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V
THE
HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORIES
AND
VANCOUVER'S ISLAND,
WITH AN EXPOSITION OF THE
CHARTERED RIGHTS, CONDUCT, & POLICY
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HO^nLE HUDSO^^'S BAY CORPORATION. • |
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BY THK , -; AUTHOR OF THK " HISTORY. OF THE BRITISH GOLONIKS," |
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Eonlion :
MDCCCXLVIII.
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ION DON : PIUNTEn BY T. nnETTEir., RUPERT f
STREET, IIAYMAnKKT.
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PBEPATORY ADDRESS.
■i^i
TO
THE RIGHT HON»^^ EARL GRE5f.
Ilt.llt. j5rrrrt«rs of ibtatr for tf)e Oolonirs.
< '
My Lord,
The avowed ignorance of the nation generally concerning the Hudson's Bay Company, and the natural desire to know more of the territories and proceedings of an association to whom is now being confided the Colonization of Vancouver's Island, have induced me to examine various official and public documents on the subject, in the hope that the result of my inquiry might be useful to many who wish to be better acquainted with the facts of the case, and not unacceptable even to those with whose opinions I generally concur, although in this matter at variance with the conclusions at which I have myself arrived.
;!•>
9
•f%.,
IV
I have found a further incentive to my labours in the desire to ascertain h^w far additional information would confirm or negative the views I had formed when writing my History of the British Colonies in 1834.
\
\ ^
The plan which I have pursued has been—
! I
4.^
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First — To show the geography, physical asjiect, and climate of the regions known as the Hudson's Bay Company's territories, and to furnish all the trust- worthy information within my reach relative to Vancouver's Island.
Second — To detail t 3 constitution and working of the Hudson's Bay Corporation at home and abroad.
Third — ^To ascertain the numbers, character, and treatment of the Indian or Aboriginai population.
Fourth— mo investigate the conduct and policy of the ruling authorities.
Fifth — To inquire into the qualifications of the Hudson's Bay Company for the Colonization of Van- couver's Island.
, si.. ..-^
y labours in information had formed Colonies in
ti —
ispect, and Ison's Bay the trust- lative to
orking of abroad.
cter, and tion.
wlicy of
of the
f Van.
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The documents examined include the Parliamentary Papers of 8th August, 1842, and 10th August, 1848; the Keport of the Aborigines' Parliamentary Com- mittee in 1837 ; the Journal of the Bishop of Mon- treal to Rupert's Land in 1844'; the Annual Reports and Notices of the Church Missionary and Wesleyan Societies ; the Official Narrative of Commodore Wilkes, of the American navy*, from 1838 to 1842; the History of Oregon and California in 1844, by Mr. Robert Greenhow, translator and librarian to the United States Government* ; a " Journey beyond the Rocky Mountains in 1835-6 and 7," by the Rev. S. Parker, A.M., on behalf of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions*; Statement of the Earl of Selkirk's Settlement in North America' ; Narrative of the Discoveries on the NortJi Coast of America from 1836 to 1839, by Messrs. Dease and T. Simpson"; Hearne's Journeys to the Northern Ooean from 1769 to 1772' ; Dr. Rae's Exploration of the Coasts of the Arctic Region* ; Sir George Simpson's
I Published by Hatchard. London. 1H45.
8 Publislied by Wiley and Putuain. London. ISA.'i,
> PubHsbed by Murray. London. JH-H.
* Published by Chambers. Edinburgh. 184L
5 Published by Murray. London. 1817.
8 Published by Bentley. London. 1837.
7 striihaii ami Cadell in 17(l.'i.
s Times and Morning Herald, ist and 2Bd November, 1847.
VI
■!
Overland Journey round the World in 1841-2° ; several official papers obtained at the Colonial Office, Board of Trade, and Admiralty ; the Royal Charter granted to the Hudson's Bay Company by King Charles II., 2nd May, 1670 ; the Royal Licen'»es granted by King George IV., 5th December 1821, and by Queen Victoria, 30th May, 1838, for exclu- sive trade with the Indians of all the countries in North America to the north and west of the territory of the United States, Upper and Lower Canada, and the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company granted to them by the Royal Charter of 2nd May, 1670 ; the Deed Poll of the Company; and other docu- ments to wh' '^ reference is made in this work.
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I now beg to submit to your Lordship the impor- tant evidence afforded by the statements of these impartial authorities, many of them eye-witnesses of what they narrate. It is for your Lordship and the public to decide in what manner the Hudson's Bay Company has fulfilled the objects for which it was incorporated by Charles II. ; how far it has merited the additional Royal Licences granted in 1821 and in 1838, for an extension of the exclusive trade
B FubliBhcd by Colbum. 1847.
%
Vll
with the Indians over certain parts of North America ; and what reasonable prospect may be entertained of the effectual execution of the trust now being vested ii3 thip ancient Corporation, for the colonization of a British Settlement in the Pacific Ocean by our Most Gracious Sovereign.
I have the honour to subscribe myself,
My Lord, Your obedient and fiuthful Servant,
R. M. MARTIN.
4, MuHLTON ViLLAH, KENTIiiH ToWN,
October 1848.
INDIAN Vll.r.lAdI \ T Tin; UMi iUVI'.U SK/ITLKM KN'I'.
• i'miii till IS'ikIkiji lit' M'iiiIi: III s Juiiiii'iI I
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jiiiiasw—.'*"**
THE HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORIES
AND
VANCOUVER'S ISLAND, & .
iun i.
lEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL ASPECT, CLIMATE, &c.
Geography. — The north-west territories of British Americ&, Kclusive of Canada, extend from the Pacific Ocean and Van. ^uver's Island along the parallel of the 49th degree of north Ititude, near to the head of Lake Superior, and thence in a north- ^sterly direction to the coast of Labrador and the Atlantic. The Arctic Ocean forms the northern boundary. The whole region Icludcs the meridians of 55 and 141 degrees of west longtitude, ccepting a strip of Russian territory on the Pacific Ocean, jtween 64° and 60° north latitude, following the sinuosities of le coast for ten leagues in breadth, and as per accompanying iap by Arrowsmith.
Within these limits lies the tract of country granted by
Dharles II., on the 2nd of May, 1670, under royal charter, to
*rince Rupert, the Duke of Albemarle, Earl of Craven, Lord
Lshley, and others, who organized the Hudson's Bay Company.
["his tract by the original charter* was called ' Rupert's Land ;'
Constituted one of His Majesty's colonies or plantations in
Lmericai and was defined as, ' all the lands and territories upon
Ihe countries, coasts, and confines of the seas, bays, lakes, rivers,
brecks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie
* S'»e Apptiiidix. A
\
within the entrance of the straits, commonly called Hudson'si Straits, that are not Jilready actually possessed by, or granted tol any of our subjects, or possessed by the subjects of any other! Christian Prince or State.'
No latitudinal or longitudinal boundaries are here expressed. By several Acts of Porliament, especially by 14 Geo. III., cap. 83, the northern boundary of Canada was to be the southern boundary of the eastern portion of the ' territory granted ' to the Hudson's Bay Company; and a map, published by Eman Bowen, in 1775, assigns the 49th parallel of north latitude as part of the southern boundary of the Hudson's Bay tract, as far as the Canadian frontier.
No western or northern boundary having been expressed in the Royal Charter of 2nd May, 1670, it has been said that the Pacific and Northern Oceans constitute the limits in these directions ; tlio Hudson's Bay Company, on the 10th June, 1814, sought air opinion respecting the Red River Territory (as shown at p. 47), I from the learned counsel, Samuel Romilly, G. 8. Holroyd,'^ William Cruise, J. Scarlett, and John Bell, who stated that 'the grant of the soil contained in the charter is good, and that it will include all the country the waters of which run into Hudson's Bay.' This opinion does not define how much more may be included in right of the Charter,
In addition to this grant of territory to the Hudson's Bay Company, and exclusive trade over the same, Charles II., in the said charter, with a view * to the discovery of a new passage into the South Sea*, and for the finding of some trade for furs, raine-
• It has been erroneously stated that Charles II. granteil a charter to the Hudson's Bay Company, in order to enable tlieiu to discover a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This ia not the case, as the words of the accompanying Charter show. It was granted not only us an encouragement to endeavour to find a pawsage into tJie South Sea, but also to find ' some trade for furs, minerals, and other coriiderable commo- dities.' Arctic discovery has, nevertheless, always formed a prominent part of the proceedings of the Company.
Mr. Hearne ailverts, in his interesting work, published in 170ft, to t'e monies expended by the Company in prosecuting researches, and to the val-ious attempts matle by their officers, IJean, Christopher, Johnston, and Duncan, to find out a north-west passage. In 1710, the Hudson's Bay Compnny fitted out the Albany frigate and the
lied Hudson's j or granted lol of any other
ere expressed, >eo. III., cap. the southern ranted ' to the Em an Bowen, as part of the as far as the
pressed in the lat the Pacific lirections; the 14, sought ai! own at p. 47),l 8. Holroyd, ated that ' the nd that it will into Hudson's 'nore may be
[udson's Bay
les U., in the
passage into
r furs, mine-
r to the Hudson's le Atlantic to the ter sLow. It was ^ re int«» Uie SoutL lideruble comuio- lent part of the
lis, and other commodities, and to encourage them to proceed frthcr in pursuance of their said design, whereof there may pro- ibly arise very great advantage to us and to our kingdom,
scovery sloop, to find out the Straits of Anian, and a passage to the northward.
dese ships were embayed iu the ice near Marble Island, and all perished by a lingering
Miserable death. No intelligence of the vessels, or their crews, reached the Company,
any of their forts, until 1769, and then the remains were discovered by accident.
The Hudson's Bay Company, between 17(19 and 1772, sent Mr. S. Heame from Fort
Hhurchill on three journeys throughout the regions west and north-west of the Fort, to
ke extent of a tliousaud miles. Considering the period when tliese journeys were
idertaken, the ignorance which prevailed respecting the topography and climate, the
imber and dangerous character of the Indian tribes, and the total separation of Mr.
teame from any other European, the investigations of this enterprising traveller deserve
he highest approbation.
Heame discovered the Lake Athapescow, and explored a large extent of country : >e traced tlie ' far-off Metal River,' since called the ' Copper Mine River,' to its erminatiou in the Arctic Ocean, where the tides were observed, and on whose shores elics of whales were strewed in abundance. Heame conceived that he had proved the kntire impossibility of any direct communication between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific, for the discovery of which, by TI.M. ships, an Act of Farliaraeut was passed in 1745, i>ffering a reward of ^.20,000.
The Admiralty concurred in the opinion of Heame, and, in 1770, the reward was !>ffered to any of His Majesty's subjects who should find out, and sail through, any pas»age in any direction from the Atlantic to the Pacific, north of the ."t^nd parallel of latitude.
In 1836-7-8-9 the Hudson's Bay Company incurred considerable expense in prose-
^^utiug an extensive and successful exploring expedition to the Arctic Ocean, under
Wtvio of their officers, Messrs. Dease and Simpson, whose valuable researches have
'v'lieen recently published, for which the Geographical Society awarded their gold
I medal, and Her Majesty's Government a pension of .£.1C() per unnimi to Mr. Simpson
|and Mr. Dease. These enterprising travellers advanced, in one season, from the
[Mackenzie River to Point Barrow, and in another from the Copper Mine River to
[Boothia Felix, when the region reached, was 08o 43' 39" north latitude, 106o 3'
I west longitude, magnetic variation, OQo 38' 23" east; the compass was sluggish and
uncej-tain in its movements, lequiring to be shaken be^'ore it would traverse. The dis-
I covery was termed Victoria Land. During the preceding year, the explorers reached
71° 23' 33" north, 1560 20' west; an open sea was seen to the eastward, and a large
bay studded with islands, the land dipping to east-south-east for thirty miles. In
1840-47 the Hudson's Bay Company sent out another Arctic expedition, under the
command of one of their able officers, Mr. .lohn Rae, for the purpose of exploring and
surveying the unknown portion t the north-enst angle of the American continent.
The expedition consisted of tliirteeu persons, started from Fort Churchill in July,
1840, suffered great hardships, am.' wintered at a phtce named Fort Hope, in 66o 32'
10" north, 8Co 55' 51" west; variation of the compass, 02" 50' 30" west, dip of the
needle, 88" 14' ; the thermometer in their snow-covered habitation, was lOo to 12o
below zero. After se^'ere privations, und overcoming considerable difficulties, Mr. Rae
■uceessfully accomplished the object of the expedition by tracing the coast of America
between Lord Mayor's Bny of Sir .lohn Itoss, to within eight or ten miles of the
I
...•Jl
granted, 'for ever hereafter^ not only the whole, the entire, am || only trade and traffic to and from the territory, limits andplaceiW aforemid,' but also the whole and ' entire trade and traffic to anit from all havens, hays, creeks, rivers, lakes, and seas into tohich t}my% shall find entrance or passaye hy water or land out of the terri- I tories, limits, or places aforesaid ; and to and with all the natives | and people inhabiting, or which shall inhabit within the territo- | ries, limits, and places aforesaid ; and to and wila all other nations ^ inhabiting any the coasts adjacent to the said territories, limits, and places which are not already possessed as aforesaid, or whereof the sole liberty or privilege of trade and traffic is not granted to any other of our subjects.'
This grant not only, therefore, gave the Hudson's Bay Company a larye territorial manor in perpetuity, but it also gave them an exclusive right of trade, for ever, over such adjoining territories as above described. ^
Mr. Greenhow — after reciting the Royal Charter of 1670 — acknowledges, that from thence ' it will be seen that the Hudson's Bay Company possessed, by its Charter, almost sovereign powers
Fury and Hecla Strait (see map) ; thus proving 'Boothia Felix' to be a peninsula.* The country thus explored was formally declared to be British territory, and, in Sep- tember, 1847, Mr. Rae and his party arrived in safety at York Factory, in Hudson's Bay. This scientific officer of tlie Company has now, at the request of the Lords of the A'diBiralty, accompanied Dr. Richaidson in search of Sir John Franklin and his gallant companions.
During the researches, journeys, and voyages of Parry, Franklin, Ross, Beechey, Back, &c., the Hudson' Bsay Company have spared no exertions or expense to aid Her Majesty's Government and the naval service in the Arctic explorations, which, independent of the expenditure of the Company, have cost Her Majesty's Government, since 1815, nearly half a million sterling, witliout any territorial or commercial advantage being derived by the nation
The Hudson's Bay Company have long since demonstrated, that no available rente exists by sea between the North Atlantic and Nortli Pacific, and this national expendi ture might have been spared, and any further required exploration of these hyperborean regions may well be left in the hands of tlie Company.
* Be« tiM Time* and Morning Herald of Nov. 1 and 9, 1847, for an unaiiumlngdeipatoh of Mr. Rm to the GoTemor and Committee of the Hudson'* Bay Company, containing an account of hi* important geographical ditcoveries, of which an excellent map has been prepared by Mr. Arrowsmlth with his accustomed public spirit.
OlMfefi
'! i
the entire, and mits andplaceq I traffic to and t'ffto w/nc/i t/u'ji ^t of tlie terri- all the natives in the territo- 1 other nations •itories, limits, aforesaid, or traffic is not
Bay Company ?ave them an ing territories
?r of 1670— ' the Hudson's reign powers
••e a peninsula.* >ry, and, in Sep- Ofy, iu Hudson's f the Lords of the •anilin and his
i,Beechey,Baok, id Her Majesty's lependent of the ace 1815, nearly 5 being derived
available roate >tiona] expendi se hyperborean
ipatohofMr. Bm > of bit important owimilh with Ml
5
r the vast portion of America drained by streams entering dson's Bay.' — {Proofs and Illustrations, I. p. 466.) hese latter rights were, however, ipvaded after the British upation of Canada, by an associated body terming themselves North- West Company, between whom and the Pludson's y Company a series of direful struggles, attended with at loss of life, injury to the fur trade, and destruction to the ians, was maintained for years, until, in 1821, an Act of liament was passed, under which the Crown granted to the dson's Bay Company, and to the three representative agents the North- West Association in London and Montreal, on 6th cember, 1821, a licence of exclusive trade for twenty-one years, what were termed the 'Indian territories,' that is, over those tracts ich might not bft included in the grant of Charles II., and also r those tracts which, by mutual consent, were open to the subjects England, and to those of the United States. The three North- est Association Agents merged into the Hudson's Bay Company; exclusive trading licence was surrendered in 1838, and, after oireful examination and investigation, on 30th May, 1838, the Ofown granted, under covenant, another licence for twenty-one |tars of exclusive trade over the aforesaid Indian and Neutral |||rritories. These licences (which extended ' to those parts in rth America beyond the limits of the Charter which the udson's Bay Company at present enjoy,' (see Board of Trade ter, 2nd of June, 1837, in Parliamentary Papers of 8th August, 42,) in nowise invalidated or questioned the rights possessed by Hudson's Bay Company under the Royal Charter of 2nd Ipay, 1670, which has been recognised by various treaties and iCts of Parliament. From the correspondence of 7th September d 30th October, 1846, laid before Parliament, 10th August, 48, it would appear that the Crown considered the ' Rocky ountains ' as the eastern boundary of the territory over which e Hudson's Bay Company have the exclusive right of trading 5th the natives for twenty-one years from 13th May, 1838. revious to the recent Oregon treaty, the Hudson's Bay Com-
I* I
M '1
6
pany had formed scttlciuents on the Coluiiibia River, and some oil its servants and retired officers established an agricultural faring at Puget Sound, south of the 49th parallel, and within the preseiii American territories ; but the Oregon treaty (see appendix) ex- pressly guarantees the ' possessory rights ' of the Hudson's Bay Company in the American States, and of course thus acknowledge the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Company north of tlie 49tli parallel. In the trading licence of 1888 the Crown reserved to itself the right of establishing any colony in the territory over which the licence extended : hence the power now exercised by the Crown of disposing of Vancouver's Island.
Physical Aspect. — It is difficult to convey an idea of the territories belonging to, as well ias those included in the trading ' licence of, the Hudson's Bay Company. A great portion of them, east of the Rocky Mountains, consists of inland seas, bays, lakes, rivers, swamps, treeless prairies, barren hills and hollows, | • tossed together in a wave-like form, as if the ocean had beeni suddenly petrified while heaving its huge billows in a tumul- tuous swell.' — (7'. Simpsons Life and Travels.) La Hontan has not inaptly called the region north of Lake Superior, the ' fag end of the world.' Tliere are, doubtless, several spots, such as the Red River, adapted in some respects for European settlements ; but they are like oases in the desert, few and far between — and totally inapplicable for extended colonization ; indeed, at a great many of the posts, not only can no corn be grown, but even the potatoe and other crops are cut off by summer frosts, so that tlie rearing and preservation of a sufficient quantity of human food is an object of the most anxious aolici- tudo throughout the country. By the concession of part of the Oregon country and the Colombia River to the United States in ^^1846, we gave up a fertile ant temperate region, south of the 49th parallel, capable of yielding abundance of food; and the tract now left in the possession oi the Hudson's Bay CdillpBtiy will recpiire 'p-eut care and industry, to render even thfe ipost promising spots productive.
■i^V
k ^ ^..
r, and sorue of [•icultural fam hin thopreseiii
appendix) ex- [Hudson's Bav
acknowledge^ ly north of tlie 'rown reservc(!
territory over
exercised by
n idea of the w the trading ^| 'at portion of and seas, bays. 8 and holiovvs, cean had been 8 in a tumul- I^a Hon tan Superior, the several spots, for European . few and far colonization ; » no corn be 2 cut off by 'fa sufficient xious dolici- Part of the sJ States in outh of the ^', and the Y Cdiapany
n thte niost
%
I shall attempt to define the natural divisions of North -West merica, beginning with the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The revailing features of Labrador from 60° to 60° north latitude, nd from 56° to 78° west longitude, are rocks, lakes, swamps, and lountains. The Straits of Belleisle have an ' iron-bound coast,* ith several good harbours adjacent, particularly on the coast ; ut this wild and sterile region is never likely to be used for any ther purposes than fishing and fur hunting. From the coast of Labrador, a ridge of table land runs nearly ^outh-west to the source of the Ottawa river, and divides the inters which flow into the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, from those which flow into Hudson's Bay, and may be con- sidered the south-eastern boundary of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany's territories. From the Ottawa this ridge (table land, or division of waters) takes a generally west dire :tion till it reaches the Rocky Mountains, in about 115° west longitude, separating the watc.s of Rainy Lake River, Red River, and Saskatchewan River, which waters flow into Hudson's Bay, from the Mississippi and Missouri, which flow into the Gulf of Mexico. This very slightly elevated feature was formerly considered to represent the boundary between the Hudson's Bay Company and the United States, to the westward of the source of Rainy Lake River. The Treaty of 1818, defined Rainy Lake River, the Lake of the Woods, and the 49th parallel of latitude as far west as Rocky Mountains, as the boundary ; and by the recent Treaty, 15th June, 1846, the 49th parallel of latitude has been continued as the boundary west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The Rocky Mountains have their northern extremity in the Arctic Ocean, latitude 70" north, longitude 140o west, and run nearly S.S.E., ^ 'allel with the west coast, forming the eastern boundary of the Oregon region, sending off, at different places, spurs and buttresses, and dividing the waters that flow into the Atlantic from those that flow into the Pacific. 4
At Mount Browne, 16,000, and Mount Hooker, 15,700 feet high, in latitude 52" 30' north, two of the loftiest peaks of the
I
!!■
• Rocky Mountains,' a dividing range of moderate hills runs .| to the north-east, from whence flows some of the branches of sj the Saskatchewan, Churchill, or English River, Deer Lake, "Winnipeg Lake, and those streams which feed Wollaston Lake, Athabasca Lake, and Slave Lake, and several otlier lakes. It is< however, difficult to say what waters flow towards Hudson's Bay, or towards the Arctic Sea, as several of the lakes have different outlets, and each lake communicates with another, — the Great Slave Lake, with Lake Athabasca ; Lake Athabasca, with Wollaston and Deer Lakes, the latter descending by Churchill River into Hudson's Bay. For instance, the Oungigan or River of Peace descends from a ridge of the Rocky Mountains towards Lake Athabasca, or the Lake of the Mountains ; when high it flows into the lake, but when low it '■eceives the lake waters, and flows towards the Great Slave Lake, under the name of the Slave River. Winnipeg, Winnipegos, and Manitoba Lakes, receive the waters of the Saskatchewan, Assiniboiiio, and Red River, and communicate with Hudson's Bay by the Nelson, and other rivers and conduits.
MacKenzie's River runs northerly in its shallow course from the Rocky Mountains to the Arctic Ocean, in latitude 69** north, longitude 135" west, but communicates in its progress with the Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes ; but, excepting this, the Copper Mine and Back's Rivers, I think the course of all the other rivers and lakes of North-West America, east of the Rocky Mountains, is to the eastward, towards which the \vhole country dips.
Mr.Greenhow, in his topography of these regions, says, (p. 37) — that the country north of 50°, and cast of the Rocky Mountains, is ' drained by streams entering Hudson's Bay or the Arctic Sea ; the principal are the Red River of the North, the Assiniboine, and the Saskatchewan, all emptying into Lake Winnipeg, which commu- nicatee by several channels with Hudson's Bay and the Mis- sinnippi, or Cliurchill River, fiiUing direct into that bay.
The Arctic Sea, in nearly the 69th parallel, receives the Great Fish, or Back's River, the Copper Mine, and the Mackenzie ;
>n(
ate hills runs e branches of
Deer Lake, >Ila8ton Lake
lakes. It is, ludson's Bay, bave different r,— the Great abasca, with by Churchill n or River of ains towards i^hen high it
waters, and of the Slave f, receive the
River, and
and other
Jourse from
? 69<» north,
ss with the
g this, the
of all the
the Rocky
>untrydips.
'8,(p.37)—
}untains, is
cSea; the
»e, and the
b conimu- the Mis-
the Great
lekcnzie ;
{)
the ' regions through which these rivers pass are generally
[level, that it is in many places difficult to trace the limits of
tracts from which the waters flow into the respective streams
basins; they contain numerous lakes, some of them very
^e, which are nearly all connected with each other, and
th Hudson's Bay on the east and the Arctic Sea on the
•th.'
fJIJjViewing, therefore, the whole of the territories between the SItcky Mountains and Hudson's Bay. north of the 49th parallel, 9|i one region, it may be considered as a series of lakes, rivers, plains, with a gradual elevation from east to west, 'he northern coast, which was very imperfectly explored until recent journeys of Dease, Simpson, and Rae, from 1837 to t7, is intersected with lakes, marshes, and rivers to a greater tent than any part of the known globe ; and it would seem as the inner springs of the earth there burst forth. Some parts ^estigated are truly regions of desolation : vegetation ceases in ie latitude of 60° north : — no land is seen capable of cultivation ; ■i§ie whole surface is rugged and uneven, and the open valleys Qiaarly devoid of all vegetable productions. The soil at Churchill 5V»rt (one of the Hudson's Bay Company's Stations, in latitude north) on the shores of the bay, is extremely barren, rocky, , and without wood for several miles inland ; a few garden ;etables are with difficulty reared. At York Fort, in latitude [• 2', longitude 93" west, the soil is low and marshy, and equally iproductive ; and, though the trees are larger than those inland Fort Churchill, they are still knotty and dwarfish. The Hiiuntry around the factory, although elevated above the river, is Que entire swamp, covered with low stunted pine, and perfectly impenetrable, even in July, when it is infested by clouds of mos- litoes. The land seems to have been thrown up by the sea, id is never thawed during the hottest summer, with the ther- lometer at 90^ to 100° in the shade, more than ten or twelve iches, and then the soil is of the consistence of clammy mud ; en in the centre of the factory it is necessary to keep on the
■mi.
I
! I,
10
platforms to avoid sinking over the ankles. About Albany For in 52<^ north, and Moose Fort in 51° 28', the climate is nior temperate, the soil better, and potatoes and garden produce ai reared but with difficulty. Proceeding farther west, the temp rature improves, but all around Hudson's Bay, particularly t Fort Churchill, the climate is extremely severe; and from tli middle of October to the middle of May, the country is burie under snow. The ice does not break up generally unt July, and at York Fort, two degrees south of Churchill, tli thermometer in January has been at 50^ below zero. Even i zooms at the factory, where a fire is perpetually kept up, brand freezes into a solid substance : the rivers and lakes, ten to twelv feet deep, are frozen to the bottom, and the Hudson's Ba Company's European servants are obliged to observe the greater caution against the effects of the cold air, which is frequentl filled with small particles of angular ice, and when driven by th wind against the face or hands, raises the skin in white blister^: which break out in thin watery issues. As soon as a room i thoroughly heated, and the embers burnt down, the top of tl) chimney is closed so as to exclude the air, yet the walls of tli apartments are found covered with ice two to three inches thick. The Europeans in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company notwithstanding their precautions, and the use of a large quantit; of woollens and furs, are frequently frost bitten, and many o the natives fall victims to the severity of the climate. The sin is often obscured for weeks by thick fogs, which are caused b watery vapours ascending from the sea, which, being condense by cold, hang all around the coast, and extend inland to a con'
* In the Quarterly Review, No. xlix. vol. xxv., 1821, Sir John Barrow adverts to tli remarkable occurrence on board Captain Parry's ships, Hecla and Oriper : — " Tli montli of Marcli set in mildly (at their retreat in Winter Harbour) so that the solid if which for some time had lined the ships' sides, began to melt. It therefore becan necessary to scrape off this coating of ice, on which occasion Captain Parry observes- : ' It will, perhaps, be scarcely credited, that we tliis day (8th March) removed aborj one hundred buckets full, each containing from five to six gallons, being the accunin lation which had taken place in an interval of less than fonr weeks ; and this immeii! quantity was tlie produce chiefly of the men's breath and of the steam of their victuslj during meals.' "
^ut Albany For
climate is iiior
[den produce a;
lest, the temjjf
particularly ;
and from tli )untry is burip [generally uiit
11
eruble distuiu'e. The ' Mock Suns' and Moons, called Para- lia, and Paraselene appear very frequently in the coldest months, e temperature of the air is subject to the most capricious 1||riations ; rain sometimes fulls abundantly with a serene sky, the snu will burst forth in the midst of the heaviest showers, ch is the region in which several of the Hudson's Bay Com- jittny's estublishments are situated, and which could not be Churchill, tli ||&intained but for the possession of some more temperate regions, zero. Even i ^ra whence food is procurable.
Hudson's Bay, discovered by John Hudson in 1610, is about >0 miles in length, by 600 at its greatest breadth, with a sur- unding coast of 3000 miles, between the parallels of 61" and ° north latitude. The coasts are generally high, rocky, rugged, nd sometimes precipitous. The bay is navigable for a few onths in summer, but for the greater part of the remainder ^f the year is filled up with fields of ice. The navigation, when [ibpen, is extremely dangerous, as it contains many shoals, rocks, sand banks, and islands; and, even during the summer, vast icebergs, towards which a ship is suddenly drifted by a squall ibr current, rendering it very hazardous for the most skilful seamen. The transitions of the thermometer in summer are gfrom 100" to 40° in two days, and the torrents of rain are sur- prising : whether in winter or summer, the climate is horrible ; the range of the thermometer throughout the year is 140°. The sea is entered by Hudson's strait, which is about 500 miles long with a varying breadth, and with an intricate navigation through several islands, viz. : Charles, Salisbury, Nottingham, Mansfield, and Southampton. The principal bays and inlets in this great inland sea, are, James's Bay, in the south-east, which is 240 miles deep by 140 wide ; Button's Bay, and Port Nelson, on the western coast ; Chesterfield Inlet on the north-west, which, after stretching far into the interior, terminates in a fresh water lake; Roe's Welcome, a deep strait on the north coast, and also Repulse Bay.
We may now examine the country between Hudson's Bay and the Rocky Mountains, commenci!)|L» with the lakes and
ept up, brand !8, ten to twelv
Hudson's Ba rve the greate« li is frequentl n driven by tli n white blister« n as a room i , the top of til the walls of tli s inches thick. Bay Compatu a large quantit 1, and many c aate. The sm are caused b eing condense land to a con
arrow adverts to tli ind Griper: — "Tt so that the solid ic It therefore becac in Parry observes- sh) removed abot being the accunu ; and this immeii! am of their victual
12
rivers. The Great Bear Lake, the mo8t northerly, is 150 mik's ill diameter, and communicates by Lake Martin with the Great | Slave Lake, which is estimated at 260 miles from east to west, and 30 from north to south. Captain Back considers it as large as Lake Michigan; its soundings are from 40 to 60 fathoms. The north side of the lake is an entire jumble of rocks and hills; the south is level, not a hill or stone to be found. The Great Slave Hiver joins this lake to that of Athabasca, which is 18U miles long and 15 broad, — receives the Peace, Athabasca, and Stone Rivers; the latter river forms the channel which conveys a portion of the waters of the Wollaston Lake (situated on table land) into Athabasca Lake ; another portion of the waters of Wollaston Lake flows in a contrary direction through Deer Lake and River into the Missinnippi, Churchill, or English River, which forms several smaller lakes, and finally disembogues into Hud- son's Bay, at Fort Churchill, in latitude 55" 45' north, longi- tude 94° 25' west.
Lake Winnipeg, in latitude 50" 20' to 53o 45' north, is 240 miles long, and from 5 to 50 broad. It receives the River Saskat- chewan, as it flows from the Rocky Mountains and northern ridge ;also the Red and A ssiniboine Rivers, and discharges itself into Hudson's Bay by the Nelson and other rivers. Winnipegos and Manitoba are branch or tributary lakes to Winnipeg.
That the trend of the land, and the dip, is towards Hudson's Bay and the eastward, is evident from the course of the Red River, which rises in about the parallel of 46° ; flows to the northward across the American boundary parallel of 49° ; joins the Assiniboine, or Nadawosis River, at Fort Garry, in 50° north latitude, and then disembogues into the south-western part of Lake Winnipeg, which, as before stated, discharges into Hudson's Bay.
The Moose River, which flows from the dividing ridge of highlands, which separates the Hudson's Bay territories from Canada, runs for 230 miles in a north-east direction, and has its cmhotiche in James's Bay, lat. 51° 10' north, long. 81° west.
The country between the sources of the Assiniboine, in 51 J
f
M
ly. is 160 miles with the Great tt east to west, ers it as large » 60 fathoms, •cks and hills ; '• The Great which is 180 thabasca, and ^hicli conveys lated on table he waters of h Deer Lake River, which !S into Hud- »orth, longi-
is 240 miles ver Saskat-
J northern
arges itself iVinnipegos ^eg. s Hudson's
f the Red >ws to the
49^ joins, I 50° north ■n part of
Hudson's
ridge of Ties from d has its
}St.
J, in 51^
13
rth, and the Hcd River, is almost a continued plain, the soil of id and gravel, with a slight intermixture of earth, which pro- ices a short grass, but trees are rare. The country around the ithern part of Lake Winipeg is well wooded and watered, and >und9 at seasons with herds of buffalo and deer ; so also conti- ^ous to the Winipegos Lake and Swan River, and along the ite from Carlton to Isle la Crosse Forts in the 55" parallel. \e northern partli of Lake Winipeg is composed of banks of i|i|J{:ed bluck and grey rock. Farther north occasionally greener )ts are to be met with : some of the islands in the Great Slave ike are clothed with tall poplars, birch, and pines, and well <,^cked with deer. Near the portage La Loche is a precipice ^wards of 100 fcL' above the plain, from whence, according to [ackenzie, there is a ' ravishing prospect :' — the Swan (Pelican Clear Water) River meanders for thirty miles through a Llley about three miles in breadth, confined by two lofty ridges equal height, displaying a delightful intermixture of wood and iwn. Some parts of the inclining heights are covered with itely forests, relieved by verdant promontories, where the elk llid buffalo enjoy delicious pasturage.
The route from the Red River settlement (Fort Garry) to Fort [hipewyan, on Lake Athabasca, was traversed in December 536, by Mr. Thomas Simpson, by the following stages, in a very lort space of time : —
Miles. Days.
Fort Garry (Red River) to Fort Pelly 394 in 15
* Fort Pelly to Fort Carltun 276 " 12
* Carlton to Isle a la Crosse 236 " 7
■ if
V Isle a la Crosse to Fort Chipeywan 371 " 12
Total 1277 in 46
These, and other forts and stations, are necessarily wide apart, iind in situations favourable to water communications, and to pro- buring animal, or, if possible, vegetable food.
14
i :■!
The aspect of tlic country in wliicli these forts are construclr is thus noted by Mr. Simpson :— /'V>// (iarnf, the principal statu. of the Red River Settlement, is situated at the forks of the Hi and Assiniboine Rivers, about fifty miles from Lake Winii)(: and is environed by plains ; proceeding north-west the country i studded with a few copses of po|)lar and dwarf oak; but tli greater part having been swept by the running fires in 1835 (s freq!ie:it and terrible in the prairies), presented a blackened aiic dismal aspect. There were a number of small natural mouml on which lay fragments of limestone, the great basis of the plaii region, and quantities of little shells were strewn about in even direction.
The soil and climate about Manitoba, or ' Evil Spirit' Lake is similar to that of the Red River. At Winipegos Lake the oak region terminates ; but the shores are clothed with elm, poplar and a few ash, birch, and pine-trees. The water in this lake i; brackish in summer. At Duck Bay the first wood of pines wu« seen. The route from thence to Fort Pelly, south-west, litj through swampy meadows, alternating with woods of poplar fringed with willow, and a few straggling clumps of pine in tlit neighbourhood of the Swan River and Duck Mountain, with it- ' rude and impassable heights.' Thence west to north lie tin Porcupine Hills, wooded to the very summit. Thunder Hills are about two nnles in breadth, steep ; and beyond them to the northward is Fort Pelly, in 51" 45' 20" north latitude— 102" .0' west, near the bank of the Assiniboine River. The track thence to Fort Carlton, lies though gently undulating eminences along the wooded banks of the tortuous Assiniboine, thence due west, leaving the Assiniboine far to the south, over a hillocky country, tolerably wooded, and abounding in small lakes and swamps to the west end of Stoney Lake, through a country consisting of narrow plains, studded with clumps of poplar, interspersed witli little lakes and swamps ; a great part of this district had been recently overrun by fire. Changing the course from west to| west south-west, the traveller reaches the immense prairies of the |
n<
:ii
are coiistriictd principal sfjitii. )rk8 of the I?,, Lake Wiiii|M, t the couriti) i •foak; but f
16
katehewati Hiver, of which entire tracts are frequently haretl
ire to the very soil. The cold in these plains in winter, witli
wind from the westward, is terrific; there is not a shrub or
in a bhide of grass to break the force of the blast, whose teni-
MUrature is at least 40" below zero. The only exposed part of the
ros in IS-'i' ^^^^J^*"'' *^'"^ eye-lashes, becomes speedily covered with a heavy
blackened ain atural mound isis of the i»Iaii about in even
'il Spirit' Lak( 8 Lake the oat th elm, poplar in this lake i id of pines wm outh-west, litt )od8 of poplar of pine in tlu untain, with it- north lie tJK rhunder Hills iid them to tlic titude — 102° .5' e track thence linences alons: ence due west, locky country, md swamps to consisting of Tspersed witli rict had been from west to I )rairies of the I
(^p of icicles, which the half-frozen fingers have a difficulty in H^oving. These plains in summer are frequented by the ians as hunting grounds. The heat in those wild plains is as earable in summer as is the cold in winter. Throughout this ntry, says Sir O. Simpson, every thing is in unparalleled eJitremes. Cold and excessive heat, — long droughts balanced by
»nching rain and destructive hail (sometimes 6^ inches in cir- iference). At one period both whites and natives are living li wasteful abundance on venison, buffalo, fish, and game — at lers reduced to the last degree of hunger, often passing several ys without food. In 1820, when wintering at Athabasca Lake, r George Simpson says, he was for three days and nights without a morsel of food. Frequently hundreds of fine buffaloes ne killed for the tongues alone. On one occasion Sir G. Simpson saw several thousand buffaloes putrifying the air for lies around. Unsheltered plains extend far to the south, to the idges in latitude 49", whence the Missouri descends. One of the airiesof the Saskatchewan crossed by Mr. Simpson, was fourteen iles wide, and only a few willows were thinly scattered on its rface. The country south of the Saskatchewan towards Assini- ine, has in various places lakes as salt as the Atlantic Ocean. 8 this region, which extends to the Rocky Mountains, has been Irroneously considered adapted for European colonization, the bllowing extract from Mr. Thomas Simpson's Journal may help lo dispel the illusion. " Christmas Day, Sunday, the 25th : On baking off our slumbers this glad morning, a troop of wolves were " baying the moon," as she rode in a cloudless sky. The 'Country before us being intricate, we could not start till daylight; and, when we sallied forth on our day's march, the weather had
■Vf
tmmm
16
^^*
moderated. About two miles from our resting-place, we passel over a round hill, and >tood awhile on its summit to enjoy tlil boundless prospect. From west to south stretched a vast plaini separated from another, of which we had a bird's-eye glimpse tl the north-east, by the broad belt of woods which we had beci, skirting along ; while, before us, in our line of march, lay out spread a seemingly endless tract of open underwood, varied bj gently swelling eminences. For seven miles our route led west- north-west, through thickets and over hillocks; it then changed to west for fourteen miles, through a more open country, con sisting of rising grounds, or ^^cdtcans" with bare ridges, and sides clothed with dwarf poplar and brushwood; while here and there, in the hollows, we crossed large ponds, scarcely deserving on this continent, the title of lakes. They have no outlet ; and on cutting through the ice for water, ue f/eneralli/ found it putrid such, however, is its scarcitij in that level country, that we wen often fain to uxe it when most nauseous, taking the precaution 0/ :| imbibing it through snow, which purifies it in some slight degree We now turned west-south-west for eight miles, keeping along a broad and rather winding ridge, which appeared to furnish the buffalo with a regular road of ingress to the woods. Several tracks of moose-deer were also seen during the day. After sunset, we took up our quarters in a small clump of poplars. The whole country having been ravaged by fire, we could not find dry grasp, as usual, for our beds, and spread our Christmas couch on willow branches; rough indeed, but rendered smooth to us by health and exercise."
Mr. Robert Greenhow, in his History of California, Oregon, and other territories on the north-west coast of America, before re- ferred to, speaking of the countries in the occupation of the Hudson's Bay Company with respect to colonization, says, p- 37 : — ' North of the 50o parallel, the climate is more moist ; but its extreme coldness renders the country of little value for agriculture. The only part at which any settlement has been attempted, is that of the Red River, where, about 6000 persons,
17
>lace, we passei nit to enjoy tin etl a vast plain! }-eye glimpse ti li we had been march, lay out t^ood, varied bj route led west- it then change(i 1 country, con re ridges, aiiii ivhile here am! •cely deserving 10 outlet ; an ound it putrid. , that we weit t' precatitiou oj e slif/ht deffvi, eeping along a to furnish tlie oods. Several e day. After np of poplars, we could not our Christmas dered smooth
I, Oregon, and ca, before re- pation of the ization, says, more moist; ttle value /or snt has been 000 persons,
cipally half-breeds and Indians, have been established by the son's Bay Company ; but the success of the enterprize is yet tfuV And, again, at page 397, the author says: — 'With rd to colonization it has been already said, that a very small ortion of the Hudson Bay Company's territories is capable eing rendered productive by cultivation.' Mr. Greenhow alludes to the Red River settlement, and the unfortunate Its of the first attempts to colonize it, and adds : — * The land be considered fertile when compared with other parts of the inent situate far to the north ; it is, howeve deficient in bd, and notwithstanding all the advantages held out by the S^dsons Bay Company^ there is no probability it will ever Hse to ortance in any way, and, least of all, as a check to incursions the United States, which seeius to be one of the principal ects proposed by its founders.'
everal of the Hudson's Bay Company's forts, are situated i*^. country N.W. of the Red River. Fort Pelly is a compact, iiell -ordered post on the route from Fort Garry, on the Red River, to Fort Carlton. It is sheltered on the north by a range 0^ woods, and has the Assiniboine River in front; the cold in December is terrific, sometimes — 44°, equal to 76 degrees of frost. Carlton Fort is situated on the south side of the Saskatchewan lliver, and is defended by high paVsades, and a gallery surround- {||g the whole square, planted with wall pieces, into which, how- r, the Indians fired several times during the summer of 1835. ovisions were unusually scarce, when visited by Mr. T. Simp- in 1836, the great fires in autumn having driven the btifialo to a distance. The route to Fort La Crosse lay first tiirough an open country consisting of low, round, grassy hills, ilterspersed with clumps of poplar, occasionally of pines, and with many small lakes to the boundary of the pine forest, in titude 53° 30' north; t'.ence hills, lakes, lakelets and brooks, a hilly tract of fourteen miles in extent, which divides the aters that flow towards the Saskatchewan and Churchill Rivers, rom Green Lake to Beaver River is swampy and wooded ; and
n
i
18
thence to Long Lake clmin are pine woods. Fort La Crospo, 107° 54' 30' west on the border of the lake, is neat and cot' pact ; the country around low and swanipy. At the portage lioche, north of Fort Crosse, the hills are a thousand feet height, steep, and command a fine view of the Clear water riv and its picturesque valley ; thence to the confluence with tl Athabasca River, whose broad bosom is studded with nunieroi islands that give it a lake-like appearance.
