"Arts, Faculty of"@en . "History, Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "Dee, Henry Drummond"@en . "2011-11-15T21:48:19Z"@en . "1943"@en . "Master of Arts - MA"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "[No abstract submitted]"@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/39031?expand=metadata"@en . "JOHN WORK: A CHRONICLE OF HIS LIFE \u00E2\u0080\u00A2AND A DIGEST OF HIS JOURNALS \u00E2\u0080\u00A2by e Henry Drummond Dee A Thesis submitted in Part i a l Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of HISTORY The University of British Columbia Ap r i l , 1943 JOHN WORK 1 1 ' 0 0- N T' S W T S CHAPTER PACE I Xn\"fcx*ocLucision \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00C2\u00BB\u00C2\u00AB \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 . \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00BB 4 \u00C2\u00BB \u00C2\u00BB \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00BB \u00C2\u00AB * e * \u00C2\u00AB e o \u00C2\u00AB c \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00BB * \u00C2\u00AB > \u00C2\u00AB 1 I I T r a n s c o n t i n e n t a l Journey, 1823 ............ -29 I I I F i r s t Days on the Columbia, 1825-24 ,. 50 IV With McMillan to the Eraser, 1824 ......... 65 V Spolrane I n t e r l u d e , 1825-1826 . 81 VI F o r t C o l v i l e , 1826-1850 .................... 112 VI I F i r s t Snake R i v e r E x p e d i t i o n , 1830-31 ..... 140 V I I I An E x p e d i t i o n .to the Fl a t h e a d and B l a c k f o o t Country, 1831-32 ....... 174 IX The Sacramento and TJmpqua E x p e d i t i o n s , X To the Northwest Coast, 1834-35 232 XI P o r t Simpson and Eo r t V i c t o r i a , . . 183 6-61 . .. 258 13 lE-3Ij \u00C2\u00ABLOG'l-^ .i.'iJ- \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00C2\u00AB \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 a * * \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00AB e \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00AB * \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00AB e * 9 < > * \u00C2\u00AB o o \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00AB 3 \u00C2\u00AB a * \u00C2\u00BB s \u00C2\u00AB \u00C2\u00BB \u00C2\u00BB r 2 9 MAPS AND I11IBTRAT IONS John Work B r i t i s h .North America Reproduction of a page i n Work r s j o u r n a l s .. F i r s t . Snake R i v e r E x p e d i t i o n .. Fl a t h e a d and. B l a c k f o o t Country Sacramento E x p e d i t i o n Sacramento E x p e d i t i o n (continued) Northwest Coast Home at H i l l s i d e V i c t o r i a D i s t r i c t 9 9 * * *\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 F r o n t i s p i e c e A f t e r page 28 A f t e r page 31 A f t e r page 139 A f t e r page 173 A f t e r page 201 A f t e r page 204 A f t e r page 231 A f t e r page 286 After'page 284 CHAPTER I Introduction This i s a chronicle of a man who was a furtrader, trapper, administrator and farmer on the Pacific coast. \"To none of the Hudson's Bay Company's officers,\" wrote Bancroft, \" i s posterity more indebted than to John Work, whose journals of various expeditions, nowhere else mentioned, f i l l a gap in 1 history.\" For 38 years, from 1825 to 1861, he l i v e d on the coast, where he was concerned either directly or indirectly with almost every important development in the a c t i v i t i e s of the Company within the region. Work was an Irishman, born about 1792 i n County Donegal. He joined the Company as a writer when he was twenty-two years of age, so that he was older than many of his associates. In his contract, which i s dated Stromness, June 15, 1814, he i s described as f a i r i n complexion and five feet seven inches t a l l . He spent the season of 1814-15 at York Factory as steward, but was then transferred to the neighbor-ing Severn D i s t r i c t , where he became second trader at Severn House. In 1818-19 he was promoted d i s t r i c t master. Work was f i t t i n g into the Company nicely, since Nicholas Garry in 182-1 described him as a \"Most excellent young Man in Every Respect\". 1 Bancroft, Hubert Howe, History of the Northwest Coast, San Francisco, The History Company, 1886, v o l . 2, p. 464, n. 7. 2. Rich, E.E., ed., The Letters of John MoLoughlin from Fort Vancouver to the Governor and Committee, F i r s t Series 1825-38, Toronto, the Champlain society, 1941. (hereafter referred to as H.B.S., IV) p. 356. Garry was sent out from England by the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Com-pany to carry out the 1821 coalition as smoothly as possible. a This was no mean tribute to win from so shrewd a judge of men. The coalition of the Hudson's Bay and the North West companies in 1821, made l i t t l e difference at f i r s t to John Work. He was ranked as a clerk and remained in the Severn D i s t r i c t during 1821-22. Then he went to the adjoining Island lake Di s t r i c t where he remained u n t i l 1823, making his headquarters at Island lake House. l i t t l e i s known as yet of these early years but i f his journals of Severn House and Island Lake House, 3 which are now in the Hudson's Bay Archives in London, prove aa illuminating as his later journals on the Paci f i c Coast have done, much new information may be added to an already fascinat-ing career. Work was transferred from the Island Lake D i s t r i c t to that of the Columbia and l e f t York Factory on July 18, 1823,, to take up his new duties. He was to spend the. rest of hia l i f e west of the Rockies, a l i f e which was to be adventurous but hard, and at times extremely irksome. When Work entered the Hudson's Bay Company's service in 1814, the Company was ; 1 engaged in murderous competition with the North Westers of Montreal. Until 1821 the servants of the r i v a l companies engaged in cutthroat tactics and i n raids on each others.posts. Furs were trapped in and out of season, to the depletion of whole areas east of the Rookies. John Work had l i t t l e contact with this s t r i f e i n Severn, but he was now transferred to a d i s t r i c t which had been explored and developed in large part as a resuit of thi s ruthless competition. The names of Simon 3 H. B. S., IY, p. 356. 3 4 Fraser, John Stuart, Daniel W. Harmon and David Thompson bulk large in this development of North West interests on the Pacific slope. For a while the Nor'Westers were threat-ened by American competition, but this ceased when Astoria was sold to the North West Company in 1813. The interests of the latter thereupon became paramount in Old Oregon. However, according to Frederick Merk, \"Discipline among employees became lax; extravagance and waste crept into the conduct of the trade, a disease which spread even to the Oregon Country, 5 \u00C2\u00BB..'* Meanwhile, the internecine s t r i f e between the Companies had reached i t s peak i n the pitched battle of Seven Oaks at Red River in 1816. This a f f a i r involved both in costly l i t i -gation. Neither could stand the steady financial drain that such tactics involved. Finally, in 1821, the long struggle was ended by an 4 Simon Fraser became an articled clerk in the North, West Company at the age of sixteen. In 1802, he became a bourgeois and in 1808 he. followed the Fraser River to i t s mouth. John Stuart entered the services of the North West Company i n 1799. In 1805 he ?^as sent west of the Rockies, and accompanied Simon Fraser i n his descent of the Fraser River. He was placed in charge of New Caledonia in 1809 and l e f t i t in 1824. He entered the Hudson's Bay Company as Chief Factor in 1821 and retired i n 1839. Daniel W. Harmon was an American in the service of the North West Company. He spent the years from. 1810 to 1819 in New Caledonia. David Thompson i s inseparably connected with the discovery and the exploration of the Far West. He was the f i r s t trained surveyor and cartographer of that area. 5 Merk, Frederick, Fur Trade and Empire, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1931, p. x i . agreement resulting in coalition. In this merger the Hudson1 s Bay Company took, over the trading posts and personnel of the North West Company and a new organization was formed by Royal Licence. This Licence granted the rights of exclusive trade to the Company for twenty-one years in B r i t i s h Horth America east of the Rockies, and in addition, the sole Br i t i s h rights of trade in the Oregon Country where equal right to the nationals of both Great Britain and the United States had been guaranteed by Treaty i n 1818. George Simpson, who was of the same age as Work, was appointed Governor of the enlarged North-ern Department in which the western d i s t r i c t s of New Caledonia and the Columbia were included* Simpson had f i r s t seen service with the Company i n Athabasca i n 1820-21\u00C2\u00BB He was only twenty-nine but had already 7 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 shown outstanding qualities of leadership. He was t i r e l e s s i n the execution of his duties. He could exercise tact but i f necessary was utterly ruthless. He was to reduce the vast organization to the economical precision of a machine. When Simpson sent Work to the Columbia, Hudson's Bay policy west of the Rockies was as yet i n a state of flux. Be-tween 1821-23, the new Governor had already with the vigor of a new broom, swept clean the greater part of the Northern 6 Scholefield, E.O.S., B r i t i s h Columbia from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vancouver, Chicago, etc., The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1914, v o l . 1, pp. 338-9, 669-671. (hereafter referred to as Howay and Scholefield) See also Morton, Arthur S., A History of the Canadian West to 1870-71, London,Edinburgh, etc., Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1939 (?), pp. 623-709. 7 Rich, E.E., ed., Journal of Occurrences i n the Athabasca Department by George Simpson, 1820 and 1821, and Report, Toronto, The Champlain Society, 1938, p. x l i . 5 Department, New Caledonia and the Columbia had \"been l e f t to the last since the pressing problem had been the elimin-ation of duplicate services in areas where the Companies had been competitors. The country to which Work was going had i t s problems too, even i f they were not of so pressing a nature. As Merk suggests, \"no solid foundation for authority existed there 8 since i t s sovereignty was s t i l l undetermined\". In 1818 the United States of America and Great Britain had concluded a ten-year treaty of joint occupation which gave the nationals of both the right to trade. The Hudson's Bay Company would need strong leaders and capable subordinates who could control this trade, who could maintain the law and order necessary for i t s success and who could bring about the efficiency which would be needed to overoome American competition. Other problems existed beside these, making the value of future trade in the Columbia f i e l d highly questionable. There had been jealousy and bickering among the winter partners. lax and wasteful methods had crept in, especially when the country was new and r i c h and when petty economies did not seem to matter. Referring to the Columbia, Simpson said, ...I f e e l that a very severe reflection i s cast on those who had the management of the Business, as on looking at the prodigious expencea that have been incurred and the means at their command, I cannot help thinking that no economy has been observed, that l i t t l e exertion has been used and that sound judgment has not been exercised but that mismanagement and extravagance has been the order of the day. 9 8 9 Merk, op. c i t . , p. xxi. Ibid., p. xxv and p. 65. Moreover, too many men were employed. No wonder the trade of the Company had admittedly \"been unprofitable and that the Governor and Committee had been prepared to give the area up. However, by 1828, the ten years of joint occupancy would run out and, presumably, the boundary line would be drawn. There-fore , the Company agreed, . . . i f by any improved arrangement the loss can be reduced to a small sum, i t is worth a serious consideration, whether i t may not be good policy to hold possession of that country, with a view of protecting the more valuable d i s t r i c t s to the Horth of \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 i t . . . . 10 Until such time as Simpson could v i s i t the Columbia, nothing much could be done except to send out efficient men as new blood into the personnel. Among these were Samuel Black 11 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 and Peter Skene Ogden, both old North Westers. In 1825, in the capacity of clerk assigned to Spokane House, John Work accompanied Ogden west from York Factory. With Simpson i n 12 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 1824 came Dr. John McLoughlin to take over the Columbia 10 Governor and Committee of Hudson1s Bay Company to Simpson, London, February 27, 1822, in Merk, op. c i t . , p. 175. 11 Samuel Black and Peter Skene Ogden were both former Nor'Westers and had been l e f t unprovided for at the coalition. Both were f i n a l l y admitted to the Hudson1s Bay Company as chief traders and served west of the Rockies. Black was placed in charge at Walla Walla and was late r murdered by Indians at Kamloops. Ogden was placed f i r s t in charge of the Snake Dis t r i c t and later i n charge of coastal trade. 12 John MoLoughlin became a physician i n Lower Canada at the age of nineteen. He entered the services of the North 7/est in 1803 and at the coalition became a chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company. District where he remained in. control u n t i l his resignation, 13 which took effect in 1846, later James Douglas was to follow. As Dr. Iamb has said, ...Simpson's success i n checking the changes in personnel which had been the bane of the d i s t r i c t i s indicated by the fact that Ogden, Work, and Douglas a l l spent the rest of their long li v e s on the west side of the Rooky Mountains. 14 The f i r s t problem in which we find Work actively involved was that of choosing a new site to replace Fort George (Astoria). It was generally considered by the Hudson1s Bay Company that the boundary line between B r i t i s h and American possessions would be settled f i n a l l y as following the Columbia 15 River. In that event Fort George, then used as Company headquarters, would be on the American side of the ri v e r . Moreover, the actual post had been returned by treaty to the Americans who might claim i t at any time. It was clear that another site would have to be oho sen on the opposite side of the river. Orders to this, effect were issued to the Chief Factor in charge at Fort George by the Governor and Committee, who favored a fort as close to the sea as possible and mention-\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 : . 16 ed Cape Disappointment as a probable s i t e . While these instruc-tions were travelling to the coast by the supply ship William 13 James Douglas entered the North West Company in 1819, and joined the Hudson's Bay Company at ooalition. He served i n New Caledonia between 1825-30 then at Fort Vancouver where he became ohief trader in 1835. In 1840 he became chief factor and became governor of Vancouver Island i n 1851. He severed his conneotion with the Company and became Governor of Br i t i s h Columbia i n 1858 and held this position u n t i l 1864. 14 H.B.S., IV, pp. xx-xi. 15 Governor and Committee to J.D. Cameron, London, July 22, 1824, in Merk, op. c i t . , pp. 240-242. 16 Merk, loc. c i t . 8 and Ann, Governor Simpson l e f t York Factory for the Pa c i f i c . , 1 ? Coast, He directed Chief Factors Alexander Kennedy and John Moloughlin to search for a new site, which they f i n a l l y select-ed on the north bank of the Columbia almost opposite the mouth of the Willamette River. This was nearly eighty miles from the sea, put s t i l l i n navigable water. From March to May, 1825, John Work was busy superintending the moving of goods and chattels from Fort George to this new site upon which was bui l t 18 Fort Vancouver. Simpson intended that Fort Vancouver only tempor-a r i l y should succeed Fort George as the headquarters of the Columbia Department. He planned i t as a secondary post, around which farming should spring up i n order to make the 19 posts on the Pacific as self-supporting as possible. This would obviate using valuable cargo space on the supply ships for provisions. The permanent headquarters, he f e l t , should be at or near the mouth of the Fraser River. Simpson had been brooding over this idea on his way west from York Factory and SO '> had broached i t to Chief Trader James McMillan, whom he wished 21 . to lead an exploratory expedition. In his journal, the Gov-17 Chief Factor Alexander Kennedy was appointed to the Columbia in 1822 in charge of Spokane House. He travelled east in the spring of 1825. 18 Work, John, Journal 5, March 21-May 14, 1825, (original in the Provincial Archives in Viotoria, B r i t i s h Columbia. 19 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 87 supra and n. 145. 20 James McMillan was a Nor'Wester who was appointed Chief Trader at the coalition of 1821. He accompanied Simpson on his f i r s t t r i p west in 1824 and explored the lower reaches of the Fraser. He established Fort Langley in 1827 and retired in 1839. 21 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 39. ernor made the following entry: \"Mr. Work I mean to take down to Fort George for the purpose of accompanying Mr. 22 McMillan to Pugets Sound and Frazer 1s River\"\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Whether his choice of John Work was on the basis of merit or merely to relieve Spokane of too many clerks has not been ascertained. 2.3 However, Work's methodical journal, coupled with that of McMillan, gives a clear picture of the coast, Puget Sound and the lower reaches of the Fraser. The expedition was unable to go much beyond the future site of Fort Langley so that i t s knowledge of the canyon depended on hearsay evidence of the Indians. Apparently the. experiences of Simon Fraser in 1808 were not well known. Incidentally, i t was not u n t i l his second t r i p west i n 1828, that Simpson gave up this idea of establish-24 ing the principal post on the Fraser. It was then that Fort Vancouver was moved nearer the river bank to make i t more suit-able to be a primary post and the heart of the Columbia. Work1s next charge was the task of moving Spokane House to Colvile, at Kettle F a l l s , i n an attempt to solve the problem of provisioning. This problem of feeding the personnel at the posts worried Simpson considerably, 22 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 47. 23 Work, John, Journal of a Voyage from Fort George to the Northward, Winter 1824. toriginal i n B.C. Archives). \" Edited by E l l i o t t , T.C., in the Washington Historical Quarter-ly, v o l. 3, pp. 198-228. 24 H.B.S., IV, p. l i x . 10 The good people of Spokane Dis t r i c t and I \"believe of the interior of the Columbia gen-erally have since i t s f i r s t establishment shewn an extraordinary predilection for European Provisions without once looking at or considering the enormous price i t costs...such fare we cannot afford i n the present times, i t must therefore \"be dis-continued and I do not see why one 02. of European stores or Provisions should be - ... allowed on one side of the Mountain more, than the other.... 25 This opinion resulted in a policy that reduced the diet of such men as Work and Ogden, while on the t r a i l , to salmon, venison, horse and dog. As a pa r t i a l solution to the problem of provis-ioning came Simpson\"s decision to move Spokane House to Kettle F a l l s . Not only was the new site a good one for farming but i t would obviate the expense and inconvenience of transport-ing goods sixty miles overland from the Columbia. It would be 26 just as easy for Chief Trader John Warren Dease or John Work to supply the Kootenay and Flathead posts from the new site, and even easier i f the Pend d\" Oreille and Kootenay Rivers should prove navigable. It might make possible the abandon-ment of the post at Okanagan and so f i t i n with the plan of consolidating posts to cut down expenses. The new fort at Kettle F a l l s was named after Andrew Colvile, then a director and later the governor of the Hudson1s Bay Company. Work had 27 originally been slated for the TJmpsqua expedition but some 25 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 47. 26 Chief Trader John Warren Dease was in charge of Nez Perce's in 1824 when Governor Simpson passed. See Merk, op. c i t . , p. 53. From there he was transferred to Spokane and then to Colvile. He died on the Columbia in 1830 en route back to Colvile from Fort Vancouver, where he and McLoughlin had had a quarrel. 27 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 135. 11 doubt had arisen as to his a b i l i t y to handle i t , so that he returned from Vancouver to the Colvile Area. About the same time that Work was establishing Fort Colvile, a move had been made to expand the Company's a c t i v i t -ies in the Snake River country. John lee Lewes, a chief trader in the Columbia District in 1822, had already written to Simpson about the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of profitable trade in that 28 area. An outfit had been sent into the Snake country in 1823 and i n spite of trouble, with the Blackfeet Indians, had 29 brought back over 4,000 beaver. In the same year Peter Skene Ogden was dispatched to Spokane to organize a trapping exped-i t i o n . He sent out Alexander Ross i n 1824 who returned with 30 4,900 beaver. Now with the expectation that the Snake River region might become American terr i t o r y in 1828, i t was, i n the opinion of the Governor and Committee, \"very desirable that the hunters should get as much out of the Snake Country as 31 possible for the next few years\". Simpson must have been in two minds about this policy of ruthless exploitation. He knew the Hudson's Bay Company would get most of the furs, but he may have also had the hope that the area could be used as a 28 Lewes to Simpson, F t . George, A p r i 2, 1822, inMerk, op. c i t . , pp. 176-77. 29 H.B.S., IV, p. xxi. 30 Alexander Ross was a clerk at Spokane House, (H.B.S., IV, p. x x i i ) . According to Arthur ,S. Morton, Ross had been on his way east but Ogden brought him a letter from Simpson urg-ing him to accept the leadership of a Snake River expedition. This induced him to return to Spokane. See Morton, Arthur S., op. c i t . , p. 713. 3.1 Governor and Committee to J.D. Cameron, London, July 22, 1824, in Merk, op. c i t . , pp. 240-242. 12 future source of furs to conserve, recuperate or take the plaoe of trapped-out areas east of the Rockies. However, ruthless exploitation would have one advantage by providing a buffer against the penetration of American trappers north of the Columbia. Be i t as i t may, the Snake River area was heavily, trapped by Hudson's Bay parties down to the end of 1832. Between 1824-1830 these expeditions were led by Ogden, who with his predecessor, Ross, trapped the country closely. It must be borne in mind, however, that the depletion of the country was not entirely due to the Company but was also . 32 caused by very close American competition. During most of this period Work was stationed at Colvile and his only contact with the Snake expeditions was the task of receiving some of. their fur returns on his regular trading expeditions to the Company outpost at Flathead House. He succeeded Ogden in 1830, when the latter was transferred to the coastal trade, and headed the last full-fledged trapping expeditions into the Snake River country. Work came into the picture during the transi-tion period between the change from trapping to trading parties. Beaver had become scarce. Competition with American traders was keen. \"The operations of the Snake Expedition have been very unprofitable for several years past, and attended with a serious loss of l i f e , \" wrote the Governor and Committee to MoLoughlin i n 1833; \"we therefore, desire i f not abandoned 33 this year i t may be broke up next summer\". IvIcLoughlin shared this view and ordered Work south to the Sacramento Valley, 32 H.B.S., IV,. p. I x v i i i . 33 Governor and Committee to McLaughlin, December 4, 1853, in H.B.S., IV, p. xov. 13 34 A colleague of his, Michel Laframboise, was sent south from the Umpqua River to hunt along the coast. Neither expedition was a success. Work brought back only 1,023 furs after a year in the f i e l d . Not only were beaver scarce but his whole party was overcome by malaria. laframboise found the going so rough that he abandoned the coastal area, penetrated in-land and joined Work's party on the lower Sacramento. These mark the end of the large old-style trapping expeditions, which 35 were now changed into smaller trading parties. John Work was unconcerned with this change, for s t i l l following Ogden's footsteps, he was transferred to the coastal trade. This was not a new f i e l d for the Company. As early as 1824 the Governor and Committee had written to George Simpson: \"We observe your attention i s devoted to the C\u00C2\u00A9lumbia, we think the trade should be extended i n the Snake Country, 36 and also along the Coast to the Northward.\" In the same year Simpson himself had written to Andrew Colvile in a similar vein. Nor were these, opinions confined to the heads of the Company, but were shared by i t s leaders i n the f i e l d . \"Few / -topics,\" says Dr. Iamb, \"loom larger in Mcloughlin's letters ' 37 than his efforts to develop the coastal trade.\" In 1825, to 34 Michel laframboise entered the service of the Ameri-can Fur Company as voyageur and arrived by the Tonquin at the Columbia in 1811. After 1821 he was employed as an interpreter by the Hudson's Bay Company. He later acted as post master and led expeditions to the Umpqua and to the Sacramento. A post master was a sort of clerk who never rose any higher in the Company's service* 35 See H.B.S., IV, p. xciv-xcvii. Dr. Lamb discusses this change thoroughly. 36 Governor and Committee to Simpson, London, March 12, 1824, in Merk, op. c i t . , p. 208. 37 H.B.S., IV, p. l x i x 14 in i t i a t e matters, the annual supply vessel William and Ann, was sent north from the Columbia on reconnaissance. Directly, this voyage was not successful because of the timidity of the captain, but indirectly i t seemed to show that six American vessels, which were encountered en route, apparently found the trade profitable. For some time after this, nothing was done. A variety of circumstances caused the delay. The William and Ann was lost on the Columbia bar in 1829. The number of ships on the eoast was inadequate and the available vessels were too small. Intermittent fever so incapacitated the staff at Fort Vancouver that able-bodied men were not procurable in sufficient numbers. Heavy competition from American ships in the Columbia prevented the contemplated expansion. Other circumstances made i t necessary to develop the coastal trade as soon as possible. The decline of the sea-otter was leading American maritime traders to deal in land skins. Since many of these furs originated in the in-terior, the Company began to fear for i t s inland trade. Moreover, the depot on the Columbia would have to be abandon-ed in favor of a post farther north, and since the Fraser River did not provide a navigable route to the interior, Simpson turned his attention farther north, where other nav-igable rivers were believed to exist. By November 1828, the . Nass River had been selected as the location for a post which might serve both as a collection point for furs in the coastal area and as an outlet for New Caledonia. The Company realized that the Russian American Company was i t s competitor in these northern waters but i t was hoped that an agreement between 15 these powerful organizations might drive out the sporadic competition by American ships. Overtures to the Russian Company did not meet with success but the Hudson's Bay decid-ed to proceed with i t s plan. A Marine Department was created which was placed under the authority of McLoughlin at Vancou-ver. , Three vessels were sent out from England. Two of these were to form the nucleus of a coastwise f l e e t . An expedition was now sent north but i t was unsuccessful. Not u n t i l 1831, when Peter Skene Ogden sailed in the Cadboro, was the new post, Fort Simpson, founded on the Nass. During the two years that followed, McLoughlin became increasingly in favor of more posts and fewer vessels. Ship 1s captains were often drunk and incompetent. Many refused to cooperate with, or take orders from him. Moreover, ships were easily lost in the foggy waters and rocky shores of this west-ern coast. Posts, to McLoughlin, were tangible evidences of permanent control and had a greater effect on the Indians. Neither did these posts require so many men nor did they require men with a specialized training as ships did. So McLoughlin began building a series of forts intended to stretch north-ward to the Russian boundaries. By 1833 Fort McLoughlin on Milbanke Sound had been built, Fort Nisqually had been con-structed on Puget Sound, and a site had been selected for a 38 fort on the Stikine River.. In the winter of the following year Work was appointed to succeed Ogden in this f i e l d . Except for routine voyages aboard Company ships, Work was to spend most of his time at Fort Simpson. This fort i s 38 H.B.S., IV, p. xc 16 not to be confused with the one established by Ogden on the Nass River. The old fort had been right on the fishing grounds of the. Indians but i t was too far up winding channels to be easily accessible by sailing vessels. It was abandoned i n the autumn of 1834. A new post begun that summer, was construct-ed on the southern side of the entrance to Portland Inlet. This site s t i l l controlled the Nass River down which furs might come from the interior. Moreover, i t would attract the canoes of coastal Indians passing \u00C2\u00A9n their annual migration to and from the fishing grounds. At this fort, Work and his family were to spend nearly twenty years. During this period of Work's career the Hudson's Bay Company had a double purpose in their coasting trade to the north. The f i r s t , was to drive out American competition. The second, was to open the way to the exploitation of the furtrade behind the Alaskan panhandle. It was with this twofold ambi-tion that an agreement was reached with the Russian American '. 39 Company at Hamburg on February 6, 1839. The Russian Company agreed to lease the coast, exclusive of the islands, between Cape Spencer and Mt. Fairweather, to the Hudson's Bay Company for a l l commercial purposes. The lease was to take effect on June 1, 1840, and to last for ten years. Rental was to be 2,000 otter skins delivered at Sitka on or before June 1st. The Russians also agreed to take 2,000 otter from the west of the mountains and 3,000 from the east at agreed prices. They were also to buy wheat and other provisions from the Hudson's 39 Morton, op. c i t . , p. 727. 17 Bay Company and to have the goods which they required at their posts shipped north in Hudson's Bay vessels. The last part of this agreement would give the Hudson's Bay a market for any excess farm produce raised at Fort Vancouver. It furnished the reason for the beginning of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company which was to be formed under the aegis of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Nisqually. The agreement k i l l e d the t r a f f i c carried on by American ships operating between Boston and the Alaskan coast. They had brought supplies to s e l l to the Russians and had tarried to trade with the Indians. Now that that former reason for coming had disap-peared the l a t t e r was no longer profitable and American compe-t i t i o n ceased entirely. John Work at Fort Simpson, played no part in carry-ing out the new agreement. In May 1840, Chief Factor James Douglas arrived in Sitka to complete arrangements. He took 40 over the Russian post at Stikine, leaving McLoughlin'a son in charge, who was shortly to be murdered by his own men. Then Douglas went on to establish a new post\u00E2\u0080\u0094Fort Taku\u00E2\u0080\u0094some f i f -teen miles soraith of the Taku R\"iver, since no suitable spot could be found close to the river mouth or on the river i t s e l f . The following year George Simpson came to the coast to make a personal inspection of a l l these northern arrange-ments. Of the new posts he did not approve. As Simpson saw i t , a new situation had been brought about by the agreement 40 John McLoughlin, Junior, went with Douglas in 1840 to take over Fort Stikine, and was murdered in 1842 by his own men. 18 with the Russians. Not only could the expensive and danger-ous liquor trade.with the Indians he stopped, but, with the Americans gone and the Russians confined to their islands, operating expenses could be cut by scrapping some of the north-ern posts. \"The trade of the coast,\" wrote Simpson, \"cannot with any hope of making i t a profitable business afford the maintenance of so many establishments as are now occupied... I am of opinion, that the establishments of Fort Mcloughlin, Stikine and Tacow might be abandoned without any injury to \u00E2\u0080\u00A241 -the trade....\" The Governor discussed with Work at Fort Simpson, the po s s i b i l i t y of the steamer Beaver taking over this trade, and i f necessary supplementing her with schooners. By this means he believed that furs could be collected as the Indians gathered each year for the fishing. In view of the dangers and the delays of the Columbia Bar these same vessels could, in the off seasons, act as tenders to supply the remain-ing posts. It w i l l be recalled that the supply ship William and Ann, and the Isabella, too, had been lost on this Bar. The brig Lama, carrying John Work north for the f i r s t time, 43 had been delayed inside the Columbia Bar for nearly a month. This obstruction, said Simpson, was responsible for \"deranging 41 Simpson to Governor and Committee, Fort Vancouver, November \u00C2\u00A35, 1841, (partial copy in B.C. Archives in Annual Despatches to London, to 1849). 42 Work to Mcloughlin, Fort Simpson, May 16, 1842 i n Fort Simpson Correspondence outward Sept, 6, 1841-Oot. 11,1844 (original in B.C. Archives). ~ 43 Work, John, Journal No. 14. To the Northwest Coast December 11. 1834-June\"30 1835, (original i n B.C. Archives) entries from January 2-22, 1834. 19 44 the hest l a i d plans\". The depot would have to \"be moved from the Columbia. On March 1, 1842, Simpson wrote to the Gover-nor and Committee that \"the southern end of Vancouver1s island ...appears to me the best situation for such an establishment 45 as required\". Viewed in retrospect, this decision is not surpris-ing. The Company had long been aware that a \"move from the Columbia must be made sooner or later. At f i r s t , hopes had been entertained that headquarters could be lo cated on the Fraser River. This, i t w i l l be recalled, had been the reason for McMillan's exploration in the winter of 1824. Simpson did not. completely abandon this hope u n t i l , by personal ex-perience in 1828, he became convinced that the Fraser did not furnish a navigable route to the interior. About 1834, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 46 a move to the north was again mooted. In the following year the Governor and Committee suggested \"Whidby*s Island, Puget 47 Sound\", for i t was already clear that American penetration would almost certainly make such a move necessary. William 48 A. Slaoum, made his glowing report on the agricultural possi-b i l i t i e s of the Willamette Valley, which Work had admired so 44 Morton, op. c i t . , p. 730. 45 loo. c i t . 46 H.B.S., IV, p. cxxiv. 47 Ibid., p. oxxv. Governor and Committee to McLough-l i n , December 8, 1835. 48 William A. SI a cum visited Oregon in the interests of the United States government in 1836-1837, and made a lengthy report on the country and on the Hudson1s Bay Company's holdings. This report is printed in the Oregon.Historical Society quarterly, vol. 13, pp. 175-224. so 49 much on his expedition to the Umpqua River in 1834. Ameri-cans were settling there in 1838. This American settlement would not destroy the fur trade but i t must of necessity revive the boundary question. To a l l of these reasons for finding new headquarters farther north, was added the fact that constant outbreaks of fever convinced the authorities 50 that the Fort Vancouver area was unhealthy. Simpson in writ-ing to McLoughlin i n June, 1836, proposed that Finlayson, Douglas or Work should accompany the schooner Cadboro on one -'\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 : \" 51 of her voyages to the Gulf of Georgia in search of a new s i t e . In 1837, Captain William H. McNeill explored the southern t i p ; . 52 of Vancouver Island and reported favorably on it\u00C2\u00BB In 1842 Douglas himself visited the Island and came again in 1843 to choose the site for a f o r t . Meanwhile, pursuant to Simpson's orders, Forts Taku, Stikine and Moloughlin were abandoned, and the property and many of the men were moved to the new Fort 53 . Victoria. Charles Ross from Fort McLoughlin was placed in 49 Work, John, Journal, May 22-July 10, 1834. 50 H.B.S., IV, p. oxxiv. 51 Simpson to McLoughlin, Norway House, June 25,1836, quoted from \"Fort Langley Correspondence\" 1831-1858, in B r i t i s h Columbia Historical Quarterly, vol. 1, 1937, p. 189. 52 Sage, Walter N., S i r James Douglas and B r i t i s h Columbia, Toronto, The University of Toronto Press, 1930,p. 119. Captain William H. McNeill was an Amerioan citizen who joined the Hudson1s Bay Company in 1832 after i t purchased his brig the Lama. His career was associated with the coastal trade. He became a chief trader in 1840 and chief factor in 1856. 53 Charles Ross joined the North West Company in 1818. He entered the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821 and three years later was transferred to New Caledonia. In 1831 he became a chief trader\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ai 54 charge, and from Fort Simpson came Roderick Finlayson, Work*s future son-in-law, to assist him. As time went on, Fort Victoria, which Work was to know so well, developed from a fur post into the centre of Hudson's Bay and colonial affairs on the Pacific Coast. From i t s establishment in 1843 to the year 1849 i t s story is the usual one of. a trading post. Trade went on day after day, minor skirmishes arose with the Indians and were met success-f u l l y . Charles Ross, the f i r s t appointed head of the Fort, died in 1844 and was succeeded by his second-in-command, Roderick Finlayson. In 1845 Fort Victoria became a depot for the trade of the Northern Coast and for the Company's supply ships from England. By 1847 oleared land began to appear around the fort stockades; land on which cows grazed or wheat was grown. In the meantime, momentous changes had been taking place on the Columbia. In 1845, Mcloughlin sent in his resig-55 nation. This was prompted partly by age, partly by his disa-greement with Governor Simpson over the policy of.conducting coastal trade and partly by Mclaughlin*s indignation over Simpson* s attitude toward the murder of his son, John Mclough-l i n , Jr., at Stikine in 1842. Beside the removal of Mcloughlin from office, came the revival of the boundary question. In 54 Roderick Finlayson came to America in 1837 and enter-ed the Hudson's Bay Company as a clerk. He came west i n 1839 and was stationed as assistant at Forts Taku, Simpson, and Victoria. He was promoted to chief trader in 185G and chief factor in 1859. From 1851 to 1863 he was a member of the Legislative Council of Vancouver Island. 55 Sage, op. c i t . , p. 131. 22 1846 a treaty was concluded between Great Britain and the United States by which the boundary was to be the 49th parallel of north latitude, west to the sea and thence south and west around the southern tip of Vancouver Island. With the increasing American settlement in the Columbia basin, coupled with the fact that the area was now American t e r r i -tory, the Company's trade in Oregon was doomed, so in 1849, the depot was moved to Fort Victoria. John Work does not seem to have had much to do with effecting the change from the Columbia to Vancouver Island. He was s t i l l stationed at Fort Simpson but visited Victoria the year before the depot was moved, and was apparently f u l l y aware of the influx of 56 Americans into the Columbia. In . 1849, the colony of Vancouver Island was estab-lished and by Royal Grant on January 13, 1849, the Island was leased to the Company at an annual rent of seven shillings. In return the Company agreed to establish a settlement and to se l l land for the purpose of colonization. A l l revenue from the land sales or from coal mines less a ten per cent profit to the Company, was to be applied toward the improvement of the colony. This grant was to last u n t i l 1859, when the Company's exclusive licence to trade with the Indians would expire. 57 Richard Blanshard was the f i r s t governor of the 56 Work to Edward Ermatinger, Fort Victoria, November 9, 1848 (original i n B.C. Archives). 57 Richard Blanshard was a barrister who as a young man had travelled in the West Indies, in B r i t i s h Honduras and in India. His position as governor of Vancouver Island was his f i r s t post with the Colonial Office. He died i n England in 1894, a comparatively wealthy man. 23 colony. He arrived in 1850 and stayed but a year for his position was not an enviable one. Bleu shard f e l t \"a sort of 58 f i f t h wheel to the coach\", because real power and authority rested in the Hudson's Bay Company and i t s Board of Manage-ment. When Bl an shard l e f t , James Douglas was appointed in his place, a position which he held in combination with his post as Chief Factor for the Company. In this dual capacity his position was d i f f i c u l t . At one time he was swayed by his office as Governor while at another he was inevitably i n f l u -enced by his connection with the Company. He was faced at once with the problem of administration. Blanshard's instruc-tions required him to set up a legislative Council and from time to time c a l l a general assembly. But he had done nothing to implement these instructions except to appoint a Council of three at the time of his resignation. Douglas was a senior member of the council and f e l l heir to i t . He, how-ever, enlarged i t and proceeded to use i t . John Work was Douglas 1s second appointee to the \" . 59 Council. His duties had been bringing him more and more to Victoria and he seems to have spent only the summers 'of 1851 and 1852 at Fort Simpson. In 1853 he was appointed a member of the Board of Management of the Hudson's Bay Company and he and his family settled permanently on land which he bought 60 at H i l l s i d e and began to farm. 58 Sage, op. c i t . , p. 167 59 ' Appointed in 1853 and confirmed i n 1854. Archives of British Columbia, Memoir II, Minutes of the Council of Vancouver Island 1851-1861, Victoria, King's Printers, 1918, p. 20 and p. 24. 60 This land was situated about one mile north of the Fort. 24 Later when. Douglas was forced! to c a l l a represen-tative assembly,' Work agreed that the step was not a desirable one. It i s to be suspected that a man of Douglas's autocratic nature would not welcome democratic institutions. John Work, however, believed in the principle of representative govern-ment but did not consider that l o c a l conditions warranted them. Neither of the two men f e l t that the population of Vancouver Island was sufficient to justify the existence of an assembly. But the orders of Henry Labouohere, then secretary of state, did not admit of any alternative. The Br i t i s h government wanted the assembly set up because of the approaching P a r l i a -' 61 , mentary inquiry into the Hudson's Bay Company. On Vancouver Island four electoral d i s t r i c t s were organized. Seven members were elected and on August 12, 1856, the f i r s t assembly west of the Great lakes in Br i t i s h North America, met with due ceremony. By this time the fur trade in the North West had passed i t s zenith and the period of gold mining was on the horizon. Work was the f i r s t to discover gold in Br i t i s h territory west of the Rockies. In 1850, while stationed at Fort Simpson, he received reports from the Indians about the 62 presence of this precious metal on the Queen Charlotte Islands. The Una, one of the Company's vessels, visited the Islands and verified the reports, by actually discovering the site of a gold mine. The news soon leaked out and reached San Fran-cisco where i t caused some excitement. No less than six 61 Sage, op. c i t . , p. 189. 62 Record Office Transcripts H.B.C., Colonial Office, vol. 726, 1852-1856, (transcript i n B.C. Archives) p. 142. 25 vessels were outfitted and set s a i l for Mitchell Harbor where the f i r s t vein had been discovered. No success attend-ed these attempts and disheartened, the miners returned south almost immediately. One of these vessels, the schooner Susan Sturgis, was a l i t t l e more persistent and made another t r i p in 1852. This expedition came into conflict with the Indians and was saved only through the efforts of Work at Fort Simpson. Throughout this period of gold fever, Governor Douglas had been anxious to prevent foreign miners from entering B r i t i s h territory over which the Company had an exclusive licence to trade. After repeated appeals to the home authorities, Douglas f i n a l l y received a commission as lieutenant-Governor of the Queen Charlotte Islands with authority to issue miner's licences and to enlist the support of constituted authority to enforce law and order, but not to exclude anyone. Sometime in 1853, the exact date i s not clear, Work moved to Fort Victoria, where he was to round out the remain-ing years of his l i f e . Until the last he was a servant of the Hudson * s Bay Company and a member of the legislative Council. When he took up residence at Victoria he found l i t t l e change had taken place in the ten years of i t s existence. Growth had been slow. It must be remembered that the l i t t l e settlement s t i l l lay on the fringes of the world and was usually reached by a hazardous voyage around Cape Horn. There was comparative-l y l i t t l e arable land, so that Vancouver Island could not compete with Oregon where a free grant of 640 acres was a v a i l -able for each settler. land around Fort Victoria was not free. It sold at \u00C2\u00A3l an acre. These regulations were made not to 86 attract tlie \"poor white\" settler, \"but the man of substance who could buy not l e s s than twenty acres at this price. The only people who could afford to come to Vancouver Island were not attracted by i t . No adequate market existed for the settler. He could not compete i n the markets of the United States,since heavy duties were levied on imports of timber, f i s h and agricultural produce. No customs duties produced public revenue for the struggling colony because i t was thought to be desirable to keep provisions and stores at lowest prices in order to develop Victoria as a port of c a l l . Her only revenue came from the sale of public land and the royalties from coal-mining. When the gold rush to the Fraser mines started i n 1858, Work saw Victoria become the chief port of entry. It i s estimated that not less than 30,000 people arrived during the f i r s t year. A city of tents grew up. land values soared. Wharves were bui l t , water pipes were l a i d . Banks were started. The government was expanded to include five members on the Council and thirteen in the Assembly. On the mainland, B r i t i s h authorities were wrestling with the problem of governing the mining camps. F i n a l l y i t was decided to create a new crown colony named Br i t i s h Columbia, in which the Queen Charlotte Islands were to be included. On August 2, 1858, the new colony received i t s name. Vancouver Island was to remain a separate entity. James Douglas, who now severed his connection with the Hudson's Bay Company, be-came governor of both the island and mainland colonies. Control of the Hudson's Bay Company's affairs passed into the hands of 27 a Board, of Management composed of Douglas's son-in-law, 63 Alexander Grant Dallas, assisted by John Work and Dugald 64 McTavish. Work held this position u n t i l his death in 1861. The days which John Work spent on the Pacific Coast were interesting and momentous ones. For thirty-eight years he. watched slow but sure progress and development. At the time of his arrival i n 1823, Old Oregon was nothing but a wilderness, inhabited by scattered tribes and dotted with fur trading posts. He. watched these fur trading days rise to their zenith in the so-called empire of John McLoughlin, he saw them shift their centre, from the Columbia to Fort Victoria and the northern coasts, and begin to wane.- He saw the gradual encroachments of the American trapper and trader in the Columbia, and the onrush of the American settler into the f e r t i l e plains of the Willamette. The great gold deposits in California were found i n an area he had trapped years before. \"I know the place well,\" wrote Work \"and was encamped on i t 65 some time...but no gold was thought of then.\" The boundary question which, long before, had delayed his construction of 63 Alexander Grant Dallas was sent out from London as the representative of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Pacific Coast with headquarters at Victoria from 1857-1861. He was not a chief factor as often stated but a director of the Company. 64 Dugald McTavish entered the services of the Hudson's Bay Company as a clerk in 1833. Hot u n t i l 1839 was he trans-ferred to the Columbia. He became a chief trader in 1851. 65 Work to E. Ermatinger, Fort Victoria, November 9, 1848, (original in B.C. Archives). 28 Fort Colvile, was settled. On the American side in 1860 66 some 500,000 people lived in communities on the western slopes of the Rockies and a c i t y such as San Francisco had been founded. He travelled aboard the Beaver, the f i r s t steamer on the coast. He was the f i r s t to discover gold on the Queen Charlotte Islands. He saw Victoria develop into a boom-town overnight, when the rush to the Fraser Sold mines started. A year after his death, Victoria, with a population of 6,000 people, was incorporated as a ci t y . Only ten years later British Columbia ceased to be a crown colony and be-came a province of the Dominion of Canada. 66 Pease, Theodore Calvin, The United States, New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company 1927, p. 494. 1 CHAPTER II Transcontinental Journey, 1825. The great bulk of the information on John Work i s to be found in his fi f t e e n journals. The originals of these are in the Provincial Archives of Br i t i s h Columbia at Victoria, B.C. \"These journals were kept from day to day in the f i e l d . Usually when Work was resident at a post, he kept no personal journal. Naturally this leaves gaps in our record of his l i f e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 g a p s which can only be completely f i l l e d by access to the post journals, most of which are inaccessibly f i l e d in the Hudson's Bay Archives in London, England. It has therefore been necessary to try to piece in the gaps between the journals as well as the period after them, by obtaining information from the few of Work's letters which are available and by references to him which are to be found in the records of his contemporaries. The journals themselves were meticulously kept. They t e l l of the day-to-day travels, t r i a l s , hopes and disappoint- -ments of the fur traders. The keeping of them was compulsory and their contents were specified by Minutes of Council and were to embrace methods of trade, conduct and character of subordinates; climate, topography and vegetation of the country 67 through which their writers passed, in reading these accounts one has the impression that they were written with a view to being used as guides for others who might follow the t r a i l s 67 Fleming, R. Harvey, ed., Minutes of Council North-ern Department of Ruperts Land, 1821-51, Toronto, The Cham-plain Society, 1940, Hudson's Bay Company Series III (hereafter referred to as H.B.S., III) p. 126. so blazed by John Work and his companions. Hot only are places and distances carefully noted, but at times directions are plotted in compass points, as i n a ship's log. Work had the keen observing eye of a fur trader. Much that he saw was new and interesting, in this new and interesting world. As a consequence, his journals are veritable mines of information on fur trading practices, on the l i f e and habits-of the Indians and on the country through which he passed. The fifteen journals in the Provincial Archives of British Columbia are not uniform in size. A few are written in the standard size of Hudson's Bay journals about !\u00C2\u00A3\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00C2\u00A7\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 by 8 inches, and others in half sheets folded once. A few of these volumes are leather-bound with rough hand-stitching. The ink used was apparently in powder or tablet form for the. writing varies considerably in color and density. One of the volumes, the 12th,must have fal l e n into a pool of ink when i t was half completed. Entries up to the accident are p a r t i a l l y obliterated by the inkstain which extends in an arc across the bottom corner of the page. Most of this can be read with some d i f f i c u l t y , but transcribers often gave up the attempt. Curiously enough, the same transcribers failed to notice that; after the accident occurred Work wrote around the inkstain but not through i t . They interpreted the absence of faint lines through the blot as total obliteration and simply omit ted the bottom quarter of the page. Work has been accused of i l l i t e r a c y in his journals. Quite the opposite of this is true. He had an extensive and varied vocabulary, ably f i t t e d to express in interesting style 31 what he had to say. The accusation arises for four reasons. F i r s t , the fact that his writing i s undoubtedly crabbed and many of his words were deliberately telescoped. It must be remembered that much of this writing must have been done at night while he was crouched half-frozen over a smoky f i r e clutching a pen in his stiffened fingers, or in the intense summer heat of the arid Snake River country, or in the mos-quito-ridden fever camps of the Sacramento River. Secondly, he used words which are obsolete or obsolescent in use or form. This troubled the transcriber. Time and again he flavors his descriptions with \"thicketty\" woods through which he travelled in a \"pour\" of rain; or gazed upon a \"jabble\" of sea, l i t by flashes of \"lightening\". Moreover, he used trade expressions current in those days, which were not familiar to or were unrecognized by those who have attempted to make 68 transcripts of his work. The expression \"apishamore\" has been rendered variously; the more common guess being \"appurtenances\" 69 70 71 \"Earrons\", \"cabrie\" and \"pluis\" seem to have utterly defeat-ed editors of the Work Journals. Finally, Indian names and expressions proved d i f f i c u l t , hot only because they are hard to trace, but because they were spelled phonetically by the individual. John Work was no exception to the rule that a l l 68 A saddle blanket made of buffalo calf-skin. 69 Wild horses. 