fixed the localities of long-forgotten posts;
he is acquainted with a large number of the officers of the Company,
has enjoyed their hospitality, read their journals, and listened with
interest to their tales of adventure in many out-of-the-way posts; he
is a lover of the romance, and story, and tradition of the fur traders'
past.
The writer has had full means of examining documents, letters, journals,
business records, heirlooms, and archives of the fur traders both in
Great Britain and Canada. He returns thanks to the custodians of many
valuable originals, which he has used, to the Governor of the Hudson's
Bay Company in 1881, Right Hon. G. J. Goschen, who granted him the
privilege of consulting all Hudson's Bay Company records up to the date
of 1821, and he desires to still more warmly acknowledge the permission
given him by the distinguished patron of literature and education, the
present Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, Lord Strathcona and Mount
Royal, to read any documents of public importance in the Hudson's Bay
House in London. This unusual opportunity granted the author was largely
used by him in 1896 and again in 1899.
Taking the advice of his publishers, the author, instead of publishing
several volumes of annals of the Company, has condensed the important
features of the history into one fair-sized volume, but has given in an
Appendix references and authorities which may afford the reader, who
desires more detailed information on special periods, the sources of
knowledge for fuller research.
PREFACE
TO THE THIRD EDITION
The favor which has been shown to the "Remarkable History of the
Hudson's Bay Company" has resulted in a large measure from its being
written by a native-born Canadian, who is familiar with much of the
ground over which the Company for two hundred years held sway.
A number of corrections have been made and the book has been brought up
to date for this Edition.
It has been a pleasure to the Author, who has expressed himself without
fear or favor regarding the Company men and their opponents, that he has
received from the greater number of his readers commendations for his
fairness and insight into the affairs of the Company and its wonderful
history.
GEORGE BRYCE.
KILMADOCK, WINNIPEG,
_August 19, 1910_.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
THE FIRST VOYAGE FOR TRADE. PAGE
Famous Companies--"The old lady of Fenchurch Street"--The first
voyage--Radisson and Groseilliers--Spurious claim of the French of
having reached the Bay--"Journal published by Prince Society"--The
claim invalid--Early voyages of Radisson--The Frenchmen go
to Boston--Cross over to England--Help from Royalty--Fiery
Rupert--The King a stockholder--Many hitherto unpublished
facts--Capt. Zachariah Gillam--Charles Fort built on Rupert
River--The founder's fame 1
CHAPTER II.
HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY FOUNDED.
Royal charters--Good Queen Bess--"So miserable a
wilderness"--Courtly stockholders--Correct spelling--"The nonsense
of the Charters"--Mighty rivers--Lords of the territory--To
execute justice--War on infidels--Power to seize--"Skin for
skin"--Friends of the Red man 12
CHAPTER III.
METHODS OF TRADE.
Rich Mr. Portman--Good ship _Prince Rupert_--The early
adventurers--"Book of Common Prayer"--Five forts--Voting a
funeral--Worth of a beaver--To Hudson Bay and back--Selling
the pelts--Bottles of sack--Fat dividends--"Victorious as
Cæsar"--"Golden Fruit" 20
CHAPTER IV.
THREE GREAT GOVERNORS.
Men of high station--Prince Rupert primus--Prince James, "nemine
contradicente"--The hero of the hour--Churchill River named--Plate
of solid gold--Off to the tower 27
CHAPTER V.
TWO ADROIT ADVENTURERS.
Peter Radisson and "Mr. Gooseberry" again--Radisson
_v._ Gillam--Back to France--A wife's influence--Paltry
vessels--Radisson's diplomacy--Deserts to England--Shameful
duplicity--"A hogshead of claret"--Adventurers
appreciative--Twenty-five years of Radisson's life hitherto
unknown--"In a low and mean condition"--The Company in
Chancery--Lucky Radisson--A Company pensioner 33
CHAPTER VI.
FRENCH RIVALRY.
The golden lilies in danger--"To arrest Radisson"--The
land called "Unknown"--A chain of claim--Imaginary
pretensions--Chevalier de Troyes--The brave Lemoynes--Hudson Bay
forts captured--A litigious governor--Laugh at treaties--The glory
of France--Enormous claims--Consequential damages 47
CHAPTER VII.
RYSWICK AND UTRECHT.
The "Grand Monarque" humbled--Caught napping--The Company
in peril--Glorious Utrecht--Forts restored--Damages to be
considered--Commission useless 56
CHAPTER VIII.
DREAMS OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.
Stock rises--Jealousy aroused--Arthur Dobbs, Esq.--An ingenious
attack--Appeal to the "Old Worthies"--Captain Christopher
Middleton--Was the Company in earnest? The sloop _Furnace_--Dobbs'
fierce attack--The great subscription--Independent
expedition--"Henry Ellis, gentleman"--"Without success"--Dobbs'
real purpose 61
CHAPTER IX.
THE INTERESTING BLUE-BOOK OF 1749.
"Le roi est mort"--Royalty unfavourable--Earl of
Halifax--"Company asleep"--Petition to Parliament--Neglected
discovery--Timidity or caution--Strong "Prince of Wales"--Increase
of stock--A timid witness--Claims of discovery--To make
Indians Christians--Charge of disloyalty--New Company promises
largely--Result nil 70
CHAPTER X.
FRENCH CANADIANS EXPLORE THE INTERIOR.
The "Western Sea"--Ardent Duluth--"Kaministiquia"--Indian
boasting--Père Charlevoix--Father Gonor--The man of the
hour:--Verendrye--Indian map-maker--The North Shore--A line of
forts--The Assiniboine country--A notable manuscript--A marvellous
journey--Glory, but not wealth--Post of the Western Sea 78
CHAPTER XI.
THE SCOTTISH MERCHANTS OF MONTREAL.
Unyielding old Cadot--Competition--The enterprising Henry--Leads
the way--Thomas Curry--The elder Finlay--Plundering Indians--Grand
Portage--A famous mart--The plucky Frobishers--The Sleeping Giant
aroused--Fort Cumberland--Churchill River--Indian rising--The
deadly smallpox--The whites saved 92
CHAPTER XII.
DISCOVERY OF THE COPPERMINE.