At Fort Chipewyan, latitude 58^ 43' 38" north, longitude 111'
ftir th laite
18' 32" west, the surface consists of rocks and swamps, and tti
climate precludes all prospect of rearing farm produce ; eve
potatoes have to be brought down from Fish River; and wlie
the coarse grass, cut in the swamps for the use of the few hois
and oxen required for drawing fire-wood to the fort, fails, fis^
from the Athabasca river is the only provender obtainable fortli^
cattle. Fort Edmonton is situated on the norlhern branch of th
Saskatchewan River, in lat. 53° 45' N. long. 1 13" 10' W., and w
visitedby Sir G. Simpson in his progress from the Red River t
the Colombia and Fort Vancouver. The fort is of an hexagoiu,, ■
distinc form, well built, with high pickets and bastions, and battle _.
mented gateways ; it is on an almost perpendicular height coiii' }M.
manding the river. The fort is painted inside and out will „
devices to suit the taste of the savages who frequent it. Ovtr
the gateways are a fantastic pair of vanes, and the ceilings an
walls of the hall present gaudy colours and fantastic sculptures
which the Indians admire. The buildings are smeared with ro
earth ; the savages are awed by so much finery, and respect whai"^
appears to them grand structures, ^ ,y
The settlement on the Red River, distant from Montreal, bv
the Ottawa Rive>* about 1800 miles, in latitude 60° north, longi
.the e
Bay,
tude 97° west, is elevated of 800 feet above the sea, in a level |^l country, contiguous to the wooded borders of the Re' and.^ Assiniboine Rivers, along which the settlement extends for fifty -4 miles. The soil is comparatively fertile, and the climate salii-«ji brious, but summer frosts, generated by undrained marsho
>rt La CrosPc', neat and coi tlie portaire
19
Itimes blast the hopes of the husbandman. The Hudson's
f Company, by the introduction, at a great expense, of rams
tliousand feet ■*!?^^^^6'' stock, have improved the breed of domestic animals,
lear water ri '^™'*^ ^'"^ "®^ abundant : wheat, barley, oats, maize, potatoes,
fliience with ti'^^^^^P* thrive ; flax and hemp are poor and stunted. The river
d with nume ^^'"''^^ ^''^ cultivated for half a mile inland, but the back level
cOo^try remains in its natural state, and furnish*es a coarse hay
, longitude 111'''^^!^^ settlers' stock during the long and severe winter, which 3wamns an 1 tt)^*'P*''^'**^^ November to April, or May, when Lake Wiuipeg is
produce • *"^^^®"' ^^^ *^*^ river navigation to Hudson's Bay commences, Hver • and I ^^^^W^^^^^y House entrepot, at the northern extremity of the >f the few horst
fort, fails, fijij btai liable fortli rn branch of til 10'W.,andw e Red River )f an hexagoiia
e population is in number about 6000, consisting of Euro
half-breeds, and Indians. The two principal churches,
rotestant and Roman Catholic, the Goal, the Hudson's
Company's chief buildings, the residence of the Roman
olic Bishop, and the houses of some retired ofiicers of the
[rade, are built of stone, which has to be brought from a
„a „ I i°x.i dinfifaice ; but the houses of the settlers are built of wood, white- ns, and battle . .
Jar height com"^^*^ ^^ P*'"*^"* externally.
♦*A great abundance of English goods is imported, both by l^'fHudson's Bay Company and by individuals, in the Cora- 's annual ships to York Factory ; and disposed of in the y at moderate prices.' — (Mr. T. Simpso/i). There are fifteen and three water-mills to grind the wheat, and prepare the
^A„ ^ . matt of the settlers The Hudson's Bay Company have long Id respect wluit , , , , , J f J &
endeavoured by rewards and arguments to excite an exportation
a M t 11 of iallow, hides, wool, &c. to England ; but the bulky nature of
iQ *i I ' •''** exports, the long and dangerous navigation to Hudson's
. ' " ,Bi^, and the habits of the half-bred race, who form the mass of sea, m a level ^W . .
people,and prefer chasing the buffalo to agriculture or regular
stry, have rendered their efforts ineffectual. lOrd Selkirk, with whom the Red River Settlement originated,
puts forth his views on colonization, in 1802 ; his object being revcnt the Highlanders migrating to countries not under the
B 2
and out witl juent it. Ovei he ceilings an astic sculptures « eared with rod
the Re ' and.' ^tends for fift) * climate salii- lined marshes
20
British flag. The Hudson's Bay Company, to promote laudable object, made a large grant of land to his Lordship on Red River, and gave him all the aid in their power, to enal; him to form a Scotch Colony. Several settlers were sent oi from Scotland, and in 1813, the settlers were about 100 in nunile; —in 1814, about 200; and in 1815, about 300. The hostill evinced by the North-West Company, — their determination ' destroy the settlement — by fair or by foul means, — the murder i Governor Semple (the chief officer of the Hudson's Bay Con pany's territory,) and several Colonists, 19th June, 1816; and tl expulsion of many of the settlers, caused great distress, and ft a time ruined the p) ice. Lord Selkirk died in 1820, since whic period no emigrants have been sent from Europe. Under tl auspices of the Company, the population now consists of 6,00 notwithstanding the migrations towards the Colombia and tl Mississippi. Generally speaking, the Canadians, who are Ei manists, occupy the Assiniboine and upper section of the Eefj River; and the Europeans and Indians, who are mostly Pr te^tants, the Lower Section of the Red River ; there is therefor but little intermingling of sects. The Roman Catholic Bishop an three Priests, in addition to stipends from the Hudson's Ba Company, receive tithes as in Lower Canada. The Protestair have two Clergymen, paid by the Hudson's Bay Company, an the Church Missionary Society. There are six principal schoo for the ordinary branches of plain education ; the Roman 0 tholics have also seminaries for elementary instruction, and tl bishop superintends a school of industry, where young femali are taught to weave wool into cloth.
The ' Red River Academy' is a large and flourishing establisi ment, kept by Mr. and Mrs. Macallum, for the sons and daughtef of gentlemen in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. Land granted to the settlers on a peppercorn rent ; there is no restrictic but in the purchase or sale of furs and spirits, and there is onl a slight import duty on all other commodities.
The Colony is governed by a corporation called the Council c
21
o promote (I Lordship on ower, to enali 8 were sent oi 100 in nunilfi'; The hostilii leterniination ! —■the murder son's Bay Con B, 1816; andll distress, andfi- 320, since whic pe. Under ill )nsi8ts of 6,00 lombia and tl s, who are R ion of the Rt; ire mostly Prl here is therefor Jolic Bishop aii Hudson's Hi rhe Protestaii; Company, an trincipal schoo the Roman G uction, and tl young femali
shing estabh'sli 5 and daughter npany. Land: is no restrictio id there is oiil
iiiboia, which, under the Royal Charter of 1670, exercises
ial as well as legislative authority, under an able recorder.
e currency is one of the best established in any colony. I^
lists, with the addition of silver and copper coin, of notes
d by the Hudson's Bay Company, payable at par on remittance
ngland This circulation is absolutely essential ; gold or
• would soon be hoarded, melted, or lost ; and a note issued
be Government of the place, receivable in payments, of ac-
iwledged exchangeable value, devoid of fluctuation in ex-
ges, and convertible, without loss or risk, into cash in England,
advantageous monetary circulation for any settlement, and
a grievance or subject of complaint. Commodities to the full
e of the notes can always be obtained at New York, Mon-
1, &c.
he description given by the Bishop of Montreal of the actual 6 of the Red River Settlement, visited by his Lordship in 1843, orthy of attention. His Lordship says: — 'The whole popu- ion of the Red River Settlement, according to a censufi with ich I was obligingly furnished, is 5,143: of which number, 2,T98 are Roman Catholics, and 2,345 are Protestants. No Pro- ||||tant worship, except that of the Church of England, has ever lllfen established among the people. The heads of families are 0; of whom 571 are Indians or half-breeds, natives of the terri- y; 1.52 Canadians; 61 Orkney men; 49 Scotchmen; 22 English- n; 5 Irishmen, and 2 Swiss. Wales, Italy, Norway, Denmark, rmany, Poland, and the United States of America, have each ^ntributed one to the list. There is also one Esquimaux Indian, latere are 730 dwelling-houses, 1,219 barns or stables, 18 wind- mills, and 1 watermill. From the level character of the country, may be conceived there is not much facility for the operations the latter kind of construction. There are 182 horses, 749 iares, 107 bulls, 2,207 cows, 1,580 calves, 1,976 pigs, and 3,669 leep. These particulars were taken in March 1843. The soil, i^hich is alluvial, is beyond example rich and productive, and nthal so easily worked, that, although it does not quite come up
32
(:'
to the description of the happy islands — reddit uhi Cererem tellin't inarata quotannis — there is an instance, I was assured, of a farm, in which the owner, with comparatively slight labour in tlie' preparatory processes, had taken a wheat crop out of the same land for eighteen successive years — never changing the crop, never manuring the land, and never suffering it to lie fallow ; and that the crop was abundant to the last. And with respect to pasture and hay, they are to be had ad lihitum, as Nature gives them in the open plains. The Company dispose 0/ their land upon liberal terms, with a frontaye along the river, and I think tlw uniform depth of a mile, — with an understanding that, till further arrangements take place, another mile is at the disposal of the owner, for any benefits which he can derive from it. I speuk from memory. It is only a small portion of the farms, next the river, that is ever seen enclosed. The people revel in abundance , but it is all for home consumption : they have no outlet, no market for their produce. The liberality ( f the Company is also evinced in their permitting private tradei's to import goods in the Company's ships, although they, the Company, have stores of their own within the forts, — in which articles of the same descrip- tion are for sale. All these articles are brought across from Hudson's Bay, a distance of several hundred miles, in boats; and these boats are drawn across the different portages upon rollers, or, in some places, carried upon waggons. K nee, those articles which are of a heavy description, are charged at a price secriiingly out of all proportion to that of many others, which may be ob- tained at a moderate rate. A common grinding-stone is sold for twenty shillings sterling. The Company, who by their Charter have the privilege of issuing money, transact all their pecuniary concerns in British sterling, which differs considerably, as is well known, from the currency received in the North American colonies of the Crown. Their issue of paper is in threp denomi- nations, the highest of which is one pound ; and the three are distinguished from each other, for the convenience of the natives by the di^ nt colours of the ink : red, blue, and black. The
'ererem teUim d, of a farm, bour in tlicl
of the same ng the crop, fallow; and ith respect to Nature gives ir land ujiun I think the t, till further sposal of the it. I speak ms, next the » abundance ; 10 outlet, no opany is also : goods in the ive stores of (ame descrip- across from n boats ; and upon rollers, those articles ice seemingly may be ob- le is sold for beir Charter ir pecuniary ly, as is well li American irep denomi- le three are ' the natives alack. The
23
at has been now substituted for the canoe, upon all t!)e lines of ute on which the operations of the Company are regularly con- cted, except on that which leads into Canada. The country this direction is not of such a nature as to admit of introducing e roller or the waggon upon the portages. At the Red River, and on Lake Superior, there may be seen, in the service of the ipompany, small-decked sailing vessels, which ply between the ijjiorts. The number of bark and wooden canoes, kept for one j^urpose or other by the inhabitants of the Red River, is 410. In tibe palmy days of the North-west Company, when the peltries, jBow sent home by Hudson's Bay, were taken down to be shipped At Montreal, the brigades of canoes amounted sometimes to forty ill the season. The name of brigade is still given to the two or ^ree loaded canoes which start yearly from La Chine for the d River ; but the voyageurs occupation is almost gone.' — ishop of Montreal's Journal, p. 92 to 1092. Published by eley, Hatchard & Nisbet, in 1845.
The Bishop of Montreal says of the Red River Settlement, ^at ' it affords a wonderfully striking example of good brought iby the hand of God out of evil.' His lordship thus describes the 4;faurches there : — ' Along the strip of settlement which occupies, with interruptions, the opposite sides of the river, the four English ihurches are situated. The Indian church is about thirteen lies belovt the lower church at the rapids; this again is about X from the middle church ; and the middle church about seven om the upper. The Indian church is a wooden building, painted hite, fifty feet or upwards in length, with a cupola over the trance. It has square-topped windows, which, so far, give it Im un ecclesiastical appearance. The lower church is also of wood, ipud of the length of fifty feet. The middle church, which is not uite completed, and which has been built by the unaided exer- ons of the congregation, is an edifice of stone, sixty feet long, he upper church, which is also of stone, is ten feet longer, and ill accommodate 500 persons. About 400, upon one occasion, let me there. It contains some respectable mural monuments ;
24
among others, one which was put up in memory of Mrs. J one: wife of the gentleman who long laboured as a missionary of the j society, and is affectionately remembered upon the spot. None of the churches have any sort of architectural pretensions, but the two stone churches are creditable-looking buildings.' — (Pai^'is 79 to 81.)
In another passage of his journal the Bishop conveys tin impression of the state of society at the Hudson's Bay Company? forts at the Red River, and shews the progress of the settlement ' I had, at the forts, the command of horses for my daily move ments,and every accommodation afforded to me within, and even facility abroad, which I could require. At the Lower Fort I was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Finlayson, who were in temporarv occupation, being en route for La Chine, where Mr. Finlayson had been appointed to the charge of the depot. He had just retired from the appointment of Governor of Assiniboia, for su the chief factor is styled — in an instrument with the Company's seal attached to it — who has charge within the Red River Colony in the territory. He was succeeded by Mr. Christie, who had just taken possession of the Upper Fort, where the residence of the Governor is made. Mrs. Finlayson, a lady from England, is sister to Lady Simpson, and cousin to Sir George. Mr. and Mrs. Christie have a daughter, who had just returned from England, where she had passed some years in completing her education. Mr. Thom, the Recorder of the territory, an exceedingly able man, possessing a varied range of information, and deeply engaged, latterly, in biblical studies, has apartments^ with his lady and children, within the Lower Fort. There are scattered about the settlement several respectable retired factors or traders of the Company, of whom Mr. Bird is one ; some married to European, more to native wives. What I have here stated may give an idea of the society at the Red River. Although the style of the establishments at the forts is exceedingly plain, and the extreme difficulty of transport, as well as the isolated character and remote situation of the place itself, cause a variety o^ articles
,-<^,
';<! M
i Mrs. Jones, jlonary of the
; spot. None ;^ isioiis, but the
ngs.'— (Pajj«|
conveys an
ay Company's
he settlement
y daily move-
lin, and even
er Fort I was
in temporary
Mr. Finlaysoii
He had just
uniboia, for su
le Company*!!
River Colons
stie, who had
le residence of
m England, is
Mr. and Mrs,
rom England,
ler education.
leedingly able
and deeply
entSj with his
are scattered
tors or traders
le married to
re stated may
)ugh the style
>lain, and the
tted character
ety of articles
26
be dispensed with to which some of the inmates — Mrs. Finlay- )n, for example — have been elsewhere accustomed, yet there is %T from a deficiency there to be witnessed, either of comforts or \f habits of refinement.'— (Pages 89 to 92.)
These impartial statements convey a lucid view of the actual Condition of affairs at this distant and almost isolated British sttlement, on which no care or expense has been spared by the [udson's Bay Company to render it a happy and prosperous stablishment. Its communications with England— are for goods %iu Hudson's Bay — during the summer season, and for personal Ravelling and letters, viu Montreal, from which the Red River
|b distant miles. The Company have, along this line, about
%;n stockaded posts. The Bishop of Montreal traversed the flistance in thirty-eight days.
We may now proceed to examine the Pacific Coast and the
ocky Mountains, whose highest summits are in the parallels of
2o to 53", about 8500 feet. Some pe'iks rise to 16 and 16,000
^ifeet, but the general range is about 4000 feet, which diminishes
In height towards the north. This granitic range is from 60 to
100 miles wide, and the country termed New Caledonia, between
the Cascade Mountains on the Coast of the Pacific, is well
Watered, undulating in bold swells with occasional plains and
i{;j%opses and an abundance of forest trees, of which the cedar, fir,
^lind hemlock, grow to a prodigious size.
In the region termed New Caledonia, west of the Rocky ountains, the Hudson's Bay Company have several stations, nd also in the adjacent country. Fort Alexandria, in 52o SO' orth, is the residence of one of the Company's chief traders, and ere the navigation of Frazer's River is begun by the northern rigade on their way to the north. A small open space is cleared 'or a few cattle, but the rest of the country is covered with a dense i forest. Fort Thompson, on the Kamloop's river, is in 60«> 38' ^north, and 120" 7' 10" west. Frazer's, Babine's, and McLeod's Forts, are on the lakes of the same names. Fort St. James, on Stuart's Lake, is the residence of Chief Factor Ogden, who has charge of the New Caledonia Department.
26
,'l
Mi
Frazer's River flows through New Caledonia, but is not navi- gated below Fort Thompson, owing to its dangerous falls. The distances from Fort Thompson to Fort Alexandria by land is 150 miles, and thence to Fort James 120. Commodore Wilkes says that the climate of this region is unfavourable to agriculture, in consequence of its being situated between the two ranges of mountains, viz. the Rocky Mountains on the east, and the Cascade Mountains (on the coast) on the west, both of which rsinges arc constantly covered with snow, and in the plain:: or villages snow lies from November to May six feet deep. The Commodore adds, * there are many spots of fertile land along the rivers, but the early frosts are a great obstacle to agriculture. At St. James, Babine, and Frazer's Forts only potatoes and turnips can be cultivated.*
Frazer's River has its embouche six miles to the north of the 49th parallel, which defines the United States' boundary. It is about a mile wide, the country around low, with a rich alluvial soil. Fort Langley is 20 miles from the mouth.
Mr. Greenhow says (p. 29) that, ' the territory north of the 49th parallel, and north-west of that drained by the Colombia River (New Caledonia), is a sterile land of snow-clad mountains, tortuous rivers, and lakes frozen over more than two thirds of the year, presenting scarcely a single spot in which any of the vegetables used as food by civilized people can be pro- duced.'
Sir George Simpson made a journey of 2000 miles in 47 days from the Red River via Fort Edmonton to Fort Colvile in 1841. He crossed the Rocky Mountains at the confluence of two of the sources of the Saskatchewan and Colombia, near Fort Kotanie, at an elevation of 8000 feet above the sea, with mountains rising about half that altitude around. The descending country to the Kotanie River was rugged and boggy, with thick and tangled forests, craggy peaks and dreary vales, here and there hills of parched clay, — where every shrub and blade of grass was brown and sapless, as if newly swept by the blast of a sirocco ; with occasional prairies and open swards, interspersed with gloomy
m.
37
is not navi- b falls. The
by land k dore Wilkes agriculture, 70 ranges ofi the Cascade ) ranges are illages snow Coinmodore 5 rivers, but it St. James, nips can be
north of the
idary. It is
rich alluvial
north of the lie Colombia d mountains, two thirds hich any of can be pro-
38 in 47 days I vile in 1841. )f two of the 'ort Kotanie, intains rising juntry to the and tangled here hills of 38 was brown lirocco ; with with gloomy
oods or burning pine forests. In one place a valley was seen irty miles long by six wide without a tree, and environed by lountain:). The natives of these regions were in wretched con- ition generally.
The coast abounds with harbours, inlets, and islands, of which tter, that called Vancouver, or Quadra, (to which I shall pre- ntly advert), is the largest and the most important to Great ritain, from its position at the termination of the United States' 1|oundary, in the 49th parallel of latitude, and from its fine har- l^urs, there being no haven between the Straits of Juan de Fuca fnd San Francisco, in California. The north-western Archipelago, which lies north of Vancouver's Island, belongs partly to England and partly to Russia. The islands within the British dominions e of various sizes ; the largest, named * Queen Charlotte's land,' is somewhat of a triangular form, lying nearly north and uth, the south point in the parallel of 52". The superficial ea is less than that of Vancouver's Island : it has several good arbours. On the north coast, Port Estrada, near Sandy Point, d Croft's Sound, a little farther west. On the east side, Skitekis, in 53" 20' north latitude; Cummashawa, near 53o north; tnd Port Sturges, farther south. On the west, or Pacific coast, Magee's Sound, in 52" 1' north latitude; and Port Ingram, near Ihe north-west extremity of the island. The country around yj|omc of these harbours, especially Port Estrada, (Hancock's iver), and Magee's Sound, is said by the Americans to be rtile, and the climate comparatively mild. The Princess Royal Islands lie nearer to the main land, tween the parallels of 51" and 54° north latitude. Of the Interior of the whole of these islands, little or nothing is known ; the largest are traversed by mountain ridges in the direction of their greatest length from south-east to north-west. Greenhow ys, that, probably, as regards their interior, they are rocky and arren. The adjacent coast is of very irrregular outline, with umerous bays, inlets, tortuous channels, forming a labyrinth of passages. Simpson's River, on our north-west boundary, has a
28
ilcep inlet, and communicates with Babine Lake, where tiie Hudson's Bay Company have a fort. Tl>e Company have also an establishment on the norih coast of Pitt's Islands, in the north-western Archipelago.
The north-west coast and interior north of the parallel of 65o, is extremely rugged ; lofty mountains, covered with snow, rising abruptly from the very ocean ; and, more inland, the wholi; region consists of Alpine masses, thrown together in the wildest confusion, so that a level site for a fort can hardly be found within any reasonable distance of a stream or lake. It is a land of rocks, as difficult of access as it is impracticable in itself, except at the very margin of the sea. Most of the streams to the north of the Frazer's River, are mere torrents fed by melting snow in summer, and in winter by the unceasing deluges of this dismal climate ; these streams form deep valleys in the precipi- tous heights of every form and magnitude in their progress to the ocean. Hence the term 'Cascade Mountains,* given to the coast line north of Vancouver's Island. The Company hold under lease from Russia, a fort on the Stikine or Felly's River, where the climate and country are alike miserable in the extreme, and their effects are increased by the putridity and lilth of the adjacent Indian village. At this fort, in April 1842, the gentleman in charge was shot in a scuffle, and 2000 savages encamped around were preparing to rifle the fort, when, fortu- nately. Sir G. Simpson arrived in a Russian steamer. Taco Fort, under Dr. Kennedy, an assistant, and 22 men, is still farther northward on the coast, surrounded by 4000 savages, warlike and ferocious, who at first captured Or. Kennedy and his assistant, and required for their ransom four blankets. The fort is now strong. Good deer skins are obtained here.
Fort M'Loughlin, in latitude 25° 5' N., on the north-west coast, near Millbank Sound, was formed in 1837, on one of the most rugged spots imaginable. By great and unwearied exertions for several years in blasting, levelling, and gravelling, the Company's officers have made a strong fort on a rock capable of holding out
39
parallel of
with snow,
, the whole
the wildest
^ be found
It is a land
c in itself,
streams to
by melting
igcs of this
the precipi-
gress to the
to the coast
hold under
liver, where
lie extreme,
ind filth of
il 1842, the
JOO savages
when, fortu-
mer. Taco
nen, is still
'00 savages,
ledy and his
8. The fort
i-west coast, of the most ;xertions for ! Company's holding out
rith 20 men, against all the Indians of the coast. An enclosed
irface of three acres has been covered with sea-weed and made
ito a garden, producing potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbages, &c.
A village of 500 of the Ballobola Indians, is close to the fort;
knd at first these savages were dangerous and troublesome, but
ley are now more subdued.
Previous to an investigation of other branches of the subject, will be advisable to examine the Russian American territory, 'Which includes all the Pacific coast and islands, north of 54° 4(V, iind the whole of the continent west of 141", the Asiatic coast of the Pacific north of 51", the islands of the Kurile group to the louth point, in 45" 50'. This extensive territory has been granted to a llussinn American Fur Company, which was established Under charter from the Emperor Paul, 8th July, 1799, with power to jccupy and bring, under the dominion of Russia, all territories north or south of 55°, not previously occupied and placed under subjection by another nation. The Russian Com- pany and Hudson's Bay Company were brought into collision, ftnd the latter experienced considerable loss in their endeavours to prevent British territory and the adjacent regions being occupied by the Muscovites. In 1834, the Hudson's Bay Company expended several thousand pounds in an expedition to establish trading stations on the large river Stikine, in 56° 20^ TJie Rus- sians resented by force this procedure of the Company, although England claimed the privilege of navij^ating the rivers flowing from the interior of the Continent to the Pacific, across the line of boundary established under the treaty of 1825. The British Government required redress for this infraction of the treaty ; and after negrotiation between the two Governments, and the two chartered Companies, it was agreed in 1839, that from 1st June, 1840, the Hudson's Bay Company shoult^ enjoy for ten years the exclusive use of the continent assigned to Russia, by Mr. Canning in 1825, and extending from 54" 40' north, to Cape Spenser, near 68° north, in consideration of the annual payment of 2,000 otter skins to the Russian American Company, whose head quarters are at Sitka. The charter of the Russian
30
|! .
Company was renewed in 1839, when they had 36 huntiiif: and fishing establishments. Their stock bears a high premium.
Sitka, or New Archangel, founded in 1805, is a military station and the chief post of the Russian Fur Company. The fort mounts IG short eighteen, and 42 long nine pounders, and there are about 300 officers and men. Most of the men and all the officers, although in the employ of the Company, receive pay and pro- motion from the Russian Government, while attached to the Company in which the Emperor is a shareholder. The Company have 12 vessels, varying from 100 to 400 tons each, mounting 10 guns of different calibre.
About 12 of the Company's officers dine daily at the Governor's table, which is i^umptuously served. There is a Greek Bishoj) with several Priests and Deacons, and also a Lutheran minister. There are schools for the children of Europeans and half-breeds.
Subordinate to Sitka, there is a smaller establishment of the same kind at Aldeska, which supplies one post in Bristol Bay, and three posts in Cook's Inlet, all connected with minor stations, in the interior. Another station in Norton Sound has its own inland dependencies. The Russian Company has also perma- nent forts or flying posts in the Aleutian and Kurile Islands, and a chain of agencies from Ochotsk. in Kamschatka, to St. Peters- burgh, for the transmission of goods, &c. The distances are nearly thus in geographical miles : Petersburgh— to Moscow, 460; to Tobolsk, 1,500; to Irkutsk, 1,800; toYakusk, 1,500; toOchotsk, 600; thence to Petropawlowsk, on the bay of Avatscha, 1,300 miles.
The whole of the territories is divided into six Agencies, each controlled by the Governor General, who resides at Sitka.
The inhabitants of the Kurile and Aleutian islands, and those of the large Island of Kodiak, are regarded as the immediate subjects of the Russian Company, in whose service, every man between 18 and 50 may be required to pass at least three years. The natives of the country, adjacent to the two great bays called Cook's Inlet and Prince William's Sound, are also under the control of the Company, and -obliged to pay an annual tax in furs
31
36 hunting: li premium, litary station 3 fort mounts ire are about
the officers, ay and pro- ched to tlie he Company mounting 10
e Governor's reek Bisho]) ran minister. Iialf-breeds. ment of the Bristol Bay, nor stations, has its own also perma- Islands, and
St. Peters- istances are oscow,460;
toOchotsk, tscha, 1,300
jncies, each ka.
, and those immediate every man iree years, bays called under the tax in furs
llnd skins. The other aborigines in the Russian territories are iirt allowed to trade with any people but those of the Russian Company. In 183(), the number of Russians in the territories of ihe Company was 730; of native subjects, 1442 Creoles; and about 11,000 aborigines of the Kurile, Alentian and Kodiak Islands.
When Sir C Simpson visited Sitka, in 1842, the operations of Ae Company were becoming more extensive than they hud hitherto been ; the exclusive licence of trade had been extended fiiwr a further term of twenty years — the Direction was about to be ^modelled, and generally an improv*^ 1 order of things was in l^rogress. The Russian trade in furs is considerable, not only for tile supply of Russia itself, but also for barter with the Chinese ttt Kiachta, on the frontiers of Tartary.
The trade of Sitka, in 1842, was estimated at 10,000 fur seals, lOOO sea otters, 12,000 beavers, 2500 land otters, foxes, and iiartens, and 20,000 sea-horse teeth.
Formerly the Russians killed the seal young or old, and at all times, to the number of 200,000 a-year, now they follow the ex- ample of the Hudson's Bay Company, and kill only such a Hnaited number of mahs as have attained full growth. 'The progress of Sitka in commerce is considerable. In April jP43, Sir G. Simpson found eleven vessels and two steamers in ^e harbour ; one, a steam tug, had its machinery cast and manu- flictured at Sitka. Steam j)leasure boats, of two-horse power, Have also been made there. The Akwaf/drr, of 300 tons, in which JKr G. Simpson made a voyage from Sitka to Ochotsk was Utted more like a man-of-war than a merchant vessel. '^' The proceedings of the Russian American Company appear to III guided by political as well as by commercial motives. In 1809 Uie Russian Minister informed the United States Government ^at the ' Russian Fur Company claimed the whole coast of Anie-
ca on the Pacific and tiie adjacent islands, from Behring's strait
uthward to and beyond the mouth of the Columbia river.' reenhow, p. 275.) An endeavour was also made by the
ussians to occupy the Sandwich Islands.
ll
'\
m
ii,ii
32
Vancouver's Island is in length 290 miles, with an average breadth of 55 miles ; it lies between the parallels of 48° 17' and 60° 55' north latitude, and 123° lO' and 128° 30' west longitude, r^
Comparatively little is known of this fine territory, and I shall therefore give all the useful information obtainable.
The following is an extract from a Report by Lieuts. Warre and Vavasour (of the Royal Engineers), dated 26th October, 1845,
' From Port Discovery, we crossed the Straits to Vancouver's Island, commencing in the 48th parallel of latitude, and extend- ing 260 miles north, and about 50 miles in breadth.
' This island is somewhat intersected by high mountain ranges, but the soil is said to be fertile, and well adapted for cultivation ' We visited the Hudson's Bay Company's post. Fort Victoria, in 48o 26' north latitude, and 123° 9' west longitude, on the south shore of the island, near the head of the Narrow Inlet (oi which we forward a sketch), where they have established a Fort, similar to those already described, a farm of several hundred acres, on which tliey raise wheat and potatoes, and a depot ot provisions, supplies, &c. for the different trading posts farther to the north.
' The position has been chosen solely for its agricultural advan- tages, and is ill adapted either as a place of refuge for shippinjr, or as a position of defence.
' The country to the south of the Straits of De Fuca, between Puget Sound and the coast, is overrun by liigh rugged moun- tains, presenting great ditficulty in traversing, and but few induce- ments to the farmer.
' Between the above-mentioned points, there are some fine harbours, among which we may mention Port Discovery and Dungeness, on the south shore, and a bay within three miles of Fort Victoria, called the " Squirnal," by the Indians, which, from superficial observation, appear to afford anchorage and protection for ships of any tonnage. (See page 44.)
' The above-mentioneJ harbours contain an abundant supply J of fresh water, in which the rest of the coast is very deficient
ith an average f 48" 17' and irest longitude, ; ry, and I shall
Lieuts. Warre October, 1845, ;o Vancouver's ;, and extend-
untain ranges, for cultivation Fort Victoria, ritude, on the arrow Inlet (ol 3lislied a Fort. veral hundred ind a depot ot osts farther to
;ultural advaii- e for shippin;:.
Fuca, between
rugged n.ouii-
3utfew induce-
are some fiiif
Discovery and
three miles of
18, which, from
and protection
undant supply] very deficient,'
33
e rivers are formed in the winter se.. on, which become per- y dry during the summer.
here is coal in the neighbourhood of Puget's Sound, and the Cowlitz River. The specimens used by the Hudson's Company, were obtained from the surface, and were probably at account not found good.
he specimens of lead found in the mountains on the coast are rently very fine.
;/ The fisheries (salmon and sturgeon) are inexhaustible, and i^e of all descriptions is said to abound. foSThe timber is extremely luxuriant, and increases in value, as yHjp reach a more northern latitude — that in 50^ to 64° J^e||g considered the best. Pine, spruce, red and white oak, ash, CMlur, arbutps, poplar, maple, willow, and yew, grow in this IHiiou of "01 ry, north of the Columbia River. The cedar and jp^becor •' t: .ut. immense size.
jjgl^At Nisqually, near the head of Puget's Sound, is the farm of Hm Puget's Sound Company, commenced in 1839, and supported .fE^i^fly by the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company. They 1^1^ cultivate wheat and potatoes, &c., but the magnificent mnges of rich prairie country, between the shores of Puget's Sound, and the Cascade Mountains to the east, are chiefly used at pasturage for the immense herds of cattle and sheep ; the l^l^ter number of which were brought from Califormia in 41.
ossed the head waters of several large tue Nisqually and Chetreels Rivers, 1? vains, extending along the coast to
' From Nisqually v
sH^eams, among ot*. • jjpng in the Cascacic ^tude 49°.
j.^* These rivers have their channels sunk in some places upwards pf a hundred feet below the levol of the country, rendering them tremely dangerous and ditficult to traverse at the seasons of h water.
* The Chetreels flows into Grey's Bay, on the Pacific, is navi- ble for small b(''> i and canoes, and forms a barred harbour vessels of sma;' oni age.
c
I:
34
' The country is easy of access from Nisqually to the Chetiee! | River, when tlie soil changes from gravelly loam to a stiff clai and numerous little rivers, which overflow their banks and fluo the country for an immense distance during the winter ao spring freshets, render the land journey to the Cowlitz Rivf difficult, and, during that season, almost impracticable.
' There are a few families settled on plains on this route, and \\ Americans are forcing themselves as far north as Puget's Soun During our travels we met five families on their route to tl prairies in that vicinity.
' There is a settlement of about ninety Canadian families r the Cowlitz River, where the Puget's Sound Company liav about 1000 acres of gro (id under cultivation. This farm situated about thirty-five nn mi the Columbia.
'The course of the Cowlitz is » |>id,and,in high water dangeroii but presenting no obstacles that are not overcome by the energ and perseverance of the Canadian boatmen. A small establisl ment has been formed at the mouth of the Cowlitz River, as store for wheat, &c. which the Hudson's Bay Company export i large quantities to the Russian settlement at Sitka, and to tli Sandwich Islands.'
■|ut«
The following extract of a Report from Lieut. Vavasour, the Royal Engineers, to Captain Holloway, dated 1st Marc! 1846, refers to the Hudson's Bay Company's establishmei on Vancouver's Island.
' Fort Victoria is situatcu on the southern end of Vancouver Island, in the small harbour of Cammusan, the entrance to whic is rather intricate. The fort is a square enclosure of 100 yard- surrounded by cedar pickets twenty feet in height, having octa gonal bastions, containing each six 6-pounder iron guns at tli north-east and south-west angles ; the buildings are made i squared timber, eight in number, forming three sides of an oblom This fort has lately been established ; it is badly situated will regard to water and position, which latter has been chosen for its agricultural advantages only. About three miles distant, and
to tlie Chetreel* 111 to a stiff claiJ
banks and floo
the winter ao
e Cowlitz Rivt
icable.
lis route, and tl.
Piiget's Soun. ^ir route to tl
dian families r Company liai This farm a.
rvaterdangeroii le by the ener^ small establisi litz River, as npany export i tka, and to tli
t. Vavasour, lated 1st Marc! 's establishmei
of Vancouver trance to whit 'e of 100 yard- ht, having octa on guns at th 'a are made c es of an oblong y situated witl n chosen for its; es distant, and
35
Hy connected by a small inlet, is tl>e Squimal Harbour, which rery commodious and accessible at all times, offering a much Iter position, and having also the advantage of a supply of ter in the vicinity.
This is the best built of the Company's forts; it requires loop- ling, and a platform or gallery, to enable men to fire over the Lets ; a ditch might be cut round it, but the rock appears on surface in many places. "'•There is plenty of timber of every description on Vancouver's li^nd, as also limestone, which could be transported to Nisqually, ^ifii^^other places in the territory, where it may be hereafter deemed "fliibessary to form permanent works, barracks, &c.'
* The Straits of Juan de Fuca, which separate Vancouver's md from the main land, may be safely navigated ; the shores straight and bold ; on the south composed of perpendicular ^Idiffs that run back in high and rugged peaks, on the north rocky, 'Wai in some places of reddish granite.
lllr. Chief Factor Douglas surveyed the south coast of Van-
'iiSbiver's Island in 1842, and, after a careful survey, fixed on the
pdirt of Camosack as the most eligible site for the Hudson's Bay
Hlmpany's factory within the Straits of De Fuca. At Camosack
tjSere is a range of plains nearly six miles square, containing a
^at extent of valuable tillage and pasture land, abundance
timber around, and water power for flour or saw mills on the
lal of Camosack.
Lt this place the Hudson's Bay Company have established the iHttion called Fort Victoria, to which reference has been above imide; they have erected buildings and stores, enclosed and cropped lind, and stocked the place with cattle. The country is fine, the late salubrious, and the necessaries of life abundant. ^Mr. Douglas, after investigating the south coast of the md, says — ' Camosack is a pleasant and convenient site for the kablishment, within fifty yards of the anchorage, on the border fa large tract of clear land which extends eastward to point
V 2
I
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36
Gonzalo, at the south-east extremity of the island, and about >! miles interiorly, being the most picturesque, and decidedly tl most valuable part of the island that we had the good fortune t discover.
' The accompanying ground plan shews pretty correctly tli distribution of wood, water, and prairie upon the surface, and to I beg to refer you for information upon such points.
' More than two-thirds of this section consists of prairie lano and may be converted either to purposes of tillage or pasture, fu which I have seen no part of the Indian country better adapted the rest of it, with the exception of the ponds of water, is coverei with valuable oak and pine timber. I observed, general! speaking, but two marked varieties of soil on the prairies, tlii the best land is a dark vegetable
fourteen inches in depth, overlaying a substrate of greyish clave loam, which produces the rankest growth of native plants that have seen in America. The other variety is of inferior value, an to judge from the le?s vigorous appearance of the vegetation upo it, naturally more unproductive. Both kinds, however, produc abundance of grass, and several varieties of red clover grow « the rich moist bottoms. In two places particularly we saw seven acres of clover growing with a luxuriance and compactness mor resembling the close sward of a well-managed lea, than tit produce of an uncultivated waste.
' Being pretty well assured of the capabilities of the soil a respects the purposes of agriculture, the climate being also luil and pleasant, we ought to be able to grow every kind of graii raised in England. On this point, however, we cannot speai confidently until we have tried the experiment and tested tl climate, as there may exist local influences destructive of tb husbandman's hopes, which cannot be discovered by other meaiii As, for instance, it is well known that the damp fogs which dail; spread over the shores of Upper California blight the crops ant greatly deteriorate the wheat grown near the sea coast in thai country. I am not aware that any such effect is ever felt in tli
■^l'
^,4tk
ife#
37
1, and about $ii id decidedly tli- good fortune!
;y correctly tl)
iurface, and to;
ts.
of prairie lane
erate climate of Br'< /:Jn, nearly corresponding in its insular tion and geographical position with Vancouver's Island, and pe the latter will also enjoy an exemption from an evil at disastrous and irremediable. We are certain that potatoes e, and grow to a large size, as the Indians have many small s in cultivation which appear to repay the labour bestowed them, and I hope that other crops will do as well. The 1 of Camosack is nearly six miles long, and \U banks are well • o*" pasture, i, ,|i|^ed throughout.' The results of the Hudson's Bay Company's better adapted ^giiBiing at Vancouver's Island have answered, it is understood, vater, is coverc- ^|||ji4ino8t sanguine expectations.
"^^i^formation respecting the coal obtainable in Vancouver's Island IKlbntained in tlm following : —
of a letter from the Board of Management of the Hudson's Bay Company addressed to J. A. Duntze, Esq., Captain of H. M. S. Fisguard, dated Fort Vancouver, 7th September* 1846, which the Lords of the Admiralty have favoured me with for this publication.
rved, genera prairies, tlit
f greyish claye ve plants that 'erior value, an vegetation upe; >wever, produri
clover grow oi
' we saw seven #8ir, — Since we had last the pleasure of addressing you on mpactness mor ii0 11th ult. this settlement has not been disturbed by any rcpeti- lea, than tl^ lligi of the offences mentioned in that letter. A great number of Jifliiericans have been down from the Wallamette and made ex- s of the soil i )|K9ions into the country around this place with the view of being also mil fpt^vering eligible situations for settlements, but they have com- y kind of grai fl||lted no overt act of trespass on the rights of the prior occupants e cannot speai ^ftfihe land.
and tested i\\ '^^he Americans having never shewn any predilection for itructive of th ^Milling on the north side of the Columbia River until the United by other mean» iNfetes' schooner. Shark, arrived at this port, and the excitement bgs which dail; J||tong them having greatly abated since her departure from b the crops ani'JHpce, we cannot help thinking that the people were directly or ea coast in thaJ^Pirectly encouraged by the officers of that vessel to encroach
ever felt in tlilSpon our settlements. This was, to speak of it in the mildest
38
1
m
terms, a most imprudent act on their part, wliicli caunut pos8iblv>|j do any good, nor add one iota to the rights of the United States; J but, on the contrary, must tend to much evil, by dragging tlie ignorant and over-exciteable population of the country into mis chievous courses.
' We beg to add, in justice to Captain Harrison, the commander | of the Shark, that he evinced much concern on observing tlie lengths to which his couutrynien were disposed to carry tlieir encroachments, and made some exertions to put a stop to their proceedings.