70 Prong-horned antelope\u00E2\u0080\u0094but not \"caribou\" as frequent-l y suggested. 71 An expression of price or value from \"peaux\", \"plus\", \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a beaver skin. y //^ t- ... ^jL^d&MZyr > - ? -3 \u00C2\u00AB. s r f - \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 From a Journal kept by John Work fur traders rendered these names as best they could in their journals. It i s most unfortunate that transcriptions of Work's journals have been consistently bad. Whole sentences and even paragraphs have been omitted. Mistakes have been made or blanks l e f t in places where even a small amount of knowledge of the background of the period should have furnished the key to the problem. As an inevitable consequence, where access to the original manuscripts was not possible, the printed versions of these journals suffer badly and are sometimes woe-f u l l y inaccurate. Indeed i t would appear that in no case was the text as printed, collated with the original. Consequently the preliminary work for the following study included an ex-haustive check of the entire series of fi f t e e n journals and the correction of a l l the worst errors in the transcripts deposited i n the Provincial Archives at Victoria. 72 Workra f i r s t journal i s divided into two parts. The f i r s t half deals with his i n i t i a l voyage across the oontin-ent; the second with his journey from Spokane House to Fort George and thence up the river again, where he spent a summer superintending a party of Hudsdn1s Bay employees for whom there was no summer employment and who had been sent up the Columbia to l i v e off the Indians and the country. We have no means of knowing just why John Work was transferred to the Columbia. By inference, two reasons suggest themselves. F i r s t , that 72 Work, John, Journals,(a) York Factory to Spokane House. July 18-October 28, 1825. (b] Columbia\"Valley Trad-ing Expeditions, Ap r i l 15-November 17, 1824. (hereafter re-ferred to as Journals 1 (a) or 1 (b), ed., by Sage, W.N., in the Canadian Historical Association, Annual Report 1929. Ottawa, Department of Public Archives, 1930, pp. 21-29. ss George Simpson had \"been carrying out a ruthless policy of economy in services elsewhere i n the Northern Department, so 73 that in 1821 he had come to the conclusion that he could dispense with two hundred and f i f t y men. Not a l l of these men could he classed as incompetent and many could he used elsewhere. Simpson was given very definite instructions on this score by the Governor and Committee, who wrote, Great care and discrimination must be used in making this selection....Our object is to select the best men for the business...it may not be practicable \"to reduce the numbers so low at once without discharging deserving young men, and we think this should not be done. 74 John Work enjoyed a good reputation in the Company and the appointment of steady men to the Columbia was the one thing that Simpson could do u n t i l the status of that area could be 75 settled. On Tuesday July 18, 1823, John Work l e f t York Factory for the Columbia D i s t r i c t , where he was to spend the rest of his l i f e . The expedition, the express, was a small one consist-76 ing of \"two light canoes, four men in each\". Peter Skene Ogden was in command and with him in the same canoe was John lee Lewes, the la t t e r bound for Cumberland House. The canoes pushed off from the Fort at one o'clock on a fine warm, after-noon. This fine weather was to hold u n t i l the following 73 H.B.S., IT., p. x i i i . 74 Governor and Committee to Simpson, Hudson* s Bay House, London, March 8, 1822, H.B.S., III, p. 313. 75 H.B.S., I\u00C2\u00A5, p. xx. 76 Work, Journal 1(a), entry for July 18, 1823. 34 Monday. The air had been sultry and the travellers were plagued with mosquitoes both by day and night. However, Monday dawned cloudy and cold bringing welcome but only tem-porary r e l i e f , for i t became warm and again sultry during the day. Unsettled weather followed, with thunder, l i g h t -77 ning, \"weighty\" rain and head winds which meant long hours in the cramped space of the canoes, or tiresome waiting i n camp for the weather to clear. By following the usual route via the Hayes River they arrived at Oxford House a l i t t l e before sunset on Wednesday July 23rd. They l e f t again the next day to struggle forward against head winds and on the 26th were within five miles of Norway House. Ogden and Lewes took one man out of Work's canoe and went on ahead to reach the For* before, dark. Work camped where he was for the night and reached the Fort 78 \"a l i t t l e after Sun Rising\" the next morning, \"some hours . 79: before any of the gentlemen got up\". He spent the rest of the day writing letters while the men repaired the canoes. At noon on the 28th of July they embarked once more, proceeding part of the way under s a i l , but because of the heavily-laden canoes and the rough weather, they ware forced to put ashore. Here, twenty, miles from Norway House, they were delayed for a whole day by the rough water and the breaking surf of Lake Winnipeg. The next morning, preparations had been made for a very early start when i t was discovered that one of the men had deserted. He had taken his blanket, bag and 77 Work, Journal 1(a), entry for July 20, 1823. 78 Ibid., entry for July 27, 1823. 79 Loc. c i t . some pemmican with the apparent intention of walking the long distance overland to Morway House. Some time was spent in an unsuccessful search for him, but in spite of this delay the expedition got under way at 4 A.M. and by s a i l and paddle 80 \"made a pretty good days work\". By noon of July 31st they had crossed the dangerous waters of lake Winnipeg and had passed up through Grand Rapids into the lake beyond, where they were delayed by high water and heavy wind. The delay caused by wind during the day encouraged them to start earlier i n the morning when the weather was usually calm, so that on the f i r s t of August they were away by 2:30 A.M. This day they managed to get- half way up Cedar lake before the same conditions delayed them. By this time, they had reached the lower waters of the Saskatchewan River where wind and wave would impede them less. long days (from 2;15 A.M. to 9 P.M.) were spent in the canoes. Even at this, Work seems to have found them less trying than the previous days for he finds time to paint a viv i d pen picture of the surrounding country. We proceeded part of'the day up the River through narrow channels formed by Islands where the water was very shallow and nearly choked up with mud. At the lower end of the River the shores and islands are very low, composed of soft mud or clay and covered with reeds & flags, and here and there some willows to the waters edge. A l i t t l e farther up the river the banks continued s t i l l low and are entirely thickly clothed with willows, poplars, etc., they are sometimes so thick that i t 80. Work, Journal, 1(a), entry for July 30, 1823. would appear d i f f i c u l t to get through them, Some places there are a few poplar trees but not the appearance of a pine near the edge of the river, Considerable quantities of d r i f t -wood, Some of i t of a large size in some places deposited along the shore. The banks on both sides of \"the river-are very low and appear to have been overflowed in the spring. Where we encamped i t was so soft & wet that a dry spot could scarcely be found to pitch the tent on. 81 They now l e f t the main river and struck north through narrow channels densely covered with willow and pine and arrived at Cumberland House about 9 o*clock in the morning of Tuesday August 5th. Here Lewes and his servant l e f t them. Ogden and his companions spent the day in overhauling their outfits, in getting in more provisions and finding another man to replace the deserter. It was not a pleasant day for i t was the height of the f l y season. 7/ork complained, \"We are 82 like to be devoured with f l i e s last night and to-day\". On Wednesday they did not start unt i l 10 o'clock i n the morning. Their next stop would be l i e a-la-Crosse, which they reached on the afternoon of Saturday, August 16th, by the usual brigade route which followed a chain of lakes, small rivers and portages north-westv,from Cumberland House to the Churchill River and thence west to Lac l i e a-la-Crosse. This section of the expedition was not without i t s d i f f i c u l t i e s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 not of winds and waves this time\u00E2\u0080\u0094but of food. Out of the five bags of pemmican (that staple of fat and dried meat used by fur traders) two of the bags were found to be mouldy and the contents rotten. Work's day-by-day account reflects his anxiety and fear of a serious food shortage. They saw a deer 81 Work, Journal 1(a) entry for August 2, 1823. 82 Ibid., entry for August 5, 1823. \"but failed to k i l l i t . On another day, they came to an Indian encampment and traded a l i t t l e half-dried meat. Again they saw two black bears but these got away. Every sign of game was anxiously noted. On Sunday, the 10th, more bad pemmican had to be discarded and Work at last mentioned the hitherto unexpressed concern over food. On Monday they tried and failed to get food from two bands of Chipewyan Indians. Two days later they overtook the west-bound Caledonia Brigade and got half a bag of pemmican from them. Work could now relax and admire the beautiful meadows and woods through which they were passing. They had enough food, but just enough, to last u n t i l their arrival at lie a-la-Cross on the 83 16th of August. \"The men's provisions were just finished,\" says Work. So far the expedition had not been an easy one. The weather was unusually rainy and windy for that time of the year and the food problem had caused much anxiety. However, no time was lost beyond that required for preparation for the continuation of the westward journey. This was \"the last - 84 Fort we w i l l see t i l l we come to the Rocky Mountain\". The canoes were repaired and about four hundred pounds of dried meat taken on board. This supply would, i t was estimated, last twelve men twelve days. We do not know i f Ogden and Work saw James Douglas at l i e \"a-la-Crosse, but i t is altogeth-. 8 5 er probable Douglas was at the Fort at this time. 83 Work, op. c i t . , entry for August 16, 1883. 84 Ibid., entry for August 17, 1823. 85 Sage, W.N., Douglas and British Columbia, p. 26. 38 On Monday, August 18th, the expedition embarked a l i t t l e after sunrise. They crossed the lake, entered and proceeded up the Beaver River which flows i n an easterly and then northerly direction and enters lie\"a-la-Crosse lake on the eastern side. For a week they proceeded up the Beaver River. The going was hard, and the men had to resort to poles. As they ascended the river i t became narrower and shallower. Meadowy banks gave way to low h i l l s and patches of wood. The weather,was cloudy and dark with \"weighty\" rain at night. The men were t i r i n g , not only because of the long days, and the d i f f i c u l t i e s encountered in a narrow, stony river, but because of the food supply again. Their meat was tough and hard as shoe leather, by now the fat bits had a l l been picked out and only \"the worst pieces remained. The men could not eat enough to maintain their strength. Attempts had been made without much success, to augment their food supply on the route. A l i t t l e venison had been secured from the Indians but even they complained of the scarcity of game. On Tuesday, August 26th, they arrived at the Moose Portage to the north branch of'the Saskatchewan. Here they expected to find a supply of provisions awaiting them. But there was no sign of whites having been at \"the Portage that season. The men's rations were cut to one meal a day. Work f e l t that there, was very l i t t l e chance of meeting with any Indian bands, and no chance of game since most of the woods had been destroyed by f i r e . The next cache was Five Islands, ten days travel i f the water was favorable. In Ogden1s opinion there was a grave pos s i b i l i t y that since Moose Portage 39 was without food, five Islands might \"be also, since both were supplied from Edmonton* Therefore, Ogden decided to send an expedition across Moose Portage on foot to Edmonton for supplies. John. Work was to head this small party and detailed to i t as guide was one of the expedition who had wintered several years in Saskatchewan and who was supposed to have some knowledge of the country. Work and his party promptly lost their way. On Wednesday, August 27, they wandered aimlessly about, subsist-ing off a handful of berries and two small ducks which they had shot. On Thursday, they thought they had discovered a road but gave i t up and floundered through the woods to the Saskatchewan River. Here they met two boys who told them of another track which they had d i f f i c u l t y finding. The weather was getting colder with a sharp morning frost. The next day they f e l l i n with a herd of sixteen buffalo and k i l l e d a b u l l , keeping enough meat for two days. On Sunday, they lost the track again and did not find i t until dusk. It had been rain-ing a l l day and the men were numb with cold. That evening they ate the last of the buffalo meat. For two more days they stumbled through wet grass and bush, dining off two pigeons, five ducks and a muskrat\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Finally on Wednesday, September 3rd they arrived at Edmonton late in the afternoon, ' 86 tired and \"wet to the haunches\". They had been eight f u l l days on the journey and Ogden had expected them to make the return t r i p in not more than ten. Work found that Indian wars had prevented provisions from being sent out and more-86 Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 3, 1823. 40 over, none had been received at Edmonton so that food there was scarce also. He gathered together a l l available supplies at the post, three bags of pemmican, three bundles of dried meat. The provisions were to be sent down the Saskatchewan River by canoe to Dogrump Greek where they were to be .met by horses. The horses could not only carry the bundles overland from there to Moose Portage, but could be k i l l e d , i f necessary, to make up the deficiency i n supplies. It was not un t i l four o'clock of the afternoon of September 9 that they reached Moose Portage, hacking their way through dense woods, then through burnt-over country and f i n a l l y plunging into swamp. As i t might be expected, the canoes were gone. The t r i p had taken fourteen days. Ogden, having waited two days over the expected ten, had l e f t a lett e r for Work, and had moved up the river one half day's march, to an Indian encampment. Work was ordered to follow with a l l haste. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Work sent Ogden a note by Indian on horseback say-ing that he had arrived. Ogden replied that he would wait for Work and that the provisions the latter had secured plus those which the leader had himself got from the Indians would last u n t i l they reached Five Islands, which had been provisioned from Edmonton after a l l , \"so that the horses w i l l not be 87 required for eating\". It i s interesting to note that no hint of censure of Ogden, no element of dissatisfaction or bitter complaint against conditions, has entered Work's journal up to this point. 87 Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 10, 1823. John Work found that Ogden had been sick, and was s t i l l very i l l with c h i l l s and fever. To add to their d i f f i -culties\u00E2\u0080\u0094the. river was very shallow\u00E2\u0080\u0094all were wading the river-bed stumbling over stones, dragging and tracking the canoes. On September 14th they arrived at the Portage to Red Deer lake (lac l a Biohe) from the upper end of the Beaver River. This was a portage of eight or nine miles in length. Everything had to be carried, canoes and a l l . Here at the 88 portage they met some, freemen and Indians who traded a l i t t l e meat in return for tobacco. They were ready to embark on lac l a Biche the next day but were held back by wind u n t i l the afternoon. On the 16th they got across the lake to L i t t l e Red Deer Lake and River which in turn led them to Great Red Deer, or the Athabasca River, which they reached about noon of the 18th and paddled up i t u n t i l about \u00C2\u00A3 o'clock in the afternoon. Here they camped to repair the canoes which they had been gumming almost every day because of the damage suffered from, stones and boulders in the shallow waters of the l i t t l e Red Deer River. Ogden was s t i l l i l l with what must have been malaria. He had been suffering from c h i l l s and fever since they had l e f t Moose Portage. Free for a day he would be attacked by i t again, only to struggle on as best he could. What a welcome change was the deeper Athabasca River from the rocky streams of the past few weeks I On the 19th another problem resolved i t s e l f , - \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a canoe arrived from 88 Freemen were the ex-servants of the fur companies who were no longer under indenture. They formed camps of their own or worked for the companies on a credit basis, pay-ing their expenses at the end of an expedition. 42 89 McDonald of Mcleod branch with five bags of pemmican and a bundle of dry meat. \"They also brought the carcass of a 90 moose which they k i l l e d a few days ago,\" says Work. Their problems in provisioning were over. The river was too swift for paddling, but not too deep for poling, so that progress was rapid. Day by day as they proceeded, the appearance of the country changed. Poplars gave way to pines. Rapids were more frequently encountered and the current was swifter.. It was amazing how much of this country had been burnt over. On the 22nd of September they camped at the mouth of the Pembina River. About noon, two days later, they arrived at Fort Assiniboine which was just in the process of being b u i l t . Here was the source of the food which, had reached them on the 19th and which Work thought had come from Mcleod Branch, which was s t i l l four day's journey up the river, \"so that we were surprised at under-.91 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 standing that the buildings were here\". Ogden and Work had thought that the Fort was to have been built at Mcleod Branch. After spending a day repairing their canoes, they l e f t Fort Assiniboine about four o\u00E2\u0080\u00A2clock in the afternoon of the 25th. The banks were getting steeper \"rising abruptly 92 from the Waters edge\". Work observed a seam of coal in the river bank of an estimated two feet in thickness. On the 27th 89 It h s no been possibl to find out just whichMcDonald this i s . It may be William Mcintosh who was there in 1825 when Simpson passed on his return from the Pacific, cf. Ross, Alexander, The Fur Hunters of the -Far West, London, Smith, Elder and Company, 1855, vol. 2, p. 205. 90 Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 19, 1825. 91 Ibid., entry for September 24, 1823. 92 Ibid., entry for September 26, 1823. they passed Mcleod Branch in the evening after a long days march. More seams of coal had been noted along the banks of the river. On Wednesday, October the 1st, they caught their f i r s t glimpse of the mountains. The river was almost a perpetual rapid now and the men were very tired at night from poling a l l day. High banks ran perpendicular to the water's edge. The woods were dense and almost entirely of pine. The weather was growing colder with frosts almost every night and 93 \"snow towards morning\". On Friday, October 3rd, they arrived at Rocky Mountain or Jasper House at 8 o'clock in the morning. This house, says Work, \"... i s built on a small Lake very shallow, and embosomed in the mountains whose peaks are r i s -94 ing up round about i t on three sides\". After spending that day in preparation, Ogden's party s p l i t into two groups. Work was to proceed with four men and twenty-two horses, carrying part of the provisions and baggage. Ogden embarked in the canoes with the remainder of the provisions. The object of taking the canoes was to assist the people who might be coming out in the spring. The t r a i l was exceedingly rough for the horses so that i t was not u n t i l the 6th of October that they 95 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2-reached William Henry's (old) House which i s about f i f t y miles 93 Work, op. c i t . , entry for October 2, 1823. 94 Ibid., entry for October 3, 1823. This post was located where the Athabasca opens into Second or Burnt Lake. It was built by the ISi.W. Co., Merk, op. c i t . , p. 29, n. 66. See also Harvey, A.G-., \"The Mystery of Mount Rob son\" in the Br i t i s h Columbia Historical Quarterly, (hereafter called the B.C.H.Q.J vol., 1, p. 222. 95 Located where the Miette River enters the Atha-basca, Merk, op. c i t . , pp. 31-32, n. 73. 44 96 above Jaspers House and the highest point of navigation for canoes on the Athabasca. Here he found that Ogden had already arrived with the canoes. Work described this country through which he had passed on the 4th and 5th, The course of the river [Athabasca] i s nearly from S. to N. winding through the valley and the mountains rising abruptly on both sides not in one continued chain but here and there broken by a small valley or kind of fissure, out of which issues a small river or creek which con-tributes to increase the size of the main r i v e r c The woods climb in many places a considerable distance up the sides of the mountains, and often to the very summit of some of the lower ones which creates some surprise how they can grow as this appears to be nothing but bare rocks. The summits, of the other peaks appear destitute [?] of wood and vegetables of every kind, the higher ones covered h e r e . t h e r e with snow and some of them appear buried in the clouds.. 97 A1X goods were now transferred to packhorses. On October 8th, in the early afternoon the party reached Moose Encampment. The next four days they spent crossing the Portage at Athabasca Pass. The t r a i l was exceedingly rough and d i f f i -cult . It crossed and recrossed the river seeking out the easier of the two banks. It was encumbered by burned and fallen trees, by steep banks and swamps. On the afternoon of October 10 they crossed the height of land penetrating through a narrow valley enclosed by snow capped peaks. On the east 96 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 31. This does not agree with the account of Work's Eir s t Journal, by W.N.Sage in the Can.Hist. Association Annual Report, 1929, p. 26. Dr. Sage states that Ogden and Work l e f t Jasper House after three day's rest and arrived at Henry House at l i t t l e after sunrise. Actually they arrived at Jasper House on October 3rd, and l e f t the next day. On October 6th, they reached the \" l i t t l e house\" and l e f t the canoes there. Ogden had gone by canoe and Work by pack-train. This \" l i t t l e house\" i s the William Henry's (old) House which is cited in Merk, op. c i t . , p. 32. Both Work and Simpson mention i t s position at the head of navigation. 97 Work, op. c i t . , entry for October 5, 1823. 45 side towered McGillivray's Rock named \"in. honor of Mr. W. 98 McGillivray who ?;as the head man of the N.W. Co.\" In the valley lay three small lakes\u00E2\u0080\u0094the f i r s t or easterly one empty-ing into the Athabasca, and the third into the Columbia. In spite of the d i f f i c u l t i e s of the route, Work expresses the opinion that the roads were in \"unprecedented good order\" and ' - 99 the river conveniently low. Finally at 10 o'clock on the morning of October 13th they reached the end of the Portage at Boat Encampment on the \"Big Bend\" of the Columbia River. Here they found that Chief Factor Kennedy and Alexander Ross with fourteen men had been waiting for them for twenty days. No more time than necessary was spent in getting the canoes ready, in sending back the horses and in prepar-ing for the last leg of their journey. They were ready by the 15th and embarked at 9 o'clock i n the morning. Work noted with interest that bark canoes were not used on the Columbia by the Hudson's Bay but that there were wooden boats 100 carrying eight men each and loaded with f i f t y - f i v e pieces of goods. The boats, Work claims, could be carried over a por-tage by twelve men. They were about th i r t y feet long, five and a half foot beam, clinker built and pointed at both ends. Flat timbers of oak were bent to the desired shape to form the ribs. These were bolted to a f l a t keel at intervals of a foot 98 Work, op. c i t . , entry for Ootober 10, 1823s attributing i t by the prevailing legend to William McGillivray It was named after Duncan McGillivray (cf., Morton, op. c i t . , pp. 467-8). 99 Work, op. c i t . , entry for October 12, 1823. 100 A piece weighs approximately ninety pounds, two of these constitute a normal portaging load (cf., Merk, op. c i t . , p. 11, n. 22) Blanks of cedar formed the outside skin and ran the f u l l length of the boat. Nails were scarce and not used except at the ends of the craft to secure the planks to stem and stern pieces. The overlap-ping seams were well gummed to 101 render the craft water tight. These boats were then pro-pelled, by paddles, not by oars. Kennedy and Ogden were in charge of one boat, Ross of the second, and Work the third. Their journey down the Columbia was rapid and un-eventful. On the 16th they passed the dreaded Dalles des Morts, which are some distance above the present city of Revelstoke. Work's fur trader's eye noted recent marks of beaver at different places. That evening they reached Upper Arrow lake and camped for the night. By the next evening they had pushed on to the lower end of the same lake. Here, Work has his f i r s t view, but certainly not his la s t , of the Eacific salmon. Prom the size he mentions (20-30 pounds each) they were spring salmon on their way up the river to spawn and die, their l i f e cycle completed. Work did not care for their appearance for they must have shown the bruised and' battered signs of their long journey-\u00E2\u0080\u0094now spotted with grey fungus-growth, their silver sides flaming into red, their jaws hooked and mis-shapen. \"\"...They are remarkably fine,\" he said, \"when they f i r s t enter the river....The natives are now splitting and drying these 102 dead and dieing f i s h for their winters provisions.\" 101 Fuller, Geo. W., History of the Pacific Northwest, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1931, p. 91. : ~ 102 Work, op. c i t . , entry for October 17, 1823. By Saturday, October 18, they had reached the lower end of the lower Arrow lake. Sunday evening found them en-camped a l i t t l e above Kettle F a l l s . Work had noticed the changing appearance of the country, the low or high banks, the presence of woods or barren lands, the kinds of trees, the typical fogs of late autumn to be found each morning on the river. On Monday they began the Portage.at Kettle F a l l s . Everything had to be carried, both goods and boats. The coun-try was of a dry appearance. Trees were fewer, the dense forests of the Upper Columbia had gone. For the f i r s t time he saw the typical dugout canoes of the coast Indian. The express arrived at the junction of the Spokane River and the Columbia on Tuesday eveningOctober 21st. Five men and some horses were found at the Forks apparently await-ing their a r r i v a l . One of these men was sent posthaste on a sixty mile ride to Spokane House for more men and horses. The next morning Ross set out for Spokane. About noon, 103 William Kittson arrived from Spokane with news of Indian troubles. Six of the freemen who had accompanied Finan 104 McDonald to the Snake country,\" had been k i l l e d by a war party of Blackfeet Indians. Although this was a tragedy, not to be underestimated, i t must be borne i n mind that this 103\" William Kittson served in the War of 1812 and enter-ed the North West Company as clerk in 1817. He accompanied Ogden on the Snake expedition 1824-5. In 1826-9 he was in charge of Kootenay Post and in. 1834 took care of the farming, stock-raising and furtrading at Nisqually. 104 Finan McDonald, clerk, was at Spokane House when Simpson passed in 1824. He was then sent to command an ex-pedition into the Umpqua Valley. He had become a clerk in the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821 and remained in the Columbia un t i l his retirement i n 1827\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 48 expedition in spite of i t s misfortunes,, brought out over 105 4,000 beaver from the Snake River area. It was to prove the great po s s i b i l i t i e s of that country, possibilities of which Governor Simpson was already convinced and anxious to exploit. It was not u n t i l Friday October 24th that James 106' Birnie arrived from Spokane with men and horses to handle the goods. On Saturday, Kennedy and Birnie l e f t with the express for Fort George (Astoria). Ogden, who had been sent 107 out with the purpose of replacing Kennedy at Spokane House, started for Spokane on horseback, accompanied by William Kittson and John Work. The latt e r two pushed on ahead and reached the fort at daylight after a hard ride, through the night. Ogden arrived the next day with the men. and the horse Here Work was to remain u n t i l the next spring.. Spokane House was situated on the north bank of the main Spokane River a l i t t l e above i t s junction, with the l i t t l e Spokane. The Fort was the outfitting point for Snake River expeditions and had two outposts lying to the e a s t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 108 Flathead and Kootenay Houses. 'It was not a convenient spot, 105 H.B.S., IV, p. xxi. 106 James Birnie entered the employ of the North West Company in 1818 and joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821. He kept the Spokane Journal 1822-3 and was stationed at Fort Simpson 1834-37. 107 H.B.S., IV, p. x x i i . 108 Morton, op. c i t . , p. 710. See also Merk, op., c i t . , pp. 43-44 for Simpson's description of the site. The pre sent city of Spokane is ten miles south-east of the old fort. 49 being sixty miles by land from the Columbia at i t s junction of the Spokane River, and considerably north of the Snake 109 River. But in the opinion of Alexander Ross at least, i t was a lovely congenial spot with handsome buildings, a b a l l -room,' a race track, good hunting, and last but not least, attractive women. 109 Ross, Alexander, Fur Traders of the Far West, vol., 1, pp \u00C2\u00BB 138\u00E2\u0080\u0094139. 50 CHAPTER III F i r s t Days on the Columbia, 1825-24, Nothing is known of the l i f e of John Work during that f i r s t winter of 1823-4 at Spokane House, No doubt i t passed pleasantly enough, Morton suggests that he took \"en ' ; 110 faoon du nord, a squaw of the same tribe\" Spokane . His second journal began on Thursday, April 15, 1824. He l e f t Spokane with Ogden and Finan McDonald with the fur brigade. for Spokane Forks by paokhorse, and thence by boat to Fort George. Kittson stayed behind in charge of the Fort. This f i r s t day was a'short march and they stopped at 11 o'clock that morning to allow the horses to feed. On the 17th they arrived at the Forks at 10 o'clock in the morning. Here they found that seven men had come up from Okanagan to take down the boats so that embarkation proceeded apace. By one o'clock they were on their way down the Columbia. Sunday, Apr i l 18th was Easter. It seems curious that Work should have noted this in his journal, unti l one recalls that most of his men were half-breeds from Eastern Canada and ardent Roman Catholics. But, notwithstanding the day, they embarked early and arrived at Okanagan in the evening On the way, one of the many near-accidents occurred which he describes laconically, \"At the rapid below the Dalls, the boat in which I was was driven ashore, and f i l l e d but she was not broken...,\" His concern was not for himself but for the furs 111 since he remarks \"...the greater part of the packs were wet\". 110 Morton, op. c i t . , p. 713. 111 Work, Journal 1 (b), entry for April 18, 1824. 51 The next day was spent in drying these wet furs and in waiting for the boats from. Fort George. On Tuesday 20th, Work record-ed that the boats had s t i l l not arrived and then his journal broke off u n t i l May 1st, Sometime between April 20th and May 1st the boats had arrived and had been packed. On May 1st, 1824, the fur brigade, consisting of seven boats, and sixty-three men l e f t Okanagan for Walla Walla (Kez Perces). Spring was well advanced and Work had time to notice that shrubs and plants along the banks were in f u l l flower. By starting at midnight on May 3rd, they arrived at \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 118: Walla Walla at 9 o'clock in the morning. They were now in a level country with few h i l l s and few trees and of a general sandy appearance. The 4th of May was spent in packing the Walla Walla returns with the rest of the baggage. John Warren Dease embarked with them. On the 5th they started for Fort George but were held up by heavy wind which roughened the broad Columbia and part i a l l y blinded them with d r i f t i n g sand. They made camp early in the evening and stayed ashore u n t i l Friday, May 7th. Once more they embarked but were forced ashore by wind at about 10 in the morning. A horse was purchased from the Indians and butchered for food. Even wood for their f i r e s had to be bought from the natives. On Saturday they reached 113 what Work called the Chutes where a Portage had to be made. 112 Walla Walla was situated a few miles below the confluence of the Snake River at the forks of a small stream which flows into the Columbia from the south. 113 The Celilo F a l l s , the f i r s t of a series of obstruc-tions in the Columbia which continue for fourteen miles and were known as the \"Dalles\". This includes Celilo F a l l s , the l i t t l e and the Great Dalles. By May the 10th they had passed the l i t t l e and the Great Dalles where the river twists \"between huge \"basalt blocks. The last was an awe-inspiring sight to the travellers, here, \"the river is confined to a narrow span bordered on each side by steep rocks between which the water rushes with great violence and forms numerous whirlpools which would inevitably 114 swallow any boat that would venture among thenfi Here Work was pleased to find that the countryside was again growing green and on the h i l l s i d e s appeared oaks, pine and poplars. They secured a number of salmon from the Indians who were peacefully dipping them out of the eddies with scoop nets. After dark, the wind abated and the expedition continued for a short time only. Again the wind came up so they landed to camp un t i l daylight. At dawn they proceeded once more down 115 the river and that afternoon reached the Cascades. Here the baggage had to be carried but the boats could be lowered by ropes down the current. Below this obstruction the river widened out and the current became less swift. On May 12th they camped just below the junction of the Columbia and the Willamette 'Rivers. Here Work pro cured a sturgeon from the Indians and remarked on the attractive appearance of the surrounding country. He noticed also the tides which run up the river some ninety miles. To make up for lost time, they paddled a l l that night and arrived at 114 Work, op. c i t . , entry for May 10, 1824. 115 The Cascades of the Columbia where the river breaks through the Cascade Mountains. 53 116 Fort George at 8 o'clock in the morning of the 13th. The Establishment of Fort George is a large pile of buildings covering about an acre of ground well stockaded and protected by-Bastions or Blockhouses, having two Eighteen Pounders mounted in front and altogether an ai r or appearance of Grandeur & consequence which does not become and is not at a l l suitable to an Indian Trading Post. 117 This i s Governor Simpson's rather uncomplimentary description. Qn May 14th and 15th they were busy discharging the furs. The following day Work received instructions to take a party of men up the river in order to feed them by trading articles with the Indians for the necessary provisions which would consist very largely of salmon, fresh and dried, and possibly some sturgeon. The annual supply ship had not yet arrived from England and supplies were short at the depot,, It must be remembered, also, that the Columbia d i s t r i c t was not yet organized by Simpson to supply i t s own requirements in food. Moreover,\u00E2\u0080\u00A2it would be inconvenient and a nuisance to have so many men idle about the post. With Francis N. 118 Annanoe, Work l e f t the fort at noon on the 17th of May. They were to go as far as the Cascades i f food could hot be secured at a nearer distance. They were furnished with a number of small articles for trade including tobacco, axes, hooks, rings, 116 The present site of the city of Astoria on the south bank, of the Columbia about 14 miles from the river's mouth. 117 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 65. 118 Francis i\ioel Annance entered the employ of the Worth West Company in 1820 and became clerk and interpreter for the Hudson's Bay after coalition. He was one of McMillan's party to explore the Fraser in 1824. He was a member of the ex-pedition which established Fort langley in 1827, and retired in 1834. f i l e s , knives, beads and l a s t l y a l i t t l e ammunition. The last mentioned was.not to be used in trade unless provisions could not be secured otherwise. The Hudson1s Bay Company had no wish to supply the Indians with the means of violence which might be directed toward themselves or which might s t i r up inter-tribal wars. A supply of flour and grease was given out to the men to last for the few days before contact could be made with the Indians. The next two days they proceeded up the river c a l l -ing at each village with varying success. It was the begin-ning of the season and the salmon had not yet started to run in quantity. Through superstition, some of the Indians cook-ed a l l their salmon, so that in some places a l l Work could buy was roasted f i s h . In many places, the prices asked were beyond what Work was prepared to pay, or the Indians demanded rum, ammunition or shirts which Work was not prepared to trade. John Work was extremely interested in the Indian method of trapping the salmon in the lower part of the Columbia and wrote as follows: The Indians where we encamped were employed catching salmon with some nets, the time selected is from half ebb to half flood tide, Their nets are made in the same manner as those used i n Europe with wood floats and stone sinkers. These Indians manage one of these apparently 60 to 80 fathoms long. They roast a l l the f i s h they catch and what are not required for immediate use, i s broken fine and placed in l i t t l e sacks over the f i r e to dry. It is afterwards mixed with o i l and preserved for a future occasion. The houses of the Indians are generally well stocked with mats, baskets, some very ingeniously worked, and a variety |pf) troughs, platters and other vessels of wood, numbers of them are in the shape of hogs and other animals, the hog seems to be preferred. 119 55 By the 20th they were in the neighborhood of the Cowlitz River which flows into the Columbia from the north side. The surroundings were lovely, \"beautiful plains... 120 spotted with clumps of trees like a gentlemans lawn\". Prices of f i s h were s t i l l exorbitant so that the party decided to push on to the Cascades where they arrived on the 26th of May. It i s typical of the methodical and cautious John Work that on the previous evening he \"encamped about 4 o'clock, 121 for the purpose of arranging our articles of trade and arms\". Here, f i s h were f a i r l y p l e n t i f u l and cheap, but the water was rising fast and the salmon were more d i f f i c u l t to take in high water. At the Cascades, the method of fishing differed from that used on the lower river. Wrote Work; The Indians take the salmon in scoop nets, for this purpose they construct a stage projecting from the shore out over a shoot in the river, on this stage the Indian seats himself and with the net fixed on a hoop at the end of a long pole keeps continually dragging the river s t i l l putting the net in above and sweeping i t down the stream where i t meets the salmon which are strug-lin g up the current. Pishing in this manner appears to be a laborious exercise. 122 Salmon were now becoming so plentiful that Work began to reduce the price paid for them. Certainly his party was fed with l i t t l e cost; an estimated three shillings and two pence per day feeding a to t a l of thirty-five men, two clerks and twelve women. One wonders where the women came 119 Work, op. c i t . , entry for May 19, 1824. 120 Ibid., entry for May 21, 1824. 121 Ibid., entry for May 25, 1824. 122 Ibid., entry for May 27, 1824. 56 from, until, i t i s realized that many of the men had their wives with them on. most expeditions. Moreover, the Indians were willing to loan their women to the expedition for a consideration. 11 As usual,\" Work says, \"some women arrived in the evening for the purpose of hiring themselves to the 123 people for the night.\" The men traded tobacco which was sold them from the stores, and even their buttons for these women, un t i l i t was estimated that only two dozen buttons were l e f t in camp. On June 3rd, news arrived from the Fort that the supply vessel had not yet arrived, so that the men must continue to exist among the Indian villages on their diet of salmon for a while yet. The steady diet of f i s h was beginning to p a l l on them so that they refused to eat part of a sturgeon which they had i n camp. Moreover, the waters of the Columbia were rising rapidly because the snow in the mountains was melting. Work was afraid lest this should cut down the salmon supply. On the 11th of June he gave out a l i t t l e ammunition to the men to see i f they could find any game as a change to the endless \"salmon as well as to ensure them against a possible food shortage. The hunters were not successful. On the 14th, seven more men arrived from the Fort to join the party. They brought a few trade goods with them but no tobacco, the commodity which the Indians desired most. No news yet of the ship had been received. The party were encamped near an Indian burial ground 123 Work, op. c i t . , entry for May 29, 1824. 57 which Work descrihea as follows, The Indians here deposit their dead in houses prepared for this purpose, principal characters seem to have houses allotted for themselves or at least for the use of one family \u00C2\u00A9nly, where the corpse is l a i d on the ground covered up with hark or mats and the house well closed up. Less pains seem to have been taken with the common people, the body i s wrapt up in a mat or some articles of old clothing and thrown \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 into a house promiscuously with the putrid bodies of those who have gone before i t , with-out any covering of earth or boards, and the house so badly closed that i t may be said to be l e f t open, so that there is nothing to prevent animals from preying on the dead bodies. Children when they die are wrapt up in a mat or some other covering and l a i d up in the branches of trees without any covering except perhaps a board over or under them on the branches. The bodies of slaves I understand, are not allowed to be deposited among free people but are thrown indifferently in the woods. 1S4 The 20th of June marked a minor tragedy i n Work's l i f e . An Indian had sold them about eight pounds of venison, a part of which they had had for dinner. A dog stole the rest that night. \"This,\" Work laments, \" i s the only meat we 125 have received since the day after we l e f t the Fort.\" How-ever, a few days later the party enjoyed venison again when an Indian brought in four deer.' Salmon began to get really scarce and after waiting for a while, Work decided to retreat down the river hoping that the Indians who caught f i s h by seine would have a pl e n t i f u l supply. Hunting parties were sent out along the river bank but without success. On the 29th the party was reduced to purchasing six dogs at an 124 Work, op. c i t . , entry for June 19, 1824. 125 Ibid., entry for June 20, 1824. 58 Indian Tillage for the people's breakfast. Here their d i f f i c u l t i e s were complicated by the arrival of another eight men to join the party. The newcomers reported that salmon were also scarce in the lower reaches of the river. Work was in a quandary. More dogs could, of course, be purchased at the village. Finally he decided to make a flying v i s i t to the Fort to procure more trade goods and to check on the salmon supply in the lower river himself. He was back again at 10 o'clock on the morning of July 3rd. He had confirmed the men's story of the few salmon below. With the water f a l l i n g again, he decided to push upstream again to the Oascades in the hope that salmon would be plentiful there. His hopes were fortunately realized so that the next few days proceeded uneventfully. 126 On the 11th of July, Work wrote to Thomas McKay at Walla Walla and to Kittson at Spokane to announce that the ship had as yet not\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 arrived off the Columbia. It was not u n t i l the 17th that he received orders from Chief Factor Kennedy at Fort George to have the men back at the Fort by the 24th of July because the Inland Brigade would start by the 1st of August i f the ship did not arrive before that time. On the 24th of July, f u l f i l l i n g orders, he arrived back at the Fort in order to get ready to proceed to the Interior. 126 Thomas McKay was the son of John Mcloughlin* s wife by a previous union with Alexander McKay, a former Nor'Wester who lost his l i f e in the massacre of the Tonquin. Thomas entered the North West Company as a clerk in 1814. After coalition he continued in the Columbia in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. He went with McMillan to the Fraser in 1824, he served i n the TJmpqua expedition in 1828. For a while he settled in the Willamette Valley and then rejoin-ed the\"Company and spent a great deal of time in the Snake River country. He died i n 1850. 59 These men had been two and a half months li v i n g on f i s h . A l l this time the.y were idle. Here was a practice which had been f a i r l y common i n pre-coalition days in the West. It was a practice which was to cease with the advent of Governor Simpson to whom i t was a sample of the flagrant extravagances in the Columbia Department. What did the men do with their days? Work t e l l s us what they did with their nights. It i s a great compliment to the officers and to the Company that serious trouble was avoided in their relations among themselves and with the Indians. Would i t have been more practical i f Work had made some arrangement whereby his men could have done the fishing? This might have annoyed the Indians but i t would have given the men something to do. It would have ensured the party a regular supply, and quantities of salmon might have been dried not only for themselves but for the post at fort George. As usual when staying at a post, Work made no more entries in his journal u n t i l his departure which took place this time on the End of August. He stated that he had been occupied since the 24th of July in getting the Brigade ready. On the 2nd, the junior gentlemen, Finan . McDonald, F.N. Annance and John Work set out with six loaded boats, with crews of nine men per boat, comprising the Brigade. As usual they camped but a few miles from the Fort where the men were given what i s called the regale, which i s a pint of rum and some 12? bread & pork per man\". This was the customary procedure and, \" i n a short time the greater part of the men were drunk and began to quarrel, when several battles ensued, & the after-127 Work, op. c i t . , entry for August 2, 1824. 60 128 part of the day was spent drinking and fighting\" The nest morning the senior gentlemen were paddled the few miles to the encampment from the Fort, where they had spent the night in peace and quiet, these were Dease, Ogden and Mcleod. Chief Factor Kennedy came to see them off. On the 6th, they arrived at the Cascades and passed them without d i f f i c u l t y . The voyage so far had been uneventful. Work's canoe had suffered minor injury against a stone. The wind had been too light to make much use of the s a i l s . On the 11th they arrived at Walla Walla before breakfast where the Brigade remained for the day. At daylight the boats were under way again but Work le f t them to proceed to Spokane by horseback with letters. He set out the next morning (August 13th) with two Nez Perces Indians as guides. Their route lay in a north-westerly direction across the Snake River and over stony and dusty country. It was very hot and Work suffered considerably in the three days1s-march through the plains. He was glad to get into the wooded country around Spokane and to arrive at the Fort which he reached at 2 o'clock i n the afternoon of August 16th. Here occurs Work's f i r s t confession of fatigue 129 in his journals, \"I was tired after my ride,\" he wrote. He remained at the Fort unti l the following week-130 end. \"Nothing material occurred.\" News arrived in the person of Finan McDonald that the Brigade had arrived at Spokane Forks, so that preparations were made immediately to round up 1E8 Work, op. c i t . , entry for August E, 18E4. IS9 Ibid., entry for August 16, 1824. 130 Ibid., entry for August 22, 1824. 61 the necessary horses to bring up the supplies from the boats. Work set out on Tuesday, August 24th, with some Indians and one hundred horses. They arrived at the Forks on Wednesday and on Thursday started back with the property for Spokane House. It was not until Sunday, August 29th that the loaded pack-train arrived at the Fort. Ogden, who had ridden ahead, arrived the day before. On Monday, Finan McDonald and John Work set off on a trading expedition to the Flathead Country. This was Work' f i r s t expedition into that f i e l d . Their route led them by horseback to the Pend d'Oreille River which they reached on September 1st. The horses were sent back to the Fort and the party proceeded by canoes which had been cached at this point That same day they proceeded up the Pend d'Oreille River and encamped just below Pend d'Oreille lake. The next day saw them through the lake into the river beyond. In the forenoon of September 4th they arrived at. their destination, an Indian camp, where the natives had been waiting for them for more than a month. Trading commenced immediately and was completed the next day at noon. The party obtained six hundred and f i f t y beaver, thirty bales of dry provisions (mostly buffalo meat), some buffalo robes, dressed skins and apishamores. Four tribes were there\u00E2\u0080\u0094Flatheads, Eootenais, Pend d'Oreilles and Piegans, trade was largely restricted to the f i r s t two mentioned. That same afternoon they began their return t r i p and arrived hack at the Portage below Pend d*Oreille Lake on 62 Tuesday, September 7th. Two men were sent off to Spokane to procure horses and arrived with them the following Friday. They also brought news that the long-expected supply ship 131 Vigilant had arrived at Fort George on the 24th of August, nearly a month after the Brigade l e f t for the Interior. The next day, Saturday September 11th, the party started back for the Fort about noon and got as far as the Coeur d'Alene Plain. On the 12th, McDonald and Work came on ahead of the party and arrived at Spokane House in .the evening. At Spokane i t was decided to proceed without delay 152 to Fort George \"for supplies of Ammunition, Arms and Tobacco\". Ogden and Work set out on the 13th leaving Kittson and McDonald at Spokane. They arrived at the Forks in the morning of Tuesday, September 14th, where boats and men, for which Ogden had arranged, awaited them. As soon, as the pack horses arrived the boats were loaded (two boats and twenty-nine men) and they started down the Columbia. They put i n to Okanagan the next day and arrived at Walla Walla on Friday. Here a horse was k i l l e d for food and a supply of corn taken aboard. At the Cascades one of the boats and i t s equipment was lost as they \"lined\" i t down the river, \" . . . I t was absolutely smashed to atoms,\" wrote Work. \"Kettles, axes, poles, etc., together with several of the men1s oapots, hats & blankets that remained i n the boat were tot a l l y l o s t . Two men narrow-l y escaped being drowned by clinging to a fishing stage that 131 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 43, n. 95. 132 Work, op. c i t . , entry for Sunday, September 13,1824. 63 133 was near the place.\" A canoe was hired, from the Indians to replace the lost craft. Fortunately no furs were lost since they had a l l been carried across the Portage. After paddling a l l Sunday night they arrived at Fort George about 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The men were fatigued because of their forced march. The laconic entries in his Journal for the next two days t e l l their own story. Tuesday, Sept. Elst. The men received their regale and are enjoying themselves. Wednesday, Sept. 22nd. L i t t l e business done as the men are s t i l l enjoying themselves. However, a l l pleasant things must end so on Tuesday . 134 September 28th, Work again proceeded to Tongue Point and camped for the f i r s t night on the return journey. By Friday he was back at the Cascades. On Thursday, October 7th he arrived at Walla Walla and delivered the goods intended for that place. Again Work was sent overland to Spokane with letters while Ogden- proceeded up the river with the brigade. 