Samuel Hearne--"The Mungo Park of Canada"--Perouse
complains--The North-West Passage--Indian guides--Two
failures--Third journey successful--Smokes the
calumet--Discovers Arctic Ocean--Cruelty to the Eskimos--Error
in latitude--Remarkable Indian woman--Capture of Prince of Wales
Fort--Criticism by Umfreville 100
CHAPTER XIII.
FORTS ON HUDSON BAY LEFT BEHIND.
Andrew Graham's "Memo."--Prince of Wales Fort--The
garrison--Trade--York Factory--Furs--Albany--Subordinate
forts--Moose--Moses Norton--Cumberland House--Upper
Assiniboine--Rainy Lake--Brandon House--Red River--Conflict of the
Companies 109
CHAPTER XIV.
THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY FORMED.
Hudson's Bay Company aggressive--The great McTavish--The
Frobishers--Pond and Pangman dissatisfied--Gregory and
McLeod--Strength of the North-West Company--Vessels to be
built--New route from Lake Superior sought--Good will at
times--Bloody Pond--Wider union, 1787--Fort Alexandria--Mouth of
the Souris--Enormous fur trade--Wealthy Nor'-Westers--"The Haunted
House" 116
CHAPTER XV.
VOYAGES OF SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE.
A young Highlander--To rival Hearne--Fort Chipewyan
built--French Canadian voyageurs--Trader Leroux--Perils
of the route--Post erected on Arctic Coast--Return
journey--Pond's miscalculations--Hudson Bay Turner--Roderick
McKenzie's hospitality--Alexander Mackenzie--Astronomy and
mathematics--Winters on Peace River--Terrific journey--The Pacific
Slope--Dangerous Indians--Pacific Ocean, 1793--North-West Passage
by land--Great achievement--A notable book 124
CHAPTER XVI.
THE GREAT EXPLORATION.
Grand Portage on American soil--Anxiety about the
boundary--David Thompson, astronomer and surveyor--His
instructions--By swift canoe--The land of beaver--A dash
to the Mandans--Stone Indian House--Fixes the boundary
at Pembina--Sources of the Mississippi--A marvellous
explorer--Pacific Slope explored--Thompson down the Kootenay
and Columbia--Fiery Simon Fraser in New Caledonia--Discovers
Fraser River--Sturdy John Stuart--Thompson River--Bourgeois
Quesnel--Transcontinental expeditions 133
CHAPTER XVII.
THE X Y COMPANY.
"Le Marquis" Simon McTavish unpopular--Alexander Mackenzie, his
rival--Enormous activity of the "Potties"--Why called X Y--Five
rival posts at Souris--Sir Alexander, the silent partner--Old
Lion of Montreal roused--"Posts of the King"--Schooner sent to
Hudson Bay--Nor'-Westers erect two posts on Hudson Bay--Supreme
folly--Old and new Nor'-Westers unite--List of partners 148
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS.--I.
New route to Kaministiquia--Vivid sketch of Fort
William--"Cantine Salope"--Lively Christmas week--The feasting
partners--Ex-Governor Masson's good work--Four great Mackenzies--A
literary bourgeois--Three handsome demoiselles--"The man in the
moon"--Story of "Bras Croche"--Around Cape Horn--Astoria taken
over--A hot-headed trader--Sad case of "Little Labrie"--Punch on
New Year's Day--The heart of a "vacher" 155
CHAPTER XIX.
THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS.--II.
Harmon and his book--An honest man--"Straight as an arrow"--New
views--An uncouth giant--"Gaelic, English, French, and Indian
oaths"--McDonnell, "Le Prêtre"--St. Andrew's Day--"Fathoms of
tobacco"--Down the Assiniboine--An entertaining journal--A good
editor--A too frank trader--"Gun fire ten yards away"--Herds of
buffalo--Packs and pemmican--"The fourth Gospel"--Drowning of
Henry--"The weather cleared up"--Lost for forty days--"Cheepe,"
the corpse--Larocque and the Mandans--McKenzie and his half-breed
children 166
CHAPTER XX.
THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS.--III.
Dashing French trader--"The country of fashion"--An air of great
superiority--The road is that of heaven--Enough to intimidate
a Cæsar--"The Bear" and the "Little Branch"--Yet more rum--A
great Irishman--"In the wigwam of Wabogish dwelt his beautiful
daughter"--Wedge of gold--Johnston and Henry Schoolcraft--Duncan
Cameron on Lake Superior--His views of trade--Peter Grant, the
ready writer--Paddling the canoe--Indian folk-lore--Chippewa
burials--Remarkable men and great financiers, marvellous
explorers, facile traders 178
CHAPTER XXI.
THE IMPULSE OF UNION.
North-West and X Y Companies unite--Recalls the Homeric
period--Feuds forgotten--Men perform prodigies--The new fort
re-christened--Vessel from Michilimackinac--The old canal--Wills
builds Fort Gibraltar--A lordly sway--The "Beaver Club"--Sumptuous
table--Exclusive society--"Fortitude in Distress"--Political
leaders in Lower Canada 189
CHAPTER XXII.
THE ASTOR FUR COMPANY.
Old John Jacob Astor--American Fur Company--The Missouri
Company--A line of posts--Approaches the Russians--Negotiates
with Nor'-Westers--Fails--Four North-West officials join
Astor--Songs of the voyageurs--True Britishers--Voyage
of the _Tonquin_--Rollicking Nor'-Westers in Sandwich
Islands--Astoria built--David Thompson appears--Terrible end of
the _Tonquin_--Astor's overland expedition--Washington Irving's
"Astoria, a romance"--The _Beaver_ rounds the Cape--McDougall and
his smallpox phial--The _Beaver_ sails for Canton 193
CHAPTER XXIII.
LORD SELKIRK'S COLONY.
Alexander Mackenzie's book--Lord Selkirk interested--Emigration
a boon--Writes to Imperial Government--In 1802 looks to
Lake Winnipeg--Benevolent project of trade--Compelled to
choose Prince Edward Island--Opinion as to Hudson's Bay
Company Charter--Nor'-Westers alarmed--Hudson's Bay Company's
Stock--Purchases Assiniboia--Advertises the new colony--Religion
no disqualification--Sends first colony--Troubles of the
project--Arrive at York Factory--The winter--The mutiny--"Essence
of Malt"--Journey inland--A second party--Third party under
Archibald Macdonald--From Helmsdale--The number of colonists 200
CHAPTER XXIV.