' The prevailing opinion among the Americans now appears to be, that Great Britain will give up the Columbia and accept the 49th parallel of latitude as a boundary, and, moreover, they firiulj believe that the British subjects in this country will not be allowed to hold the lands they now occupy when the Government of the ifMjidc United States comes into possession ; consequently, each and ali are striving to establish pre-euiption rigiits on our settlements, in hopes of coming into possession the moment we are, according tu their views, obliged to surrender them. .
' In your communication to the officer in charge of Fort Vic- toria, you request all the information in our power as to the coals on Vancouver's Island, and we will now do ourselves the pleasure of detailing all that is known to us on the subject.
' From the indications of the strata, which have been carefully examined, it appears very probable that this mineral abounds over all the north-eastern part of Vancouver's Island, that is to say, from Cheslakers, latitude SO^ 36' , to Cape Scott, at its northern extremity, as traced by a dotted line in the accompanying sketch. The spot, however, familiarly known to us as the Coal Mine, and tlllfwe where the coal bed rises above the surface, is situated in McNeil'j * In Harbour, on the line of coast designated, its position being about latitude 50° 39', longitude 127° 10' west, and is marked Coal Mine on the sketch. The coal beds, to the partial extent the) have been explored, appear to be divided by intermediate layers of sandstone, and are seen most distinctly on the open beach, ex-
39
iiiitiut possibi)
Jnited States;
dragging; the
mtry into mis
le commander observing tlie to carry tlieir 1 stop to their
ow appears to ind accept the ?r, they firiulj lot be allowed rnment of the ', each and all settlements, in !, according t
; of Fort Vie as to the coals .>s the pleasure
been carefull) leral abounds and, that is to it its northern inying sketch, oal Mine, and d in McNeil'^ n being about marked Coal al extent the) nediate layers »en beach, ex-
ling over a space of about one mile in length, generally within
ine of high water : the mineral having evidently been laid
by the wash of the sea, which has in course of time frittered
worn away the encumbent mould and sandstone. A fresh
r rivulet which runs across the bed in a direction perpendicular
e beach, has also laid bare a transverse section of the coal to
distance of three quarters of a mile from the sea, ihewing
the bed runs in a nearly horizontal direction as far as that
ytll^, beyond which the depth of the strata has not been ascer-
|t is, however, important to know that the coal cuu be worked comparatively small expense over a field of such extent.
/vjtfvWe have not ascertained to what depth the surface bed ex- tHHB, but we know it exceeds three feet ; having explored to f(p| depth without finding any interposing stratum of mould.
■.?MiA large quantity of coal may at any time be got there, by «ii[|»loying the Indians, who are numerous and active, to dig aiili transport them to the ship. They are by no means averse to raoli employment, and ask a very moderate remuneration for their Idbour.
if'ltOn one occasion, when we employed them for that purpose, ^kttf brought in upwards of ninety tons in a few days, which l^kf^ dug with hatchets and other inconvenient implements ; and tiliire is no doubt, that with proper excavating tools, they could hli0e done the work much more expeditiously.
Jifif Besides the loss of time, the want of tools is attended with
J her disadvantage, as it confines the workmen to the mere ice luma^, which is deprived of its bitumen by exposure to tlMiweather, and does not burn so freely as the substrate.
* In consequence, perhaps, of that circumstance, we have not ittieceeded in rendering the coals serviceable in our forges, but burn remarkably well when exposed to a strong blast in the lace of the steam vessel. Externally the coal is hard and ttle, interspersed with sulphuret of iron, and contains but le earthy or incombustible matter.
40
* It requires rather a liigher teinparature to burn than till better kind of Newcastle coals, but is superior in this respect some of the kinds sold in the London market. It contains sii! phur, a pretty large proportion of bitumenous matter, and yieli! coke in the proportion of 52 per cent.
' If the British Government has any intention of making tin coal available for the use of their steam navy, it will be nec^ sary, in order to keep a constant supply on hand, to form n establishment on the spot, of suHicient force to protect it agair> the natives, who are numerous, bold, and treacherous, and ak to carry on the mining operations. We would in such a ca> recommend that an application on the subject be made to tl Directors of the Hudson's Bay Company in London, who coiil in a short time take measures to get tlie necessary means w lected under the management of experienced persons, acquaints with Indian character, and capable of drawing the greatest )io> sible advantage from their presence.
' We shall be most happy to do anything in our power i forward this object, but it will in the first place be necessary t enter into arrangements with the Directors of the Company i; London, as we have not the means in the country, and we do ik feel at liberty to undertake a measure of such importance witlioi their sanction.
' We take the liberty of making this suggestion as to tli proper mode of proceeding, in order that no time may be h hereafter in carrying out the ulterior arrangements, shoul Government deem it an object of importance to form an estat lishment at M'Neill Harbour, or at some other point for tli purpose of collecting coals for the regular supply of the stean navy in the Pacific.
• We remain. Sir,
* With much respect,
' Your most obedient servants, (Signed) • Peter Skeen Ogden,
* James- Douglas."
41
burn than tli| this respect t contains snj tter, and yield
of making; till will be nt'cp id, to form ii •otect it again erous, and ak in such a ca; « made to tt ion, who con ary means « 3ns, acquainte e greatest l)0^
our power i 36 necessary i e Company :;
and we do ik srtance witbot
stion as to tli lie may be lo« Huents, shoul form an estat point for tli y of the stean
servants, Ikben Oqden, Douglas."
A fiirtlier description of the coal region in Vancouver's Island, d the mode of obtaining this valuable mineral, is given in the illovving statement from Captain George F. Gordon, of Her ajesty's steamer Curmoratit. Admiral Sir George Seymour, aval Commander-in-chief, says — • In transmitting this report m Captain George Gordon, I consider it my duty to add, that ring the service on which he has been employed on the very [stant parts of this station from which he has returned, he Hks continued to display his merit as one of the best steam dfficers in Her Majesty's service.' Having served in eary life as i brother officer with Captain Gordon in the arduous expedi- 4kyci of the Lcvm and Barracouta under Commodore W. F. W. Owen, I venture to add my testimony of the high character of :|lbi8 distinguished officer, who has expressed a decided opinion favour of the Hudson's Bay Company, with whose proceed- s he was well acquainted.
H. M. Steam Sloop Cormorant^ Nisqually,
October 7, 1846.
i • Sir, — With reference to that part of your letter of the 15th
September last, wherein you direct me to ascertain whether the
^ibals which are said to abound on the northern part o Vancouver's
island, can be collected in a sufficient quantity to afford a supply
^r steam-fuel, I have the honour to inform you, that having
iirrived at McNeil's Harbour for that purpose, I made known to
l^e natives through Mr. Sangster, my wish to obtain a supply,
ind the next day several canoes came laden with coal, and they
iontinued to increase in number until our departure.
- ' At the advice of Mr, Sangster, I slung a tub, holding about
'Ax. cwt. from the fore yard, which was lowered into a canoe and
quickly filled : in this manner we received sixty-two tons from
^he 24th to the 26th, paying for each tub as it came up by arti-
les of trifling value, which I procured at your suggestion from
he officer in charge of Fort Victoria. The whole of the ex-
enses incurred, including a few presents necessarily made to the
hiefs, will make the coals average not more than 4s. per ton.
vf^
I m
1 ,r.
42
' During our stay, I proceeded on shore, accompanied by Mr, Sangster and the first and second engineers. I found the nortli- west point of McNiel's Harbour to be a Peninsula, and in honour of the First Lord of the Admiralty, I called it Ellenborou<,'li. We found a seam of coal just below high water-mark, which appeared to descend at an angle of about 30" toward the land. We then ascended the hill, and very near the top, at about sixty feet above the level of the sea, in the bed of the stream, wo fouiul a layer of freestone, at about 5 feet C inches below a surface of peat, and below that a seam of coal much resembling in appear- ance the English Newcastle coal. This seam was ten inches thick with freestone below ; having bored through and blasted this we came to another seam 18 inches in thickness, botli seams appearing to run parallel to each other, descending at an angle of 20o in a north-westerly direction.
' Being confident from these two trials that the seams thicken lower down, I did not make any further experiments here, but proceeded the next day to a small slieltered bay about eight miles farther down the coast to the north-west, which was called Baillie Hamilton Bay, after Captain Baillie Hamilton, Secretary of the Admiralty. Here we observed another rich seam, extending along the beach below high water-mark, and which we traced a quarter of a mile in an inland direction.
' The seams we found were similar in appearance and thick- ness to those on Ellenborough Peninsula, which confirms me in ar opinion I had formed, that they were connected.
' On trial we found the coal of good quality ; they flare much in the furnace, and do not appear to have any of the injurious effects on either the fire-bars or furnaces that Welch coal has. The proportionate expense for four hours, as compared with Scotch and Welch, is as follows, viz. : —
Tons. Cwt.
* Welch 2 8
'Scotch 2 14
' Ellenborough and Hamilton 2 18
' This difference may appear considerable in projjortion ; but
%:■
43
nied by Mr. d the north- id in lioiiour lenborougli. uark, wliieli ird the luiid. : about sixty m, we found a surface of g in appear- 4 ten inches and blasted kness, both >nding at nii
aras tliicken nts here, but
about eight h was called )n, Secretary in, extending
we traced a
3 and thick- nfirms nie in
y flare much the injurious Ich coal has. ipared with
8 14 18
coal having been procured from the surface where it has been ^poscd to the action of the atmosphere, and much of it to the in- rious effects of salt water, will weigh considerably in favour of ie Ellenborough and Hamilton coal. Had it been procured at •iveral feet from the surface, I have no hesitation in saying that the result would be at least equal to the best Scotch coal. We htve also tried it at the forge, and welded several bars of 1^ and 1^ inch, and the heats were as clean as if taken with the best English coal.
* It is my belief, that the field does not extend farther to the ^iMWtward than the eastern shore of Beaver Harbour, and to tin eastward than the Innihish River, marked in the accompa- nying plan by a dotted line ; indeed, the feature of the country finom Beaver Harbour to Shuchaste, is quite different, being
""rered with hard blue whin rock, without any appearance of jstone whatever.
* It is impossible to form any opinion of the extent of the field ilk an inland direction, but from the appearance of the country, I $xn of op' ^on that it is very considerable.
* On fir ing on shore, the natives appeared tenacious of our ^amining iiie coals, and accused us of coming to steal them ; but wving made a few presents to some of the chiefs, they entered
* ^o our views, and became very active, and I am only surprised. It with the rude implements they have for digging, viz.
liltchets and wooden wedges, they were, able to procure so large
• ..quantity in so short a time, and I am persuaded, that with
f means we have, assisted by the natives, we could fill our coal kers in from ten to fourteen days.
* The natives are a fine race of men, and appear industrious f|,i9d friendly, but are much addicted to thieving.
* In conclusion, I beg leave to remark, that the coal .listrict, my opinion, is admirably situated, possessing, as it does, ex-
llent anchorage in its neighbourhood, and being so far north, It vessels of almost any burthen can approach it by way of
)ortion ; but
44
I '1
4 ta
Cape Scott, thus avoiding the difficult and dangerous navigation of Sir George Seymore's Narrows and Johnstone's Straits.
• I have the honor to be, ' Sir, ' Your most obedient humble Servant, (Signed) 'G.T, Gordon, Commander.
*To John A. Duntze, Esq., Captain of H.M.S. Fisr/ard, and Senior Officer.'
The following is an extract of a Despatch from Rear-Admiral Sir George Seymour, dated H.M.S. ColUnywood, 26th February, 1847.
' The harbour of Esquimalt, near the new establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company's fort, Victoria, in the straits of Juan de Fuca, is described to be capable of receiving ships of the line in security, and is a valuable addition to our knowledge of the island, of which, in general, I am glad to see Captain Gordon has formed a very favourable impression.'
In due time, further information will doubtless be obtained as to the extent of cultivable land in Vancouver's Island ; what is known is favourable to its occupation by British subjects, and the fort formed by the Hudson's Bay Company, is the nucleus of a colony which may be extended as circumstances require. 1 venture to express a hope, that a very moderate price be fixed on the land : twelve years ago, I stood almost alone in opposition to what was termed the ' Wakefield Principle,' of selling all land at an uniform, or at least a minimum price of 20«. per acre. Nev South Wales has now found the disadvantage of this measure, which has checked the sale of land, and turaed emigrants, who would have been fariners, into ' squatters,' holding large tracts of territory under licence.
Much will depend on the adoption of a liberal principle in: the granting of land, to make Vancouver's Island a flourishing colony.
18 navigation Itraits.
mti M,
rvant, ommander.
CONSTITUTION AND WORKING OF THE
HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.
iii'^
tear-Admiral ujwood^ 26th
hment of the ts of Juan de of the line in ledge of the ptain Gordon
I obtained as and ; vrhat is subjects, and the nucleus of !s require. I se be fixed on opposition to ng all land at r acre. Nev this measure, uigrants, who large tracts of
1 principle inji a flourishing
;:j; The Constitution of the Hudson's Bay Company is founded on the- Royal Charter of 2nd May, 1670, (see Appendix,) at ;|thich period the Crown possessed, and sometimes exercised, the flight of granting dominion and exclusive trade to individuals, '^ to associations, without the Sovereign asking the consent, or ^e grantee needing the sanction of Parliament.
The Charter issued by Charles II. to Prince Rupert and his isociates, in the Hudson's Bay Company, was granted in per- ffigtuity, — has the same validity as any other Royal Charter, and is as truly a rightful property, as is the land or houses of an (Iftjglishman's private estate. The lawfulness of the Charter, or tip the Company founded on the Ciiarter, have never been ques- 'Honed by the Crown or Parliament ; on the contrary, there
*s been a full recognition in various public documents, such as e treaty of Utrecht in 171C, and the treaty of Oregon in 1846, ich gives to the Hudson's Bay Company the right of navi- ting the Columbia; — in various Acts of Parliament, viz. ; 7 & 8 illiam III., c. 22, which ' ratified, confirmed, and established tlie said Letter's Patent, or Charter, herein-before mentioned j^aring date, second day of May in the two and twentieth year his said late Majesty, King Charles II., to the Governor and mpany of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudfon's Bay, d to their successors, /«;• eier.' : — By 6 Ann, c. 37, when all the itates, rights, and privileges, of the Hudson's Bay Company, re declared to be saved, notwithstanding the tenor and ten-
40
i I
m
¥i.:
t i'
;(
I ■l,\
Jency of the Act, which proposed to facilitate the Colonial tradi — By 14 Geo. III., c 83, the northern boundary of Canada wa* to be the southern boundary of ' the territory (/ranted to tlie Hudiion's Bay Company : — By 1 & 2 Geo. IV., c. 66, the Charter of Rupert's Land was twice expressly recognized. Thus, by the Parliaments of England and of Scotland, and by the Parliament oi England, Scotland, and Ireland, the Charter of 1670 has been recognized and confirmed. |g
The Crown recognition of the Charter has been manifested oc several occasions ; especially by the Royal Licence of George tlit Fourth, dated Carlton House, 5th December, 1821, which wa; issued to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to W. & S. M'Gillivrav and Edward EUice, Esqrs., for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America as should k specified, ' not heuuf part of the lands or territories heretofm granted to the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading to Hudmn's Bay ; and this Royal licence was expressh issued to prevent the admission of individual or associated bodiei into the North American Fur trade, as ' the competition in tin said trade has been found for some years to be productive o great inconvenience and loss, not only to the said Hudson's Bin Company and Associations, but to the said trade in general, aiii also of great injury to the native Indians, and others on subjects.'
The Royal licence ' of exclusive trade with the Indians i certain parts of North America, for a further term of 21 year- and upon tl.e surrender of the forniei grant,' was issued by He Majesty Queen Victoria, dated Ruckiiighan\ Palace, May 30, I83^ to the Hudson's Bay Company alone (Me,?srs. M'Gillivray aii( E. Ellice having surrendered tlicir rights and interests under tli previous licence to the Hudson's Bay Company,) ' to encourag the trade with the Indians of North America, and prevent, a nuicli as possible, a recurrence of the evils referred to in tli ))revious grant.' [See Appendix.]
After these docunients, it may be as well to refer to tli
ippi
Colonial trade f Canada wa> mnted to tlit 6, the Charter Thus, by the Parliament oi 670 has been
manifested oi: of George tlit 51, which wii! S. M'Gillivraj lege of trading a as should bt n'ies heretofdi rs of England I was expressl; sociated bodiei petition in tin e productive i Hudson's Ba; n general, aiK nd others on
the Indians ii m of 21 year- issued by He ?, May 30, 183^ J'Gillivray am rests under tli ' to encourag ind prevent, a erred to in tli
;o refer to tli
47
corded opinions of the distinguished lawyers, Samuel Romilly,
S. Holroyd, William Cruse, J. Scarlett, and John Bell, given
the lOtli June, 1814, as follows : ' We are of opinion that the
ant of the soil contained in the Charter is good, and that it will
elude all the countries the waters of whioh flow into Hudson's
ay ; that an individual, holding from the Hudson's Bay Com-
ny, a lease or grant, in fee simple, of ary portion of their
rritory, will be entitled to all the ordinary rights of landed
operty in England ; that the grant of civil and criminal juris-
tion is valid, and to be exercised by the Governor and Council
Jadges, who are to proceed according to the laws of England ;
i|Siat the Company may appoint a Sheriff to execute judgments,
li^d do his duty as in England ; that all persons will be subject
ii the jurisdiction of the Court, who reside, or are found within
We territories over which it extends, and we do not think that
''%e. Act 43 Geo. III., c. 138, (commonly called the Canada
?|f|irisdiction Act) gives jurisdiction within the territories of the
'Hudson's Bay Company — the same being within the jurisdiction
of their own Governors and Council.'
No charters issued even now by the Crown, de mera tnotit uire any sanction or confirmation by Parliament ; the minister, er whose advice they may be granted, is responsible of course Parliament, he Charter granted in 1670 by Charles II. resembled in its vilege of exclusive trade the Charter granted by Queen Eliza- h in 1599 to the Company of Adventurers trading to the East liijdies, and in its territorial riglits was conformable to other Royal C|#rters granted by Elizabeth, James I., William and Mary, &c. ^^ho Hudson's Bay Company, according to the printed list of 17th INiovember, 1847, consists of 239 proprietors, representing a ottpital stock of £.400,000. The affairs of the corporation are naged by a Governor, Deputy Governor, and Committee of en, elected by Proprietors holding each not less tlian £.900 ^k for six months previous to voting, except such stock be uired by bequest, marriage, &c. Of the 239 proprietors, fifty-
48
.t!',|ifi:H;:
M
five have more than two votes. Each member of the Committee
must hold not less than £.1800 stock. The annexed Charter of
1670 prescribes the mode of election, oaths to be administered,
&c. ; authorizes the Governor and Company to make laws and
ordinances for the good government of their territory, and the
advancement of trade, and to impose penalties and punishment;)
not repugnant to the laws of England, as shewn in the following
clause : — ' The Governor and his Council of the several and
respective places where the said Company shall have plantations,
forts, factories, colonies, or places of trade, within any of tlu
countries, lands, or territories hereby granted, may have power tc
judge all persons belonging to the said Governor a,iid Compan}
or that shall live under them, in all causes, whether civil or
criminal, accordinj^' to the laws of this kingdom, and to execute
justice accordingly. And, in case any crime or misdemeanoi
shall be committed in any of the said Company's plantation^
forts, factories, or places of trade, within the limits aforesaid
where judicature cannot be executed for want of a Governor am.
Council there, then, in such case, it shall and may be lawful k
the Chief Factor of that place, and his Council, to transmit thi
the party, together with the offence, to such other plantation
factory, or fort where there shall be a Governor and Counoi
where justice may be executed.' The Company has, accordinglv
established, at the Red River Settlement, at a considerabi
expense, a Governor, Council, Recorder, Sheriff, Coroner, &o
for the due government of the affairs of the Assiniboino or Kct
River territory, and for the careful and legal administration o;
justice throughout Rupert's Land.
The charge of the learned Recorder, Adam Thorn, to tli Grand Jury of A&siniboia, 20th February, 1845, is an able docii ment with reference to the jurisdiction of the Court, — the dutie of tiie Grand and Petty Jurors, — the power of the law ovf civil suits and criminal prosecutions, — the proceedings of tli magistracy in Rupert's Land, and the practical dispensation i, justice. Offences of a petty nature are not dealt with in a sun
49
e Cominittec j
d Cburterof
idiuinistercd,
ke laws and!
ory, and tlie
punishments
the following
several and
e plantations,
any of tlu
lave power to
,nd Companv.
Jther civil or
lid to execute
misdemeanor
*s plantation^,
nits aforesaid
Governor am
^ be latvful k
3 transmit tlit
ler plantation
p and Counoi
s, accordinglv
fi considerabl:
Coroner, k
liboino or lift
ministration o:
Thorn, to til an able docu rt, — the dutie the law ovt jedings of tli iispensatioii vith in a sun
|ry way, as in England, by justices of the peace , in the Hudson's territories, they are subject to the scrutinizing inquisition of l^rand jury, and tried by a petty jury of the colonists. Trial [jury, although not enjoined by the Royal Charter of 1670, was roduced into the Red River settlement by Sir G. Simpson, ^h the concurrence of the Hudson's Bay authorities in England. From February 1840, to November 1844, no crime occurred ^Rupert's Land to require the summoning of a grand jury : charge of the learned Recorder, referred to above, arose out [a case of homicide of an Indian woman by an Indian man, thin the limits of the Red River settlement, under the influence Idrunkcnness. It appears that crime is comparatively rare in Ipert's Land, and that justice is effectively and mercifully linistered under the same safeguards that exist in England, ["he fur and peltry traffic of the Company is regulated by a »d Poll, bearing date 26th March, 1821, on the junction of north-west traders with the Hudson's Bay Company; and iw another Deed Poll, bearing date 6th June, 1834, 'for ascer- pining the rights and prescribing the duties of the chief factors kkd the chief traders, and for conducting the trade.' The Deed I*pll of 1821 was made between the Hudson's Bay Company on i^ one part, and on the other part by W. and S. Mc Gillivray Edward EUice, who represented in England the interests of wintering partners in America of the north-west traders — lose partnership expired in 1821 — and who, as they received |le or no profits, were desirous of merging their interests in those phe Hudson's Bay Company. A co-partnery was therefore agreed for twenty-one years, on the basis that each should provide an lal capital for carrying on the trade ; expenses of establishments in England and America to be paid out of the trade, or if profits Inb deficient, then by each party in moi 'ties; no expense relating ^colonization, or to any business separate from trade, to form a ^ftrge on the concern. Profits divided into 100 shares, of which, ty to be divided between chief factors and traders, according )rofit and loss ; if a loss in one year on these forty shares, to made good out of the profits of next year. Inventory, general
D
ft>:it.:r
•: 'f
60
accoun^ and tariff of goods, to be made out yearly on 1 st June; and if profits not paid to parties within fourteen days afterl Ist June, interest to be allowed of five per cent.
The Governor and Company to appoint governors to preside atl councils of chief factors, who carry into effect all acts authorizeJ by the Charter. Chief traders to assist in forming council, 'i there be not seven chief factors present: each member of councill^ to have a vote ; two-thirds to form a majority for decision.
By this Deed Poll, there were twenty-five chief factors aniil twenty-eight chief traders appointed, who were named in alter] nate succession from the Hudson's Bay Company, and North | West Company's servants.
Thp servants of both Companies were placed on an equal footi ing ; the 40 shares out of the 100, were subdivided into 86 8hares|4 and each of the 26 chief factors was entitled to 2 shares or ^hs.! and each of the 28 chief traders to g^ih, — the remaining 7 ouif of the 86 shares were appropriated to old servants, in certain pro-M portions, for seven years.
The chief factors superintend the business of the Company at! the respective stations, and the chief traders under them carry oil the trade with the Indians. The clerks serve under both; thei humblest clerk, who goes out from the Orkneys or elsewhere, bjf| good conduct rises to the chief positions in the service of tlit . Company. The salaries of the clerks vary from £ 20 to £ 10 per annum. ^.,
The chief factors or traders who winter in the interior arf allowed, in addition to their share of profits, certain persona! necessaries free of charge : they are not of course allowed to carrj -^| on any private trade for themselves with the Indians ; strici accounts, inventories, valuations, &c., are required of them an nually, and the Councils at the respective posts have power tc mulct, admonish, or suspend any of the Company's servants.
Three chief factors and two chief traders are allowed to leave the I country annually for one year. A chief factor or a chief trader, after wintering three years in the service of the Company, majJ retire and hold his full share of profits for one year after retiringj
.m>
on 1st June; days aftetl
en
s to preside all kcts authorizeiil ing council, i| iber of council ecision. ief factors anc lined in alter ■ ly, and Northl
an equal foot into 85 shares hares or ^lis imaining 7 out in certain pro-
le Company ali them carry ider both; the r elsewhere, bj service of tin . £ 20 to £ la
le interior are , jrtain personal;. Uowed to carrj [ndians ; strict ;d of tliem an have power tc } servants, ed to leave the a chief trader. Company, maj H r after retirin"-
61
ind half of the share for the four ensuing years. If he winters r five years, then half for six years. Three chief factors, or two ief factors and two chief traders, are allowed to retire annually cording to rotation. The representatives of a chief factor or ief trader, who may die after having wintered five years, ceive all the benefit to which the deceased himself would ve been entitled had he lived ; and in like proportions for IS duration of service.
Such was the arrangement of the Deed Poll of 1821 , which
confirmed by the Deed-Poll of 6th June, 1834, and subscribed
the name of the Hudson's Bay Company solely. The accounts
e kept with great accuracy, the business conducted with punc-
ality, and the whole machinery of the Company is worked with
er and economy, under the watchful care of the Governor and
mmittee in London.
Sales are made by public auction of furs, skins, &c., several
es in each year, at the Company's premises in London. There
no upset price for the goods ; they are sold to the highest
der. The Company has no monopoly, as some suppose, of the
importation of furs, Sec. into England ; they have to compete with
se of the United States of America, of Russia, Norway, &c.,
if other traders can sell lower than the Company, the public
e, of course, the benefit. Beaver and other skins are now
at much lower prices than formerly, and the steady supply
m the Hudson's Bay territories has materially tended to the
uction of the price of foreign furs and skins, and has made
ndon most undoubtedly the most extensive market for furs
e world.' [Greenhow, p. 412.]
y the printed list of the last sale (30th August, 1848), it ij^ars that the following goods were sold by auction at the dson's Bay House in Fenchurch Street :— 1,349 beaver skins ; 54 lbs. coat beaver and pieces ; 808 otter s ; 195 sea otter skins ; 150 fur seal skins ; 744 fisher skins ; 4 fox skins ; 2997 bear skins ; 29,785 marten skins ; 14,103 k skins; 18,553 musquash skins; 1551 swan skins; 1015
d2
I",;'
62
lynx skins; 032 cat skins; 1494 wolfskins; 228 wolverin skins, 2090 raccoon skins ; 2884 deer skins ; &c. &c.
Caprice, fashion, changes in trade, or in the use of the different articles for manufacture, materially influences the price of goods; thus, for instance, the introduction of silk hats has much reduced the price of beaver skins and otlier furs.
The fall in the price of all skins has been very great, but as beaver constitutes the largest item in value, the reduction of profit to the Company will be seen by a comparison with the prices and amount of sales in
1839 and 1846. Price of beaver skin . 27a-. Qd. 3s. 6c?.
Number of skins sold . 55,486 45,389
Sale proceeds . . £.76,312 £.7856.
There is also great variety in the prices of articles of similai denomination. At the sales on 30th August last, two lots of otter, sixty-six in the lot, sold for 33,«. ; another lot, with seventy-two ii| it, sold only for £ 1 1 Iv. Fisher skins varied from 26«. 3rf. to 3j each ; bear skins, 45a'. to 126*; martens, 14s. 8rf, to 3/f. \d. ; silvei fox from £.7 to 2*. per skin. But the Hudson's Bay Company are obliged to pay the same price to the Indians for all skin« according to tariff"; whether the skins be good or bad, the Com pany must buy them. By the time these skins are conveyed fron,,: the interior to the coast, warehoused, and shipped, their cost i considerably enhanced, irrespective of loss by damage, interest c money, insurances, &c.
The profits of the shareholders in London are not therefore t be estimated by the difference in price between the cost of a skii at one of the Company's forts in the interior, and its sale price i' London. There are the heavy charges of different forts in tli north-west territories : — the losses by non-fulfilment of contract^ (for the Indians, like the Eastern nations, almost invariably requii advances, and always endeavour to' be in debt to the Company),- the deficiency of skins or furs in scarce seasons, — and ihe redufi
m
01
53
great, but a<
reduction ci
ison with tlic
1846. 3lS'. 5d. 45,389 £.7856.
jles of simila; o lots of olter'^. seventy-two i' 26«. 3d. to 3 3*. Id. ; siht Bay Company i for all skill' bad, the Coiii conveyed frot id, their cost i age, interest c
lot therefore t cost of a skii ts sale price \i 3nt forts in tli It of contract! variably requir e Company),- -and the reduf
ions in price at home ; the long period for which the Company
se intere;.ton their outlay, from the time of the transmission o
eir goods from London, to the re-payment of the same in tw(
three years, by their fur sales in London, as the Company
ways keep one year's stock of goods on hand in their territories ;
e expense of obtaining and transmitting food is often a heavy
m, for at many of the Company's forts, the poor Indians would
rish during an unusually inclement winter, when the buffalo
d deer flee from the wind-swept plains to the shelter of the
oods. Whatever be the profits, after paying the whole expenses at
ome and abroad, they are divided, according to the provisions of e Deed-Poll just quoted, into fifths; of which three go to the
iroprietory, and two among the chief traders and chief factors of e Company, instead , of salaries.
Considerable expenditure is necessary to try new districts, hich sometimes, however originally promising, are ultimately und not to answer, and the establishments have to be withdrawn lit a loss.
By the Licences of 1821 and 1838, the Company were authorized
trade over the ' Indian territories' west of the Rocky Moun-
ms, en also open to the subjects of the United States. It was
f great importance to us that Great Britain should obtain a oting and position in Oregon and on the Columbia River, which r. Canning had expressed his determination to maintain as ritish property. The Hudson's Bay Company therefore in- ..arred large expenditure in establishing themselves on the coast
Cthe Pacific, and the result is thus shown in the evidence laid fore Parliament, 8th August 1842, page 26. ' For many years previous to the grant of exclusive trade to e Hudson's Bay Company, the trade of that coast was en- ossed by the subjects of the United States of America and ussia, the only establishment occupied by British traders being Astoria,' afterwards named ' Fort George,' at the mouth of the olumbia River, while no attempt was made, through the means
\
54
of shipping, to obtain any part of the trade of the coast ; and so •.nprofitable was it in the years 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821 and 822, and so difficult of management, that several of the leading and most intelligent persons in the country, strongly recom- mended that the Company should abandon it altogether. The Company, however, felt that the honour of the concern would, in a certain degree, be compromised were they to adopt that recommendation, holding as they did, under Government, the licence in question, and with a degree of energy and enterprise, which, I feel assured, your Lordships will admit, reflects much credit on themselves and on their officers and servants in the country, they directed their efforts so vigorously to that branch of the business, that they compelled the American adventurers, one by one, to withdraw from the contest, and are now pressing the Russian Fur Company so closely, thut although that as- sociation is supported by its government, to the extent ui affording them the assistance of a strong military guard at each of their establishments, which, with their shipping, are officered by naval and military officers of the Imperial army and navy we are gaining ground upon them, and hope, at no very distant period, to confine them to the trade of their own proper ter- ritory.
• The outlay and expense attending this competition in trade are so heavy, that the profits are yet but in perspective, none worthy of notice having been realized, the result showing some years a trifling loss, and in others a small gain, fluctuating ac- cording to the degree of activity with which the contest is main- tained ; but by energy and perseverance, we hope, in due time, to bring it to a more favourable issue, if the facilities of protection now required of Her Majesty's Government be afFo.ded.
♦ This trade, nevertheless, affords employment to about 1,000 men, occupying 21 permanent trading establishments, two mi- gratory, trading and trapping expeditions, a steam vessel, and five sailing vessels from 100 to 300 tons burthen, all armed ; and so dangerous is the trade, that I lament to say that it has not been unattended with loss of life.'
55
^■^
The expenses of the Red River settlement are also a drain on the funds of the Company.
An erroneous opinion has been entertained that the past (as well as the present) profits of the Company have been enormous. But the truth is shown in the following extract from the Parlia- mentary Papers of 8th August, 1 842, p.p. 24, 25 :
*Tlie Hudson's Bay Company was incorporated in the year 1670, under a Royal Charter of Charles the Sreond, which granted them certain territories in North America described in that Charter, together with exclusive privileges of trade, &c. &c. Between the years 1670 and 1690, a period of 20 years, the profits appear to have been very large, as, notwithstanding losses sustained by the capture of the Company's establishments by the French in the years 1682 to 1688, amounting to £.118,014, they were enabled to make a payment to the proprietors in 1684 of 50 per cent.; another payment in 1688 of 50 per cent.; and of a further payment in 1689 of 25 per cent.
' In 1690 the stock was trebled without any call being made, besides affording a payment to the proprietors of 25 per cent, on the increased or newly-created stock; in the years 1692, 1694, 1696, and 1697, the Company incurred loss and damage, to the amount of £.97,600, by other captures of their establishments by the French.
'These losses appear to have rendered it necessary for the Company to borrow money, on which they paid 6 per cent, interest; they were enabled, nevertheless, in 1720, again to treble their capital stock, with only a call of 10 per cent, on the pro- prietors ; and, notwithstuuding another heavy loss sustained, by the capture of their establishments by the French under La Perouse, in 1782, they appear to have been enabled to pay divi- dends of from 5 to 12 per cent., averaging 9 per cent., and showing, as nearly as I am able to judge from the defective state of the books daring the past century, profits on the originally subscribed capital stock actually paid up, of between 60 and 70 per cent, per annum from the year 1690 to 1800.
ill
V.1 ■.•;>?i
mm
■m
i
p>
56
¥■(■1
* Up to thh period the Hudson's Bay Company had no great cause for complaint of interference with their inland trade, and if they had been left unmolested, or been protected in the undis- turbed possession of it, and of the rights and privileges vested in them by their Charter they would in all probability have con- tinued in the enjoyment of the advantages they were then deriving from their labours and exertions in those remote and little fre- quented wilds.
* But about that period their rights of territory and trade were invaded by rival traders, which led to animosities, feuds, and breaches of the peace, extending to the loss of lives, and con- siderable destruction of property, injurious to the native Indians, by reason of the unrestricted use of spirituous liquors and other demoralizing influences, consequent on opposition, and so preju- dicial to the interests of the Hudson's Bay Company, that between 1800 and 1821, a period of 22 years, their dividends were, for the first eight years, reduced to 4 per cent ; during the next six years they could pay no dividend at all ; and for the remaining eight years they could only pay 4 per cent.
' During a long succession of years, while this destructive con- test existed, very frequent applications for protection and redress were made by the Hudson's Bay Company to his Majesty's Government, as may be seen by reference to the records of the Colonial Office, but without avail, and scenes of bloodshed, robbery and demoralization, revolting to humanity, were allowed to pass without any effectual measures being taken to punish or prevent them, although the Hudson's Bay Company had every • claim on Government to support them in their just rights of ter- ritory and trade.
' At length, in the year 1821, when the violence of t|bie contest had nearly exhausted the means of both parties, an affangement was entered into between them, by which their interests became united, under the management of the Hudson's Bay Company.
' The proprietary were then called upon to pay £.100 per cent, upon their capital, which, with the stock in trade of both parties
57
^P.
in the country, formed a capital stock of £.400; per cent, dividend was paid in the years 1821 to 182)>s4^d fr^li^.v that time to the present, half-yearly dividends of 6 per cenC,' with a bonus of 10 per cent, from the year 1828 to 1832, and since that an average bonus of 6 per cent, until last year, when none was ])uid.
• When your Lordships come to consider the very hazardous nature of the trade, requiring a degree of enterprise unknown to almost any other business, together with the heavy losses to which the parties interested therein were subjected for a long series of years, from the want of protection and support, which they had a right to expect from his Majesty's Government, I feel assured your Lordships will join me in opinion that the profits now arising from the business are no more than a fair return for the capital employed, and the services the Hudson's Bay Company are rendering the mother country in securing to it a branch of commerce which they are at present wresting out of the hands of foreigners, subjects of Russia and the United States of America, but wliich the Company would have been unable to prosecute, had they not heen protected by the licence of exclusive trade they now hold.
' In looking at these profits, however, it should be borne in mind that Hudson's Bay stock, in like manner as in all other stocks, changes hands very frequently, and that the price of the stock is entirely regulated by the return it produces, thereby affording to the bulk of the present proprietors little more than 6 per cent, for their money.'
It is stated h the papers laid before Parliament, 8th August, 1842, in an enclosure, dated Ist February, 1837, that the Com- pany then had 136 establishments, besides hunting expeditions and shipping — affording employment to twenty-five chief factors, twenty-seven chief traders, 152 clerks, and about 1,200 regular servants, besides the occasional labour in boating, and other ser- vices of a great number of the natives.
In a public letter to Lord Glenelg, dated 10th February, 1837,
s which 4
'■\'
.Si. .' i"
llji
58
I
irt, ■«
m
m
m
(see Pailimentary Papers of 8th August, 1842), it is mentioned, that the Hudson's Bay Company had then fully occupied the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, by six permanent establishments on the coasts, and sixteen in the in- terior ; besides several migratory and hunting parties ; and they po:^se9sed on the coast a marine of si^' armed vessels, one of them a steam vessel.
The Company maintain an effective corps of medical officers for their different forts, and at every trading establisliment there is in fact an Indian hospit>.l, from which the natives derives the greatest benefit, as they resort thither in great numbers, when suffering from age, infirmities, or other causes.
In order to remove mieconception as to the internal trade and working of the Hudson's Bay Company, the followin;^ explana- tory statement is taken from the report of Commodore Wilkes, who was an impartial eye-witness of that which he describes : — * All the imported goods are divided into three classes, viz.— articles cf gratuity, those of trade, and those intended to pay for small services, labour and provisions. The first consists of knives and tobacco ; the second, of blankets, guns, cloth, powder* and shot; the third, of shirts, handkerchiefs, riband?, beads, &c. These articles are bartered at seemingly great profits, and many persons ima'^ine that large gain must be the result from the Indian trade; but this is seldom the case. The Indians and settlers understand well the worth of each article, and were not inclined to give for it more than its real value, besides getting a present or 'potlach' to boot. The Company are obliged to make advances to all their trappers, if they wish to be sure of their services ; and from such a reckless set, there is little cer- tainty of getting returns, even if the trappor has it in his power. Infact, he will not return with his season's acquisitions, unless he is constrained to pursue the same course of life for another year, when he requires a new advance. In order to avoid losses by the departure of their men, the parties, some thirty or forty in num- ber, are placed under an officer who has charge of the whole.
59
J ''J
These are allowed to take their wives, and even families, with them ; and places, where they are to trap during the season, on some favourable ground, are assigned to them. These parties leave Vancouver in October, and return by May or June. They usually trap on shares, and the portion they are to receive is de- fined by an agreement, the conditions of which depend very much upon their skill.
' All the profits of the Company depend upon economical management, for the quantity of peltry in this section of the country, and indeed, it may be said, the fur trade on this side of the mountains has ibHen a^ fifty per cent, within the last few years.' [Vol. iv. p. 333, • Narrative of the United States' Ex- plorinf/ Expedition, during the years 1838, 39, 40, 41, and 1842. London, Wiley and Putnam, 1845].
The Americans have found to their cost that as individual traders they cannot derive any advantage in trafllic with the Indians, for even when successful in the purchase of furs, they are liable to be plundered and murdeied, as exemplified in the followiiig account of the massacre of twenty-one Americans on Mie Umqua River : —
' A trapper of the name of Smith, a remarkably shrewd and intelligent man, had encamped on the left bank of the last- mentioned river with twenty followers, and had ascended the stream in a canoe with two companions of his own party, and a native of the neighbourhood, to find a convenient place for crossing. On his return, his Indian was hailed by another from the shore, who spoke to him in his own language, which was unknown alike to Smith and to his people. A sufficiently intel- ligible interpretation, how<>ver, soon followed ; for Smith's savage upset the canoe by a jerk, thereby pitching the guns of the white men, as well as the white men themselves, into the current. Under a heavy fire. Smith and one of his men found their way to the bank, the other man having fallen a victim either to the enemies shot, or to the depths of the Umqua. On reaching the banks of the river opposite to his camp, the trapper found his
s'ifil
i : ...
60
men murdered, and all his property rifled. Smith, after encoun- tering many dangers, and enduring many hardships, reached one of our forts ; and, at a great inconvenience to our own business, we compelled the savages, by a demonstration of force, to sur- render to him their booty.' [Sir G. Simpson's Voyage round the World, vol. i.]
The operations of the Hudson's Bay Company, and those of the Russians in the north, have almost excluded the Americans from the fur trade, as there are few animals now found south of the parallel of 49°.
Several detached bodies of American and trappers have been recently ranging the country, but, as Mr. Greenhow justly says, the hunters had no settlement of any kind, and, as is shown in the case just quoted, were liable at any moment to be massacred. A single hint from the chief officer of the Fort Vancover settlement to the Indians would have been followed by the destruction of every American in the Oregon region. In fact, the American settlers at the Willamette would have perished of famine, but for the Hudson's Bay Company. It is a matter of .surprise and con- gratulation, therefore, that for nearly 200 years England, through the instrumentality of an effectually organized association, has not only held its ground in North America, but extended her power, and held in check, if not to some extent civilized or sub- dued thousands of savages, who have found that an English Com- pany were their only friends.
The trade indeed is one of much hardship and privation.
Commodore Wilkes observes, ' that the Company's servants at the north ports suffer almost as much as the Indians at times, although they are provided for and attended to by the officers : they live mostly upon salmon. The difficulty of getting pro- visions to posts in the interior, is very great ; all that is consumed at the north, is carried twenty-four days' journey on pack-horses, and eighteen days in barges before it reaches its destination; and the amount transported is not more than enough to supply the officers, whose allowance is very limited. The servants of
61
the Company receive an increased pay, as some recompence for their privations.'