135 Work arrived a \" l i t t l e after sunrising\" and on the following day started out with two mensand forty horses to meet the boats at the Forks. He was waiting there when Ogden arrived with them on the morning of October 20th, \"21 days from Fort George which is reckoned an expeditious journey with loaded 136 boats\". The reason for their haste is f a i r l y obvious. No sooner had the property been sent on to Spokane when the 133 Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 19, 1824. 134 Tongue Point was just above Fort George and the usual spot for the regale. 135 Work, op. c i t . , entry for October 14, 1824. 136 Ibid., entry for October 20, 1824. 64 Express arrived (Wednesday, October 27th., 1824) bringing Governor Simpson, Dr. John Mcloughlin and James McMillan from York Factory who were accompanied by J.W. Dease and Thomas McKay who presumably had met them at Boat Encamp-ment . 65 CHAPTER IT With McMillan to the fraser River, 1824. Work did not return to the fort hut stayed at Spokane forks while the Governor, McLoughlin, and McMillan, accompanied by Ggden rode off to v i s i t Spokane House. This was Simpson's f i r s t western inspection t r i p . He was intent on reform and was not willing to take anybody's word on the state of affairs in the west, not even Ogden's. He [Ogden) represents the Country to be i n t a state of Peace and quietness and the Comp^ s affairs going on as usual which is not saying a great deal as if.my information is correct the Columbia Dep m t from the Day of i t s Origin to the present hour has been neglected, shame-f u l l y mismanaged and a scene of the most waste-f u l extravagance and the most unfortunate dissention. It i s high time the system should be changed.... ^ 137 With this in view, Simpson made a number of plans while at Spokane House, first,- he objected to the Snake River Expeditions lying idle at flathead Post a l l the winter. Simpson f e l t that since this was a trapping and not a trading expedition, that the best season for trapping was lost when the hunters did not venture out-into the f i e l d u n t i l february each year. Not only did the members of the expedition quarrel and fight during this idle season but they also consumed their ammunition and their supplies to such an extent that they had to have \"a second outfit which they cannot afford 138 to pay for\". Therefore, the Governor proposed that the Snake River Expedition should proceed to i t s hunting grounds as 137 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 43. 158 Ibid., p. 45. soon after the f i r s t of November as possible, swing south and west i f necessary through Northern California and out by way of the Umpqua and Willamette to Port George so that their furs could be shipped to London by the annual supply ship. This plan would have the manifest advantage of avoid-ind the long haul by Brigade from Spokane down the Columbia to Port George. \"This is the inception of Ogden's four historic Snake Country Expeditions which opened up the un-explored wilderness of the northern Great Basin in the years 139' 1824-9\". The second plan which the Governor entertained was that of making the posts as self-sufficient as possible. Not only would this involve subsisting off the f i s h of the rivers and the game of the forests but i t would introduce the practice of farming as well. Simpson makes this last point perfectly clear. \"It has been said,\" he states, \"that Panning is no branch of the Pur Trade but I consider that every pursuit tending to leighten the Expence of the Trade i s a branch 140 thereof.\" \"...I mean to send some Garden and Field seed -\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 - 141 across next Season to be tried at Spokane House....\" We know that this intention was carried out, not at Spokane House, but at Colvile which was to replace i t . The third idea had been simmering in the Governor's mind for some time. He had already broached i t to McMillan on his westward journey. This was the exploration of the Fraser River mouth with the view to establishing a post there 139 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 46, n. 102. 140 . Ibid., p. 50. 141 Ibid., p. 49. 67 which should take the place of Fort George as the headquart-14S era of the Columbia District. Simpson had originally intend-ed to outfit this expedition at Okanagan and send i t in a circular route from Okanagan to the Thompson, then down the Fraser to i t s mouth and thence by sea to the Columbia. He decided that the necessary provisions and equipment were beyond the a b i l i t i e s of Okanagan to supply so that the ex-pedition must outfit at Fort George and reverse i t s route. It seems a pity that this original plan was not followed since i t might have cleared up the uncertainty surrounding the navigability of the Fraser Canyon which existed in Simpson's mind u n t i l his second expedition westward. McMillan, who was placed in charge of the expedition, did not complete the last important leg of this journey, that of exploring the Fraser Canyon above the Harrison River and especially above the present town of Hope. John Work was ordered by Simpson to accompany him south to Fort George to become a member of 143 McMillan's expedition. On Saturday, October 30th, Governor Simpson arrived back at the Forks from Spokane House, ready to continue his inspection westward. Ogden accompanied him from the Fort. The next morning at 10 o'clock Simpson and his party started for Okanagan and Ogden returned to Spokane House. The voyage down the Columbia was uneventful. They arrived at Okanagan on Monday, November 1st, and l e f t again the next day. On the 144 4th they arrived at Walla Walla \"a l i t t l e after Sunrising\". 142 See Chapter I, pp. 8-9. 143 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 47 and Work, op. c i t . , entry for ^October 28, 1824. 144 Work, op. c i t . , entry for November 4, 1824. 68 Tliree days latex they crossed the Portage at the Cascades and arrived at Fort George in the evening of the next day, November 8th. The entries in Work's journal now become irregular for a few days. But on Wednesday, November 17th, Work writes, Preparations have been making for some days ' past to send off an Expedition to the North-Ward for the purpose of ascertaining the situation of the entrance of the Erasers River, & the possibility of. navigating the coast in small boats. Erasers River & about i t s entrance are also to be examined i f i t can be accomplished. It is understood from report that these are the principle objects of the undertaking. The party are to consist of Mr.Jas. McMillan who commands the Expedi-\u00C2\u00BB tion; .Mr. Thos. McKay, Mr. P.N. Annance and Myself and 35 men. The Journey is to be performed in small boats, 3 in number. Every-thing is now prepared to start to morrow. 145 , 146 The second Journal of John Work states that the expedition l e f t Port George at 1:15 P.M. on Thursday November 147 18th and reached the Portage in Baker's Bay which they used to avoid doubling Cape Disappointment in their boats. Kennedy accompanied them to this point. The next day they commenced in a \"weighty rain\" to carry the canoes and baggage across the Portage. They had about a mile portage to a l i t t l e lake 145 Work, op. c i t . , entry for Nov. 17, 1824. Work's numbers here are at variance with his nominal roll, of the expedition in his second journal. The later l i s t includes the name of Michel laframbroise as interpreter and 36 men instead of 35. 146 Work, John, Journal of a Voyage from Fort George to the Northward, Winter 1824, (hereafter referred to as Journal 2, original in B.C. Archives) Edited by E l l i o t t , T.C., in Washington Historical Quarterly, (hereafter referred to as W.H.Q.) vol. 3, pp. 198-228. 147 Present town of Ilwaco\u00E2\u0080\u0094identified by E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 3, p. 200, n. 1. 6& and thence down a creek too narrow to float the boats. By pushing and pulling their boats through willow patches and across swamps on Saturday they f i n a l l y completed the Portage to Shoalwater Bay (Work calls i t Grey's Bay). Here the l i t t l e creek became deep enough to launch their craft,, on a flood tide. On the Slst they crossed to the East side of the Bay. Work charted his progress from point to point and noted directions and distances in his journal as in a ship's log. When they reached the point at the northern end of the bay they found the sea too rough to permit them rounding i t in their small boats.' The only alternative was to make a portage of nearly two miles across the point. Here the labor of carry ing did not end as the party found that the surf was s t i l l too great to risk launching their small craft. Monday, 22nd was spent in laboriously pulling the boats along the edge of the woods about one quarter to one half a mile from shore. On Tuesday they decided to adopt the Indian practice of poling and lining the boats along the shore just inside the surf to avoid the labor of carrying. Some of the men were ordered into the boats with pole's and others were set to work pulling with ropes along the beach. It was a wet and cold 148 task\u00E2\u0080\u0094the men \"were wet to the middle\". To make matters worse one of the men developed blood poisoning from, an infected foot The next day, the party abandoned the route along the outer beaches and pushed through thick woods to Gray's 149 Harbor. The labor involved must have been.strenuous and 148 Work, Journal 2, entry for Tuesday, November 23,1824 149 Galled Ghehalis Bay by Work and identified as Gray's Harbor by E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 3, p. 204, n. 10. 70 disagreeable in the extreme. They pushed a mile and a half through thick woods and through a continuation of swamps where the men carrying their packs were often over their knees in water and mud. The sick man.was getting worse. The swell-ing was extending up his leg and black spots were appearing on his foot. He had to be carried a l l that day. By now they had come a distance of 10 miles by laborious portaging. The usual November weather on the coast prevailed, day/ after day had brought heavy rain and strong westerly winds. The party had been eking out their limited provisions by the numerous ducks and geese which inhabit coastal waters during this season. On Thursday, the 25th a l l the boats were got across the Portage and they proceeded into the Bay. It was again windy and wet so the men were soaked to the skin. Reaching the head of the Bay, the next morning they paddled up the tortuous Ghehalis River in a general easterly direction for about eighteen miles. Navigation was easy for the current was slack and the river was deep. To their astonishment they found that the Indians, who in this area were quite accustomed to white men, were decidedly hostile. later investigations 150 show that one of Concomly* s sons Cassiccus, had spread the rumor that this was a punitive expedition, but as Work writes, some presents of tobacco soon \"dismissed a l l appearance of 151 h o s t i l i t y \" . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 150 Cassicus, eldest son of Concomly, Chief of the Chinooks. This son was known as the Prince of Wales. 151 Work, Journal No. 2, entry for Friday, November 26, 1824. ~ 71 This must have \"been an easy day since Work's entry in his journal is so long. He had been passing Indian villages for two days no?/ and noted the number of houses i n each village. He apparently realized or was informed that these were the typical community houses of the coast Indians for he estimated their inhabitants at a considerable number. His description is vivid, interesting and informative. These peoples houses are constructed of planks set on end. & neatly fastened at the top, those on the ends lengthening towards the middle to form the proper pitch, the roofs are covered with planks the seams between which are f i l l e d with moss, a span is l e f t open a l l the way along the ridge which serves the double purpose of letting out the smoak & admitting the l i g h t . About these habitations is a complete sink of f i l t h and nastiness at this wet season i t i s a complete mire mixed with the o f f a l l of f i s h & dirt of every kind renders i t surprising that human beings can reside among i t . ' 15\u00C2\u00A3 Until the afternoon, Saturday was another wet day. It was even too wet to bother with f i r e s so that the expedi-tion continued upstream without interruption u n t i l four o'clock making a distance of between twenty and twenty-four miles. The current of.the river was now f a i r l y strong so that the men had to resort to poles. They passed more Indian villages, 153 even more f i l t h y , so that the \"stench was most offensive\", but the inhabitants were not unfriendly, as they had been before. On Sunday, November 28th, they had pushed on up-stream about ten miles to a l i t t l e river flowing into the 152 Work, op. c i t . , entry for November 26, 1824. 153 Ibid., entry for November 27, 1824. 72 Chehalis from the north. This was then called and s t i l l hears the name of the Black River. For five or six miles this stream was deep and slow and f a i r l y easily penetrable, later on however, i t became swift and often very shallow so that the boats were dragged up i t with considerable d i f f i -culty. ^ By Monday, they had gone another nine miles up the same river, paddling through slow deep water and then scram-bling through shallows, willows and over obstructions of driftwood. The woods changed from poplar and oak to pine. Work's trained eyes saw and noted marks of beaver along the route. The next day they made arrangements to send back the man who was i l l with blood poisoning. His leg and foot had broken out so badly that a l l hope of his recovery on the expedition was abandoned. Completing these arrangements, cost them another day so that i t was Thursday December 2nd before they were on their way again. As they neared the headwaters of the Black River the stream became choked with willows and trees. Time and again they had to oarry the goods and chop a path through the tangles for their boats. By night-f a l l they had gone only five miles but i t was enough to bring them close to the l i t t l e lake out of which the river flowed. This lake (Black lake) they reached and crossed on Friday. A portage of 8,000 yards lay between Black lake and Puget's Sound over which the boats and goods had to be carried. Here, an Indian t r a i l already existed which was wide enough to transport the goods, but a wider path had to be cut out for the boats. Work had his f i r s t encounter with \"an evergreen shrub called by the Chinooks S a l l a l l [salal], that cutting a road through them for the boats i s a tedious and laborious 73 154 task\". He was struck by bis f i r s t sight of Douglas f i r s . \"I measured some of them, one of the largest was upwards of 155 5 fathoms in circumference another 28 feet round.\" By Monday December 6th the. last of the boats were 156 over the Portage at Eld Inlet and the voyage down Puget Sound began. They embarked at nine o'clock and set out along the South East shore, carefully charting distances and directions. Yfork noted the many islands and inlets which were typical. He saw plenty of mussels on the rocks and although he observed the shells of oysters and cockles he did not think of digging for them. A starfish was apparently new to him, for he wrote, . Another kind of f i s h of a curious shape was also i n plenty. This is a shapeless animal with 5 long toes joined together in the middle, i t seems to be in a torpid state and scarcely to move, i t is covered with a crust or hard skin of a reddish color. 157 That day they passed the mouth of the Nisqually River. On Tuesday they travelled a total of thirty-five miles. En route, they engaged three Indians (two men and a woman) of the Snohomish tribe to ,-go with them as interpreters. One of the three claimed to understand \"the language of the Ooweechins which is the name of the tribe at the entrance of 158 what is supposed to be Erasers River\". The following day they saw the snow-capped peaks of Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens'in the distance. 154\" Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 4, 1824. 155 Loc. c i t . 156 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol., 3, p. 211, n. 15, 157 Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 6, 1824. 158 Ibid., entry for December 7, 1824. 74 By Friday, December 10th, they were getting near the entrance to Puget1 s. Sound. The shores were rockier and bolder with less earth and with stunted, twisted trees at the water's edge. For some days they had passed villages of the Skagit Indians in every sheltered bay along their route. These Indians were friendly and brought good reports of elk and beaver. On Saturday they saw what Mr. T.C. E l l i o t t identifies as Orcas and San Juan islands in the distance and what may have been the h i l l s of Vancouver Island bevond them . 159 again. Finally, they landed in Semiahmoo Bay which is easily recognizable by another of Work's graphic descriptions. \"The shore s t i l l continues high & steep but instead of rocks are 160 composed of clay & wooded to the water's edge....\" This i s obviously the shoreline from White Book around to Crescent Beach through Ocean Park. For two days the party waited for the weather to abate in order to cross to Point Roberts, the Indians having told them that this point formed the southern side of the entrance to the Fraser River. On Monday, December 13th, they attempted the passage across to Point Roberts and gave i t up. Instead they proceeded along the eastern shore past Crescent Beach to the Nicomekl River up which they ascended some seven miles. \"The reason of proceeding up the l i t t l e River,\" Work states, \"was the Indians representing that by making a portage there was a road this way into the Coweechin River, but they said i t was very bad and seemed most desirous to go 159 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 3, p. 216, n. 34. 160 Work, op. c i t . , entry.for December 11, 1824. 75 161 by the point.\" It was bad, but Work was consoled by the plentiful signs of beaver along the river bank. The next day it rained heavily after a. considerable spell of f a i r weather. The expedition could get no further up the river so they commenced portaging and got about half way across. According to Mr. T.O. E l l i o t t , they were now on 162 langley Prairie which Work describes as rich and f e r t i l e with the remains of a luxurious crop of grass and ferns lying on the ground. On Wednesday they completed the five mile Portage. Something new among the Indians caught Work's eye; \"their blankets are of their own manufacture & made of hair or coarse wool, over which they wear a kind of short cloak made 163 of the bark of the cedar tree.,...\" in poncho style. The expedition was late getting started the next morning after waiting for three of the party who had been hunting elk. About eleven o'clock they embarked and paddled down the Salmon River to i t s junction with the Eraser, which they reached about one o'clock. \"At this place,\" writes Work, \" i t is a fine looking River at least 1,000 yards wide, as wide as the Columbia at Oak Point....From the size and appearance of the River there is no doubt in our minds but 164 that i t i s Erazers.\" On Friday and Saturday, they explored up the river 161 Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 13, 1824. 162 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 5, p. 218, n. 42. 163 Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 15, 1824. 164 Ibid., entry for December 16, 1824. as far as Ha.tz.ie Slough and saw the Cheam Peaks in the 165 distance.. Here they were visited by Indians from, a village a l i t t l e farther up the river who gave them unduly optimistic information respecting the Fraser above that point, representing the river as being navigable through the Ganyon to Kamloops. A letter was given to these Indians to forward to Thompson Eiver. McMillan decided that i t was not necessary to proceed any farther upstream. On Saturday afternoon they began their journey to the mouth of the Fraser. As they proceeded down the river they carefully charted and describ-ed their route from point to point and island to island. They passed the site of New Westminster down to a point 166 opposite Tilbury Island where they camped. Work was s t i l l looking for traces of contacts between the natives and Europeans and carefully estimating opportunities for trade. On Monday,- December EOth, they paddled out of the river mouth and saw Point Grey to the north. The boats now turned southward and rounded Point Roberts. For five days they retraced their steps without incident and reached the Portage to the Black River at 10 o'clock on Christmas Day. Work made no mention of this as a special day in his journal which recorded only the t o i l of getting the boats and baggage across the wet and miry t r a i l . Near noon of the next day they had embarked on Black lake, a l l crowded into two boats, be-165 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 3, p. 220, n. 51. 166 Ibid., p. 222, n. 56. 77 cause one of them had \"been l e f t \"behind at a nearby Indian T i l l a g e . The purpose of leaving the boat, apart from the possibility that future parties would find i t readily avail-able, becomes clear in reading the entry in Work's journal for Monday December 27th. McMillan,- John Work, laframbrolse. the interpreter, accompanied by six men planned to try to find a route overland to the Cowlitz River and thence to the Fort by water. The rest of the party, now easily accommo-dated in the two boats, would return by the old route. 167 According to Mr. T.C. E l l i o t t , the party divided near Grand Mound prairie and for two days proceeded south by horseback. The route they followed was over a well-marked Indian t r a i l which followed closely the present line of the Northern Pacific Railroad through Centralia, Chehalis and on to the Cowlitz River near Toledo, where the Cowlitz Farm of 168 the Company was to be located. Although well-defined, the road was mixed in quality. Sometimes i t was firm and level, then wet, muddy and slippery, often obstructed by branches and fallen trees which the Indians did not bother to remove, or else i t was blocked by swollen rivers or streams. As usual, Work made careful comment on the country through which they passed\u00E2\u0080\u0094its trees and bushes, the quality of the s o i l , i t s plains and i t s h i l l s . This is the discovery of the Cowlitz Portage which became an established Hudson's Bay route from the Columbia to Fort Nisqually. 167 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 3, p. 226, n. 67. 168 Ibid., p. 227, n. 68. 78 They arrived at the Cowlitz River late on the morning of Wednesday the 29th of December. No time was lost in hiring an Indian canoe to take them to the Fort. By 7 o'clock that evening they reached the Columbia River. By dint of paddling hard a l l that night they reached Fort George at 10 o'clock Thursday morning. Altogether the expedition had been away a month and a half. Most of the time had been spent on the outward journey since only ten days of the total time had been used on the return tr i p which had been favored by better weather with less wind and rain than the journey north. Governor Simpson was pleased and satisfied with the expedition which he stated had been accomplished not only 169 to the credit of McMillan but , lto my utmost satisfaction\". - 170 He was undoubtedly impressed with the reports of the country. Euget Sound afforded a sheltered and safe anchorage. The Indians were friendly and appeared pleased at the thought of the whites settling amongst them. Moreover, the area was well populated and should offer a considerable scope for trade. Deer, elk and beaver were abundant. The Fraser River was reported to be navigable for twenty miles by vessels of one hundred tons, and in the f i r s t forty miles of i t s course not one shoal or rapid was encountered. The mouth of the river was reported to be obstructed by sand bars through which 169 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 115. 170 Ibid., pp. 114-118. 79 clear channels existed with depths of three to seven fathoms. The land on either side of the river appeared to he r i c h and f e r t i l e and the river i t s e l f would provide ample supplies of salmon and sturgeon. Simpson goes on to state that the Indians reported that the River as far up as the Thompson River was a \"fine large bold stream and not barred 171 by dangerous rapids or f a l l s \" . No report could have been more encouraging to Simpson's desire to remove headquarters to some spot farther north\u00E2\u0080\u0094a spot which would be in British territory, easily accessible from the sea, capable of agricultural development, and with easy contact with the interior posts. Unfortunately many of these items proved to be far from the truth. The hopeful report of the middle river was absolutely untrue. It is a pity that winter conditions made i t impossible for McMillan to carry out his orders by explor-ing these middle reaches. Simpson apparently l e f t the Columbia with the hope that the Fraser River wouli. provide a highway from New Caledonia to the Sea. As the beginning of this project Fort langley was'built in 1827-8 and McMillan 172 was placed i n charge. It became a secondary post. Simpson's letter to the Foreign Office in 1826 shows that he had been 172 disillusioned regarding the Fraser River. When Simpson 171 Merk,- op. c i t . , p. 117 172 See Reid, Robie I., \"Early Days at Old Fort langley\" in British Columbia Historical.Quarterly, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 71-85. 173 Merk, op. c i t . , pp. 264-266. Governor Simpson to H.Y. Addington, Hudson's Bay House, London, January 5, 1826. 80 returned to the Pacific i n 1.828-9 he came by way of the Peace and Fraser rivers and saw the impossibility of usinj the Fraser as a convenient outlet for New Caledonia. For these reasons the route from the interior posts came to follow the Fraser south to Alexandria, then by pack horse t r a i l by way of Fort Thompson (Kamloops) to Okanagan and thence by boat down the Columbia. 81 ' CHATTER V Spokane Interlude 1825-1826. With the decision to move the main depot of the Columbia Department to the Fraser River came the expected abandonment of Fort George. It is to be remembered that i t was on the south side of the river. The site had been returned to the Americans in 1818 and could be occupied by them at any time. It was therefore decided to establish a post farther up the river on i t s northern bank ( i f the Columbia was to become the boundary between American and British property). This new fort was to be a. secondary one only. The spot selected, called Belle Vue Point, was almost opposite the mouth of the Willamette River and about a mile and a quarter from the water's edge. The area was suitable for cultivation so that i t f i t t e d in with Simpson's idea of making the forts self-sufficient in provisions. Moreover, the site was not too far up the river to be out of navigable water for small vessels. Work was begun on i t immediately 174 and must have been nearly complete before Governor Simpson returned to York Factory in the spring of 1825. Simpson visited the new post on March 18th and 19th of that year and named the place Fort Vancouver with due ceremony and a bottle \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 175 of rum. 174 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 124. 175 When the proposed Fraser River route to New Caledonia was found impracticable, Fort Vancouver had to be continued as a base, so i t was relocated nearer the water's edge, 1828-29. 82 John Work must have been present at the ceremony 176 and may have been engaged in building the Fort. It has not been possible to obtain any information about Work between the time of his return from the Fraser on December 29, 1824 and the 21st of March 1825 when his next journal begins. If we may deduce anything from his usual practice of discon-tinuing his journals while resident at a post, i t seems clear that he was either at Fort George or at the site of the new post as suggested. 177 His third journal opens two days after Simpson l e f t Fort Vancouver on his eastward journey. He was under orders to make himself useful in the moving of goods from Fort George to Fort Vancouver, un t i l the Brigade l e f t for the interior when he was to accompany i t to Spokane. Work 178 179 l e f t Fort Yancouver in the Otter with four Hawaiians for Fort George to assist in moving equipment to the new site. They reached Fort George at 7 o'clock in the evening of the 23rd after running aground and having to wait for the tide. The next day the Otter was loaded and sent up the River, Work remaining behind to check stores and finish accounts. On Sunday, March 27th he arrived back at Fort Vancouver with 176 Conjecture only; but i t is apparent that he was at Fort Vancouver when Simpson christened i t and must have come up from Fort George with Simpson or have been already present at Fort Vancouver. 177 Work, John, Journal, March 21-May 14, 1825 (here-after referred to as Journal 3). 178 The usual references make no mention of this vessel, which must have been a small sailing ship. 179 Work calls them Owyhees in the common spelling of the time. ' The practice of using these islanders was quite common with the Hudson's Bay Company. They were known also as Kanakas. 83 some Indians in a canoe. Then, Friday Ap r i l 1st, he set out again and arrived at Fort George at midnight, spending Saturday packing furs and stores. He was not back at Fort Yancouver u n t i l the 13th of April. The return trip had been d i f f i c u l t . . The weather was bad with constant rain and.wind. Some of the boats were old and rotten. One f e l l to pieces as i t was being loaded. As a result, Work spent a f u l l three days drying the furs on his return to Fort Yancouver. It was not u n t i l Wednesday, May 11th, that Work started again for Fort George so the usual gap occurs in his journal up to this date. In the meantime, the annual supply ship from England, the William and Ann, had arrived with 180 David Douglas, the celebrated botanist and Dr. Scouler, 181 acting surgeon of the vessel, on board. Dr. McLoughlin made a special t r i p to Fort George to take these men to Fort 182 Yancouver. Douglas and Scouler were to accompany Work back to Fort George where-the former was to spend the rest of the month collecting and the latt e r was to rejoin his ship for a northward expedition. Work's party arrived at Fort George 180 David Douglas spent the next two years on the Columbia. In 1827 he travelled overland to Hudson Bay and thence to England. He returned to the Pacific in 1829 and was accidentally k i l l e d in the Hawaiian Islands, 1834. 181 Dr. Scouler had been professor of Natural History at Glasgow and was recommended as surgeon to the William and Ann to carry out his researches. His journal is in the Oregon Historical Society Quarterly, vol.. 6, pp. 54-76, 159-205, 276-289. ~ 182 Douglas, David, \"A Sketch of a Journey to the North-western Parts of the Continent of North America\" i n Companion to the Botanical Magazine, Nos. 15, 16 and 17, London, 84 on Thursday evening. The next day was spent in loading the Otter and the five boats whioh had come down from Fort Vancouver. On the 14th (Saturday) they were ready to return hut heavy rain delayed them un t i l the next morning when they got under way with a load of powder and pigs. Again for lack of positive information we must assume that John Work remained at Fort Vancouver until the latter part of June. He was then assigned to the Brigade for the interior which carried the f a l l and winter outfits 183 to the various posts. Chief Trader John Mcleod was In charge. This appointment checks with the decisions in 184 George Simpson's journal in which the Governor had origin-a l l y intended Work and Thomas McKay to take charge of the Umpqua Exp edit ion. Simpson f e l t that Work did not have the. experience necessary for such an important post so that Finan McDonald was to replace Work who was to return with the Brigade to Spokane where he was to remain in temporary command \"until the arrival of some Commissioned Gentlemen 185 from the other side\". The expedition composed of thirty-two men In five boats embarked In the morning of Tuesday June 21, 1825 in a drizzling rain. The brigade was under armed convoy of twelve additional men un t i l i t passed the Cascades and the Celilo 183 Stationed at Thompson River at Kamloops and given leave of absence for the following season. See H.B.S., III, pages 84 and 102. 184 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 135. 185 LOG. c i t . 85 Falls of the Columbia. David Douglas accompanied the ex-pedition as far as.the convoy went. While there had been no trouble with the Indians there were possibilities of raids upon the expensive outfits at the portages where the natives had collected for fishing. Work indicates a certain wariness in his Journal by remarking frequently that the Indians although present in numbers, were peaceable and quiet. By Saturday, June 25th, they had successfully passed the Falls and encamped a l i t t l e below John Day's River. Here, they stopped to.gum the boats and here their escort l e f t them. On the 29th, they arrived at Walla Walla. The weather after the f i r s t day had been f a i r and getting hotter\u00E2\u0080\u0094here the heat was oppressive, with occasional storms of thunder and \"lightening\". The following day was spent in separating the out-f i t s belonging to different posts, since now part would be kept at Walla Walla,' part would go on by boat to Spokane Forks and Okanagan and from thence by pack horse to New Caledonia and to Spokane House respectively. The next task was to secure pack horses by trade from the Indians. Since not enough (150) could be obtained locally, a horse trading expedition was organized to procure these up the Snake River. John Warren Dease was in command, accompanied by Work and 186 another clerk named Thomas Dears. With them went twenty-eight men. The two boats they had were very lightly-laden 186 Thomas Dears entered the Hudson's Bay Company service as a clerk in 1817. After serving at York Factory, Island lake and other posts he was appointed to the Columbia River. From thence he went to New Caledonia u n t i l he retired in 1836. 86 and the men well-armed. They embarked on Saturday July 1st in the early afternoon. By Friday July 15th they had been working their way slowly up the Snake River stopping at each lodge, smoking and trading for horses, and getting a few each day. Work claimed.that the Indians were not too eager to part with them and then would s e l l only young ones which were f i t for food and not for packing. However, they did succeed in getting a number of suitable animals which were reported to be larger and better as they proceeded upstream. The weather was exceedingly hot, and the country dry parched and barren. Mosquitoes were troublesome and interfered with their rest at night. This day (Friday) they reached the Clearwater 187 River where lewiston, Idaho now stands. Here they were visited by upwards of two hundred Indians. \"...They are 188 very quiet and peaceable so far,\" comments Work in an omin-ous tone. On the next two days,.trading was brisk and more horses were secured so that by now they had traded a total of one hundred and twelve animals, six of which had been k i l l -ed accidently or slaughtered for food. They were s t i l l forty-four short of the required number but their trade goods had run out so that on Monday July 18th, trading was wound up. J.W. Dease and the clerk, Dears, apparently returned downstream to Walla Walla in the canoes, since Work mentions 187 Identified by E l l i o t t , T.C., ed., \"Journal of John Work, 1825-1826\" in W.H.Q., vol. 5, p. 92, n.-23. 188 Work, John, Journal, June 21, 1825-June 12 18g6 (hereafter referred to as Journal 4) entry for July 15, 1825. 87 in his journal that he was l e f t with six men and an Indian guide to take the hundred and six horses overland to Okanagan and Spokane. Work proceeded north on the regular Indian t r a i l which follows the present boundary line between 189 Washington and Idaho. Work was bound for Spokane to, ...consult with Mr. Birnie as to the practica-* ; b i l i t y of getting a l l the property etc. removed at once to the Kettle Falls so that the whole may be there by the time the boats arrive, by which means the trading parties to the Flat Heads and Kootanies could be sent off immediate-l y and meet the Indians at a proper season or at least as easily as possible, while the remainder of the people, when two establish-ments are not to be kept up, .could be advan-tageously employed at the building of the new Establishment. 190 This i s the f i r s t reference to the proposed removal of Spokane House to a new site, Fort Colvile, at Kettle F a l l s . More about the change w i l l be said later. For this purpose Work had got permission to take eleven pack horses and two saddle horses from those now in his care, a l l Dease would allow him. This is the f i r s t time that John Work allows himself to grumble in black and white. He wanted more horses, having only eight already at Spokane. He also wanted the help of Thomas Dears, but Chief Trader Dease would not allow this since the former was needed to assist with the boats of the Brigade from Walla Walla to Okanagan. \"He [McLeodj certainly needed no assistance to conduct three boats well manned when 191 l i t t l e danger is to be apprehended from the Indians,\" grumbles Work in his journal. If his plans proved practica-ble then Work planned to proceed to Okanagan to receive the 189 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 5, p. 95, n. 26. 190 Work, Journal 4, entry for July 18, 1825. TQ1 loc. c i t . 88 Spokane and Rocky Mountain outfits and then to accompany the boats back to Kettle F a l l s . On July 20th they reached the fork in the t r a i l and Work turned off to Spokane while the others proceeded to Okanagan. He arrived at Spokane House at 7 o'clock i n the evening^ and found everybody well. He found also that Birnie had been very active a l l summer in packing furs, trading-goods, stores and sundries into \"pieoes\" for transporting to Kettle F a l l s . He had also collected more horses than Work had anticipated, altogether a total of twenty-four. Since each \"piece\" weighed about ninety pounds a considerable number of trips would be necessary. Work was s t i l l annoyed at Dease's refusal to loan him Thomas Dears. It was necessary that Work proceed to Okanagan to superintend the boats proceeding to Kettle F a l l s . He would like to have had Birnie or Dears start with the horses to transport the goods to Kettle F a l l s overland. Unfortunately, there was now no one to leave in charge of the remaining supplies at Spokane House. Work also received a note from Governor Simpson which was awaiting him at Spokane House. This letter l e f t Work with definite duties to perform., He was to be in charge of abandoning Spokane House , of the removal of a l l goods and supplies to Kettle Falls where the new post was to be built under his direction. The Kootenay and the Pend d'Oreille, rivers were to be examined with a view to sending out the Kootenay and Flathead outfits by water rather than by pack horse. Horses were to be gathered for the New Caledonia outfit. Both Birnie and Dears were to be under his command. 89 Governor Simpson had f i r s t thought of Kettle Falls as a possible, alternative to Spokane House when he 192. passed the Falls on October 26th, 1824. The so i l was reason-ably good for agriculture. Fishcould be collected in any quantity at the rapids. Moreover, the sixty mile pack horse t r a i l from Spokane Forks could be avoided and the Kootenay and Flathead posts supplied by river from Kettle F a l l s i f the rivers flowing past these posts proved to be navigable, or i f not, by horse just as easily as from Spokane. On his return eastward the next spring Simpson had a consultation 193 with Kennedy, McMillan, McDonald and Ross on the subject. Only one objection was foreseen, that the Indians at Spokane might be offended at the loss of a post in their d i s t r i c t . This objection was not enough to oversway the advantages gained. A few days later Simpson himself made arrangements with the Indian Chief at Kettle Falls and personally selected a s i t e : ...a beautiful point on the South side about ^\u00E2\u0080\u00A2ths of a Mile above the Portage where there is abundance of fine Timber and the situation elegible in every point of view. An excellent Farm can be made at this place where as much Grain and potatoes may be raised as could feed a l l the Natives of the Columbia and a sufficient number of Cattle and Hogs to supply his Ma'jestys Navy with Beef and Pork....I have taken the lib e r t y of naming i t Fort Colvile....194 Work delayed leaving Spokane for Okanagan until 192 Merk, op. c i t . , p. 42. 193 Ibid., p. 134. 194 Ibid., p. 139, Andrew Colvile was a director and later a governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. 90 Saturday July 23rd, when he set out accompanied by a man 195 and an Indian and \"drove on at a round pace a l l day\". They arrived at the Columbia the next day, gave the horses an opportunity to rest and the day following got a l l of them safely across the river to Okanagan. No sooner had Work arrived at Okanagan than further d i f f i c u l t i e s impeded him. These were contained in a letter from Peter Skene Ogden who was in charge of the Snake Country trappers that season. Ogden reported that twenty-three of his freemen, fourteen with their furs, traps and horses, deserted to an American 196 party of William Ashley's then led by a Johnson Gardner. It had been originally planned by Simpson.that Ogden would return by way of the Willamette River, but Ogden sent word that he intended coming out by way of Walla Walla. Therefore a l l the Snake River outfit had been sent to the latter place. Now plans had to be changed because Work discovered by open-ing Ogden\"s despatch'that the remainder of Ogden1s party intended coming out by the Flathead post. In Work's opinion, a l l of his time would therefore be spent in transporting the Snake outfit from Walla Walla to\"Spokane House i f the Snake Country business was to be carried on. This might prevent the abandoning of Spokane that f a l l . Dears was sent to Walla Walla post haste with this information and with Ogden*s letter, from whence i t would be delivered to McLoughlin at 195 Work, op. c i t . , entry for July 23, 1825. 196 H.B.S.,IY, p. I x i . An example of the onset of American competition. William Ashley recruited the f i r s t of his trading parties in 1822. (See H.B.S., IY, p. 34, n. 2, for further details.) 91 Vancouver . The Indian who brought the letter was dispatched to Spokane House requesting Birnie t o send horses to the Forks to take in the Snake outfit. On Thursday, August 4th, the boats from Okanagan arrived at Spokane Forks. The journey had been d i f f i c u l t , because.the water was high and although the craft were only two thirds loaded, they were laden down with passengers. The boats were discharged immediately, just as the horses arrived from Spokane House. The rest of the day was spent in dividing and packing the goods. On the following day one boat (the other two were l a i d up at the Forks) set out for Kettle F a l l s and the Rocky Mountains. Instructions were l e f t for the seven men in the boat to remain at the Falls u n t i l the 20th of September and, using the tools with which they were provided, to start, construction on Fort Colvile. Work went with the horses to Spokane House where he arrived on Sunday August 7th. The next day, losing no time, Work began to get together the Flathead outfit. In the meantime, Dears arrived from Walla Walla. On the 9th, the outfit started for the Flathead post. Work followed them the following day and at the same time dispatched Dears to superintend the building of Fort Colvile. The expedition followed the same route as Work had done the previous summer and arrived at Pend d*Oreille River on the 11th of August where the cached canoes were found. These had to be regummed, paddles and poles had to be made also since the Indians had stolen a l l ' o f them. It was not unt i l noon of the following day that the expedition was on its way. Winds delayed their crossing lake Pend d'Oreille 92 197 but by Monday the 15th they arrived at Thompson Falls on Clark's Fork where Kittson from Ogden's party awaited Work 198 with thirty-eight paoks of furs. On the following day trading commenced and continued u n t i l the 17th when the furs were packed ready for transport. The trade was less than the previous year by about one hun-dred and twenty beaver which Work blamed on the fact that many of the Kootenay Indians had bone back to their own lands without waiting to trade. Dressed skins and leather were particularly scarce, but the quantity of dried meat was just double. Before he returned, Work made arrangements to forward letters and certain articles to Ogden. Their return journey down the River and across the lake was slow. The canoes were overloaded. Rapids had to be run with half cargoes. For awhile the lake was too rough to cross. However, by the 20th they reached the Eortage and sent three men to the Fort for the horses. The remain-der of the men were put to drying the bales which were wet from the leaky and overladen canoes. Some of the articles l e f t over from trading were cachea in the woods to save taking them back to the Fort. Three days later the men arrived back with a l l of the Company's horses and some others which Birnie had secured from the Indians. There were s t i l l too few animals u n t i l an Indian arrived in the evening with seven more. On the 24th they loaded the horses and began 197 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 5, p. 108, n. 51. 198 H.B.S., IV, p. 27, n. 4. 93 their way across the Portage to Spokane. The horses were weak and the journey slow. On the next day Kittson and Work le f t the Brigade and set out ahead for the Fort where they arrived at 4 o'clock. Here they found that two of Dease's men had arrived with twenty-six horses for the use of 13xe Snake country expedition and with dispatches from Fort Vancouver. These dispatches instructed Work to bring half of the Snake outfit from Walla Walla to Spokane House. How-ever, Work f e l t apprehensive lest this should be so much waste effort should Ogden return by Walla Walla and not by Spokane. He, therefore, decided to delay any action unti l the 1st of October, hoping to have in the meanwhile more definite information concerning Ogden's movements. Time was to prove that Work was right in his decision since Ogden did 199 return by way of Walla Walla and not by Spokane. Now for a time Work was occupied in routine opera-tions around Spokane House. Kittson was sent to the Kootenay country for the furs which he and Work failed to get from the Indians on the trading expedition which they had just completed. Nine men were sent to Kettle Falls with tools to help with the building of Fort Golvile. On the last day of August, John Work set out for Kettle Falls on horseback where he arrived at noon the next day. To his disappointment l i t t l e progress had been made in the construction of the Fort. Seven men had been employed since August 13th and had only secured and squared thirty-199 Work, Journal 4, entry for September 26, 1825. His route is the same which Work followed later (cf., Journals 8 and 9 in B.C. Archives). seven logs. Dears, who had \"been sent to take charge, excused himself and the men.on the grounds that \"two of them are at present i l l with the venereal and f i t to do very l i t t l e , one 200 of them does nothing\". The only \"bright spot in the whole picture was that a good stock of provisions, dry fish and berries^ had been traded. With the arrival of Work, matters began to move a l i t t l e more briskly. A pit was dug for whip-sawing lumber. A two-wheeled rack was completed to cart logs and timber wher-ever they were needed. But Work found to his dismay that there was not a sufficiency of timber available close at hand to f i n i s h even the store. He describes the site of 201 Colvile as lying in a horseshoe-shaped niche or valley on the south side of the river. This niche, about two miles in depth and three miles in length along the river bank, was surrounded by steep h i l l s on three sides. The Port i t s e l f was to be built on a sandy ridge about six hundred yards from the river front. The nearest available wood supply was about three quarters of a mile away. The easiest plan he felt', was to cut timber up the river and raft i t to the Port. He stayed at Colvile u n t i l Sunday September 4th and returned to Spokane. Before he l e f t , he reported fifteen of the men f i t for work and engaged on various tasks, some sawing, some preparing a frame for the store and some squaring timber. He f e l t reason-ably sure that the store might be completed so that goods 200 Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 1, 1825. 201 The present site of the town of Colville (notice change of spelling) is about ten miles distant, up the Colville River which flows into the Columbia near Kettle Palls. 95 could be safely deposited there that f a l l . The potatoes which Birnie had planted by order of Governor Simpson were coming up well. Just after his arrival back at Spokane three of Ogden's freemen drifted in, they had no communication from Ogden except notes specifying the state of their accounts. Work turned the men back without any advances in goods beyond a l i t t l e ammunition in the hopes that they would rejoin Ogden whose party was only fifteen strong and who was in a dangerous country. Eittson returned on the 6th of September from his trading expedition to the Kootenay. He had been reasonably successful and reported that the Indians would like a post built on their lands. He does not state how far he penetrated into their country. On the 17th of September letters arrived from Dr. McLoughlin directing John Work to stop construction on the buildings at Kettle F a l l s since the site selected was on the \u00C2\u00A302 south side of the Columbia. Obviously the boundary question had reared i t s head again. Meanwhile, Work and Kittson set out for Colvile to meet and to send on the eastbound express. After this task was attended to, Work turned his attention to the buildings, and found again that progress had been exceed-ingly slow. Not a stick of the house was up and the timber not even ready. Logs had been squared to the wrong size. Saws had been improperly sharpened. \"Certainly there is l i t t l e \u00C2\u00A305 work done for the number of men & time they were employed.\" \u00C2\u00A302 Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 17, 1825.. \u00C2\u00A303 Ibid., entry for September 19, 1825. 96 The order to cease construction was given hut Work l e f t directions with Thomas Dears to keep the men going a few days longer to get the timber for the storehouse ready to put up in the spring in case another site was not found. Work, himself, expressed the opinion that there was no other spot at Kettle f.alls on either side of the Columbia, where a fort could be b u i l t . Dr. Mcloughlin was very concerned with the fact that 1828 was drawing nigh when the ten year interval of the joint occupancy of Oregon would be over and the boundary line between British and American territory would be f i n a l l y decid-ed upon. It is not quite clear exactly when Mcloughlin order-ed the construction of Fort Colvile to proceed once more. Mr. T.C. E l l i o t t states that Mcloughlin visited the site in the 204 summer of 18.26 and the fort was built as previously arranged. In December 1825, Governor J.H. Pelly wrote to the Honorable George Canning, Foreign Minister, suggesting that the boundary line be drawn \"Southward along the height of land to the Place where lewis and Clarke crossed the Mountains, said to be in l a t . 46\u00C2\u00B042 thence Westerly alting the lewis's River, until 205 i t f a l l s into the Columbia...\" Simpson knew of this sugges-tion and f e l t i t was the line which would be accepted. He sent a copy of the letter to Mcloughlin, probably during the 206 year 1826 since the Doctor replied in March, 1827. This 204 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 5, p. 165, n. 65. 205 Pelly to Canning, London, December 9, 1825, Merk, op. c i t . , p. 259. 206 Mcloughlin to Simpson, Fort Vancouver, March 20, 1827, Ibid., p. 287. 97 proposed boundary would run far to the south, of Colvile so that i t s position on the south side of the Columbia would not matter. When the transfer from Spokane to Colvile did take place in 1826 the place was far from complete. In July 1827, Simpson wrote to Chief Trader Dease, who was then In charge, We regret you have not gone on with the Build-ings and improvements at Fort Colvile, and beg that they may be continued as i f no such nation as America existed\u00E2\u0080\u0094-there i s no probability of a boundary line being determined for many years....207 On October 1st, Dears and his men arrived from Kettle F a l l s . They brought their tools and baggage with them. Dears reported that the potatoes had been dug and stored. From the six kegs which were planted thirteen had been gathered, and as Simpson directed, a l l of these were stored for seed for the. next year. The frames for the store were ready to assemble 208 and about one half of the \" f i l l i n g up\" pieces ready. Until the express arrived the men were busily employ-ed getting ready for the winter. Logs for boat lumber had to be collected and sawn. Firewood had to be collected. Corrals had to be built for the horses. Houses had to be repaired against the winter cold and neatly whitewashed. Charcoal pits 209 -were to be dug, f i l l e d with wood and fired. Kittson, Dears and a party with f i f t y horses were to be sent to Walla Walla 207 Simpson to J.W. Dease, July 9, 1827, quoted in H.B.S., IY., p. I v i . 208 Upright frames were assembled and erected. Trans-versely between these frames were the filllng-up pieces. The photographs of Fort Yictoria at the Archives in Yictoria, B.C. show this method of construction. 