TROUBLE BETWEEN THE COMPANIES.
Nor'-Westers oppose the colony--Reason why--A considerable
literature--Contentions of both parties--Both in fault--Miles
Macdonell's mistake--Nor'-Wester arrogance--Duncan Cameron's
ingenious plan--Stirring up the Chippewas--Nor'-Westers
warn colonists to depart--McLeod's hitherto unpublished
narrative--Vivid account of a brave defence--Chain shot from
the blacksmith's smithy--Fort Douglas begun--Settlers driven
out--Governor Semple arrives--Cameron last Governor of Fort
Gibraltar--Cameron sent to Britain as a prisoner--Fort Gibraltar
captured--Fort Gibraltar decreases, Fort Douglas increases--Free
traders take to the plains--Indians favour the colonists 215
CHAPTER XXV.
THE SKIRMISH OF SEVEN OAKS.
Leader of the Bois Brûlés--A candid letter--Account of a
prisoner--"Yellow Head"--Speech to the Indians--The chief knows
nothing--On fleet Indian ponies--An eye-witness in Fort Douglas--A
rash Governor--The massacre--"For God's sake save my life"--The
Governor and twenty others slain--Colonists driven out--Eastern
levy meets the settlers--Effects seized--Wild revelry--Chanson of
Pierre Falcon 229
CHAPTER XXVI.
LORD SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE.
The Earl in Montreal--Alarming news--Engages a body of
Swiss--The De Meurons--Embark for the North-West--Kawtawabetay's
story--Hears of Seven Oaks--Lake Superior--Lord Selkirk--A doughty
Douglas--Seizes Fort William--Canoes upset and Nor'-Westers
drowned--"A banditti"--The Earl's blunder--A winter march--Fort
Douglas recaptured--His Lordship soothes the settlers--An Indian
treaty--"The Silver Chief"--The Earl's note-book 238
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE BLUE-BOOK OF 1819 AND THE NORTH-WEST TRIALS.
British law disgraced--Governor Sherbrooke's distress--A
commission decided on--Few unbiassed Canadians--Colonel Coltman
chosen--Over ice and snow--Alarming rumours--The Prince
Regent's orders--Coltman at Red River--The Earl submissive--The
Commissioner's report admirable--The celebrated Reinhart
case--Disturbing lawsuits--Justice perverted--A store-house of
facts--Sympathy of Sir Walter Scott--Lord Selkirk's death--Tomb at
Orthes, in France 252
CHAPTER XXVIII.
MEN WHO PLAYED A PART.
The crisis reached--Consequences of Seven Oaks--The
noble Earl--His generous spirit--His mistakes--Determined
courage--Deserves the laurel crown--The first
Governor--Macdonell's difficulties--His unwise step--A captain
in red--Cameron's adroitness--A wearisome imprisonment--Last
governor of Fort Gibraltar--The Metis chief--Half-breed son of old
Cuthbert--A daring hunter--Warden of the plains--Lord Selkirk's
agent--A Red River patriarch--A faithful witness--The French
bard--Western war songs--Pierriche Falcon 260
CHAPTER XXIX.
GOVERNOR SIMPSON UNITES ALL INTERESTS.
Both Companies in danger--Edward Ellice, a mediator--George
Simpson, the man of destiny--Old feuds buried--Gatherings
at Norway House--Governor Simpson's skill--His marvellous
energy--Reform in trade--Morality low--A famous canoe
voyage--Salutes fired--Pompous ceremony at Norway House--Strains
of the bagpipe--Across the Rocky Mountains--Fort Vancouver
visited--Great executive ability--The governor knighted--Sir
George goes round the world--Troubles of a book--Meets the
Russians--Estimate of Sir George 270
CHAPTER XXX.
THE LIFE OF THE TRADERS.
Lonely trading posts--Skilful letter writers--Queer old
Peter Fidler--Famous library--A remarkable will--A stubborn
Highlander--Life at Red River--Badly-treated Pangman--Founding
trading houses--Beating up recruits--Priest Provencher--A
fur-trading mimic--Life far north--"Ruled with a rod of
iron"--Seeking a fur country--Life in the canoe--A trusted
trader--Sheaves of letters--A find in Edinburgh--Faithful
correspondents--The Bishop's cask of wine--Red River, a "land
of Canaan"--Governor Simpson's letters--The gigantic Archdeacon
writes--"MacArgrave's" promotion--Kindly Sieveright--Traders and
their books 283
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE VOYAGEURS FROM MONTREAL.
Lachine, the fur traders' Mecca--The departure--The flowing
bowl--The canoe brigade--The voyageurs' song--"En roulant ma
boule"--Village of St. Anne's--Legend of the church--The sailors'
guardian--Origin of "Canadian Boat Song"--A loud invocation--"A
la Claire Fontaine"--"Sing, nightingale"--At the rapids--The
ominous crosses--"Lament of Cadieux"--A lonely maiden sits--The
Wendigo--Home of the Ermatingers--A very old canal--The rugged
coast--Fort William reached--A famous gathering--The joyous return 304
CHAPTER XXXII.
EXPLORERS IN THE FAR NORTH.
The North-West Passage again--Lieutenant John Franklin's
land expedition--Two lonely winters--Hearne's mistake
corrected--Franklin's second journey--Arctic sea coast
explored--Franklin knighted--Captain John Ross by sea--Discovers
magnetic pole--Magnetic needle nearly perpendicular--Back seeks
for Ross--Dease and Simpson sent by Hudson's Bay Company to
explore--Sir John in _Erebus_ and _Terror_--The Paleocrystic
Sea--Franklin never returns--Lady Franklin's devotion--The
historic search--Dr. Rae secures relics--Captain McClintock finds
the cairn and written record--Advantages of the search 315
CHAPTER XXXIII.
EXPEDITIONS TO THE FRONTIER OF THE FUR COUNTRY.