Referring to the dangers and risks the officers and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company have to encounter from Indians, descending rapids, when an entire boat's crew are sometimes instantly destroyed, and to the toil and privation endured by the voyageurs, the Commodore says, at p. 391, ' the most experienced voyageur is taken as a pilot for the brigade, and he is the bowman of the leading boat, which is looked upon as a station of great trust and honour. Each boat has also its bowman, who is considered the first officer and responsible man ; the safety of the boat, in descending rapids particularly, depends upon him and the padrooon who steers the boat. They both use long and large blade- paddles ; and it is surprising how much power the two can exert over the direction of the boat. These men, from long training, become very expert, and acquire a coolness and disregard of danger that claim admiration, and astonishes those who are unused to such scenes. To all appearance, there is seldom to be found a more laborious set of men ; nor one so willing, particu- larly when their remuneration of no more than seventeen pounds sterling a-year, and the fare they receive, are considered. Very few of those who embark or join this Company's service, ever leave the part of the country they have been employed in ; for after the expiration of five years, they usually enlist for three more. This service of eight years in a life of so much adventure and hazard, attaches them to it, and they generally continue until they become old men; when, being married, and having families by Indian women, they retire, under the auspices of the Company, to some small farm, either on the Red or Columbia Rivers. There is no allowance stipulated for their wives or children ; but one is usually made, if they have been useful. If a man dies, leaving a family, although the Company is not under any obligation to provide for them, they are generally taken care of. The officers of the Conipaitij are particularhf strict in pre- 'cnting its servants from deserti/tf/ their icives ; and none can abandon them without much secresy and cunning. In cases of
|.i'
i ' ■ ii ; ■ I
y- N^v
flH
62
his sort, the individual is arrested, and kept under restraint until he hindti himself loith security not to desert his family. The chief officers of the Company hold the power of magistrates over their own people ; and are bound to send fugitives or criminals back to Canada for trial, where the courts take cognizance of the offences. This, perhaps, is as salutary and effectual a preventive against crime as could be found, even if the courts were at hand; for whether innocent or guilty, the individual must suffer great loss by being dragged from the little property he possesses. The community of old voyageurs, settled in Oregon, are thus con- strained to keep a strict watch upon their behaviour; and, although perhaps against their inclinations, are obliged to con- form to the wishes of those whose employ they have left.* [P. 62.]
In the follo\?ing passage we have an animated picture of life at Fort Vancouver, and of the cheerful and agreeable manner in which the officers and servants of the Company fulfil their duties:—' On the morning of the I7th, Vancouver was awake at an early hour, and preparations were actively making ; a voyageur occasionally was to be seen, decked out in all his finery, feathers, and flowing ribands, tying on his ornamental leggings, sashes, and the usual worked tobacco and fire pouch. The latter is of the shape of a lady's reticule, and generally made of red or blue cloth, prettily worked with beads. In working them the wives of the officers of the Company exercise great taste, and it is deemed fully as essential a part of dress in a voyageur's wardrobe as in a lady's. The simple bag does not, however, afford sufficient scope for ornament, and it has usually several long tails to it, which are worked with silk of gaudy colours.
' The ladies of the country are dressed after our own bygone fashions, with the exception of leggings, made of red and blue cloth, richly ornamented. Their feet, which are small and pretty, are covered with worked mocassins. Many of them have a dignified look and carriage ; their black eyes and hair, and ruddy brown complexion, combined with a pleasing expression, give an air of independence and usefulness that one little expects to see. As wives, they are spoken of as most devoted, and many of them
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have performed deeds, in tk3 hour of danger and difficulty, worthy of being recorded. They understand the characters of Indians well.
' About ten o'clock we were all summoned to the great dining- hall by Dr. McLaughlin, to take the parting cup, customary in this country. When all were assembled, wine was poured out, and we drank to each other's welfare, prosperity, &c. This was truly a cup of good fellowship and kind feeling. This hanging to old Scotch customs, in the way it was done here is pleasant, and carries with it pleasing recollections, especially when there is that warmth of feeling with it that there was on this occasion. After this was over, we formed quite a cavalcade to the river side, which was now swollen to the top of its banks, and rushing by with irresistible force.
' On reaching the river we found one of Mr. Ogden's boats manned by fourteen voyageurs, all gaily dressed in their ribands and plumes ; the former tied in large bunches of divers colours, with numerous ends floating in the breeze. The boat was some- what of the model of our whale-boats, only much larger, and of the kind built expressly to accommodate the trade ; they are provided yearly at Okonagan, and are constructed in a few days ; they are clinker-built, and all the timbers are flat. These boats are so light, that they are easily carried across the portages. They use the gum of the pine to cover them instead of pitch.
'After having a hearty shake of the hand. Captain Varney, Mr. Ogden, and myself, embarked. The signal being given, we shoved off, and the voyageurs at once struck up one of their boat songs. After paddling up the stream for some distance we made a graceful sweep to reach the centre, and passed by the spectators with great animation. The boat and voyageurs seemed a fit object to grace the wide-flowing river. On we merrily went, while each voyageur in succession took up the song, and all joined in the chorus. In two hours and a half we reached the mouth of the Cowlitz, a distance of thirty-five miles.
• In the Cowlitz we found a strong current to contend against,
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and by night-fall had only proceeded twelve miles farther. As we encamped, the weather changed, and rain began to fall, which lasted till next morning.
' I had much amusement in watching the voyageurs, who are as peculiar in their way as sailors. I was struck with their stu- dious politeness and attention to each other, and their constant cheerfulness.
' On the second day our voyageurs had doffed their finery, and their hats were carefully covered with oiled skins. They thus appeared more prepared for hard work. The current became every mile more rapid, and the difficulty of surmounting it greater. The management of the boats in the rapids is dexterous and full of excitement, as as well to the passengers as to the voyageurs themselves The bowman is the most important man, giving all directions, and is held responsible for the safety of the boat; and his keen eye and quick hand in the use of his paddle, delights and inspires a confidence in him in moments of danger that is given without stint. We did not make more than ten miles during the day, and were forced to encamp three miles below the farm.
' On the 19th we reached our destination. On our approach, although there were no spectators, except t few Indians, to be expected, the voyageurs again mounted their finery, and gaily chaunted their boat song.' [Wilkes Narrative, v. iv., p. 370.)
The Rev. S. Parker, who had an opportunity aflbrded him of witnessing the proceedings of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose sentiments had no reference to ulterior events, whose opinions were entirely unbiassed, and must be taken as the honest convictions of a mind desirous of truth, and ready to award the palm of merit where it is due, thus expresses himself in 1837 : — ' I have already mentioned my agreeable disappointment in finding so many of the comforts of life at different trading ports of the Hudson's Bay Company. I have also given a brief description of the local situation of Fort Vancouver. These were taken from such ob- servations as I could make in a hasty view, as I was pro-
65
socuting my journey to the shores of the Pacific Ocean This establishment was commenced in the year 1824. It being ne- cessary that the gentlemen who are engaged in transacting the business of the Company west of the mountains, and their labourers, should possess a better and less precarious supply of the necessaries of life, than what game would furnish, and the expense of transporting suitable supplies from England being too great, it was thought important to connect the business of farm- ing with that of fur, to an extent equal to their necessary de- mands ; and as the Fort is the central place of business to which shipping come, and from which they depart for different parts of the north-west coast, and to which and from which brigades of hunting parties come and go, the principal farming business was established here, and has made such progress, that provisions are now produced in great abundance. Thei'c are large fertile prairies which they occupy for tillage and pasture, and the forests yield an ample supply of wood for fencing and other purposes. In the year 1835, there were at this post 450 neat cattle ; 100 horses, 200 sheep, 40 goats, and 300 hogs. They had raised the same year 5000 bushels of wheat, of excellent quality ; 1300 bushels of potatoes ; 1000 of barley ; 1000 of oats ; 2000 of peas, and a great variety of garden vegetables. This estimate does not include the horses, horned cattle, grain, &c., raised at the other stations. But little, however, is done elsewhere, except- ing at Colville, the uppermost post on the northern branch of the Columbia. The garden of this station contains about five acres, and is laid out with regularity and good taste. While a large part is appropriated to the common esculent vegetables, orna- mental plants and flowers are not neglected. Fruit of various kinds, such as apples, peaches, grapes, and strawberries, consi- dering the short time since they have been introduced, flourish, and prove that the climate and soil are well adapted to the pur- poses of agriculture. Various tropical fruits, such as figs, oranges, and lemons, have also been introduced, and thrive as well as in the latitude of Philadelphia. ' In connexion with their farming establishment, the Company
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have a flour mill worked by ox-power, which is kept in constant operation, and produces Hour of an excellent quality ; and a saw- mill with several saws, which is kept in operation most of the year. This mill, though large, does not with its several saws, furnish more lumber than a common mill wonld, with one saw, in the United States. There being no pine below the Cascades, and but very little M'ithinfive hundred miles of the mouth of the Columbia River. The only timber sawn in this mill is fir and oak. Besides what timber is used in the common business about this station, one, and sometimes two ship-loads are sent annually to Oahu, Sandwich Islands, and is there called pine of the north- west coast. Boards of fir are not so durable, when exposed to the weather, as those of pine, nor so easily worked. One half of the grain of each annual growth is very hard, and the other half soft and spongy, which easily absorbs moisture, and causes speedy decay. There is a bakery here, in which two or three men are in constant employment which furnishes bread for daily use in the fort, and also a large supply of sea-biscuit for the shipping and trading stations along the north-west coast. There are also shops for blacksmiths, joiners, and carpenters, and a tinner.
* Here is a well-regulated medical department, and an hospital for the accommodation of the sick hibourers, into which Indiana, who are labouring under any difficult and dangerous diseases are received, and in mo.st cases have gratuitous attendance^
' Among the large buildings, there are four for the trading department ; one for the Indian trade, in which are deposited their peltries ; one for provisions ; one for goods, opened for the current year's business — that is, to sell to their men, and to send off to various fur stations ; and another for storing goods in a year's advance. Not less than a shipload of goods is brought from England annually, and always at least one in advance of their present use ; so that if any disaster should befal their ship on her passage, the business of the Company would not have to be suspended. By this mode of management, there is rarely less than two ship-loads of goods in hand, most of the time. The annual ship arrives in the spring, takes a trip to Oahu during
67
the smnnier, freighted with lumber, and bringing back to Fort Vancouver, salt and other commodities, but generally not enough for ballast ; and, about the end of September, or early in October, she sails for England with the peltries obtained during the preceding year.
' The fur business about the Rocky Mountains, and the West, is becoming far less lucrative than formerly ; for so extensively and constantly have every nook and corner been searched out, that beavers, and other valuable fur animals, are becoming very scarce. It is rational to conclude that it will not be many years before this business will not be worth pursuing in the prairie country, south of the 50th degree of north latitude ; but north of tills, in the colder and more densely-wooded regions, the business will not probably vary in any important degree.
' Very few Americans who have engaged in the fur business beyond the Rocky Mountains, have ever succeeded in making it profitable. Several companies have sustained great loss, generally owing to their ignorance of the country and the best mode of procedure. The Hudson's Bay Company have so systematized their operations, that no one can have the charge of any important transactions without having passed through several grades of less important business, which constitutes several year's apprenticeship. Their lowest order are what they call scroants (common labourers). All above these are called gentlemen, but of different orders. The lowest class are clerks, then chief clerks ; next traders and chief traders; factors and chief factors; and the highest, governors. Tliere are only two chief factors west of the mountains, John M'Laughlen, Esq. and Duncan Finlayson, Esq., and with them are associated in business several chief traders and traders, and ciiief clerks and clerks. The salaries of the gentlemen are pro- portioned to the stations they occupy. By this mode of con- ducting business, no important enterprise is ever intrusted to an inexperienced person.
* It is worthy of remark, that comparatively few of all those who engage in the fur business in these regions ever return to their native land. Mr. Pambrun, of Fort Walla- Walla, told me, that to keep up their number of trappers and hunters west of the
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mountains, they were under the nece^jsity of sending out recruits annually, about one third of the whole number. Captain Wyetii stated, that of more than two hundred who had been in his em- ployment in the course of three years, only between thirty and forty were known to be alive. From these data it may be seen that the life of hunters in these far western regions averages about three years. And with these known facts, still hundreds and hundreds are willing to engage in the hunter's life, and expose themselves to hardships, famine, dangers, and death. It has been estimated, from sourceii of correct information, that there are nine thousand white men in the north and far west engaged in the various departments of trading, trapping, and hunting ; and this number includes Americans, Britons, Frenchmen, and Russians.' — {Journey beyond the Rocky Mountainii, p. 41, 42.)
Commodore Wilkes, adverting to the observations he heard regarding discontent among some of the junior servants of tlie Company, — to the discipline enforced, and to the powers exerci by the officers of the Company, says, ^ I am sathjied that an Jar as the morals of the settlers and servants are concerned, it is used for good purposes.' ' For instance, the use of spirits is almost entirely done away with. Dr. M'Laughlin has acted in a highly praiseworthy manner in this particular. Large quantities of spirituous liquors are now stored in the magazines at Vancouver, which the Company have refused to make an article of trade, and none is now used by them in the territory for that purpose. They have found this rule highly beneficial to their business in several respects ; more furs are taken, and those who are engaged have fewer inducements to err; the Indians are found to be less quarrelsome, and pursue the chase more constantly ; and the settlers, as far as I could hear, have been uniformly prosperous.' ' In order to show the course of the Company upon this sub- ject, I will mention one circumstance. The brig American, Thomas H. Perkins, arrived here with a large quantity of rum on board, with other goods. Dr. M'Laughlin, on hearing of this, made overtures immediately for the purchase of the whole oargo, in order to get possession of the whiskey or rum, and succeeded.
69
titles of icouver, tde, and . They several ed have be less nd the Jrous.' us sub- \erican, 3f rum of this, oargo, ceded.
Tlio Doctor mentioned to me that the liquor was now in store, und would not be sold in the country, and added, that the only object he had in buying the cargo was to prevent the use of the rum, and to sustain the temperance cause.'
In tiieir endeavours to prosecute a trade at any hazard, the American fur traders sell spirits freely to the Indians, and Mr. Greenhow states, that * twenty dollars were frequently expended ill rum and sugar, for a night's carouse, by ( wo or three traders after the conclusion of a bargain.' — (Vol. ., p. .)
The Rev. 8. Parker, the American clergyman, reprobates the dissolute life and cruel conduct of the Americans engaged in the Oregon fur trade, while he bears high testimony to the conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company.
In 1836-7, the Russian Government refused to allow vessels of the United States to trade on the unoccupied parts of the Ame- rican coast north of 54o 40 ^ on the grounds that, during the pre- vious ten years, when the United States had the privilege, it enabled the traders to supply the natives on the coast with * spi- rituous liquors and fire-arms.'
It appears from the narrative of Sir George Simpson, that in 1842, the Governors of the Hudson's Bay Company and of the Russian Fur Company, entered into a written agreement, that from and after the date of signature, no spirits should be sup- plied to the Indians at their respective stations or posts in North America ; the Russian Governor fully acknowledging the evil done to the trade, as well as to the Indians themselves.
The effect of prohibiting spirituous liquors among the Indians is clearly shewn in documents laid officially before Lord Glenelg, in 1837. — (See page 16 of Parliamentary Papers, Sth August, 1842,) of which the following is an extract : —
' The Indian country, which, previous, to the passing and granting of that act and licence, was a scene of violence and outrage, productive of injury to the native population, and of the worst consequences, amounting in very many instances to the loss of life among the whites actively engaged therein, and to a vast sacrifice of property to the parties interested, all arising from
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the violent rum petition that existed uniun<r the traders, 1 have the satisfaction to say, has, ever since that period, been in a state of the most perfect tranquillity, beneficial as well to the Indian pop Illation as to the parties interested and engaged in the trade,
' Previous to that period, an unrestricted supply of spirituous liquor, then an important article of trade, led to the conimissiun of crimes, to the injury of health, and to a state of demora- lization among the native ]>epulation truly lamentable. The measures since taken by the Countil in the country, under the instructions of the Board of Direction in England, to remedy those evils, have be*, i attended with tin? ha]>piest results : drunk- enness is now of very rare occurrence in any part of the country, and quite unknown throughout the extended district situated to the northward of the Saskatchewjin and Churchill Rivers, occupied by the Chipcwyan, Beaver Indian, Cree, Yellow Knife, Hare, Dog Rib, and other tribes throughout the numerously inhabited and widely extended plain country to the southward of Saskatchewan ; in the country situated between the Rocky Mountains and the shores of the Pacific, watered by the Columbia River and its tributaries ; in the country known by the name of New Caledonia, situated inland, to the northward of the Colum- bia River; and among the Ciiippewyan tribes on the shores and interior country of Lakes Superior and Huron ; the introduction and use of spirituous and other introxicatiug liquors having been strictly prohibited, except in voy rare cases for medicinal pur poses.
' The first introduction of this measure was so unpopular among the natives, as to endeanger the safety of the trading establish- ments, rendering it necessary to maintain a large force for their protection, at a heavy expense ; and it was only by compensating them for the loss of this baneful indulgence by large gratuities, consisting of presents of British manufacture, that they became reconciled to the privation. In other parts of the country, where it could not, in safety to the white population, be entirely prohi- bited, the use of it is now gradually diminishing, so as at this time to be no longer an evil ; and in no part of the countries
71
it among establish- for their 'ensating ratuities, ' became y, where y prohi- ut this oun tries
through which the Hudson's Bay Company's operations extend, are spirituous or intoxicating liquors of any description sold to Indians, or used as a medium of barter or trade. But so inse- parable is drunkenness or the abuse of spirituous liquors, from opposition in the Indian trade, that on the north-west coast, wlicrc we have to contend with the Americans and Russians, and even on the banks of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, which are exposed to competition in trade, and where the Indians arc partially civilized, I am sorry to say our utmost efforts to check it have been altogether unavailing.
' A confirmation of these statements is to be seen by reference to the exportations of spirituous liquors to Hudson's Bay, which, since the year 1821, do not exceed on the average forty-three puncheons of rum annually for the supply of tlie whole country situated to the eastward of the Rocky Mountains, comprised in the licence of trade granted to the Company, as well as the Com- pany's territories, the population of which, including servants, may be estimated at 120,U00 souls, no spirituous liquors having up to tiiis period been distilled in the country.' [About a pint per annum for each individual.]
There is an honourable acknowledgment by Commodore Wilkes, that the small wages, and subjection complained of by the younger servants and clerks, is necessary, for ' few can in any way long withstand this silent influence ; decorum and order are preserved, together with steady habits : the consequence is, that few communities are to be found more well behaved and orderly than that which is formed of persons who have retired from the Company's service.' — [Vol. ii., p. 330.J
In other places I have referred to the opinions of an American clergyman ; the following statement of the chief of a party of America^ consisting of about 300 persons, who emigrated from Pennsylvania and Missouri, for the ' Far West' in 1843, in order to settle in the Oregon country is deserving of attention :— ' On the 10th of November I arrived at Vancouver, and could scarcely believe ray eyes when, on approaching it, I beheld, moored securely in the river, two square-rigged vessels and a steam-boat. My very heart
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j limped vi I set eyes on these familiar objects, and for the first time in four wnths, 1 felt as if I had found substantial evidence of civ ization ; the impression of the refinement of the mission and the peculiarly domestic comforts which the ladies attached to the establishment spread around them, were as nothing compared with the yards and masts of these coursers of the ocean. The river t Fort Vancouver is from 1,600, to 1,700 yards wide; the fort, which is the principal establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregcii, is on the north bank of the Columbia, 80 miles distance, in a direct line, from the sea. It stands a con- siderablf -distance back from the shore, and is surrounded by a large number of buildings, amongst which is a school- house. On the bank of the river, 000 yards down, is a village somewhat larger in extent, containing an hospital. Two miles farthtM- down the river are the dairy and piggery, containing nu- merous herds of cattle, hogs, sheep, &c. ; and about three miles above the forts are grist and saw-mills, and sheds for curing salmon. Immediately behind it is a garden and an orchard filled with peach, apple, fig, orange, lemon, and other fruit trees, — aiul containing also grapes, strawberries, ornamental plants and flowers. Behind this the cultivated farm, witii its numerous barns and other necessary buildings, — spread off towards the south. The land appropriated here for the purposes of farming, is from 3000 to 4000 acres, atid is fenced into beautiful fields, a great portion of which has already been appropriated to culti- vation, and is found to produce the grains and vegetables of the States in remarkable profusion. On my arrival, I was received with great kindne.'ss by Dr. M'Laughlin, the chief factor of the Hudson's 3ay Company ; and Mr. Douglass, his second in com- mand. The modtts openi/fdi of this wonderful corporation is n'markable for the perfect accmacij of its syi^tem. A code of eatuhHuhed ruhs, emhracinff uithin ittt iicope the chief factor and . the meanest dependent, is the infle.rihfe rule which governs ulf. Even} man has his allofed department to Jill, and a si/stem of far- siffhtvd policfi is hronrfht to hear upon the management of ererif dufartment. A rerfular price is set upon evertfthinff. Their goofls
73
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fin' a/l of ihc most mperwr kind, and it is no less a rule to sell them at reasouahle rates tftan it is to have them good.*
The docnments in the Colonial Office amply sustain these (acts.
Indeed, but for the exercise of strict discipline, the Company would not only have anarchy among their own people, but would l)e subject to great annoyance from their neighbours, who would endeavour to sow discontent and rebellion among their people. In 1836, a person styling himself ' General Dickson, of the Indian Liberating Army,' departed from Washington, and at- tended by several followers, made an ciFort to seduce the servants of the Company, with the pretended object of aniting all the Indians in one nation, of which Dixon was to be the chief, under the title of * Montezuma the Second.' He was supplied with nioiey by Home Americans, in the expectation that he would damage the Hudson's Bay Company, and proceeded through the American territories to the region west of Lake Superior, the General, his Brigadier, Aide-de-Camps, &c., dressed in grand uniforms. Winter set in ; and Dixon, with his toes frozen oft', nnd in a wretched plight, attended by a few deluded followers, at length reached the Red River settlement, where the Hudson's Bay Company prevented them from starving, and, finally, took several into their employ as clerks and servants.
The manner in which the American fur hunters destroy the Indians, is thus described by an American clergyman : —
' On the 29th, removed our encampment, and travelled five hours along this valley, to the place where, two years before, two lur companies held th«r rendesvous. Pierre's Hole is an exten- sive level country, of rich soil, and well watered with branches of Lewis River ; the climate is milder than any part we have gone through on this side of the mountains. The valley is well covered with grass, but like most other places, is deficient in woodland, having only a scanty supply of cotton-wood and willows scattered along the streams. The valley extends around to the north-west as far as the eye can reach. We expected to have found buftaloes in this valley, but saw none. As parties of Blackfeet warriors
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often range this way, it was probable that they had lately been here and frightened them away. As we were on our way from our last encampment, I was shown the place where the men of the fur companies, at the time of their rendezvous two years before, had a battle with the Blackfeet Indians. Of the Blackfeet party, there were about sixty men, and more than the same number of women and children ; of the white men in the valley there were some few hundreds who could be called into action. From the information given me, it appeared that these Indians were on their way through this valley, and unexpectedly ^et about forty hunters and trappers going out from rendezvous to the south- west on their fall and winter hunt. The Indians manifested an unwillingness to fight, and presented them tokens of peace, but they were not reciprocated, The Indians who came forward to stipulate terms of peace, were fired upon and killed. When the Indians saw their danger, they fled to the cotton-wood trees and willows which were scattered along the stream of the water, and, taking advantage of some fallen trees, constructed as good defences as time and circumstances would permit. They were poorly provided with guns, and still more poorly with ammunition. The trappers keeping out of reach of their arrows, and being well armed with the best rifles, rendered the contest unequal ; and it was made still more unequal, when, by an express sent to rendezvous, they were reinforced by veterans in mountain life. The hunters, by keeping at a safe distance, in the course of a few hours killed several of the Indians, and almost all their horses, which they had no means of protecting, while they themselves suffered but small loss. The numbers killed on both sides have been differently stated ; but considering the numbers engaged, and the length of time the skirmishing continued, it must have been a bloody battle, inid not much to the honour of civilized Americans. The excuse made for forcing the Blackfeet into battle is, that if they had come upon a small party of trappers they would have butchered them and seized upon the plunder. If heathen Blackfeet would have done so, is this an apology for civilized white men to render evil for evil ? What a nobl
75
oppoiiunity this was for American citizens to have set an example oY humanity !
' When the night drew near, the hunters retired to their rendez- vous, and the Indians made their escape.' — {Journey beyond the liochij Mountains, by the Rev. S. Parker. Edin. Ed., 1841. P. 23.;
The same American Authority adverts in another part of his Journal (pp. 19—21), to the * profligacy of the fur hunters.' He says, ' the Ameriean Fur Comimny have between two and three hundred men constantly employed, in and about the moun- tains, in trading, hunting, and trapping. These all assemble at a rendezvous, bring in their furs, and take new supplies for the couiing year of clothing, ammunition, and goods for trade with the Indians. But few of them ever return to their country and friends. Most of them are constantly in debt, and are unwilling to return without a fortune ; and year after year passes away while they are hopiuf^ for better success.' The conduct and pro- ceedings of the men engaged in the operations of this American Company — offers a marked contrast to that of the British Fur Company. The Rev. 8. Parker speaking of these Americans .says, at p. 21 : — ' A few days after our arrival at the place of rendezvous, and when all the mountain-men had assembled, another day of indulgence was granted to them, in which all restraint was laid aside. These days are the climax of the Imiiter's happiness. I will relate an occurrence which took place uc'iir evening, as a specimen ( *' mountain life. A hunter, who goes technically by the name of the Great Bully of the Mountains, mounted his horse with a loaded rifle, and challenged any iTenchman, American, Spaniard, or Dutchman, to fight him in single combat. Kit Carson, an American, told him, if he wished to die, he would accept the challenge. Shunur delied him ; Carson mounted his horse, and with a loaded pistol rushed into close con- titct, and both almost at the same instant fired. Carson's ball entered Shunar s hand, came out at the wrist, and passed through the arm above the elbow. Shunar's ball passed over the head of Carson, and while he went for another pistol, Shunur begged iha
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his life might be spared. Such scenes, sometimes from passion and sometimes for amusement, make the pastime of their wild and wandering life. They appear to have sought for a place where, as they would say, human nature is not oppressed by the tyranny of religion, and pleasure is not awed by the frown of virtue. The fruits are visible in all the varied forms to which human nature, without the restraint of civil government and cultivated and polished society, may be supposed to yield. In the absence of all those motives which they would feel in moral and religious society — refinement, pride, a sense of the worth of character, and even conscience — they give way to unrestrained dissoluteness. Their toils and privations are so great, that they are not disposed to take upon themselves the labour of climbing up to the temple of science. And yet they are proficients in one study, namely, profuseness of language in their oaths and blasphemy. They dis- dain the commonplace phrases which prevail among the impious vulgar in civilised countries, and have many set expletives, which they appear to have manufactured among themselves, and which in their imprecations, they bring into almost every sentence and on all occasions. By varying the tones of their voices, they make them expressive of joy, hope, grief, and anger. In their broils among themselves, which do -t happen every day, they would not be ungenerous. They would see ' fair play,' and would * spare the last eye ;' and would not tolerate murder, unless drunkenness or great provocation could be pleaded in extenuation of guilt.
' Their demoralising influence with the Indians has been lamentable, and they have imposed upon ttiem in all the ways that sinful propensities dictate. It is said they haye'sold them packs of cards at high prices, calling them the Bif)le ; ard have told them, if they should refnse to give white men wives, God would be angry with them, and punish them eternally : and on almost any occasion when their wishes have been resisted, they have threatened them with the wrath of God.'
The British rivals in the fur trade are now the American and the Russian Fur Companies, and it is our interest to do nothing to weaken the only association capable of preserving to England '^'* valuable branch of traflic,
iJatt m.
THE INDIAN POPULATION— THEIR NUMBEKS— CHA- UACTER AND TREATMENT BY THE HUDSON'S BAY ( OMPANY.
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Numbers. — It is difficult to form any estimate approaching to iiccuracy of the population of the territories of the Hud!i<>n'b Bay Company, and also of the adjoining regions.
Sir George Simpson gives the following as a census of the Sas- knt(;lie\van District, a country as large as England, which is said to be perhaps more numerously peopled with Indians than any other part of North Western America : —
|
Tribes. |
Tents. |
Souls. |
|
Crees |
500 |
3500 |
|
Assiniboines |
5H0 |
4000 |
|
Blackfeet |
300 |
2100 |
|
Peigans |
350 |
2450 |
|
Blood Indians |
250 |
1750 |
|
Sarcees |
50 |
350 |
|
Gros Ventres |
300 |
2100 |
|
Saulteaux . |
20 |
140 |
|
Half-breeds |
''O 239' |
280 |
|
l(j,730 |
— (Sir G. Simpson's Ovet\.<ud Jotirney round the World, vol. i., p. 102, published by Colburn in 18^7.)
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m
78
This sliows a very scanty population, and gives only, on tin average, seven persons to each tent. I cannot hut think it is an under estimate ; or, that this census includes only those who arc stationary around the Company's posts.
In the following cl a ssifi cation and distribution of the tribes in Rupert's Land, by the Bishop of Montreal, who appears to have paid much atti'ution to the Indian population, we have no data of the actual number in each tribe. His Lordship says — ' It appears that the discordant estimates, even of the oldest and most expe- rienced ri>sidents in the Indian country, forbid all idea of arriving at an accurate knowledge of the amount of population, either as a whole or in detail. The tribes themselves, however, occupying tlu' country east of the Rocky Mountains, and resorting upon occasion to the Company's establishments, may be enumerated and distin- guished as follows below : — ' Mackriiziea liivcr District.
' The Copper Indians, inhabiting the country about this river. ' The Loiicheux, or Quarrellers. ' The Hare Indians. ' Tlie Dog-rib Indians.
' The Strong-bow Indians, inhabiting IMackenzie's River Dis- trici. and speaking different languages. ' Athahasca and Ls/c n la C rouse Districts.
' The Chepewyans, and a few of ihv Cree tribe ; inhabiting the country surrounding tliis lake, and bc^tween it and the Isle a la Crosse District. ' Peace River District.
' The Beaver Indians, and a few Sauteux from the Rainy Lake, inhabiting both sides of this river, and speaking a language different from that of the Chipewyans of Athabasca. ' Upper j)art of i/ic Haskatchewan District. ' The Blackfee. Proper. ' The Blood Indians. ' The Piegans. ' The Fall Indians
79
' The Siircies.
' All these five tribes ore generally termed Blackfeet, although they speak different languages, and have dif- ferent customs and manners. ' Lower j)art of the Saskatchetcan Dutrict. ' The Stone Indians, or Assiniboins. ' The Crees. ' The Sauteux, or Ogibwhys.
' These three tribes are constantly at variance wit)) the Blackfeet, and the whole eight depend on the chase for subsistence. They, /. e. the three tribes, extend their habitations also to the upper part of Red River and of Swan River. ' York Factory, Oxford, Noncaif House, Cnmherland, and lowef part of Swan Rirer District. ' Mis-Kee-Goose, or Swampy Indians.
' These also extend along the sea-coast to James's Bay, They evidently spring from the Crees, as their language is only a dialect of the Cree. There is said to be a mixture of the Sauteux in their origin. ' ( 'hurchill District. ' P-lsquimaux.
' Chipewyans, and a few Swamp Indians, inhabiting the country to the north of Churchill. ' These are all the tribes on tlu; east side of tlio Rocky Mountains who trade respectively at the ports indicated by italics. The source from which I received this information is one upon which I feel 1 lint I can rely ; and with the exception of tlie Mackenzie's River l)istrict, respecting which the statements are les < positively made, till' whole account, I believe, is the result of personal acquaintance with the localities.
* The Indians in James's Bay are generally classed with the
the Mis-kee-goose, and inhabit the countries about Albany, Moose,
and East Main." — {Bishop of Montreal s Journal, pp. 130 to 133.;
Mr. Greenhow, in the History of Oreyon, estimates the number
of all the tribes inhabiting the Oregon region, in which he includes
,,: --,1!
? ■; ,.1
r ^l^
so
nil the country watered by the Columbia River, as not exceedinp
20,000 ; the Clotsops and Chenooks occupying the country on both
sides of the loweV JJtUt of the groat river ; the Killamucks of tlii'
Uniqua, the Classets, the territory of the Slriiits of Fuca, tlio
Enishurs, mauraders infesting the passes about the falls of tliu
great river ; the Chopunish or Nezperces of the Walla-Walla ami
Kooskooskee countries ; the Kotanies of Clarke's River, and tlio
Shoshones or Snake Indians of the liewis Rivers. In the part of
the Oregon, north-west of the Columbia, ai'e the Chileotins or
Talootins, between whom a mortal enmity has always existed. Tim
Blackfeot from the north-east make inroads on the Shoshones and
Cliopunish tribes.
The nearest approach to accurt of the number of inhabitants in any of the north-west regions is given in an official report of Lieutenants Warre and A'uvasour, us a ' Census of the Indiiin Tribes in the Oregon territory from latitude 42° to latitude .")!, derived from the trading lists of the Hudson's Bay Company, ami from the best obtainable information.'
Fort Vancouver, 181').
|
Nam of the Tribe. |
Where situated. |
Males. |
Femulet |
Slaves. |
Total. |
|
Qnacott. — Nuvette and 117 |
From Lat. T)\o ^^^ i,at. TjOoin |
||||
|
others. Tribes speaking |
eluding Queen Charlottes' |
||||
|
generally tlie QiiacoU |
Island; North end of Van- |
||||
|
language. |
couver's Island, Milbank Sound and Island, and the |
||||
|
Main shore |
ifl.oao |
20,31. 'I |
1,^70 |
40,80:i |
|
|
Massettes and 13 tribes, no; |
On Queen Cliiirlotte's Islaiul, |
||||
|
included with the above. |
not included in die above |
3,232 |
3,.381 |
0,0 1. '1 |
|
|
and speaking diflerent |
|||||
|
languages. |
|||||
|
Nass Indians, 4 tribes, |
Nasa lUver cm the Main |
||||
|
speaking the same lan- |
Laud |
8.07 |
740 |
12 |
1,015 |
|
guage. |
|||||
|
Chymsyans, 10 tribes, all of |
Chatham Sound, Portlimd |
||||
|
whom speak the same |
Canal, Port F.ssington, and |
||||
|
language, with a different |
the neighbouring Islands |
1,202 |
],225 |
08 |
3,495 |
|
idiom. |
|||||
|
Skeena Indians, 2 tribes. |
At the Mouth of the Skeena |
||||
|
River |
11)5 |
120 |
7 |
322 |
|
|
Labassas Indians, 0 tribes. |
Gardner's Canal, Canal de Principe, Canal de la |
||||
|
Reida Carried forward.. |
717 |
601 |
111 |
1,421) |
|
81
Vame of thn Tribe.
Milbauk Sound, 0 tribes.
fli'illitms. — Oowaitchims, 24 tribes, speaking the Chal lam and Cowaitzchim Ian
Ranges.
New Caledonia Indians, — (H tribes known).
Snnetch Indians, 3 tribes.
Children under Iliilliims, 1 1 tribes.
Children under Siiiahoinish, 1 tribe.
Cliildren under Skatcat, 1 tribe.
Children under Cowitchici, 7 tribes.
Children under Soke Indians, 1 tribe.
Children under
Cowitfiher, 3 tribes, not as
f'ape Flattery. — Gulf of
Georgia Indians, exact
numbers not ascertained.
Nasqiially, 13 tribes.
Two tribes in the Cavlctz River
('lieeuooks,Clat8ops&several tribes near the entrance of the Columbia Hiver.
Trile Kalets, several tribes.
Vule Puyas, several tribes.
Clakamus, several tribes.
flieanooks, Keliissuyas, 4 tribes.
Killamooks, 3 tribes.
Claiuets, several tribes.
Whore tituntitd.
Brought forward . .
Milbank Sound, Caceade Ca- nal, Deane Canal, Salmon River, and the Islands on the Coast • . .
From lat. SOo along tlie Coast South to Whitby Island in lat. 48°; part of Vancouver's Island and the Mouth of Franc's Kiver ....
M'liCod's Lake, Chelertins,
Fort George, Alexandria,
in Fraser's River, Conally
Lake, Rabine Lake, Fra
ser's Lake, Siu art's Lake
Straits of St. .luan de Fuca and Vancouver's Islands
12 years 09
Ditto.
12 years 467
Ditto.
12 years .... Ditto.
12 years .... Ditto.
12 years .... Ditto.
12 years 12
yet ascertained . . . say
230
101
tm
about
Nasqually River and Puget's Sound
about
Mouth of the Columbia Ri- ver and the vicinity
Near Fort Vancouver in the Columbia
Valley of the Williamutu River
Valley of the Clakamus and the Willamuta Falls .
Pillar Rook, Oak Point, The Dallas, The t'ascades, Cheate River, Takama River on the Columbia
On the Sea Coast, between the River Ciolumbia and the Uniqua
Roquas River near the South Boundarv
Carried forward. F
Malea.
784
3,176
1,205 104
r)i7
208
173
524
30
1,835
Female) Slaves,
707
3,383
1,150
152 401 118 161
630 30
1,007
Total.
47
2,808
210
40 13
18
182
1,028
0,427
2,025
445
1,485
509
543
1,703
90 300
1,260
4,014
500
429
500 300 200
800
1,600 800
m
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m.
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82
|
Name of the Tribe. |
AVhere situated. |
Malea. |
Femalei |
Slaves. |
Total. |
|
WaUa - Walla, Nez Perce, Snakes, and Heveral tribes Colville and Spokane. |
Brought forward. . One of the South or Snakes Brunch of the Columbia, extending to near the liocky Mountains . . . Near Fort Colville on the |
3,000 4»0 |
|||
|
Okauagan, several tribes. |
Oil tile UkiuiBgan and Pis- rour Rivprs |
300 |
|||
|
Kullas-Polus, several tribes. |
On the Flathead or Clarke |
300 |
|||
|
Kootoonais. several tribes. |
On M'Gillivray's River, the Flat Bow Lake, &c. . . Total |
4.'>0 |
|||
|
3;i,or.o |
3.'>,18a |
.'^.,140 |
80,047 |
Males Females Children Slaves
Total
Recapitulation. 33,950 35,182
1,584 of both sexes under twelve years of age.
5,140
75,808 of whom an accurate Census has been made. 11,079 estimate of tribes of whom no Census has been taken.
Gt. Total 80,947 Indian population, from latitude 42° to lati- tude 54° north.'
This Census is accompanied by the following remarks : — ' The gentleman in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts on the north of the Columbia, have made very accurate estimates of the Indian population in the neighbourhood of their several stations ; and we have every reason to believe, from our own observations, in the accuracy of these statements.
' The Indian tribes on the Columbia, and in the interior of the country, are a very migratory race, and it is very difficult to amve at their exact numbers. We believe the above statements to be rather under their numerical strength.
rivers c
'Ne:
done n
idle, di
their r
from s
' 7'i
much
as we
sa
• The accompanying amount of the population of the Indian tribes has been compiled with great care from tbe best authorities we tuiild obtain, and from the trading lists hmt us by the kindness of till! gentlemen in charge of the Hudson's Bay ("ompany.
' Tlie Indians of Pugets Sound and the Straits of ])e Fuca, also those further to the north, appear to be more numerous than those (»f the interior, and cultivate large quantities of potatoes, &c. for their own use, and to barter with the vessels frequenting the coast.
' They are not so cleanly as the Indians of the prairies, nor are thoy so brave or warlike. Many of the latter tribes are a very fine race of men, and possess large herds of cattle and immense num- bers of horses. In the neighbourhood of Walla- Walla, individual Indians were pointed out to us who owned more than 1000 horses.
' Slavery is common with all the tribes ; and he who possesses most slaves and the largest number of horses, is considered the greatest chief.
' The Indians of the North are sometimes troublesome, but those of tiie Columbia are a quiet, inoffensive, but very superstitious race. To this last cause may be traced their quarrels with the white man and with one another.
' They are well armed with rifles, muskets, &c., but, from policy, they are much stinted by the Hudson's Bay Company in imunu- nition.
' The Indian tribes do not remain upon the same ground during the whole year In the summer they resort to the principal rivers and the sea coast, where they take and lay by large quantities of salmon, &c. for their winter consumption, retiring to the smaller rivers of the interior during the cold season.
' Neither the Roman Catholic nor Methodist Missionaries have done much towards reclaiming the Indian population, who are an idle, dissolute race, and very few of them can be induced to change their mode of life, or cultivate more than will absolutely keep them from starvation.
' The total abolition of the sale of intoxiciitmy Hqtiors has done much for the good of the whole community, white population as well an Indian, and. so lontj as /his ah.^linenc€ {which can
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hardhj he called voluntary) continues, the country will prosper. When this jrrohibition is withdrawn, and the intercourse with the world open, such is the character of the dissolute and only partially reformed American and Canadian settlers, that every evil must he anticipated, and the unfortunate Indian will he the first to suffer.
(Signed) Henry Warre, M. Vavasseur,
Lieutenant and Adjutant. Lieutenant Royal Engineers'
It is due to the Company to state, that they have never had any direct or continued warfare with the Indians.
Character of the Indian Population. — It is difficult to describe the character of the various tribes referred to in the pre- ceding classii. cations ; they liave each some recognised difference, and are most of them in a constant state of warfare with each other. The Sarcees are said to be the boldest. All have horses and fire- arms, and horse-stealing is a favourite occupation with them. The Crees and Blackfeet have deadly feuds, and each combat with the Assiniboins ; small tribes are drawn into the contests of the larger, and the whole are never at peace. Ambuscades, surprises by day or night, and treacherous massacres of the old and young, of women and the sick, constitute the moving interests of their lives. No hardships or inducements will make them settle and cultivate their land, and until tliey do so, it is almost hopeless to expect any Christian results from the humane efforts of the Hudson's Bay Company and the missionaries. The most degrading superstitions prevail ; cunning is employed where force cannot be used in plunder ; lying is systematic ; woman is treated as a beast ; and the wild Indian is, in muny respects, more savage than the animals around him.
The Crees are the largest tribe or nation of Indians, and are divided into two branches, the Crees on the Saskatchewan, and the Swampies around the borders of Hudson's Bay, from Fort Churchill to East Main. Forty years ago, in consequence of their early obtainment of fire-arms, they carried their victories to the arctic circle and across the Rockv Mountains, and treated as slaves the
85
ChipewydiiB, Yellow Knives, Hares, Dogribs, Loucheaux, Nikanies, Dahotanies, and other tribes in the adjoining regions.