209 Charcoal was used in quantity by the blacksmith in absence of coal. 98 with some of Ogden1s supplies which the Brigade had brought up. Later Kittson was to return to Spokane.. The sending of Dears to meet Ogden interfered with the Governor's request that the former be sent to examine the navigability of pend d'Oreille River from i t s junction with the Columbia. Kittson was unable to go because of a foot injury which would prevent him walking any distance. Birnie, the only other available man, pleaded his inexperi-ence in a small canoe and demanded at least four men to accompany him. Since these could not be spared, the expedition was postponed u n t i l the next season. Work remarks, quite logically, that since the Fort could not be moved to Colvile that winter, the old route overland was just as preferable. On the 19th of October Kittson arrived baak at Walla Walla, bringing letters from Mcloughlin and Dease. The former indicated his intention of v i s i t i n g Spokane to meet the express, but he did not get further than Walla Walla. Four extra men arrived with Kittson and were employed packing saddles cords and apishamores for New Caledonia. These were to be shipped from Spokane Forks '\"to Okanagan by the express.. On the 31st of October, Chief Trader-Alexander R. Mcleod and 210 Francis Ermatinger arrived from, the Forks with the express. 210 Alexander Roderick Mcleod entered the service of the North West Company in 1802. In 1825 he was moved to Fort Vancouver and took part in an expedition against the Clallam Indians in 1828. He was later stationed at Fort Simpson, and went to Canada on furlough in 1839 and died in 1840. Francis Ermatinger joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1818, with his brother Edward. He spent most of his furtrading days on the Pacific coast and was promoted to Chief Trader in 1841. He retired from the Company in 1853 and died at St. Thomas in 1868. 99 E l l Samuel Black and Edward Ermatinger remained \"behind with the boats. Work sent a letter by Mcleod to Dease at Walla Walla reminding him that i t would be necessary to come as soon as possible to his new command at Spokane in order to get the Elathead outfit away before the freeze-over. On Tuesday, November 8th, Kittson who had returned from Walla Walla sent off nine horses with a small outfit for Spokane Forks where he with five men were to embark in a canoe or small boat (something which they could portage) up the Columbia to the Kootenay River. They were to proceed up 212 the Kootenay to the F a l l s where they were to build a post about twenty-five miles below the old fort. This route was taken by Simpson's orders to avoid the use of horses. Although i t was late in the year, i t was hoped that Kittson would arrive before the ice set in. For some days Work had been getting together the outfit for the Flathe ads. On November 12th he received word from Dease that the latter could not leave Walla Walla u n t i l Ogden arrived, and that he (Work) must take in the Flathead outfit and leave Birnie. in charge of Spokane. Two days later Work set out with twenty weak and lean horses and eight men over the seventy-five mile portage to the Pend d'Oreille 211 Edward Ermatinger with his brother Francis was apprenticed to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1818. He remained in the service'for only ten years and then retired to St. Thomas, in Upper Canada. 212 Near Troy, Lincoln County, Montana. The old fort referred to stood opposite Jennings, Montana. Identified by E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , vol. 5, p. 178, n. 82. 100 Elver. They reached the end of the Portage on Thursday, November 17th. The. men were set to gumming, the canoes and collecting or making paddles and poles. The horses as usual were sent back with the Indians.- Work decided to take three canoes instead of four. This change with the help of an Indian who was going up the river, would give him three men per. canoe instead of two and so make for extra speed. By this means they reached the upper end of Pend d'Oreille lake at 4 o'clock the next afternoon. By Wednesday the 23rd, they reached Thompson F a l l s where Work had been twice before and where he had met Kittson earlier that year. Just above the Falls they dug up a cache of powder and shot. The bags containing the shot and the rings on the powder keg, were a l l rotted away. The methodical Work remarks, Property hidden this way ought to have wood a l l round i t on every side so that the earth could not touch i t , otherwise i t w i l l in a very'short time be rotten and spoiled. 213 214 On Thursday, November 24th, they reached the Fort at 11 o'clock in the morning. It was a scene of desolation. The houses were a l l standing, but doors and windows were gone. Even the floors had been torn up by Indians in search of small treasures. Some of the broken parts were burned. However, by nig h t f a l l temporary repairs had been effected and the goods stored. Word was sent out to the Indians that they were ready 213 Work, op. c i t . , entry for November 23, 1825. 214 Flathead House was situated, near the railway station of Eddy, Montana, on main line of Northern Pacific Railway. E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 5, p. 183, n. 101. 101 for trade. Trading began on the 26th and went on briskly Into the 27th. Work remarks that the Indians complain that hard bargains are being driven \"as is the case s t i l l when a 215 stranger arrives among them\" but as proof that this was a pose, they were really well pleased. Most of these Indians were Pend d'Oreilles so that word was sent off to the Platheads to get them to come in. On the 29th a small party of the latter arrived. ..A Kootenay Indian arrived with the information that a band of that tribe intended to v i s i t the post. Although he was not anxious to encourage them to come to Plathead House because of the fact that Kittson should be establishing a fort in their own country, Work deemed i t advisable in view of the lateness of the season, to allow them to come this time. While he was waiting for these Indians, Work had the men employed f i t t i n g squares of scraped skin to form windows, placing mats on the roof to keep out the wet and sorting bales of meat. On the next day Work methodically l i s t e d the skins traded and the articles given'for them. The goods received from the Indians consisted of a total of 312 beaver, a number of otter, and muskrats. Beside this there was a wide variety of other things, deer skins, parchment, leather cords, saddles and apishamores, dried and fresh meat, roots, buffalo horns, hair bridles and even two dogs. Equally interesting are the goods given in trade 215 Work, op. c i t . , entry for November 26, 1825. 102 for these articles. More interesting s t i l l are the efforts 216 of transcribers to.identify these. Awls, axes, hawk's bells, beads of a l l kinds, f i l e s , gun-worms, strouds, thimbles and vermilion, were used in trade. On December 3rd, Kittson arrived with his supplies. He had ,gone up the Columbia to the Kootenay River and found the river so d i f f i c u l t that in his opinion, Governor Simpson's scheme would have to be abandoned. He then returned to Spokane intending to reach the Kootenay by the Portage from Pend d 1Oreille lake north to Bonner's Ferry on the Kootenay River. This was called the Au Platte Portage. At Spokane he found that he could not obtain horses strong enough to perform the journey, so he set out to follow Work by the usual route. He had sent a man overland to ask the Kootenay Indians to come in to the Flathead Post. Work regretted that much of the season's hunt in beaver would be lost since no method of getting into the Kootenay existed now except by pack horse and the horses available were too weak and lean. \"The Governor was certainly misinformed regarding the navigation when he ordered the Kdotany [sicf] supplies to be sent by 217 water,\" he wrote. On Tuesday December 6th Work dispatched two canoes to Spokane. One with furs and one with provisions for the Fort sinoe Spokane had been running short of food when he l e f t . 216 An \"eyed dag\" or knife was rendered as a \"one eyed dog\". \"Strouds\" was given as \"strands\" , \"hawk's bells\"' was given up, or given as \"hawk balls\". 217 Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 3, 1825. 103 These men were to return before freeze-up i f possible. Work was uneasy about sending out the bulk of the provisions which he had traded lest i t leave him short at Flathead House, especially i f the Flathead Indians, who were reported on their way, were themselves short of dried meat and have none to trade. Fortunately, a party of Nez Perces arrived with 97 buffalo tongues and about 665 pounds of dried meat. From the Indian bands, Work learned a l i t t l e of their love of pomp and ceremony. A certain chief arrived with his people and f i r e d a salute near the Fort. Not know-ing their customs, Work omitted to f i r e a salute in return. The chief was a l i t t l e put out, and Work hastened to placate him with the promise that the Fort would f i r e a salute as he departed. \"I understand,\" wrote Work, \" i t i s pleasing to the Indians to receive this mark of respeot, As the expense is but t r i f l i n g we intend returning their salutes when they 218 arrive in future.\" It was by these small gestures as well as in larger matters of policy that the Hudson's Bay Company kept the friendliness and respect of the Indians. On the 13th the long-expected Kootenay band, com-prising some eighty Indians, arrived and a brisk trade started. Work was very pleased with the quantity and price of the goods which were traded. He secured more beaver than he had already traded on this expedition, 701 skins. On 219 Wednesday the 14th, C. McKay arrived from Ogden with furs. 218 Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 9, 1825. 219 C. McKay is not identified. This is not Thomas McKay who was with Ogden at this time. It may have been a freeman belonging to Ogden's party. 104 He had only four lean horses so that part of the carrying had to be done by four freemen who were in disgrace with Ogden and who would have to be punished. When these packs were opened and examined they were found to contain 744 large and 298 small beaver and 15 otter. Work remarked that they were inferior in quality and size. On Saturday the Flathead band f i n a l l y arrived on horseback, singing, f i r i n g guns and with a flag waving. The. men Work had sent to Spokane also returned with the supplies he had requested but, unfortunately brought no tobacco, which was much in demand for trading purposes and as presents to the Indians. They brought the news that Dease expected them back at Spokane not later than the 53th of April in order to meet the express at the Forks. Work remarked succinctly \"Without injuring the trade we cannot reach Spokan so early 220 as our Indians w i l l not have arrived with their spring hunts\". In spite of the fact that the next day was Sunday, the trading with the Flatheads was carried out. It was less in furs and meat than Work had expected. These Indians had spent the most of the summer hunting buffalo so \u00E2\u0080\u00A2'that they had fewer furs, and since they did not intend buffalo hunting that winter because of the weakness of their horses, they had kept much of the meat for their own use. However, Work hoped that this would mean that they would have more beaver to trade i n the spring\u00E2\u0080\u0094an i l l wind that blows nobody any good. 'Preparations were made to send back much of this 220 Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 17, 1825. 105 trade as well as the Snake River returns to Spokane, letters were written to Dease, informing him of conditions at the Flatheads and again asking for more tobacco for the spring trade. The expedition, consisting of two canoes manned by-five men, started out for Spokane House on December 22nd, three days before Christmas, hoping to get as far as the rapids before, ice interfered with their progress. Christmas Day 1825, was i t s e l f typical at a fur post. Trading and the usual routine were carried on. Work records \"the 2 men here had a dram, and were served out extra each a 221 ration of fresh meat, a tongue & a quart of Flour\". This was their Christmas feast, on a cloudy raw day while masses' of ice ran thick down the river. The days following Christmas were oolder than before so that Work was worried about the return of the men he had sent to Spokane. Six inches of snow f e l l . However, the men arrived back safely on December 31st. They brought half a r o l l of tobacco and a half gross of awls for trading. It was an expeditious journey, and made just in time, since ice conditions on the return journey made them abandon their canoes at Thompson F a l l s . The expedition brought a letter request-ing that Kittson or Work v i s i t Spokane. January 1st, 1826, New Year's Day, was celebrated a l i t t l e more extensively than Christmas had been. ...Each of the men got an extra rations of 6 l b . fresh venison, 2 lbs, baokfat, 1 Buffalo tongue, 1 pint of Flour and 1 pint of Rum. At daylight they ushered in the new year with a volly of 221 Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 25, 1825. 106 musketry, when they were treated with 4 glasses each of Rum, cakes & a pipe of Tobacco. With this and the pint given to each of them they soon contrived to get nearly a l l pretty drunk. 222. But to Work's surprise, \"they appeared to pass the day com-ESS fortably enjoying themselves, without quarreling\". Work decided that he should be the one to v i s i t Spokane*In accordance with the request of Dease. leaving Kittson, in charge he set out on Wednesday January 4th. He had decided, because of river conditions, to take a few furs and eight men. They reached Thompson Falls at 10 o'clock in the morning and changed their canoe for a better one from those l e f t by the men on the way up. Taking the usual route by river and portage they reached Spokane House. It had been a hard t r i p . Rough water held them back for a whole day at lake Pend d'Oreille. A l l the portages were deep with snow so that the men stumbled and f e l l over concealed rocks and roots. Through wooded areas the snow was deep and not firm enough to bear their weight as they ploughed through i t on foot. On the 8th, they secured a horse (no saddle), and rode turn about, but wrote Work \"...he [the horsej being very <\u00C2\u00BB ' 2E4 poor was a most fatiguing job to ride any distance....\" At Spokane Work found Dease and his people well. He stayed there u n t i l January 14th, when he began his return journey. No hint appears in Work's journal as to the reason for the v i s i t , , but future remarks show that Yfork did not SEE Work, op. c i t . , entry for January 1, 18E6. New Year's Day was always celebrated more than Christmas. Was this due to the Scottish influence among the furtraders? EES loc c i t . ES4 Work, op. c i t . , entry for January 8, 1826. 107 consider i t to be very important. He arrived back at the flatheads on the evening of January 20th after much the same sort of disagreeable trip as he had had on the way down. He found that nothing of importance had happened during his absence and that Kittson and his men were well. L i t t l e trad-ing had,been done except in fresh venison which was plentiful and which would conserve their supplies of dried meat and fat. for some time after his return to Flathead House daily affairs were of a routine nature. Some of his men were employed making pemmican by building a trough in which lean dried meat was pounded into shreds. Others were melting fat to mix with this shredded meat. S t i l l others were employ-ed getting out wood for canoes. McKay was sent up river with a group of men to live off the country but found the river too low and the Indians short of provisions so that he was forced to return. At this point in his journal, Work made 225 the f i r s t mention of his wife, when he was obliged to deal forcibly with one of his men for being too free with her. This same man deserted a few days later. On February 13th an Indian arrived from Spokane with orders from Dease to return there to make out the annual account of that place. Work f e l t this was not only an Impo-sition but also i t was forcing him to carry out a task which others on the spot could do equally well. He protested bitter-l y in his Journal, As I had a particular wish to see the years 225 Work, op. c i t . , entry for February 4, 1826. This may be Josette Legace, a woman of Spokane, who became his wife. 108 transaction of this Post finished so that I might he able to make some observations on It, that perhaps might have been useful, I certain-l y do not' much like this tr i p , and think Mr. Dease might have made more judicious arrange-ments, especially when i t is only to make out the Accounts. 226 However, there was nothing to do except to carry out orders. Work did not leave Flathead House u n t i l a f u l l weak later, the time being occupied by preparations and by the arrival of a few Indians who came early for the spring trade. Moreover, the river was s t i l l frozen over in a good many places, and Work was at a loss how to obey Dease's orders. Dease wanted Work to bring two men who could only be spared i f some of the furs and dried meat were taken with them instead of leaving It a l l u n t i l later when the whole outfit was brought in. This might prove to be an impossible task because of ice conditions. Deasers suggestion of bringing horses was hope-less because the snow was too deep. Finally, Work consider-ed that a journey by.foot would be too tedious. McKay was sent to investigate the river and on the basis of this invest-igation, Work decided to start by canoe. He l e f t for Spokane on Monday, February 20th. The going was exceedingly bad. River portages were frequent but the ice was too weak to carry the canoes over, so that the men had to resort to stumbling along the shores. For a while Work considered sending the f r a i l craft back and going on by himself on foot. On Tuesday, 226 Work, op. c i t . , entry for February 13, 1826\u00E2\u0080\u0094see H.B.S., IY, p. 30, for the substantial profits of the Flathead Post under Work's supervision (\u00C2\u00A32654 12s 7d) (Mcloughlin to Governor and Committee, Fort Vancouver, September 1, 1826, sec. 16) 109 after smashing their way with great damage to the canoes through two spots which were frozen over, they reached Stony Island Portage. Here, the snow was three feet deep. The previous night one of the men stole Work's gun and powder-horn and deserted. Fear over their perils at the Flathead had completely unnerved him. On Wednesday they got safely across lake Pend d'Oreille and fortunately met no more ice obstructions, although the ice showed signs of having just broken up. On Thursday, February 23rd, Work sent four men back with the canoe, leaving one man to guard the goods which would be taken across the portage by pack-horse as usual. He started out on foot for Spokane House in company with the other man and an Indian. Nearly a l l day they stumbled through snow which was three to four feet deep, until at an Indian camp they were able to secure three pairs of small and inferior snow-shoes. They had no water except melted snow and only one- small axe with which to cut firewood. On Work's mind lay the problem of transporting the outfit across to Spokane when the snow lay so deep. On Saturday, February 25th they reached the plains where there was less snow. At the south end of these plains i t became shallow enough to permit them to discard their snow-shoes. On Sunday at eleven o'clock In the morning the three men arrived at Spokane House. From Saturday, February 27th to the 6th of March, the entries in Work's journal are very short. They consist mainly of weather reports and show the snow was melting away very slowly before the impatient eyes of the men at the Fort. Work himself was busy with the accounts. The others were 110 helping with the furs for the brigade to Yancouver. On Tuesday, March 7th,, Birnie set out for Spokane Forks with a pack train of eighty horses laden with furs. There he was to remain in charge of them and send the horses back for a second load. The train arrived back on the 12th and set out again on the,19th with the rest of the property and the women and children. Spokane House was f i n a l l y being abandoned. \"This marks the end of Spokane House as a trading post,\" writes 227 Mr. T.C. E l l i o t t . On Sunday March 19th, John Work observed that \"There i s very l i t t l e property of any kind now remain-228 ing\". A few days later the blacksmith was busy stripping a l l hinges and iron work from the fort, in final preparations for abandonment. Reports began coming in now from Flathead House,. Kittson's letters dated March 9th reported the spring trading completed and excellent in provisions traded but lower returns than expected in furs. McKay had succeeded in making a trip down to the Portage with the horses\u00E2\u0080\u0094an appalling journey in three feet of snow. For five days he was without fodder for the animals. Kittson planned to follow by canoe. To collect a l l the Flathead outfit, seventy horses were dispatched across the Portage on the 28th of March. These arrived back on the 5th of A p r i l . Goods were opened, examined, dried and repacked. Two days later under Work's leadership 227 E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , W.H.Q., vol. 5, p. 279, n. 145. 228 Work, op. c i t . , entry for March 19, 1826. I l l the last pack train set out for Spokane Forks. Dease and Kittson caught up with him a day later and a l l three arrived at the Forks that same evening, Saturday, April 8th. There is no regret hinted in WorkT s Journal at leaving Spokane. The dominant note in i t during these days is the impatience at the long winter. The 16th of March was the f i r s t day of spring said Work. How anxiously had he awaited i t as he recorded protest after protest against the wintry days! He was not too busy with moving, to record on the last day of March, \"The ground about the fort is getting quite green, and the bushes are putting forth their \u00C2\u00A3\u00C2\u00A39 leaves and some small plants flowering\". \u00C2\u00A329 Work, op. c i t . , entry for March 31, 1826. IIS CHAPTER 71 Eort Colvile 1826-1830. Erom 1826 to 1830 John Work's l i f e centred around the new fort at Colvile. It i s not to he Inferred that he was there a l l or even most of the time, for he was constantly on the move in the d i s t r i c t of which Colvile was the centre. Seasonally, he had trips to make to Elathead House, to the Snake River for horses for the New Caledonia Brigade, or south to Eort Yancouver with the Spring brigade to meet the annual supply boat. We l e f t John Work at Spokane Forks helping to load the Spokane outfit for Yancouver. He was there when the eastbound express arrived with Chief Trader John Mcleod, Francis Ermatinger and David Douglas the botanist. They had with them the nucleus of Colvile's stock farm\u00E2\u0080\u0094three pigs and three young cows\u00E2\u0080\u0094animals to which Work was to become closely but not fondly attached. Douglas and Work had already met the previous year when the former arrived from 230 England. Douglas recorded in his diary, \"I met here Mr. John Work, with whom I was acquainted last year, and who sent me a few seeds from the interior last November, and furnished me with some valuable information about the plants 231 and mountain sheep in the neighborhood\". From-Spokane Forks, horses were sent to Kamiaops 230 See Chapter Y, page 83, n. 180. 231 Journal kept by David Douglas during his travels in North America 1823-1827, London, William Wesley & Son, 1914, p. 161, entry for April 15, 1826. 113 to meet the Caledonia outfit, and a number of people were dispatched to Colvile with tools and seed potatoes to commence farming. On Tuesday April 18th, Work, accompanied \"by Francis Ermatinger set out for Okanagan and arrived there on the next day with a boatload of furs, apishamores and other supplies. Chief Trader Annance l e f t for Vancouver. On April 20th Work was l e f t in charge at Okanagan until the main brigade went down to the coast. There are no more entries in his journal unti l Thursday, June 1st, 1826. No doubt he kept the journals of the post during that period. It was then that he -endeared himself to David Douglas by catching and preserving \"a large female grouse and a male 232 black rock-grouse\". On June 2, 1826, Chief Factor William 233 Connolly arrived from. New Caledonia to be followed the day after, by the New Caledonia Brigade consisting of sixty 234 loaded horses. Pierre Pambrun and James Douglas were in charge of the pack train. On Wednesday June 7th the Brigade set out for Vancouver under the command of Connolly. Dease, D. Douglas, and Kittson were among the passengers, having arrived from Colvile in the interim.. The rest consisted of Pambrun, James Douglas and John Work. Altogether six boats started from Okanagan, leaving Francis Ermatinger in charge 232 Douglas, D., op. cit.., entry for June 6, 1832, p. 180. 233 Chief Factor Connolly was in charge of New Caledonia from 1824 to 1831 and father-in-law to Sir James Douglas. 234 Pierre Pambrun entered the services of the Hudson's Bay Company as a clerk in 1815. He was transferred to New Caledonia in 1825 and came to the Columbia District in 1831. He became Chief Trader in 1839. 114 of that place. They arrived at Walla Walla without incident, in the evening of June 8th, where they stopped overnight. David Douglas and Jiittson remained there. Three days later on June 12th, the Brigade arrived at fort Yancouver, to find 235 that the supply ship had \"been there for nearly two weeks. They were at Port Yancouver for approximately three weeks, sorting and preparing furs for the outbound ship and receiving supplies for the interior brigade. This eastbound Brigade l e f t the Port at 1 o'clock on the afternoon of July 4, 236 1826. It consisted of nine boats manned by six men each. Chief Factor Connolly was in command. With him were A. Mc-Donald , J. Douglas, I, Annance, J. Cortin, and John Work as 237 passengers, besides some women and children. The brigade, carried cargoes for the newly erected post at Colvile, for Kamloops, for Walla Walla, and for New Caledonia. By July 9th, following the usual route up the Columbia, they had reached and partly portaged the Dalles. A l l the way/the water had been high and the going hard. An abundance of salmon was obtainable, but the presence of salmon implied the presence of many Indians so that a careful watch was kept and a square was formed at night. On the way they encountered P. McDonald, T. McKay and T. Dears in company 235 Work, Journal 4, breaks off on July 12th, just before reaching Port Yancouver. See Sage, Douglas, p. 39 for date of arrival. 236 Work, John, Journal, July 5-September 15, 1826 (here-after referred to as Journal 5) gives the date as July 5, 1826. But he corrects this himself by later putting two entries in his journal for July 12th. 237 Sage, Douglas, p. 40, identifies some of these people. A complete biographical sketch of Archibald McDonald i s given as a footnote to the same page. 115 with David Douglas, oil their way south from Walla Walla with a part of the .furs of the Snake Expedition. Finan McDonald and Douglas joined the party which arrived at Walla Walla about noon on Friday, July 14th. The journey had not been entirely without incident since Archibald McDonald's boat was damaged twice and one of his men so lamed that he had returned to Vancouver with the party conveying the Snake River returns. The river had been high and the current swift but that d i f f i c u l t y had been offset by strong westerly winds which provided a good sailing wind up the broader reaches of the river. On July 15th and 16th, the usual task went forward of collecting horses from the Indians to be sent to Okanagan to carry the outfit from that place to New Caledonia. Due to some d i f f i c u l t i e s with the natives only seven or eight were secured. This meant that a horse trading expedition would have to be sent up the Snake River.. Archibald McDonald was placed in command, with John Work who had been on a similar expedition the previous year, as his second-in-238 command. The f l o t i l l a were to push on up the Columbia. Work after securing the horses was to proceed overland with them. James Douglas was to branch off with those required at Okanagan and Work to proceed with the rest to Colvile for the Flathead expedition. 238 D. Douglas in his journal (p.64) states that the. party was commanded by Archibald McDonald.and John Work. Connolly states that the party was headed by A. McDonald, Work, Douglas and Annance. This would seem to indicate that Archibald McDonald was in command (cf., letter by W. Connolly to Gov., C.F's. and C.T's., Walla Walla, July 18, 1826 in Mcleod, John, Correspondence inward, July 1826-February 1837.) (original in Dominion Archives, transcript in B.C. Archives) 116 The party was a considerable one. It consisted of A. McDonald, J. Douglas, F. Annance, an interpreter and Indian Chief Charlie and twenty-eight men. \"Mr. D. Douglas 239 accompanied us to make collections of plants,\" wrote Work. The expedition l e f t Walla Walla on July 17th. No trading was done un t i l the 22nd when they secured eight horses. The Indians were unwilling to part with the animals so their prices were far too high. The whole party was generally dis-gruntled. The weather was hot (94\u00C2\u00B0 to 95\u00C2\u00B0 in the shade). Salmon were so scarce that Work wrote, \"Since we l e f t the fort we have not got in one day a sufficiency for a days 240 rations for the people\". The next day was even hotter but now horses were being secured so the discomforts of the weather became of secondary importance. Each day saw a few added, now four, then six, then down to two, but an ever grow-ing band was watched each night near their camp. On Thursday July 27th, they arrived at Chief Charlie 1 lodge near the junction of the Snake and the Clearwater and proceeded on to the forks where some two hundred Indians were encamped. The usual exchange of'presents ensued\u00E2\u0080\u0094-two horses 241 for tobacco and \"mixed liquor\". But, observed Work with chagrin, \"We are under the necessity of accepting their present in order to please the chiefs though we have to give a present in return which makes the horses much dearer in general than 242 were we to trade them.\" By the next day they traded thirty-239 Work, Journal 5, entry for July 17, 1826. 240 Work, op. c i t . , entry for July 20, 1826. 241 \"Mixed\" or \"Indian\" liquor was a mixture of rum with water, not-diluted to.decrease i t s strength but to increase i t s quantity and the giver's apparent generosity. 117 seven horses from, this same hand and were running out of trade goads, especially the ever-popular blankets and beads. On Sunday, July 30th, occurred one of those quarrels which might have brought disaster on the whole party, or at least the loss of a l l their horses. Apparently one of the men had a sore finger and was attended by an Indian woman who passed ' \u00C2\u00BB 243 for a \"medical character\"\u00E2\u0080\u009E The treatment brought no r e l i e f but the woman applied to the interpreter for payment and was refused.. Charlie, the chief, took up the cudgels for the woman and a scuffle ensued. This scramble was broken up summarily by Work. Charlie now took this opportunity to demand tobacco, which he got. Becoming bolder, he demanded s t i l l more tobacco and some ammunition. The second demand was refused and Work sent for a council of the chiefs. One of the chiefs came alone, but Charlie arrived with his whole party and surrounded the Hudson's Bay camp with guns. The moment was tense but.Work was equal to the occasion by out-facing the Indian with the threat that i f he wanted a fight he could have i t . The threat worked and Charlie agreed to accept some tobacco as a present! Trading continued and the necessary horses, seventy-seven in a l l , were secured. On Monday, July 31st, the party divided. Archibald McDonald with most of the men, took the two boats back to Walla Walla. Work, Finan McDonald (who had come with two horses from Walla Walla a few days before), James Douglas, 242 Work, op. c i t . , entry for July 27, 1826. 243 Ibid., entry for July 30, 1826. 118 David Douglas and six men set out with the horses. On Thursday, August 3rd, they passed the abandoned site of Spokane House on the opposite side of the Spokane River. They were- too far to the east but Work observed that James Douglas who was to take fifty-nine of the horses to Okanagan would have less chance of losing the t r a i l from Spokane House to the Columbia opposite Okanagan. Here, Work with twenty horses crossed the Spokane River and proceeded on to Colvile. David Douglas went with him. For the latter i t had been an Interesting but rough adventure; he was not yet inured to water \"from stagnant pools f u l l of lizards, frogs, water 244 snakes....\" They arrived at Colvile on Friday, August 4th where they were met by Dease. While he was waiting for Kittson to arrive by boat from Walla Walla with the outfit, Work had a few days to observe affairs around the post. With the exception of the potatoes, the crops were not doing well. The soi l appeared too dry. The horses, cattle and pigs were thriving but the prospects of dried-out pastures faced them too. On Sunday he visited the Kettle F a l l s and described the scene: ...where the Indians are fishing, they are now taking about 1000 salmon daily. They have a Kind of basket about 10 feet long 3 wide and 4 deep of a square form suspended at a cascade i n the f a l l where the water rushes over a rock, the salmon in attempting to ascend the f a l l leap into the basket, they appear to leap 10 or 12 feet high. When the basket is f u l l the f i s h are taken out. A few are also taken with scoop nets & speared. 245 244 Douglas, D., Journal, p. 65. 245 Work, op. c i t . , entry for August 6, 1826. 119 The following day Kittson arrived at the lower end of the Kettle Falls .Portage, The horses which Work had brought were sent to bring the property to the Fort where i t was examined and found correct. Between the 9th and 12th of August there are no entries i n Work's journals, but i t i s to be supposed that the newly arrived goods were being sorted and.stored and that preparations were being made for the annual summer expedition to the Flathead Indians which Work and Kittson were to undertake. Meanwhile, disquieting rumors had come through from the Pend d'Oreille country that American competition had pushed westward thus far and that the Flathead Indians did not care whether or not the Hudson's Bay expedition was sent that year. Work stated that he did not place much credence on the report. The expedition to the Flathead Indians set out on Wednesday August 16th. Since Colvile had now become the distributing point for the Flatheads the old route by way of the Skeetsho Portage from. Spokane was abandoned, Simpson's plans of using the Pend d'Oreille River as a water route were not used because the lower reaches of that river had not yet been explored. A temporary route had to be found. This lay roughly south and east by pack horse to the Pend d'Oreille River some distance below the lake, and thence by canoe: to the old route. Work and Kittson had' seven men with them and planned to pick up six more who had been hacking a horsetrail through the woods. A l l but one man was going to the Flatheads. This one person was dispatched to the Kootenais to t e l l them to come to trade at lake Pend d'Oreille on Work's return to 120 that point. After a three day's march they arrived at the Pend d'Oreille River. The route over the Portage had been easy the f i r s t day through an open and l i g h t l y wooded country. Excerpts from Work's journal show how d i f f i c u l t i t became later. \"The woods very thicketty....'J he wrote, \"the country very rugged, a continual succession of h i l l s . . . . \" later on he spoke of the road as \"...intersected by a number of small brooks and deep gullies.... It would be needless, to attempt this portage in the spring when the. snow is on the ground as 247 i t would be impracticable with horses\", finding only one canoe at the Indian encampment on the river, Work sent men ahead to the end of the Skeetsho Portage for those cached there. On Saturday, August 19th, these people arrived at th\u00C2\u00A9 Skeetsho- Portage. The canoes were there but in such bad shape that i t took most of Sunday effecting repairs even of a temporary nature. On Monday Work learned that a party of American 248 traders had forestalled them but that they had only tobacco with which to trade. Some of Ogden's deserters of 1825 were reported with them. Near Elathead House were f i f t y lodges of Indians under four chiefs, including l a Bruche, an old friend of previous years. Much smoking and talking went on, especial-ly discussion of the American party. On Friday, August 24th, the chiefs issued orders to their followers to proceed at once to the Hudson's Bay Camp to trade. Bartering went on 246 Work, op. c i t . , entry for August 17, 1826. 247 Loc. c i t . 121 briskly that day and the next morning. Then the goods were collected and Work.embarked again down river, after making arrangements for the trade that f a l l and after quashing a rumour that this was the last trading expedition of the Hudson's Bay Company since the Americans were to get the country. News of the boundary question had spread even to the tribes. Work also applied to the natives to bring in any deserters. Trade was light that summer. On Sunday, August 27th, they found the Eootenay \" v \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 .249 Indians awaiting them at Eootenay Portage. Once more they talked and smoked. The Indians frankly admitted that they did not care to make this journey and would prefer as promised, to have,a fort on their lands. Trade.was good. Four hundred beaver were taken and a considerable number of smaller furs and dressed skins. Work returned with these to Colvile, having sent Kittson to the Kootenay lodges to collect other furs which they reported having l e f t behind because of the leanness of their horses. Besides this errand, Kittson was to send these furs back by his men to the Pend d'Oreille River, and to proceed down the Eootenay to re-examine i t to its junction with the Columbia. Work arrived back at Colvile on August 29th. Kittson's men arrived four days later from the Kootenay Portage. He had made a profitable trade in leather and had gone on as ordered to examine the Kootenay 248 Party of Gen. William H. Ashley\u00E2\u0080\u0094see Chittenden, H.M., The American Fur Trade of the Far West, New lork, Press of the Pioneers, 1935, vol. 1, pp. 247-249. 249 Kootenay landing on lake Pend d'Oreille. 122 River. Kittson arrived, at the fort on September 9th. Although Work's journal does not record his opinion of the Kootenay, i t would he safe to assume that his report told of the impossibility of using i t as a route to the Kootenay country. During this time Work had \"been \"busy, hurrying on the building which was not yet complete, getting out the inventory and preparing for the east-bound Express which was due to arrive any day. The Express arrived and l e f t Sunday, September 10th with Finan McDonald and family, Dr. McLoughlin 250 family and Dease and his family. On Wednesday the 13th, Dease came back with his family. He reported that the boat was overloaded and that he had l e f t behind some important papers. Leaving his family at Colvile, he hurried after the Express. 251 That winter John Work was in charge of Fort Colvile After the Express had gone he prepared an expedition to examine the lower reaches of the Pend d'Oreille River. He planned to conduct this personally and to start on the 17th of September. However, the Journal breaks off on the 15th two days before his scheduled departure. At least something was successful at Colvile for he records as the last entry, 250 According to Dr. Sage, these families had come up from Yancouver with the annual brigade, (of., Sage, op. c i t . p. 40) This being the case they had been at Colvile a l l summer, McLoughlin's family turned back at Athabasca. (H.B.S IY, p. xcviii) 251 H.B.S., IY, p. 357 and J.W. Dease to John Mcleod, Colvile, April 14, 1827 in Mcleod, Correspondence inward, p. 95. 183 258 nOne of the sows had five young pigs last night'1. If Work did make this expedition to examine the navigability of the Pend d'Oreille Elver no mention has been found of i t in his journals or his letters. Not a great deal i s known of Work's activities from 253 September 15, 1826 to May 20, 1828, when his next journal starts. It is known that he spent most of his time at Fort Colvile. He was there when David Douglas, the botanist passed on his journey east with the annual express in April, 1827. Here, Douglas reports.that \"We were most cordially ' - 254 welcomed by my old and kind friends, Messrs. Dease and Work\". Work's simple generosity earned thanks for another kindness which he did for Douglas by procuring for him a \"nightcap of hair and wool of that animal [the antelope] netted by an Indian g i r l , and a pair of inferior snowshoes called bear's 255 paws,\" \u00E2\u0080\u0094souvenirs of the country. That year farming was started in earnest at Colvile. Twenty acres of ground were under cultivation and yielded well. Two hundred bushels of barley and two thousand bushels of potatoes were produced. Simpson's ambition that the forts' should, be independent in food was nearly realized, since Work wrote, \"In another year i f things go well Colville jsicj w i l l be independant of 252 Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 15, 182 6. 253 Work, John, Journal, May 20-August 15, 1828 (hereafter referred to as Journal 6) '. ' 254 Douglas, David, Journal, p. 246. Dease had just come in from the Flathead Post where he was making his head-quarters. Work had been l e f t in charge of Fort Colvile. 255 Ibid., p. 249. 124 256 the Indians for provisions\". He spent the winter of 1827-8 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 257 at Colvile and wrote his old friend Edward Ermatinger in 258 January. The livestock was doing well, he reported, especially the pigs, hut his own health had been troubling him. \"I have been for a month past tormented with sore eyes which rendered me nearly, blind\" he went on \"I am getting better but my sight s t i l l so weak that i t i s a great effort for me to write this.\" This weakness was to increase with the years rather than to diminish. During that same year, .1828, he suffered from quinsy from which he had scarcely recovered when he was attack-ed by a b u l l . \"The effect of whose blows,\" wrote John Tod, 259, \"he is never l i k e l y to get the better....\" However, Work did recover and carry on with his tasks. He was s t i l l at Colvile 260 when the eastbound Express passed on April 11, 1828. The next month he prepared for a tr i p to the coast with the Eur Brigade. He l e f t Colvile in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 20th, 1828 with six boats for Okanagan, carrying furs and leather for Yancouver and three- l i v e pigs for New Caledonia. The 256 Work to Mcleod, Colvile, March 25, 1828 in Mcleod, Correspondence inward, p. 110. 257 Loc. c i t . 258 Yfork to Ermatinger, Colvile, January 2, 1828, (original in B.C. Archives) 259 Tod to E. Ermatinger, Mcleod's lake, Eeb. 14, 1829 in Papers of Edward Ermatinger, 1826-1845, p. 9, (transcript in B.C. Archives) 260 \"Edward Ermatinger's \"York Eactory Express Journal, 1827-1828\"., in Proceedings and Transactions of the Hoyal Society of Canada., Ottawa, James Hope & Son, 1915, vol. 6, p.117, entry for April 11, 1828.. 125 boats, being undermanned, were damaged on rocks but none of the cargo was injured. On Thursday they arrived at Okanagan before breakfast, having resumed their journey at day break. The cargoes were examined and found in good condition. It had been a quicker trip than usual with the water in ideal condition for travelling, being neither too high nor too low. Friday, the 23rd, was spent in gumming extra boats for the trip to Yancouver. These were in bad shape having been l e f t out of the water and having been so long in the hot sun that the pitch had been melted out of the seams completely. Chief Factor Connolly did not-arrive from New Caledonia until Monday May 26th and his party the next day--two days behind the expected time. On Tuesday, immediately after the arrival of the New Caledonia brigade, cargoes were gathered for nine boats and everything put in train for an early start the next day. \"Two horses were k i l l e d \" wrote Work, . 261 \"and given to the people with some barley for a regale.\" A. start was made between 7 and 8 o1 clock the next morning. The Brigade was under the command of Connolly, and included Thomas Dears, Francis Ermatinger and John Work. They carried about 33 pieces of furs and leather per boat. A new innovation had been introduced into the Brigade, oars were now being used instead of paddles. In the opinion of Work, \"oars are far superior to paddles, the men do more work with 262? . greater ease','. That same day they reached the long and 261 Work, Journal 6, entry for May 27, 1828. 262 Ibid., entry for May 28, 1828. 126 dangerous Priest's Rapids in the Columbia above Walla Walla. On the 29th a l l the boats but one reached Walla Walla, where some leather, apishamores, saddles and gum were l e f t for Ogden, and the Nez Perce furs taken aboard. In the meantime, news was brought that the boat which had been delayed the previous day had met disaster at Priest's Rapid. It had struck a rock, three men were drowned and much of the cargo probably lost. Ermatinger and Dears were dis-patched by water to recover the bodies and as much of the cargo as possible. Work started the next morning by horseback up the river for the same purpose, hoping to arrive as soon as the boat. However, he was forced to turn back since a storm blew up and i t was impossible to swim the horses to the far side of the river near'where the accident had occurred. Sunday, June 1st, Ermatinger and Dears arrived back, having found a l l the furs. Some leather, gum and castoreum were lost. None of the bodies was recovered. They decided to give up the search and leave for Vancouver in the morning. The f i r s t day past Walla Walla they ran down the Columbia nearly to John Day's River where they were delayed nearly two days by wind. Consequently they did not reach the Dalles u n t i l Thursday, June 5th and f i n a l l y arrived at Vancouver on the following Saturday evening. Until June 11th, Work was employed at Fort Vancouver, opening,examining and drying the bales of furs. Then his journal breaks off until July 23rd, a lapse of over a month. He was at Fort Vancouver when a punitive expedition was undertaken against the Clallams to avenge the murder of Alexander McKenzie clerk, and three men on lummi Island where they were encamped.while returning from Fort langley to Fort 263 Vancouver \"During a l l this time,\" wrote Work, \"I kept pretty well aloof, except volunteering to he of the war party and my services were not accepted, hut I was employed with Mr. G. \u00C2\u00A364.. (Connolly] packing the furs.\" On Wednesday, July \u00C2\u00A33, 1828, the Inland Brigade l e f t Fort Vancouver. It consisted of nine boats, and fifty-four \u00C2\u00A365 men. In command was Connolly assisted by Ermatinger, Yale, Dears and John. Work. The boats were heavily laden. On. Thursday, the following day, they reached the Cascades. The river was very low and the lining of the boats up the rapids very dangerous and d i f f i c u l t . One of the ropes broke and a boat was,nearly l o s t . Plenty of salmon were being taken at. the Cascades but the Indians were not willing to trade with the whites. The expedition against the Clallams placed the Hudson's.Bay men under'the ban of a superstition that those who had been at-war, would on eating the salmon, stop the salmon'supply. It i s interesting to note that Connolly with Hudson's Bay Company tact, respected this superstition, and passed on up the river without trying to force a sale from the natives. On Friday, July 25th, they reached the second 263 See Morton, op. c i t . , p. 720, f f . , for account. 264 Work ,tor E. 'Ermatinger, Colvile, March-28 , 1829, (original in B.C.. Archives). 265 James Murray Yale was then a clerk. He was appoint-ed to the command of Fort langley in 1833. He became Chief Trader in 1844. 128 great series of obstructions in the Columbia, the Dalles, where they secured plenty of salmon and spent the day portag-ing the goods across the Falls* Here they met Ogden on his way to '.Vancouver. The Brigade arrived at Walla Walla on the last day of July, the men exhausted with poling and i l l with severe colds. From Walla Walla six sickles were sent over-land to Kittson at Colvile to harvest the grain in the fields around the fort. The crops this year must have prospered since Kittson reported that they bore a fine appearance. Yale and. Ermatinger.'left \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 the boats to undertake the task Work had done so often\u00E2\u0080\u0094-herding horses overland to Okanagan for the New Caledonia outfit. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 On\"Friday, August 1, 1828, after discarding one boat, the Brigade left'Walla Walla for Okanagan. Two of the men were sick and the boats as deeply laden as when they had le f t Vancouver. The river was low and the men resorted to poling-^against the current. The next day, as they neared Priest 1 s Rap id, they learned that the remains of one of the. men drowned last spring had been found and buried by the Indians. Another had been buried at Walla Walla. A l l day Sunday, the Brigade endured the back-breaking work of poling against these Rapids. In the evening they encamped a few miles above them. Work spoke of seeing with astonishment Ermatinger and Yale camping just across the' river with their horses. No explanation is. given for this in his Journal, but i t i s appar-ent that he had expected the two would be nearly to Okanagan by this time. For another four days they struggled on up the Columbia poling every foot of their way. The men's hands were 129 blistered and raw, some were even unfit to work. Friday, August 8th., brought a wind, not a cool breeze, but a good s a i l wind to relieve them from the endless task of poling. \"The Wind though warm was a great r e l i e f from the scorching heat 266 we experienced these days past,\" wrote the patient Yfork. The next morning Connolly and Work l e f t the Brigade, by means of two horses which had met the Brigade the previous evening. They arrived at Okanagan that same morning. By Sunday August 10th, a l l of the boats had arrived. At Okanagan, Work separated the pieces for Colvile from the rest of the outfit, and with a dozen passengers, including the women and children of some of the freemen, started on Monday for Colvile. Friday they camped close to their destination. At\" this point, the sixth of Work's journals breaks off. However, i t may be safely presumed that they reached Colvile the next day, Thursday, August 15, 1828. That winter Work was again stationed at Colvile. Bancroft states that Work made a t r i p to New Caledonia in 267 1828 but no verification has been found for this statement. It is to be assumed that since Dease was at the Flathead that John Work carried on the usual routine at Colvile; preparing for the eastbound express, packing the Flathead 266 Work, op. c i t . , entry for August 8, 1828. 267 Bancroft states that he made a trip to New Caledon-ia i n 1828 cites Allans Rem., MS., 19, as his source; but no verification has been found for this statement. See Bancroft, H.Hi, History of the Northwest\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Coast, San Francisco, A.I. Bancroft and Company 1884, p. 498. ISO outfit and making preparations for the long winter months. 268 He was there in Maroh 1829 when Governor Simpson passed on his way east. It is to he assumed also, although no journal has been found to oover the expedition, that he accompanied the fur-brigade to Fort Vancouver the next summer (1829). That he met the New Caledonia fur-brigade at Okanagan we know from John Tod who accompanied Connolly from New Caledonia that year. \"The latter [Work! received me on my. arrival at Okanogan,\" wrote Tod, \"with as much benevolence in his countenance, as he would have shown to a messanger from the regions of the blessed 269 with glad tidings of great joy.\" Two more clues supporting this contention are contained in a letter he wrote to his old friend Edward Ermatinger in the spring of 1830. \"Our last summers excursion against the Clatsops,\" wrote Work, \"termin-ated better than the Clallam one of the year before, Mr. Connolly was General, Mr. Black 2nd, beside a number of us 270 subalterns, rank not determined.\" This statement refers to an expedition undertaken against the Clatsop Indians near Cape Adams, the southern promontory at the mouth of the Colum-bia. The annual vessel the William and Ann had been wrecked on the treacherous bar of the Columbia and the crew drowned. Word got to Dr. Mcloughlin at Fort Vancouver that the surviv-'\" 268 Work to E. Ermatinger, Colvile, March\"28, 1829 and postscript dated April 10, (original in B.C. Archives). \"269 John Tod to Edward Ermatinger, New Caledonia, Feb-ruary 18 , 1830 in Ermatinger Bapers, (transcript in B.C. Archives) pp. 11-12. 270 Work to Edward Ermatinger, Flat Heads, March 19, 1830, (original in B.C. Archives). 151 ors had. been murdered and the vessel's goods looted. When the fur brigade arrived at Vancouver that, summer, Chief Factor Connolly was appointed to head an expedition to punish these 271. Indians., In his letter to Ermatinger, Work went on to describe what followed: I need not trouble you with the details, i t * .could be of l i t t l e interest, suffice i t to say, that the savages, (probably made braver by rum of which they had plenty) though perhaps not over half our numbers opened a brisk f i r e upon us as we approached the shore, but on our land-ing their courage forsook them and they fled, eventually three of their chiefs were k i l l e d and lost their heads, their village was burnt, down and their canoes and everything else that could be found destroyed. 272 It was rough justice, but i t had i t s results. The Indians came to know that the Hudson's Bay came amongst them peacefully for their furs, and that the lives and property of Company servants must be respected. Work did not care for his baptism of f i r e \"...It i s very well,\" he wrote \"to sing '0 for the l i f e of a soldier', and laugh and talk about these affairs, but trust me 275 my friend i t is no jest being engaged in them....