A disputed boundary--Sources of the Mississippi--The fur traders
push southward--Expedition up the Missouri--Lewis and Clark
meet Nor'-Westers--Claim of United States made--Sad death of
Lewis--Lieutenant Pike's journey--Pike meets fur traders--Cautious
Dakotas--Treaty with Chippewas--Violent death--Long and Keating
fix 49 deg. N.--Visit Fort Garry--Follow old fur traders'
route--An erratic Italian--Strange adventures--Almost finds
source--Beltrami County--Cass and Schoolcraft fail--Schoolcraft
afterwards succeeds--Lake Itasca--Curious origin of name--The
source determined 326
CHAPTER XXXIV.
FAMOUS JOURNEYS IN RUPERT'S LAND.
Fascination of an unknown land--Adventure, science, or
gain--Lieutenant Lefroy's magnetic survey--Hudson's Bay
Company assists--Winters at Fort Chipewyan--First scientific
visit to Peace River--Notes lost--Not "gratuitous canoe
conveyance"--Captain Palliser and Lieutenant Hector--Journey
through Rupert's Land--Rocky Mountain passes--On to the coast--A
successful expedition--Hind and Dawson--To spy out the land for
Canada--The fertile belt--Hind's description good--Milton and
Cheadle--Winter on the Saskatchewan--Reach Pacific Ocean in a
pitiable condition--Captain Butler--The horse Blackie and dog
"Cerf Vola"--Fleming and Grant--"Ocean to ocean"--"Land fitted for
a healthy and hardy race"--Waggon road and railway 337
CHAPTER XXXV.
RED RIVER SETTLEMENT.
1817-1846.
Chiefly Scottish and French settlers--Many
hardships--Grasshoppers--Yellow Head--"Gouverneur
Sauterelle"--Swiss settlers--Remarkable parchment--Captain
Bulger, a military governor--Indian troubles--Donald McKenzie,
a fur trader governor--Many projects fail--The flood--Plenty
follows--Social condition--Lower Fort built--Upper Fort
Garry--Council of Assiniboia--The settlement organized--Duncan
Finlayson governor--English farmers--Governor Christie--Serious
epidemic--A regiment of regulars--The unfortunate major--The
people restless 348
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE PRAIRIES: SLEDGE, KEEL, WHEEL, CAYUSE, CHASE.
A picturesque life--The prairie hunters and
traders--Gaily-caparisoned dog trains--The great winter
packets--Joy in the lonely forts--The summer trade--The York boat
brigade--Expert voyageurs--The famous Red River cart--Shagganappe
ponies--The screeching train--Tripping--The western cayuse--The
great buffalo hunt--Warden of the plains--Pemmican and fat--The
return in triumph 360
CHAPTER XXXVII.
LIFE ON THE SHORES OF HUDSON BAY AND LABRADOR.
The bleak shores unprogressive--Now as at the beginning--York
Factory--Description of Ballantyne--The weather--Summer comes with
a rush--Picking up subsistence--The Indian trade--Inhospitable
Labrador--Establishment of Ungava Bay--McLean at Fort
Chimo--Herds of cariboo--Eskimo rafts--"Shadowy Tartarus"--The
king's domains--Mingan--Mackenzie--The gulf settlements--The
Moravians--Their four missions--Rigolette, the chief trading
post--A school for developing character--Chief Factor Donald A.
Smith--Journeys along the coast--A barren shore 376
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ATHABASCA, MACKENZIE RIVER, AND THE YUKON.
Peter Pond reaches Athabasca River--Fort Chipewyan
established--Starting point of Alexander Mackenzie--The
Athabasca Library--The Hudson's Bay Company roused--Conflict
at Fort Wedderburn--Suffering--The dash up the Peace
River--Fort Dunvegan--Northern extension--Fort Resolution--Fort
Providence--The great river occupied--Loss of life--Fort
Simpson, the centre--Fort Reliance--Herds of cariboo--Fort
Norman built--Fort Good Hope--The Northern Rockies--The Yukon
reached and occupied--The fierce Liard River--Fort Halkett in the
Mountains--Robert Campbell comes to the Stikine--Discovers the
Upper Yukon--His great fame--The districts--Steamers on the water
stretches 386
CHAPTER XXXIX.
ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE.
Extension of trade in New Caledonia--The Western
Department--Fort Vancouver built--Governor's residence and
Bachelors' Hall--Fort Colville--James Douglas, a man of note--A
dignified official--An Indian rising--A brave woman--The fertile
Columbia Valley--Finlayson, a man of action--Russian fur
traders--Treaty of Alaska--Lease of Alaska to the Hudson's Bay
Company--Fort Langley--The great farm--Black at Kamloops--Fur
trader _v._ botanist--"No soul above a beaver's skin"--A tragic
death--Chief Nicola's eloquence--A murderer's fate 399
CHAPTER XL.
FROM OREGON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND.
Fort Vancouver on American soil--Chief Factor Douglas
chooses a new site--Young McLoughlin killed--Liquor selling
prohibited--Dealing with the Songhies--A Jesuit father--Fort
Victoria--Finlayson's skill--Chinook jargon--The brothers
Ermatinger--A fur-trading Junius--"Fifty-four, forty, or
fight"--Oregon Treaty--Hudson's Bay Company indemnified--The
waggon road--A colony established--First governor--Gold
fever--British Columbia--Fort Simpson--Hudson's Bay Company in the
interior--The forts--A group of worthies--Service to Britain--The
coast becomes Canadian 408
CHAPTER XLI.
PRO GLORIA DEI.
A vast region--First spiritual adviser--A _locum tenens_--Two
French Canadian priests--St. Boniface founded--Missionary
zeal in Mackenzie River district--Red River parishes--The
great Archbishop Taché--John West--Archdeacon Cochrane, the
founder--John McCallum--Bishop Anderson--English Missionary
Societies--Archbishop Machray--Indian Missions--John Black, the
Presbyterian apostle--Methodist Missions on Lake Winnipeg--The
Cree syllabic--Chaplain Staines--Bishop Bridge--Missionary
Duncan--Metlakahtla--Roman Catholic coast missions--Church of
England bishop--Diocese of New Westminster--Dr. Evans--Robert
Jamieson--Education 420
CHAPTER XLII.
THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY AND THE INDIANS.