The measles and small pox have swept off many from 1810 to 1820, but they are now extending to the south in various bauds, and again increasing in numbers.
The Salteaux, a branch of the Chippewayns, were formerly the most powerful tribe in the country, but measles and small pox have dwindled their numbers down to 3000 or 4000, and though scat- tered over a vast territory, which produces wild rice in abundance, they can scarcely keep body and soul together ; they are too iudolent and too proud to become, as they loftily express it, ' troublers of the earth.' Gambling is a prevailing passion, espe- cially with the New Caledonia savages. In some tribes, if a chief be ill, he causes one of his people to be shot, and if he recovers, it is attributed to the sacrifice. Sometimes a chief pretends to mad- ness, and bites every one that falls in his way. In filth and sensuahty the Indians, especially the more southern races, exceed probably any of the savages in other psrts of the world. In some places on the north-west coast, says Sii George Simpson, they eat the dead bodies of their relatives. — (Vol. i., p. 207.)
A few years ago a large encampment of the Gros Ventres and Blackfeet was located on the Southern Saskatchewan to hunt the buifalo ; the younger warriors, however, made an incursion into the ccdntry of the Assiniboines, but, on returning with the scalps and spoils of their enemies, they found revenge had been taken by the massacre of their defenceless wives and children, parents and sisters. So long as the Indians are in the power of the Europeans, they are perfectly good humoured, but, whenever they find they are the strongest, a different conduct is pursued ; and unless treated with firmness, they are sure to commence aggression. In the straits around Vancouver's Island, they have not hesitated to attack Euro- pean boats, and near Nisqually they assasinated one of the Company's officers and five men, on their way from Fort Langley to Fort Vancouver. Not long since, seizing Europeans, to be ransomed for guns, gunpowder, blankets, &c., was considered to be fair game by
a
I '>■
m
[f
86
the Indians, and they are only now kept in uwe throughout the whole country by the courage, mingled with policy, of the servants of the Company.
Hearne, in the work descriptive of hif, journey to the Northern Ocean, says — ' When any really distressed objects present them- selves at the Company's factory, they are always relieved with victuals, clothes, medicines, and every other necessary, gratis ; and, in return, they instruct everyone of their countrymen how to behave in order to obtain the same charity.' The Indians are great adepts at deception, never at a loss for a plausible story, have abundance of sighs, groans, and tears at command, feign to be lame, and even blind, to excite pity, and use so many false pretences to obtain charity, that it re< uires a great discrimination to ascertain real dis- tress, and turn a deaf ear, otherwise the whole of the Company's goods might be given away, begging would become the most profitable trade, and the hunting for, and traffic in, furs, would cease. They are always disposed to steal anything they think will be serviceable, particularly iron hoops, spikes, carpenters' tools. Sec, either for their own use, or for the purpose of trading with such of their countrymen as seldom visit the Company's stations.
The description given by Hearne, of the character of the Northern Indians, will serve for many other tribes. ' It may be truly said that they possess a considerable degree of deceit, and are very complete adepts in the art of flattery, which they never spare as long as they find that it conduces to their interest, but not a moment longer. They take care always to seem attached to a new Governor, and flatter his pride, by tellirg him that they look up to him as the father of their tribe, on whom they can safely place their dependence; and they never fail to depreciate the generosity of his predecessor, however extensive that might have been, however humane and disinterested his conduct ; and if aspersing the old, and flattering the new Governor, has not the desired effect in a reasonable time, they represent him as the worst of characters, and tell him to his face that he is one of the most cruel of men ; that he has no feeling for the distresses of thoir tribe, and that many have perished for
87
)«t the lervaius
orthern tliem-
d with and,
beliave
adepts ndniice id even
obtain Jal dis- ipany's ifi table
They ceable, her for f their
want of assistance (which, if it be true, is only owing to want of humanity among themselves), and then they boast of having received ten times the favours and presents from his predecessor. It is re- markable that those are most lavish in their praises, who have never either deserved or received any favours from him. In time, how- ever, this language also ceases, and they are perfectly reconciled to the man whom they would willingly have made a fool, and say, ' he is no child, and not to be deceived by them.'
' They differ so much from the rest of mankind, that harsh, un- oourteous usage seems to agree better with the generality of them, particularly the lower class, than mild treatment; for if the least respect be shown them, it makes them intolerably insolent; and though some of their leaders may be exempt from this imputation, yet there are but few even of them who have sense enough to set a proper value on the favours and indulgencies which are granted to them while they remain at the Company's factories, or elsewhere within their territories. Experience has convinced me, that by keeping a Northern Indian at a distance, he may be made service- able both to himself and the Company ; but by giving him the least indulgence at the factory, he will grow indolent, inactive, and troublesome, and only contrive methods to tax the generosity of an European.'— (Pp. 308, 309.)
Aged parents are treated not only with entire neglect, but also with contempt by their children, and it is calculated thot at least one-half of the aged of both sexes are left to starve, and do perish of cold or want. The Bishop of Montreal thus pourtrays the appearance of the Indians whom he saw en route to the Red River : ' Their actual condition presents a most degrading picture of humanity. Some of them came up to us in dirty blankets, or dirtier dresses of worn and tattered hareskins ; others were totally naked, except the waist-cloth ; their heads, with scarcely an excep- tion, protected only by an enormous mass of long black hair; others, in the encampments, who appeared to be persons of some distinction, and whose attire was in better order, were tricked out more like bedlamites than rational beings; a silly and indiscri-
m
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it
ut
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88
minating pussiuu for ornameut prompting them to turn to this account whatever frippery they can become possessed of; so that the thimbles, for example, which they procure from the Company, are seen dangling at the end of long thin braids of hair which hang from the men's foreheads : some have feathers stuck into their huir, and these, perhaps, bent into an imitation of horns, with others appended to resemble the ears of an animal : many have their faces painted, all the lower part of the visage being made perfectly black, and the eyes encirckd with bright vennillion : but it would be impossible to describe the varieties of their costume, or their fantastic decorations ; and there they sit, or rather squat, smoking and basking in the sun the livelong day, sunk in an indolence from which nothing seems to rouse them but the excitement of war or the chase. Every species of labour and drudgery, in the mean- time, is thrown entirely upon the women, and if an Indian travels on foot w^ith his family, all the load which is to be carried, is con- signed to the back of his wife or wivcf, for he does not always content himself with one. We were particularly struck with the appearance of one savage, who, sijuatting, with his whole figure in a heap, upon the point of a projecting rock which overhung the river, perfectly naked and perfectly motionless, staring down upon us out of the hair which buried his head and covered his shoulders, looked like some hideous idol of the East.' — {Journal, pp. 35 — 37.) In reference to the character of the Indians, the Bishop says, ' their passion for liquor is well known, but it is a great hlessiny that the Hudson's Bay Company have adopted measures to with- hold from them this devastating curse.' ' Some of them are prac- tised thieves ; they appear very generally to be inveterate gamblers, and will strip themselves of every article they possess, in the unsuccessful pursuit of this passion.' ' Europeans, in some points of view, have done them unspeakable mischief ; but, as matters are now conducted, their condition is ameliorated by their partial assimilation to the whites. Those who are attached to the forts are far more comfortable in their appearance than others.'
The Bishof adverts to the ' scenes of blood and treachery
from hereditary and cherished feud::! ; the trophies of the >^%ing knife ; the exposure of infants ; the abandonment of helpless ot^^^^h when found burthensome, to perish in the wilds.' And his Lord- ship adds his valuable testimony, that ' the influence of the Hudson's Bay Company has been exerted, no doubt successfully, to a certain extent, to check some of these practices, and more decisively, I believe, for the discontinuance of certain horrid barbarities exercised upon the widows of Indian warriors, as an established custom, and upon captive slaves at the will of their masters.' — (Pp. 136, 137.)
Captain Franklin says that the ' Stone Indians are grossly and habitually treacherous, generally at war with the neighbouring tribes, and never fail to take the scalps of their prisoners as trophies. They abuse the rights of hospitality by waylaying and plundering the very guest who had been apparently received with kindness, and just departed from their tents.' — {Quarterly Review, No. Ivi., p. 379.)
Mr. Greenhow says, thu ' Missionaries of various Christian sects have long been labouring with little profit, as it would appear from all accounts. The Roman Catholics appear to content themselves with administering baptism, and whole tribes submit at once to the rite.'
It is too much the habit to invest savages with all the better traits of humanity, and to say that they are injured by civilization, when in fact savages are more ferocious to each other than are the wild beasts of the forest. The Rev. S. Parker says, in his Journal, at p. 27 — * I passed to-day a place which presented a very mournful scene, where two years ago thirty Nez Perce young men, who were killed by the Blackfeet, had been buried. They were all active young men, going out upon some expedition, the nature of which I could not learn. They had gone but a little way from the villnge which encamped here, when, passing through a very narrow defile on a small stream of water, walled up on both sides with perpendicular rocks, the Blackfeet Indians, who had waylaid them, attacked them from before and behind, and killed all but one, who mounted a horse belonging to the Blackfeet, and forced his way through the opposing enemv. After the Blackfeet Indians haci retired from the place of
In
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90
slaughter, the Nez Perces brought away the dead bodies and buried them in this place. According to their mode, they buried with thera their clothes, blankets, and buffalo robes, in grnras only about three feet deep, putting five or six bodies in a grave. Some time after this the Blackfeet Indians came and dug them up, and made plunder of their blankets and whatever they thought worth taking. The Nez Perces some time afterwards came this way, and collected their bones and buried them again. The graves in which they were f -st buried were open when we passed, and fragments of garments were lying about. Her^^ my Indians halted, and mourned in silence over their slaughtered sons and brothers." The ' Blackfeet' tribe are found in different posts of the Hudson's Bay Company's territories, and require to be carefully watched.
The aborigines of the North-West Archipelago, ' are universally described as daring and ferocious in the extreme, but possessing greater self-command, by which they conceal their intentions until prepared to act. The history of the fur trade in the North Pacific presents innumerable instances of their cruelty and treachery towards foreigners visiting their coasts, and many vessels have been taken by them, and all on board aiurdered in an instant, without the previous occurence of anything calculated to excite suspicion.' Mr. Greenhow adds, * there are many reasons for believing that these people are cannibals, though it seems probable they only eat the bodies of their enemies killed in viox."— {Geography of Oregon,^i^. 32, 33.)
The BallaboUas at Fort McLoughlin, some of whose cnnoes, cut out of a single tree, are 00 feet long, by 6j- broad and 4^ deep, and carry an hundred men, had a deadly feud with the Hydra tribe of Queen Charlotte's Island, when Sir G. Simpson was on the coast in 1842. The BallaboUas, to the number of 300, went in their canoes, and butchered all the inhabitants of a village of the Hydas, except a man and a woman, who were carried off as living trophies.
The Londonderry Sentinel of 23rd September, 1848, contains an article from the Journal du Havre, which gives a detailed account of the * Massacre of an entire community of Protestant Missionaries who have been settled in Columbia for more than ten years, by an
ludiiin tribe termed the Gayouses.' The Bev. Dr. Whiteman and his wife were among the first victims. Dysentery had carried off several of the Indians, and the Indians supposed that the Whites had destroyed them in order to obtain sole possession of the country. It is mentioned in the above statement that Mr. Abemethy, the Governor of Columbia, had, with the concurrence of the Oregon Legislative Council, authorised a levy of 500 volunteers to punish the Cayouses. The information concludes with the following pas- sage : — ' Vengeance is less an object than to prevent this sad example being followed by the neighbouring tribes, among whom the Society of Missionaries have founded numerous establishments without gaining the sympathy of the people, or bringing about a reform sufficiently deep-rooted to prevent cause for continually fearing a return to the ferocity of savage life. We are assured that the Hudson's Bfiy Company has, on its part, sent a considerable rein- forcement to Walla- Walla. The question is, whether they will arrive soon enough to prevent the recurrence of such a misfortune.'
Slavery exists extensively among the Indians of the Oregon and New Caledonia, but the establishment of the Company's forts is effecting a considerable change, by introducing commercial opera- tions; and, by facilitating traffic, one of the best guarantees or peace is established even among savages.
It may afford some idea of the difficulty which a British well- organized association must have in dealing with the Indians, and how impossible it would be for isolated traders to carry on traffic in those regions when the state of slavery is known, by which the master is brutalized even more than the unhappy victim of Ids avarice and cruelty. Sir G. Simpson, in describing the tribes on the north- west coast, among the Hudson's Bay Company's forts, furnishes the following harrowing account of the condition of their slaves : ' These thralls are just as much the property of their masters as so many dogs, with this difference against them, that a man of cruelty and ferocity enjoys a more exquisite pleasure in tasking, or starving, or torturing, or killing, a fellow creature, than in treating any one of the lower animals in a similar wav. Even in the most inclement
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weather, a mat or a piece of deer-skin is the slave's only clothing, whether hy day or night, whether under cover or in the open air. To eat without permission, in the very midst of an abundance which his toil has procured, is as much as his miserable life is worth ; and the only permission which is ever vouchsafed to him is, to pick up the offal thrown out by his unfeeling and imperious lord. Whotlier in open war or in secret assassination, this cold and hungry wretch invariably occupies the post of danger.'
' But all this is nothing when compared with the purely wanton atrocities to which these most helpless and pitiable children of the human race are subjected. They are beaten, lacerated, and maimed — the mutilating of fingers or toes, the splitting of noses, the scooping out of eyes, being ordinary occurrences. They are butchered, with- out the excuse or the excitement of a gladiatorial combat, to make holidays ; and, as if to carry persecution beyond the point at which the wicked are said to cease from troubling, their corpses are often cast into the sea, to be washed out and in by the tide. To show how diabolically ingenious the masters are in the work of murder, six slaves, on *h>^ occasion of a late merrymaking at Sitka, were placed in a rov 'i their throats over a sharp ridge of rock, while a pole, loaded witn a chuckling demon at either end, ground away at the backs of their necks till life was extinct. What a proof of the degrading influence of oppression, that men should submit in life to treatment from which the black bondmen of Cuba or Brazil would be glad to escape by suicide !' — (Vol. i., p. 243.) The chiefs not unfrequently revenge themselves on each other by slaying the slaves when unguarded. The Sebassamen, a numerous tribe, are said to consist chiefly of runaway slaves, who are always received with open arms by their chief.
Fort Simpson, one of the Company's establishments, in latitude , longitude , situated on a peninsula, washed on three sides by Chatam Sound. Port Essingten and Work's Canal are the resort of a great number of Indians ; about 14,000 of various tribes, such as the Chunseans, from Naas Kiver, the Sebassamen, from Banks' Island, those of Queen Charlotte's Island, and many from the Bus-
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HJan territories. All these Indians axe turbulent and fierce, and have frequent fights with each other, arising from giunbling quarrels or ncgk'ct of points of etiquette. About HOO of the Cliunsoans have settled under the protection of the guns of the fort.
The Russian Indians until recsontly obtained with facility spirits from the Russian Company in exchange for skins, and the demora- lizing effect was seen among them, and also in the tribes contiguous in the British territory.
The admiration of the Indians for the superior skill and ingenuity of the Europeans is one great cause of the awe with which the Hudson's Bay Company's forts and officers are viewed, and in some measure explains the security of a handful of men scattered in dilferent forts or stockaded ports over a vast territory inhabited by thousands of warlike people, among whom they are continually travelling in small bands, laden with (to the Indians) precious treasures.
Sir George Simpson thus illustrates the effect produced by the Hudson's Bay Company's Steamer, Beaver, in which he navigated the intricate waters of the North -Western Archipelago, from the Straits of Fuca to Sitka. ' According to the whole tenour of my journal, this labyrinth of waters is peculiarly adapted for the powers of steam. In the case of a sailing vessel, our delays and dangers would have been tripled and quadrupled; a circumstance which raised my estimate of Vancouver's skill and perseverance at every step of my progress. But, independently of physical advantages, steam, as I have already mentioned, may be said to exert an almost superstitious influence over the savages; besides acting without intermission on their fears, it has, in a great measure, subdued their very love of robbery and violence. In a word, it has inspired the red man with a new opinion, new not in degree but in kind, of the superiority of his white brother.
' After the arrival of the emigrants from Red River, their guide, a Cree of the name of Bras Croche, took a short trip in the Beaver. When asked what he thought of her, ' Don't ask me,' was his reply ; ' I cannot speak ; my friends will say I tell lies when I let them
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know what I have scon ; Indians are fools, and know nothing ; I can see that the iron machinery makes the ship to go, hut I cunnut see what makes the iron machinery itself to go.' Bras Croilie, though very intelligent, and, like u'.l the Crees, partially civilized, was, nevertheless, so full of douht and wonder, that he would not leave the vessel till he got a certificate to the eflect, that he hud heen on hoard of a ship which needed neither uuils nor paddhiH, Though not one of his countrymen would understand a word of what was written, yet the most sceptical among them would not dare to question the truth of a story ^ihich had a document in its favour. A savage stands nearly as much in awe of paper, pen, aud ink, as of steam itself; and, if he once puts his cross to any writing, he has rarely heen known to violate the engagement which such writing is supposed to emhody or to sanction. To him the very look of hlack and white is a powerful ' medicine.' ' — (Vol. i., p. 242.) Time, prudence, co^urage, moral power, and prohity, have con- trihuted to make the name of the Hudson's Bay Company respectud and feared throughout these wide-spread regions; hut in several instances life has been lost, and gre«it dangers incurred in estab- lisihing the stations or forts. Three or four posts which had been established by the Company on the Bov River, or Southern branch of the Saskatchewan, which was frequented by hostile tribes, were abandoned; and, in 1822, the Company sent a flying expedition i^to the same country, at an expense of £.10,000, but were obliged to retire with considerable loss in the ensuing year. Fort Pett, after being established ten years, was compelled, on account of its being visited by Crees, Asliniboines, and Blackfeet, to keep, both day and night, the system of watch and ward, which the older forts had abandoned.
The exceptions to this general character of the Indians are few, and when any are met with by the Company's servants, they Ire highly prized and respected.
Treatment of the Indians. — The exclusive rights possessed by the Company have prevented that destruction of the native popu- lation in Rupert's Land, which has taken place in every other part
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uf the American Continent, and in the adjacent islands. At the British Settlements of Australia, Van Diomau's Lund, South Africa, kc, tlie aborigines are fast perishing, and in Van Dienien's Island lire utterly exterminated. But, as Mr. Greenhow and other Ameri- cans truly state, the preservation of the Indian population, and the animuls on which they subsist, is a matter of th most careful attention from a humane feeling, as well as from motives of mer- cantile consideration. If the fur-bearing or food-yielding animals be recklessly destroyed, either out of season, when bearing young, or iudiscriminately without reference to sex or age, the Company in the long run would be the principal sufferers ; — so also, if the Indian population be kept in ignorance, barbarism, and crime, the expenses (if repression, of protection against theft and violence, — and the losses consequent upon non-payment of advances, must fall upon the Company. It is therefore for their immediate and permanent advantage that the Indian population be reclaimed from savage life, — that he be preserved from the effects of extreme cold, and privation of food, by a due and weli regulated protection, — that he be induced by examples of good faith, of honourable treat- ment, and of kind consideration, to rely on the promises, and to respect the persons and property of the Hudson's Bay Company.
The conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company indeed presents a marked contrast to that which has taken place in the United States, aud in our own territories of the Crown. ' In Newfoundland, as in other parts of America, it seems to have been for a length of time a meritorious act to kill an Indian.' — {Report of Aborigines, Par- liamentary Committee in 1837).
Newfoundland was once very densely peopled by Indians, who even recently ' run up fences to the extent of 30 miles ' for deer; but the aborigines have been utterly destroyed by the English settlers. The last of the tribes, a man and a woman, were shot by two Englishmen in 1823.
In Upper Canada, a converted Chippeway chief, addressing Lord Goderich, says, ' We were once very numerous, and owned all Upper Canada, and lived by fishing and hunting ; but the white men who
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came to trade with us, taught our fathers to drink the fire waters, which has made our people poor and sick, and has killed many tribes, till we have bfiome very small.' These once numerous people are now a degraded race, and reduced to a state resembling that of the Gypsies in England,
In 1825 the Indians in New Brunswick were reduced to a few. and in a ' wretched condition.' The same occurred in Nova Scotia. The Cree Indians, in the aorth-west territories, once a powerful tribe, have been reduced in 30 years from 10,000 to 200, and much degenerated. But, adds the Ahoriyinea Report of 1837, ' it should be observed that this tribe had access to posts not comprehended within the Hudson's Bay Company's prohibition as to the introduc- tion of spirituous liquors, and they miserably show the effects of the privilege.' * The Copper Indians also, through ill management, intemperance, and vice, are said to have decreased within the last five years to one-half the number of what they were.' (Aboriyinen Report, House of Commons, 1837). In Guyp,na, New Holland, Kaffraria, New Zealand, &c., we see how the aborigines have been treated, and how they have sunk and degenerated.
The Company have, for their own sakes, as well as from motives of humanity, followed out the excellent instructions of Charles II., addressed to the Council of Foreign Plantations in 1(70, which were as follows : " forasmuch as most of our said colonies do border upon the Indians, and peace is not to be expected without the due observance and preservation of justice to them, you are, in our name, to command all the Governors that they at no time give any just provocation to any of the said Indians that are at peace with us,' &c. That with respect to the Indians who desire to put them- selves under our protection, that they ' be received;' * and that the Governors do by all ways seek firmly to oblige them ; and that they do employ some persons to learn the languages of them ; and that they do not only carefully protect and defend them from adversaries, but that tbey more especially take care that none of our own sub- jects, nor any of their servants, do any way harm them. That if any shall dare to offer any violence to them in their persons, goods, or
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possessions, the said Governors do severely punish the said in- juries agreeahly to justice and right. And you are to consider how the Indians and slaves may be best instructed and converted to the Christian religion ; it being both for the honour of the Crown and of the Protestant religion itself, that all persons within any of our territories, though never so remote, should be taught the knowledge of God, and be acquainted with the mysteries of salvation.'
That such has been the conduct of the Company, was acknow- ledged by the Aborigines Parliamentary Committee and Sir T. Fowell Buxton, in 1837. Testimony to the same eflFect has been given by the late Mr. Thomas Simpson, who, in company with Mr. Dease, another of the Hudson's Bay Company's servants, under the hberal encouragement and provision of the Hudson's Bay Company, made a tour, as before stated, from Fort Chipewyan to the more noithern parts of the continent, and in several parts of the Nar- rative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America, published by Bentley in 1843, are passages bearing on the conduct of the Company. The following is in point : ' During this month I had the most convincing proofs of that recklessness which prompts the Indian to prefer a momentary gratification to a substantial benefit. Earnest applications were made by the assembled Chipewyans for the re-introduction into their country of ardent spirits, which had been for many years discontinued by the Company's humane policy. Their attachment to the poisonous beverage, however, remained so strong, that, every season, parties of the tribes traversed the con- tinent to Churchill, on Hudson's Bay, with no other purpose but to obtain it. At length its use was prohibited there also, and the Chipewyans renewed their solicitations. Instead of gaining their point, they were now justly reproved by their benefactor, Mr. Smith, und obUged to confess their own folly. The following is an ex- tract of the Company's ( anding orders on these subjects : * That the Indians be treated with kindness and indulgence, and mild and conciliatory means lesorted to, in order to encourage industry, repress vice, and inculcate morality ; that the use of spirituous Uquors-be gradually discontinued in the few districts in which it is
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yet indispensable ; and that the Indians be liberally supplied witli requisite necessaries, particularly with articles of ammunition, whether they have the means of paying for it or not.' It is equally the Company's inclination and their interest to render the natives comfortable. It is when they are well clothed, and amply provided with ammunition, that they are best able to exert themselves in col- lecting furs and provisions. But, so far is it from the Company's wish to acquire an undue influence over them, bv loading them with debts, that repeated attempts have been made to reduce the trade to a simple barter In order to effect an object so beneficial to the natives themselves, the arrears of the Chipewyans have been twice cancelled since the junction of the two companies in 1821 ; but the generous experiment has signally failed. The improvidence of the Indian character is an insurmountable obstacle to its success, and, in the Chipewyans, is aggravated by a custom which the whites have not yet been able wholly to eradicate. On the death of a relative, they destroy guns, blankets, kettles, everything, in short, they possess, — concluding the havoc by tearing their lodges to pieces. When these transports of grief have subsided, they must have recourse to the nearest establishment for a fresh supply of necessaries ; and thus their debts are renewed. The debts of the deceased are, in every case, lost to the Company. The Indian debt system is, in reality, equivalent to the practice, in many civilized countries, of making advances to hired servants previous to the commencement of their actual duties. This is particularly remark- able among the French Canadians, who can scarcely be induced to undertake any work or service without first receiving part payment in advance. Their improvidence approaches to that of the Indian, and produces similar effects.' — (Pp. 72 — 75.)
The treatment of the Indians on the west coast, is shown by the Rev. Samuel Parker, a Minister of the Gospel in the United States, who was sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to ascertain the field for missionary enterprize beyond the Rocky Mountains, in 1836-7. The reverend gentleman takes occasion in various places to express his highest commendation of the policy
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and proceedings of the Hudson's Bay Company. At page 3 1 of his interesting Journal, he says : ' The gentleman belonging to the Hud- son's Bay Company deserve commendaiiou for their gentle treatment of the Indians, by which they have obtained their friendship and con- fidence, and also for the eflforts which some few of them have made to instruct those about them in the first principles of our holy religion, especially in regard to equity, humanity, and morahty. This Company is of long standing ; they have originated a vast trade, which they are anxious to preserve, and therefore they consult the prosperity of the Indians, as intimately connected with their own. I have not been informed, as yet, of a single instance of any Indian being wantonly killed by the men belonging to this Company ; nor have I heard any boasting among them of the satisfaction taken in kilUng or abusing Indians, too frequently observable elsewhere." Indeed it is so obviously the interest of a powerful body like the Hudson's Bay Company, who are not grasping at an immediate individual advantage, who feel they are responsible to their Sove- reign and the Nation for the righteous fulfilment of the trust reposed in them, and who, it is to be presumed, have Christian consciences as well as other men, that it is scarcely necessary to elucidate the subject further ; but, as it is now proposed to entrust to this Company the colonization of Vancouver's Island, it is desirable to examine their past proceedings in every respect.
Mr. Simpson, speaking of his wintering at Fort Chipewyan, in 1837, says: — ' The month of February was unusually mild, and at noon the sun not unfrequently asserted his increasing power by a gentle thaw. Messengers were continually arriving with favourable accounts from the Indian camps ; a pleasing contrast to the pre- ceding winter, which is rendered memorable to the poor natives oy the ravages of an influenza — scarcely less dreadful than the cholera — that carried off" nearly 200 of the distant Chipewyans. I say distant, because all who were witliin reach df the establishment were sent for and carried thither, where every care was taken of them ; warm clothing and lodgings were provided ; medicines administered ; the traders and servants fed them, parting with their own slender
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stock of luxuries* for their nourishment ; till even the cold heart of the red man warmed into gratitude, and his lips uttered the unwonted accents of thanks ' — (Pp. 67, 68.) And again — ' It is with sincere pleasure I take this occasion of ohserving, that the harsh treatment of their women, for which the Chipewyans were, not long since, remarkahle, even among the North American tribes, is now greatly alleviated, especially among those who have frequent communication with the establishments. At Great Bear Lake I had many oppor- tunities of witnessing the conduct of this particular family, and always saw the females treated with kindness. The present Chipe- wyan character, indeed, contrasts most favourably with that of the party who accompanied Heame on his discovery of the Copper Mine River, and who massacred the unhappy Esquimaux, surprised asleep in their tents at the Bloody Fall. A large proportion of the Com- pany's servants, and, with very few exceptions, the officers, are united to native women. A kindly feeling of relationship thus exists between them and the Indians, which tends much to the safety of the small and thinly scattered posts, placed, as they are, among overwhelming numbers, were those numbers hostile. The rising clas? of oflBcers have begun to marry the young ladies educated at Red Riv r, which will tend to give a higher tone to the manners and morals of the country, witliout, it is to be hoped, diminishing those mutual feehngs of goodwill that now subsist between the Indians and the traders resident among them.
' An aged Cree hunter arrived with his family. Feeling his strength, which had borne him through forest and flood for many a year, no longer equal to the chase, the old man said that he was come to end his days at the fort. With care and attention, however, he soon began to revive ; the whole family were furnished with everything necessary, had the same rations assigned them as the
• ' A few pounds of tea, sugar, &c., allowed to officers and guides, and purchased by the common men, are called ' luxuries' in Hudson's Bay. The old Canadian ' voyageurs' who lament the degeneracy of their uccessors, are nothing loth to imitate their example in adding these comforts U) their fare ; and an encampment of the present day exhibits a regular assortment of tea kettles, poU, and pans.'
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regular servants, and continued to live in comfort at the establish- ment. Many other Indians came in from the diflFerent camps with furs and for supplies.
* From some of the Chipewyans I learned that they had, in the course of the preceding summer, met with a party of Esquimaux at the confluence of the noble Thelew or Thelon River with the Doo- baunt of Hearne, below the lake of the latter name, and not far from the influx of these united streams into Chesterfield Inlet. This meeting was of the most amicable character, and they spent a great part of the summer together. The Esquimaux even proposed to send two of their young men to Athabasca, inviting the same number of Indians to pass the inter with them. The arrangement was agreed to by both parties, but was frustrated by some petty jealousy among the women. They also informed me that, in 1832, some of the Athabasca Chipewyans accomparicd the Churchill branch of their tribe on thpir annual meeting with other Esquimaux at Yath Kyed, or White Snow Lake of Hearne, which receives the united waters of the Cathawchaga and the rapid Kasan, or White Partridge River. This remarkable change, from mortal hatred to frank and confident intercourse, is solely owing to the humane inter- position of the Company's officers, who neglect no opportunity of inculcating on the mjnds of these savage tribes the propriety of their forgiving ancient wrongs, and uniting together in the bonds of peace and friendship. By the same influence, the warlike Beaver Indians of Peace River have been, of late years, reconciled to their old enemies, the Thoecanies of the Rocky Mountains, and the Carriers of New Caledonia.' — {Narrative, dc, pp. 69 — 72.)
Wherever, indeed, the Hudson's Bay Company have established settlements or forts (as their stockades are called), they have made a nucleus for civilization, which gradually spreads around.
Governor Simpson, in an able resume of the proceedings of the Hudson's Bay Company, dated 1st February, 1H37, printed in the Parliamentary Papers of 8th August, 1842, p. 17, says:—' I have no hesitation in saying, that the native population of the countries through which the Hudson's Bay Company's business extends never
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derived any real benefit from their intercourse with the whites until the fur trade became exercised under the existing licence. In proof of tliis, the population of some of the tribes, previous to that time sensibly diminishing^js now increasing ; and from my experience of the times of opposition, I can further say, that if the trade were again thrown open to competition, all the horrors of the late contest would break out afresh ; drunkenness and demoralization would have their fonner sway, not only among the natives, but among the whites, wliom we are now enabled to keep under proper subordina- tion, which was never the case during the excitement occasioned by the rivalsliip in trade ; the fur-bearing animals would in the course of a very few years become nearly extinct ; and the inevitable con- sequences would be the desertion of the natives by the traders, the latter having no longer any inducement to remain among them ; that unfortunate population, thus left to their own resources, must inevitably perish from cold and hunger, — the use of the bow and arrow, and other rude inplements, fonnerly a£Pording them the means of feeding and clothing themselves, being now unknown, and our guns, ammunition, fishing-tackle, iron works, cloth, blankets, and other manufactures having become absolutely necessary to their very existence. [For confirmation, see p. 84.]
' Previous to 1821 the business of the Columbia department was very limited; but it has since l)een very greatly extended at much expense, and, I am sorry to add, at a considerable sacrifice of life among the Company's officers and servants, owing to the fierce, treacherous, and bloodthirsty character of its population, and the dangers of the navigation.
' The fur trade is the principal branch of business at present in the country situated between the Eocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. On the banks of the Columbia River, however, where the soil and climate ai'e favourable to cultivation, we are directing our attention to agriculture on a large scale, and there is every prospect that we shall soon be able to establish important branches of export trade from thence in the articles of wool, tallow, hides, tobacco, and grain of various kinds.
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' I have also the satisfaction to say, that the native population are beginning to profit by our example, as many, formerly dependent on hunting and fishing, now maintain themselves by the produce of the soil.'
The Rev. S. Parker gives a most pleasing picture of Fort Van- couver on the Columbia, and thus writes to his friends : — ' I am very agreeably situated in this place. Half of a new house is assigned me, well furnished, and all the attendance which I could wish, with access to a valuable library. I have ample opportunities of riding out for exercise, or to see the adjoining country; and, in addition to all these advantages, and what is still more valuable, I enjoy the society of gentlemen, enlightened, polislied, and sociable. These comforts were not anticipated, and ore, therefore, the more grateful.
' There is a school connected with this establishment, for the benefit of the children of the traders and common labourers, some of whom are orphans, whose parents were attached to the Company; and also some Indian children, who are provided for by the gene- rosity of the resident gentlemen. They are instructed in the common branches of an English education, such as reading, writing, arith- metic, grammar, and geography ; and, together with these, in religion and morality. The exercises of the school are closed with singing a hymn ; after which, they are taken by their teacher to a garden assigned them, in which they labour. Finding them deficient in sacred music, I undertook to instruct them in singing, in which they make good progress, and develop excellent voices. Among them is one Indian boy, who has the most flexible and melodious voice I ever heard.
' It is worthy of notice, how little of the Indian complexion is seen in the half-breed children. Generally they have fair skin, often flaxen hair, and blue eyes. The children of the school were punctual in their attendance on the three services of the Sabbath, and formed our choir. — {Journey beyond the Rocky Mountains, p. 39.)
In the ' Narrative ' before referred to, Mr. T. Simpson thus records his impressions of the state of the Indians at the Bed River Settlement :
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' It may be romnikcd tlint, while not a few of the chiUlren, by ntitivu women, of the Company's retired European servants, who are chiefly Orkneymen, inherit the plodding careful disposition of their fathers, the half-breed descendants of the French Canadians are, with rare ex- ceptions, characterized by the paternal levity and extravagance, super- added to the uncontrollable passions of the Indian blood. Many of the industrious Scotch, who first planted the Colony in 1811, under the auspices of the late Earl of Selkirk, have saved handsome sums of money, besides rearing large families in rustic plenty. A consider- able poriion of this valuable class, however, dreading the predom- inance and violence of the half-breeds, with whom they have avoided intt>rmarrying, have converted their property into money, and removed to the United States.
' besides extensive purchases of grain and provisions, for their transport and other service, the Company annually expends large sums at Tied River, in works of public utility, such as experimental farming, er.,'cting churches and other l)uildings, endowing schools, affording medical aid gratis to the poor, encouraging domestic manufactures, maintaining an armed police, dispensing justice, and in contributing to the support of two Protestant clergymen, of a Roman Catholic bishop, and three priests from Canada. These self-denying men are exemplai-j' in their lives, zealons and indefatig- able in their benevolent labours, among the fruits of which may be reckoned the conversion and location of a great number of Indians of the Cree and Salteaux, or Chippeway nations. To compensate this heavy outlay, the Company has hitherto derived no return, for the occasional sale of lands does not even defray the cost of the survey, they being in most instances bestowed gratis, thoHgh regularly purchased from the Indians, and the fur trade of the surrounding country has bc(m long ago ruined by the Colony ; but under the Company's fostering care, a population of five thousand souls has been nurtured, and a comfortable retreat has been provided for such of its retired officers and servants as prefer spending the evening of life, with their native families, in this oasis of the desert, to returning to the countries of their nativity. I
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cannot pass over, without particular notice, the admirahle boarding- scliools established by the Rev, Mr. Jones, where about sixty youth of both sexes, the intelligent and interesting offspring of the Com- pany's officers, are trained up in European accomplishments, and in the strictest principles of religion. Nor should I omit mentioning the Indian Settlements, founded by the Rev. Mr. Cockran at the lower extremity of the Colony. He has provided schoolmasters for the native children, and built places of worship, where he regularly officiates. He has constructed a windmill for the Indians, assists them in erecting their wooden houses, and with his own hands sets them the example of industry. At the other extremity of the Co- lony, M. Belcour, one of the Roman Catholic priests, with untiring zeal, conducts a location of Salteaux Indians on a smaller scale. I wish I could add that the improvement of the aborigines is com- mensurate to those beneficent cares. But, unhappily, the experience of Canada, of the United States, of California, in short, of all parts of North America, where the experiment of ameliorating the cha- racter of the Indian tribes by civilization has been tried, is renewed at Red River. Nothing can overcome their insatiable desire for intoxicating liquors ; and though they are here excluded from the use of spirits, and the settlers are fined when detected in supplying them with ale, yet, from the great extent of the Colony, they too often contrive to gratify that debasing inclination, to wliich they are ready to sacrifice everything they possess. They feel no gratitude to their benefactors, or spiritual teachers ; and, while they lose the haughty independence of savage life, they acquire at once all the bad qualities of the white man, but are slow, indeed, of imitating his industry and his virtues*.
' Indian lads, educated in the Church Missionary Society's School at Red River, have been sent to instruct their countrymen in various parts of the Company's territory. In the countries of the Columbia
* * Yet among the native tribes there exist marked distinctions. The Swampy Croes, who have long been employed in the Company's service at York Factory and other places, adopt steady habits with far greater facility than the proud Salteaux, who contemptuously term tlie settlers gardeners and diggers of the ground.'
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and New Caledonia, to the westward of the great Rooky Mountain chain, the missionary labours promise considerable success. There the climate is softened by the influences of the Pacific ; food is abundant ; the numerous natives do not lead the same solitary wan- dering lives as the Eastern tribes, but dwell together in villages. They are endowed with a greater capacity and quickness of appre- hension ; are more pliant and tractable in temper ; are fond of imitating the customs of white men ; and now receive, with eager- ness, the truths of Christianity, from those upon whom but a few years ago they perpetrated the most barbarous murders; but the fever and ague, to which the country is very subject, has of late thinned their numbers. The Company's principal chaplain resides at their depot of Fort Vancouver, on the north side of the Columbia Biver, where agriculture, rearing of stock, and other commercial operations, are prosecuted on a great scale. The same enlightened body has, of late years, liberally assisted American missionaries employed in instructing the dissolute maritime tribes, and in founding an American colony on the Willamette, a southern tributary of tlje Columbia; and has since conveyed across the mountains several Canadian priests, who, under the authority of the Bishop at Red River, are gone to form another British settlement on the shores of Puget Sound, the nucleus of a future empire in the Far West. The case is widely different in the frozen regions of the North, there the Indian hunters are scattered through interminable forests, into which civilization can never penetrate. Since the coalition of the rival companies, however, and the discharge of the noxious swarm of adventurers, who, encouraged by the licence of a hot opposition, overran and well nigh ruined the country, the precepts of morality and order have been instilled into the minds of the aborigines by many officers of the Company. No stronger proof of the salutary effect of their injunctions can be adduced than that, while peace and decorum mark the general conduct of the Northern tribes, bloodshed, rapine, and unbridled lust are the characteristics of the fierce hordes of Assiniboines, Piegans, Blackfeet, Circees, Fall and Blood Indians, who inhabit the plains between the Saskatchewan and Missouri,
107
and are without the pale of the Company's influence and au- tliority.
' It gives me sincere pleasure to say, that a reconciliation has at length been effected between those lately inveterate and bloody enemies, the Saulteaux and Sioux nations. Under the safe* gunrd of the Company's people, aided by the settlers, two bands of the latter tribe visited Red River during my residence there, in 1834 nnd 1830. Presents were given and speeches were made, both to them and to the assembled Saulteaux, who upon the first occasion were very violent, and wore only restrained from bloodshed by dis- arming and other vigorous measures ; but, upon the last occasion, they smoked the calumet of peace, and slept in the same apartments with the Sioux 'vt the Company's head quarters, Fort Garry. The Sioux seemed liighly gratified with the kindness and protection they experienced, and have on several occasions performed friendly offices to the Company's couriers and others passing through their country to the American garrison on the river St. Peter's. They are a war- hke equestrian race, with light sinewy frames, and eagle eyes, who pursue the buffalo in the boundless plains of the Missouri and the Upper Mississippi.' — {Narrative, dtc, pp. 14 — 20.)
During the years 1838 to 1842, the United States employed a scientific surveyiutj expedition of three vessels of war, on the western coast of America and in the Pacific Ocean, under the command of an able officer. Commodore Wilkes. The information thus obtained has been published in five large volumes, with an atlas*, and may be deemed official. Commodore Wilkes, like all Americans, under the influence of so-called popular principles, was unwilling to find errors anywhere among his fellow countrymen . but, with the frankness characteristic of his profession, he has not suppressed the views he entertains in consequence of what he actually saw of the proceedings and conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company. In several places throughout his interesting work, the Commodore bears high testimony to the character of the officers of the Company — to their humane treatment of the Indians — to their • Publiahed by Wiley and Pu'aain. London. 1840.
n I
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108
admirable ftirangement and economy in conducting the fur trode— to the respect which they inspire for the British name, and to the advantageous colonizing stations which they formed in the Oregon territory.
In passing through this region the Commodore remarks : ' The Indians of this region even now make war upon each other on the most trivial occasion, and for the most part to satisfy individual revenge. The Hudson's Bay Company's officers possess and exert a most salutary injiuence, endeavouring to preserve peace at all hazards. It is now quite safe for a white man to pass in any direction through the part of the country where their posts are; and in case of accident to any white settler, a war-party is at once organized, and the offender is hunted up. About a year previous to our arrival, an Indian was executed at Astoria for the murder of a white man, whom he had found asleep, killed, and stolen his property.
' He was taken, tried, found guilty, and executed in the presence of most of the settlers. The culprit was a slave, and it was some time before the chief to whom he belonged would give him up. It was proved on the trial, and through the confession of the slave, that he had stolen the property and committed the murder by order of his master, who took all the stolen goods. The master made his escape when he found his agency had been discovered ; and I understood that he kept himself aloof from all the Company's posts, until the matter should be forgotten.' — (Vol. iv., p. 323.)