\" Work returned to Colvile with the Brigade to find that Dease had been taken i l l , so/ i l l that he had to go to 274 Vancouver where he arrived September 5, 1829. Work was given command of the Colvile District and took up his headquarters 271 Morton, op. c i t . , p. 722. 272 Work.to Edward Ermatinger, Flat Heads, March 19, 1850, (original in B.C. Archives). 275 loc. c i t . 274 H.B.S., III, p. 434. 152 275 at the flatheads where he was stationed when he wrote -. 276 Edward Ermatinger in March, 1830. Work stated in the same letter that i t had been intended by the Council that he was to go below (Vancouver) but that he had started for the f l a t -heads before the Express arrived with these orders. He, there-277 fore, had wintered at the latter place leaving francis Heron i n charge at Golvile. It was not an unwelcome change. \"... I am r i d of the farm and pigs a circumstance I by no means 278 regret I assure you....\" he wrote. He must have l e f t flathead House immediately after the letter to Ermatinger was written\u00E2\u0080\u0094in a l l probability to bring out the winter and spring trade, of furs from the p o s t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 since he was at Colvile during the last days of April, On friday, April 30th, 1830 he l e f t Colvile with five men and thirty-five horses for Walla Walla and Port Vancouver. The party followed the valley of the Colvile and across to the source of Chimakine which flows into the Spokane River. They reached the Spokane River in the afternoon of May 2nd, and spent the rest of the day crossing the stream. Three days later they reached the. Snake River at the mouth of the Palouse. On the .way they had been delayed by lost horses and by the fact that the animals were in such poor condition that seven 275 H.B.S., IV, p. 357.276 Work,to E.-Ermatinger., f l a t Heads, March 19, 1830, (original in B.C. Archives). 277 francis Heron was a native of county Donegal,Ireland. He entered the services of the Hudson's Bay-Company in 1812. Not u n t i l 1829 did he come to the Columbia District where he. was stationed at Colvile unt i l 1855. He received his commis-sion as chief trader in 1828 and retired in 1859. 278 Work, loc. c i t . 133 or eight hours march was a l l that they could do in a day. On the 7th and 8th of May they swam the horses over the Snake River and brought the goods over by Indian canoe. Sunday, May 9th, they arrived at Walla Walla with but one horse missing from the train. According to. Mr. T.C. E l l i o t t the route 'which they followed became the regular wagon route \u00E2\u0080\u00A2* , 279 between Colvile and Walla Walla. It is suggested In the biographical sketch of John 280 Work in McLoughlin's Fort Vancouver Letters that in this expedition he took out the returns of trade to Fort Vancouver 281 in the -spring of 1830. In his journal or letters there i s no.evidence to prove that this expedition was any more than an expedition to bring horses to Fort Vancouver and possibly to explore a land route from Walla Walla down the Columbia. Certainly from Work's description, no expedition had forced it s way through that wilderness before. If the expedition had been part of the annual brigade i t was a small one consisting of only f i f t y horses. Some seventy horses were 282 required for the spring returns from Flathead alone, and these returns which Work would carry were presumably, those of the whole Colvile District which included Flathead House. Secondly, 279 E l l i o t t , T.G., ed., \"Journal of John Work, April 30-May 31, 1830\", in the Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 10, p. 297. 280 H.B.S., TV, p. 357. 281 Work, John, Journal, April 30-May 51, 1850 (here-after referred to as Journal 7). .282 Work, John, Journal 4, entry for Tuesday, March 28, 1826. ' ~ 134 neitlier.an leaving Colvile, nor on leaving Walla Walla, nor on arrival at Sort Vancouver, does Work give an inventory of the fur, leather and accessories carried. This had been done In a l l preceding and following journals. This omission could mean that this expedition was not bringing out the returns. Two po s s i b i l i t i e s remain. One, that the horses were being brought to Fort Vancouver for a specific purpose, perhaps for use in the Umpqua expedition, or to augment a pack train across the Cowlitz Portage to Puget Sound now that Fort langley was completed. Finally, there i s the possibility that a land route along the Columbia was being mooted as an alternative to the easier but- somewhat hazardous river route. At Walla Walla, the party was delayed three days until May 12th. Here, .Work Intended to swim his thirty-four horses and another sixteen which he had secured from Samuel Black, across the Columbia to the north bank. Due to wind and waves in the river this could not be attempted u n t i l the 12th when the hazardous passage was made. From May 12th u n t i l the 27th, Work's days are dated 283 correctly but are incorrectly named. On Tuesday [Thursday] May 15th, the men were on the river at daylight and collected the horses except one which had been borrowed temporarily by 284 an Indian \"who prefers riding to walking\". For a day or two 283 May 12, 1830 was a Wednesday. In Work's Journal 7, the next day, May'13th, is called Tuesday* May 14th, i s Wednesday and so 'on u n t i l Thursday May 27th, when he corrects himself. Any day given alone in this period w i l l be stated as given, plus the bracketed correction. 284 Work, Journal 7, entry for Tuesday frhursdayl May 13, 1830. 125 tlie road was good. The weather was rainy \"but cool and there-fore easier for travelling.. By the 15th, they had got down as far as John Day's River. How the road began to get rougher. In places i t was rocky and hard on the unshod horses. In other spots they ploughed through sand. Work found i t necessary to halt for three hours in the middle of the< day in order to rest his jaded and ill-conditioned beasts. The next day they turned inland \"to avoid the dalles and chutes where numbers of Indians are collected at this season, and likewise for a 285 better road as that along the river is very h i l l y and stoney\". Avoid the Indians they did, but not the h i l l s and stones which were just as bad u n t i l they reached a level plain where the going was easier. However, with the increasing heat the horses were jaded and worn. Below the Dalles they again came down to the river hoping to follow along i t s banks. The high water made this impracticable so that the party turned back to the benches high above the river. Here they stopped to engage a guide who gave them to understand that the interior road would take them to Fort Vancouver in four days. Another report came in that some freemen had come up from Vancouver by horse in three days to this point, l i t t l e did Work realize that his own conservative estimate of six days would be stretched to more than twice that number. On the 18th of May, they secured their guide and 286 made a long days march to the foot of Mount St. Helens. Here, 285 Work, Journal 7, entry for May 16, 1830. 286 Identified as Mt. Adams (cf., E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , O.H.Q., vol. 10, p. 306, n. 2.) 136 Work was given to understand he was on the Great Cayuse war road. But sometimes he had an Indian road and sometimes none. His dissatisfaction was. great. The way was d i f f i c u l t and the distance they had come was short, in spite of great effort. H i l l s , gullies and small rivers abounded. The woods were very \"thicketty\" and there was considerable snow on the ground. The fine plain which the road was supposed to l i e through, had not yet appeared. Moreover, the Indian guide who spoke of three days to the Fort, now babbled of eight or ten. Work planned to regain the Columbia i f conditions did not soon improve. The next day the road appeared somewhat better. It lay through open woods and level country patterned with grass and flowers. In the morning they crossed the White Salmon 287 River which empties into the Columbia between the Dalles and the Cascades. That night they encamped at a fork in the t r a i l . Their guide, .with one of Work's men, went some dis-tance along the l e f t branch, which was represented as not the best t r a i l , but the one more free from snow, in the mountains through which they must pass. May 20th they spent in camp to allow the horses to feed, since grass might be scarce or absent on the higher levels and no fodder was carried for the animals. They made an early start on the 21st and were over the dreaded mountains by midday, the crossing having not been nearly so bad as an-ticipated. They camped just past the height of land in the early afternoon in order to search for a horse which had 287 Identified by Mr. T.C. E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , O.H.Q., vol. 10, p. 306, n. 1. 137 strayed from the path.- Work viewed the magnificent panorama 288 spread out at his feet. Mountains and valleys could he seen as far as the eye could reach. To mar the prospect, he could also see the country through which they must pass on the morrow, a barren desolation of burnt woods. As they proceeded, Work found that this time his fears had not been unfounded: The country we passed through this forenoon is dreadfully bad a considerable portion of i t burnt woods immense trees fallen in every direction, and several deep ravines to cross very steep both for the horses to ascead and descend, besides the wood are thicketty & large fallen trees so numerous that we could . scarcely get our way found through i t , there is no road through this space, the road by which we crossed the mountain went in another direction and was lost. 289 In the afternoon the track improved a. l i t t l e but was s t i l l barred by deadfalls. That night they camped where there was hardly a mouthful of grass for the poor jaded animals whose hardships had been increased by an extremely hot day. May 23rd was a similar day of scrambling over burnt and fallen timber. Work ends this day by the eloquent entry 290 \"...No grass for the horses.\" The next day they spent scram-bling along the banks of an unknown river. That evening, they had covered only five or six miles but men and horses were exhausted. At night the horses were allowed to roam unguarded 288 These are the. names which Work gives, but Mr. T.O. E l l i o t t (op. c i t . , O.H.Q., vol. 10, p. 308, n. 1,2 and 3) claims that Work mixed them up by naming, Mt. St.Helens for Mt.Adams; Mt. Rainier for Mt. St.Helens- Mt.Baker for Mt .Rainier. 289 Work, Journal 7, entry for Thursday [Saturday] May 22, 1830. 290 Ibid., entry for Friday fsundayj May 23, 1830. 138 for the few leaves and blades of grass that they might pick up. Work was desperately afraid that they might get so weak that they would die on the t r a i l . A ray of hope appeared in the person of a new Indian guide who claimed to know the country. Sunday [Tuesday] May 25th, i t rained a l l day. The road was s t i l l bad but less d i f f i c u l t than the previous days. One of the horses gave up and rather than delay, Yfork had him k i l l e d for food. The meat was bad but provisions were running short.. That night a l l the men were wet to the.skin and once again but l i t t l e grass was to be found for the horses. The next day was fine, but the bushes and trees were s t i l l dripping with moisture through which Work and his party continued their arduous journey. Another horse collapsed, but rather than lose i t , an Indian was l e f t to bring i t along to the camp. The following'-day was spent in camp \"to allow the horses 291 to feed and repose\". -On Friday, May 28th, they crossed the Washougal 292 River and faced a steep h i l l which took them three hours to ascend. But in spite of i t s steepness the road was better. Saturday, they marched a l l day through open pine woods and camped at night in a swamp, the only place with grass for the horses that they saw a l l day. The horses were getting weak-er. The Indian guide tried to cheer them by t e l l i n g them that another night would find them at the fort and the road would 291 Work, op. c i t . , entry for May 27, 1830. 292 Identified by E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , O.H.Q., vol. 10, p. 311, n. 1. 139 be better. The weary, disgusted but patient Work replied 293 \"This we have been frequently told, & found i t not to be so\". Sunday, May 30th, found them s t i l l on the way. Burnt fallen wood barred their road. Boggy places were encountered which made i t d i f f i c u l t for the weakened horses. One of the horses stuck in one of these swampy spots and had to be dragged out by two of the men. The poor beast died soon after. On Saturday i t had rained incessantly so that the wet woods soaked the men. Monday saw the end of their journey. Not without a l i t t l e , pride Work stated that he \".. .arrived at Port Van-couver at 7 o'clock in the evening with 48 of our 50 horses ....We are glad our d i f f i c u l t and troublesome journey i s 294 finished.\" 293 Work, op. c i t . , entry for May 29, 1830. 294 Ibid., entry for May 31, 1830. o #1 44 4 3 * 42* HHHB1HHIMIBHB BIB \ 4 l ' 19 P. P P m P m P m m 46* 4 5 ' 43* P PJ -r -ftps l ^ i l _ SOU ^ i---^ I ' B\"1** H A R N E V K K B . ^ s>W,'' S a g e D e si P of \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 3 \u00C2\u00BB , . . \" I I I . \u00E2\u0080\u009E , , ; \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 V W . e f t 41\" 1 -to as\" 36* JI8* I f ^ o f I d a h o T e r r T \u00E2\u0080\u0094 - -7 .A-rt* 1-6inU \"f B * \u00C2\u00AB f f R . 116\" 30 fniits to jjieest R. Jfinc* . l i s -p r ' u n s E . to2?\"c ind\"^ '.f at Fort Vancouver, checking the returns from the interior and preparing annual outfits for the inland posts. He was given an added responsibility which must have taken a considerable-time, that summer, in that he had been appointed to succeed Peter Skene Ogden as leader of the annual Snake River Trapping Expedition* Ogden himself, was to undertake the d i f f i c u l t task of founding a -post on the Nass River far 295 to the north. In the opinion of Ogden in writing to John Mcleod, f/ork's appointment was a mixed blessing. Our friend Work succeeds me in the Snake country I-accompanied him as far as Nez Perces and gave him a f a i r starting--Surely this man deserves a more substantial reward than he now enjoys i t i s an un-pleasant situation he f i l l s I wish him every success but i t is a l l a lottery. 29 6 The more \"substantial reward\" was not long in forth-coming, and high time too, in the opinion of Work and his friends. On November 5, 1830, while in the heart of the Snake 297 Country, he was appointed a Chief Trader. For some years now 295 H.B.S., IY, p. lxxxv. 296 Ogden to John Mcleod, Columbia River, Yancouver, March 10, 1851, in Mcleod, Correspondence inward, p. 141. 297 H.B.S., IY, p. 557 - also l i s t e d as Chief Trader In Oliver, H.W., ed., The Canadian North-West, i t s Early Develop-ment and Legislative Records, Ottawa, Government Printing Bureau, 1914, vol. 1, p. 666. See also E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , O.H.Q., vol. 10, p. 296. . 141 Work had despaired of promotion. In March, 1829 he wrote Edward Ermatinger that he was determined to leave the service, \"This determination w i l l surprise you after the 298 advice I have so frequently given you myself,\" he said. John Tod expressed his sympathy concerning his old friend. Poor Work\u00E2\u0080\u0094if he remains much longer in the \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 * \u00E2\u0080\u00A2. Country neglected I fear h e ' l l die of the spleen\u00E2\u0080\u0094he is much more dissatisfied with the manner in which the good things are shared here than myself\u00E2\u0080\u0094He has now, however, an arduous duty to perform, but there is l i t t l e doubt of his getting through i t with his usual success. 299 This letter not only expresses Tod's sense of the injustice in delaying Work's promotion but i t also expresses the keen appreciation of the latter's a b i l i t y which his compatriots had. In the Snake Expedition of 1830-51, Work was 300 accompanied by Josette legace his \" l i t t l e r i b \" , a Spokane half-breed woman whom he had definitely married in fur trader fashion. She and her growing family were to share the dangers of most of his later expeditions and to share his later years 298 Work to E. ErmatingerColvile, March 28, 1829, (original in B.C. Archives) 299 Tod to E. Ermatinger, New Caledonia, April 10, 1831, (in Ermatinger Papers) \"The arduous task\" refers to the Snake River appointment. .. 300 Work to E. Ermatinger, Colvile, Jan. 2, 1828, (original in B.C. Archives). No authority can be found for the Christian name \"Suzette\" which is often used to refer to her. Work uses the term \"Josette\" invariably. \"Josette\" appears on the record of her marriage in Victoria.. Mrs. Alice B. Maloney of Berkeley, California, reports that Mrs. Work was perhaps a Nez Perce woman and not from Spokane 142 of peace and quiet in Yictoria. Work was like many of the fur traders in this respect. Records show that he l e f t 301 behind two children, both g i r l s , somewhere in the Red River. He was not above taking and discarding a woman who proved unfaithful and beating up the Iroquois who dared to tamper 302 with her, i f we are to believe the words of John Tod. Work did not view his marital responsibilities with complacency. \"My l i t t l e partner,\" he said i n writing to Edward Ermatinger, \"presented me with another daughter in the beginning of the \"winter, which cannot be considered a fortunate occurrence in 303 this part of the world\". However, these children, with others arriving'in regular succession, followed their father and mother, year after year through the appalling conditions and dangers- which Work describes in the pages of his journals. 304 These journals do not describe the journey of the Snake Expedition from Yancouver to Walla Walla, merely stat-ing the. fact that they reached the latter place on August 16th. Five days later they l e f t Walla Walla on a year's trapping expedition. Work, as their leader, caught up with them two days later. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 The party''was a considerable one, consisting of forty-one men and seventy-four women and children, 301 Work to E. Ermatinger, N.W. Coast America, February 10, 1838, (original in B.C. Archives). .302 John Tod to E. Ermatinger, Mcleod lake, February 27, 1826, (in.Ermatinger Papers). 303 Work to E* Ermatinger, Colvile, March 28, 1829, (original in B.C. Archives). 304 Work, John, Journal August 22, 1830-April 20,1831 (hereafter referred to as Journal 8) and Journal, April 2 l ~ July 20, 1831 (hereafter referred to as Journal 9). * 145 a total of one hundred and fifteen in a l l . They had with them two hundred and seventy-two horses and mules, a considerable amount of provisions and twenty-one leather lodges or tents in which to shelter. Three hundred and thirty-seven traps were to be the means of making the ex-pedition successful. Their journey lay south-east over the Blue Mountains, at f i r s t through typical bare h i l l s and later through thick woods. They passed.the summit on August 24th and were delayed in camp the following day because one of the horses was lost. Their method of travelling was typical of the whole season. Each day the camp drifted from ten to twenty-five miles in a pre-determined direction where beaver were supposed to be plentiful, from the main camp small groups of trappers fanned out and set their traps in nearby creeks and l i t t l e lakes. Sometimes these groups were away for two or three days, some-times they were merely out overnight. Quite often traps were set near the main camp i t s e l f . S t i l l moving south-east they reached the Powder 305 River on the 30th of August. Only a few beaver had been taken so far. In general, each day's maroh at this time was a l i t t l e longer than the average, since as yet they were only on the fringes of the beaver country and i t was not yet profitable to delay. Their route lay down the Powder River and thence 305 Powder River--tributary of the Snake River flow-ing into the latter from the west side. 144 306 overland to Burnt River. The road lay through barren, arid country, hardly a tree was to be seen even on the h i l l s . Toward Burnt River the road was gravelly and lay over a succession of broken ridges. They reached this river on September 2nd, and found good feeding and a plentiful supply of water for the horses. The river at this point Work described as \"a small stream not over 7 to 10 paces wide & 307 not deep\". As they marched they saw signs of Indians.,: enough to make them mount guard over their horses at night,. Already the men v;ere enthusiastically setting traps in l i k e l y places and were taking a few .beaver. This enthusiasm, in Work's opinion, was misdirected since he wrote, I dont like-to check their ardour, yet i t would be as well were they to pass on without hunt-ing so' much after the few straggling beaver that are to be had here, as i t fatigues and impov-erishes the horses to l i t t l e purpose and reduces them so much that they w i l l be unable for very actiye duty when-we come to where beaver are more numerous. 308 Now following down Burnt River, they found them-selves s t i l l in a barren broken h i l l y country where even gras by the river bank was scarce for the horses. On September 4th they crossed the Burnt River to i t s south bank and march-ing in a south-easterly direction cut across to the Snake River. Here, the Snake ima two hundred yards wide and dotted with several islands. Now their route...lay up the West or 306 Burnt River-\u00E2\u0080\u0094tributary of the Snake River flowing into the latter above the Powder and on the same side. 307 Work, Journal 8, entry for September 2, 1830. 308 loc. c i t . 145 South hank of the Snake River. On the 7th a party of sis men were helped across to the opposite side. These men were to leave the main \"body permanently. Their orders were 309 to hunt the Weiser and Payette' s rivers\" which flow into the 310 Snake and then across the mountains to the Salmon River. They were to he hack at Walla Walla during the. f i r s t ten days of July, 1831, so as. not to miss the fur brigade to Fort Yancouver. This reduced Work's party by six men, four women and thirty horses, \"fe are s t i l l sufficiently strong i t i s expected to oppose the Blackfeet,\" Work expressed himself hopefully, \"should they be hostily inclined as there is reason 311. to expect.\" On the 8th of September, the main party crossed the. Snake River in shallows, where the River divided into five channels. The next day they marched some eighteen miles south-east along the Snake River to the junction of Payette's river which they followed .up six miles. September 10th they con-tinued in the same direction and on the 11th crossed overland 3ia to the south to the Boise River which Work called Read's River. The river ran through poplar wood along i t s banks, but else-309 Weiser and Payette's rivers flow into the Snake from the east, just, north of. the. Boise River* 310 Salmon Ri v e r \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a tributary of the Snake River from the east side. It is the f i r s t large river north of the Weiser on that side. 311 Work, .....Journal 8, entry for September 7, 1831. 312 Boise River was also known .as Reed's River after John Reed of the Astor Party who started a trading post at its mouth. 146 where except in patches on the mountains to the north, not a stick of timber was to be seen. For a while the Boise River was their route as now they travelled farther to the east and avoided the great loop of the Snake River to the south-ward. During the past weeks the men had been trapping a few beaver. The hunters shot an occasional deer or antelope. Wandering parties of friendly Snake Indians traded a few furs or a number of salmon to the party. On the ISth they l e f t the Boise River to cut across to the Malade or Sickly River which they did not reach until 513. Tuesday, September 28th. The fifteen days' journey was a d i f f i c u l t one. for the f i r s t few days the road was rough and stony, frequently at the end of a hard day's march l i t t l e or no grass could be found for the horses, the country being parched and barren or having been recently swept by f i r e . When the road improved and .grass became more plentiful other d i f f i c u l t i e s beset them, for two days the camp was not moved because the wife of one of the men was taken in labor and gave birth to a boy. Only the two days could be allowed for . the unfortunate woman to have her child,and then the camp moved on and she with i t . On another occasion one of the men delayed progress, for one day. This unfortunate individ-ual had had a sort of abscess or boil on his stomach for some days and was in considerable pain. That day, much to his re l i e f , i t was'lanced. \"In our present mode of l i f e , \" wrote 313 North Branch of the Sickly River identified as the l i t t l e Wood. River of to-day, of.,- E l l i o t t , in O.H.Q. , vol. 13, p. 367, n. 12. 147 Work, , Ta sick person is wretched indeed as he cannot possibly be properly attended to notwithstanding the trouble and delay 314 occasioned to the rest of the party.\" A few days later a much more serious occurrence overtook the party, four of Work's party had been out v i s i t -ing their traps in a mountain stream' when they were ambushed by a band of Blackfeet Indians. Two of the men were k i l l e d , stripped of their clothing and one of them scalped. Another had been wounded in the knee but had managed to conceal him-self in a tuft of willows until rescued. The fourth man escaped unscathed and rushed breathlessly, frightened almost out of his wits,' to give the alarm, for a while Work was afraid that this event might-, be a prelude for a general attack on the camp, which he put in a state of siege. Horses were penned,, and sooutlng parties scoured the h i l l s for the enemy. But no further attack occurred, apparently the marauders had only been a small raiding party, out to f a l l upon small groups, k i l l or capture them and steal their clothes, weapons and horses. Wrote Work philosophically, Thus are people wandering through this country in quest of beaver continually in danger of f a l l i n g into the hands of these 'ruthless savages and certain of losing their lives in the most barbarous manner, independant of the privations and hardships of every other kind they subject themselves to. 515 Poor L fEtang was shot in the head, neck, back, belly and wrist, and had received an arrow in the thigh. 516 314 Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 24, 1830. 515 Ibid., entry for September 25, 1830. 316 I'Etang was one of the murdered men (of. Ibid., entry for September 26, 1830). 148 However,- these days were not entirely without compensation. For most of the time their route paralleled a branch of the Boise River lying not far across the mountains to the north, and while returns were not profitable enough to warrant moving the whole camp \"there, small parties had 317 ' \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ~ \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 made successful catches of beaver. Moreoverthey had come out into f l a t t e r country which Work designated as the Camasa 318 Plain. As they continued south on the l i t t l e Wood River the country again became rough and barren in appearance 319 \"'studded with.patches of bleak stoney ground\". Only the banks of the river bore trees and these were for the most part but stunted willows.>. However, where any wood was present there were beaver, so ;r on September 30th, Work stopped to allow the people to trap and explore. During these days a .careful watch' was kept both night and day for hostile Indians. The horses were tied up at night\u00E2\u0080\u0094a safeguard whieh Work deplored\u00E2\u0080\u0094since, they should be allowed to roam in order to make the most of the scanty grass. A few beaver were secured but nothing to justify remaining longer. Scouting parties brought news that the lower reaches of the river were rockier, less wooded and showed but few signs of beaver. Work, therefore, determined to return the way they had come for the last two days' march and strike 317 To Work's r e l i e f these parties returned without encountering any; Blackfeet Indians. 318 Camass Pl a i n \u00E2\u0080\u0094 B i g and l i t t l e Camass Prairie in Elmore County, Idaho. 319 , Work, op. c i t . , entry for September 28, 1830. straight across to a swampy valley or plain of considerable 320 size surrounded by steep h i l l s where the Malade River has its source. Here, too, their hopes of obtaining beaver were dashed. Work surmised that the. place had been hunted too often. On Sunday, October 3rd, they continued their wander-ings about sixteen miles down.the Malade River in an easterly direction. On the 5th the party reached the part of the river where beaver were supposed to have been pl e n t i f u l . \"A small party of hunters 11 years ago took 300 beaver in two short encampments about this place and then not cleanly hunted, and 321 i t i s not known'to have been hunted since,\" wrote Work. Their high hopes were doomed to disappointment since only a few skins were taken. Many conjectures were raised as to the present scarcity of beaver. Some blamed i t on a f i r e . Others on some disease which wiped them out. Work was inclined to favor the last opinion. Now the reason for the river's name began to appear. Several of the people were sick from eating the flesh of beaver, which, ordinarily, was a staple food with the trappers of the day. Work gives an interesting account of his theories. The river about here and indeed further up is burdened with reeds, on the roots of which the beaver feed, but whether i t i s these or other roots that communicates the quality of sicken-320 Malade River (Work's Sickly River) was so named by Donald MacKenzie because his men were made sick by eating beaver there. Alexander Ross reports a similar experience, (of. E l l i o t t , op. c i t . , O.H.Q., vol. 13, p. 368, n. 13) 321 Work, op. c i t . , October 5, 1830. 150 lag people to their flesh i t i s not easy to say,\u00E2\u0080\u0094hemlock is also found along the river the roots of which they are said to eat indeed they may feed upon different other Soots and plants which may escape the notice of the hunters.-The leaves of the reeds particularly and some other plants are cover-ed with a glutinous saccarine substance sweet to the taste, and which adheres to every thing that touches i t , the clothes of the hunters who pass through the reeds are covered with i t . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\" 1 The leaves are also covered generally on the under side with innumerable swarms of green insects somewhat in shape & size resembling lice.-They are so thick that they are float-ing in clouds down the river.- 322 Work's party,\" disappointed again in their hopes of beaver, turned back up the river. On October 8th, they did not move camp in order to allow the horses a chance to feed. What with the poor dry grass and the necessity of having to picket the animals at night for fear of Indian raids, the beasts were getting lean and jaded. Besides this, Work had also the theory that the Blackfeet marauders would expect them to continue on to the Snake River farther to the east, con-sequently the delay would make the camp safer. On the 9th, they continued to retrace their steps. That night Work's foresight in tying up the horses was justified. An unidenti-fled Indian crept in among them and attempted to stampede them. Only the hobbles saved the expedition i t s means of transporta-tion. From this point their general direction was north-east toward the Salmon River, the headwaters of which Work 322 Work, op. c i t . , entry for October 6, 1830. The green insects are probably a species of green aphis commonly found on garden plants. 151 intended to trap. On October 11th, to Work's annoyance they 385 found themselves encamped close to a party of Americans. Few enough furs had been obtained so far and the immediate presence of competitors would make the situation that much worse. There appeared only one thing to do\u00E2\u0080\u0094by evasive move-ments and by speed to get as far from these Americans as quickly as possible. Work's plan was to proceed north and 584 east to G-oddin's River and thence to the Salmon River. En route, he hoped to contact the Bannock Indians and to trade some furs and to hunt buffalo for present and future food since many of the people were already on short rations. He had the hope that this mountainous route might confuse the Americans i f they made any attempt to follow the Hudson's Bay expedition. After a two days' march through rocky defiles they reached a branch of Goddin's River. The road was d i f f i c u l t and the horses and people equally tired but the Americans seemed to have been given the s l i p . Four buffalo bulls were k i l l e d \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e f i r s t by the expedition. On the 15th of October they reached the main stream of Goddin's River after having marched through plain, swamp and then over a barren grassless area. More buffalo were seen and a cow and bull k i l l e d . Their route lay up this main branch in a northwest 525 This outfit belonged to Crooks & Co., and was led by a Mr. Antoine (?) Robbidoux. lucien Fontenelle who managed their affairs was then at the Snake River. (cf., Work, Journal 8_, entry for October 12, 1850) . 524 Goddin's River is the Big lost River which i s lost by sinking in the lava beds of eastern Idaho (of., lewis, William S. and P h i l l i p s , Paul C., eds,, The Journal of John Work, Cleveland, the Arthur H. Clark Company, 1923, pp. 144-5, n. 280) 152 direction. Buffalo were both seen and k i l l e d . The presence of these animals was a mixed blessing. True, they were val-uable for food, but in the narrow valleys through which the expedition was travelling, they had l e f t but l i t t l e grass for the horses. On the 20th of October the expedition reached a swamp which was the source of the river which they had been following. On the following day they crossed a height of land to a branch of the Salmon River. For the past week the weather had been getting cold and raw. Snow began to appear lower and lower on the sides of the mountains around them, but as yet only rain f e l l in the valleys. The expedition was having indifferent success in finding heaver as i t moved north along this branch of the Salmon to a larger stream. On October 26th, Work started to push westward into the mountains lying between the Snake River and the Salmon to a spot visited by some men of Alexander Ross's seven years before where beaver were supposed to be s t i l l p lentiful. The distance was believed to be about six days march, and with winter coming on Work estimated that nearly a month could be spent in trapping the .area, before the snow became too deep and before the streams froze over. The next day they con-tinued their journey. That, evening they reviewed the d i f f i -culties encountered during the day's march. The. road had been very steep, and nearly blocked by fallen trees. From the top of a mountain over which they passed, nothing but mountains and deep ravines could be seen as far as the eye could reach. They had been forced to camp where scarcely any grass could be found for the horses. Beside a l l this, the weather had 155 turned sufficiently cold to freeze the streams solidly enough to walk on. Work decided to give up the plan and trap what furs he could on the lower altitudes before winter set in. The next day, October 28th, they began the return journey and on the 50th were back on lower ground and none too soon, for a foot of snow had fallen the previous night. Until November. 11th, they marched north down one of the branches of the Salmon. Each day small groups of trappers explored side streams for beaver with varying degrees Of success. Not once did the party find a spot untouched by other trappers or Indians. A few beaver were found each day, sometimes seven; or nine and occasionally an otter or two. During this time they f e l l in with some Flathead Indians who stayed with them for four days and told them of their camp some six days' march away. Work did not v i s i t this camp but -sent some tobacco as a present to the chiefs and a letter to be forwarded to McIo,ughlin at Fort-Vancouver* Now Blackfeet began to prowl around in the darkness of the night. They had already surprised one of the men engaged in skinning a-mountain sheep a few miles from;the camp. But he had time to f i r e on them and leaping upon his horse escaped in a fusillade of shots. However, these stealthy shadows at night were demoralizing. \"Thus i t is with us in this part of the country,\" wrote poor Work, \"when other people's labours cease and are succeeded by sleep and repose, 525 Our troubles and anxiety begins.\" On the 12th of November, 525 Work, op. c i t . , entry for November 11, 1850. 154 they cut across to the north branch of the river and \"began to follow i t up to,the south-east. That night Blackfeet were around the camp again. For two days they did not raise camp, partly because the river looked promising for beaver and partly because six inches of, snow had fallen. Again their hopes of beaver were dashed. In both days only sixteen had been taken, a very small number for the traps in use, and now the river began to freeze so that traps could no longer be set. On the 16th after having pushed eight miles up-stream, they were again bothered by Blackfeet prowlers. On this occasion Work sent a punitive expedition after them, but without success. About twenty savages were estimated in the group. later in the day some friendly Flatheads visited the camp. \"...What a difference\" remarked Work, \"between these people and the 326 murderous Blackfeet....\" On the 17th, more Flatheads arrived at the camp headed by old chief La Buche with whom Work had 'traded quite often at Flathead House. Out of deference to the Chief, Work did not raise camp until the 19th when they were again on their way south toward the Snake River. The weather 'was getting colder, snow and ice were gradually gathering even in the more sheltered valleys. The day's marches were especially hard on the women and children. Even some of the more poorly clad men suffered intensely. After camping- i t was often d i f f i c u l t to find enough wood for fires. 326 Work, op. c i t . , entry for November 16, 1830. 155 On December 1st, they reached the entrance to a 327 pass leading to Day's Defile. The follOY^ing day they reach-ed the Defile after a march of sixteen miles. On the way the road was h i l l y and d i f f i c u l t . On the height of land the snow lay three feet deep. Fortunately, at the Defile i t s e l f there was but l i t t l e snow and the feed for the horses 8excellent. The hard, day had had it's recompense. On Friday., December 3rd, they moved south eight miles to a \u00E2\u0080\u00A2small unidentified stream closer to the buffalo, for meat was getting scarce. For three days they rested and hunted buffalo, cutting and curing 328 the meat for future use, and making cords and apishamores out of the hides-. Twelve buffalo were k i l l e d on the 8th as they again proceeded south down the stream. On the. next day they journeyed seventeen miles across country to a .dry branch of Goddin's River where they found good feed but no water. A foot of new-fallen snow lay on the ground. In the distance, herds of buffalo and antelope could be seen, but i t was too late in the day to hunt them. On the 10th, they stayed in camp to allow the horses to rest after the long march of not apply to the same day. From t h i s p oint t h e r e f o r e , eaoh date should be moved forward, one. For the sake of convenience Work's e n t r i e s are f o l l o w e d , l e a v i n g the reader to make the c o r r e c t i o n . 372 Middle Fork, i d e n t i f i e d by Lewis & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 86, n. 188. 179 373 they marched eight miles up a long steep h i l l -to a small creek where there was good grass in the swampy clear ground along it s hanks. Snow and sleet kept them, there for three days. Work was not sorry since grass, had been scarce in the forests through which'he had come. Moreover, this delay would give the stragglers who had stayed'behind looking for stray horses, a chance to catch up. On the 13th they marched eleven miles 374 to the lolo Hot Springs on lolo River. Their road was impeded by fallen timber and the horses were so fatigued that three foundered on the way. Fourteen beaver were taken by members of the camp who pushed.on ahead. This i s the f i r s t mention of successful trapping in this journal. On the 14th they moved down lolo. Greek about fifteen miles. The road was h i l l y and slippery with mud. More of the horses foundered. For two days after this, the expedition did not raise camp. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Grass was plentiful and the horses needed a rest. . Their goods.needed drying after pushing through so much snow. Moreover, they were now entering dangerous country and Work planned to pen the horses at night so that some, time for them to feed during the day fas imperative. ' After twenty-one miles travel down lolo Creek on October 17th and 18th, they reached the Bitterroot River. From this point Work followed the t r a i l of lewis on his return down the Bitterroot, up Clark's Fork, and the Blackfoot 373 Back Creek across the Bitterroot Divide, lewis & Ph i l l i p s , op. cit.:, p. 86, n. 189. 374 Spelled by Work as \"loloo's\" River. Work, op. c i t . , entry for October 13, 1831. Work had-marohed about a hundred miles to lolo Pass crossing the headwaters of the Clearwater River. -180 575 River. On the 20th of October the expedition crossed to Eellgate (called Hell's Sates by Work) ihich they entered from, the valley of the Bitterroot\u00E2\u0080\u00A2' The former i s a canyon forty miles in length lying between the ridges of the mountains. This pass was the great war road which Piegans and Blackfeet travelled and over which the Flatheads crossed \u00E2\u0080\u00A2* '\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ' 576 to the Missouri side of the Rockies to hunt buffalo. Work proceeded up the Hell gate River flowing out of this defile., to the mouth of the Big Blackfoot River which they reached on October 21st. The following day they proceeded up the latter river fifteen miles in a northeasterly direction. The , road was hil l y : and' stony with very l i t t l e grass for the-horses. Then, they l e f t the river and travelled east to a small- camass plain. While they were here Work received dis-couraging information that during the summer a large party of Americans had hunted the same branches of: the Missouri which he had. planned to trap and that, another party intended v. wintering on the Salmon River. It was disappointing news, but Work makes no entry in .his journal.to express,his feelings. The territory which Work intended, to trap was s t i l l in the RoGky Mountains but on the eastern side, in land belonging to the United States.. This was forbidden territory and i t 375 Lewis & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p...t 89, n. 194. 376 Ibid.,.p. 90, n. 195. See also Bancroft, (History of Washington, Idaho. and. Montana, p. 591) who gives a, good, description of this country. From i t , i t seems that Lewis &. P h i l l i p s confuse the grassy and well-timbered Eellgate' Yalley lying on Clark's Fork just north of the confluence of Hellgate River with the defile through which the latter river flows; or else they apply the name of Clark's Fork to the Hellgate River. 181 is more than surprising that he planned to hunt there, in view of the stri c t orders which had been issued from, head-377 quarters in London. As they moved eastward the nest day four of his freemen le f t his party to return with those who had brought the news of the Americans. Work deplored this desertion from his already small party In the heart of a hostile country. The weather was turning cold, with occasional flurries of snow or sleet. Each day the men were out among the small rivers and creeks after beaver. Only a few were . 3 7 8 caught each day. \"The Indians had hunted the l i t t l e forks up this far,\" wrote Work, \"& probably a l l above this i s hunted 379 by the Americans so that nothing i s l e f t for us.\" Every-where there were signs of beaver but also signs of recent hunting by the American trappers. On October 30th Work began to worry about proceeding any farther up the river which they had been following since the 28th. The country beyond was said to be rich in beaver but in Work's opinion the season was too far advanced and the small creeks would be frozen over. Ear more serious than these problems was that of danger from the Blackfeet Indians. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 His fears were not ill-founded. The very next day an ambush occurred which was similar to the one his party had suffered in the previous year. A small party of Blackfeet 377 H.B.S., IV, p. Ixiv. 378 Monteur Creek\u00E2\u0080\u0094Identified by lewis & E h i l l i p s , op. ci t . , p. 95, n. 205. 379 Work, Journal 10, entry for October 29, 1831. 182 surprised two of the men at their traps and fired on them, k i l l i n g one. The other escaped unwounded; Another trapper, out by himself, was surprised and k i l l e d . The bodies of both men were l e f t unmangled and unscalped, which signified to Work that the raid had been staged by a small band which made a precipitate retreat. They stole three horses, three guns and the ammunition and traps of the men they attacked. On November 1st\"'Work's party stayed in camp to bury their dead and to observe A l l Saints Day. On November 2nd, Work began to direct his expedition southward, trapping the streams as he went. Two days later they arrived at the l i t t l e Blackfoot River which l i e s farther up Hellg'ate River. They were s t i l l in the north-western basin of Montana, an area of 250 miles in length and 25 miles in width. This is the most wooded and the mildest part of the country,, but already creeks were freezing, over, thus pre-venting, the trappers from obtaining furs. However,, a few beaver were being taken each day. Here on the l i t t l e Black-foot they k i l l e d two. buffalo bulls, the f i r s t which Work mentioned so far in his journal./ On November 5th, they proceed-ed-...-down the River to one of i t s tributaries f a l l i n g in from 580 the south side. They began to follow this tributary up but found no beaver and but l i t t l e game. The next day they con-tinued their journey southward s t i l l up this small branch. Provisions were becoming scarce and only a buffalo b u l l , a mountain sheep and one beaver were taken. As this spot con-' 380 Identified as Deer lodge Greek by lewis & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 99, n. 211. 183 tallied good grazing for the horses Work did not move camp. On November 9th, they moved south to a hot spring where Warm Springs, Montana, is now situated. Prom this point they crossed over,the Deer lodge Pass to the headwaters of the Missouri River. They had. come, by way of one of the tributaries of the Big Hole River which flows into the Jefferson,Fork of the Missouri. The Big. Hole and the Beaver-head rivers drain a basin of land in Montana about 100 miles by 150 miles in extent, where Work intended to hunt buffalo in order to keep the expedition in food. On November 12th, 381 they reached the \"Grand Troux River\" as Work called i t . The only buffalo seen during the past week had been herds of buffalo bulls. Their flesh was coarse and rank and the party l e f t them undisturbed, hoping by doing so, to avoid disturb-ing herds lying ahead which might contain the more eatable buffalo cows and yearlings. As they continued down the Big Hole River they managed to k i l l a f a i r number of buffalo. The weather was becoming increasingly colder. The small creeks were frozen and ice was running in the main river. Signs of beaver were seen but these conditions made i t impossible to trap any. November 15th was spent in camp in order to allow the horses to feed, since the practice of confining them at night was beginning to t e l l on their strength. The next day 382 they marched southeast to a tributary of the Big Hole on their way south to the Beaverhead River, where, they arrived on the 17th of November. Here they saw the peculiar landmark 381 The Big Hole\u00E2\u0080\u0094called le Grand Trou by French Canadian trappers. 382 Identified as Birch Greek by lewis & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 102, n. 220. 184 which gives the r i v e r i t s name\u00E2\u0080\u0094a c l i f f r i s i n g out of sandy h i l l s which has the shape of the head of a swimming heaver. About the Beaver Head the exp e d i t i o n found extensive herds. of b u f f a l o i n prime c o n d i t i o n and Work allowed, the p a r t y to remain f o r two days to secure b u f f a l o meat and to dry i t f o r futur e use. , They saw signs of beaver but the i c e i n the. r i v e r s prevented the' men from t a k i n g any. On November 19th they proceeded ten m i l e s up the Beaverhead R i v e r and'crossed to the. other s i d e . Work was very uneasy. -This was the dreaded B l a c k f e e t country and signs of them were everywhere. In s p i t e of t h i s f a c t , they stayed i n camp f o r f i v e days. For, wrote Work i n a f a t a l i s t i c manner,\"...There i s l i t t l e ' n e c e s s i t y f o r us h u r r y i n g on as 383 the danger from B l a c k f e e t i s the same wherever we go\". On the f o u r t h day of t h e i r stay in. camp the B l a c k f e e t attacked j u s t at dusk. The camp was not caught napping,. . The camp cannon was loaded and f i r e d and the su r p r i s e d Indians melted away Into the darkness. Even t h e i r attempt to: stampede the horses f a i l e d . One of Work's men was shot, through the chest and badly wounded. A f t e r another day i n camp, they c o n s t r u c t -ed a bed of poles f o r the wounded man, and c a r r y i n g him on the shoulders of some of h i s comrades, marched ten.miles up-stream.. , On the S6th they moved west upstream again, t o a spot which could be defended i n case of atta c k and stopped f o r another day. Work was concerned over the wounded trapper . - 38.3 Work, Journal 10, entry f o r November 21, 1831. 185 584 and wrote, \"...He r e q u i r e s a l i t t l e repose\". On November 29th, they proceeded up the Beaverhead R i v e r to two f o r k s which u n i t e to form the main stream, Red Rock Creek and Horse P r a i r i e Creek, l a r g e herds of b u f f a l o were about and the p a r t y managed to k i l l about twenty of them.. The next day was spent i n camp, p a r t l y to f a v o r the wounded man, p a r t l y to feed the horses and p a r t l y i n order to dry the meat they had procured the previous: day. December 1st was a cold and stormy day. In s p i t e of t h i s the camp was moved ten miles up Horse P r a i r i e Creek 585 to a spot i d e n t i f i e d as Shoshone Cove. B u f f a l o were here i n considerable nunibers and the people were out a f t e r them. But, as i n the previous w i n t e r , the horses were too l e a n and poor to run down many of the huge animals. U n t i l December 8th, the e x p e d i t i o n huddled i n camp at t h i s spot. A l l of the time the weather was b i t t e r l y c o l d w i t h occasional windstorms and snow. Yery few ..buffalo were k i l l e d on the cold s l i p p e r y p l a i n . On the 8th the e x p e d i t i o n moved another nine, miles upstream.. The wounded man was s u f f i c i e n t l y recovered to r i d e by himself and to curse the people who attended him. Satur-day December 10th, saw them another 9 m i l e s c l o s e r to the. mountains which Work planned to r e c r o s s to the westward. E a r l y the f o l l o w i n g morning a p a r t y of B l a c k f e e t were observed near the camp. They were pursued immediately 584 Work, op. c i t . , e n t r y f o r November 28, \"1851.. 585 I d e n t i f i e d as Shoshone Cove by l e w i s & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 109, n. 225. According to Bancroft the whole of the v a l l e y containing Horse P r a i r i e Creek was c a l l e d the Shoshone Cove ( c f . , Bancroft, H i s t o r y of Washington, Idaho and Montana, p. 595). 186 and surrounded in a dense patch, of willows. Three horses belonging to these. Indians were k i l l e d and some of the Indians themselves were supposedly wounded. However, Work1s people did not care to risk entering the hush after the Blackfeet or to carry on the siege through the winter night so that the Blackfeet escaped after dark. Blood spots in the willows seemed to indicate that at least two of these people were k i l l e d or wounded. During that week they moved steadily but slowly toward the westward mountains and on December 15th crossed 3.86 the steep Lemhi Pass in two feet of snow. Here Work passed out of United States territory. The winter t r a i l was hard on the horses and the people, but, not only did they cross the pass successfully but reached and followed down a small 387 tributary of the Lemhi River, Gn Friday, December 16th, they continued down this small creek to the Lemhi River. Here, they found a camp of thirty-eight lodges of Flathead Indians who were headed up the river in search of food. These Indians did not bring very encouraging news. Accroding to them, there were no buffalo to be found on the lower Lemhi and they themselves were near starvation. Moreover, a large party of Americans were encamped below at the junction of the Salmon and Lemhi rivers. It was apparently no use proceeding down the Lemhi River so that Work joined the Indian camp on i t s 386 Identified by Lewis & Phi l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 113, n. \u00C2\u00A331, and picture p, 115f 387 Probably Agency Creek on the Lemhi River. The latter i s the east fork of the Salmon. Work speaks of the Lemhi as the Salmon River. 187 way up the lemhi. For some days the combined' camps drifted south, sometimes remaining in camp and sometimes moving \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ahead. On the 21st of December seven of the American trappers from the junction of the lemhi and the Salmon rivers visited them. From them Work secured fifteen beaverskina. On Christmas'.Day 1831, they stayed in camp. On this occasion there was no mention of a regale. \"Owing to our not having fallen in with buffaloe lately many of the people, fared but indifferently,\" wrote Work, \"having only '%''' . - s. , 388- \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 dry meat & several of them hot much of that.