Company's Indian policy--Character of officers--A race of
hunters--Plan of advances--Charges against the Company--Liquor
restriction--Capital punishment--Starving Indians--Diseased and
helpless--Education and religion--The age of missions--Sturdy
Saulteaux--The Muskegons--Wood Crees--Wandering Plain Crees--The
Chipewyans--Wild Assiniboines--Blackfoot Indians--Polyglot
coast tribes--Eskimos--No Indian war--No police--Pliable and
docile--Success of the Company 431
CHAPTER XLIII.
UNREST IN RUPERT'S LAND.
1844-1869.
Discontent on Red River--Queries to the Governor--A courageous
Recorder--Free Trade in furs held illegal--Imprisonment--New
land deed--Enormous freights--Petty revenge--Turbulent
pensioners--Heart burnings--Heroic Isbister--Half-breed
memorial--Mr. Beaver's letter--Hudson's Bay Company notified--Lord
Elgin's reply--Voluminous correspondence--Company's full
answer--Colonel Crofton's statement--Major Caldwell, a
partisan--French petition--Nearly a thousand signatures--Love,
a factor--The elder Riel--A court scene--Violence--"Vive la
liberté!"--The Recorder checked--A new judge--Unruly Corbett--The
prison broken--Another rescue--A valiant doctor--A Red River
Nestor 438
CHAPTER XLIV.
CANADA COVETS THE HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY.
Renewal of licence--Labouchere's letter--Canada claims to
Pacific Ocean--Commissioner Chief-Justice Draper--Rests on
Quebec Act, 1774--Quebec overlaps Indian territories--Company
loses Vancouver Island--Cauchon's memorandum--Committee
of 1857--Company on trial--A brilliant committee--Four
hundred folios of evidence--To transfer Red River and
Saskatchewan--Death of Sir George--Governor Dallas--A cunning
scheme--Secret negotiations--The Watkin Company floated--Angry
winterers--Dallas's soothing circular--The old order
still--Ermatinger's letters--McDougall's resolutions--Cartier and
McDougall as delegates--Company accepts the terms 448
CHAPTER XLV.
TROUBLES OF THE TRANSFER OF RUPERT'S LAND.
Transfer Act passed--A moribund Government--The Canadian
surveying party--Causes of the rebellion--Turbulent
Metis--American interference--Disloyal ecclesiastics--"Governor"
McDougall--Riel and his rebel band--A blameworthy governor--The
"blawsted fence"--Seizure of Fort Garry--Riel's ambitions--Loyal
rising--Three wise men from the East--_The New Nation_--A
winter meeting--Bill of Rights--A Canadian shot--The Wolseley
expedition--Three renegades slink away--The end of Company
rule--The new Province of Manitoba 459
CHAPTER XLVI.
PRESENT STATUS OF THE COMPANY.
A great land company--Fort Garry dismantled--The new
buildings--New _v._ old--New life in the Company--Palmy days
are recalled--Governors of ability--The present distinguished
Governor--Vaster operations--Its eye not dimmed 472
CHAPTER XLVII.
THE FUTURE OF THE CANADIAN WEST.
The Greater Canada--Wide wheat fields--Vast pasture
lands--Huronian mines--The Kootenay riches--Yukon
nuggets--Forests--Iron and coal--Fisheries--Two great
cities--Towns and villages--Anglo-Saxon institutions--The great
outlook 477
APPENDIX.
A.--AUTHORITIES AND REFERENCES 483
B.--SUMMARY OF LIFE OF PIERRE ESPRIT RADISSON 489
C.--COMPANY POSTS IN 1856, WITH INDIANS 491
D.--CHIEF FACTORS (1821-1896) 493
E.--RUSSIAN AMERICA (ALASKA) 495
F.--THE CREE SYLLABIC CHARACTER 497
G.--NAMES OF H. B. CO. OFFICERS IN PLATE OPPOSITE PAGE 442 498
INDEX 499
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Four great Governors of the Hudson's Bay Company _Frontispiece_
Map of Hudson Bay and Straits 6
Arms of the Hudson's Bay Company 18
Le Moyne D'Iberville 52
Comedey de Maisonneuve 82
Junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence 94
Map of Route of Scottish Merchants up the Ottawa to Lake
Athabasca 96
Prince of Wales Fort 108
The Lac des Allumettes 116
Sir Alexander Mackenzie 130
Daniel William Harmon, Esq. 130
Johann Jacob Astor 194
Casanov, Trader and Chief 194
Fort Douglas 226
Seven Oaks Monument 232
Lord Selkirk 260
Sir George Simpson 260
Fort William, Lake Superior 272
Red River Note 284
I.--Portage 304
II.--Décharge 304
Block House of old H.B. Company Post 310
Map of the Far North 314
Searchers in the North 320
Fort Edmonton, on the North Saskatchewan 336
Jasper House, Rocky Mountains 336
Map of Labrador, and the King's Domains 378
Map of Mackenzie River and the Yukon 388
Sir James Douglas 398
Fort Victoria, B.C. 406
Indians of the Plains 432
Council of Hudson's Bay Company Commissioned Officers held in
Winnipeg, 1887 442
Fort Garry--Winter Scenes 460
Commissioner Chipman (Winnipeg) 470
Hudson's Bay Company's Stores and General Offices, Winnipeg 472
Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. 478
THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
CHAPTER I.
THE FIRST VOYAGE FOR TRADE.
Famous Companies--"The old lady of Fenchurch Street"--The first
voyage--Radisson and Groseilliers--Spurious claim of the French of
having reached the Bay--"Journal published by Prince Society"--The
claim invalid--Early voyages of Radisson--The Frenchmen go
to Boston--Cross over to England--Help from Royalty--Fiery
Rupert--The King a stockholder--Many hitherto unpublished
facts--Capt. Zachariah Gillam--Charles Fort built on Rupert
River--The founder's fame.
Charles Lamb--"delightful author"--opens his unique "Essays of Elia"
with a picturesque description of the quaint "South Sea House."
Threadneedle Street becomes a magnetic name as we wander along it
toward Bishopsgate Street "from the Bank, thinking of the old house
with the oaken wainscots hung with pictures of deceased governors
and sub-governors of Queen Anne, and the first monarchs of the
Brunswick dynasty--huge charts which subsequent discoveries have made
antiquated--dusty maps, dim as dreams, and soundings of the Bay of
Panama." But Lamb, after all, was only a short time in the South Sea
House, while for more than thirty years he was a clerk in the India
House, partaking of the genius of the place.