The Rev. G. Barnley, one of the Wesleyan Ministers in the Hudson's Bay Company's territories, in a letter to the Wesleyau Committee, dated Moose Factory, Rupert's Land, 24th August, 1848, thus speaks of the treatment of the Indians by the Company : — * The Company appears to regard, as far and perhaps further than could be expected, the welfare of the Indians, who arc completely dependent on them. The introduction of firearms has caused the natives to lose that skill with the bow and arrow which charac- terises the Indian of the plains, so that, without constant supplies of ammunition, they would be unable to procure sufficient food to
109
.ero compoUng tor tte.t f""' .^; 'j„„, „f eo«»o they «id.od to tut a, they were p»s.onately o"^"' ^^'^^ „„aer, had refused to p„„„re it in exchange ; -* '^ J^/^,, ^^ „„„„ have been thro™ ,„pply them «.th .t, all the trade ^_^_^j^ ^^^ ,,„^„ ^^,„
J„ the hand« of the other and * In ^ ^^^^ ^,_,^^ .„ „,
benefitted, but 8«»'lV"^"";'';:„l s!ld U, then. ; it i» more so, to c« through the territory .» 1.1«->r s ji^„„Unued, and
find that the system of g.vmg it « being h ._^ „r„i,^a»
„„Ury goods are furnished mswd of the
«..«,■«««-•;, Wfc'«. I *™'"y: "l'''^. „ t,,e Church Missionary ,„ the Eev. J. S»Hh.ust.»Bepor^„^„.West America, he says:
Society, tor l*"' «»*! attundng has a demoraU.ing effect upon . Hy „„ means t unk *«'"„, ^.,^ „, to take out w>th Ihe Indians, if they are not ^M ' ^^ ^,^y ,,„„U„g,
„„„. I «„ld much '^''" *" ;^^a half-bred setUers. where ,„„„ employed among *''^"2Zi„„, „f beer, rum, &c/ .hey would be exposed '°;'; '™f;»^°" the Hudson's Bay Com- The kind treatment of the in ^ Qreenhow, is con-
p.„y, as stated ^^ C-^tlire^ «ho says, in his Journal •.- finned by the Bishop of ^on «l J^^^ ^^ ^^ ,^,^„ „, . Acts of vio>ence committed -^"» * J ^ „f ,„eedingly rare traders of the Company must, I m^ ^„^ g,„eral
„„„„„ence. As far as I had J " — ^ ,,, treatment of the system pursued at the lorts, wiU. r*re ^^^^^^^^^ ^^, ^^
plople employed, is such -'°^^;*„,„gely upon the chanty
X. general and minute testimony^n ^^^^XX^^^ tteal, the British ^^'^lf^^J:,tJ^.en.^ gentlemen
Commodore Wilkes, and Mr^^- »^ ^ ,, i, ^ple proof of
whose favourable evidence cannot be
no
tbe treatment of the Indians by the Hudson's Bay Company. The schools, and the attention p'iven to religious instruction, are but the commencement of a system which requires years of the most judi- cious management to establish and extend. Any person who has seen savages in America, Africa, Asia, or Australia, know how dif- ficult, nay almost impossible, it is to impart to them even the first rudiments of civilization, — to induce them to derive their subsistence from the cultivation of the soil, — to eradicate the fearful vices, crimes, and false principles of unreclaimed man. The Australian savage perishes by European contact, like snow beneath the summer sun: even the care and principles of William Penn failed for the preservation of the Indians ; and Sir George Simpson, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company's territories in America, feelingly deplores the hopelessness of civilizing the Indian popu- lation.
It is dif conclusior made for the chara( iinproven After a no hesits well fulfi 1670. upon th English and for( against maritim in the j mere h and mt by hon of the andPj over n Bu have 1814, Russi
iiart $T^.
CHRISTIAN CONDUCT AND BENEFICENT POLICY OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.
■■■31: ''
It is difficult to enter into details on this branch of the subject ; conclusions must be drawn from general facts, and allowances made for the nature of the country, its position, climate, products, the character of the inhabitants, and the means required for their improvement.
After a careful examination of all circumstances, there can be no hesitation in saying, that the Hudson's Bay Company hr,ve well fulfilled the objects for which their Charter was granted in 1670. Without any aid from the Crown — without any drain upon the national exchequer, — opposed by American and even English rivalry, —subject to plunder and devastation by the fleets and forces of the French and Russian Governments, — struggling against an inclement climate, in a sterile soil, — shut out from maritime communication with England, except for a few months in the year, — and amidst hosts of wild, warlike, treacherous, and mere hunting savages, the Hudson's Bay Company have acquired and maintained for England, by a sagacious and prudent policy, by honourable, and, above all, by Christian conduct, that portion of the M orth American continent which lies between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, north of the 49th degree of latitude, extending over more than three million square miles — (3,060,000.)
But for the Hudson's Bay Company England, would probably have been shut oul from the Pacific, for, on the 5th of April, 1814, a convention was signed between the United States and Russia, (to which England was no party,) making the 54th paral -
M
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112
lei the boundary of their respective dominions. The settlements of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Columbia River and in the Oregon region defeated this project.
The American geographer and librarian to the United States' Government, Mr. Greenhow, who ably vindicates the rights and claims of his own country, who is by no means favourably disposcl to any claims of England on the continent of America, and who, as an American, is little inclined to approve of the conduct of an Association whose interests he naturally considers opposed to those of his own countrymen, thus candidly expresses his views in 1844, when referring to the disputed territory of the Oregon, Columbia River, Vancouver's Island, &c. : —
' The British Ministers could have no counsellors better qua- lified to advise, or whose interests were more completely identified with those of the Government, than the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, who, representing in all respects the interests of Great Britain in Nortli-West America, has indeed become a powerful body. The field of its operations was more than doubled by its union with the North-West Company, and by the licence to trade, in exclusion of all other British subjects, in the countries west of the Rocky Mountains, where the fur-bearing animals are more abundant than in any other part of the world ; while the extension of the jurisdiction of the Canada courts over the whole division of the continent, to which its charters apply, and the appointment of its own agents as magistrates in those regions, gave all that could have been desired for the enforcement of its regulations. The arrangement made with the Russian-American Company, through the intervention of the two Governmentfi, secured to the Hudson's Bay Company the most advantageous limits in the north-west ; and the position assumed by Great Britain, in the discussions with the United States respecting Oregon, were cal- culated to increase the confidence of the body in the strength of its tenure of that country, and to encourage greater efforts o Hs part to assure that tenure.
' The licence granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821,
form of c
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IGG9, \i
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113
expired in 1842, but another had been previously conceded, also for twenty-one years, containing some new and important pio- visions. Thus, the Company was bound, under heavy penalties, to enforce the due execution of all criminal processes by the officers and other persons, legally empowered in all its territo- ries ; and to make and submit to the Government such rules and regulations for the management of the trade with the Indians as should be effectual to prevent the sale and distribution of spi- rituous liquors among them, and to promote their moral and religious improvement. It is, moreover, declared in the grant, that nothing therein contained should authorize the Company to claim the right of trade in any part of America, to the prejudice or exclusion of the people of ' any foreign states,' who may be entitled to trade there, in virtue of conventions between such states and Great Britain ; and the Government reserves to itself the right to establish within the territories included in the grant any colony or province, to annex any part of those territories to any existing colony or province, and to apply to such portion any form of civil government which might be deemed proper. Whe- ther this last provision was introduced with some special and immediate object, or with a view to future contingencies, no moans have as yet been afforded for determining. It is, how- ever, certain that the British Government insisted strongly on retaining the above-mentioned privileges ; and it is most pro- bable, the Red Biver* and the Columbia countries were in view at the time, as the remainder of the territory, included in the grant and not possessed by the Company in virtue of the Charter of 10G9, is of little value in any way. In addition to the assistance and protection thus received from the British Government, the constitution of the Hudson's Bay Company is such as to secure the utmost degree of knowledge and prudence in its councils, and of readiness and exactness in the execution of its orders. Its affairs are superintended by a Governor, a Deputy Governor, and a Committee of Directors established at London, by whom
• Mr. Oreeiibow is wnmg so fur iis the licil Rivor tcnilory is concerned, as that region is not iiiclmled in the exchtsive Licence of trade in IH.'JH.— [R. M. M.]
II
;':S
'!^.
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114
all general orders and regulations are devised and issued, and all reports and accounts are examined and controlled. The pro- ceedings of this body are enveloped in profound secresy, and the communications made to the Government in writing, which are likely to be published, are expressed in terms of studied caution, and afford only the details absolutely required.
' The trade in America is especially directed by a resident Governor, who occasionally visits and inspects all the principal posts ; — under him, as officers, are chief factors, chief traders, and clerks, for the most part natives of North Britain, and an army of regular servants, employed as hunters, traders, voyageurs, &c., nearly all of them Canadians, or half-breeds. The number of all these persons is small, when compared with the duties tliey have to perform ; but the manner in which they are admitted into the service, and the training to which they are subjected, are such as to render their efficiency and their devotion to the gene- ral interests as great as possible. The strictest discipline, regu- larity, and economy, are enforced in every part of the Company's territories; and the magistrates appointed under the Act of Parliament for the preservation of tranquillity, are seldom called to exercise their functions, except in the settlement of trifling disputes.
' In the treatment of the aborigines of the countries under its control, the Hudson's Bay Company appear to have admirably reconciled policy with humanity. The prohibition to supply those people with ardent spirits, appears to be rigidly enforced. Schools for the instruction of the native children are established at all the principal trading posts, each of which also contains a hospital for sick Indians, and offers employment for those who are disposed to work, whilst hunting cannot be carried on. Missionaries of various sects are encouraged to endeavour to convert them to Christianity, and to induce them to adopt the usages of civilized life, so far as may be consistent with the nature of the labours required for their support ; and attempts are made, at great expense, to collect the Indians in villages, on tracts where the climate and soil are most favourable for agriculture.
115
Particular care is extended to the education of the half-breed children, the offspring of the marriage or concubinage of the traders with the Indian women, who are retained and bred ais far as possible among the wliite people, and are employed, when- ever they are found capable, in the service of the Company. As there are few or no white women in those territories, except in the Red River settlements, it may be readily seen that the half- breeds must in a short lime form a large and important portion of the native population.
' The conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company in these respects is certainly worthy of commendation. It is, however, to be observed, that of the whole territory placed under the authority of tliat body, only a few small portions are capable of being rendered productive by agriculture. From the remainder nothing of value can be obtained, excepting furs, and those articles can be procured in greater quantities, and at less cost, by the labour of the Indians, than by any other means. There is consequently no object in expelling or destroying the native ])opulation, which can never be dangerous from its numbers, while, on the contrary, there is a direct and evident motive and interest for preserving and conciliating them, and the British certainly employ the best methods to attain those ends. By the system above described, the natural shyness and distrust of the savages have been in a great measure removed ; the ties which bound together the members of the various tribes have been loosened, and extensive combinations for any purj)ose have become impossible.
' The dependence of the Indians upon the Company is, at the same time, rendered entire and absolute ; for, having abandoned the use of all their former arms, hunting and fishing imijlements, and clothes, they can no longer subsist without the guns, ammu- nition, fish-hooks, blankets, and other similar articles which they receive only. from the British traders. The position of the Hud- son's Bay Company towards the North American Indians is thus wholly different from that held by the East India Company with respect to the Chinese ; the motives for prohibiting the introduc-
|n:
I;,
12 S
116
tioii of spirits among the former people being as strong on tlie one part, as those for favouring the consumption of opium among tlie latter people are on the other. The course observed by the Hudson's Bay Company towards American citizens in the terri- tory west of the Rocky Mountains, has been equally unexception- able and yet equally politic. All the missionaries and emigrants from the United States, and, indeed, all strangers from whatever countries they might conie, were received at the establishments of the Company on the Columbia with the utmost kindness and hospitality, and they were aided in the prosecution of their objects, so far and so long as those objects were not commercial. But no sooner did any one, unconnected with the Company, attempt to hunt, or to trap, or to trade with the natives, than all the force of the body was immediately directed towards him. There is no evidence, or well-founded suspicion, that the Hudson's Bay agents have ever resorted, directly or indirectly, to violence, in order to defeat the efforts of such rivals. And, indeed, those means would have been superfluous, whilst the Company enjoys such great advantages in its organization, its wealth, and the minute knowledge of the country, and influence over the natives, possessed by its agents. Wherever an American trading post has been established, or an American party has been engaged in trade on the Columbia, there appeared a Hudson's Bay agent at the head of a number of hunters, or with a large stock of mer- chandise, or a large amount of specie in hand, which w ire offered for skins on terms much more favourable to the Indians than those possessed by the citizens of the United States ; and the latter, in consequence, finding their labours vain, were soon obliged to retire from the field. Even without employing such extraordinary and expensive means, the British traders, receiving their goods in the Columbia by sea from London, free from duty, can always undersell the Americans, who must transport their merchandize two thousand miles over land, from the frontiers of the United States, where the articles best adapted for the trade have previously been subjected to an import duty. In pursuance
exclusi^
objectic
cial afl
March
547, of
The
the m<
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to he
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favou
that t
regioi
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117
of the same system, tlie Company endeavours, and generally witli success, to prevent the vessels of the United States from obtaining cargoes on the north-west coasts of America, though the mariners of all nations, when thrown upon the coasts by shipwreck, or by other misfortunes, have uniformly received shelter and protection at its posts and factories. The furs and skins, which have hitherto formed almost the whole retui-ns from the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company, are collected from the different posts, in part by regularly employed hunters and trappers, but chiefly by trade with the Indians of the surrounding country ; and they are nearly all shipped for London in the Company's vessels at Mon- treal, or York, or Moose Factories on Hudson's Bay, or Fort Vancouver on the Columbia; the goods for trade, and the supply of the posts being received the same way.' — (Pp. 393 — 397, tlistori/ of Oregon and California, published by Murray, London. 1844.)
The grounds on which the exclusive licence of trade was granted in 1838, are stated by the Board of Tradf (letter, 2nd June, 1837) to be on account of the liberal and en lir/htened policy which has generally distinguished the Hudson's Bay Company; and the ' peculiar nature of the fur trade seems to justify, and even to recommend, the adoption of the principle of conferring exclusive privileges upon a great body engaged in it, however, objeetir table such a principle appears with reference to commer- cial affairs generally.'— (Letter from Mr. (now Sir) Denis Le Marcliant, Bart., to the Colonial Secretary, Parliamentari/ Papers, 547, of 8th of August, 1842.)
The present Governor-General of Canada, Lord Elgin, one of the most upright and able servants of the Crown, and whose judgment is of the highest order, thus expresses himself in a reply to liei nquiries of the Secretary of State for the Colonies.— ' /«//? hound to state that the result of the i:;(fuiries I hare made is highhj favourable to the Company, and has left on my mind the impression that the authority which they exercise over the vast and inhospitable region subject to their jurisdiction is, on the whole, very advan- tageous to the Indians,'
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1
1
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118
The Bishop of Montreal, on his visit to tlie lied lliver settlo- nient in 1844, says, tlmt the arrangements for his doing so were all made for him ' in the most excellent manner, and with the most careful .attention, by direction of Sir G. Simpson, the (io- vornorofthe Hudson's Bay territories.' The Bishop speakeof ' the himlncfis and atti'iition which ho i'venjichere experienced at the hands of the Hudson's Jiaif Compantfs serrants.' At page 160 of his Journal, says, ' It is the rule of the Company's posts that the factor or trader in ciuirge, where there is no clergyman, should read the church service on Sundays to the persons who can be gathered to hear it : — the Company have forwarded the erection of churches at Red Biver.' And at page 164 his Lordship remarks — 'If I may judge from the kindness shown personally to myself, the facilities given to my operations, and the respect paid to my office by all the gentlemen representing the Com- pany's interest with whom I had to do, that body must be pre- sumed well aft'ectcd to the cause ; and that its several proceedings are conducted on a liberal scale, I have some occasion to notice.' — (P. 164.) The worthy Bishop wishes to have a Bishop ap- j)ointed for Rupert's Land, as he considers that ' all the rirtiir of the Gospel is centered in the Einscopate.' — {Jonrnal, p. 169.) The Hudsou's Bay Company are, however, adopting the more prudent course of assisting the education of the people on religious principles. The late Mr. Leith, who was a resident factor of the Company, has becpioathed £.10,000 toward the propagation of the Gospel in the scene of his former pursuits and occupations.
A branch of the ' Chinch Missionary Society ' was established at Red River settlement iu 1822, under the Rev. Mr. West, who was appointed Chaplain to the Company. In 1824, the Rev. Mr. Jones was appointed Chaplain to the Company, and the Bishop of Montreal says, ' he met with much countenance and support from the authorities of the Hudson's Bay Company^ who in 1H34, ' yave a munificent yrant' towards the construction of another Protestant Church. — {Journal, pp. 194, 218.) ' The building was opened for Divine Service on the 26th of Novem-
Schoh
Inde feature
Con Colum ments have
119
her, 1834. It is capable of accommodating, comfortably, 700 people, and 1000 mi^ht find room without being over-crowded.
' Five day-schools, containing about 400 children, had been established ; besides two seminaries, affording board, lodging, and education, to twenty-five young ladies, and thirty young gentlemen, children of the gentlemen engaged in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. These were under the care and superintendence of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, assisted by a tutor and governess from England. At the different Sunday-schools, also, nearly 300 received religious instruction. Moreover, the orderly demeanour, moral conduct, and religious habits of all classes, were, for the most part satisfactory and cheering.' — (Pp. 218, 219.)
' In 1839,' says the Bishop, ' the Committee had the satisfac- tion to find that the Hudson's Bay Company more disposed to countenance and promote the formation of a Missionary station at Cumberland House, one of their posts, about 500 miles from the Red River.' The following shows the state of the Church of England Mission for —
1846-7
Stations 6
Communicants 530
Attendants on Public Worship 1800
Schools 9
and
Scholars-
[Boys 156\
loirls 166
I Sexes not mentioned 193
1 Youths and adults ... 79
1847-8.
5
535
1800
17
594
718
Indeed, the encouragement of religious education is a prominent feature in the policy of the Company.
Commodore Wilkes, speaking of Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, says, * There are extensive kitchens and apart- ments for the half-breed and Indian children that the Company have taken to bring up and educate. Of these there are now
*"' -i ' ■ ' ■
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twenty-three boys and fifteen girls, wlio claim the particular attention of Dr. M'Laughlin and Mrs. Douglas. A teaeiuT is employed for the boys, who superintends them not only in school, but in the field and garden. During my stay, an exa- mination took place, and although the pupils did not prove very expert at their reading and writing, yet we had sufficient evi- dence that they had made some improvement, and were in a fair way to ac(piire the rudiments. Some allowance was to be made lor the boys, who had been constantly in the field under their teacher for a few months past. Dr. M'Laughlin estimated the labour of four of these small boys as equal to that of a man. It was an interesting sight to see these poor little cast-away fellows, of all shades of colour, from the pure Indian to that of ^he white, thus snatched away from the vices and idleness of tlic savage. They all speak both English and Frencli ; they are also instructed in religious exercises, in which 1 thought they appeared more proficient than in their other studies. These they are instructed in on Sunday, on which day they attend Divine wor- shi]) twice. They were a ruddy set of boys, and when at work had a a busy appearance; they had planted and raised six hundred bushels of potatoes and, from what Dr. M'Laughlin said to me, fully main- tain themselves. The girls are equally well cared for, and taught by a female, with whom they live and work.' — (Vol. iv., p. 330.) In another passage the Connnodore says, * I was introduced to several of the Missionaries ; Mr. and Mrs. Smith, of the Ame- rican Board of Missions ; Mr. and Mrs. Griffith, and Mr. and Mrs. Clarke, of the Self-Supporting Mission ; Mr. Waller of the Methodist, and two others. They, for the most part, make Vancouver their home, where they are kindly received and well entertained at no expense to themselves. The liberality and freedom from sectarian principles of Dr. M'Laughlin, may be estimated from his being thus hospitable to Missionaries of so many Protestant denominations, although he is a professed Catholic, and has a priest of the same faith officiating daily at the chapel. Religious toleration is allowed in its fullest extent
121
Tlic dining ball is given up on Sunday to the use of the ritual of the Anglican church, and Mr. Douglass or a missionary reads tlie service.
• An opinion iias gone abroad, I do not know how, that at this post there is a total disregard of morality and religion, and that vice predominates. As far as my observations went, I feel myself obliged to state, that everything neetm to jtrove the con- Irartf, and to hear testimony that the officers of the Company are e.rertiny themselves to check vice, and encourage morality and re- ligion, in a very marked manner ; and that I saw no instance in which vice was tolerated in any degree. I hare, indeed, reason to believe ^ from the discipline and the example of the superiors, that the whole establishment is a pattern of good order and correct deportment.
' This remark not only extends to this establishment, but as far as our opportunities went (and all but two of the posts were visited), the same good order prevails throughout the country. Wherever the operations of the Company extend, they have opened the way to future emigration^ provided the means necessary for the success of emigrants, and rendered its peaceful occupation an easy and cheap task.' — (Vol. iv., pp. 331, 332.)
These statements are a complete answer to the allegation, that the Company are ' opposed to the spread of information among the native population,' that the * considerations of humanity and religion are overlooked,' and that ' they trample down Christi- anity and benevolence'*.
These allegations are unsustained by the slightest evidence, whereas their refutation is from unbiassed and high testimony ; by a Bishop of the Church of England, by three American gentle- men, a Minister of the Gospel, a Commodore of the American navy, and an official of the United States Government, and their testimony might be sustained by officers in the British army and navy, who have visited and examined recently some of the Hud- son's Bay Company's settlements.
* Memorial to the Secretary of State for tlie Colonies, by A. K. Isbister. 1848.
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But as the subject is of the highest importance, and a neglect of religious duties and moral observances would justly subject any association to the condemnation of the people of England, and require Her Majesty's Government to deny any exten- sion of authority to those who violate the laws of God which have been revealed to man for his temporal as well as for his spiritual good — I have been induced to inquire what has been done by the Hudson's Bay Company in support of that excellent institution, the * Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society,' whose efforts for the conversion of the heathen, in various parts of the globe, are deserving of cordial encourage- ment. Dr. Alder, one of the general Secretaries of the Society, has kindly furnished me with all the Missionary Reports on the subject. He was in North America last year, and informs me that the Mission has received the valuable aid of the Hudson's Bay Company at home, and of Sir G. Simpson and their chief factors and traders abroad. The Missionaries are supplied with provisions by the Company ; they are conveyed, free of charge, from station to station by the Compjiny ; at Ross Ville, near Nor- way House, the principal station of the Mission, the Company have built for the Wesleyaiis a church, school-house, &c. In 1839, the Hudson's Bay Company ' invited and encouraged the Wesleyan Society to extend their Missions to the territories of the Company, and to certain districts of country beyond the limits of those territories, with a view to the moral and religious instruc- tion '^f the numerous tribes of the aborigines, and to their civili- zation, and the general amelioration of their condition. To an application, alike honourable to the Christian benevolence of the Company and to the character of the Wesleyan Society, the com- mittee pi'omptly attended ; and five Missionaries and one Indian Assistant Missionary are now actually employed in this sacred service. From the following brief description of the stations which these evangelical labourers severally occupy, some idea may be formed of the extent of the country, the character of the population, and the arduous nature of those duties which our
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beloved brethren connected with this new and interesting Mission are called upon to perform
' 1 . Moose Factory is about 700 miles from the city of Mon- treal, in Lower Canada, and is the Company's principal depot on the southern shores of Hudson's Bav. Connected with this establishment, there are numerous stations to which the Mis- sionary will have to pay periodical visits; some of which are at a distance from the Fort, varying from one hundred to two hundred and fifty miles. The Indians, in this district of country, are principally of the Swampy Cree tribe, with a few Esquimaux at an establishment called Big River, which is about two hundred and fifty miles to the north-east of Rupert's River.
'2. Michipicoten is the principal Factory belonging to the Company on the shores of Lake Superior ; within and around which, and the different establishments in that extensive range of wimtry, there is a considerable population of Europeans and half castes, as well as of native Indians, who are chiefly of the Ojib-e- way or Salteaux Indians.
' 3. Lac la Pluie is a trading post of the Company, situated near the height of land which divides the waters falling into the 8t. Lawrence from those that fall into Hudson's Bay, and is distant from Montreal about one thousand three hundred miles. The neighbourhood of this place is a great rendezvous for Indians from the surrounding country, during the summer, as the means of living on fish and rice are very abundant, so that, including the inmates of the establishment, the Missionary will be in communication at that place, during an important period of the year, with, at least, one thousand adults ; in addition to which he will, at stated season?, visit other depots belonging to the Com- pany, for the purpose of instructing the mixed population residing at the stations.
' 4. Fort Alexander is formed at the outlet of the River Winipeg, and is distant from Montreal one thousand five hundred miles. It is much frequented by the Indians, who, as well as those that visit Lac la Pluie, belong to the Ojibeway or Salteaux tribes.
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Edmonton is an establishment on the Sackatcliewan River, which has its source on the Rocky Mountains, and diseni bogues itself by Nelson River into Hudson's Bay. It is distant from Montreal two thousand eight hundred miles. The Mis- sionary will extend his labours from thence to the Athabasca River which also has its origin on the Rocky Mountains. Tlie estab- lishments in that remote district are frequented by the bold and daring prairie or plr>in tribes of Indians, including the Assini- boines, the Peiagans, the Sarcees, and the Blood Indians. The Thickwood Crees and Assiniboines amount, with the whites and mixed population attached to the station, to between fifteen and twenty thousand souls.
'. 6. Norway House, one of the principal depots belonging to the Company, is situated at the northern end of Lake Winipeg> and is distant from Montreal two thousand miles. There is an Indian village connected with this place, the inhabitants of which derive great advantages from the proximity of the Company's establishment, where the Indians, who are a part of the Swampy Cree tribe, find permanent employment as fishermen, boatmen) and labourers. As Norway House is a central point, it is intended that it shall be the residence of the General Superintendent of these Missions, who will be able from thence to communicate with, and to visit, the other stations with greater facility than from any other part of the territory.
* Such is the wide field of Missionary labour which has been providentially opened to our Society, and to which the following communications relate. It will be seen that the Missionaries have experienced a most cordial reception from the officers in charge at tlie different establishments which they have visited ; a circumstance which is, under God, cliiefly to be ascribed to the kind and pow- erful recommendations in their behalf which have been forwarded by Governor Simpson, to whom the Society is placed under deep obligations. As that gentleman expects shortly to return to the territories, the Committee anticipate much advantage to the Missions from his presence and co-operation with the Missionaries
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in their endeavours to promote a work in which he has manifested so deep an interest.
• We are indebted to the kindness and courtesy of Governor Simpson, and of the Governor and Committee of the Honourable Company, for permission to publish the following extracts from official communications received at the Hudson's Bay House; from which it will be seen that the arrival of the Missionaries has diffused general satisfaction throughout the Company's territories.
Extract of a Dispatch from Chief Factor Duncan Finlayson, to the Govervor and Committee of the Honourable the Hud- son's Bay Company, dated Norway House, June 24th, 1840.
' We are exceedingly glad to find that an arrangement, pro- mising so many blessings to the native population, has been effected with the Wesleyan Missionary Society. This is another instance, among many, of your Honours' bounty and liberality towards increasing the means of diffusing Christian knowledge among the natives of this country, and we trust your repeated endeavours for their temporal and spiritual improvement will be appreciated by them, and attended with all the advantages which you so earnestly desire. The field for Missionaries in this country is wide ; and if they perform their duties with patience and piety, as faithful ministers of the Gospel, they will have the satisfaction of seeing their labours crowned with success. They shall have our protection, and every personal kindness and at- tention in our power ; in short, we shall attend to their wants, and afford them every facility and assistance to extend their sphere of usefulness, and to promote the great work they have taken in hand.'
Extract of a letter from Chief Factor Joseph Beioley, to Go- vernor 8 mpson, dated Moose Factory, June 27th, 1840.
' The Rev. Mr. Barnley, Wesleyan Missionary, arrived here via Abitibbi, on the 3rd instant ; and as comfortable accommo-
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dation as possible in the Factory has been afforded to him, with a seat at the mess table, &c. Divine service has been performed regularly, and well attended, twice a day upon Sundays since his arrival. A school has been established, which is attended five days a week for a short time in the forenoon, by sundry of the young people of both sexes ; and the Indians, male and female, receive, through the medium of interpreters, instructions on discourses from the reverend gentleman five days a week for a short time in the afternoon of each day. An hour in the evening of Sunday, namely, from six to seven o'clock, is also devoted to the instruction of the Indians ; and in every instance there exists the utmost willingness to hear and understand, on the part of all the population of the island, whether residents or casual visitors, and whether Europeans and their descendants, or the pure native Indians.'
' The erection of a chapel shall be commenced as soon as practicable with the limited means at my command ; but the erection of certain other buildings, which »vere contemplated last season, and for which I had got collected, logs, &c. during the winter and spring, must now be deferred. I presume that a building capable of accommodating about a hundred persons with silting room, will be suflSciently large in the present state of this part of the world.'
Extract from the Minutes of a Council, held at Norway Hruse, Northern Department, Rupert's Land, commencing June 18th, and ending June 24th, 1840.
' In order to give full effect to the laudable and benevolent views of the Governor and Committee, towards the diffusion of Christianity and civilization among the natives of this country, it is — ♦ Resolved 73,
' That three missions be established in the northern depart- ment this season, say, oae at Norway House, under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Evans ; one at Lac la Pluie, under the charge
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of the Rev. Mr, Mason ; and one at Edmonton, under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Rundle ; t' it every facility be afforded them for successfully conducting their spiritual labours; and that a copy of the 9th paragraph of the Governor and Committee's dispatch of March 4th, 1840, on this subject, be forwarded to each of the gentlemen in charge of the above districts, for the purpose of giving full effect to their Honour's instructions.' — {Notices for February, 1841, p. 437—440).
The following is an extract from the Report of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society for 1840. — (Pp. 110 — 112.)
' A new and extensive field of labour and usefulness has, during the past year, been opened to this Society in that part of the north -H't stern section of America, which constitutes the territory of''':o ; curable the Hudson's Bay Company. In addition to the European and half-caste population residing at the numerous forts and stations belonging to the Company in those immense regions^ there is, in the southern department of the territory, an Indian population amounting to upwards of ten thousand souls. In the northern department, extending in a northerly and south- erly direction from the height of land which divides the waters that flow into Lake Superior and the St. Lawrence, from those that fall into the tributaries of the Mississippi Missourie, to the high land that divides the waters which fall into the Polar Sea, from those tha* flow into Hudson's Bay — and in a westerly direction fr*"- liu Ison's Bay to the Rocky Mountains, — there is an Indian r>j!ii;>,i*on of one hundred thousand souls. To these long-neglected 'liithen of the Far North and West, our way is now open in consequence of arrangements into which the Com- mittee have entered with the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Companv; and thirty missionaries migjit at once be employed amongst them in guiding their feet into the way of peace.
' Five -tations will be immediately occupied at Michipicoton,
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Moose Fyrt, Norway House, Lac la Pluie, and Rocky Mountain House ; and should it please the God of all Grace to smile upon this new undertaking, the day cannot be far distant when the Gospel will be preached by the Missionaries of this Society across the entire continent of North America, from the shores of New- foundland and Nova Scotia, to those of the Pacific Ocean. Tl e Committee have been encouraged to embark in this holy enter- prise, even in the present embarrassed state of their funds, /// consequence of the liberal offers of assistance which were made to them by the Hudson s Bay Company. Such is the desire felt by that distinguished body, for the propagation of Scriptural truth amongst their agents and servants, as well as the Indian tribes within their territories, thai "■''\\} ^ they have discouraged the attempts which have been rect made by the agents of the Papacy to extend their operations, they have agreed to provide for the Missionaries which this Committee have sent, or may hereafter appoint, whether married or single, board and lodyiny^ interpreters, servants, and the means of conveyance from place to f lace, free of all expense to the Society. In addition to this, the Governor and Committee have spontaneously contributed one hun- dred pounds towards the amount of passafje-money paid for tlw three Missionaries, (the Rev. Messrs. Barnley, W. Mason, and Rundle,) who sailed from Liverpool for New York, in March last, on their way to the Company's territories, where they are to be joined by an experienced and successful labourer in the work of Indian evanaeiisation, the Rev. James Evans. The Committee gladly avail themselves of this opportunity of ex- pressing their deep sense of obligation to the Governor and Com- mittee of the Honourable Company in general, and especially to George Simpson, Esq., Governor-in-Chief of their territories, and to Captain Drew, R. N., for the lively interest which they have taken in all the arrangements connected with this under- taking, and for the valuable assistance which they have rendered to the Society.' In January, 1841, the Wesleyan Society report that ' the Missionaries, on their arrival, were received with great
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cordiality and kindness by the officers in charge at the different establishments to which they have been appointed.*
All the subsequent Reports of the Wesleyan Society express a grateful sense of the efforts of the Hudson's Bay Company to promote their Christian object.
The Rev. P. Jacobs, in a communication from Lac la Pluie, to the Wesleyan Society, of 25th August, 1840, says, ' t/te gentle- men of the Honourable Hudson's Day Company are very kind and good to us. I have prayers with these good people every evening.*
The Rev. James Evans, in a letter, dated Norway House, Hudson's Bay, 7th July, 1842, after describing the wide extent of region he had visited in his missionary tour, says, ' i should be remiss in neglecting to acknowledge, which I do with unfeigned gratitude and pleasure, the kindness I have invariably received from the officers of the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company in the several posts which I visited, and the direct assistance afforded me in every instance, as well as the facilities which I almost everywhere experienced, in communicating the instruc- tions of Christianity to the servants of the Honourable Com- pany, and to the natives.' — ( Wesleyan Missionary Notices, Oct. 1842, p. 157.)
A native Indian Missionary adverting to the state of religion among the Indians, when addressing the Annual Meeting of the Wesleyan Society in London, in May, 1843, said: ' We met with the Governor of the Honourable Hudson's Bay Companny, and he gave us all the encouragement ho could to go into his territory, assuring us that he would supply us with any little articles of which we were in need. We mended up the old canoe again, and went to Fort William, where we were very kindly received by all the officers of the Company.' — {Wesleyan Missionary Notices, June and July 1843, p. 320.)
In various places the Wesleyan Society and their Ministers refer to the ' direct sanction and valuable pecuniary aid afforded to it by the Hudson's Bay Company, and anticipate much advan- tage from the presence and co-operation of Sir George Simpson
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{the Governor of the Hndso?i\s Comjnuiif's territories) in the great work of Christian chariti/J
In the Weslri/an Missionary Beport for 1843, referring to tlieir station at Fort Edmonton, the Society remark : * Mr. Rundlo's situation is one particularly trying ; the people around him are chiefly Roman Catholics ; and the priest from Red River has this summer visited extensively both the Conipany's posts and the Indians, and I fear thrown many obstacles in hig way. Mr. Harriot, the gentleman in charge of Edmonton House, has cheerfully assisted in advancing the great work among the aborigines ; and as that gentleman is the best speaker of the Cree language to be found among Europeans, his services are invaluable to us. He has acquired a thorough knowledge of the Cree character, and has this summer presented me with translations of the Morning Service, the Baptismal Service, several Collects, the first seven chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel, and a good collection of Hymns translated from our Hymn book.'— (P. IGl.)
The Wesleyan Missionary Notices for January, 1843, again refer in several places to the encouragement given by the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company to the dissemination of the Gospel. The following is an extract from a letter and journal of the Rev. James Evans, General Superintendant of the Wesleyan Missions in the Hudson's Bay territories, dated August, 1841 : — * Since my arrival in the country, I have visited York Factory, of which I made the Committee aware last autumn. On my return, I remained at Norway House until December, and left it, early in that month, to visit the posts within my reach. Durino- the winter I visited Moose Lake, the Pas, Cumberland House, Shoal River, Fort Pelly, Beaver Creek, Red River, on my way to Fort Alexander and Berring's River ; and returned to Norway House at the latter end of March. / tvas received at every post of the Honourable Company with the greatest kindness, and ex- perienced every attention from the gentlemen in charge. I endea- voured to discharge the duties incumbent upon me, with an eye to the glory of God, in the salvation of sinners ; and trust, that
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the fruits of my " inible labours will appear on the day of eternity.
' I intend, by the Divine blessing, to visit the following places during a journey, which it is my purpose to commence, namely, Cumberland, Carlton, Fort Pitt, and Edmonton, where I hope to meet my good brother, the Rev. Mr. Rundle. After spending a few weeks in that vicinity, I shall proceed, by winter conveyance (snow shoes and dog carriages) to Forts Jaspar, Assiniboine, Lesser Slave Lake, Dunvegan, Vermillion, Chippewyan, Feud du Lac, La Crosse, Green Lake, and back by Carlton ; thence to Norway House, by the Saskatchewan or Athabasca boats, leaching Norway House in June or July 1842. 77h' journey is undertaken with the decided approbation of the Governor in Chief Sir George Simpson, who kindly assured mc that he would himself, in passing the Sacskatchewan see that every preparation should he made for me to proceed thence. Before my return, should I succeed in my proposed tour, I shall travel about six thousand miles. During this time I hope to preach the everlasting Gospel to hundreds who never heard the joyful sound ; and I humbly trust that, in a short period, not a post belonging to the Honour- able Company will be found where the glad news of salvation by Christ shall not have been heard. I shall, I feel convinced, have uie co-operation of my brethren here, and of the Committee at home, and the unlimited aid of the Honourable Company's officers, in carrying out this great object. I likewise become better ac- quainted with the state, wants, and general character of the country, as well as with the number, disposition, and languages of the natives. I feel assured of the Divine protection and blessing.
' We have great cause of gratitude to Almighty God, that we are saved from that scourge of poor Indians, the ^ fire waters* (rum) tlie use of this being by the Honourable Company prohibited to a great extent in the country ; an arrangement equally wise and benevolent.
September Xst: — * I found Mr. Grant (one of the Company's officers) at Oxford House, anxious to make my night's stay as
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comfortable as possible. I preached to the Honourable Com- pany's officers and servants, and several natives attended. At the close of the service I baptized an adult, who expressed a deter- mination to forsake sin and cleave to the Lord, and six children, and solemnized two marriages.
' 1th. — To-day my worthy brother Rundle left by the Sas- katchewan boat for Edmonton. About two months, with God's blessing-, will bring him thither; during which time he must sleep on the ground, wet or dry, not unfrequently without erecting his cloth tent, as sometimes it cannot be pitched, Rain or fair, heat or cold, he must sit in the open boat, and look to Heaven for present and eternal comfort. Every thiny which the fort could ^^'I'Phl ^^'^^^ kindly furnished, in order to make his voyage as com- fortable as circumstances would permit.'
' January 19/A, 1842. — Thermometer 42„ below zero. It is excessively cold. Water from the tea-kettle, nearly boiling, being poured into a tin plate to the depth of about half an inch, became frozen and solid, or sufficiently so to slide out, when warmed on the under side, in seven minutes and a half.
' 20///. — We made Fort Pellvat ten o'clock. — ^Thermometer 25°.
* Sunday, 24th. — I preached to an attentive congregation, seve- ral professing their determination to seek and serve the Lord.
, 2Gth. — We have prayers every night at seven, at which time I always deliver a short discourse, or expound some portion of Scripture, catechise the children, and teach them prayers at half- past eight.
' 2Sth. — I have had several interviews with a sick Indian, who is taken care of in the fort. He appears anxious to receive in- struction, but is very deaf.
' Sunday 31. — I preached at eleven, at three, and at seven o'clock, and baptized eight after the forenoon service.
, February \st. — I left Fort Pelly, having experienced every kindness and attention from Dr. Todd, and derived great satis- faction in seeing a marked attention to the word of life.
' bth. — We made Beaver Creek House, and found all well. Thanks to our great Preserver.
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6th. — We experienced (freat kindness from Mr. and Mrs. M'Kai/; an excellent Cree npeakcr kindli/ furnished me with a translation of the Lords prayer. We held prayers at eight p. lu. in a large fort, and had a good congregation : several Indians encamped in the neighbourhood.
' Sunday, 1th. — I preached at eleven and at six. I baptized three persons connected with the fort ; nwch pains haviny been taken by the yeutleman in charge, and his family, to instruct those connected with the establishment.
' Rainy Lake. — Great praise is due to the gentleman in charge of this post, for the readiness with which he has co-operated with the Missionary in promoting the interests of the Mission. A change has been made this year, and Nichol Finlayson, Esq., with whom I spent the winter of 1838 on Lake Superior, is at present at Rainy Lake ; by whom I am satisfied, every assistance will be afforded.'
The following extracts are copied from the journal of Mr, Rundell : — * His station is the most westerly position occupied by this Society, and is in the immediate vicinity of the Rocky Mountains, in which are the sources of those great rivers which water the American continent, and flow into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The tribes of Indians which occupy the extensive plains in their neighbourhood, are both numerous and powerful, and are also in better circumstances than their brethren in other parts of the country. Mr. Rundell has the honour of being the first Protestant Missionary who has been stationed among them. He reached Edmonton House on the 1 ith of September, 1840, after having traversed, from th»,' time of his landing in New York, about three thousand live hundred miles. He received a most cordial welcome from the officer in charge, and immediately commenced his Missionary labours and toils, in humble dependence upon Him, who hath said for the encouragement of his servants, • Lo I am with you alway, even even unto the end of the world."
* February 22nd, 1841.^1 reached Rocky Mountain House, and was very kindly received by J. H. Harriott, Esq., the gentleman in charge. I found several Indians at the Fort, and, shortly after
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my arrival, another party arrived from the plains. Great warnitli of feeling was expressed by them on seeing uie. Their dresses were profusely adorned with beads and gay enibroidery, with por- cupine quills, and other ornaments. Whilst I was saluting them, some kissed me ; others, after shaking me by the hand, passed both hands over part of my dress, uttering at the same time a kind of prayer ; and others gave me their left hand, because nearest the heart.
' lAth. — A large party of Blackfeet and Piegans arrived, and their entrance into the Fort presented a very novel appearance. The first that came were the Piegans, and the ceremony com- menced with singing some rude and barbarous sounds. They then marched in order to the Fort, the chief leading the van, bringing with him a horse, (the head of which was striped with red ochre,) as an intended present for Mr. Harriott. After the firing of mutual salutes, and the horse being given to Mr. Harriott, the chief entered the Fort, followed by his party. The Blackfeet approached much in the same way, excepting that singing formed no part of the ceremony. Some of the chiefs' dresses looked very fine, and the needle-work on them would reflect no discredit on members of civilized communities.