\" However, December 26th brought some buffalo meat to the larders of \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 both the Indian.;and the white camp as they moved up the lemhi River, along the foot of the mountains. The cold weather which had dogged their t r a i l for so long was replaced by mild soft 'days which lasted on into the new year. Another party of Americans passed them on December 30th. Not until after they had gone did Work realize how short of food these trappers were and although they were his competitors his generosity rebelled at not having offered them something to stay their hunger. / On January 1st Work served the people and some of the Indian chiefs with a few cakes and a dram each of rum which had been saved for the occasion. The nest day, Work moved the camp again to find better fodder for the horses which were becoming very lean. He would have preferred to 388 Work, op. c i t . , entry for December 25, 1831. 188 camp out in the open valley where the grass was longer and more plentiful, \"but was afraid lest the smoke of his camp fires scare away the buffalo. Work f e l t that he must decide between grass for the horses or food for the people and the food came f i r s t . In spite of his precautions, buffalo remained scarce so that Work again faced the march eastward over the mountains into the Blackfeet country and back into United States territory.. This time he went by way of the Bannack 389 . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2' Bass and on January 5th, came out on the headwaters of Horse Prairie Creek. Here,.they delayed for two days to allow\"'the horses to feed off the excellent grass to be found there. During the following days they proceeded down the river hunt-ing for buffalo without success. On January 10th, they reached Shoshone Cove again where they had camped on December 2nd to 7th. . Their advance-party met a band of twenty to tirenty-five Blackfeet and both sides opened f i r e . Two of the Flathead Indians were wounded. When Work's main party arrived, the Blackfeet took cover i n a large thicket of willows as they had done previously. As before, they escaped at night, much to. Work's chagrin, who regretted that a better watch had not been kept. On January 12th, s t i l l hunting for buffalo, they reached the junction of Horse Prairie and Red Rock Greeks up the latter eight miles. , Here, a few tough buffalo bulls were killed.. On January 16th, in spite of the onset of 389 Identified by lewis & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 121, n. 241. . 1 8 9 another cold s p e l l , they returned to the ju n c t i o n again and proceeded down the.Beaverhead to t h e i r encampment of November 26th\u00E2\u0080\u009E S t i l l no b u f f a l o were to be seen. Not u n t i l two days l a t e r , when camping s t i l l f a r t h e r downstream, d i d they make a r e a l k i l l , t h i r t y - s e v e n animals. The b u f f a l o were moving toward the e x p e d i t i o n now, not away from them as before. Work surmised that e i t h e r a band of Pend d ' O r e i l l e Indians or B l a c k f e e t were hunting them from the east. In the next two days enough b u f f a l o ( s i x t y ) were k i l l e d to l a s t the p a r t y for- some time. 390 Qn January 20th, l e t t e r s a r r i v e d from headquarters, e i t h e r by way of .Walla Y/alla or from Flathead House. They were brought by one of Work's p a r t y who had been l e f t behind at Walla Walla i l l w i t h m a l a r i a . The next day they were v i s i t e d by f i v e of the American p a r t y from the j u n c t i o n of the Salmon and the Lemhi r i v e r s . Most of these unfortunates were t r a v e l l i n g on food through the snow, since the Black-feet had s t o l e n t h e i r horses. On Monday, January 23rd, they proceeded north to t h e i r camping place of November 16th. Work was r e t r a c i n g h i s steps toward the B i g Hole E l v e r . Here they stayed u n t i l January 28th. Twice during these f i v e days they were r a i d e d by B l a c k f e e t who s t o l e horses belonging to the Flathead encampment, to Work's own p a r t y , and some from the Americans who were s t i l l w i t h them. On the 28th, they moved again. By now most of the Flathead Indians had l e f t 590 Work mentions them as coming from \"the F o r t \" , which Lewis & P h i l l i p s I d e n t i f y as Walla Walla or Flathead House. Lewis & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 125, n. 255. 190 them and had gone to join a large camp of the Pend d 1Oreille Indians encamped not far, away. At daybreak, on the 30th, they were attacked by a band of three hundred Blackfeet who kept up the attack until noon. Two of Work's men were wound-ed, and two of his Indians. One of his natives was k i l l e d . The camp returned the volleys of the Blackfeet and forced them to retire into the h i l l s overlooking the camp. Again the cannon was called into use, but burst on the third dis-charge. Five or six, of the Blackfeet were ki l l e d , one of them was the chief of the attacking party. It had been this individual's purpose to \"...wholly destroy the Whites & F. Heads If lathe ads] ...he has been disappointed and his own 391 carcass remains on the ground,\" wrote Work. Work, himself, had had a narrow escape from a similar death, since during the action, he was wounded in the arm. On the last day of January they remained in camp to take care of their wounded. That night the Blackfeet stole six of their horses and the only retaliation was the capture of some of the Indian beasts-of-burden\u00E2\u0080\u0094a number of dogs loaded with bundles of shoes* and other articles tied upon their backs. One of Work's Indians died from wounds received in the fight of January 30th. The expedition did not move camp u n t i l February 3rd, when they moved out of the h i l l s down to the Beaverhead River again. Work now planned to retreat up the Beaverhead by the route by which 391 . Work, op. c i t . , entry for January 31, 1832. 191 ; the expedition had just come. On February 9th, they reach-ed the junction of Horse Prairie Creek and Red Rock Fork. As they went, they followed their usual practice of hunting buffalo - and. stopping to rest, as the o-ccasion demanded. At their next encampment ten miles up Horse Prairie Creek, they were overtaken by severe cold. For seven days they huddled in camp. Their horses sought shelter in the bushes where four of them perished. It was too cold for the unfortunate animals even to venture out to feed. On the 19th of February, 1832, they again moved toward the mountains another day's journey, but only because the Indian camp, by pushing on ahead, was frightening away the buffalo.. Again cold weather kept them in. camp, but on Wednesday, February 22nd, they pushed on to ,392 Shoshone Cove', where they had camped on December 1st. A l l about the encampment were considerable numbers of buffalo, but the weakness of the horses prevented many from being k i l l e d . However, a few were being taken each day so that Work remain-593 ed here u n t i l February 29th. By March 7th, they reached the entrance to Bannack Pass where Work stopped for a day to rest the horses before crossing the divide. Snow was s t i l l deep in the pass but he had hopes that well-beaten buffalo t r a i l s would be found. On the 9th of March they crossed the pass. Work remarked that i t was extremely hard on the horses in spite of being able to 392 Lewis & Ph i l l i p s (op. c i t . , p.. 131, n. 262} state that Work reached,this place on February l l t h . A check of Work's mileage, as well as the cross reference to December 1st,.identifies this campsite as Shoshone Cove. 593 Work apparently forgot that 1852 was a leap-year so that he had to radate most of his journal after this date. 192 a v a i l themselves of well-beaten b u f f a l o t r a i l s . The wounded men s u f f e r e d a great deal from the e x t r a e x e r t i o n . That day they reached the s i t e of t h e i r encampment of January 4th, f i n d i n g l i t t l e snow and very good fodder f o r the horses. The e x p e d i t i o n began a slow descent of the Lemhi R i v e r , moving and camping i n the usual way. On March 20th, they encamped just below the entrance to Lemhi Pass through which they had crossed from the east side on December 15th. During the past two weeks, one of the men wounded i n the brush w i t h the B l a c k f e e t d i e d , having wasted away to a s k e l e t o n . Just a f t e r h i s death a p a r t y of B l a c k f e e t horse th i e v e s came b o l d l y i n t o the 'camp and s t o l e four horses. The t h i e v e s were pursued, t h i s time w i t h b e t t e r success, f o r some (Work does not say how many) were caught, k i l l e d and scalped. The s t o l e n horses were recovered but could not be brought back to camp i n t h e i r jaded c o n d i t i o n , moreover, the war c r i e s of more. B l a c k f e e t were heard i n the h i l l s . Not many b u f f a l o were k i l l e d during these days, since the horses were too weak to pursue them s u c c e s s f u l l y . They continued down the r i v e r to a l a r g e camp of the Nez Perces and Flathead Indians. Two c h i l d r e n died on the way\u00E2\u0080\u0094one from e a t i n g poisonous hemlock r o o t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e other a babe of s i x weeks, born during the e x p e d i t i o n . Work stayed on at the camp u n t i l the 24th of March to o b t a i n information from the Indians concerning p o s s i b l e routes to be f o l l o w e d , then he moved down the r i v e r to the j u n c t i o n of the Lemhi with the main Salmon R i v e r , and camped at the 193 394 commencement of the deep Salmon R i v e r Gorge. On the 2 6th of March, four men l e f t the main body to hunt down the Salmon R i v e r to the Snake and thence to Walla Walla. Work had great hopes of t h e i r success since the lower reaches of the Salmon were not known to have been trapped by whites. Moreover, the r i v e r was navigable, since Lewis and C l a r k had passed down i t i n 1805. The main p a r t y , l e d by Work, ascended the Salmon R i v e r with the object of hunting the country between i t and the Snake R i v e r to the south. By March 31st, they had moved an estimated f o r t y - t h r e e miles up the Salmon to the Pahsimaroi R i v e r . No b u f f a l o had been seen but a number of mountain sheep were k i l l e d . In s p i t e of the cold raw weather the i c e and snow were m e l t i n g and the water i n the r i v e r r i s i n g r a p i d l y . As the days wore on i n t o e a r l y A p r i l , the weather became f i n e and m i l d . The lower ground soon cleared of snow and ve g e t a t i o n was considerably advanced. The people had t h e i r t r a ps out f o r beaver. Work's own contention, borne out by the e n t r i e s i n - h i s eighth* j o u r n a l , i s that the spring of 1832 came sooner than that of 1831. However, i t was not u n t i l the 4 t h of A p r i l that t h e i r f i r s t beaver of the year was taken, whereas beaver were trapped i n the previous year as e a r l y as March. As they ascended the Salmon R i v e r they got i n t o the area which Work had hunted without success i n the 394 Work had been t o l d on March 14th, that the Americans had l e f t t h i s part of the r i v e r , (of. Work, op. c i t . , e n t r y f o r March 14, 1832). 194 f a l l and -winter of 1830. On A p r i l 7th, Work l e f t the Salmon 395 R i v e r , where no heaver were found, to cross to Goddins R i v e r , which he reached on A p r i l 9th. Prom the depth of snow i n the mountains, he gave up h i s o r i g i n a l i n t e n t i o n of s t r i k i n g s t r a i g h t across to the Malade R i v e r . His only other a l t e r n a -t i v e was to continue down Goddin's R i v e r and swing west to avoid the mountains. The p a r t y continued down the r i v e r s e t t i n g t h e i r traps each night and t a k i n g up to f i f t e e n heaver per s e t t i n g . . As they went, Work kept examining the mountains to the west i n the hopes of being able to cross to the Malade but each time found the snow too deep i n the passes. Not u n t i l May 1st d i d they manage to reach Work's S i c k l y 39 6 . . . R i v e r . Here, they camped f o r a week while the men hunted and trapped t a k i n g j u s t over one hundred beaver. I t was the f i r s t p r o f i t a b l e hunting the p a r t y had had. On May 7th, he moved two m i l e s up the r i v e r to f i n d b e t t e r feed f o r the horses. .Work1 s\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 plans were t-o go to the sources of the Wood R i v e r and then cross the mountains n o r t h , to the east f o r k of the Salmon R i v e r . However, the snow i n the h i l l s made him decide to delay t h i s plan f o r the time being and be content w i t h t r a p -ping the 7/ood R i v e r and perhaps cros s i n g over to the south f o r k of the Boise. T h i s branch was reported to be r i c h i n beaver and might provide a road across the mountains to the 395 The B i g l o s t R i v e r as p r e v i o u s l y i d e n t i f i e d . 396 East Eork of l i t t l e Wood R i v e r which runs i n t o the Malade ( S i c k l y ) R i v e r . See map i n Bancroft, H i s t o r y of Oregon, Idaho and Montana, p. 402. 195 Salmon. U n t i l the 17th of May they continued trapping i n the t r i b u t a r i e s of the Wood R i v e r . Then on the 18th the par t y s t a r t e d f o r the Boise R i v e r , t r a v e l l i n g fourteen m i l e s across the mountains to the northwest. The next day they t r a v e l l e d another seven m i l e s . Some of the men pushed on ahead to tra p and took t h i r t y - s i x heaver and nineteen o t t e r , hut i n s p i t e of t h i s , they were not. s a t i s f i e d by these, r e t u r n s from what they supposed to be v i r g i n country. On the 2End of May, they reached the south f o r k of the Boise R i v e r which they intended -following to the mountains. The next day was spent i n r e c o n n o i t e r i n g . Work climbed one mountain to .ascertain the appearance of .the country beyond. Nothing could be seen but a succession of snow-covered peaks to the no r t h . Two of h i s men ascended another h i l l f o r the same purpose. Guides were d i f f i c u l t to o b t a i n . Two Indians had been coaxed- i n t o the eamp who t o l d a s t o r y of a pass through the mountains and p l e n t y of beaver. They were engaged as guides and promptly disappeared.. Work began to suspect that they had merely t o l d him what they thought he wanted to be t o l d . On examination, the f o r k which they intended to ascend, seemed very s w i f t and g r a v e l l y and not at a l l s u i t a b l e f o r beaver. Wrote Work, Some of those taken had the s k i n n e a r l y worn o f f t h e i r f e e t , & the f u r p a r t l y worn of [sic] t h e i r backs, & were so l e a n from t h e i r want & misery they had undergone, that there was s c a r c e l y a p a r t i c l e of f l e s h on t h e i r bones. Probably, i n Severe Seasons the most of them d i e from want, hence beaver never have been numerous here., nor are they l i k e l y to i n c r e a s e . 397 397 Work, op. c i t . , e n t r y f o r May 23, 1832. 196 l o u r of the men were sent ahead to seek a pass i n the moun-t a i n s to the Salmon R i v e r and to report on the country beyond. The next day these man reported t h a t they had found a passable road but i t was s t i l l , d e e p i n snow. Beyond t h i s l a y numerous 398 streams which united to form a r i v e r . -Work decided to f o l l o w t h i s route and on Saturday May 26th moved up the Boise R i v e r toward the pass. The road was h i l l y and rough, and l a y through dense woods. The r i v e r was too high to a l l o w them to cross from bank to bank i n order to seek the e a s i e s t route. On the. 27th they crossed the d i v i d e i n snow, over f a l l e n wood and through mud. Work did, not th i n k much of the . v a l l e y when they d i d a r r i v e . The w i l l o w s were too stunted to produce many beaver. Moreover, there were signs t h a t the Americans had been there the previous summer. , \"Thus,\" lamented Work, \"we f i n d the country which we expected to f i n d new and r i c h i s . n e i t h e r and does not answer the account 399 given of I t by the Indians. t t A f t e r t h i s disappointment, the ex p e d i t i o n began to wend i t s way down the Salmon R i v e r , t a k i n g a few beaver each day. On June 1 s t , Work recognized h i s whereabouts on the 400 headwaters of the Salmon. Alexander Ross had been there some years before and had descended the r i v e r as they were doing. On the 2nd, Work sent a scouting e x p e d i t i o n ahead, to report on the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of beaver. T h e i r r e p o r t was tha t - 398 I d e n t i f i e d as Salmon R i v e r ( o f . l e w i s & P h i l l i p s , p. 158, n. 302). 599 Work, op. c i t . , entry f o r May 27, 1832. 400 Alexander Ross came from the B i g Wood. R i v e r to the Salmon and descended i t on h i s way home ( c f . Lewis & P h i l l i p s , p. 16Q, n. 306). . . 197 Americans had trapped the country the year before. Work decided to t u r n westward over the mountains to the head-waters of the Payette R i v e r . T h i s , they reached on June 5th a f t e r a f i f t e e n m i l e journey along a narrow d e f i l e and over a d i v i d e to the south f o r k of Payette River.. On the previous 401 day Work states that t h e y k i l l e d some \" c a b r i e \" or antelope. Through f i n e s p r i n g days and new vegetation they continued down Payette R i v e r . On June 7th and 8th t h e i r path took them through t h i c k woods and over f a l l e n timber. Only here and there were l i t t l e f o r e s t meadows found which bore grass f o r the horses. Very few beaver were trapped each day. On June 9th, another reconnaissance p a r t y was sent out to d i s -cover a road and reported a passable way along the v a l l e y of a r i v e r beyond the mountains. Work states that t h i s was Read's R i v e r and that one of the men recognized i t having 402 been there before. For some days they were harassed by bad weather- which brought heavy r a i n soaking the woods and making the t r a i l impassable. For two days they d i d not r a i s e camp. Then, on June 15th, they decided to t r y the route on the newly-discovered r i v e r - A f t e r two more days of very, bad going over h i l l s and down into steep g u l l i e s , Work decided, that they would have to back-track the way they had come. From the 17th of June to the 23rd, they blundered through 401. T h i s term'\" c a b r i e \" i s rendered i n vari\u00C2\u00A9us forms, \"\u00E2\u0080\u00A2cabri\" , T1 c a b r i t \" , \"cabra\" and r e f e r s not to \" caribou\" as t r a n s c r i b e r s have rendered i t , but to antelopes, cf.,\u00E2\u0080\u00A2Coues, E l l i o t t , H i s t o r y of the E x p e d i t i o n under the Command of Lewis and C l a r k , London, Henry Stevens & Son\", New York, F r a n c i s P. Harper, 1893, p. 35, n. 73. 402 In s p i t e of t h i s , Lewis &\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 P h i l l i p s i d e n t i f y i t as the middle f o r k of Payette R i v e r much far t h e r to the n o r t h . Lewis & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 162, n. 315. 198 the mountains f o l l o w i n g creek beds, l o s i n g t h e i r way i n t h i c k woods and t w i s t i n g v a l l e y s , and having to construct r a f t s to cross swollen streams. As In the spring of the previous year, food began to run short with the s c a r c i t y of game and beaver. Two of the men k i l l e d horses f o r food. On June 23, 1832, they reached a branch of the .\" ;> 403 Weiser R i v e r and continued down t h i s branch eight m i l e s . Here they were met by Indians wh\u00C2\u00A9 induced them to stop f o r a day to trade. Most of June 25th was passed with these people, who traded f o r t y beaver and some dry salmon.- The ex-p e d i t i o n marched another twenty m i l e s down the Weiser and then cut across to the Snake R i v e r , s t r i k i n g i t h a l f way between the Weiser and Payette. R i v e r . These were long marches, but f o r weeks they had been delayed i n the mountains and time and food were g e t t i n g scarce. On the banks of the Snake some of the men set to work to f a s h i o n a s k i n canoe to portage the. baggage\u00E2\u0080\u00A2across the r i v e r . While they were doing t h i s , others traded a few very acceptable salmon from the Indians. By June 28th the canoe was dry and ready f o r s e r v i c e . The ex-p e d i t i o n worked hard to get the baggage and horses across. However, the crossing was not completed u n t i l the 50th. There were no c a s u a l t i e s except the l o s s of a Company mule which was drowned i n the r i v e r . S i x of the people overturned them-selves on the l a s t t r i p but without l o s s of l i f e . Once across, Work sent out a small p a r t y of eight men to the S i l v i e s R i v e r 403 I d e n t i f i e d as Cave Creek by l e w i s & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 166, n. 323. 199 404 and the Deschutes i n t o which the former f l o w s . These people would reach t h i s d i s t r i c t by way of the Malheur R i v e r which flowed i n t o the Snake opposite Payette R i v e r . They were given 24 days to reach Walla Walla. Work and the main p a r t y proceeded down the west bank of the Snake R i v e r to the Burnt R i v e r . U n t i l J u l y 4 t h , Work continued up the Burnt R i v e r to the point where the t r a i l to Walla Walla turns aside to the Powder R i v e r . Here, another small p a r t y of eight men and t h e i r f a m i l i e s were sent by the usual t r a i l to the f o r t , hunting as they went. The main e x p e d i t i o n continued up the Burnt R i v e r i n the attempt, to. cross to John Day's R i v e r and make a c i r c u i t o u s route to Walla Walla. One of the men was sent ahead to f i n d a t r a i l over the mountains. A f t e r delaying one day i n order to l e t t h i s man make.his survey, they began t h e i r journey westward. The guide was not sure of the way but they pushed forward down a small r i v e r which they b e l i e v e d to be an eastern branch of John Day's R i v e r , On the 11th of J u l y , they became alarmed at the d i s -appearance of one of t h e i r men who had been mis s i n g f o r three days. He, l i k e the others, had gone out to tend h i s traps but had not returned. Search p a r t i e s were sent out and f o r two days Work h a l t e d t h e i r journey i n order to search f o r the missing man. Then they r e l u c t a n t l y proceeded on t h e i r way. No t r a c e of the man had been found. Another p a r t y was given the best horses the e x p e d i t i o n had to r e t u r n to the 404 G a l l e d by Work the S y l v a i l l e s . and Chutes r i v e r s . Work, op, c i t . , e ntry f o r June 30, 1832. 200 place where he was l o s t . Even t h i s group returned hare handed. Indians which they met were questioned hut without 405 success. On J u l y 15th, they reached the point where t h e i r t r a i l of the previous year l e f t John Day's R i v e r f o r Walla Walla. Here, they stopped f o r a day to send men to enquire from nearby Indians f o r news of t h e i r missing trapper but without a v a i l . Then on the 17th they r a i s e d camp and marched across the stony mountain t r a i l toward the P o r t . T h i s i n c i d e n t serves to show the care which John Work ex e r c i s e d over h i s men i n t h e i r dangerous and l o n e l y tasks. As they . neared Walla Walla, Work rode ahead of, the p a r t y and a r r i v e d at the Port on J u l y 19, 1832. The two smaller p a r t i e s which l e f t them on the Snake and Burnt r i v e r s also a r r i v e d s a f e l y . N either p a r t y had secured any beaver. The group of four men which had l e f t them to go down the Salmon R i v e r by canoe had met wit h d i s a s t e r . Two of the p a r t y were drowned, the other two l o s t everything they had, even t h e i r c l o t h e s , but a f t e r t h i r t y days reached the P o r t s a f e l y . A f t e r spending some time* s e t t l i n g the men's accounts f o r horses and t r a p s , Work l e f t f o r Port Yancouver w i t h the returns.. His p a r t y consisted of t h i r t y men and three boats. They passed the Chutes and D a l l e s on J u l y 26th, and the Cascades on J u l y 27th i n the e a r l y morning, and reached Port Yancouver without i n c i d e n t that same afternoon. 405 This missing man was k i l l e d by Indians (of. f o r k , John, J o u r n a l , August 17, 1832-April 2, 1833, entry f o r August 26, 18\"32). SOI \"Mr. Work's Returns are very poor,\" wrote Mcloughlin to the Governor and Committee, \"yet I owe i t to him to state that though such i s the case, I am s a t i s f i e d that he d i d the utmost that could p o s s i b l y be done i n t h i s i n s t a n c e , as a l s o , I b e l i e v e , i n every other instance i n 406 which he had any duty to perform.\" T h i s t r i b u t e to h i s f a i t h f u l n e s s , may have helped Work to forget the d i f f i c u l -t i e s of a dangerous journey. He had l e f t Walla Walla w i t h a t o t a l of 329 horses and returned w i t h 215, having l o s t 114 on the way. American competition met him whichever way he. turned.. Two of h i s - p a r t y had been drowned, one was miss-i n g and never found. H i s men had been set upon time and again by B l a c k f e e t and three of them were k i l l e d . Work him-s e l f .was wounded i n the arm. - He wrote as f o l l o w s to h i s f r i e n d Edward Ermatinger, I-am happy i n being able to inform you t h a t I enjoy good health,and am yet blessed w i t h the possession of my scalp which i s r a t h e r more than 1 had reason to expect. T h i s l a s t My f r i e n d has been a severe years duty on me, a l l my perseverance & f o r t i t u d e were s c a r c e l y . s u f f i c i e n t to bear up against the danger, misery, and consequent a n x i e t y to which I was exposed. 407 ' \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ' 406 M c l o u g h l i n to the Governor and Committee, F o r t Yancouver, October 28, 1852, H.B.S., IY., pp. 103-4. 407 Work to Edward Ermatinger, Eort Yancouver, August 5, 1832, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . M t B a k e r + M.Shuksan I n g h a m i u * r A , , ^ v L -Orient 'Id mine-Lake ' .\" '\"\u00C2\u00BB\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2' ' and pulp. Por t \".lot-\" - s L ^ Z ^ Island* O L Y M P I C ' ; HOH INDIANS C^ >? r , t , s R7^j ll' O ' / m p u s R E S E R V A T I O N ^ * \" M M R\u00C2\u00AB Hi\" M Wh,dbe y \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 1 & . Island tS&\u00C2\u00A3>c x \\" INDIAN .\u00E2\u0080\u0094aMLj\u00C2\u00A3SERVATlON -' ^ J * ^ E v e r e t t j V>*rr'rtgttmk m J , \ n 9 t o n ^\f~~ V S n o h o m i s h f A/on l/jfronas/rer oold mines Republjc OKANOGAN r)fc AMATION^S P R O J E C T ^ . . o w \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Hudson'* Ba\ Comp^ trading p. R o s s l a n d \ * Q \" a i l >'-,Pl*\"j>nd f*\"7V//m> re(l*?ries Oesre netdcr^ \" \" \ / \u00E2\u0080\u0094\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Strawberri* Fall* 'Bossburg fW* COLVILLE J J I V , D S'UAR' RESERVATION EVans nkColvillc ^largest magnealti < J \ \ deposits in Western jsphere Wford ^/^\chewelah \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Nordmanw I * (If'' P K A U S F I L 4 \" . I N D I A N ; J R E S E R V A T I O N , Bonne, Ferry^ Ijyjilt a post I ' \ j lpnans Uespe/a^ .Mason Q U I N A U L T ? p \u00E2\u0080\u009E . r*no/a X ^ ^ A Oral | r , V U U F ': | K . - n . . GRAND COULEd I greatest > . concrele \u00C2\u00A3 ' 'Vdroelevtnc pro/el''\u00E2\u0080\u00A2> . PeElj W a year ^ f e d S - P -C a p e ^ ^ p w ' \" ' ^ / ^ ^ ^ ^ oue o f Fort c/d !s.'. JF A s t o r i a > X ^ * * \u00C2\u00BB ^ ^ , H , 'vunded by ^ / \u00C2\u00A3 \u00C2\u00A3 o ' i N A T ! / ) A R K x I T Rilzville. Spjbgue/^ us Spirit I.ake\ ^Metropolis of th* Inla \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 frnpM />a/td(Thoi\u00C2\u00BBipson bui .(cullWAfll House. ISt ldaHp.'\u00C2\u00AB r irsi hjilding beneral Sherman lor 1 a tort. 1878. . C o c u r d ' A l e n e 'Cat3|U Wardm Tie, He.tt'i dair> product-Connell, dj-fieJd\ ^ _ C Q E U R D ' A L r , l t . M a r i e \u00E2\u0080\u009E . , 18*2 y O W L I A N - f ' - J b [Ejidico S ^ t l a r k . / g o S - O S . Mount St. Helens K e l s o _ , \u00C2\u00BBs?/ I \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\"\"her. smelt liberies Mt Adams ' c\u00C2\u00ABnnonBeac cape Falco n * ' y center C a P e Lookout Y A K f M A INDIAN RESERVATION C\ Y A K I M A ^ *i/,/0/-rf ^ R E C L A M A T I O N \" \" \ P R o r l T r T M> P R O J E C T RVASJON Lflovy/y p w i s and Clark bO(li tanoes for trip dc Pieasaru 'Viev ofi ^Wheeler >v ^ 'ernonia \u00E2\u0080\u00A2t \BayCity _ Hi.* forest Crov Voodland 1 . F o \" Vancouver, ISJ? , fea//e/rf I umber, pape,. p u l P ) , r u | [ j *cheloePoin \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 c a p e Meares* T. / lan^bo i ' Q Hubert H o o v e r - , t e n d e d school Gpidendalei tWhitesklmon c e i , l \ rrosser ' ^ - ^ ' ^ V - T /fenne 1 '\" Site o f Old Fort Walla Wal la , 'Prescott ( (Mission 1836 @ , / W H I T M A Y ) ly capacity 'T . y t o n / J \"o , r a W b e r H * - D E S C H U T E S a l e m s ^ f o u n d e d l 8 4 0 b y Y ^ f f ^ C C \u00E2\u0080\u0094 T * * ^ \" 8 ^ Jason le< ~'Sytpn Person TMoro Y Shaniko) tieat.wool dnd s l o c k Condon y N ( fossi s. inciud Ante/ope (Cascara trees. \ ' \u00C2\u00AB 4 8 \u00C2\u00AB Jupction Cii A I Wendliny Iknap ra' -r \u00E2\u0080\u0094 - / <5\u00C2\u00AB entero\u00C2\u00AB tavj tu-ui T Crater* ' J e a ? 7 \" e a s s - ^ - MP ' a m spun here frc _.. _'edmc 10094 . 0 J S 4 , pnr third bill Card in QesweJ/k - o f t . u K - C r o . o R B c n d j , , n Oregon/ EmP-rw Broccoli ^orth'Bend 4 o f f * 5 ^ | e s j e A d p \u00E2\u0080\u00A2iptain o f ^ cow C. one o^itrs, W d g o n , r . c \"\u00C2\u00BB i va t i dn j i f f t u m b r - n w T X ^ v , ^ \" ' ^ ' v e b e n t ^ a W Coquille Po/ntr' B a n d 0 ; \" 1 ^ C o q u i l l e \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 .yr?n berries \Myrtle Point \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Miles Railways fiehHX nts f~ lation Pro|ects t tes o fPac i f i , C a P e Blanco< Port Or ford-\"V Vancouver. ( 7 9 3 T \ Crook P 0 ^fookin l<**e Bark p0''nt Saint George-, CfscentCity* Uanglois j Myrtle Creek Prairie\". Reservoir^? Lake q Oai-is \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 diamond IK \" i d L a k e V j L a k e Lava Rj\ -aves , i\u00C2\u00B0Ot D Lava - -Cast Forest Obsidian outcropp ,nfl^ # Glass Buttes + r 300-foot depression Holeinth* Ground Fort Rock D E S E R T aky*-**\Silver Lake CrJerA N A T I O N A y P A R K l GJendale* ogue\" F a m ^ s \u00E2\u0080\u009E s n i n g s ( r ( > a Andcrsor ^ / K L A M A T H ^ Klamathl tream -'t'sn.ii,,- tarm\". Chi . . H o u s e , ile Rock .5J,s^,cLouglill(j' j '\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A211 \u00E2\u0080\u0094 r * * P T N / f c ^ P i f v e r e d bv rre'mon 5tl\u00C2\u00AB43. I Hi\" LakeX \ 1 9 ^ \" \" f l eas ier /edge I I T i*'- t X l s w o r | d - f a m o u s faul*a/aSy i C^ A b e r ^ stock-raising headquarter^ -O0.()0tfrcat| | e I V . brought M r e f'^~ I ' ' - l a n d l u r n b e A ( \"peareat :,tl.' ?s 30 * M t Ashland \ r Site j f \u00E2\u0080\u009E nbug Citv \u00C2\u00B0 Y r e k a I ? eservoir logrspher 1 by Wellman Chamberlw Brthm R V . H O O P A V A I E Y Kb* /Montague / ^ K L A M A T H I d ) ! 1 ^ \u00C2\u00ABrf woodwork ing^ \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 '\u00E2\u0080\u00A2&^^^>*KRECLAMATION rW J Trinidad Head! Trinidad\ A R E S E R V A T I O N L A V A B E D S f* 1 N A T I O N A L , R ' M O N U M E N T ! . J 60 Modoc warriors held off U o O s o l d . e r S tor 5 months,M2-73. J W c e l j V jp s+hM'( I Q^\u00C2\u00B0n 'J O a q u^ M M \" Mount Shaath r t\u00C2\u00BBi\u00C2\u00BBweH -v)P? -a . , J SUMMIT L A K E A i , ' ^ 1 ^ n a <5 / s f \" d d ates of 5>J INDIAN RESERVAT/On ; travelers over Applejjale Cut-off . MitlfdIf Alkali. \ j : .' i o * e \ 1 1 \"in bold t , Ferndie' R e d w o o d m l ^ Ifeavez-i River nameoVfor Pits dug by Indians to trap game i g P Burriey,. Butte % CHAPTER IK The S a or ame ato and Ump qua Expeditions, 1832-54. \"I am. going to start with my ragamuffin freemen to the Southward towards the Spanish settlements,\" wrote Work i n 408. August 1832, \"with what success I cannot say.\" He had been at Port Vancouver since the 27th of July after his return from the Blackfoot Country, and now on August 17th, he again set out into the wilds. His\"party consisted of twenty-six men, many of whom had been with him on previous expeditions. True to custom, the men l e f t Vancouver on the 16th and.enjoyed their regale a few miles from the Port, Work joined them the next day. On the 26th of August, the boats reached Walla Walla. There had been no unusual incidents en route up the Columbia River. The wind had been unfavorable most of the way so that the men had been kept busy at the paddles. Malaria s t i l l hung about and some of the men were affected but none as badly as in the previous, year until they reached Walla Walla. Here, the number of fever cases increased sharply. Work was delayed for some time after f i n a l preparations were completed, hoping that his men would recover. With the thought that the Port was the source of infection, he moved his camp a few miles down the Columbia to the .Umatilla River. Work joined them there on September 6th, but i t was not un t i l the 8th 408 Work to E. Ermatinger, Port Vancouver, August 5 1832, (original i n B.C. Archives). 203 that the expedition was f i n a l l y under way. To make matters worse, he was forced to leave h i s a s s i s t a n t , F r a n c o i s 409 Payette, behind. He was too i l l to proceed. \"This I much re g r e t , \" wrote Work, \"as i n the event of anything happening - 410 to me he was the only person to take charge of the party.\" F o r t u n a t e l y , Work could not know how n e a r l y prophetic these words were. U n t i l September 15th, they moved s t e a d i l y south through the Blue Mountains when they reached the north branch of John Day's R i v e r . Work mentions that he followed the 411 . same route as on t h e i r r e t u r n journey i n the s p r i n g of 1831. On the way he met a Cayuse Indian who t o l d him. of two major b a t t l e s on the Salmon R i v e r between the B l a c k f e e t and the Nez Perces Indians who were supported by the Flatheads. Since these b a t t l e s took place, j u s t a f t e r he had l e f t that country i n the previous s p r i n g , Work had reason to f e e l t h a t h i s t r i a l s might have been heavier. The p a r t y now crossed the mountains to the south branch of the same r i v e r which i t reached on September 18th. Since there was f e v e r s t i l l i n fhe camp and since the horses were jaded from the rough march through rugged country, they 409 F r a n c o i s Payette was an employee of the North West Company u n t i l c o a l i t i o n , when he entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. U n t i l h i s retirement i n 1844 Payette was s t a t i o n e d i n the Columbia D i s t r i c t . He had been a success-f u l trapper and was r a i s e d to the rank of c l e r k . The town of Payette, Payette R i v e r and Payette, l a k e i n Idaho, were named a f t e r him. ( c f . , H.B.S. IY, pp. 352-3). 410 Work, John, Jo u r n a l , August 17, 1852-ApriI 2 1833, (he r e a f t e r referred! to as Journal 11) , entry f o r September 6, 1832. 4.11 I b i d . , entry f o r September 15, 1832. 2-04 spent the next day i n camp. The hunters were out and trapped ten beaver and one.otter. On the 21st the expedition con-tinued upstream f o r f i f t e e n m i l e s and t r a v e l l e d a s i m i l a r d i s tance the next day to the mountains over which they c r o s s -ed to the S i l v i e s R i v e r . Prom September 23rd to the 29th they continued down the S i l v i e s i n t o the a r i d Harney B a s i n . L i t t l e game was to be found, only a few deer were k i l l e d and these were not enough f o r the camp. However, about a dozen beaver were trapped each day, and not' only was Work glad to have t h e i r f u r but t h e i r f l e s h was a welcome a d d i t i o n to the l a r d e r . ' Fever s t i l l s t a l k e d among the members of the camp. Many of the company seemed to recover and then w i t h the e x e r t i o n of the march would s u f f e r a relapse.. To add to t h e i r t r o u b l e s , the people found t r a c e s of horse t h i e v e s around the. camp, while about through the h i l l s , the smoke of s i g n a l f i r e s spread the news of the party's passage. On the l a s t day of September, the e x p e d i t i o n cut across through rugged h i l l s to avoid a bend i n the r i v e r . From October 1st to the 3rd they'stayed i n camp to nurse the people who were s i c k from fever and then.continued on t h e i r way downstream on the 4 t h . Work had planned to. t r a p the country eastward t o the Humboldt R i v e r , but nam, i n view of the l a t e n e s s of the season, he decided to push south to the Sacramento. They had passed northwest of Harney and Malheur 412 l a k e s . For some days t h e r e f o r e , t h e i r journey l a y through 412 These and subsequent places i n Work's Journals 11 and 12 were i d e n t i f i e d through the ge n e r o s i t y of Mrs. Al i c e . B. Maloney of Berkeley, C a l i f o r n i a . Mrs. Maloney's book, the t i t l e s t i l l undecided at t h i s time, i s appearing as a p u b l i -c a t i o n of the C a l i f o r n i a H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y . j )\ Irs D U C K V A L SOS-desert country and along the edge of almost dry s a l t or a l k a l i l a k e s where .fresh water was scarce.. They t r a v e l l e d \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 along the west s i d e of Abert la k e and on October 11th march-ed t h i r t y - t w o m i l e s , a two days' journey, because no water was found at the f i r s t water-hole. -The people were d i s - ' couraged and t a l k e d of t u r n i n g back. F o r t u n a t e l y f o r them, the weather was not hot but r a t h e r c o l d . On the 12th they found water which was'brackish but d r i n k a b l e . \" I was r e a l l y . 413 .-.\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2' ' \u00E2\u0080\u009E. ,' glad to f i n d i t , \" wrote Work. The next two days they stayed In camp while-Work and some of h i s men went south to explore. They saw a. chain of lak e s s t r e t c h i n g south as f a r as the eye 414 could reach but- could not f i n d any streams or r i v e r s f l o w i n g i n or out of the l a k e s which might i n d i c a t e f r e s h water and . the presence of beaver. Work decided to f o l l o w the o l d route to the Sacramento so as to be sure of water and some f u r . I t was n o t . u n t i l October 21st t h a t the p a r t y reached the no r t h end of Goose lake,, which Work -called P i t l a k e . The road had been rough and stony and very hard on the horses f o r whom l i t t l e fodder was to be found. The men too, were running short of p r o v i s i o n s and Work grew angry at the improvidence of some of them who were forced to k i l l , f our horses f o r food t h i s e a r l y i n the journey. They proceeded down the west side of Goose l a k e , stopping on the S4th to r e f r e s h the horses and to hunt. No game was to be found except some ducks, but 413 Work, Journal 11, entry f o r October 12, 1832. 414 Work may have seen the chain of l a k e s which s t r e t c h n o r t h and south j u s t east of the Warner Range which l a y on h i s l e f t hand, as he journeyed south. 206 w i l d plums were gathered i n abundance along the way. T h i s was not s u f f i c i e n t provender and on the 25th another horse -was k i l l e d . The next day's journey brought them n e a r l y to the southern end of the lake and on the 27th of September they came to a small creek which formed one of the\"\" head-415 waters of P i t R i v e r . The next day they came to the P i t R i v e r proper, \"which with the a d d i t i o n of s e v e r a l small brooks 416 from the mountains , i s here a handsome stream\". On the 29th 417 they reached the south f o r k of the P i t where they camped f o r three days while Work and three men explored i t s upper reaches. The stream Seemed to be well-adapted f o r beaver w i t h i t s \u00E2\u0080\u00A2wi l l o w - l i n e d banks and swampy f o r k s but none was found i n i t . F i f t e e n were taken meanwhile downstream at the camp. .. Work and h i s p a r t y now turned southward again and crossed the r i v e r to the .east side e x p l o r i n g each l i t t l e stream as they went. No beaver and no game were found. As they continued southward the country became wooded and a few oak t r e e s began to appear. On November 11th they l e f t the P i t R i v e r which swings westward and reached a small r i v e r 418 f l o w i n g out of the mountains. The next day they crossed the 415 In wet weather the y^aters of Goose Lake overflow into the P i t - R i v e r , of., Dallenbough, F.S., Fremont and '49, New York and London, G.P. Putnam'-a Sons, 1914, p. 314. T h i s r i v e r i s supposed to d e r i v e i t s name from the p i t f a l l s which the Indians dug f o r game. 416 Work, op. c i t . , e ntry f o r October 28, 1832. 417 C a l l e d the East Fork by Work and i d e n t i f i e d as the South Fork'by Mrs. Maloney.. 418 I d e n t i f i e d by Mrs. Maloney. as Hat (Canoe) Creek and the rCascade Mountains. 207 mountains to the south, a f t e r a hard day Ts march through a country wooded with pine t r e e s which were i n t e r s p e r s e d w i t h oaks and cedars. Here they came on another small creek which they followed as i t wound i t s way along the foot of the mountains. Pew beaver signs were seen and only four deer were k i l l e d . They met Indians who seemed very t i m i d not of the men of the camp, but of the horses and dogs. On the 16th 419 of November they reached a l a r g e r f o r k . Here f i f t e e n deer and one e l k were k i l l e d , the f i r s t good day*s hunting since they l e f t Walla Walla. The next day was spent i n camp and more deer and e l k were k i l l e d , but only four beaver were trapped. On the 18th, they f o l l o w e d the r i v e r down to near I t s j u n c t i o n with the Sacramento River.. Work now decided to make dugout canoes to hunt the Sacramento. He had o r i g i n a l l y planned to wait u n t i l he got f a r t h e r downstream before he t r i e d t h i s scheme of t r a p p i n g , but the h i g h water .would not permit of any other method. Prom November 19th to the 25th most of Work's p a r t y remained. i n camp b u s i l y hacking out dugout canoes. Others were out 420 hunting, k i l l i n g a f a i r number 'of deer and three \" g r i z z l e \" bears. While at t h i s p l a c e , Work heard lamentations from a nearby Indian camp and on I n v e s t i g a t i o n found the Indians cremating four of t h e i r number who had been k i l l e d i n an a t t a c k on t h e i r v i l l a g e . To Work, who had seen and remarked 419 Not p o s i t i v e l y I d e n t i f i e d but thought by Mrs. Maloney to be a branch of Cow Creek. Work c a l l s i t Caraj?]Creek. 420 Work, op. c i t . , entry f o r November 22, 1832. 208 on Indian methods of \"burial on the Columbia, t h i s p r a c t i c e was new and strange. He made two v i s i t s to t h e i r camp to see e x a c t l y what had taken p l a c e . By November 25th, the. canoes were ready and t h e i r crews were d i r e c t e d to paddle upstream f o r a two-day reconnaissance t r i p and i f t h e i r information was s a t i s f a c t o r y the camp would f o l l o w . To Work's chagrin, the canoes returned the next day w i t h an adverse report.. Work wrote that he suspected that the hard work of paddling the heavy canoes was the cause of t h e i r coming back. A f t e r spending a day l i g h t e n i n g t h e i r c r a f t by chipping away more wood from t h e i r sides and bottom,: the men s t a r t e d out again w i t h i n s t r u c t i o n s to remain out two n i g h t s . At the same time, the main camp moved down the Sacramento to i t s j u n c t i o n w i t h the Sycamore 421 R i v e r . T h i s R i v e r was examined f o r beaver without, success so once again they proceeded downstream to the Quesnelle 422 R i v e r where they remained i n camp u n t i l December 2nd because of bad weather. Only nine beaver and two o t t e r were taken. That same day they pushed south along the Sacramento to Bear ~ 423 Creek and i n the days'following' journeyed on s t i l l f u r t h e r . On December 8th they reached. Butte Greek which Work c a l l e d Deception Creek. T h i s seems a f i t t i n g name f o r t h i s stream because i t flows toward, but does not reach the Sacramento, but spreads out i n t o the low f l o o d e d area of Butte Sink. 421 I d e n t i f i e d by Firs. Maloney as p o s s i b l y B a t t l e Creek. 422 I d e n t i f i e d by Mrs. Maloney as M i l l Creek on con-d i t i o n that the p r e v i o u s l y mentioned stream i s B a t t l e Creek. 423 Bine Creek according to Mrs. Maloney. 209 On December 7th. two messengers from M i c h e l 424 Laframboise a r r i v e d at the camp. They were on t h e i r way w i t h l e t t e r s to F o r t Vancouver. Work's f i r s t f e e l i n g s were those of anger. Laframboise had been sent south to hunt the coast and had apparently d e l i b e r a t e l y disregarded h i s I n s t r u c t i o n s and come Inland to hunt-the Sacramento which had been assigned to Work. The former had b u i l t canoes just across the r i v e r from Work's present camp and since the. spring had hunted the r i v e r to i t s mouth. To add t o Work's annoyance a p a r t y of Americans were reported to be trapping these lower reaches. Work detained these messengers and sent one back the next day to Laframbroise w i t h i n s t r u c -t i o n s to meet him to discuss f u t u r e plans. In the meantime, Work moved downstream to the Buttes which r i s e d i r e c t l y out of the v a l l e y f l o o r i n the area between the Sacramento and 425 the Feather r i v e r s . Here they camped u n t i l the SOth of December. Rains had* set i n so that the surrounding country was n e a r l y inundated. As yet Work had not met Laframboise, who, i n answer t o Work's request, had sent word that he. Intended moving downstream and had g i v e n up any i d e a of ' ascending the r i v e r . In h i s j o u r n a l Work makes no comment on t h i s d e c i s i o n . On the l a s t day of the year the e x p e d i t i o n marched eastward from the Buttes to the Feather R i v e r . The f o l l o w i n g 424 See Chapter I, p. 13, n. 34. 425 A major t r i b u t a r y of the Sacramento which flows i n t o i t from the east s i d e . A l l of t h i s area was the g o l d country a f t e r 1849. 210 day they celebrated New Year's in. the usual fashion with cakes and rum., and on January 2, .1833, inarched down the Feather River about nine miles. In that short distance they passed six Indian villages which had an estimated population of some hundreds each. The diet of these natives seemed to be mostly acorns, augmented by a few large white salmon from the river. The next day Work moved camp down the feather River again and then went on to examine its junction with the Sacramento. The level of the water was f a l l i n g but i t was s t i l l too high to risk camping there, so he now planned to move upstream, cross to the east bank, and hunt toward the mountains. On January 4th, they camped higher up the feather beside an Indian village where rafts were borrowed and pre-parations were made to cross to the other side. These natives lived in houses \"sunk a considerable distance in the earth 426 and covered with clay & resemble a round hillock\". Qn the 5th they got safely .across the river with only the minor mishap of having drowned a horse* The next day they pushed upstream to the confluence of the feather and the Bear River, from this point, Work wrote laframboise again, asking him to join the former's party i f he could not cross the flooded Sacramento with safety at his present camp downstream. Then both parties could move north and cross the Sacramento higher up where the river was smaller and i t s flood waters less dangerous, from this point they could move westward to the coast and trap the country laframboise had missed. 426 Work, op. c i t . , entry for January 4, 1833. 211 On the 9th of January, Vifork's expedition moved s t i l l 427 further upstream to a small stream near the mountains, in spite of the short distance which they covered, the whole camp was exhausted. A l l day the horses had waded belly deep in mud and water. On the 10th they.moved again to another small fork. But few beaver were being taken, and what worried Work more, no elk were to be found, and the camp depended upon these animals in this l o c a l i t y as much as they depended upon buffalo in the Snake country. News reached him that, as he suspected, Laframboise had let his camp become trapped by flood water on a point near the river and they were nearly starving. This time Laframboise was willing to accept Work's suggestion that the camps join, forces, cross the Sacramento, and proceed to the coast as soon as the season permitted. To solve the food situation Work planned to return to the Buttes where elk were plentiful. On January 12th the expedition began to retrace i t s steps. On the next day they reached their camping ground of January 8th, about ten miles up the Bear Eiver. A l l the way they were impeded by soft grbund, since heavy rain had set in again. Not until the 16th did the party move again and on this day met Laframboise and his men, who arrived very short of food. Two days.'.later the augmented party recrossed the Feather River whose waters were now low enough to enable them to ford the stream. Two men were sent ahead to the Buttes to scout for signs of elk. On the 20th they arrived 427 Identified by Mrs. Maloney as Coon Creek. ai2 back with the good, news that p l e n t y of these animals were to be found, so that as soon as p o s s i b l e Work pushed on to that spot. I l k were now more necessary to the camp's economy than ever. For one t h i n g the number of people to feed was now increased. For another, d r i e d meat must be secured i n lar g e q u a n t i t i e s for' t h e i r proposed journey west from. the. Sacramento where animals were scarce On January 23rd and 24th,. they k i l l e d 104 e l k , which was r e a l l y more than they needed. Now Work'.began to worry about the s c a r c i t y of powder and shot which t h i s s l a u g h t e r , i f continued, might cause. For a month they Camped at the B u t t e s , l a y i n g i n p r o v i s i o n s and w a i t i n g - f o r the water to abate. During that time 395 e l k had been k i l l e d , : F i n a l l y on February 23rd they moved 18 m i l e s northeast to the Feather R i v e r which they f o l l o w e d up d u r i n g the succeeding days over miry ground to the f o o t h i l l s . When f a r enough north to be above Butte .Sink,'- they turned northwest again to the Sacramento which they r e j o i n e d on March .3rd. . Then, began the search f o r a s u i t a b l e place to c r o s s . F i n a l l y Work s e l e c t e d a spot about eleven m i l e s south t>f Pine Creek where they 428 had camped on December 5 t h . Taking the e l k skins which had been saved f o r - t h i s purpose, they constructed f i v e canoes,, and completed the c r o s s i n g s u c c e s s f u l l y the next day. Here they remained u n t i l the 7 t h while the hunters.searched f o r food, which was already very necessary, s i n c e , i n s p i t e of .428 I d e n t i f i e d ' by Mrs. Maloney as a point near J a c i n t o , n o r t h o f Butte C i t y . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ' 213 the slaughter of e l k at the Buttes some of the people had been improvident enough to dry very l i t t l e meat. On that day, the 7 t h of Maroh, they pushed westward ten miles toward the Cascade Mountains. The ground was swampy so that i t was with some d i f f i c u l t y that on the 12th they reached the f o o t h i l l s beside which they marched i n a southeast d i r e c t i o n . From h i l l - t o p s here and there, Work surveyed the country to the west, which seemed a sea of rugged h i l l s . . On the 16th, they reached the spot where the American par t y , which had wintered below them on the Sacramento, had crossed the mountains to the westward. Here, Work decided to d i v i d e h i s p a r t y . H a l f of them were to push on w i t h t h e i r traps and two horses each a f t e r the American pa r t y . The other h a l f were to remain with. Work and move south toward San Francisco w h i l e laframboise went ahead to t r y to r e p l e n -i s h t h e i r supply of ammunition. On March 18th, the p a r t y .started o f f a f t e r the Americans. On the next day laframboise l e f t f o r the Spanish 429 M i s s i o n at Sonoma f o r powder and shot. On the 21st, news a r r i v e d from laframboise that he* had been unable to obtain s u p p l i e s at the M i s s i o n and.had gone on to the Russian 430 establishment at F o r t Ross. From thence he returned on March 26th, with some powder, shot and tobacco. He reported that the Russians had t r e a t e d him. w e l l and had t o l d him that 429 M i s s i o n San Francisco Solano, g e n e r a l l y r e f e r r e d to as Sonoma,was b u i l t i n 1823. 430 F o r t Ross was b u i l t by the Russians i n 1812, c f . , H.B.S., TV, p. x v i i . 