The India House was the abode of a Company far more famous than the
South Sea Company, dating back more than a century before the "Bubble"
Company, having been brought into existence on the last day of the
sixteenth century by good Queen Bess herself. To a visitor, strolling
down Leadenhall Street, it recalls the spirit of Lamb to turn into
East India Avenue, and the mind wanders back to Clive and Burke of
Macaulay's brilliant essay, in which he impales, with balanced phrase
and perfect impartiality, Philip Francis and Warren Hastings alike.
The London merchants were mighty men, men who could select their agents,
and send their ships, and risk their money on every sea and on every
shore. Nor was this only for gain, but for philanthropy as well. Across
yonder is the abode of the New England Company, founded in 1649, and
re-established by Charles II. in 1661--begun and still existing with its
fixed income "for the propagation of the Gospel in New England and the
adjoining parts of America," having had as its first president the Hon.
Robert Boyle; and hard by are the offices of the Canada Company, now
reaching its three-quarters of a century.
Not always, however, as Macaulay points out, did the trading Companies
remember that the pressure on their agents abroad for increased returns
meant the temptation to take doubtful or illicit methods to gain their
ends. They would have recoiled from the charge of Lady Macbeth,--
"Wouldst not play false,
And yet wouldst wrongly win."
Yet on the whole the Merchant Companies of London bear an honourable
record, and have had a large share in laying the foundations of
England's commercial greatness.
Wandering but a step further past East India Avenue, at the corner
of Lime and Leadenhall Streets, we come to-day upon another building
sitting somewhat sedately in the very heart of stirring and living
commerce. This is the Hudson's Bay House, the successor of the old house
on Fenchurch Street, the abode of another Company, whose history goes
back for more than two centuries and a quarter, and which is to-day the
most vigorous and vivacious of all the sisterhood of companies we have
enumerated. While begun as a purely trading Company, it has shown in
its remarkable history not only the shrewdness and business skill of
the race, called by Napoleon a "nation of shopkeepers," but it has been
the governing power over an empire compassing nearly one half of North
America, it has been the patron of science and exploration, the defender
of the British flag and name, and the fosterer, to a certain extent, of
education and religion.
Not only on the shores of Hudson Bay, but on the Pacific coast, in
the prairies of Red River, and among the snows of the Arctic slope,
on the rocky shores of Labrador and in the mountain fastnesses of the
Yukon, in the posts of Fort William and Nepigon, on Lake Superior, and
in far distant Athabasca, among the wild Crees, or greasy Eskimos, or
treacherous Chinooks, it has floated the red cross standard, with the
well-known letters H. B. C.--an "open sesame" to the resources of a wide
extent of territory.
The founding of the Company has features of romance. These may well
be detailed, and to do so leads us back several years before the
incorporation of the Company by Charles II. in 1670. The story of the
first voyage and how it came about is full of interest.
Two French Protestant adventurers--Medard Chouart and Pierre Esprit
Radisson--the former born near Meaux, in France, and the other a
resident of St. Malo, in Brittany--had gone to Canada about the middle
of the seventeenth century. Full of energy and daring, they, some years
afterwards, embarked in the fur trade, and had many adventures.
Radisson was first captured by the Iroquois, and adopted into one of
their tribes. After two years he escaped, and having been taken to
Europe, returned to Montreal. Shortly afterwards he took part in the
wars between the Hurons and Iroquois. Chouart was for a time assistant
in a Jesuit mission, but, like most young men of the time, yielded to
the attractions of the fur trade. He had married first the daughter of
Abraham Martin, the French settler, after whom the plains of Abraham
at Quebec are named. On her death Chouart married the widowed sister
of Radisson, and henceforth the fortunes of the two adventurers were
closely bound up together. The marriage of Chouart brought him a
certain amount of property, he purchased land out of the proceeds of
his ventures, and assumed the title of Seignior, being known as "Sieur
des Groseilliers." In the year 1658 Groseilliers and Radisson went
on the third expedition to the west, and returned after an absence
of two years, having wintered at Lake Nepigon, which they called
"Assiniboines." It is worthy of note that Radisson frankly states in the
account of his third voyage that they had not been in the Bay of the
North (Hudson Bay).
The fourth voyage of the two partners in 1661 was one of an eventful
kind, and led to very important results. They had applied to the
Governor for permission to trade in the interior, but this was refused,
except on very severe conditions. Having had great success on their
previous voyage, and with the spirit of adventure inflamed within them,
the partners determined to throw off all authority, and at midnight
departed without the Governor's leave, for the far west. During an
absence of two years the adventurers turned their canoes northward, and
explored the north shore of Lake Superior.
It is in connection with this fourth voyage (1661) that the question has
been raised as to whether Radisson and his brother-in-law Groseilliers
visited Hudson Bay by land. The conflicting claim to the territory about
Hudson Bay by France and England gives interest to this question. Two
French writers assert that the two explorers had visited Hudson Bay by
land. These are, the one, M. Bacqueville de la Potherie, Paris; and the
other, M. Jeremie, Governor of the French ports in Hudson Bay. Though
both maintain that Hudson Bay was visited by the two Frenchmen, Radisson
and Groseilliers, yet they differ entirely in details, Jeremie stating
that they captured some Englishmen there, a plain impossibility.
Oldmixon, an English writer, in 1708, makes the following
statement:--"Monsieur Radisson and Monsieur Gooselier, meeting with some
savages in the Lake of the Assinipouals, in Canada, they learnt of them
that they might go by land to the bottom of the bay, where the English
had not yet been. Upon which they desired them to conduct them thither,
and the savages accordingly did it." Oldmixon is, however, inaccurate
in some other particulars, and probably had little authority for this
statement.
THE CRITICAL PASSAGE.
The question arises in Radisson's Journals, which are published in the
volume of the Prince Society.
For so great a discovery the passage strikes us as being very short and
inadequate, and no other reference of the kind is made in the voyages.