' 25///. — I'o-day a rumour spread among the Indians that I came down from Heaven in a piece of paper, and that the paper was opened by a gentleman belonging to the Forts, anc' so I made my first appearance upon earth !
' 26///. — I met, in the evening, about a hundred and fifiy or two hundred Indians, including women and some children.
' 21th March. — I discoursed to the Indians twice on the Deca- logue, whicJj, I believe, ])roduced great effect amongst them. I also addressed them on the subjects of baptism and marriage.
' 28/A. — I preached in the morning on the morals and duties of Christianity, and solemnized two marriages. The Indians were present to w itness the ceremony, and, through an interpreter, I was enabled to convey to them lessons of instruction.
' 29M. — The Indians left the Fort, and I engaged to visit them on my way to the Blackfeet camp.
' April Xat. — I left the Fort thismorning, on horsepack, for my
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intended visit to the plains. My kind friend, J. H. Harriott, Esq., accompanied ine some distance from the Fort, and I was tiien compelled to bid him adieu for a season. The pcrmnal kind- iH'Hses received from that t/cntleinan, dnritiy my stay with him, and also the assistances he afforded me in faci/ilatinf/ the objects of my mission, deserve my warmest commendations. I trust my visit to his fort will he made a hlessiny to many. Great attention was (jeneralty manifested by the officers and others ; and, independent <f the services on the Sunday, I was accustomed to preach once duriny the week to them, and also to hold reyular family worship, which most in the fort attended.'
One of the Wesleyan Ministers thus speaks of the chief Hud- son's Bay Company's officer at Norway House, who, he says, has been ' at great pains in civilizing the Indians.'
* 13M. — To-day I bade a sorrowful adieu to Mr. Rosi:\ the Company's Officer at this fort, who left for York Factory, and according to all probability, will not return before my departure for the Saskatchawan. The kind and gentlemanly conduct manifested by him to me, since my residence at Norway House, deserves my warmest thanks. He has been my guide, counsellor, and friend.'
Of Mr. James Keith, the Company's Chief Officer at La Chine, the Mission reports that ' every preparation was made by him for the comfort and accommodation of the Missionaries on board the canoes, when proceeding from Canada to Rupert's Land, and nothing could exceed the respect and kindness with which they were treated.'
The Rev. Mr. Mason, in a letter dated 20th August, 1844, from Ross Ville, Hudson's Bay, to the Wesleyan Society, says, ' The gentlemen who visited our neat little village, expressed their surprise at the great change and improvement of the natives. Mr. Mactavish, from the Columbia, said, there was nothing equal to it on the other side of the Rocky Mountains. You will be much pleased to hear tnat Donald Ross, Esq., is again stationed at Norway House ; he is, indeed, a friend to the red man's temporal and spiritual interests. His kindness and atten-
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tion arc uninterrupted. From the Company's scrvantB wo receive every assistance which they Iiave in their power to afford us in carrying on the great work in which we are engaged.
' The Church, wo trust, will be finished in a few months. The Company's men are conntanthj workinf/ at it. We need it much, as the i^chool-room is far too small for the congregation.' — {Weslei/an Notices, Feb. 1845, p. 29.)
Language of a similar tendency pervades all the Reports examined, and they sufficiently demonstrate the attention paid to Christian ordinances and duties by the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, and their officers and servants in North America.
The Wesleyan Mission in North- West America, consists of eight stations and four chapels, at Ross Ville, and Norway House, Lake Winipeg, Moose Factory, Lac la Pluie, and Forts Alexander f.ud Edmonton, and Rocky Mountains. There are also in addition five preaching places. There are five Mission- aries and assistants, one ciitechist, two day school teachers, two local preachers, 204 church members, 96 day scholars, and 2000 members attending public worship, of whom 174 members are full or accredited church members.
Commodore Wilkes, at p 344 of his work, says, the Mission- aries are ' daily receiving the kindest attentions and hospitality from the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company.'
Any further evidence of the Christian conduct and benevolent policy of the Company, would be a work of supererogation.
Wart V.
SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS, AND QUALIFICATIONS
OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY FOR THE
COLONIZATION OF VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.
The various statements adduced in the previous pages, which are derived from various authors, most of them eye-witnesses of the facts they record, demonstrate that the Hudson's Bay Company have steadily pursued the objects for which the association was incorporated in 1670 ; have occupied and maintained for England on the continent of America (without any charge to the nation) a regio^ of vast extent, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oct have successfully prosecuted therein an arduous and pre- canoub traffic over a wild country, in an inclement climate, among tribes of warlike savages, who have been saved from destruction by a systematic course of policy, which has also preserved a traffic in furs foi nearly 200 years without any monopoly of the home market, thereby enriching England to the extent of at least twenty millions sterling ; and now, although hemmed in by the enterprising spirit of the Americans on the South, and by the untiring industry of the Russians on the North, if upheld in their rights, supported by the Crown, and encouraged by enlightened public opinion, by the exercise of the means liitherto fomd successful, may long continue a valuable trade, wliich is nearly extinct in every other part of the globe, and which is chiefly divided between the respective chartered Companies of Great Britain and Russia.
As strong doubts have been expressed of the capability of the Hudson's Bay Company to colonize, and, indeed, of their being hostile to anything but hunting and fishing, and, therefore, inade- quate to colonize Vancouver's Island, it may be advisable, in addition
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to the previously-recited evidence at pp. 21, 65, 72, and 104, to examine the report made by Commodore Wilkes to his Government, respecting one of the principal establishments of the Hudson's Bay Company, namely, Fort Vancouver, situated on the Columbia River, about 80 miles from its mouth.
Approaching the station, the Commodore says, — ' We came in at the back part of the village, which consists of about fifty comfortable log houses, placed in regular order on each side of the road. They are inhabited by the Company's servants, and were swarming with children, whites, half-breeds, and pure Indians. The Fort stands at some distance beyond the village, and to the eye appears like an upright wall of pickets, twenty-nve feet liigh : this encloses the houses, shops, and magazines of the Company. The enclosure con- tains about four acres, which appear to be under full cultivation. Beyond the Fort large granaries were to be seen. At one-end is Dr. M'Laughlin's house, built after the model of a French Canadian, of one story, weather-boarded, and painted wliite. It has a piazza and small flower-beds, wJoh grape and other vines in front. Between the steps are two old cannons on sea carriages, with a few shot, to speak defiance to the natives, who no doubt look upon them as very formidable weapons of destruction. I mention these, as they are the only warlike instruments to my knowledge that are within the pickets of Vancouver, which differs from all the other forts in having no bastions, galleries, or loop-holes. Nea by are the rooms for the clerks and visitors, with the blacksmiths' and coopers' shops. In the centre stands the Roman Catholic chapel, and near by the flag-staff; beyond these again are the stores, magazines of powder, warerooms, and offices.
' We went immediately to Dr. M'Laughlin's quarters. He was not within ; but we were kindly invited to enter, with the assurance that he would soon return. Only a few minutes elapsed before Dr. M'Lnughlin came galloping up, having understood that we had preceded him. He is a tall, fine-looking person, of a very robust frame, with a frank, manly open countenance, and a florid com- plexion : his hair is perfectle white. He gave us that kind reception we had been led to expect from his well-known hospitality. He is
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of Scotch parentage, but \}y birth a Ctmadian, enthusiastic in dispo- sition, possessing great energy of character, and extremely well suited for the situation he occupies, which requires great talent and industry. He at once ordered dinner for us, and we soon felt our- selves at home, having comfortable rooms assigned us, and being treated as part of the establishment.
' The situation of Vancouver ii favourable for agricultural pur- poses, and it may be said to be the head of navigation for sea-going vessels, A vessel of fourteen feet draft of water may reach it in the lowest state of the river. The Ov'>lumbia at this point makes a con- siderable angle, '^ind is divided by two islands, which extend upwards about three miles, to where the upper branch of the Willamette loins it.
The Company's establishment at Vancouver is upon an extensive scale, and. is worthy of the vast interest of which it is the centre. The residents mess at several tables ; one for the chief factor and his clerks ; one for their wives (it being against the regulations of the Company for their officers and their wives to take their mc^ls together) ; another for the Missionaries ; and another for the sick and the Catholic Missionaries. All is arranged in the best order, and, I should think, with great economy. Everything may be had within the Fort; they liave an extensive apothecary's shop, a bakery, blacksmiths' and coopers' shops, trade offices for buying, others for selling, others again for keep ng accounts and transacting business ; shops for retail, where English manufactured articles may be pur- chased at as low a price if not cheaper, than in the United States, consisting of cotton and woollen goods, ready-made clothing, ship chandlery, earthen and ironware, and fancy articles ; in short, everything, and of every kind and description, including all sorts of groceries, at an advance of 80 per cent, on the London prime cost. This is tlie established price at Vancouver, but at the other posts ib is 100 per cent., to cover the extra expenses of transportation All these articles are of good quality, and suitable for the servants, settlers, and visitors. Of the quantity on hand some idea may be formed from the fact that all tlie posts west of the Rocky Mountains get their their annual supplies from this depot.
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* Vancouver is the head quarters of the North-West or Columbian Department, which also includes New Caledonia ; all the returns of furs are received here, and hither all accounts are transmitted for settlement. These operations occasion a large mass of business to be transacted at this estabUshment. Mr. Douglas, a chief factor, and the associate of Dr. McLaughlin, assists in this department, and takes sole charge in his absence.
' Dr. McLaughlin showed us our rooms, and told us that the bell was the signal for meals.
' Towards sun-set, tea-time arrived, and we obeyed the summons of the bell, when we were introduced to several of the gentlemen of the establishment; we met in a large hall, with a long table spread with abundance of good fare. Dr. McLaughlin took the head of the table, with myself on his right, Messrs. Douglass and Drayton on his left, and the others apparently according to their rank. I mention this, as every one appears to have a relative rank, privilege, and station assigned him, and military etiquette prevails. The meal lasts no longer than is necessary to satisfy hunger. With the officers, who are clerks, business is the sole object of their life, and one is entirely at a loss here who has nothing to do. Fortu- nately I found myself much engaged, and therefore it suited me. The agreeable company of Dr. McLaughlin and Mr. Douglass made the time at meak pass delightfully. Both of these gentlemen were kind enough to give up a large portion of their time to us, and I felt occasionally that we must be trespassing on their business hours. After meals, it is the custom to introduce pipes and tobacco. It was said that this practice was getting into disuse, but I should have concluded, from what I saw, that il was at its height,
' Canadian French is generally spoken to thvi servants ; even those who come out from England, a(ter a Tirhile, adopt it, and it is not a little amusing to hear the words they use, and the manner in whiuh they pronounce them.
' The routine of a day at Vancouver is perhaps the same through, out the year. At early dawn the bell is rung for the working parties, who soon aftar go to work ; the sound of the hammers, click of the anvils, the rumbling of the carts, with tinkling of bells, render it
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difficult to sleep after this hour. The bell rings again at eight, for breakfast ; at nine they resume their work, which continues till one ; then an hour is allowed for dinner, after which they work till six, when the labours of the day close. At five o'clock on Saturday afternoon the work is stopped, when the servants receive their weekly rations.
' Vancouver is a large manufacturing, agricultural, and commer- cial depot, and there are few, if any idlers, except the sick. Every- body seems to be in a hurry, whilst there appears to be no obvious reason for it
' There are two large entrance gates to the Fort for waggons and carts, and one in the rear, leading to the granaries and the garden ; the latter is quite extensive, occupying four or five acres, and con- tains all kinds of vegetables and many kinds of fruit, with which the tables are abundantly supplied by the gardener, ' Billy Bruce.' After William Bruce's first term of service had expired, he was desirous of returning to England, and was accordingly sent. This happened during the visit of Dr. McLaughlin to England. One day, an accidental meeting took place in a crowded street of London, where he begged Dr. McLaughlin to send him back to Vancouver. William Bruce was accordingly taken again into employ, and sent back in the next ship. In the meantime, how- ever, he was sent to Chiswick, the ?eat of the Duke of Devonshire, to get a little more knowledge of his duties, and remained till the vessel sailed : but no place was like Vancouver to him; anu M his success continues to be compared with Chis\(ick, which he eudea vours to surpass : this si alike creditable to both.
* Besides the storehouses, there is also a granary, which is a frame building of two stories, and the only one, the rest being built of logs.
' Mr. Douglass was kind enough to take me into the granary, which contained wheat, flour, barley, and buckwheat. The wheat averaged sixty-three pounds to the bushel; barley yields twenty bushels to the acre ; buckwheat, in some seasons, gives a good crop, but it is by no means certain, owing to the early frosts ; oats do not thrive well ; peas, beans, and potatoes yield abundantly ; little or
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no hay is made, the cattle being able to feed all the year round on the natural hay, which they find very nutritious, and fatten upon it. The grass grows up rapidly in the beginning of summer ; and the subsequent heat and drought convert it into hay, in which all the juices are preserved. Besides this, they have, on the prairies along the river, two luxuriant growths of grass, the first in the spring, and the second soon after the flowing of the river subsides, which is generally in July and August. The last crop lasts the remainder of the season. Neither do they require shelter, although they are penned in at night. The pens are moveable ; and the use of them is not only for security against the wolves, but to manure the ground.
' The farm at Vancouver is about nine miles square. On this they have two dairies, and milk upwards of one hundred cows. There also two other dairies, situated on the Wapanto Island, on the Willamette, where they have one hundred and fifty cows, whose milk is employed, under the direction of imported dairymen, in making butter and cheese for the Russian settlements.
' They have likewise a grist and saw mill, both well constructed, about six miles above Vancouver, on the Columbia River.
' One afternoon we rode with Mr. Douglass to visit the dairy- farm, which lies to the west of Vancouver, on the Callepuya. This was one of the most beautiful rides I had yet taken, through fine prairies, adorned with large oak, ash, and pines. The large herds of cattle feeding and reposing under the trees, gave an air of civili- zation to the scene : that is the only thing wanting in the other parts of the territory. The water was quite high ; and many of the little knolls were surrounded by it, which had tlie appearance of small islets breaking through the wide expanse of overflowing water.
* This dairy is removed every year, which is found advantageous to the ground, and affords the cat le better pasturage. The stock on the Vancouver farm is about three thousand head of cattle, two thousand five hundred sheep, and about three hundred brood mares-
' At the dairy we were regaled with most excellent milk ; and found the whole establishment well managed by a Cauadilan and his
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wife. They chum in barrel machines, of which there are several All the cattle look extremely well, and are rapidly increasing in numbers. The cows give milk at the age of eighteen months. Those of the California breed give a very small quantity of milk, but when crossed with those from the United States and England, y\o very well. I saw two or three very fine bulls that had been imported from England. The sheep have lambs twice a-year ; those of the California breed yield a very inferior kind of wool, which is inclined to be hairy near the hide, and is much matted. This breed has been crossed with the Leicester, Bakewell, and other breeds, >Thich has much improved it. The fleeces of the mixed breed are very heavy, weighing generally eight pounds, and some as much as twelve. Merinos have been tried, but they are not found to thrive. * The Californian horses are not equal to those raised in Oregon : those bred near Walla-Walla are in the most repute.
' In one of our rides we visited the site of the first fort at Van- couver ; it is less than a mile from the present position, and is just on the brow of the upper prairie. The view from this place is truly beautiful ; the noble river can be traced in all its windings for a long distance through the cultivated prairie, with its groves and clumps of trees ; beyond, the eye sweeps over an interminable forest, melting into a blue haze, from which Mount Hood, capped with its eternal snows, rises in great beauty. The tints of purple which appear in the atmosphere are, so far as I am aware, peculiar to this country. This site was abandoned in consequence of the difficulty of obtaining water, and its distance from the river, which compelled them to transport every article up a high and rugged road. The latter difficulty was encountered in the first location on the upper prairie, because it was said that the lower one was occasionally flooded ; but, although this may have happened formerly, it is not found to occur at present.
' I also visited the grist mill, which is situated on a small stream, but owing to the height of the river, which threw a quantity of back- water on the wheel, it was not in action. The mill has one run of stones, and is a well-built edifice. Annexed to it is the house of the miller, who is also the watch-maker of the neighbourhood. The
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mill is amply sufficient for all the wants of the Company, and of the surrounding country. The saw-mill is two miles heyond the grist- mill. A similar mistake has heen made in choosing its position, for the mill is placed so low that for the 'part of the season when they have most water they are unahle to use it. There are in it several runs of saws, and it is remarkably well built. In few buildings, indeed, can such materials bv^ seen as are here used. The quality of timber cut into boards is infeiior to what we should deem merchantable in the United States, and is little better than our hemlock. The boards are shipped to the Sandwich Islands ; and we here found the brig Wave taking in a cargo of timber. These boards sell at Oahu for eighty dollars per thousand. I could not ascertain their cost here. About twenty men (Canadians and Sandwich Islanders) are employed at the mill.
' They have built a large smith's shop here, which, besides doing the work of the mill, makes all the axes and hatchets used by the trappers. The iron and steel are imported ; the tools are manufac- tured at a much less price than those imported, and are more to be depended on. A trapper's success, in fact, depends upon his axe ; and, on this being lost or broken, he necessarily reUnquishes his labours, and returns unsuccessful. I was surprised at seeing the celerity with which these axes were made. Fifty of them, it is said, can be manufactured in a day, and twenty-five are accounted an ordinary day's work. They are eagerly sought after by the Indians, who are very particular that the axe should have a certain shape, . somewhat like a tomahawk.'
The Commodore also visited several other stations, and thus describes Fort Nisqually, to which his ships were piloted by an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company's steamer, whose services were kindly offered by the Captain of the steamer, and sent down the Straits to aid the American squadron in its surveys. ' Twelve miles more brought us to the anchorage off Nisqually, where both vessels dropped their anchors about eight o'clock. Here we found an English steamer undergoing repairs. Soon after we anchored, I had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. Anderson, who is in charge of the fort, and Captain McNeil. They gave me a warm welcome, and
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offered every assistance in their power to aid me in my opera- tions.
' Nothing can exceed the beauty of these waters, and their safety; not a shoal exists within the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, or Hood's Canal, that can in any way interrupt their navigation by a seventy-four gun ship, I venture nothing in saying, there is no country in the vorld possessing waters equal to these.
' The anchorage off Nisqually is very contracted, in consequence of the rapid shelving of the bank, that soon drops off into deep water. The shore rises abruptly to a height of about two hundred feet, and on the top of the ascent is an extended plain, covered with pine, oak, and ash trees, scattered here and there so as to form a park-like scene. The liill-side is mounted by a well constructed road of easy ascent. From the summit of the road the view is beautiful, over the Sound and its many islands, with Mount Olym- pus covered vntli snow for a back-ground. Fort Nisqually, with its outbuildings and enclosure, stands back about half a mile from the edge of the table land.
' In returning the visits of Mr. Anderson and Captain McNeil, I had an opportunity of seeing the so-called fort. It is constructed of pickets, enclosing a space about two hundred feet square, with four comer bastions. Within this enclosure are the agents' stores, and about half a dozen houses, built of logs, and roofed with bark. This fort was considered quite large when it was first established, but since it has become an agricultural post as well as a trading one, it is found to be too small. Its locality is also ill chosen, on account of the difficulty of obtaining water, which has to be brought from a distance of nearly a mile. I was informed that there was now little necessity for any sort of protection against the Indians, who are but few in number, and very peaceably disposed.
* After spending some time in conversing about my plans, Mr. Anderson was kind enough to show me his garden, which is an enclosure just without the pickets. Here I saw peas a foot high, strawberries and gooseberries in full bloom, and some of the former nearly ripe, with salad that had rjone to seed, three feet high, very large and thrifty.
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' Near by were to be seen fine fields of grain, large barns and sheepl'olds, agricultural implements, and workmen with cattle en- gaged in the various employments of husbandry.
' In connection with the Company's establishment at Nisqually, they have a large dairy, several hundred head of cattle, and among them seventy milch cows, which yield a large supply of butter and cheese ; they have also large crops of wheat, peas, and oats, and were preparing the ground for potatoes. These operations are con- ducted by a farmer and dairyman, brought from England expressly to superintend these affairs. A few Indians are engaged in tending the flocks, and the Company's servants are almost exclusively employed as labourers."
On his route from Fort Nisqually to Fort Vancouver, the Commo- dore visited another of the Puget Sound Company's establishments, on the Cowlitz River, in latitude 46** 50' north, longitude 123", which he thus describes : ' After passing extensive cammass plains we reached the Company's farm on the Cowlitz, which occupies an extensive prairie on the banks of that river.
' They have here six or seven hundred acres enclosed and under cultivation, with several large granaries, a large farm house, and numerous outbuildings to accommodate the dairy, workmen, cattle, &c. The grounds appeared well prepared, and were covered with a luxuriant crop of wheat. At the farther end of the prairie was to be seen a settlement, with its orchards, &c. ; and between the trees, the chapel and parsonage of the Catholic Mission gave an air of civilization to the whole. The degree of progress resembled that of a settlement of several years' standing in our Western States, with the exception, however, of the remains of the conquered forest ; for here the ground is ready for the plough, and nature seems, as it were, to invite the husbandman to his labours.
* We were kindly received by Mr, Forrest, the superintendent, who quickly made arrangements for canoes to carry us down the Cowlitz and Columbia River to Astoria, or Fort George. He also provided us with an excellent repast, and pressed us to remain over- night, which we would gladly have done, had I not found that it would be impossible for us to reach Astoria the next day if wedid so.
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' At this farm the Company have a largo dairy, and are about erecting a saw and grist mill. The superintendent's dwelling is large, and built of well-hewn logs ; with the workmen's houses, &c., it forms quite a village.
' Large numbers of cattle were being brought in f jr the night, which is a very necessary precaution in Oregon, in consequence of the numerous wolves that are prowHng about; in some places it becomes necessary for the keeper to protect his beasts, even in the day-time. The cattle, at times, suffer from drought, in which case the Indians are sent across the river to cut fodder for them, in order to avoid sending the cattle to the cammass plains, where they would be subject to the loss of all their young.
The farm at the Cowlitz has no sort of defences about it, proving, as far as the Indians are concerned, that there is no danger of being molested ; indeed, their numbers here are too small to enable them to attempt any aggression, and their dependence on the Company for both food and clothing, too complete to allow them to quarrel, except among themselves ; and of such disputes the agent of the Company takes no sort of notice. The Indians belong to the Klackatuck tribe, though they have obtained the general name of the Cowlitz Indians. In a few years they will have passed way, and even now, I was informed, there are but three Indian women remaining in the tribe. The mortality that has attacked them has made sad ravages; for only a few yeara since they numbered upwards of a hundred, while they are njw said to be less than thirty. The quantity of land actually under cultivation here is six hundred acres, most of which is in wheat. Mr. Forrest told me that the first year it had produced ten bushels per acre, but the present one it was thought the yield would be double*.
' Around the superintendent's house is a kitchen garden, in which all the usual horticultural plants of the United States were growing luxuriantly; the climate was thought to be particularly well adapted to them.'— (Pp. 315, 310.)
The agricultural farm at Puget Sound (Fort Nisqually), as also that at the Cowlitz River, does not actually belong to the Hudson's
* The crop at the end uf 1841 wns 7000 bushels.
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Bay Company ; the Puget Sound Association has been formed principally by the officers and retired servants of the Company, who have subscribed a capital of £.200,000, ten per cent, of which has been paid up.
This farm aids in the supply of grain, butter, cheese, &c., for the forts and stations of the Hudson's Bay Company on the western coast of America, and it furnishes supplies for the Russian stations at Sitka and to the northward. Grain is also shipped for the Sand- wich Islands, where the Hudson's Bay Company have an agency ; and a cargo of com has been recently sent to China.
The facts herein stated need no further comment ; but there are two points in favour of the extension of agriculture and the promotion of colonization by the Hudson's Bay Company, wliich appear to have been but little noticed in the recent parliamentary discussions : — 1st, The necessity of providing food for numerous and distant posts where com will not grow : 2nd, That with every precaution ich a Com- pany with exclusive rights can adopt, the fur-bearing animals must in the course of time diminish, and the Hudson's Bay Company, who have shown no deficiency in far-sighted views, are not likely to neglect providing for coming emergencies, or to lose the opportunity of securing new fields for the employment of energy and capital, which can only be done by colonization.
A consideration of these circumstances, and a recognition of the principle that colonization can be most eff'ectually conducted by corporate bodies, has doubtless had due weight with the Minister of the Crown, when acceding to the proposition that Vancouver's Island be vested in an association, who have given solid proofs of sound policy, by maintaining a most difficult position with honour and profit to themselves and to their country since the reign of Charles II. ; that has shown both abilit) and willingness to colonize, by the formation of the Red River settlement, and by promoting the flourishing farms on the Columbia and Cowlitz Rivers ; which has at this moment several posts and stations, not only in New Cale- donia, bat also an excellent fort and establishment on the adjacent shores of Vancouver's Island ; which possesses on the spot ships, steamers, well-trained functionaries, and every other requisite for
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attaining, without delay, the desired end, namely, the immediate occupation, by British subjects, of the largest and most important island on the Pacific coast of the American continent ; and as the colonization of the island is in unison with the existing and pro- spective interests of the Hudson's Bay Company, it is to be hoped that, when the whole case is known, a cordial co-operation will be promptly accorded, and that a now comparatively useless appanage of the Crown Luay be converted into a thriving and happy home for a large portion of the various classes of society who are suffering from the effects of a redundant population and want of occupation, and who may there find that scope for enterprize, skill, and labour, which no Government, however wise and zealous in its exertions, can afford them in England.
Some of the points on which facts and evidence have been adduced in the previous pages, may be summarily stated as follows : —
Ut. — The Royal Charter granted by King Charles II., in 1670, to the Hudson's Bay Company conveys, in perpetuity the territorial right, and exclusive privilege of trade, over certain regions in British North America.
2nd. — The validity of this Charter has been acknowledged by successive Sovereigns down to her Her Present Most Gracious Majesty, — by Parliament on different occasions, — and by diplomatic arrangements with Foreign States.
Srd.— The Royal Licences of exclusive trade with the Indians in certain parts of North America, granted to the Hudson's Bay Company and the Agents in 1821, and to the Hudson's Bay Company '.olely in 1838, recognized the rights conceded by the Royal Charter of 1670, and granted an extension of exclusive privileges over territories declared neutral between Great Britain, the United States, and Russia.
4<A. — Those Royal Licenses did not therefore supersede the Royal Charter of 1670; they merely extended the right of exclu- sive trade over some territory, regarding which, doubts might be entertained, whether it came within the scope contemplated on the issue of the Original Charter to Prince Rupert, and the distinguished
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Associates of His Koyiil Higlinoss ; nnd on the termination of the existing Licence, for exclusive trarle, in 1800, the Koyal Charter granted by King Charles II. will remain intact, and the Hudson's 13ay Company will continue to be vested with all the powers con- ceded to the Company in the year 1(570.
Ht/i. — The Roval Charter, and the Licences of 1821 and of 18,38, were granted for the fulfilment of great national objects, on avowed grounds of public utility, and for the attainment of results Avhicli could not otherwise have been accomplished.
(it/t. — The greater part of the territories belonging to the Hud- son's Bay Company, and also the larger portion of the region over which the right of exclusive trade witli the Indians has been granted, are not adapted for European colonization, and are almost solely useful for the obtainment of furs and skins, which, owing to the nature of the country and the habits of the aborigines, expe- rience has proved it to be impossible for private individuals to prosecute with success.
7th. — By the occupation of several positions in the Oregon region, and other places west of the Rocky Mountains, the Hudson's Bay Company have secured for Great Britain a large extent of country on tlie coast of the Pacific Ocean, including the impotent island of Vancouver, which would probably otherwise have been sei-pd by the United States and by Russia, to the manifest disadvantage of England.
Sth. — The constitution and working of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany is equitable and effective, and well adapted to promote the energetic and continuous services of experienced functionaries, and admirably devised for securing order, obedience, and probity.
9th. — Wherever it has been found practicable to form agricultural estabhshments, and to promote colonization, the Hudson's Bay Company and their servants have spared no labour or expense, as exemplified by the Red River Settlement, Fort Vancouver, and other places.
lOth. — No other Association seems so well adapted, as the Hud- son's Bay Company, for effecting the colonization of the island of Vancouver.
APPENDIX.
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CopYofUie KoYAL CuAHTBR fuf incorporating the Hudson's Bay Company, granted by his Majesty King Charles the Second, in the 'i'iiul year of liis reif^n, A.D. 1070.
Charles the Second, by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faitli, &c., To all to whom these presents shidl come greeting: Whereas our dear and entirely beloved Cousin, Prinue Uupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria and Cumberland, &o. ; Christopher Duke of Albemarle, William Earl of Craven, Henry Lord Arlington, Anthony Lord Ashley, Sir John Robinson, p.ud Sir Robert Vyner, Knights and Baronets; Sir Peter Colleton, Baronet; Sir Edward Hungerford, Knight of the Bath; Sir Paul Neele, Knight; Sir John Griffith and Sir Philip Carteret, Knight; James Hayes, John Kirke, Francis Millington, William Prettyman, John Fenn, Esquires; and John Portman, Citizen and Goldsmith of London; have, at their own great cost and charges, undertaken an expedition for Hudsim's Bay, nt the north-west part of America, for the discovery of a new passage into the South Sea, and /or the Jinding sum* trade for fun, minerals and other considerable commodities, and by such their undertaking have already made such discoveries us do ccduruge them to proceed further in pursuance of Iheir said design, by means whereof . ,', , c may probably arise very great advantage to us and our kingdom : And whereas the said Undertakers, for their further encouragement in the said design, have humbly besought us to incorporate them, and grant unto them and their successors the sole trade and commerce of all those seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoejer latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the straits, commonly called Hudson's Straits, together with all the lands, countries and territories upon tlie coasts and confines oftlie seas, straits, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds ({fore- said, which are not now actually possessed by any of our subjects, or by the subjects of any other Christian Prince or Slate : Now know ye, that we, being desirous to promote
I endeavours tending to the public good of our people, and to encourage the said undertaking, have, of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere notion, given, grantid, ratified and confirmed, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, DO give, grant, ratify and confirm, unto our said Cousin, Prince Rupert, Cliristopher Duke of Albemarle, William Earl of Cravsn, Henry Lord Arlington, Anthony Lord Ashley, Sir John Robinson, Sir Robert Vyner, Sir Peter Colleton, Sir Edward Hungerford, Sir Paul Neele, Sir John Griffith and Sir Philip Carteret, James Hayes, John Kirke, Francis Millington, William Prettyman, John Fenn and John Portman, that they, and such others as shall be admitted in'.o the suid society as is hereafter expressed, shall be one body corporate and politic, iu deed and in name, by the name of " The Governor and
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Company of Adventurers of £i (jland trading into Hudson's Bay," and them by the name of " The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hud- son's Bay," one body corporate and politic, in deed and in name, really and fully for ever, for us, our heirs and successors, we do make, ordain, constitute, establish, confirro and declare by tliese presents, and that by the same name of Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay, they shall have per- petual succession, and that they aru tiieir successors, by the name of " The Governor and Company of Adventurers of i.' igland tradir^' into Hudson's Bay," be, and at all times hereafter shall be, personable and capable in law to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy and retain lands, rents, pri\ileges, liberties, jurisdictions, franchises and hereditaments, of what kind, nature or quality soever they be, to them and their successors ; and also to give, grant, demise, alien, assign and dispose lands, tenements, and hereditamtnts, and to do and execute all and singular other things by the same name tliat to tl'eni shall or may appertain to do ; and that th :y and their successors, by the name of " Thi, Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay," may plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended, in whatsoever courts and places, before whatsoever judges and justices, and other persons and officers, in all and singular actions, pleas, suits, quarrels, causes and demands whatsoever, of whatsoever kind, nature or sort, in such maimer and form as any other our liege people of this our realm : f England, being persons able and capable in law, may or cp.n have, purchase, receive, possess, cujoy, retam, give, grant, demise, alien, assign, dispose, plead, defend and be defended, do, permit and execute ; and that the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay, and their successors, may have a common seal to serve for all the cansv 3 and businesses of them and their successors, and that it shall and may be lawful to the said Governor and Company, and their successors, she some seal, from time to time, at their will and pleasure, to break, change, and to make anew or alter, as to them shall seem expedient: And further 'i^k will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, ws do ordain, that there shall be froi^n henceforth one of the same Company to be elected and appointed in such form as hereafter in these presents is eyr essed, which shall be called the Governor of tlie suid Company ; and that the said Governor and Company shall or may elect seven of their number, in such form as hereafter in these presents is expressed, which shall be called the Committee of the said Company, which Committee of seven, or any three of tl'.eiu, together with the Governor or Deputy Governor of th;^ said Company for the time being, shall have the direction of Jie voyages of and for the said Company, and the provision of the shipping and merchandizes thereunto belonging, and also the sale of all merchiiudizea, goods and other things returned, in all or any the voyages or ships of or for the said Company, and the managing and handling of all other business, affairs and things belonging to the said Company : And we will, ordain, and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successorti, unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, that they the said Governor and Company, and their successors, shall fro:a henceforth for ever be ruled, ordered and governed according to such manner and form as iB hereafter in the-je presents expressed, and not otherwise ; and that they shall
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hiive, iiold) retain and enjoy the grants, liberties, privileges, jurisdictions and immu- nities only hereafter in these presents grauted and expressed, and no other : And for the better execution of our will and grant in this behalf, we hate assigned, nominated, constituted and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do ASSIGN, nominate, constitute and make our said Cousin, Pbince Bupebt, to be the first and present Governor of the said Company, and to continue in tlie said office from the date of these presents until the 10th November then next following, if he, the said Prince Rupert, shall so long live, and so until a new Governor be chosen by the said Company in form hereafter expressed : And also we have assigned, nominated and appointed, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we so assign, nominate and constitute, the said Sir John Robinson, Sir Robert Vyner, Sir Peter Colleton, James Hayes, John Kirke, Francis Millington and John Portman to be the seven first and present Committees of tlie said Company, from the date of these presents until the said lOtli day of November then also next following, and so until new Com- mittees shall be chosen in form hereafter expressed : And further we will and grant by the''> presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto tlie said Governor and Company, and their successors, Uiat it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company for the time being, or the greater part of Uiem present at any public assembly, commonly called the Court General, to be holden for the said Company, the Governor of the said Company being always one, from time to time to elect, nominate and appoint one of the said Company to be Deputy to the said Governor, which Deputy shall take a corporal oath, before the Governor and three or more of the Committee of the said Company for thu lime being, well, truly and faithfully to execute his said office of Deputy to the Governor of the said Company, and after his oath so taken shall and may from time to time, in thv absence of the said Governor, exercise and execute the office of Governor of the said Company, in such sort as the said Ooremor ought to do : And further we will and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said Governor and Company of Adv^ ^tures of England trading into Hudson's Bay, and their successors, that they, or the greater part of them, whereof the Governor for the time being or his Deputy to be one, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, shall and may have authority and power, yearly and every year, between the first and last day of November, to assemble and meet together in some convenient place, to be appointed from time to time ^y the Governor, or in his absence by the Deputy of the said Governor for tlie time being, and that they being so assembled, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor or Deputy of the said Governor, and the said Com- pany for the time being, or tlie greater part of them which then shall happen to be present, whereof the Governor of the said Company or his Deputy for the time being to be one, to >.lect and nominate one of the said Company, which shall be Governor of the said Company for one whole year then next following, which person being so elected and nominated to be Governor of tlie said Company as is aforesaid, before he be admitted to the executio:: of the said office, shall take a corporal oath before the last Governor, being his predecessor or his Deputy, and any three or more of the Com- mittee of tlie said Company for the time being, that he shall from time to time well and truly execute the office of Governor of the said Company in all things concemiog
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the same ; aud that immediately after the same oath so taken, he shall and mny execute aud use the said oflSce of Governor of the said Company for one whole year from thence next following : And in like sort we will and grout, that as well every one of the ahove-named to be of the said Company or Fellowship, as all others hereafter to be admitted or free of the said Company, shall take a corporal oath before tlie Governor of tite said Company or his Deputy for the time being to such effect as by the said Governor and Company, or the greater part of them, in any public court tu be held for the said Company, shall be in reasonable or legal manner set down and devised, before they shall be allowed or admitted to trade or truffle as a freeman of the said Company: And further we will and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto tlie said Governor and Company, and tlieir successors, that the said Governor or Deputy Governor, and the rest of the said Company, and their successors for the time being, or the greater part of them, whereof tlie Governor or Deputy Governor from time to time to be one, shall and may from time to time, and at all times hereafter, have power and authority, yearly and every year, between the first and last day of November, to assemble and meet together in some convenient place, from time to time to be appointed by the said Governor of the said Company, or in his absence by his Deputy ; and that they being so assembled, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor or his Deputy, and die Company for the time being, or the greater part of them, which then shall happen to be present, whereof Uie Governor of tlie said Com- pany or his Deputy for tlie time being to be one, to elect and nominate seven of tlie said Company, which shall be a Committee of the said Company for one whole your from then next ensuing, which persons being so elected and nominated to be a Com- mittee of the said Company as aforesaid, before they be admitted to the execution of their office, shall take a corporal oath before the Governor or his Deputy, and any flirce or more of the said Committee of the said Company, being their last predecessors, tlmt they and every of them shall well and faithfully perform their said office of Committees in all things concerning the same, and that immediately after the said oath so taken, they shall and may execute and use their said office of Committees of Uie said Com- pany, for one whole year from thence next following: And moreover, our will ond pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs aud successors, we do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, that when and as often as it shall happen, the Governor or Deputy-Governor of the said Company for the time being, at any time within one year after that he shall be nominated, elected and sworn to the office of the Governor of tlie said Company, as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from the said office, which Governor or Deputy Governor not demeaning him- self well in his said office, we will to be removable at the pleasure of the rest of the said Company, or the greater part of them which shall be present at their public assemblies, commonly called their General Courts holden for the said Company, that then and so often it shall and may be lawful to and for the residue of the said Com- pany for the time being, or thi^ greater part of tliem, within a convenient time after the death or removing of any sucli Governor or Deputy Governor, to assemble themselves in such convenient place as they shall think fit, for the election of the Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company ; and that the said Company, or the greater part
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of them, being thf.n ami there present, shall and may, then and there, before their departure from the said place, elect and nominate one other of the said Company to be Governor or Deputy Governor for the said Company, in the place and stead of him that so died or was removed ; which person being so elected and nominated to the office of Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company, shall have and exercise the said oiiice for and during the residue of the said year, taking first a corporal oath, as la aforesaid, for the due execution thereof; and this to be done from time to time so often Rs the case shall so require : And also, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said Governor and Company, that when and as often as it shall happen any person or persons of the Committee of the said Company for the time being, at any time within one year next after that they or any of them shall be nominated, elected and sworn to the office of Committee of the said Company as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from the said office, which Com- mittees not demeaning themselves well in their said office, we will to be removable at the pleasure of the said Governor and Company, or the greater part of them, whereof the Governor of the said Company for the time being or his Deputy to be one, that then and so often, it shall and may be la'vful to and for the said Governor, and the rest of the Company for the time being, or the greater part of them, whereof the Governor for the time being or his Deputy to be one, within convenient time after the death or removing of any of the said Committee, to assemble themselves in such convenient place as is cr shall be usual and accustomed for the election of the Governor of the said Company, or where el^e the Governor of the said Company for the time being or bis Deputy shall appoint: And tliat the said Governor and Company, or the greater part of tliem, whereof the Governor for tlie time being or his Deputy to be one, being then and there present, shall and may, tlien and there, before their departure from the said place, elect and nominate one or more of the said Company to be of the Committee of the said Company in the place and stead of him or them that so died, or were or was 80 removed, which person or persons so nominated a^id el'jcted to the office of Com- mittee of the said Company shall have and exercise the said office for and during the residue of the said year, taking first a coriioral oath, as is aforesaid, for the due execu. tion thereof, and this to be done from time to time, so often as the case shall require : And to the end the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay may be encouraged to undertake and effectually to prosecute tlie said design, of our more especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have given, granted, and confirmed, and by tliese presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, DO give, grant, and confirm, unto the said Governors and Company, and their successors, the sole trade and commerce of ail those seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within tlie entrance of the straits commonly called Hudson's Straits, together with alt the lands and territories upon the countries, coasts, and confines of the seas, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds aforesaid, that are not already actually possessed by or granted to any of our subjects, or possessed by the subjects of any other Christian Prince or Stale, with the fishing of all sorts of fish, whales, sturgeons, and all other royal fishes in the seas, bays, inlets and rivers within the premises, and the fish therein taken, together with the royaf'y of the sea upon the coasts within the limits qfore-
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Mid, and all mhui rotfal, ai fpelt diaetnered as not dUeooered, of gold, $iver, genu, and precious ttonet, to be found or discovered within the territories, limits and plac* aforesaid, and that the said land be from henceforth reckoned and reputed as one of our plantations or colonies in America, called " Rupert's Land :" And ruBTHBB, we do by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, make, create and constitute the said Governor and Company for the time being, and their successors, the true and absolute lords and pro- prietors of the same territory, limits and places aforesaid, and of all other the premises, 8AV1NO ALWAYS the faith, allegiance and sovereign dominion due to us, our heirs and successors, for the same, to have, hold, possess and e^joy the said territory, limiu and places, and all and singular other the premises hereby granted as aforesaid, with their and every of their rights, members, jurisdictions, prerogatives, royalties and appurtenances whatsoever, to them the said Oovemor and Company, and their suc- cessors for ever, to be holden of us, our heirs and successors, as of our manor of East Greenwich, in our county of Kent, in free and common soccage, and not in capite or by knight's service; yielding and paying yearly to us, our heirs and successors, for the same, two elks and two black beavers, whensoever and as often as we, our heirs and successors, shall happen to enter into the said countries, territories and regions hereby granted : And fvbtheb, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, we do grant uuto the said Governor and Company, and to their successors, that it shall i>jid may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Com- pany, and their successors, from iime to time, to assemble themselves, for or about any the matters, causes, afifairs or businesses of the said trade, in any place or places for the same convenient, within our dominions or eloewhere, and there to hold court for the said Company, and the affairs thereof ; and thut, also, it shall and may be lawful to and for them, and the greater part of them, being so assembled, and thai shall then and there be present, in any such place or places, whereof the Governor or his Deputy for the time being to be one, to make, ordain and constitute such and so many reasonable 1«W8, constitutions, orders and ordinances as to them, or the greater part of them, being dien and there present, shall seem necessary and convenient for the good government 4rf the said Company, and of all governors of colonies, forts and plantations, factors, masters, mariners and other officers employed or to be employed in any of the terri- tories and lands aforesaid, and in any of their voyages ; and for the better advancement and continuance of the said trade or traffic and plantations, and the same laws, consti- tutions, orders and ordinances so made, to put in, use and execute accordingly, and at their pleasure to revoke and alter the same or any of them, as the occasion shall require : And that the said Governor and Company, so often as they shall make, ordain or establish any such laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances in such form as afore- Mid, shall and may lawfully impose, ordain, limit, and provide such pains, penalties and punishments upon all offenders, contrary to such laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, or any of them, as to the said Governor and Company for the time being, or the greater part of them, then and there being present, the said Oovemor or his Deputy being always one, shell seem necessary, requisite or convenient for the observation of the same laws, constitutions, orders, and ordinances ; and the same fines and amercia- ments ehall and may, by their officers and servants from time to time to be appointed for
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that purpose, levy, take and have, to the use of the said Governor and Company, and
their succesaors, without the impediment of as, our heirs, or siiccessors, or of any the officers or ministers of us, our heirs or successors, and without any account therefore to lis, our heirs, or successors, to be made : All and singular which laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, so as aforesaid to be made, wb will to be duly observed and kept under the pains and penalties tlierein to be contained ; so always as the said laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, fines and amerciaments, be reasonable, and not con- trary or repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable to the laws, statutes or customs of Uiis our realm : And forthermorb, of our ample and abundant grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, that they and their successors, and their factors, servants and agents, fur them and on their behalf, and not otherwise, shall fur ever hertajler have, use and enjoy, not on/}' the whole, entire and only trade and traffic, and the whole, entire and only liberty, me and privilege of trading and trafficking to and from the territory, limits and places aforesaid; hit also the whole and entire trade auu, traffic to and from all havens, bays, creeks, rivers, lakes and seas, into which they shall Jind entrance or passage by water or land out of the territories, limits or placet aforesaid ; and to and with all the natives and people inhabiting, or which shall inhabit within the territories, limits and places aforesaid ; and to and with all other nations inhabiting any the coasts adjacent to the said territories, limits and places which are not already possessed as aforesaid, or whereof the sole liberty or privilege of trade and traffic is not granted to any other of our subjects : And wb, of our further royal favour, and of our more especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, havb granted, and by these presents, for us, our Iteirs and successors, DO grant to the said Governor and Company, and to their successors, that neither the said territories, limits and places, hereby granted as qforesaid, nor any part tliereof, nor the islands, havens, ports, cities, towns or places tltereof or therein contained, shall be visited, frequented or haunted by any of the subjects of us, our heirs or successors, contrary to the true meaning of theu presents, and by virtue of our prerogative royal, which we will not have in tliat behalf argued or brought into question : We straitlt charge, command and prohibit, for us, our heirs and successors, all the subjects of us, our heirs and successors, of what degree or quality soever they be, that none of them, directly or indirectly, do visit, haunt, frequent or trade, traffic or adventure, by way of merchandize, into or from any of the said territories, limits or places hereby granted, or any or eitlter of them, other than the said Governor and Company, and s. ch particular persons as now be or hereafter shall be of that Company, their agents, factors and assigns, unless it be by the licence and agreement of the said Governor and Company in writing first hod and obtained, under their common seal, to be granted, upon pain that every such person or persons that shall trade or traffic into or from any of the countries, territories or limits aforesaid, other than the said Governor and Company and their successors, shall incur our indig- nation, and the forfeiture and the loss of the goods, merchandizes and other things whatsoever, which so shall be brought into this realm of England, or any the domini<ms of the same, contrary to our said prohibition, or the purport or true meaning of these presents, for which the said Governor and Company shall find, take and seize in o\h~it
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places out of onr dominions, when the said Company, their agents, factors or ministers shall trade, traffic or inhabit by virtue of these our letters patent, as also the ship and ships, with the furniture thereof, wherein such goods, merchandizes and other things shall be brought and found ; the one-half of all the said forfeitures to be to us, our heirs and successors, and the other half thereof wb do by these presents clearly and wholly, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said Qovemor and Company, and their successors : And further, all and every the said offenders, for their said contempt, to suffer such other punishment as to us, our heirs and successors, for so high a contempt, shall seem meet and convenient, and not to be in anywise delivered until they and every of them shall become bound unto the said Governor for the time being in the sum of One thousand pounds at the least, at no time then after to trade or traffic into any of the said places, seas, straits, bays, ports, havens or terri- tories aforesaid, contrary to our express commandment in that behalf set down and published: And further, of our more especial grace, wb have condescended and granted, and by Uiese presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors, that we, onr heirs and successors, will not grant liberty, licence or power to any person or persons whatsoever, contrary to the tenor of these our letters patent, to trade, traffic or inhabit, unto or upon any the terri- tories, limits or places afore specified, contrary to the true meaning of these presents, without tlie consent of the said Governor and Company, or the most part of them : And, of our more abundant grace and favour to the said Governor and Company, wb DO hereby declare our will and pleasure to be, that if it shall so happen that any of the persons free or to be free of the said Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay, who shall, before the going forth of any ship or ships appointed for a VOYAGE or otherwise, promise or agree, by writing under his or their hands, to adven- ture any sum or sums of money towards the furnishing any provision, or maintenance of any voyage or voyages, set forth, or to be set lorth, or intended or meant to be set forth, by the said Governor and Company, or the more part of them present at any public assembly, commonly called their General Court, shall not within the space of twenty days next after warning given to him or them by the said Governor or Company, or their known officer or minister, bring in and deliver to the Treasurer or Treasurers appointed for tlie Company, such sums of money as shall have been expressed and set down in writing by the said person or persons, subscribed with the name of said Adventurer or Adventurers, that then and at all times after it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company, or the more part of them present, whereof the said Governor or his Deputy to be one, at any of their General Courts or General Assemblies, to remove and disfranchise him or them, and every such person and persons at their wills and pleasures, and he or they so removed and disfranchised not to be permitted to trade into the countries, territories and limits aforesaid, or any part thereof, nor to have any adventure or stock going or remaining with or amongst the said Company, without the special licence of the said Governor and Company, or the more part of them present at any General Court, first had and obtained in that behalf, any thing before in these presents to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding : And our will and plbaaurb is, and hereby we do also ordain, that it shall and mav be
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lawful to and for the said Ooveraor and Company, or the greater part of them, whereof the Governor for the time being or his Deputy to be one, to admit into and to be of the said Company all such servants or factors, of or for the said Company, and all such others as to them or the most part of tliera present, at any court held for the said Company, the Governor or his deputy being one, shall be Uiought At and agreeable with the orders and ordinances made and to be made for the government of the said Company: And rvRTUER, our will and pleasure is, and by these prnsents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grout unto the said Governor and Company, and to their successors, that it shall and may be lawful in all elections and bye-laws to be made by the General Court of the Adventurers of the said Company, that every person shall have a number of votes according to his stock, that is to say, fur every hundred pounds by him subscribed or brought into the present stock, one vote, aud that any of those that have subscribed less than One hundred pounds may join their respective sums to make up One hundred poiiuds, and have one vote jointly for the same, and not otherwise : And further, of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we do for us, our heirs and successors, grant to aud with the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay, that all lands, islands, territories, plantations, forts, fortifications, factories or colonies, where the said Company's fac- toticn and trade are or shall be, within any the ports or places afore limited, shall be immediately and from hencefortli under the power and command of the said Governor and Company, their successors and assigns ; saving the faith and allegiance due to be performed to us, our heirs and successors aforesaid ; and that the said Governor and Company shall have liberty, full power and authority to appoint and establish Governors and all other officers to goveru them, and that tlic Governor and his Council of the several and respective places where the said Company shall have plantations, forts, factories, colouies or places of trade witliin any tlie countries, lands or territories hereby granted, may have power to judge all persons belonging to the said Governor and Company, or that shall live under them, in all causes, whether civil or criminal, according to the laws of this kingdom, and to execute justice accordingly; and in case any crime or misdemeanor shall be committed in any of the snid Company's plantations , forts, factories or places of trade witliin the limits aforesaid, where judicature cannot be executed for want of a Governor and Council there, then in such case it shall and may be lawful for tlie chief Factor of that place and his Council to transmit the party, together with the offence, to such other plantation, factory or fort where there shall be a Governor and Council, where justice may be executed, or into this kingdom of England, as shall be thought most convenient, tliere to receive such punishment as the nature of his offence shall deserve: And moreover, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do give and grant unto the said Gover- nor and Company, and tlieir successors, free liberty and licence, in case they conceive it necessary, to send either ships of war, men or ammunition, unto any their planta- tions, forts, factories or places of trade aforesaid, for the security and defence of the same, and to choose commanders and officers over them, and to give them power and authority, by commission under their common seal, or otherwise, to continue or make peace or war with any prince or people whatsoever, that are not Christians, in any
•■««UI«1»<H«L„W..