214 as f a r as they had been north, about t h i r t y leagues, there were no r i v e r s f l o w i n g i n t o the P a c i f i c which could be trapped. F o l l o w i n g on the heels of laframboise came n a t i v e s wishing to trade horses of which Work bought t h i r t y . On March 27th, Work sent laframboise on ahead to arrange a rendezvous w i t h the p a r t y v\/hich had been f o l l o w i n g the Americans, and he, h i m s e l f , w i t h the r e s t of the people pushed southward to t r a p i n the v i c i n i t y of San F r a n c i s c o Bay. He found the shores of the Bay d e s t i t u t e of wood and resembling a swamp overgrown wi t h bulrushes and i n t e r s e c t e d by channels which ran i n every d i r e c t i o n . The area seemed to him to be well-adapted f o r beaver, but d i f f i c u l t to t r a p without canoes or boats. On the 31st of March, laframboise a r r i v e d back w i t h the whole pa r t y which went a f t e r the American expedition.. To Work's dis g u s t they explained that they had become discouraged and had returned. On A p r i l 1 s t , some Spaniards a r r i v e d from the M i s s i o n . One of them, claimed to have been sent by the Spanish Governor at Monterey to l o o k over the camp. Having heard that a ship 431 had a r r i v e d i n the Bay, Work sei/t laframboise to see i f he could secure a d d i t i o n a l s u p p l i e s of powder and shot. The l a t t e r returned on A p r i l 6th, with 24 l b s . of powder and 40 l b s . of shot. The p r i c e he p a i d f o r i t was h i g h but an 431 A p r i l 2, 1833, i s the l a s t entry i n Work's 11th J o u r n a l . H i s next -journal begins on A p r i l 3, 1833, and i s a c o n t i n u a t i o n of the 11th, (Work, John, Journal, A p r i l 3-October 31, 1833, h e r e a f t e r r e f e r r e d to as 'Journal 12) . l e w i s and P h i l l i p s make the e r r o r of s t a t i n g that Work r e t u r n -ed to F o r t Yancouver, A p r i l 2, 1833 and the next day s t a r t e d on an e x p e d i t i o n to the Snake R i v e r which occupied a l l summer. Cf,, l e w i s and P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 59. 215 adequate supply of ammunition was indispensable to 'the p a r t y . That same day was Easter Sunday, and some of Work's Roman C a t h o l i c Canadians went to the M i s s i o n f o r mass. Work decided to leave, the Bay and to march west to the coast and f o l l o w i t n o r t h to the Columbia, trapping.as he went. The s t a r t was made on A p r i l 9th when they t r a v e l l e d westward s i x t e e n m i l e s to just past a spot where the Spanish M i s s i o n had a c a t t l e ranch. Work had hoped to get w e l l beyond the M i s s i o n l e s t t r o u b l e break out, but fever and colds.had s t a r t e d again i n the camp and the people were too i l l to proceed f a r t h e r . His f e a r s were r e a l i z e d on the next day, when h i s pack t r a i n got mixed up w i t h a herd of sheep and a l l stampeded together. Many of the sheep were k i l l e d and some of the camp baggage was missing. ;When t h i s was at l a s t s e t t l e d amicably, a dispute arose over the horses which Work had purchased from the Indians. The M i s s i o n claimed that these animals could not be sold without the p r i e s t s ' permission. Work f i n a l l y agreed to give them up i f the Spanish steward would p i c k them cut and have the Indians r e t u r n the goods. Since t h i s wa*s impossible the M i s s i o n dropped i t s claims. Work complained that the M i s s i o n s o l d l i q u o r to h i s people f o r t h e i r c l o t h e s , \"which i s not saying 452 much i n behalf of the M o r a l i t y of a r e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n \" . On the 15th of A p r i l , Work d i d not move camp, laframboise had contracted m a l a r i a ; Work had a c o l d . One of t h e i r men had been clawed by a bear and \" m o r t i f i c a t i o n \" had 452 Work, Journal 12, entry f o r A p r i l 12, 1855. 216 set i n . This unfortunate d i e d three days l a t e r . On the 18th the p a r t y reached Bodega Bay, upon which stood F o r t Ross, and pressed along the seashore to the Russian R i v e r which they crossed immediately... The Russian governor o b j e c t -ed to t h e i r passing so close to the. F o r t but withdrew h i s objections and l a t e r i n v i t e d Work to' dinner. The. governor corroborated the statement made by laframboise that the Russians had explored northward about one hundred m i l e s and had found no large r i v e r s but only 1 ragged, and steep g u l l i e s . The e x p e d i t i o n l e f t the v i c i n i t y of the f o r t on A p r i l 21st and marched north along the.beaches and across headlands. By-May 5th they had t r a v e l l e d n e a r l y to Gape Mendocino which checks with an estimated 10? mi l e s to which Work 1 S:entries t o t a l during t h i s p e r i o d . He had found but few l a r g e r i v e r s and these proved t o have no beaver i n them. The e s t u a r i e s of these streams were, very d i f f i c u l t to cross except at low t i d e . - The g u l l i e s through which they ran were ver y steep and hard on the horses. Work decided to leave t h i s d i f f i c u l t and unproductive coast, and t u r n i n l a n d . On May 9 t h , - a f t e r hearing the repor t s of reconnais-sance p a r t i e s they turned i n l a n d over a steep mountainous 432 area and then up. a f a i r l y l a r g e r i v e r . Thesroad was rugged a n d - d i f f i c u l t . w i t h no signs of beaver. Because of t h i s l a c k of beaver, 'Work decided t o s p l i t h i s .party*. Michel laframboise was t o make h i s way n o r t h as best he could by 433 Not I d e n t i f i e d . Perhaps a western branch of the l e i R i v e r * 217 the c o a s t a l route and Work would cut overland southeast, hack to the Sacramento V a l l e y . On May 13th, the p a r t y d i v i d e d , Laframboise w i t h 30 men and Work w i t h 33. Work's route l a y In a ganeral southeast d i r e c t i o n . On the 17th they f e l l i n wi t h a r i v e r which Work considered to be the Russian. The next day he sent a p a r t y to trap I t s lower reaches, while he w i t h the remaining men and a l l of the women and c h i l d r e n proceeded toward the Sacramento. I t was near t h i s point, that the e x p e d i t i o n found the t r a c k s of the\" p a r t y they had sent a f t e r the Americans i n the month of March. They turned up a branch of the Russian R i v e r on the 434 18th and crossed over a range of h i l l s to Clear Lake. Three days l a t e r , while r e s t i n g i n camp, they were r e j o i n e d by the men who had l e f t to t r a p the Russian R i v e r , who reported that they had been stopped by an Indian war p a r t y and had b a r e l y escaped w i t h t h e i r l i v e s . U n t i l the 26th of May the .expedition t r a v e l l e d along the south side of Clear Lake, through dense bush and then over stony, g r a v e l l y t r a i l s to the a r i d country they had reached i n the eastern f o o t h i l l s of the Cascades during the month of March. Game was g e t t i n g scarce and but few p r o v i s i o n s were to be found i n the camp. Prom t h i s p o i n t , they made se v e r a l attempts to push eastward to the Sacramento R i v e r but ran i n t o impassable marsh country. F i n a l l y a f t e r t u r n i n g northeast, they reach-ed the Sacramento on May 29th near the present town of 435 Woodland. The water was hi g h and Work a n t i c i p a t e d considerable 434 I d e n t i f i e d by Mrs. Maloney. 435 I b i d . 218 d i f f i c u l t y i n c r o s s i n g * U n t i l June 3rd, the men were b u s i l y f a s h i o n i n g dugout canoes. Then f o r three days the p a r t y moved downstream to below the Feather R i v e r , l o o k i n g f o r a place to cross. Having found a s u i t a b l e spot, they crossed without i n c i d e n t . On June 7th, i n f o l l o w i n g the southeast bank of the Sacramento, they found t h e i r way barred by a succession of shallow l a k e s caused by f l o o d waters and had to r e t r a c e t h e i r steps i n order to f i n d a way through them to the country beyond. On the 9th they rounded these lakes to t h e i r eastern side and the next day reached the Consumnes R i v e r which because of i t s high water, seemed as l a r g e as the Feather. They crossed the Consumnes higher up and came down i t s other side toward the Sacramento and i t s shallow l a k e s . Here they encountered one of t h e i r canoes which had been sent out i n various d i r e c t i o n s to t r a p . As they went south along the east side of the shallow l a k e s the weather became oppres-s i v e l y warm. \"...The scorched ground as hot as the f l o o r of 436 -an oven,\" wrote Work. As they continued t h e i r way south, 437 they came, on the 13th of June, to Sand R i v e r whose banks were a hopeless confusion of swamp and l a k e , e s p e c i a l l y i n the p a r t l y i n g between them and the Sacramento. The weather was s t i l l very hot, so that the mosquitoes and f l i e s were t e r r i b l e and the t e p i d water unpleasant to d r i n k . Here they stayed, l o o k i n g f o r a place to cross the r i v e r . F i n a l l y some Indians from, the Spanish m i s s i o n took two of the men u p - r i v e r 436 Work, op. c i t . , entry f o r June 12, 1833. 437 The Mokelumne R i v e r . 219 to a tra v e r s e made by a f a l l e n t r e e . Work d i d not move camp u n t i l June 24th, using t h i s s i t e as a rendezvous f o r the canoes which were b r i n g i n g i n an average of a dozen beaver and four or f i v e o t t e r each day. A f t e r a b r i e f cool s p e l l , the weather became h o t t e r than ever, so that the heat was almost insupportable. Night a f t e r night was spent i n sleep-l e s s exasperation because of heat and mosquitoes. On June 24th they moved upstream on the Mokelumne R i v e r t o the t r e e - c r o s s i n g , c a r r y i n g the baggage over and swimming the -horses across, from t h i s point Work began to be t r o u b l e d by horse t h i e v e s who s t o l e seven horses on June 25th, of which none was recovered. U n t i l J u l y 16th they proceeded around the southeast 438 side of San Francisco Bay as f a r as Smith's R i v e r . During t h i s time they had considerable t r o u b l e w i t h the n a t i v e s . Horse s t e a l i n g continued and on J u l y 2nd, f i v e were taken i n broad d a y l i g h t . Work was angry enough to destroy a v i l l a g e i n r e t a l i a t i o n but the absence of the men and l a c k of ammu-n i t i o n prevented t h i s immediate a c t i o n . On the 10th another f i v e were s t o l e n . T h i s time one\" of the thi e v e s was shot through the head, but the horses were not repossessed. Three days l a t e r the Indians made another attempt by t h e i r usual method of having some of t h e i r number pretend to trade while others made o f f w i t h the horses. On t h i s occasion they were detected and f i r e d upon, two of the n a t i v e s were k i l l e d and others were wounded. This time the Indians' horses were l e f t 438 I d e n t i f i e d by Mrs. Moloney as the S t a n i s l a u s R i v e r and the most s o u t h e r l y p o i n t reached by Work's p a r t y . 220 behind,' Work prepared f o r the i n e v i t a b l e a s s a u l t whioh must f o l l o w t h i s c r i s i s . The Indians attacked just before dawn with v o l l e y s of arrows. Work's p a r t y sustained one c a s u a l t y , a wounded horse. That same day. they r a i s e d camp i n order to f i n d a more peaceful and protected spot. On J u l y 23rd, Work began h i s r e t u r n journey and the next day counted up the f u r s they had obtained i n t h i s l o c a l i t y . The catch consisted of only 45 beaver and 14 o t t e r , a poor r e t u r n from f i v e canoes i n twelve days. Since the 11th of June -they had taken 249 beaver and 85 o t t e r and i n Work's o p i n i o n , the s k i n s were of i n d i f f e r e n t q u a l i t y . But now the season was l a t e and the people were short of ammunition so t h a t he planned to r e t u r n to Fort Yancouver as soon as p o s s i b l e . One more attempt was made to recover t h e i r s t o l e n horses when they came to the g u i l t y Indian v i l l a g e . An a t t a c k was made by Work's party, s e v e r a l n a t i v e s were k i l l e d or wounded and eighteen horses were c o n f i s c a t e d . From these defeated Indians they learned that another v i l l a g e had p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the t h e f t . Here a peaceful attempt was made to recover the animals, buf a f i g h t developed w i t h s i m i l a r r e s u l t s to the previous one. Twenty-one. horses were taken. \"The c h i e f of t h i s v i l l a g e i s the Indian whom the Indian from the M i s s i o n recommended to us as being a good 439 Indian and converted to C h r i s t i a n i t y \" , wrote Work. On J u l y 28th they reached the Consumnes R i v e r , and a f t e r c r o s s i n g i t remained i n camp f o r two days i n order t o 439 Work, op. c i t . , e n t r y f o r J u l y 26, 1833. 221 secure and to dry elk meat for their return journey, on. August 5th they reached and. crossed the .h'eather Kiver and on the next day proceeded on to the Buttes, As he travelled north, v/ork noted that some form of sickness was prevalent among the Indians and that the populous villages of the previous January and February now seem deserted. He gave them as wide a berth as possible lest the disease prove contagious. The expedition stayed at the Butte u n t i l August 12th, partly to secure a supply of meat and partly to give an opportunity for some of their own people to recover from an illness which had set in amongst them. Then they crossed Deception Greek,' and pushed northwest through intense heat and swarms of mosquitoes to the Sacramento River. They passed Indian villages which were nearly depopulated and dead or dying lay in the bushes around the lodges. Work was hurrying now and the day's marches were long, hurrying in the hopes of escaping the disease which was consuming the Indians. On August 15th they arrived at the spot where they had crossed the Sacramento in March. Thirty of their expedi-tion were now i l l . As- they pushed on upstream keeping to the east side of the river, the heat became less oppressive. In succession they crossed the rivers which Work calls the Bear (Pine Creek) and the Quesnelle (Mill Creek). The number of sick was increasing. On August 18th, Work wrote, \"Several of them had shaking f i t s yesterday and to-day. The most of 440 the others have the hot f i t s . . . . \" The day came when few of the families were without someone i l l , and in many there was 440 Work, op. c i t . , entry for August 18, 1833. 222 but one well person. Work was thankful that the men seemed to have escaped or the camp must stop and suffer the fate of the Indian villages. On August 20th they passed Sycamore River (Battle Greek) and passed Cow Creek on the 21st. The nest day they spent in camp where Work had to fight dissension. He pointed out that i t would be f o l l y to remain when they had no medicine and that the mountains might help cure these malarial attacks, moreover, the Fort was not more than a month's journey away. They must push on. On Saturday 24th, there were 72 sick in camp and the men were beginning to f a l l i l l . The next day the f i r s t death occurred in camp, an old Cayuse Indian. On the 26th, Work began to keep a separate l i s t of the people \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 - -.441 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 who were a i l i n g . It shows such entries as August 26th, 71 i l l , August 28th, 70 i l l , August 30th, 75 i l l and then breaks off, for Work himself, ailing now for some days, had become a victim of fever. His wife and children were already strick-en. By the 29th they had been getting into mountainous oountry which was cool and their' surroundings green, instead of the parched browns of the lower Sacramento. But this change did not seem to benefit the ailing. To add to their troubles the Indians attacked and wounded five of their horses 441 The writer discovered these hitherto unidentified manuscript sheets inset as pages 12-16 in the Fort Simpson, Correspondence outward, September 6, 1841-October 11, 1844, (Original in B.C. Archives). Careful inspection and compar-ison of these sheets with the register of people on this journey as contained in Journal 11, along with the fact that their totals of persons who were i l l , correspond to the totals as given in Journal 12, proved them to concern this expedition. These sheets are now inset in Work, Journal 12. 223 i n the n i g h t . On August 31st they reached the P i t R i v e r and crossed i t to the no r t h side and journeyed northward on up 44\u00C2\u00A3 a small t r i b u t a r y c a l l e d the P a l l R i v e r . On September 7th, 443 they crossed the mountains to Sheep Rock. No water was to be had sooner and the road had been very bad; eleven horses were l o s t because there was no one to look a f t e r them. H o s t i l e Indians were f o l l o w i n g the camp. By now, Work was very i l l . \" I tremble every day myself,\" he wrote, \"and am become as 444 weak as a c h i l d . \" - ' . - 445 S t i l l moving ahead, they reached the Klamath R i v e r on September 13th and found there the r e t u r n t r a i l of the p a r t y of la f r a m b o i s e . T h e i r progress was p i t i f u l l y slow, being only eight or ten mi l e s a day w i t h frequent days o f f f o r r e s t . On the 16th they reached a small t r i b u t a r y of the R i v e r Coquin (Rogue) and four days l a t e r came upon the main body of the Rogue R i v e r . On September 26th a second member of t h e i r p a r t y died,, one of the men who had become so weak that f o r some days he had been t i e d on h i s horse. They pushed north through the narrow v a l l e y s l y i n g on the eastern side of the Coast Range u n t i l on/ October 4 t h , they reached the south f o r k of the Umpqua R i v e r and i n succeeding days crossed i t s northern f o r k . Here on the north f o r k on October 8th Work noted the f i r s t r e a l signs of improvement among the .442 I d e n t i f i e d by Mrs. Maloney. 443 Old landmark northeast of Mt. Shasta, i b i d . 444 Work, op. c i t . , e n t r y f o r September 5, 1833. 445 The Klamath'River i s Mcleod 1 s R i v e r , c i t e d i n H.B.S., IY, pp. 45, 86, 112, 113, 224 s i c k . Four days l a t e r they crossed E l k Mountain and on October 13th, they met laframboise and f o u r men on t h e i r way from F o r t Vancouver to the Umpqua, Mc l o u g h l i n had become exceedingly anxious over the f a t e of Work's party and had 446 heard rumors that they had been k i l l e d by Indians. Work promptly sent o f f a l e t t e r to ease the Chief Factor's mind \" and then s e t t l e d doxm to enjoy h i s share of the f l o u r , Indian corn, tea and sugar which laframboise supplied them. 447 On October 17th he reached S t . Mary's R i v e r and crossed i t , keeping to the h i g h ground some distance to the west of the Willamette R i v e r . ' On the 18th'Work's messenger a r r i v e d back from'Mcloughlin w i t h more te a , sugar, bread and b u t t e r . The next day they reached the Ya m h i l l R i v e r and were delayed there f o r three days because of heavy r a i n to which Work d i d not wish to expose the s i c k . Because of t h i s heavy r a i n the Y a m h i l l R i v e r rose considerably and since t h e i r usual route l a y north across s e v e r a l s i m i l a r streams which were also bound to be swollen, Work decided to change h i s course. He proceeded down the banks of the Yam h i l l , secured a canoe from a s e t t l e r and got ifhe people and the horses across. The f o l l o w i n g day they got as f a r as Sand Encamp-448 ment on the Willamette. There they secured'another canoe to 449 take down stream to f e r r y them across the T u a l a t i n R i v e r . 446 M c l o u g h l i n to Governor and Committee, F o r t Van-couver, August 31, 1833, i n H.B.S., IV, p. 112. 447 A t r i b u t a r y of the Willamette. Since many of these place names are d e a l t w i t h more f u l l y i n Work's subsequent Umpqua E x p e d i t i o n they are touched on but l i g h t l y here. 448 Sand Encampment i s Champoeg, see more complete reference on page 227, n. 458. 449 C a l l e d the F a l a d i n R i v e r by Work. 225 On the 27th of Octoher they a r r i v e d at the month of the Willamette. Here the people, many of whom, had recovered, were employed d r y i n g and heating the f u r s , swimming the horses to a small i s l a n d o f f the mouth of the r i v e r , and securing boats to f e r r y the goods and personnel to f o r t Yancouver. On October 29th at d a y l i g h t , Work embarked i n a small canoe and reached the f o r t at 9 o'clock, \"...where,\" he w r i t e s , \" I . 450 ... was r e c e i v e d with a hearty welcome\". By the l a s t day of the month a l l the people, and baggage were safe at Yancouver. The most arduous journey Work had ever taken, was.safely over. I t was not a f i n a n c i a l f a i l u r e i n s p i t e of the f a c t t h a t Work brought back only 1023 beaver and o t t e r skins, a f t e r fourteen months i n the f i e l d . . McLoughlin estimated that they would br i n g a p r o f i t of \u00C2\u00A3627, \"which i s very w e l l when you consider the exhausted s t a t e of the country and the severe 451 sickness w i t h which he and h i s p a r t y were, a f f l i c t e d \" . Work a r r i v e d back from the Sacramento e x p e d i t i o n so l a t e and had s u f f e r e d so much w i t h m a l a r i a that i t was 452 impossible to send him out again t h a t f a l l . He. stayed at f o r t Yancouver during the w i n t e r ' o f 1833-34 to recover from 453 h i s i l l n e s s . On may 22, 1834, he l e f t on a short t r a d i n g 450 Work, op. c i t . , entry f o r Octoher 29, 1833. 451 Quoted from H.B.S., IY, p. 358. 4.52 McLoughlin to John Mcleod, f o r t Yancouver, March 1, 1834, (Mcleod John, Correspondence inward 182 6-1837) 453 McLoughlin to E. Ermatinger, f o r t Yancouver, February 1, 1834, (Ermatinger Papers). 226 454 and trapping e x p e d i t i o n to the Umpqua country which l i e s beyond the headwaters of the Willamette R i v e r . H i s party was a small one, c o n s i s t i n g of but twelve men,, The boats were taken up the Multnomah Channel of the R i v e r to the 455 t r a v e r s e which l e d across to McKay Creek, which was a branch of the T u a l a t i n R i v e r . The men were sent to c o l l e c t horses f o r the e xpedition at T u a l a t i n P l a i n which l i e s just north of D a i r y Creek, another branch of the same main stream. Here about 170 horses had been pastured. Enough of these animals were s e l e c t e d f o r the party's needs, packs were sorted out and the e x p e d i t i o n got under way on the 27th of May. The general route f o l l o w e d by the p a r t y l a y to the west of the Willamette R i v e r and crossed i t s t r i b u t a r i e s on that s i d e . The t r a i l was close enough to the Coast Range to avoid the lower and swampier sections of the V a l l e y . Through-out the journey through the v a l l e y , one i s s t r u c k by the f a c t that Work's jo u r n a l ceases to be that of a f u r t r a d e r or trapper, and becomes one of a farmer or prospective s e t t l e r . Whether t h i s change of a t t i t u d e on the part of Work i s un-conscious or d e l i b e r a t e i s hard/to say, Simpson stated that 456 he \"was bred an operative farmer\", which might be s u f f i c i e n t explanation. On the other hand one wonders i f he was gazing upon the country w i t h a view to s e t t l i n g there h i m s e l f , or 454 Work, John, J o u r n a l , May 22-July 10, 1854, (here-a f t e r r e f e r r e d to as Journal 13). 455 Named a f t e r Thos. McKay, stepson of John McLoughlin. 45 6 H.B.S., IV, p. 358. 227 whether the Company had asked f o r an i n f o r m a l report of the 457 v a l l e y . C e r t a i n l y the contrast i s s t r i k i n g between the meagre d e s c r i p t i o n given as he passed there s i c k w i t h m a l a r i a on h i s way north the previous f a l l , and the d e t a i l e d view of the country as i t l a y before h i s eyes during t h i s month of May. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 During the f i r s t day's march they crossed a l l but the l a s t f o r k of the T u a l a t i n River.. They had managed to f o r d these branches w i t h one exception, where a bridge was made out of a f a l l e n t r e e over which the baggage was c a r r i e d . w hile the horses swam across the stream. The next day, May 28th, they did. not r a i s e camp, because of heavy r a i n and the drenched underbrush of the t r a i l . On the 29th they set out again and.followed along the eastern side of the swollen Wapato l a k e . A f t e r camping, Work p a i d a h u r r i e d v i s i t to 458 Sand ...Encampment on the Willamette to get information concern-ing the Umpqua trade. He secured but l i t t l e and returned to camp. The next day they continued t h e i r \u00E2\u0080\u00A2journey south to the Y a m h i l l R i v e r , which they crossed. As they went on, Work noted the f i n e r i c h s o i l , the e x o e l l e n t pasture land on the extensive p l a i n s and even v a r i o u s s i t e s on streams which would make s u i t a b l e places f o r m i l l s . On the 31st of May they reached and camped at what Work c a l l s the second f o r k 457 No d e f i n i t e i n f o r m a t i o n has been found concerning t h i s p o i n t . Perhaps i t i s reading too much i n t o the ...Journal to take t h i s view and Work may have been only f o l l o w i n g the general i n s t r u c t i o n s concerning the making of o f f i c i a l J o u r n a l s . 458 Sand Encampment i s i d e n t i f i e d as Champoeg, ( o f . , S c o t t , l e s l i e M. ed., John Work's Journey to the Umpqua R i v e r 1834, i n Oregon H i s t o r i c a l Q u a r t e r l y ( h e r e a f t e r c a l l e d O.H.Q.) volume 24, p. 245n. ~~ ~~ . 228 459 from the Y a m h i l l . On June 1 s t , they marched twenty-four 460 miles to the Sourie R i v e r . Here t h e i r road l a y through woods and over p l a i n s which were sometimes swampy. They camped not f a r from the Willamette R i v e r , where they met a band of Indians who informed them that the p a r t y of M i c h e l laframboise had been wiped out by the n a t i v e s w i t h the exception of the leader and one man. from S t . Mary's R i v e r they moved on to l o n g Tom R i v e r which flows i n t o the Willamette from the south. By June 3rd they had ascended t h i s r i v e r to i t s headwaters i n the Mountains and on the f o l l o w i n g day crossed to the 461 Siuslaw R i v e r which flows northwest to the P a c i f i c . Here Work gazed on the r i v e r v a l l e y w i t h the eyes of a s e t t l e r , as he wrote: ...there i s a considerable q u a n t i t y of c l o v e r , among the long grass...and most e x c e l l e n t hay i t would make. The ground appears h i g h l y s u s c e p t i b l e of c u l t i v a t i o n , and would be s u p e r i o r pasture l a n d , the low ground f o r c a t t l e and the bare or p a r t i a l l y wooded h i l l s f o r sheep., 462 On June 5th and 6th they d i d not r a i s e camp because of the heavy r a i n which soaked the t r e e s and bushes along the t r a i l . Here f u r t h e r rumors reached them/that d i s a s t e r had overtaken the p a r t y of Laframboise. Then, on the 7th, they proceeded over the Calapooya Mountains which separated them from the 459 Work, Journal 15, e n t r y f o r May 31, 1834. S c o t t , op. c i t . , I d e n t i f i e s t h i s as the Luckiamute R i v e r . O.H.Q., v o l . 24, p. 247n. This checks with the mileage s t a t e d by Work. 460 S t . Mary's R i v e r . This r i v e r had been c a l l e d R i v i e r e des S o u r i s , hence Work's name f o r i t . S c o t t , 0.H.Q., v o l . 24, p. 249n. 461 G a l l e d by Work the Yangara R i v e r . 462 Work, op. c i t . , entry f o r June 4, 1854. 229 Umpqua R i v e r and i t s t r i b u t a r i e s . A f t e r a twenty-two mile inarch they reached E l k Creek. At t h i s point Work l e f t the main camp w i t h three men and an Indian and proceeded down the E l k to i t s j u n c t i o n w i t h the Umpqua and down the l a t t e r r i v e r to what he c a l l e d the Yerveau R i v e r . The estimated distance was f o r t y miles which would b r i n g him to tidewater * '\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 465 near the present town of Scottsburg. A curious character named Joe had h i s home there and i n v i t e d Work to enter, \",..which we r e l u c t a n t l y d i d , \" s a i d Work, \"as we dread being i n f e s t e d w i t h fleas...He has 7 wives now i n the house w i t h him which i s s a i d to be but the h a l f of the number he posses-464 aes\". At t h i s curious place Work c o l l e c t e d seven packs of f u r s and a l e t t e r f o r M c l o u g h l i n l e f t by Laframboise on 465 . A p r i l 17th. On June 10, 1834 Work a r r i v e d back i n camp on E l k Creek. Joe accompanied him and traded h i s beaver w i t h the Company. Other Indians turned up to trade so that Work c o l l e c t e d 72 beaver and 25 o t t e r . A f t e r delaying i n camp because of a s i c k c h i l d , the p a r t y moved south over the h i l l s 463 S c o t t , op. c i t . , O.H.Q., v o l . 24, p. 254n., makes t h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . Another source places t h i s p o i n t west of Scottsburg at M i l l Creek, c f . S u l l i v a n , Maurice S., The T r a v e l s of Jedediah Smith, a Documentary O u t l i n e , I n c l u d i n g the Journal of the Great American P a t h f i n d e r , Santa Ana, C a l i f o r n i a , The Pine A r t s P r e s s , 1934, p. 179, n. 169. 464 Work, op. c i t , , entry f o r June 8, 1834. 465 Work had a l i t t l e l e a t h e r bound notebook contain-in g a few e n t r i e s f o r May and June 1834. One entry f o r June 8, 1834 states t h a t he found f i v e packs of f u r s at Joe's. This notebook i s In the B.C. Ar c h i v e s . 250 466 to Umpqua o l d f o r t on the Calapooya R i v e r at or near the jun c t i o n of the Umpqua, During the past few days they had been v i s i t e d by Indians who brought a considerable number of f u r s to trad e . One of the na t i v e s brought a note from laframboise dated A p r i l 8th; but a few days l a t e r (June 17th) others brought information that l a f r a m b o i s e 1 s p a r t y had a l l been k i l l e d . Prom t h i s point the par t y began I t s r e t r e a t . On June 21st, they back tracked to the E l k R i v e r and then -,. ' 467 crossed the Calapooya Mountains to the most southerly f o r k of the Willamette s l i g h t l y east of the Long Tom R i v e r by which they had come south. They moved down t h i s f o r k some ten m iles to hunt, but without success. On June 24th they crossed to the Middle Pork of the Willamette at the base of the Cascade Mountains, Prom Indiana they learned that trappers had never been up t h i s r i v e r and that i t had many heaver j u s t over t h e , f i r s t range. The n a t i v e s informed them that horses could not be used f o r t r a v e l l i n g since the upper oountry was very rough. T h i s s t o r y was confirmed by other Indians who a r r i v e d and also by the trapping of seven beaver below the camp, which Work b e l i e v e d might have come down-stream a l i v e w i t h the spring f l o o d s . From June 26th-28th the men were employed making cedar dugout canoes f o r a trap p i n g e x p e d i t i o n up the Middle Fork. The next day, June .466 E s t a b l i s h e d by Chief Trader John Mcleod, S r . , about 1820-21, c f . , H.B.3. IT, p. 112, n. 1. S c o t t , op. c i t . , erroneously c r e d i t s I t s establishment to John Mcleod, J r . , i n 1852. 467 Coast Fork ( I d e n t i f i e d by S c o t t , op. c i t . , O.H.Q., v o l . 24, p. 261n. 231 29th, a small p a r t y s t a r t e d o f f . I t consisted of s i x men and three I n d i a n s . i n three canoes. They had orders to stay away f o r two months i f necessary. Work and the r e s t of the p a r t y t r a v e l l e d northwest '468 to McKay's o l d house and l e f t here another three men and the f a m i l i e s of the men who had gone up r i v e r . In order, that these three men should not s u f f e r by remaining behind, i t Y*ras arranged that they should share i n the proceeds of any f u r s which were trapped. With the remaining three men, Work set o f f down r i v e r f o r F ort Yancouver w i t h the f u r s . He crossed the Willamette at Long Tom R i v e r and picked up h i s outward t r a i l , camping o f t e n i n the same spots. He v i s i t e d a few Indian v i l l a g e s en route and traded a few beaver. On J u l y 5 t h , the p a r t y camped near Sand Encampment. Four days l a t e r he reached the t r a v e r s e near the mouth of the Willamette and set, o f f i n a canoe f o r the F o r t which he reached on J u l y 10th. H i s homeward journey from long Tom. R i v e r had . been j u s t two days shorter than h i s t r i p outward. H i s quick-er r e t u r n was not due to h i s f a s t e r t r a v e l l i n g but to the f a c t that two days had. been spen,* at the T u a l a t i n P l a i n s i n May, rounding up the horses f o r the journey. T h i s was Work 1s l a s t e x p e d i t i o n on the Columbia R i v e r or I t s t r i b u t a r i e s . 468 At or near the confluence of the Willamette and the McKenzie R i v e r named a f t e r Thomas McKay. S c o t t , op. c i t . , \u00C2\u00A9\H.Q., v o l . 24, p. 265n. CHAPTER X To the Northwest Coast, 1854-55. A f t e r h i s r e t u r n from, the Umpqua E x p e d i t i o n i n J u l y 10, 1854, Work was sent to make a report on coal deposits 469 found on the Cowl i t a R i v e r . He was no sooner, hack from t h i s venture, when he was d i r e c t e d to take charge of the coasting trade i n place of Peter Skene Ogden. Work l e f t Vancouver on 470 December 11, 1854 on board the Lama commanded by Captain M c N e i l l . The t r i p was-to d i s t r i b u t e some twenty servants of the company among northern posts and to trade with the vari o u s Indian tribes., On December 15th, they a r r i v e d at Po r t George and anchored beside the Dryad which had made port from the n o r t h on the previous day. Captain K i p l i n g of the Dryad came, aboard to i n f o r m 471 Work that the schooner Vancouver had been wreeked on Rose S p i t i n the Queen C h a r l o t t e I s l a n d s . . Besides t h a t , he brought the news that the Russians would not permit the Hudson's. Bay 469 McLoughlin to W i l l i a m Smith, Port Vancouver, November 19, 1854, i n H.B.S., IV, p. 152. < \" 470 Lewis & P h i l l i p s s t a t e t h a t he l e f t Vancouver by steamer (Lewis & P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 59). The f i r s t steamer, the Beaver, d i d not a r r i v e on the coast u n t i l 1856. The Lama was acquired from Capt. M c N e i l l by the Hudson's Bay Company i n 1855. 471 the Vancouver was the second ship launched at Port Vancouver. She was constructed by carpenters from, the Orkney Islands and was wrecked i n Maroh, 1854. Hacking, Norman, E a r l y Marine H i s t o r y of B r i t i s h Columbia, U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., 1934, p. 17. See also Wright, E.W., ed., Lewis & Dryden's Marine H i s t o r y of the P a c i f i c Northwest, P o r t l a n d , Oregon, The l e w i s and Dryden P r i n t i n g Co., 1895, p. 15. Both of these sources i n c o r r e c t l y give 1832 as the , date of the wreck. The f i r s t ship launched was the sloop Broughton, c f . , H.B.S., IV, p. I x x i . 253 472 Company to e s t a b l i s h a post on the S t i k i n e R i v e r . The s i t e of t h i s post beyond Russian t e r r i t o r i a l l i m i t s , had been sel e c t e d by Ogden i n 1833. I t s purpose was to tap the h i n t e r -land f o r f u r s . T h i s , the Russians d i d not intend to allow and b u i l t a f o r t , Redoubt S t . Dionysius, at the mouth of the S t i k i n e R i v e r . They a l s o s t a t i o n e d an armed v e s s e l i n f r o n t of the P o r t . Ogden had been sent n o r t h i n the b r i g Dryad, with, complete equipment f o r the new Hudson's Bay p o s t . The Russians would not permit him to pass the mouth of the S t i k i n e . He argued without a v a i l and even v i s i t e d Baron Wrangell, the r e s i d e n t governor of the Russian American Com-pany, but t o no purpose. There was nothing f o r Ogden to do 473 but to r e t u r n to P o r t Yancouver. No i n k l i n g of t h i s news had come through to the Columbia, so, i n s t r u c t i n g the lama to wait f o r him, Work set out w i t h Ogden by rowboat f o r Por t Yancouver where he a r r i v e d 474 on December 17th.. Here, he secured r e v i s e d orders from M c l o u g h l i n and s t i l l i n company with Ogden, returned to P o r t George. Work had w i t h him. three boatloads of supplies and naval s t o r e s f o r the. Dryad. On a r r i v a l at P o r t George the passengers and t h e i r baggage were unloaded from the Lama and 472 H.B.S., IY, pp. c v - c v l . 473 Por f u r t h e r d e t a i l s on t h i s whole episode see H.B.S. IY, p. c i i i , f f . , see a l s o Davidson, Donald C., \" R e l a t i o n s of the Hudson's Bay Company w i t h the Russian American Company on the Northwest Coast, 1829-1867\" i n B.C.H.Q., v o l . 5, no. 1, pp. 33-51. - -474 I t has not been p o s s i b l e to f i n d out j u s t what these \u00E2\u0080\u00A2were, but from the readjustment of cargoes and the s h i f t of passengers from, the Lama-to the Dryad, i t . would seem, that the Lama's d u t i e s were reduced to supplying P o r t s M c l o u g h l i n and Simpson as w e l l as c a r r y i n g on a t r a d i n g e x p e d i t i o n along the coast\u00E2\u0080\u009E 234 a considerable p o r t i o n of the Lama'a cargo was t r a n s f e r r e d to the Dryad. T h i s task was completed on December 29th, and the v e s s e l s separated. The Dryad w i t h Ogden aboard moved upstream, while the Lama completed\u00E2\u0080\u00A2last minute preparations f o r sea. , . On January 2nd, w i t h a favorable breeze, they dropped down the r i v e r to j u s t i n s i d e Gape Disappointment where they awaited a favorable opportunity to cross the dangerous Columbia' Bar and put to sea. The delays caused by t h i s Bar were soon obvious to Work, f o r i t was not u n t i l January 22nd t h a t wind and wave permitted the v e s s e l to s l i p out. Strong p r e v a i l i n g w e s t e r l y winds and heavy s w e l l s had held the lama, p r i s o n e r f o r twenty days.. S u r e l y thi s , was an argument f o r a steamer and a change of headquarters to a more accessible, p l a c e . On January 26th they a r r i v e d o f f Cape Swaine on Milbanke Sound, and turned east to put i n t o Fort M c l o u g h l i n at B e l l a B e l l a . Adverse winds prevented them from g e t t i n g c l o s e r than A c t i v e Cove which was about s i x miles from the 475 f o r t . Dr. William. F r a s e r Tolmie came aboard i n the forenoon 47 6 w i t h news tha t Donald Manson and a l l the people at the Fort 475 Dr. W i l l i a m F r a s e r Tolmie entered the Hudson's Bay Company as p h y s i c i a n and surgeon i n 1832. He was s t a t i o n e d f i r s t at N i s q u a l l y and l e f t f o r F o r t M c l o u g h l i n i n 1833. He returned to F o r t Yancouver i n 1836 where he stayed u n t i l 1841 when he p a i d a v i s i t to England. On h i s r e t u r n he was placed i n charge of farming at F o r t N i s q u a l l y up t o 1859 and then moved to Y i c t o r i a . 47 6 Donald Manson entered the Hudson's Bay Company i n 1817.. He became a c l e r k i n the Columbia D i s t r i c t and was w i t h James M c M i l l a n when he founded F o r t l a n g l e y . In 1829 he went to Yancouver and thence to F o r t Simpson i n 1831. He was i n charge of F o r t M c l o u g h l i n from 1834-9. He became Chief Trader i n 1837 -and never rose above that rank. 235 were w e l l . Work with. Dr. Tolmie, l e f t the v e s s e l and a r r i v e d at F o r t M c l o u g h l i n i n the e a r l y afternoon. The F o r t , begun i n 1833, was now n e a r l y f i n i s h e d . Land was cleared f o r a garden i n order to f o l l o w out .the p o l i c y of making each post s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t . Work d i d not t h i n k much of the s o i l , but commented on the abundance of cheap, d r y salmon. He r e g r e t t e d that f r e s h salmon (which would not be a v a i l a b l e i n January anyway) were l a c k i n g and but very l i t t l e venison was to be had. More beaver were traded than i n the previous season but 'the p r i c e was h i g h \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a blanket f o r each la r g e s k i n . In Work's opinion i t was b e t t e r to pay t h i s p r i c e than l e t the American v e s s e l s have them. The men found the f o r t too i s o l a t e d f o r t h e i r l i k i n g and when t h e i r accounts were s e t t l e d not one. would re-engage. The cargo of the Lama was unloaded and b a l l a s t taken aboard. On F r i d a y , February 6th, they again set s a i l . The next day they were, only o f f Cape Swaine, but made good time on the- 8th, moving, n o r t h to the northern t i p of Bank's Isl a n d o f f Hecate S t r a i t . Two days l a t e r they a r r i v e d at 477 478 F o r t Simpson. Here Work was waLcorned by Dr. Kennedy. James B i r n i e was i l l and so were a. few of the others, but nothing 479 s e r i o u s , \"The S i c k are o n l y a i l i n g w i t h casual s i c k n e s s \" , 477 F o r t Simpson was s t a r t e d i n J u l y 1834 at the t i p of the Tsimpsean p e n i n s u l a on M c l o u g h l i n Bay. The_ Dryad was employed i n the moving from the o l d f o r t which had been founded i n 1831 and now i n August 1834 was being abandoned. 478 Doctor John Kennedy was l i s t e d by the Minutes of C o u n c i l f o r 1835 as surgeon at F o r t Simpson. He was placed i n charge of F o r t Taku when i t was b u i l t . He returned to F o r t Simpson as c l e r k i n 1843. 479 Work, John, Jou r n a l , December 11, 1854-June 30, 1855,(hereafter r e f e r r e d to as Journal 14) entry f o r February 10, 1835. 236 wrote Work. He inspected the f o r t which had been moved the previous summer from the Nass R i v e r . I t was n e a r l y completed. The b u i l d i n g s were a l l up but some were only roofed tempor-a r i l y w i t h bark. The timber had been f e l l e d f o r a gunshot distance from the stockade but as yet i t had not been a l l cleared away. The stockade was not quite completed. The p o l i c y of making gardens to support the f o r t was being c a r r i e d out with considerable d i f f i c u l t y . The black peat s o i l was encumbered w i t h matted roots and o v e r l a i d w i t h f a l l e n l o g s . f o r a week a f t e r t h e i r a r r i v a l the weather was so wet t h a t nothing was done on ship or shore. Soon, however, the ship was almost ready f o r a t r a d i n g e x p e d i t i o n , even to the extent of spreading boarding nets to p r o t e c t the crew from, a s u r p r i s e a t t a c k by Indians. Work again deplored the high t a r i f f on f u r s but hoped that i t would discourage American competition so that at some future date when the Hudson's Bay Company had the trade a l l t o themselves, p r i c e s might be lowered again. They s a i l e d on February 19th at 10 o'clock i n the 480 morning and by that evening were o f f Cape Murray. They were 481 on t h e i r way to a t r i b e of Haida Indians at K a i g a n i Harbor at the north side of Dixon Entrance. Here, they anchored between two v i l l a g e s . The n a t i v e s came out to trade, but o n l y 480 Cape Murray i s point Nunez on Bean I s l a n d near Cape Chacon, Dixon Entrance, ( c f . Baker, Marcus, Geographic S u b \u00C2\u00B0 n a r y o f j A l a s k a - Washington, Government.Printing O f f i c e i o * * t ? 1 E a i S a n i Harbor on D a l l I s . so c a l l e d by E t o l i n i n 18^3 { i o i d . , p. 342). * 257 parted-with f i v e beaver and an o t t e r . Work s t a t e s that these Indians had been on other hunting expeditions to C a l i f o r n i a ' and the Sandwich Islands so that they were quite aware of the r i v a l r y between the Americans and the Hudson's Bay Company and h e l d out f o r h i g h p r i c e s . I t was here he learned the d e t a i l s of the wreck of the schooner Vancouver i n March, 1854, and wrote as f o l l o w s : . . . I t was most unfortunate that they abandon-ed the v e s s e l so soon as they d i d , f o r the next tide, she f l o a t e d o f f to her anchor & might easily\"-have been saved, I t also appears that a great d e a l of the danger they apprehended from the Indians was imaginary f o r the Natives themselves a f f i r m that o n l y 8 were on the ground, and that i n order to i n t i m i d a t e the Crew they k i n d l e d a great number of f i r e s i n the night to make i t be b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e i r numbers were greater than they r e a l l y were. 482 T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n came from a h a l f - b r e e d who handed Work a l e t t e r from Captain Alexander Duncan of the Vancouver, dated February 27, 1834, just a few days before the v e s s e l was l o s t . The Indians apparently had completely l o o t e d the v e s s e l . Work was extremely anxious to secure the f u r s at K a i g a n i . \"...This i s always the f i r s t part the o p p o s i t i o n makes on reaching the -coast,\" Work wrote and went on to say, 483 \" i t i s of importance to secure the skins before they a r r i v e . \" The n a t i v e s were quite aware of the advantage which t h i s o f f e r e d t o them, and i t was not u n t i l two days l a t e r t h a t t h e i r d e s i r e f o r trade g o o d s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 e s p e c i a l l y b l a n k e t s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 g o t the best of them. In a l l , Work secured' about twenty-nine beaver, t h i r t y -482,. If. t h i s s t o r y i s . c o r r e c t , i t i s a wonder that Captain Duncan was exonerated and r e i n s t a t e d as Captain of the Cadboro. ( c f . Work, Journal 14, entry f o r February 25, 1835). 485 Work, Journal 14, entry f o r February 2.4, 1855. 238 484 two sea-otter-and eight land o t t e r . He l e f t f e e l i n g that these Indians had many more sea-otter, but that no more could be secured at the highest price, which-he was w i l l i n g to pay. . While at E a i g a n i he l i s t e n e d to Indian t a l e s . Two of these i n t e r e s t e d him. One was a report that the n a t i v e s at S t i k i n e intended to massacre the Russians at Redoubt S t . Dionysius, since no stockade had been b u i l t to p r o t e c t the f o r t . They also enquired whether the Hudson's Bay Company intended t o exact any vengeance or payment f o r the plunder-i n g of the wrecked schooner, Yancouver. I t i s a l t o g e t h e r probable t h a t Work r e p l i e d i n the a f f i r m a t i v e to. t h i s question, \"since the p r e s t i g e and s a f e t y of the white population i n t h i s north!and might depend on the respect of these warlike, savages. In h i s Journal he s t a t e s that he d i d not plan a p u n i t i v e ex-p e d i t i o n h i m s e l f but waited f o r the a r r i v a l of the steamer to 485 overawe the n a t i v e s . I t i s obvious that one great advantage of such a v e s s e l was apparent to Work--one which has not been emphasized\u00E2\u0080\u0094that the appearance of a c r a f t proceeding without s a i l s or paddles and b e l c h i n g smoke would impress the n a t i v e s tremendously. f Unfavorable winds blowing i n t o the harbor kept Work at K a i g a n i u n t i l March 10th, when the vessel\"\" was . towed out by her boats i n the face of a southeast wind. Work had planned to r e t u r n to F o r t Simpson and go on to the Nass. Already he 484 T h i s i s an estimate o n l y since Work's e n t r i e s during h i s stay at J i a i g a n i are incomplete. 485 So e a r l y a reference to the Beaver i s i n t e r e s t i n g since she was only ordered i n 1834, c f . Iamb, W. Kaye, \"The Advent of the Beaver\"in B.C.H.Q., v o l . 2, no. 3, p. 167. 239 had been delayed eight days. Outside the harbor the Lama ran into a f u l l southeast gale on a lee shore and just managed to claw off. The gale continued until March 12th, when the wind gradually abated and shifted to the southwest. That same 486 day they passed Sayas Island and landed at 2 P.M. at Port 487 Simpson. Work had planned to c a l l at Tongass Harbor to trade on the way, but realized that the inhabitants might have already gone to the Nass River to fish. Work stayed for only four days at Port Simpson but long enough to chafe at the slowness of the construction of the fort. No f i l e s were to be had to sharpen the saws, which were used to whip saw boards. The. blacksmith, who made a l l the nails, was i l l . On the 17th of March a favorable wind enabled him to s a i l for the Nass River, where the lama anchor-488 \" ed in sight of the old fort. The Indians were there waiting for the l i t t l e f i s h called oolichans. The next day a few natives ventured aboard to examine trade goods and to check 486 Small Island which was used as a landmark well inside Dixon Entrance on the south side and near Port Simpson. 487 There are two harbors by this name mentioned in the Geographic Dictionary of Alaska. One i s on Annette Island just behind Point Percy which forms the southeast entrance to Clarence Strait. The other is on Tongass Island three or four miles east of Cape Pox. (cf. Geographical Dictionary of Alaska, p. 614 and p. 632) The f i r s t of these was named by the Russian Governor Etolin in 1833 and seems to be the one named by Work, since he also mentions Point Percy in his Journal. 488 The old fort was about twenty miles up the Nass Estuary on the north shore and near a large Indian village called Ewen Nass-\u00E2\u0080\u0094the selection of the spot (according to Walbran, John T., British Columbia Coast Names, Ottawa, Government Printing. Bureau, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 1909 , p. 394) was made by Captain A. Simpson. The site i s shown on Admiralty Chart, no. 2190, print in B.C. Archive-s, 240 on the p r i c e s , which were a blanket and a head of tobacco per b e a v e r \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e same p r i c e as at P o r t Simpson. Work managed to trade t h i r t y - f o u r beaver and f i f t y - t h r e e martens before the f l o c k i n g . g u l l s announced the a r r i v a l of f i s h . Then the Indians' I n t e r e s t i n trade ceased.- Work decided to c r u i s e elsewhere and to come back i n a month or two. They had h a r d l y 489 got out of the s t r a i t s and were bearing down on Clemanculty when'a s a i l was observed from the d i r e c t i o n of F o r t Simpson. . 490 I t was the American b r i g Europa, commanded by Captain A l l a n . A l l a n came aboard the lama and reported that he. l e f t the Sandwich Is l a n d s i n February and, had so f a r traded only a few s k i n s . From March 26th to 31st, the ships l a y at anchor near one another at Clemanculty. A l l t h i s time the Indians had been going from one ship to the other d i c k e r i n g over p r i c e s . Very few f u r s were traded and Work was completely out of patience with the whole s i t u a t i o n . On A p r i l 1st he took a rowboat and p a r t y across to F o r t Simpson to confer with James B i r n i e . The t r i p took. &\u00C2\u00A7 hours and i s nearer the. f i f t e e n m i l e s as shown on the chart than the eight m i l e s mentioned by Work. He returned the next day and at noon met the lama coming out to meet him. A sou'easter brewing, 489 Clemanculty or C l e m c i t t y has not been p o s i t i v e l y i d e n t i f i e d . I t may be T l e h o n s i t i on Tongass I s l a n d j u s t east of Cape Fox, a place which the Tongass Indians were, wont to v i s i t on t h e i r way to the Nass (of. Geog. D i e t , of A l a s k a , p. 632). 490 l e w i s & Dryden op. c i t . , p. 14, Morton reports that another American v e s s e l the B o l i v a r , was on the coast that season ( c f . Morton, op. c i t . , p. 726) 241 M c N e i l l decided to run to Z a i g a n i Harbor f o r s h e l t e r . As l u c k would have i t , the Europa followed them i n . Here, the two v e s s e l s stayed u n t i l A p r i l 8th. Neither had traded very much. On A p r i l 8th, the lama towed out again. So d i d the Europa. By n i g h t f a l l the l a t t e r was some distance ahead. Work decided to s a i l south among the i s l a n d s of the coast of B r i t i s h Columbia. In the morning they entered Canal d i 491 492 P r i n c i p e down which they s a i l e d to S e a l Harbor at i t s southern end. They had seen the Europa at anchor i n a bay i n the morning. She had come out to f o l l o w them but up to t h i s time had not caught up w i t h the lama. At Seal Harbor they f i r e d guns to announce t h e i r a r r i v a l to the Indians. The. n a t i v e s a r r i v e d next day w i t h news that t h e i r c h i e f had gone to P o r t McLoughlin w i t h most of t h e i r f u r s . Since but few f u r s were the r e f o r e a v a i l a b l e at Seal Harbor, Work decided to s a i l south to Yancouver I s l a n d 493 and touch at N a h w i t t i Harbor. Again they were delayed by unfavorable winds so t h a t i t was not u n t i l A p r i l 16th t h a t they hauled out around the south end of Banks I s l a n d . The next evening they were o f f Cape Swaine making only two knots i n a very l i g h t wind. Sunday, A p r i l 19th, saw them, eight or t e n m i l e s o f f Yancouver I s l a n d , at the entrance to Queen 491 Behind Banks Island and now c a l l e d P r i n c i p Channel,, c f . , A d m i r a l t y Chart 2025, ( p r i n t i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 492 Not i d e n t i f i e d . 493 N a h w i t t i Harbor i s on the northeast coast of Yan-couver I s l a n d . I t was l a t e r the s i t e of P o r t Rupert. \u00C2\u00A342 C h a r l o t t e Sound, On Monday, they a r r i v e d at N a h w i t t i , I t had been a slow tedious t r i p ' of one hundred and f o r t y m i l e s i n l i g h t and v a r i a b l e winds. At N a h w i t t i they d i d .a l i t t l e t r a d i n g , securing a few land o t t e r and marten but more mink than anything e l s e . They also traded some \"hiaquas\" or s h e l l money, c o n s i s t i n g of ' \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 - ,' 494 s t r i n g s of s h e l l s , worth so much a fathom.. The Europa a r r i v e d about noon on Wednesday, A p r i l 22nd. A l l a n had followed them to S e a l Harbor but obtained few f u r s t here. He had been fo r t u n a t e enough to get f a i r winds to enable him. to reach N a h w i t t i i n a t h i r t y - h o u r s a i l , much to Work's d i s g u s t , who hoped to have a l l - the f u r s before the Europa a r r i v e d . Again the exasperating parade of Indians began from boat to boat. \" I t i s annoying i n the extreme,\" wrote Work, 11 to see the. advantage which the black vagabonds endeavour to 495 make of t h i s circumstance.