It is as follows, being taken from the fourth voyage, page 224:--
"We went away with all hast possible to arrive the sooner at ye
great river. We came to the seaside, where we finde an old house all
demolished and battered with boullets. We weare told yt those that
came there were of two nations, one of the wolf, and the other of
the long-horned beast. All those nations are distinguished by the
representation of the beasts and animals. They tell us particularities
of the Europians. We know ourselves, and what Europ is like, therefore
in vaine they tell us as for that. We went from isle to isle all that
summer. We pluckt abundance of ducks, as of other sort of fowles; we
wanted not fish, nor fresh meat. We weare well beloved, and weare
overjoyed that we promised them to come with such shipps as we invented.
This place has a great store of cows. The wild men kill not except for
necessary use. We went further in the bay to see the place that they
weare to pass that summer. That river comes from the lake, and empties
itself in ye river of Sagnes (Saguenay) called Tadousac, wch is a
hundred leagues in the great river of Canada, as where we are in ye Bay
of ye North. We left in this place our marks and rendezvous. The wild
men yt brought us defended us above all things, if we would come quietly
to them, that we should by no means land, & so goe to the river to the
other side, that is to the North, towards the sea, telling us that those
people weare very treacherous."
THE CLAIM INVALID.
We would remark as follows:--
1. The fourth voyage may be traced as a journey through Lake Superior,
past the pictured rocks on its south side, beyond the copper deposits,
westward to where there are prairie meadows, where the Indians grow
Indian corn, and where elk and buffalo are found, in fact in the region
toward the Mississippi River.
2. The country was toward that of the Nadoneseronons, i.e. the Nadouessi
or Sioux; north-east of them were the Christinos or Crees; so that the
region must have been what we know at present as Northern Minnesota.
They visited the country of the Sioux, the present States of Dakota,
and promised to visit the Christinos on their side of the upper lake,
evidently Lake of the Woods or Winnipeg.
3. In the passage before us they were fulfilling their promise. They
came to the "seaside." This has given colour to the idea that Hudson Bay
is meant. An examination of Radisson's writing shows us, however, that
he uses the terms lake and sea interchangeably. For example, in page
155, he speaks of the "Christinos from the bay of the North Sea," which
could only refer to the Lake of the Woods or Lake Winnipeg. Again, on
page 134, Radisson speaks of the "Lake of the Hurrons which was upon the
border of the sea," evidently meaning Lake Superior. On the same page,
in the heading of the third voyage, he speaks of the "filthy Lake of the
Hurrons, Upper Sea of the East, and Bay of the north," and yet no one
has claimed that in this voyage he visited Hudson Bay. Again, elsewhere,
Radisson uses the expression, "salted lake" for the Atlantic, which must
be crossed to reach France.
4. Thus in the passage "the ruined house on the seaside" would seem
to have been one of the lakes mentioned. The Christinos tell them of
Europeans, whom they have met a few years before, perhaps an earlier
French party on Lake Superior or at the Sault. The lake or sea abounded
in islands. This would agree with the Lake of the Woods, where the
Christinos lived, and not Hudson Bay. Whatever place it was it had a
great store of cows or buffalo. Lake of the Woods is the eastern limit
of the buffalo. They are not found on the shores of Hudson Bay.
5. It will be noticed also that he speaks of a river flowing from the
lake, when he had gone further in the bay, evidently the extension of
the lake, and this river empties itself into the Saguenay. This is
plainly pure nonsense. It would be equally nonsensical to speak of it
in connection with the Hudson Bay, as no river empties from it into the
Saguenay.
Probably looking at the great River Winnipeg as it flows from Lake of
the Woods, or Bay of Islands as it was early called, he sees it flowing
north-easterly, and with the mistaken views so common among early
voyageurs, conjectures it to run toward the great Saguenay and to empty
into it, thence into the St. Lawrence.
6. This passage shows the point reached, which some interpret as Hudson
Bay or James Bay, could not have been so, for it speaks of a further
point toward the north, toward the sea.
7. Closely interpreted, it is plain that Radisson[1] had not only not
visited Hudson or James Bay, but that he had a wrong conception of it
altogether. He is simply giving a vague story of the Christinos.[2]
[Illustration: MAP OF HUDSON BAY AND STRAITS
As known six years before the first Hudson's Bay Company Expedition
sailed for Hudson Bay.
(_Taken from Drage's "Account of a Voyage."_)]
On the return of Groseilliers and Radisson to Quebec, the former was
made a prisoner by order of the Governor for illicit trading. The two
partners were fined 4000_l._ for the purpose of erecting a fort at Three
Rivers, and 6000_l._ to go to the general funds of New France.
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
Filled with a sense of injustice at the amount of the fine placed
upon them, the unfortunate traders crossed over to France and sought
restitution. It was during their heroic efforts to secure a remission of
the fine that the two partners urged the importance, both in Quebec and
Paris, of an expedition being sent out to explore Hudson Bay, of which
they had heard from the Indians. Their efforts in Paris were fruitless,
and they came back to Quebec, burning for revenge upon the rapacious
Governor.
Driven to desperation by what they considered a persecution, and no
doubt influenced by their being Protestant in faith, the adventurers
now turned their faces toward the English. In 1664 they went to Port
Royal, in Acadia, and thence to New England. Boston was then the centre
of English enterprise in America, and the French explorers brought their
case before the merchants of that town. They asserted that having been
on Lake Assiniboine, north of Lake Superior, they had there been assured
by the Indians that Hudson Bay could be reached.
After much effort they succeeded in engaging a New England ship, which
went as far as Lat. 61, to the entrance of Hudson Straits, but on
account of the timidity of the master of the ship, the voyage was given
up and the expedition was fruitless.
The two enterprising men were then promised by the ship-owners the
use of two vessels to go on their search in 1665, but they were again
discouraged by one of the vessels being sent on a trip to Sable Isle and
the other to the fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Groseilliers and
Radisson, bitterly disappointed, sought to maintain their rights against
the ship-owners in the Courts, and actually won their case, but they
were still unable to organize an expedition.
At this juncture the almost discouraged Frenchmen met the two Royal
Commissioners who were in America in behalf of Charles II. to settle
a number of disputed questions in New England and New York. By one of
these, Sir George Carteret, they were induced to visit England. Sir
George was no other than the Vice-Chamberlain to the King and Treasurer
of the Navy. He and our adventurers sailed for Europe, were captured
by a Dutch ship, and after being landed on the coast of Spain, reached
England.