1«0
places when die said Company shall have any plantations, forts or factories, or adjaeent thereunto, as shall be most for the advantage and benefit of the said Governor and Company, and of their trade ; and also to right and recompense themselves upon the goods, estates or people of those parts, by whom the said Governor and Company shall sustain any injury, loss or damage, or upon any other people whatsoever that shall any way, contrary to the intent of these presents, interrupt, wrong or injure them in their said trade, within the said places, territories and limits granted by this Charter : And that it shall and may be 1awf\il to and for the said Governor and Company, and their successors, from time to time, and at all times from henceforth, to erect and build such castles, fortifications, forts, garrisons, colonies or plantations, towns or villages, in any parts or places within the limits and bounds granted before in these presents unto the said Governor and Company, as they in their discretion shall think fit and requisite, and for the supply of such as shall be needful and convenient, to keep and be in the same, to send out of this kingdom, to the said castles, forts, fortifications, garrisons, colonies, plantations, towns o- villages, all kinds of clothing, provision of victuals, ammunition and implements necessarj for sucl purpose, paying the duties and customs for the same, as also to transport and carry over such number of men, being willing thereunto, or not prohibited, as they shall think fit, and also to govern them in such legal and reasonable manner as the said Governor and Company shall think best, and to inflict punishment for misdemeanors, or impose such fines upon them for breach of their orders, as in these presents are formerly expressed : And fvbther, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for ns, our heirs and successors, ws no grant unto the said Governor and Company, and to their successors, full power and lawful authority to seize upon the persons of all such English, or any other our subjects which shall sail into Hudson's Bay, or inhabit in any of the countries, islands or territories hereby granted to the said Governor and Company, without their leave and licence in that behalf first had and obtained, or that shall contemn or disobey their orders, and send them to England ; and that all and every person or persons, being our subjects, any ways employed by the said Governor and Company, within any the parts, places and limits aforesaid, shall be liable unto and sufi'er such punishment for any offences by them committed in the parts aforesaid, as the President and Council for tlie said Governor and Company there shall think fit, and the merit of the offence shall require, as afore- said ; and in case any person or persons being convicted and sentenced by the Presi- dent and Council of the said Governor and Company, in the countries, lands or limits aforesaid, their factors or agents there, for any offence by them done, shall appeal from the same, that then and in such case it shall and may be lawful to and for the said President and Council, factors or agents, to seize upon him or them, and to carry him or them home prisoners into England, to the said Governor and Company, there to receive such condign punishment as his cause shall require, and the law of this nation allow of; and for the better discovery of abuses and injuries to be done unto the said Governor and Company, or their successors, by any servant by them to be employed in the said voyages and plantations, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company, and their respective President, Chief Agent or Governor in the parts aforesaid, to examine upon oath all factors, masters, pursers, aupercargoea, com-
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iiianders of castles, forts, furtiiicntionB, plantatiniis or coloiiies, or other persona, touching or concerning any matter or thing in wliich hy law or usage an oatli may be aihninistered, so as the said oath, and the matter therein contained, be not repugnant, but agreeable to the lows of tliis realm : Axu we do hereby straitly charge and command all and singular our Admirals, Vice-Admirals, Justices, Mayors, Sheriffs, Constables, Bailiffs, and all and singular other our officers, ministers, liege men and subjects whatsoever, to be aiding, favouring, helping and assisting to the said Governor and Company, and to their successors, and to their deputies, officers, factors, servants, assigns and ministers, and every of them, in executing and enjoying the premises, as well on land as on sea, from time to time, when any of you shall thereunto be required ; ANY Statute, act, ordinance, proviso, proclamation or restraint heretofore had, made, set forth, ordained or provided, or any other matter, cause or thing whatsoever to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding. In Witness wheheok we have caused tliese our Letters to be made Patent. Witness ounsELi? at Westminster, the second day of May iu the twoand-tweutietli year of our reign.
Hy Writ of I'rivy Seal.
FIGOTT.
B.
Cbown Gbant to tlie Hudson's Bay Company of the exclusive Trade with the Indians in certain parts of North America, for a furtlier term of Twenty-one Years, and upon the surrender of a former Grant.
Victoria H.
(l. 8.) VicToniA, by the Grace of (Jod of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith.
To all to whom these Presents shall come, greeting.
Whereas, by an Act passed in the Session of Parliament holden in the first and second year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled, " An Act for regulating tlie Fur Trade, and establishing a Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction within certain parts of North America," it was amongst other things enacted, tliat from and after the passing of the said Act, it should be lawful for liis said Majesty, his heirs or successors, to make Grants, or give his or their Boyal Licence, under the hand and seal of one of his or their Principal Secretaries of State, to any body coii)orate or com- pany, or person or persons, of or for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America as should be speeilied in any such Grants or Licences, respectively, not being part of the lands and territories theretofore granted to the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading to Hudson's Bay, and not being part of imy of our Provinces iu North America, or of any lauds or territories belonging to the United States of America, and that all such Grants and Licences should be good, valid and eflectual for the purpose of securing to all such bodies cor- porate, or companies or persons, (he sole and exclusive privilege of trading with tlie Indians in all such parts of North America (except as thereinafter excepted) as should b« specified in such Grants or Licences, any thing contained in any Act or Acts of
I.
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I'lirlifinieiit, or any law to llic coiilrnry iiotwithstniuUiig ; nml it was further onnctid, that III) HiK^li lirnnt or I.iceini' iiiaih! (»r nivi'ii hy his siiid Miiji'siy, hi» heirs or siiccfs sors, i)f any such uxnliisive privileges of trading witli the Indians in unch parts (if North Aineriea us aforesaid, Khonhl he made or given for any longer period than 21 years, and no rent should he required or demanded for or hi respect of any sue'i Qruut or Licence, or any privileges given therehy under the provisions of tlie said list for the first period of 21 years ; and it was further enacted, that from and after the passing of the said Act, the Governor and Company of Adventurers trading to Hudson's Boy, and every hody cor- porate and company and person to wlumi any such Grant or Licence should be made or given as aforesaid, should respectively keep accurate registers of all persons in their employ in any parts of North America, and should once in each year retnni to the I'rincipiil Secretaries of Htate accurate duplicates of such registers, and should also enter into such security as should he required for the due execution of all processes criminal and civil, as well within the territories incduded with any such Grant, as within those granted hy Charter to the Governor and Company of Adventures of England tradhig to Hudson's Hay, and for the producing or delivering into safe cusjtody, for thi; purpose of trial, all persons in their employ or acting under their authority, who should be charged with any criminal offence, and also for the due and faithful observance of all such rules, regulations and stipulations as should Im! rontained in any such Grant or Licence, either for gradually diminishing and ultimately preventing the sale or distribution or spirituous liquors to the Indians, or for promoting ' ir moral and religious improvement, or for any other object which might be deemed necessary for the remedy or prevention of any otlier evils which had hitherto been fcmnd to exist: And whereas it was in the said Act recited, that by a convention entered into between hii said late Majesty and the United States of America, it was stipulated and agreed, that every country on the North-west coasts of America to the westward of tlie Stony Mountains should be free and open to the citizens and subjects of the two powers for tlie term of tiui years from the date of the signature of that convention; and it was therefore enacted, that nothing in the said Act contained should be deemed or construed to authorize any body corporate, coni])any or person to whom his said Majesty might, under the provisions of the said Act, make or grant or give a Licence of exclusive trade with the Indians in such parts of North America as aforesaid, to claim or exercise any such exclusive trade within the limits sjiecified in the said article, to the prejudice or exclusion of any citizens of the said United States of America who might be engaged in the said trade ; with a proviso, that no British subject should trade with the Indians within such limits without such Grant or Licence as was by the said Act required :
And whereas by an instrument under the hand and seal of the Right llononrable Earl Bathurst, then one of his said late Majesty's Secretaries of State, and dated the 6th day of December 1H2I, after reciting therein, as or to the effect aforesaid, and also reciting that the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading to Hudson's Bay, and certain Associations of persons trading under the name of " The North-west Company of Montreal," had respectively extended tlie fur trade over many parts of North America which had not been before explored, and that the competition in the said trad;; bad been found, for some years then past, to be productive of great
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inconvenience mil loss, not only to the said Company and AssoeintlouH, lint to the said trade in general, and also of great hijnry to the native Indians and of other persons his said Majesty's Hultjects ; and that the said Ooveruor au<l Company of Adventurers trading Id Hudson's Day; and William M'Oillivray of Montreal, in the Province of Lower Canada, esquire; Simon M'Oillivray, of Suft'olk I,«ne, in the eity of I,ondon, merchant; and Edward Kilicc, of Spring-gardens, in the coimty of Middlesex, enquire; had represented to his said Majesty that they had entered into an agreement, on the liOth day of March last, for putting an end to the said competition, and carrying on the said trade for '-21 years, couniifncing with the oull.l of l^'-ll, and i luling with 'lie returns of tlie outfit of 1841, ti) be carried on in the name of the said (Jovernor and Company exclusively, and that the said Governor and Company, and William M'Gillivray, Simon M'Oillivray and Edward EUice had humbly besought liis said bit. Majesty to make a Grant and give his Uoyal Licence to them jointly of and for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in North America, under the restrictions and up(m the terms and conditions specified in tlie said recited Act: his said late Majesty, being desirous of encouraging the said trade, and remedying the evils which had arisen from the competition which Imd tlieretofoic ixistcil tliircin, did give mM grant liis Royal Licence, under the hand and seal of one of his I'rincipul Secretnric"- of State, to the said Governor and Company, and William M'Gillivriiy S'uum M'Oillivray and Edward Ellice, for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America to the northward and to the westward of the said lauds and territories belonging to the United States of America, as should not form jiart of any of bis said Majesty's Provinces in North America, or of tuiy lauds and territories belonging to the said United States of America, or to any European government, state or power; and his said late Majesty did also give and grant and secure to the said Governor and Company, and William M'Gillivray, Simon M'Gillivray and lidward Ellice, the wole and exclusive privilege, for the full period of '-11 years from (he <late of that Grant, of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America as aforesaid (except as thereinafter excepted), and did thereby declare that no rent should be required or demanded for or in respect of tliat Grant and Licence, or any privileges given thereby for the said period of '^1 years, but that the said Governor and Company of Adventurers trading to Hudson's Bay, and the said William M'Gillivray, Simon If'Gillivray, and P^dward Ellice, should, during the period of that Grant and Licence, keep accurate registers of all pers(ms in tlieir employ in any parts of North America, and shouhl once in each year return to his said Majesty's Secretary of State accurate duplicates of such registers, and enter into and give security to his said Majesty, his heirs and successors in the penal sum of i!..'),000 for ensuring, as far as in tlicm might lay, or as they could by their autliority over the servants and persons in their emjiloy, tin- due execu- tion of all criminal processes, and of every civil process in any suit wIktc the matter in dispute shall exceed .£.200, by the offlcers and persons legally empowered to execute such processes within all the territories included in tluit Grant, and for the producing or delivering into custody for purposes of trial all persons in their employ or acting under their authority within the said territories, who should be charged witli any criminal offence ; and his said Majesty did thereby require that the said Governor and
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Compnny, ond Willium M'Ciilliviiij, Siinnii M'dillivrHy nnd Kdwiird Kllice, Hliould, iis HODii us the sumo I'oiilil bi! coiiVL'iiii'iitly done, iniiko and suliinit for liis said MiijeMty'n uoriMiduriitiiin iind tipprnviil, miicU ruleH nnd rcgnliitiuiis for the inaiuiKeniuiit and carrying on (if the Maid fur inulu with the Indians, nnd the condurt of the peraons einidoycd by them therein, an miKht npjjenr to his snid Majesty to be eireelunl for diminishing or preveiitiiit? the sale or distribution of sjiirituons liijnorM to the Indlnns, nnd for pro- moting tlieir mornl iind reUj^Joiis improvement ; nnd hi;* said Mnje:<ly did lliereby dechire, that unthini^' in that (Jrnnt contained shouhl be deemed or eonstrtied to authorize the said Governor and Company, and William M'(iillivrny, Simon M'Oillivray and Edward EUice, or any persons in their employ, to ehiini or exereise any trade with the Tndiiiiis on tlic North west coa^^t of America to the westward of tlie fStony Mountains, to the prejudice exch>sion of any citizens of tlie United States of America who Dii^'lit be eiif^iif7*'d in tlie said trade ; nnd providing also by the uow reciting drunt, that !io IJriiish siilijects otlier than and except the siiid(jovernor and ('omjiuny, anil the said Willium IM'dillivray, Simon MHiillivray and Edward Ellice, nnd the persons aiithori/.ed to carry on exelusive trade by them on Grant, i^hoiild trade with the Indians witliin stieh limits during the jieriod of that (iriiiit :
And wlicvens the said Governur and I'ompuny have aecjnired to themselves all the rights and interests of the said William M-Oillivniy, Simon .M'(iillivray and Edward Ellice, under the said n.'cited Grant, nnd the said (iovernor and Company having humbly besought us to accept a surrender of the said Grant, and in consideration liiercof to make a (iraut to tlicm, and to give to them our IJoyul Licence nnd authority of and for the like exclusive privilege of trading witli the Indians in North America, for the like {lerind and upon similar terms and conditions to those specified nud referred to in the said recited (iraiit: Now know m;, That in consideration of the surrender iiiude to ii-i of the said re cited (irant, and being desirous vj anvoiiraying lite siihl Irailf, luul nj jtrivcmiiKj us minli as jtnssihlt: ii riciirreiicc of Ihc evils mentioned or referred to in the said recited Grant ; as also in eousiderntiou of the yearly rent herein- after reserved to us, We do hereby grant nnd give our Licence, under the hand and seal of one of our Principal SeciCtaries of State, to the said Governor and Coirpany, and their successors, for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North Amerieu, to the northward nnd to tlie westward of the lands and terri- tories belonging to the United States of America, as shall not form part of any of our provinces in Nortli America, or of any lands or territories belonging to the said United States of Aniericft, or to any European government, state or power, but subject never- theless as hereinafter ni( lUioued : And we do by these presents give, griuit and secure to the said Governor and Conipiiny, nnd their successors, the sole and exclusive privilege, for the full pericxl of '21 years from the date of this our Grant, of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America as aforesaid (except as hereinafter mentioned): And we do hereby declare, that no rent shall be required or demanded for or in respect of this our Grant and Licence, or any privilegis given thereby, for tlie lirst four years of the said term of 'll years; nnd we do hereby reserve to ourselves, our heirs and successors, for the remainder of the said term of 21 years, the yearly rent or sum of Os. to be paid by the snid Governor and Company, or their successors, on
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ilie first (lay of Jiiiiu in every year, into our Kxoheqiicr, on ths account of us, our heirs and snocesHors ; ami we do lif reby decilare, tliat the said Governor and Company, and tlu'ir successors, shall, during the period of this our (jrant and Licence, keep accurate rpRisters of all persons in their employ in ony parts of North America, and shall once In each year return to our Secretary of State accurate duplicates of such registers ; and sliall also enter into and give security to us, our heirs and successors, in tlie penal sum of t'.r»,()0(), for ensuring, as far as iii them may lie, or as they can by their autliority over the servants and persons in their employ, the due execution of uU criminal and civil jirocessus by the officers and persons legally empowered to execute such pro. cesses within all the territories included in this our Grant, and for the producing or delivering into custody for the puiitoses of trial all persons in tlieir employ or acting under their authority within tlie said territories who shall be charged with any criminal ofl'ence : And we do also hereby require, that the said Governor and Company, and their successors, shall, as soon as tlie same can be conveniently done, make and submit for our consideration and approval such rules and regulations for the management and carrying on the said fur trade with the Indians, and the conduct of tlie persons employed by them therein, as may appear to us to be effectual for diminishing or preventing the sale or distribution of spiritous liquors to the Indians, and for promoting their moral and religious improvement: But we do hereby declare, that nothing in this our Grant contained shall be deemed or construed to autliorise tlie said Governor and Company, or their successors, or any persons in their employ, to claim or exercise any trade with the Indians on the North-west coast of America to tlie westward of the Stony Mountains, to the prejudice or exclusion of any of the subjects of any foreign states, who, under or by force of any convention for the time being between us and such foreign states respectively, may be entitled to and shall be engaged in the said trade : Provided nevertheless, and we do hereby declare our pleasure to be, tliat nothing herein contained shall extend or be construed to prevent the establishment by us, our heirs or successors, within the territories oforesaid, or any of them, of any colony or colonies, province or provinces, or for annexing any part of the aforesaid territories to any existing colony or colonies to us, in right of our Imperial Crown, belonging, or for constituting any such form of civil government as to us may seem meet, within any such colony or colonies, province or provinces :
And we do hereby reserve to us, our heirs and successors, full power and authority to revoke these presents, or any port tliereof, in so for as the saine may embrace or extend to any of the territories aforesaid, which may hereafter be comprised within any colon; or colonies, province or provinces as aforesaid :
It being nevertheless hereby declared, that no British subjects other than and except the said Governor and Company, and their successors, and tlie persons authorized to carry on exclusive trade by them, shall trade with the Indians during the period of this our Grant within the limits aforesaid, or witliin that part thereof which shall not be comprised within any such colony or province as aforesaid.
Given at our Court at Buckingham Palace, 30th day of May 1838.
By Her Mi\}esty'8 command.
(L. 8.) (Signed) OLENELG.
'■*».■• te-Ai»»(U#:i(g»-_,.v J,,
166
0.
Copt of the Treaty between Her Majesty and the United States of America, for the Settlement of the Oregon Boundary. Signed at Washington, June 15, 1840. BatiRoHtions exchanged at London, July 17, 1840. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty, 1840.
[N.B. — By this treaty it will be seen that tlte Hudson's Bay Company alone, or those British subjects i/ding with them, are entitled to navigate the northern branch of the Columbia River to the 49M parallel; that this right is not general to the people of the Unit' ' Aingu, n ; and that the privilege thus acquired is in perpetuity, as the Charier vj 2 Mail 16T0, under which the Company is constituted " is fob eveb." — R. M. Mabtin.]
Her Majesty tlie Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, an<l the United States of America, deeming it to be desirable for the future welfare of both countries, that the state of doubt and uncertainty which has liitherto prevailed respect- ing the Sovereignty and Ucverument of tlie Territory on the North-west Coast of America, lying westward of the Rocky or Stony Mountains, should be finally terminated by an amicable compromise of tlie rights mutually asserted by tlie two Parties over tlie said Territory, have respectively named Plenipotentiaries to treat and agree concerning the terms of such settlement, that is to say : —
Her Maiesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has, on Her part, appointed the Right Honourable Richard Pakcnham, a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, and Her Majesty's Envoy P^xtraordiuary and Minister Plenipotentiary to tlie United States ; and the President of the United States of America has, on his part, furnished with full powers, James Buchanan, Secretary of State of the United States; who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles : —
Abticle I.
From the point on the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down in existing Treaties and Conventions between Great Britain and tlie United States terminates, the line of boundary between the territories of Her Britannic Majesty and those of the United States shall be continued westward along the said forty-nintli parallel of north latitude, to tlie middle of the channel which separates the continent f'om Vancouver's Island ; and thence southerly, through the middle of the said channel, and of Fuca's Straits, to the Pacific Ocean : provided, however, that tlie navigation of the whole of the said channel and straits, south of the forty ninth parallel of north latitude, remain free and open to both Parties.
1^
AUTICLE IT.
From the point at which the forty-ninth pariilkl of nortli latitude shall be found to intersect the great northern branch of the Columbia Itiver, the navigation of the said branch shall be free and open to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to all British subjects trading with the same, to the point where the said branch meets the main stream qf the Columbia, and thence down the said main stream to the ocean, with free access into and through the said river or rivers ; it being understood, that all the usual portages along the line thus described, shall in like manner be free and open.
In navigating the said river or rivers, British subjects, with their goods and produce, shall be treated on the same footing as citizens of the United States; it being, how- ever, always understood, that nothing in tliis Article shall be construed as preventing, or intended to prevent, the Govennnent of the United States from making any regula- tions respecting the navigation of the said river or rivers, not inconsistent with the present Treaty.
Article III.
In the future appropriation of tlie territory south of the forty-ninth parallel of nortli latittule, tts provided in the First Article of tins Treaty, the possessory rights of the Hud- son's Hay Company, and qf all British subjects who may be already in (he occupation of land or other property lawfully acquired within the said territory, shall be respected.
Article IV.
The farms, lands, and other property of every description, belonging to the Puget's Sound Agricultural Company, on the north side of the Columbia River, shall be confirmed to the said Company, In case, however, the sitnaiicn of those farms and lands should be con- sidered by the United Slates to be of /lublic and political importance, and the United States' Government should signify a desire to obtSi^ possession of ihe whole or of any part thereof, the property so required shall be transfet^nd to the said Government at a proper valuation, to be agreed upon between the parties.
Article V.
The present Treaty sluill be ratified by lier Britannic Majesty, and by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof; and tlie ratifications shall be exchanged at London at the expiration of six months from tlie date hereof, or sooner if possible.
In witness whereof the resjiective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto tlie steals of their arms.
Done at Washington, the liftcenth day of .Mine, in the year of our Lord one thcisand eiglit hundred and forty-six.
RICHARD I'AKINGliAM. (l. s.)
JAMES BUCHANAN. (l. s.)
'^I'mimiimmmtnsa^.s
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D.
RoTAL Draft Chabter for tiie Colonizatiou of Vancouver's Island.
Victoria, by the Grace of God of the United Kuigdom of Great Bvitain and Irehuid, Queen, Defender of the Faith, to all to wliom these presents shall come, greeting: Wliereas by the Royal Charter or letters patent of his late Majesty King Charles tlie Second, bearing date the iind day of May, in tlie 2'-ind year of his reign, his said late Majesty did (amongst other things) ordain and declare that the Governor and Company of Adventurers of Enghmd trading into Hudson's Bay, thereby incorporated, and their successors by tliat name should at all times tliereafter be personable and capable in law to have, purchase, receive, possess, and enjoy and retain lands, rents, privileges, liberties, jurisdictions, franchises and hereditaments, of what nature or kind soever they were, to tliem or their successors: And also to give, grant, demise, alien, assign and dispose lands, tenements and hereditaments, and to do ami execute all and singular other things by the same name tliat to them should or might appertain to do: And his said late Majesty did thereby for himself, his heirs and successors, give, grunt and confirm unto the said Governor and Company and their successors the sole trade and commerce of all those seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks antl sounds, in whatsoever latitude they should be, that lay within the entrance of the straits commonly culled Hudson's Straits, together with all tlie lands and territories upon the countries, coasts and conlines of the seas, buys, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds uforesaiil, Unit were not already actually possessed by or grunted to any of his said late Majesty's subjects, or possessed by the subjects of any other Christian prince or state, with tlie fishing of all sorts of lisli, whales, sturgeons and all other royal fishes in the seas, bays, inlets and rivers witliin the premises, and the fish therein taken ; together with the royalty of the sea upon the coasts within (he limits aforesaid, and uU mines royal, as well then dis- covered as not then discovered, of gold, silver, irgms and jirecious stones to be found or discovered within die territories, limits, and viJa^es aforesaid, and that the said land should be from thenceforth reckoned and reputed us one of his said late Majesty's plantations or colonies in America : And further, his said lute Majesty did thereby for himself, his heirs and successors, niukf, create, and consiitnte the said Governor and Company for tlie time being and tlieir successors tlie true and absolute lords and pro- prietors of the same territory, limits und places aforesaid, and of all other the premises (saving always the faith, allegiance, and sovereign dominion due to his said late Majesty, his heirs and successors for the same) ; to hold, possess and enjoy tln' said territory, limits, and places, and all and singular other the premises tliereby granted as aforesaid, with their and every of their rights, members, jurisdictions prerogatives, royalties, and appurtenances whatsoever to them the said Governor und Company an<l their successors Inr ever ; to be liolden of his said late iMiijesty, his heirs and successors, as of his manor of KhhI (ireenwicli, in the county of Kent, in free and common soccuge, and not in citpitf or by knights' service ; yielding and paying jearly to his said late Majesty, his beirs and succcsmirs, I'or the same, two elks and two black beavcrv whensoever and as often as his suid late Majesty, his heirs and successors, shoiild
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happen to enter into the said countries, territories, and regions thereby granted : And whereas by an Act passed in the session of Parliament held in the 43rd year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Third, intituled, " An Act for extending the Jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice in the Provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, to die Trial and Punishment of Persons guilty of Crimes and Offences within certain Parts of North America ac^oining to the said Provinces," it was enacted that from or after the passing of that Act all offences committed within any of the Indian territories or parts of America not within the limits of either of the said provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, or of any Civil Government of the United States of America, should be and be deemed to be offences of the same nature, and should be tried in the same manner and subject to the same punishment as if the same had been committed within the Provinces of Upper or Lower Canada, and provisions were contained in the said Act regulating the committal and trial of the offendres :
And whereas, by an Act passed in the session of Parliament holden in the first and second years of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled, " An Act for regulating the Fur Trade, and establishing a Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction within certain parts of North America," after reciting, iimong otlier things, that doubts had been entertained whether the provisions of said Act of the 43rd George III. ex- tended to the territories granted by Charter to the said Governor and Company, and that it was expedient tliat such doubts should be removed, and that tlie said Act should he furtlier extended; it was enacted (among other things), tliat from and after the passing of said last-mentioned Act, it should be lawful for his then Majesty, his heirs and successors, to make grants or give his lloyol licence under the hand and seal of one of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State to any body corporate or company, or person or persons of or for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America as should be speciiied in any of sucli grants or licences respectively, not being part of the lands or territories theretofore granted to vlie said Govfriinr and Company of Adventurers pf England trailiii;;' into Hudson's Bay, and noi l>eing poi't of any of his Majesty's provi+.'es ii> North .America, or of any lauds or terri- tories belonging to the United States of America, subject to the provisions and restric- tions in the said Act nientioned : And it was tlieveliy furtlier enacted, that tlie said A't of tlic -lOrd George 111., and all the clauses and provisoes tlierein contained, should be deemed and construe ', and was and were thereby respectively declared to extend to iind over, and to be in full force in and through all the territories tlieretofore granted to the said Company of Adventurers trading to Hudson's Bay : And whereas by our ^"-raut or royal licence bearing date tlie UUIi day of May, IN.'IH, under the liand and seal of one of our tlien t'rincipal Secretaries of State, we granted and gave our licence to the said Governor and Company and tlieir successors for the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in all such jiarts of North America to the northward and westward ol' tJie lands and territories lielongiug to tlie I'liited States of America as sliould not form part of any of our provincc'^' in North America, or cif any lands or territories lieldiif'ing to the United States of America, or to any European Government, State or I'ower, suliject nevertheless as therein mentioned; And we did thereby give and grant and secure to the said Oovernor and Company, and tlieir successors, tlie sole and exclusive privile)/!'
M
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for the full period of twenty-oue years from the date thereof, of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America as aforesaid, except as therein mentioned, at tlie rea( therein reserved, and upon the terms and subject to the qualification and power of revocation therein contained : And whereas by a treaty between ourselves and tlie United States of America, for the settlement of the Oregon boundary, signed at Wasli- ington on the 1.5th day of June, 1840, it was agreed upon and concluded (amongst other things) as follows . Tlint from the point of the 49th parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down in existing treaties ond convent"ons between Great Britain and the said United States, terminated Uie line of boundary between our terri- tories and those of the said United States, should be continued westward along tlie said parallel of nortli latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the Continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly Uirough the middle of the said channel and of De Fnca's Straits to the Pacilic Ocean : Provided, however, that the navigation of tlie whole of the said channel and straits south of tlie 49th parallel of north latitude should remain free and open to both parties : And whereas certain of our lands and territories in North America lie to the westward and also to the north- ward of the territory granted to the said Governor and Company by the hereinbefore recited grant or letters patent of his said late Majesty King Charles the Second, and which is, pursuant to the direction in that behalf contained in such grant or letters patent, called or known as Rupert's Land, and t'> the eastward of the territories tlie boundary line of whioli is defined by tlie hereinbefore recited treaty with the United States of North America : And whereas under the said last-mentioned ^ ant or letters patent, and also under our liereiubefore recited grant or licence of tlie IStli day of May, 1838, the said Governor and Company have traded as well within as beyond the limits of the lands and territories granted to them by the said grant or letters patent of his said late Majes*' K'ng Charles the Second, and have in connection with and for the protection of tliiir trade beyond the said limits, been in the habit of erecting forts and other isolated establishments without tlie tit^d limits, and some of such forts and establishments of the said Governor and CbiB;)any are now existing in that part of our said territories in North America, including Vancouver's Island, the boundar3 lint between which and the territories of the said ^Jnited States is determined by the herein- before recited treaty between ours?ke3 and tlie said United States : Jnd whereas it would conduce greatly to the mnlvlenance of peace, juitice, and good order, and the advance- ment of colonization and the promotion and encouragement of trade and commerce in, and also to tiie protection an.r welfare of the native Indians residing within that porfioti of our territories in North America called Vancouver's Island, if such Island were colonized by settlers from the British dominions, and tf the properly in the land of such island were vested for the purpose of such colonization in the said Governor and Company of Advevturers of England trading into Hudson's Bay; but nevertheless, upon condition that tlie said Governor and Company Should form on the said island a settlement or settlements, as hereinafter mentioned, for tlic purpose of colonizing the said island, and also should defray the entire expense of any civil and military establishments which may be required for the protection and government of such settlement or settlements (except, nevertheless, during tlie time of hostilities between Great Britian and any foreign
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the Indians tioned, at tlie and power of elves and tlie ed at Wasli- ded (ainongst orth latitude', between Great ween our terri- along tlie said the Continent le of the said owever, that tht 4gth parallel of lereas certain of Iso to the north - the hereinbefore the Second, and g^ant or letters he territories tlie with the United d ^ ant or letters 13tli day of May, (eyond the limits ters patent of his with and for tlie erecting forts and )f such forts and n that part of our he boundar line; ned by the herein- I : .ind whereas it r, and the ndvancc- d commerce in, and that portion of our i were colonized hj I island were vested of Adventurers vf tion that tlie said i or settleinents, as (], and also should ts which may be ettlements (except, i and any foreign
European or American power) : Now know ye, that We, being moved by th'* reasons before mentioned, do by these presents, for us, our heirs and snccesssrs, give, grant, and confirm unto the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay, and their successors, all that the said island called Vancouver's Island, with the fishing of all sorts of fish in the seas, bays, inlets and rivers within or surrounding the same, together with all royalties of the seas upon the coasts within the limits aforesaid, and all mines royal thereto belonging: And further We do, by these presents, for Us. our heirs and successors, make, create, and constitute, the said Governor and Company for the time being, and tlieir successors, the true and absolute lords and proprietors of the same territories, limits and places, and of all otlier the premises (saving always the faith, allegiance, and sovereign dominion due to us, our heirs and successors for the same), to have, hold, possess and enjoy the said territory, limits, and places, and all and singular other the premises hereby granted as aforesaid, with their and every of their rights, members, royalties, and appurtenances whatsoever to them, the said Governor and Company, and their succe: sors for ever, to be holden of us, our heirs and successors, in free and common soccage, at tlie yearly rent of 7s., payable to us and our successors for ever, on the 1st day of January in every year: Provided always, and we declare. That this present grant is made to the intent tliat the said Governor and Company shall establish upon the said island a settlement or settle- ments of resident colonists, emigrants from our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or from otlier our dominions, and shall dispose of tlie land there as may be neoi^ssary for the purpose of promoting settlements (and for the actual purjwse of pro- moting settlements), and for the actual purposes of colonization, and shall, once in every two years at the least, certify under the seal of the said Governor and Company, to one of our Principal Secretaries of State, what colonists shall have been from time to time settled in the said island, and what land shall have been disposed of aj< afore- said : And wc further declare, that this present grant is made upon this condition, that if the said Governor and Company s|tiifl not, within tlie term of five years from the date of these presents, have established upoiK the said island a settlement of resident colonists, emigrants from the United King^oiu of Great Britain and Ireland, or from other our dominions, and it shall |lt any tim^, after the expiration of such tenu of five years, be certified to us, our heirs or Biiccesso^ by any person who shtil be appointed by us, our heirs, or successors, t(i inquire into tite condition of such island, Uiat such settlement has not been establis|)ed according to wfi intent of this oiir grant, it shall be lawful for us, our heirs and successors, to revoke thn present grai^i, and to enter upon and resume the said islaml and pi^mises hereby gremted, without prejudice, neverthe- less, to such dispositions as may li^ve been made in ijLie mean time by tlie said Gover- nor and Company o; . ■)• land in thtrVaid island for the actual purposes of c(donijsation and settlement, and us shall have been certified as aforesaid to one of our principal Secretaries "f StHte : A"d we hereby declare, tliat this present grant is and shall be deemed »■ '.en to be made upon this further conditio^, that we, our heirs and suc- cessorK, lal) have, and we accordingly reserve unto its and tliem, full power, at tlie expiration of the said Governor and Company's grant or licence of or for tlie exclusive privilege of tradi:> vvith the Indians, to repttrchase and take of and from the said
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Guveiuor uud Company the said Vaocouvei's Island and premities hereby granted, in i^onsiderntion of payment belti^ ms.de by us, our heirs or successors, to the said Governor and Company of the, ^um or sums of money theretofore hiid out nnd expended by them in imd upon the said island and premises, and of the value of their establish- iiu'uts, property, and effects then being tliereon. In witness whereof, we have caused ihcijf our letters to be made patent. Witness Ourselves at Westminster the ■ luv ol' in the year of our reign. ■■•■■•
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