Through the influence of Carteret they obtained an audience with King
Charles on October 25th, 1666, and he promised that a ship should be
supplied to them as soon as possible with which to proceed on their
long-planned journey.
Even at this stage another influence came into view in the attempt of De
Witt, the Dutch Ambassador, to induce the Frenchmen to desert England
and go out under the auspices of Holland. Fortunately they refused these
offers.
The war with the Dutch delayed the expedition for one year, and in the
second year their vessel received orders too late to be fitted up for
the voyage. The assistance of the English ambassador to France, Mr.
Montague, was then invoked by Groseilliers and Radisson, now backed up
by a number of merchant friends to prepare for the voyage.
Through this influence, an audience was obtained from Prince Rupert, the
King's cousin, and his interest was awakened in the enterprise.
It was a remarkable thing that at this time the Royal House of England
showed great interest in trade. A writer of a century ago has said,
"Charles II., though addicted to pleasure, was capable of useful
exertions, and he loved commerce. His brother, the Duke of York, though
possessed of less ability, was endowed with greater perseverance, and
by a peculiar felicity placed his chief amusement in commercial schemes
whilst he possessed the whole influence of the State." "The Duke of York
spent half his time in the business of commerce in the city, presiding
frequently at meetings of courts of directors."
It will be seen that the circumstances were very favourable for the
French enthusiasts who were to lead the way to Hudson Bay, and the royal
personages who were anxious to engage in new and profitable schemes.
The first Stock Book (1667) is still in existence in the Hudson's
Bay House, in London, and gives an account of the stock taken in the
enterprise even before the Company was organized by charter. First on
the list is the name of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, and, on the
credit side of the account, "By a share presented to him in the stock
and adventure by the Governor and Company, 300_l._"
The second stockholder on the list is the notable Prince Rupert, who
took 300_l._ stock, and paid it up in the next two years, with the
exception of 100_l._ which he transferred to Sir George Carteret, who
evidently was the guiding mind in the beginning of the enterprise.
Christopher, Duke of Albemarle--the son of the great General Monk, who
had been so influential in the restoration of Charles II. to the throne
of England, was a stockholder for 500_l._
Then came as stockholders, and this before the Company had been formally
organized, William, Earl of Craven, well known as a personal friend of
Prince Rupert; Henry, Earl of Arlington, a member of the ruling cabal;
while Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury, the versatile minister of Charles,
is down for 700_l._ Sir George Carteret is charged with between six and
seven hundred pounds' worth of stock; Sir John Robinson, Sir Robert
Vyner, Sir Peter Colleton and others with large sums.
As we have seen, in the year 1667 the project took shape, a number
of those mentioned being responsible for the ship, its cargo, and the
expenses of the voyage. Among those who seem to have been most ready
with their money were the Duke of Albemarle, Earl of Craven, Sir
George Carteret, Sir John Robinson, and Sir Peter Colleton. An entry
of great interest is made in connection with the last-named knight.
He is credited with 96_l._ cash paid to the French explorers, who
were the originators of the enterprise. It is amusing, however, to
see Groseilliers spoken of as "Mr. Gooseberry"--a somewhat inaccurate
translation of his name.
Two ships were secured by the merchant adventurers, the _Eaglet_,
Captain Stannard, and the _Nonsuch Ketch_, Captain Zachariah Gillam. The
former vessel has almost been forgotten, because after venturing on the
journey, passing the Orkneys, crossing the Atlantic, and approaching
Hudson Straits, the master thought the enterprise an impossible one, and
returned to London.
Special interest attaches to the _Nonsuch Ketch_. It was the successful
vessel, but another notable thing connected with it was that its New
England captain, Zachariah Gillam, had led the expedition of 1664,
though now the vessel under his command was one of the King's ships.[3]
It was in June, 1668, that the vessels sailed from Gravesend, on the
Thames, and proceeded on their journey, Groseilliers being aboard
the _Nonsuch_, and Radisson in the _Eaglet_. The _Nonsuch_ found the
Bay, discovered little more than half a century before by Hudson, and
explored by Button, Fox, and James, the last-named less than forty years
before. Captain Gillam is said to have sailed as far north as 75° N.
in Baffin Bay, though this is disputed, and then to have returned into
Hudson Bay, where, turning southward, he reached the bottom of the Bay
on September 29th. Entering a stream, the Nemisco, on the south-east
corner of the Bay--a point probably not less than 150 miles from the
nearest French possessions in Canada--the party took possession of
it, calling it, after the name of their distinguished patron, Prince
Rupert's River.
Here, at their camping-place, they met the natives of the district,
probably a branch of the Swampy Crees. With the Indians they held a
parley, and came to an agreement by which they were allowed to occupy
a certain portion of territory. With busy hands they went to work and
built a stone fort, in Lat. 51° 20' N., Long. 78° W., which, in honour
of their gracious sovereign, they called "Charles Fort."
Not far away from their fort lay Charlton Island, with its shores of
white sand, and covered over with a growth of juniper and spruce. To
this they crossed on the ice upon the freezing of the river on December
9th. Having made due preparations for the winter, they passed the long
and dreary time, finding the cold excessive. As they looked out they saw
"Nature looking like a carcase frozen to death."
In April, 1669, however, the cold was almost over, and they were
surprised to see the bursting forth of the spring. Satisfied with their
journey, they left the Bay in this year and sailed southward to Boston,
from which port they crossed the ocean to London, and gave an account of
their successful voyage.
The fame of the pioneer explorer is ever an enviable one. There can be
but one Columbus, and so for all time this voyage of Zachariah Gillam,
because it was the expedition which resulted in the founding of the
first fort, and in the beginning of the great movement which has lasted
for more than two centuries, will be memorable. It was not an event
which made much stir in London at the time, but it was none the less the
first of a long series of most important and far-reaching activities.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See map opposite.
[2] Mr. Miller Christie, of London, and others are of opinion that
Radisson visited Hudson Bay on this fourth voyage.
[3] A copy of the instructions given the captains may be found in State
Papers, London, Charles II., 251, No. 180.