\" He yearned f o r the e s t a b l i s h -ment of uniform p r i c e s between himself and A l l a n . On A p r i l 25th, the s i g h t of a f r e s h l y k i l l e d beaver brought out h i s past years' t r a i n i n g as a trapper. I t made him look c r i t i c a l l y at the surrounding country as. a tr a p p i n g ground f o r beaver., \"There i s a small r i v e r , \" wrote Work, \" Pwhiohl f a l l s i n t o the head of the harbor which appears 496 remarkbly [sic] w e l l adapted f o r them,...\" The end of A p r i l a r r i v e d . Work was s t i l l , at N a h w i t t i . 494 Hodge, E.W., Handbook of American Indians, Washington, Government P r i n t i n g O f f i c e , 1912, part 2, p. 9 0 9 \u00E2\u0080\u0094 s p e l l e d variously.. : -495 Work, op. c i t . , entry f o r A p r i l 23, 1835. 496 I b i d . , entry f o r A p r i l 25, 1835. \u00C2\u00A343 He was- on the horns of a dilemma. T h i s place was a p r i n c i p a l centre f o r trade. Other Indian t r i b e s to whom messages had been sent were expected d a i l y , but had f a i l e d to a r r i v e . He would l i k e to l e a v e , but could.not r i s k l e a v i n g the Europa behind to gather i n any f u r s that these long-expected Indians might b r i n g . To date Work had traded, eight beaver, twenty-seven land o t t e r , twenty marten, one hundred and eleven mink, one sea-otter pup. On the 1st of May, he gave up hope of the other 'Indians a r r i v i n g and weighed anchor. That evening they were o f f Gape S c o t t , the northern t i p of Vancouver I s l a n d , i n a nasty cross sea' formed by a combination of the t i d e and a b r i s k northwest wind. In the morning of May End, the lama was abreast of Galvert I s l a n d . No s i g n was to be seen of 497 the Eur op a.. Work supposed that she had gone to N a s p a t t i . Work, h i m s e l f , intended r e t u r n i n g to the Nass i n the hopes of p i c k i n g up the f u r s which he f a i l e d to get on h i s previous v i s i t . The Lama s a i l e d n o r t h i n fog and unfavorable wind. By May 9th, they were o f f Skidegate Harbor, on the east coast of the Queen C h a r l o t t e I s l a n d s . / The Indians were at f i r s t too shy to come aboard and Work suggests that the reason may have been that they feared r e p r i s a l s f o r the- \"Vancouver\" a f f a i r s ince they were r e l a t e d to the g u i l t y t r i b e . Two days l a t e r the Lama moved up the i n l e t at Skidegate about f i v e 497 In M s entry f o r A p r i l : 25th, Work spoke ofl N a s p a t t i as being a.harbor to the southward. On May 2nd, he mentions N a s p a t t i as near Woody Point,.which i d e n t i f i e s t h i s p l a c e as N a s p a r t i , near Woody P o i n t or Cape Cook, on the west coast of Vancouver I s l a n d ( c f . , B r i t i s h Columbia P i l o t , London, Hydrographic O f f i c e , The A d m i r a l t y , 1888, p. 333.) 244 m i l e s , to a good, anchorage. Here, they traded a l i t t l e f u r and bought some potatoes. Work noted t h a t , while these people spoke the same language as those who plundered the schooner Vancouver, they d i d not seem to possess any of the l o o t from her. On May 13th, they set s a i l from Skidegate. Work had intended to v i s i t an anchorage c a l l e d Skiddoon Harbour 498 on the West Side of Banks I s l a n d . However, the winds were too l i g h t and v a r i a b l e so t h a t he decided to s a i l d i r e c t l y to the Haas i n order to beat the Europa there. They reached the Nass at midnight on May 15th and found the Europa already at anchor. Captain A l l a n had already done some t r a d i n g . Work had to increase h i s p r i c e s , since A l l a n ' s blankets were adm i t t e d l y , b e t t e r than h i s . The p r i c e of one l a r g e beaver 499 was one b l a n k e t , three g a l l o n s of Indian rum, and s i x heads of tobacco or a l t o g e t h e r seven g a l l o n s of rum. The Indians swarmed to the hama to get the b e n e f i t of these p r i c e s . Then Captain A l l a n a r r i v e d to f i n d out the Hudson's Bay t a r i f f . He met t h e i r s c a l e and Work r a i s e d h i s . a g a i n to a blanket, f i v e g a l l o n s of rum, and ten heads of tobacco, remarking as he d i d so t h a t i f the Europa's blankets were b e t t e r , the lama's rum and tobacco were more potent. Trading \ms d i l a t o r y f o r some days, s i n c e , as Work wrote, \"The n a t i v e s have got . 500 such an ample supply of l i q u o r , that they are i n no hurry.\" 498 T h i s spot has not been i d e n t i f i e d . The B.C. P i l o t does not l i s t any reasonable anchorages on the west side of\" Banks I s l a n d . 499 Indian rum c o n s i s t e d of rum..and water. Work was c e r t a i n l y breaking the Treaty of 1825 which forbade the s a l e of l i q u o r to the Indians. 500 Work, Journal 14, entry f o r May 18, 1835. \u00C2\u00A345 Captain A l l a n got under way i n the forenoon of May 19th, but returned again to h i s anchorage. Work had intended to f o l l o w him rather than continue t r a d i n g at these f a n t a s t i c p r i c e s and take h i s chance of g e t t i n g the remaining f u r s l a t e r at a lower p r i c e at the F o r t . F i n a l l y , on the 21st, the lama d i d set s a i l . A l t o g e t h e r they had traded: eight se a - o t t e r , eleven l a n d - o t t e r , two hundred and f i v e beaver, f i f t y - n i n e bear, f i f t y - t h r e e marten, three marten robes. Work was under the impression t h a t the Europa might have succeed-ed i n g e t t i n g a few more skins than he d i d . I t was not u n t i l May 23rd, that they came abreast of F o r t Simpson, Work and Captain M c N e i l l proceeded ashore i n a small boat, while the lama stood o f f and on. l a t e r M c N e i l l returned. alone w i t h a f u r t h e r supply of trade blankets-and orders to proceed to N a h w i t t i to trade with the t r i b e s they had missed. He had f u r t h e r orders to be back i n time to s a i l f o r the Columbia i n September. Work had decided to stay ashore at F o r t Simpson to speed the completion of the f o r t . One of Work's f i r s t cares was to supervise the c l e a r i n g of ground f o r potato p l a n t i n g . The task was a t e r r i b l e one, since the ground was f u l l of the t y p i c a l stumps and matted r o o t s of the northern coast. By great e f f o r t , five-eighths of an acre had been already cleared and planted. Now h i s men were engaged on a s i m i l a r p l o t . One day, one of t h e i r axes was s t o l e n by a v i s i t i n g Indian. H i s ch i e f i n t e r -f e r e d on behalf of the Company and the t h i e f shot and k i l l e d the c h i e f . T h i s d i v i d e d the band (a p a r t y of Cumshewa 246 Indians from Cumshewa I n l e t on the Queen C h a r l o t t e Islands) i n t o two groups, one f a v o r i n g the c h i e f and the other the malefactor. Outside the F o r t , these Indians argued and q u a r r e l l e d . F i n a l l y , they got- down to shooting at one another. At l a s t they held a p a r l e y and decided against the murderer. He managed to escape hut was declared an e x i l e and h i s property c o n f i s c a t e d . While t h i s went on the whites ceased work and stayed w i t h i n the confines of the f o r t , not knowing when the v i o l e n c e of these Indians might he d i r e c t e d against them. I t was not u n t i l June 1 s t , that these n a t i v e s f i n a l l y l e f t the l o c a l i t y . The s t o l e n axe had not been returned and Work at the time d i d not press the matter, f e e l -i n g that enough v i o l e n c e had heen committed. However, i t was h i s o p i n i o n that sooner or l a t e r they would have to he punished since they might i n t e r p r e t Hudson's Bay forbearance as weakness. Once more- the d a i l y r o u t i n e went on--draining, l e v e l -l i n g and hoeing the l a n d . Then again they were i n t e r r u p t e d and c a l l e d w i t h i n the p r o t e c t i o n of the f o r t by an a r r i v a l of Mas set Indians; some going home** from the Nass and some just a r r i v i n g from the Queen C h a r l o t t e s . There were t h i r t y canoes i n a l l . Work was t a k i n g no chances of a s u r p r i s e a t t a c k . I t was at t h i s time that he saw the f i r s t a r t i c l e from, the l o o t e d Yancouver, a teacup which the Indians b r a z e n l y o f f e r e d f o r s a l e . On the next day, ninety-one canoes of the F o r t Simpson Indians returned from the Nass R i v e r . On June 8th, the Massets l e f t . That day Work found out t h a t t h i s was the t r i b e which had plundered the schooner, f o r the Masset c h i e f came to the F o r t gates i n a h a l f h e a r t e d attempt to patch t h i n g s up. \u00C2\u00A347 Work t r i e d to l u r e him. i n s i d e where he could he. punished, hut without success. l a t e r he learned that unexpected consequences might have followed, had he been s u c c e s s f u l i n s e i z i n g the Masset c h i e f . The Fort Simpson Indians had been wa i t i n g and hoping that the seizure might take place and then they had intended to a t t a c k and p i l l a g e the l e a d e r l e s s Massets. On June. l\u00C2\u00A3th, news was brought t h a t four vessels, were i n K a i g a n i Harbor. The Lama, the Buropa, the American b r i g B o l i v a r , and an u n i d e n t i f i e d v e s s e l commanded by a Captain Bancroft. During the month of June, amidst I n t e r r u p t i o n s , the r o u t i n e work of the f o r t was c a r r i e d on. The development of the garden continued. The r e s t of the potatoes were planted and seven hundred cabbage p l a n t s as w e l l . Charcoal p i t s were dug, f i l l e d and f i r e d to f u r n i s h charcoal f o r the ever-busy blacksmith. The temporary bark r o o f s on the b u i l d -ings were replaced w i t h permanent ones. The c l e a r i n g around the f o r t was completed and stumps and l o g s cleared away. Indians kept'coming ana going so that a c e r t a i n amount of t r a d i n g took p l a c e , l i m i t e d however, by the news th a t competitors were i n the neighborhood. Work had attempted to lower the t a r i f f to the u s u a l one of a blanket per beaver, and then had to r a i s e i t to a blanket and three g a l l o n s of rum. He consoled himself w i t h the thought that p r i c e s could be lowered as soon as American competition ceased. I t i s I n t e r e s t i n g to note that a considerable supply of potatoes was exchanged from the Indians. A l l through t h i s j o u r n a l , S48 Work n o t i c e d the quarrelsome nature of these n a t i v e s . He was c o n t i n u a l l y witnessing murders, or watching p i t c h e d b a t t l e s w i t h firearms break out between f a m i l i e s or t r i b e s . In J u l y , the garden began.to y i e l d a few r a d i s h e s , l e t t u c e and c r e s s . The potatoes had begun to show a few weeks before hut were growing very slowly i n the wet, c o l d , peaty s o i l . Not u n t i l J u l y 12. t h d i d they begin to flower. On the End of August, Work again.reported on the garden. The potatoes were very uneven. Peas were coming along w e l l . The Indian corn which had been planted d i d not appear to be going to r i p e n . In August, Work made h i s l a s t garden report f o r t h a t f i r s t year. Potatoes had a f t e r a l l , done f a i r l y w e l l , but had gone p a r t l y to tops. The cabbages and c a r r o t s were very s u c c e s s f u l . On J u l y 3, 1835, the American b r i g B o l i v a r , command-ed by Captain Dominus a r r i v e d . She had been at K a i g a n i w i t h the Europa and the lama. A l l three ships had gone to Eort McLoughlin. Erom the l a t t e r p l a c e , the B o l i v a r and the Lama had proceeded to N a h w i t t i , where each secured between f i v e hundred and s i x hundred beaver. Dominus announced that another American ship intended to v i s i t the coast during the next season. The news made. Work very pessimistic\". H i s thoughts ran i n t h i s v e i n . The more competition which e x i s t e d , the l e s s p r o f i t was p o s s i b l e . Moreover the supply of beaver was already becoming depleted. Then to make a bad s i t u a t i o n worse, he f e l t that the Americans looked upon t h i s coast trade as a stop-gap, whereas i t was a p a r t of the e s s e n t i a l economy of the Hudson's Bay Company. The American ships s o l d most 249 of their cargo in the Sandwich Islands and then visited the Russians i n Alaska. What they had l e f t , they dumped on the Indians for whatever i t would bring, since their profits were 501 already made. It is not possible to ascertain whether Work . knew of the solution to the problem\u00E2\u0080\u0094namely an agreement between the. Russian American Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. However, i t was not until an agreement was carried out in 1839 between these Companies, that the latter could forget the threat of American competition. Captain McNeill arrived i n the lama from Nahwitti on July 4th. He had visited that place as well as Kaigani and Fort Mcloughlin as reported. Most of his trading had.been done at Nahwitti. A l l furs in the lama were brought ashore at Fort Simpson. The salmon season was about to start on the coast so that Work supplied McNeill with considerable salt with orders to secure f i s h i f possible, \"but as he has our opponents to look after he is directed not to run the 502 risk of losing beaver for the sake of Salmon.\" On July 11th, the lama in company with the Bolivar, set s a i l for Kaigani. The next day some Indians arrived with the f i r s t fresh salmon of the season. The fresh f i s h was a welcome change from the tedious diet of salted salmon. Day after day the Indians brought an Increasing amount of fresh or newly-dried salmon to the Fort. Work lamented that his people had no salmon nets of their own to secure these fish, which were 501 Work, John, Journal, July 1-Ootober 27 1835 (here-after referred to as Journal 15), entry for July 3, 1835. 502 .Work,- op. c i t . , entry for July 8, 1835. 250 no*' p l e n t i f u l as J u l y advanced. So p l e n t i f u l d i d they become, that Dr. Kennedy w i t h a f a i r degree of success, went out spearing salmon by t o r c h l i g h t . While salmon were secured and stored f o r winter provender, the men continued work i n and around the F o r t . The main d w e l l i n g house was f l o o r e d and p a r t i t i o n e d ; two hundred b a r r e l s of charcoal were manufactured f o r the b l a c k -smith. On J u l y 26th, the men s t a r t e d c l e a r i n g the l a n d i n g place of stumps and branches. This proved a tedious and d i f f i c u l t t a s k since the stumps proved too heavy to f l o a t and too wet to burn. A l l d e b r i s had, t h e r e f o r e , to be dragged l a b o r i o u s l y away. No sooner was t h i s completed than they commenced squaring timber f o r a k i t c h e n , making ladders f o r the g a l l e r y i n s i d e the stockade, and manufacturing t a b l e s and bedsteads f o r the dwelling-house. During August, the Indians began to b r i n g an i n c r e a s -ing amount of f u r . *0n August 14th, a canoe of S t i k i n e Indians sold Work seventy-six beaver, one beaver robe and another of marten. These Indians kept back twenty beaver skins which they traded with the l o c a l Indians f o r s l a v e s . S l a v e r y was s t i l l common among the Indians on the whole coast. These n a t i v e s also brought the welcome news tha t the t r a d i n g goods of the Lama and the Europa were n e a r l y exhausted, the l a t t e r had even s o l d the ship's muskets f o r f u r s . T h i s news was welcome since i t showed that M c N e i l l had run into some good t r a d i n g and t h a t Captain A l l a n although s u c c e s s f u l , must now leave the coast. The B o l i v a r had already set s a i l on August 10th f o r C a l i f o r n i a , where Captain Dominus intended to trade 251 and to hunt s e a - o t t e r . On August 25th, both the lama and the Europa a r r i v e d at Eort Simpson from. Tongass. As expected both ships had a s u r p r i s i n g q u a n t i t y of f u r . The lama had secured: t h i r t y - e i g h t s e a-otter, nine l a n d - o t t e r , t h i r t y - o n e bear, f o r t y - s i x marten, t h i r t y - e i g h t mint, seven hundred and seven-teen beaver. The l a r g e number of beaver was e s p e c i a l l y welcome since Work had only dared to hope f o r about two hundred. M c N e i l l had f a l l e n i n w i t h a l a r g e hand of S t i k i n e Indians at Tongass, where they had come to buy s l a v e s . The place was an e s t a b l i s h -ed slave market. Work was at a l o s s to understand why the Indians had not so l d the bulk of t h e i r f u r to the Russian post at S t i k i n e . H i s only surmise was that the Indians had quar-r e l l e d w i t h the Russians, or had heard of the higher p r i c e s o f f e r e d by the competing s h i p s . He confirmed the s t o r y that A l l a n had s o l d n e a r l y everything he had, even h i s ship's p r o v i s i o n s . The E o r t , too, was running out of trade goods, e s p e c i a l l y b l a n k e t s , and moreover, was short of s u p p l i e s f o r the men. Work hoped th a t the supply ship would a r r i v e before the Lama had to leave f o r the Columbia. In t h i s shortage, the Europa was able to help out, since Captain A l l a n s o l d Work the l a s t of h i s surplus s u p p l i e s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 o n e thousand pounds of tobacco, three b a r r e l s of beef, one of pork and four boxes of soap. On Monday August 31st, Work spent h i s day i n re-engag-in g the men.. Some refused to s i g n again, wishing to r e t u r n to Canada. A few wanted higher pay. Of those which he r e -engaged none objected to Eort Simpson, but not one would 252 agree to go to Port Mcloughlin. Enough men were signed on f o r the season. M c l o u g h l i n had recommended f i f t e e n as a s u f f i c i e n t number but i n view of the tasks s t i l l to be done and the presence of such large' numbers of h o s t i l e Indians, 'fork arranged f o r twenty men and two gentlemen (Messrs. Kennedy and B i r n i e ) . Ten men would r e t u r n to the Columbia. I n the next few days, a l l f u r s were packed and the. 1835 inventory made up f o r the lama and the P o r t . Altogether 1839 beaver and a good v a r i e t y of other skins had been secured. Added to these was a q u a n t i t y of whale o i l and castoreum. Work estimated the t o t a l value at \u00C2\u00A35,700, which was b e t t e r than he expected, In the face of such a c t i v e o p p o s i t i o n . On September 8th, the lama with Work aboard, set s a i l f o r Port Yancouver. Work took w i t h them twenty bags of . pease and one hundred and twenty pounds of grease f o r Port M c l o u g h l i n l e s t anything happen to prevent-the annual supply .ship reaching t h a t 'place. He also planned to v i s i t Skidegate to secure a q u a n t i t y of potatoes f o r Port Mcloughlin but was prevented from doing so. With a favorable wind, the lama ran i n close to Port Mcloughlin^ on August 9th, and Work went on ahead to the P o r t i n a small boat. The ship reached there the next afternoon. Work had planned to take the f u r s out to the ship by s m a l l boat i n s t e a d of b r i n g i n g the ship up the d i f f i c u l t passage to the P o r t . He abandoned t h i s idea because the Indians were d e f i n i t e l y u n f r i e n d l y . They blamed the e s t a b l i s h -ment of the P o r t f o r the lower p r i c e s they had r e c e i v e d f o r f u r s , since competing v e s s e l s d i d not come In so o f t e n . They .255 blamed the Port f o r taking t h e i r plaoe as middle men i n the 503 f u r trade between-the mountain. Indians and the white men. When the inventory was taken here, Work found that the McLoughlin- returns consisted of 1051 l a r g e beaver and some other s k i n s , p r i n c i p a l l y three hundred marten. The estimated value .of these r e t u r n s was \u00C2\u00A32,095, l e s s than l a s t year, but not bad i n view of the \"hot o p p o s i t i o n \" . For both F o r t s Simpson and McLoughlin, Work stressed the need of q u a n t i t i e s of cheap b r i g h t trade goods such as c a l i c o , handkerchiefs, v e r m i l i o n and combs to o b t a i n the s m a l l f u r s which were o f f e r e d f o r s a l e . At F o r t McLoughlin only s i x men would re-engage. In Work's opi n i o n t h i s was due to the bad food and i n p a r t i c -504 u l a r the method of smoking salmon. The d u t i e s there were a c t u a l l y l i g h t e r than at F o r t Simpson since the F o r t was now completed. 'Arork s t i l l lamented not c a l l i n g i n at Skidegate f o r potatoes; however, a favorable wind to Milbanke Sound and the n e c e s s i t y of having to c a l l i n at Fort Langley l a t e r prevented him from doing so. Work's l a s t i n s t r u c t i o n to Manson was that he should r a i s e h i s p r i c e f o r beaver to one blanket and one g a l l o n of rum. On September 13th, they set s a i l f o r F o r t Langley. 503 The S t i k i n e Indians had expressed the same h o s t i l i t y to the Hudson's Bay Company's attempt to e s t a b l i s h a post up the S t i k i n e R i v e r ( o f . , Davidson, Donald C., \"Hudson's Bay and Russian American R e l a t i o n s \" i n B.C.E.Q., v o l . 5, p. 42). 504 The method of curing salmon at F o r t McLoughlin c o n s i s t e d of d r y i n g them i n smoke. No f u r t h e r d e t a i l s of t h i s have been found to add to Work's e x p l a n a t i o n , ( o f . Journal 15, entry f o r September 7, 1835). 254 Hwo days l a t e r they were o f f S c o t t ' s i s l a n d s (twenty m i l e s west of Cape Scott at the northern end of Vancouver I s l a n d ) . 505 The wind was l i g h t with r a i n y , hasy weather. In the morning of the 18th, they were f i f t e e n - m i l e s o f f Kootka Sound and maintained t h a t distance o f f the land a l l day. On the 19th and 20th of September, they heat hack and f o r t h i n f o g , o f f the S t r a i t s of Juan de Fuca, before entering and anchoring at Neah Bay. I t was not u n t i l the 23rd, that they got as f a r as Dungeness at 11 o'clock i n the morning and to Rosario S t r a i t i n the l a t e afternoon. No entry appears i n Work's f i f t e e n t h journal f o r Thursday, September 24th. He had l e f t the ship at Po i n t Roberts at 2 P.M. i n the v e s s e l ' s long boat and g i g , and a f t e r t r a v e l l i n g a l l n i g h t a r r i v e d at Port Langley before breakfast on F r i d a y morning. H i s purpose was t o secure another boat known to be at the Port and by h i r i n g some b i g Indian canoes, move'all the f u r s and s a l t salmon down the r i v e r and to save the lama the d i f f i c u l t and often tedious job of moving upstream. The p l a n had to be abandoned since the boat proved unseaworthy and'the canoes could not be obtained. Word was sent to M c N e i l l to b r i n g the Lama up to the F o r t . Work does not give the amount of f u r s taken at Langley but mentions that the f u r r e t u r n s and salmon pack were not v ery s a t i s f a c t o r y , due i n the o p i n i o n of James Tale who was i n charge of the f o r t , to competition i n the case of the 505 Work was not sure of h i s n a u t i c a l terms f o r he speaks of \"knots an hour\". ( c f . , Work, op. c i t . , entry f o r September 16, 1835). 255 506 former and the poor run. of good salmon, I n the l a t t e r . He spent the day with. Yale going oyer the farm and the f i e l d s 507 around the Fart.-I t was not u n t i l the 2nd of Octoher that the lama f i n a l l y a r r i v e d . In the meantime i n s t r u c t i o n s a r r i v e d from Dr. McLoughlin at F o r t Vancouver, dated September 7th, d i r e c t -i n g Work to proceed w i t h the lama to N i s q u a l l y a f t e r l o a d i n g the F o r t l a n g l e y r e t u r n s . He was ordered to take there twelve b a r r e l s of salmon and t h i r t y - f i v e bushels of pease and to load a l l spare g r a i n w i t h the r e s t of the salmon f o r the Columbia. Work was a l i t t l e confounded by the l a s t i n s t r u c t i o n since the grain'was not yet threshed and even i f i t had been, he doubted the capacity of the Lama, to c a r r y i t a l l . F i n a l l y , Work was ordered to q u i t the Lama at l ; i s q u a l l y and proceed overland to take charge of the annual supply ship f o r the 508 n o r t h since the ship from England a r r i v e d too l a t e to make the t r i p up the coast. Work decided to act independently of McLoughlin\"s orders by sending the Lama d i r e c t l y to the Columbia so as not to cause an a d d i t i o n a l delay' at N i s q u a l l y . The barrels, of salmon and the supply of pease f o r N i s q u a l l y , would be sent there by a l a r g e Indian canoe. The N i s q u a l l y f u r s could go overland to the Columbia by the r e t u r n i n g men f o r whom there 506 By good salmon, Yale probably means the sock-eye f o r which the r i v e r i s famous. 507 A good d e s c r i p t i o n of the p l a n t i n g and the y i e l d f o r 1835 i s given In h i s Journal ( o f . , Journal 15, entry f o r September 26, 1835). 508 The Ganymede which reached Fort Vancouver, J u l y 30, 1835, H.B.S., IV, p. 137. 256 was no room on the lama anyway. By October 7, 1835, the canoes had been purchased and the lama was ready to s a i l . I t was not u n t i l the 12th th a t they groped t h e i r way through fog to the mouth of the r i v e r , going aground and warping o f f once on the way. The canoes,for N i s q u a l l y were towed behind the lama. A l l went w e l l u n t i l that n i g h t , when the canoes were damaged by s u r f beyond r e p a i r . T h i s destroyed Work's c a r e f u l l y l a i d p l a n . He now decided to get a canoe from the Indians and leave the lama, and proceed to N i s q u a l l y and thence overland to the Columbia, since the lama on a r r i v a l at Port Yancouver must go back to the coast immediately w i t h winter supplies f o r the p o s t s , and c e r t a i n preparations were necessary. On October 15th, they anchored o f f Port Townsend and secured two canoes of very i n d i f f e r e n t q u a l i t y . The next day Work l e f t i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r M c N e i l l to proceed to the Columbia without delay, ascend the R i v e r to Yancouver i f the. . v e s s e l f o r England had not come downstream to Port George, or i f i t had to remain at the l a t t e r place awaiting i n s t r u c t i o n s . With the goods f o r N i s q u a l l y {not i n c l u d i n g the salmon) he set o f f f o r the P o r t and a r r i v e d there on the 19th. Here, Work found K i t t s o n , who was i n charge,.and h i s people, a l l i n good h e a l t h . He planned to leave the next day w i t h two men,.a boy and an Indian. H i s men were to f o l l o w with the f u r s , about ten packs, on the 22nd. Po l i o w i n g the usual route from the head of Puget Sound, he reached the C o w l i t z R i v e r on the October 22nd. A f t e r a short delay caused by a missing canoe and the \" d i e i n g \" wife of the guide, he proceeded down the C o w l i t z to the 257 Columbia. Heavy r a i n which changed to snow, made t h e i r jour-ney wet and miserable, soaking and benumbing the p a r t y . A l l along the banks the heavy wet snow f l a t t e n e d the willows and t o r e the limbs o f f the l a r g e r t r e e s . On October 24th, at 4 E.M. he reached F o r t Yancouver. Word was sent on October 26th to F o r t George to d i r e c t M c N e i l l to b r i n g the lama up the r i v e r . On the 27th, the l a s t of Work's f i f t e e n journals breaks o f f . 258 CHAPTER XI Eort-Simpson and Eort Yictoria, 1886-1861. John Work l e f t the-.Columbia River in January 509 1836, t'o-return to Eort Simpson where he arrived on board the Lama on February 20th. Here, he set up his headquarters and exercised supervision over the posts, and shipping on the coast. His control was not complete, or to express i t more exactly, Work's position was that of a f i e l d superintendent subject to the whim of John McLoughlin, who did not hesitate to change arrangements from time to time. Chief Factor 510 Duncan Finlayson, who arrived on the coast in 1831, was given command of the shipping u n t i l he l e f t the Columbia in 1837. After Finlayson l e f t , James Douglas began to carry 511 out much the same duties, so that between the two, Work found his powers restricted. However, until 1840, Work was regularly employed at Fort Simpson and usually, as a check of his letters show, brought the coast returns to Fort Yancouver each f a l l . Until the agreement with the Russian American Fur Company was reached in 1839, Work had to put up with the 509 Work to E. Ermatinger, Columbia River, January 1, 1836, (original in B.C. Archives). 510 Duncan Finlayson. was equal in rank to John McLoughlin and seems, to have been sent out as McLoughlin1 s second-in-command, with the idea of succeeding him at some later date. He l e f t the Columbia in 1837, (of. H.B.S., IY, p. x c v i i i , f f ) . 511 Sage, Douglas, p. 88. 259 exasperating competition -of American s h i p s . In 1836 two 512 v e s s e l s were on the coast, so t h a t the extravagant p r i c e s of 1835 and the u n l i m i t e d s a l e of l i q u o r had to he continued. . The Hudson's. Bay Company even descended to the p r a c t i c e of s t r e t c h i n g the \"blanketa which were sold to the Indiana i n 513 order Jo match the s i z e of those s o l d by the Americana. To make matters worse f o r trade, a small-pox epidemic spread among the Indians. But even under these adverse circum-stances the combined operations of ships and northern posts 514 showed a p r o f i t of \u00C2\u00A32962 f o r the o u t f i t of 1836. The. year 1837 was more fortunate f o r the trade. Small-pox was s t i l l rampant among the n a t i v e s , but no American ships appeared t h a t year. Work's accounts showed n e a r l y 515 double the p r o f i t of the previous year; \u00C2\u00A35162. i n a l l , from Ships and posts. Work's f u r l o u g h f e l l due i n 1857-8. For. some time he had been p l a y i n g w i t h the idea of v i s i t i n g 516 Canada and even thought of a t r i p to England. The thought of t a k i n g h i s f a m i l y to a land where they might not f i t i n , or the a l t e r n a t i v e ' of being separated from them., deterred him from, going. However, the winter of 1837-8 provided Work 512 The Lagrange (Captain Snow) and.the Beabody (Captain Moore). 513 M c l o u g h l i n to Governor and Committee, F o r t Yancouver, November 15, 1836, i n H.B.S. IV, p. 162. 514 H.B.S., IY, p. 286. 515 Loo. c i t . See a l s o Work to E. Ermatinger, N.W. Coast America, February 10,1838, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. Archives) 516 Work to Simpson, March 17, 1854. Simpson Correspond-ence, Hudson's Bay A r c h i v e s , D.4/127. See also Tod to E. Ermatinger, Oxford House, J u l y 12, 1838, i n Ermatinger Papers, 260 with, a c e r t a i n amount of excitement, unpleasant though i t was. Mutiny broke out on the steamer Bearer, while i t was l a i d up that winter at F o r t Simpson. The whole crew, except mates, carpenter, cook and wood-cutters were in v o l v e d . Work 517 sta t e d i n a l e t t e r to Edward Ermatinger, that the reason f o r the mutiny was the f a c t t h a t the crew objected to serving under a Yankee master, Captain M c N e i l l . In i t s i n i t i a l stage the t r o u b l e seemed to have been confined to two members of 518 the crew whom,McNeill flogged f o r t h e i r i n s o l e n t a t t i t u d e . T h i s made the whole crew mutiny and Work was c a l l e d i n to s e t t l e the problem. Nothing t h a t Work could do would make them serve under M c N e i l l . Douglas attached the f o l l o w i n g c o n f i d e n t i a l . r e p o r t to h i s l e t t e r of Octoher 18, 1838 to the Governor and Committee i n London; Mr. Work seems to have been staggered, by the general discontent and decided tone of the \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 r i o t e r s , & being at the. same time, anxious, to get the v e s s e l ready f o r sea, as the season was advancing, he y i e l d e d to t h e i r i n j u s t i f i -able [sic] demands so f a r , as to assume the command of the v e s s e l himself; when order was re s t o r e d on board, and a l l hands promptly returned to duty. In t h i s st.ate w i t h Mr. Work Master, and M c N e i l l a 'simple passenger, the v e s s e l reached E o r t Nisqually,....519 517 Work to E. Ermatinger, N.W. Coast America, February 10, 1858, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 518 Bancroft, H i s t o r y of Northwest Coast, v o l . 2, pp. 638-9. The same s t o r y i s t o l d i n a more r e s t r a i n e d tone \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 i n Douglas's l e t t e r to Governor and Committee, F o r t Yancouver, October 18, 1838, (H.B.S., IY, pp. 246-7).. 519 This excerpt i s from attachment 4 appended to Douglas's l e t t e r as c i t e d i n the preceding note. I t was secured through Dr. Lamb. 261 At N i s q u a l l y , four of the men were taken i n t o custody, M c N e i l l was r e i n s t a t e d in.command and Work returned to Fort Simpson.' Nothing very much has \"been found about Work's move-ments at Port Simpson during 1838. Douglas ordered him to u t i l i z e the Beaver \" e x p l o r i n g the Canals and i n l e t s of Queen C h a r l o t t e ' s Sound\". In October 1839 Work paid one of h i s ' ' 521 p e r i o d i c v i s i t s to Port Vancouver on the steamer Beaver, probably to b r i n g i n the annual returns from Port Simpson and the other northern posts. While on the Columbia he a s s i s t e d i n surveying property f o r the Puget Sound A g r i c u l t u r a l Com-pany at C o w l i t z , a survey which a s s i s t e d the Hudson's Bay i n e s t a b l i s h i n g i t s c l a i m before the j o i n t commission a f t e r the 522 boundary question was s e t t l e d i n 1846. This p r o j e c t was organized by Mc l o u g h l i n i n 1838-39 during h i s stay In England. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 In 1840 i t s c a p i t a l i z a t i o n was f i x e d at \u00C2\u00A3200,000 to be he l d i n \u00C2\u00A3100 shares by the o f f i c e r s of the Hudson's Bay Company. I t i s not known whether John Work Invested i n the venture. The formation of the Puget Sound A g r i c u l t u r a l Com-pany d o v e t a i l e d w i t h the agreement between the Hudson's. Bay Company and the Hussian American\" Pur Company i n 1839, an agree-ment which was to make a considerable change i n Work's, p o s i t i o n on the coast. Besides the clauses of the agreement al r e a d y 520 Douglas to Governor and Committee, Port Vancouver, October 18, 1838, (H..B.3., IV, p. 245). 521 Y/ork to Ermatinger, Steamer Beaver, October 24,1839 ( o r i g i n a l s i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 522 A r c h i b a l d McDonald to E. Ermatinger, P o r t C o l v i l e , A p r i l 2nd, 1840 ( i n l e t t e r s to Edward Ermatinger 1828-1856,\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 pp. 9 6-97). See also Bancroft, History\" of Northwest Coast, v o l . 2, p. 615. 523 S 6 S c i t e d , the claims which the Hudson's Bay Company had made against the Russian American Company f o r t h e i r r e f u s a l to al l o w Ogden to b u i l d a post on the S t i k i n e , i n 1834, were now withdrawn. The Hudson's Bay Company planned to proceed immediately w i t h the occupation of the Russian post at S t i k i n e 524 and the e r e c t i o n of other f o r t s on the leased t e r r i t o r y . A c c o r d i n g l y Douglas took charge f o r the f i r s t year a f t e r the agreement, going n o r t h to S i t k a to arrange matters w i t h the Russians and then r e t u r n i n g to take oyer the f o r t at S t i k i n e from. them, and to b u i l d P o r t Taku. When he returned to Port Vancouver he found h i s commission as Chief Factor awaiting him.. At the same time Captain M c N e i l l was made Chief Trader In charge of the Beaver. Between M c N e i l l as shipmaster-t r a d e r on the one hand and Douglas as supervisor of the trade w i t h the Russians on the other, Work l o s t c o n t r o l of every-t h i n g of importance except F o r t Simpson. So, at l e a s t , i t seemed to him; ' ' 4 Here I f i l l , , w i t h the exception of the. Depots, one of the most important s i t u a t i o n s i n the Country, before 1 came to i t i t had created a heavy l o s s since then i t has r e a l i z e d a hand-some g a i n Notwithstanding the o p p o s i t i o n and other d i f f i c u l t i e s we had to contend w i t h yet t h i s i t . seems d i d not g i v e s a t i s f a c t i o n . Mr. Douglas was sent on here l a s t summer as super-intend ant .[sic] . . . 5 2 5 Of t h i s demotion, i f i t can be so termed, no c l e a r -cut statement can be found. There i s c e r t a i n evidence that 523 See Chapter I, pp. 16-17. The f u l l t e x t of t h i s agreement i s to be found i n O l i v e r , Canadian North-West, v o l . 2, pp. 791-96. 524 O l i v e r , op. c i t . , p. 785. 525 Work to Edward Ermatinger, F o r t Simpson, February 15, 1841, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 265 Work had a u t h o r i t y beyond the stockade of Fort Simpson. For example, he was r e c e i v i n g agent f o r b i l l s of exchange i n favor of the Hudson's Bay Company from the Russian American 526 concern. Besides t h i s , i t i s obvious from a study of the F o r t Simpson l e t t e r - b o o k of 1841-44 that Fort Simpson was the d i s t r i b u t i n g centre f o r F o r t s S t i k i n e , Taku and Mcloughlin, To a l l of these posts, on occasion during t h i s p e r i o d , Work sent or withheld s u p p l i e s and c o l l e c t e d returns. On the other hand, i t i s e q u a l l y c l e a r t h a t f o r a time Work l o s t c o n t r o l and s u p e r v i s i o n of shipping and the northern posts. On May 16, 1842, he wrote as f o l l o w s to Mcloughlin, Since I was superseded i n 1840 I am l e f t i n t o t a l ignorance of those plans [Taku] and also of the Steamer so tha t I have no means of knowing how a f f a i r s go or how the balances are made out. 527 Two years l a t e r he wrote i n the same v e i n , Since I was degraded i n 1840 and the charge I p r e v i o u s l y h e l d taken out of my hands I have been'kept ignorant of the a f f a i r s of the Steamer and posts on the coast, except t h i s p l a c e , . . . . 528 Another i n d i c a t i o n of a c e r t a i n l o s s of p o s i t i o n l i e s i n the f a c t that a search of h i s correspondence reveals the f a c t t h a t between the years 1840 and 1845 he seems to have been immured at F o r t Simpson. Before and a f t e r those dates he came south 526 Work to Mc l o u g h l i n , F o r t Simpson, September 6, 1841, i n F o r t Simpson, Correspondence outward, 1841-1844. S i m i l a r l e t t e r s occur I n the same volume. 527 Work to Mc l o u g h l i n , F o r t Simpson, May 16, 1842, i n F o r t Simpson, Correspondence outward, 1841-44. 528 Work to M c l o u g h l i n , F o r t Simpson, February 26,1844, i n F o r t Simpson, Correspondence outward. 264 to P o r t Yancouver r e g u l a r l y . Wrote John Tod to Ermatinger, .. .he jWorkj f r e t s & worries h i m s e l f at the idea of being superseded i n h i s charge by a person subordinate- to himself\u00E2\u0080\u0094Now when I leave t h i s , were they to put a shoe b l a c k i n my place i t would not- give me one moments uneasiness. 529 This evidence seems somewhat'contradictory, but i t must be understood that McLoughlin was p r e t t y much a law unto h i m s e l f and could and d i d increase or cut down the amount of author-i t y allowed to h i s subordinates. Just why poor Work was put i n the shade i s not c l e a r . I t seems to be due to a number of causes. For a time he s u f f e r e d an e c l i p s e between the r i s i n g power of Douglas on the one hand and M c N e i l l on the other. Then three other thin g s brought a shadow on h i s r e p u t a t i o n \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h i n g s which were not d i r e c t l y h i s f a u l t but which cast doubt on h i s a b i l i t y as an a d m i n i s t r a t o r of a considerable area. Tliese were the mutiny : on the Beaver i n 1837, the d i f f e r e n c e of o p i n i o n over the r e l a t i v e m e r i t s of ships and posts between McLoughlin and Simpson into which Work was drawn, and l a s t l y a r ousing q u a r r e l between McLoughlin and Work over trade p o l i c i e s I n 1844. The f i r s t of these three has already been de a l t w i t h . The second came about d u r i n g and a f t e r the. v i s i t by Simpson to the Alaskan coast In 1841. As a r e s u l t of t h i s t r i p S i r George became thoroughly convinced that the Company would be w e l l advised to abandon P o r t s S t i k i n e and Taku i n favor of an 529 Tod to E. Ermatinger, Thomsons R i v e r , March 20, 1843, i n Ermatinger Papers. The \"person subordinate\" would appear to be Capt. M c N e i l l . ' LS 265 annual t r a d i n g e x p e d i t i o n by the steamer Beaver. Mcloughlin took the opposite view. When the Governor v i s i t e d F o r t Simpson he disoussed the matter w i t h Work, Douglas and M c N e i l l . What Work s a i d at that meeting i s not recorded but i t i s obvious that he f e l t trapped between the Governor's wishes and those of h i s immediate s u p e r i o r , Mcloughlin. He wrote to * ; 530 the l a t t e r on May 16, 1842 and reported h i s views. Hi:l e t t e r does not convey a. clea r - c u t opinion. He expresses doubt as to the c a p a b i l i t y and r e l i a b i l i t y of the Beaver, but he also p o i n t s out t h a t the steamer might save wages, time and personnel. I t seems c l e a r that. Mcloughlin doubted Work's support of h i s opinion. These doubts would not help Work's r e p u t a t i o n i n the eyes of the i r a s c i b l e John M c l o u g h l i n . The t h i r d of these- i n c i d e n t s l i e s i n the a l l e g e d f a i l u r e of Work to ca r r y out Mcloughlin'a i n s t r u c t i o n s . M c l o u g h l i n blamed Work f o r not sending the Beaver to the northern rendezvous 'during the winter (Forts M cloughlin and Taku had been abandoned i n 1843). Work 1s r e p l y was that the 531 o p p o s i t i o n i n Queen C h a r l o t t e Sound had to be dealt w i t h or furs-would be l o s t , that the northern rendezvous had been v i s i t e d i n September and the Indians would not be d e s t i t u t e of the means of hunting. Moreover, the na t i v e s d i d but l i t t l e 530 Work to M c l o u g h l i n , F o r t Simpson, May 16, 1842, i n F o r t Simpson, Correspondence outward, 1841-44.. 531 American Whaling ships appeared i n 1843 and wintered on the coast. They c a r r i e d a small amount of trade goods and report e d that they had succeeded i n g e t t i n g 300 beaver and 30 s e a - o t t e r . Work thought they exaggerated. 266 hunting i n the winter. He claimed that Captain Duncan of the Beaver knew of t h i s o p p o sition and had t o l d McLoughlin of i t . McLoughlin also blamed Work f o r a l l o w i n g the steamer to b r i n g three men involved i n the murder of John McLoughlin J r . , south to N i s q u a l l y and then c r i t i c i s e d him f o r having then allowed the Beaver to l o i t e r there and at Y i c t o r i a and F o r t Langley, while the o p p o s i t i o n preyed on the trade at Queen Gharlotte Sound. Work's r e p l y to t h i s was that he had commanded Manson and Captain Duncan to b r i n g the steamer to Point,Mudge, and to go beyond t h i s point only i f the Cadboro ( i n tow) found the wind unfavorable to enable her to s a i l to N i s q u a l l y i n time to catch the S p r i n g Express to send the three men east f o r t r i a l . Work a l l e g e d that the wind had not been unfavorable and that Manson had been wrong i n t a k i n g Duncan and the Beaver to N i s q u a l l y . Moreover, Work i n s i s t e d t hat Manson should have- accepted the blame himself when he a r r i v e d at F o r t Yancouver w i t h the men. C e r t a i n l y , Work''s i n s t r u c t i o n s to Manson and to Duncan were quite d e f i n i t e , but McLoughlin chose to blame Work f o r not i n s i s t i n g t h a t Duncan c a r r y out h i s orders. I t might be noted here that i f McLoughlin knew of the presence of the Beaver at N i s q u a l l y i t would have been e a s i e r f o r him to i n s i s t , than i t would 522 have been f o r Work at F o r t Simpson to do so. The l a s t straw f o r 'fork was a set of s i x notes from McLoughlin which min-u t e l y set down standing r u l e s f o r the steamer. Work's r e p l y 532 C e r t a i n l y Work thought so (of. Work to Simpson Fo r t Simpson, October 8, 1844, Hudson's Bay Archives, D.5/12 #402), ' ' 5 \u00C2\u00A367 to M cloughlin d i d not mince words. I have been some \u00C2\u00A30 years under your orders and you have not before found i t necessary to censure me f o r any d e v i a t i o n from i n s t r u c -t i o n s . You w r i t e to me i n d e t a i l as i f I had never known anything at a l l about the business or indeed taken any i n t e r e s t i n i t . Nevertheless your I n s t r u c t i o n s s h a l l be adherred [si 6} to / to the l e t t e r so f a r as i t r e s t s w i t h me; but I s h a l l d e c l i n e being responsible f o r the r e s u l t . 533 In a p r i v a t e l e t t e r Work begged M c l o u g h l i n i n a more subdued .tone to reverse h i s -judgment and to remember what e f f e c t such an adverse report would have on h i s r e p u t a t i o n at headquarters, f o r the former knew that M c l o u g h l i n would report to Simpson 534 on the matter. Work f e l t s t r o n g l y enough to present h i s side . 5 3 5 o f the case to Simpson p e r s o n a l l y . How Simpson f e l t we do not know, but i t i s reason-able to expect that he d i d not blame Work too much. The governor h i m s e l f had reason to doubt M c l o u g h l i n 1 s own judgment i n two matters, the f i r s t , the l a t t e r 1 s m i s t r u s t of the Beaver, and more important s t i l l , the question as to whether posts or ships were the more important,, i n c o a s t a l trade. Added to these was the matter of the murder of 'Mcloughlin Ts son, John M c l o u g h l i n , J r . at S t i k i n e i n 1842. Here, Simpson and M c l o u g h l i n f e l l out completely i n the matter of b r i n g i n g the 533 Work to M c l o u g h l i n A p r i l 27, 1844, i n F o r t Simpson Correspondence outward, 1841-44. 534 M c l o u g h l i n d i d w r i t e i n a h i g h l y c r i t i c a l v e i n and appended a copy of h i s . l e t t e r to Work, (Mcloughlin to Simpson, F o r t Vancouver, A p r i l . 7 , 1844, Hudson 1s Bay A r c h i v e s , D.5/11, #241.) '535 Work to Simpson,'Fort Simpson, October 8, 1844, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . \u00C2\u00A368 murderer or murderers to j u s t i c e . Indeed, one wonders whether or not the t r a g i c a f f a i r d i d not undermine Llcloughlin\"s judgment completely. C e r t a i n l y h i s l e t t e r s to Fort Simpson seem often to contain l i t t l e more than a constant urging that Work should abandon a l l else to a s s i s t him to secure j u s t i c e f o r h i s murdered son. The unfortunate young man had been i n charge of S t i k i n e and had been murdered i n the spring of 1842 . When news of the tragedy reached Work at Fort Simpson, he sent 5S6 Roderick F i n l a y s o n north to take charge and to i n v e s t i g a t e . Before F i n l a y s o n arrived,\u00E2\u0080\u00A2Simpson reached S t i k i n e and took charge. He held an i n v e s t i g a t i o n and apparently came to the conclusion that -the murder had taken place under s u f f i c i e n t -l y curious circumstances to'warrant hushing up the whole matter. .McLoughlin was e q u a l l y determined to b r i n g a l l the. offenders to j u s t i c e and Work was' busy during 1842 and 1843' c o l l e c t i n g a f f i d a v i t s and rounding up the personnel of S t i k i n e to be sent south f o r i n t e r r o g a t i o n and p o s s i b l e t r i a l . I t was f o r the purpose of sending south on the Beaver, three men who had f l e d to the Russian's at S i t k a , that Work was c r i t i c i z e d so roundly by l l c l o u g h l i n i n 1844. Work had expressed sympathy to McLoughlin and had assisted, him i n every way. \"From the very f i r s t , \" wrote Work, \"T had but one opinion i n the melan-choly a f f a i r , t h a t i t was the bounden duty of every person to 536 Work to\u00E2\u0080\u00A2McLoughlin, F o r t Simpson, May 19, 1842, F o r t Simpson Correspondence outward, 1841-44. 269 do M s utmost to b r i n g the Murderer or Murderers to 537 j u s t i c e . . . . \" I t was to him more than an i s o l a t e d murder but something which might happen again i n some i s o l a t e d post, so that i t was more than ever d e s i r a b l e to mate an example of 538 the men concerned. . , Trade at P o r t Simpson and i t s adjacent posts v a r i e d considerably during these years. In 1841 Work reported a considerable f a l l i n g o f f . The next year produced only one-h a l f o f the revenue. T h i s d e c l i n e was not clue to American competition, which had stopped soon a f t e r the Russo-Huoson T s 539 ' Bay agreement i n 1839. Work blamed i t not only on the de-crease of p r i c e s which f o l l o w e d the c e s s a t i o n of t h i s compe-t i t i o n , but upon the stopping of the l i q u o r t r a f f i c w i t h the Indians. Roderick F i n l a y s o n t o l d of h i s own experience at Port Simpson, In the Autumn of 18.42, the l i q u o r trade accord-i n g to our agreement w i t h the Russian Comp'y was e n t i r e l y s'topped. I was then a trader, at P o r t Simpson, and f o r s e v e r a l months the trade was at a s t a n d s t i l l , the n a t i v e s keeping t h e i r f u r s s t a t i n g t h a t they could not part w i t h them unless we gave them l i q u o r . . . . B y \"way of inducing us to reopen fhe l i q u o r t r a f f i c , l a r g e body of Indians assembled before the Port and spread t h e i r most valuable f u r s such as Sea o t t e r s , beaver, s i l v e r fox e t c . , as a carpet over a l a r g e space, i n v i t e d us to view t h i s f i n e d i s p l a y and saying we could get them, at 537 Work to McLoughlin, Port Simpson, August 3, 1843, Po r t Simpson, Correspondence outward, 1841-44. 538 Work to Simpson, Port Simpson, February 20, 1844, Hudson's Bay A r c h i v e s , D.5/10, p. 268. 539 Cf.. F i n l a y s o n , Roderick, H i s t o r y of Yancouver I s l a n d and the Northwest Coast, (typed copy i n B.C. Archives) 270 our own p r i c e , provided we gave them l i q u o r . F i n d i n g t h i s was of no use, they took them away, and threatened to keep us\" p r i s o n e r s w i t h i n the F o r t . They afterwards went to S i t k a w i t h t h e i r f u r s , but f i n d i n g they could not get any l i q u o r there e i t h e r , they at l a s t opened trade g r a d u a l l y . . . . 540 Indian wars were a l s o a cause f o r t h i s d e c l i n e . But whatever the reason, Work r e t a i n e d a supply of rum, t r e a t y or no t r e a t y , to contend w i t h American competitors I f they appear-541 ed again on the coast. In 1843 American whalers appeared o f f the coast and stayed u n t i l the f o l l o w i n g s p r i n g . They caused Work some alarm and were one of the causes f o r Mcloughlin's acrimonious l e t t e r i n 1844, but i n s p i t e of t h i s o p p o s i t i o n , Work reported that the trade was \u00C2\u00A31,000 b e t t e r than 1842. Only about a dozen skins had been received from the Milbanke. Indians and nothing from the no r t h . Work grumbled against the stopping of the l i q u o r trade and claimed that the greater amount o f trade was due only to \"greater e x e r t i o n of our own 542 Indians\". Work s t a t e d t h a t the 1844 returns were -just an estimated \u00C2\u00A321 l e s s p r o f i t a b l e than those of the previous year. In a l e t t e r to Donald Ross, Work gave the r e t u r n s i n beaver f o r the three years up to 1848, f o r F o r t Simpson, the. Steamer and F o r t S t i k i n e . They are about the same, 1847 543 being s l i g h t l y the hig h e s t , w i t h a t o t a l r e t u r n of \u00C2\u00A313,600. 540 F i n l a y s o n , op. c i t . , p. 16. 541 Work to M c l o u g h l i n , F o r t Simpson, J u l y 6, 1842, F o r t Simpson, Correspondence outward, 1841-44. 542 Work to M c l o u g h l i n , F o r t Simpson, September 21, 1843, F o r t Simpson outward. 543 Work to Donald Ross, F o r t V i c t o r i a , November 28, 1848, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . \u00C2\u00A371 The d i f f e r e n c e between the t a r i f f of 1835 and 1848 i s s t r i k i n g . In the - f i r s t year, Work gave as much as a blanket and f i v e g a l l o n s of rum and ten heads of tobacco f o r a beaver. : In 1848 three la r g e beaver were demanded f o r one blanket. However, i t must be remembered that' the year 1848 was one of the lowest i n the market value of beaver. P r i c e s \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 544 were to r i s e again but the great demand f o r beaver was gone. In 1846, Work's long-awaited and often despaired of promotion a r r i v e d . He was appointed Chief F a c t o r . That same year the r e s i g n a t i o n of M c l o u g h l i n took e f f e c t . The Minutes of C o u n c i l f o r 1846 d i v i d e d the Columbia D i s t r i c t i n t o three p a r t s . Ogden was to have the I n t e r i o r Department, Douglas the Depot and the Shipping, Work was to be given charge of the Coast i n c l u d i n g F o r t Simpson, Fort S t i k i n e , 545 F o r t Langley and the Beaver, london apparently 1 approved Work's charge of the Coast, but d i d not r a t i f y h i s appoint-ment as one of the Board of Management u n t i l 1849. U n t i l that date, Douglas and Ogden d i v i d e d the c o n t r o l between them. Work kept h i s headquarters at Fort Simpson u n t i l November \" \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 . 546 / 1851, when M c N e i l l took over. \"However, a f t e r 1846 he no longer confined himself to year-round residence at the F o r t . His correspondence shows that he, once more, began to make 544 l e w i s and P h i l l i p s , op. c i t . , p. 48. 545 Minutes of C o u n c i l . f o r 1846 (MS. i n B.C.-Archives). H.B.S., IY, p. 358, dates Work's commission as c h i e f f a c t o r f o r 1846, but states that he was not one of the board of management u n t i l 1849. This view I s borne out i n Howay & S c h o l e f i e l d , op. c i t . , v o l . 1, p. 503. 546 M c N e i l l to Douglas, Fort Simpson, November \u00C2\u00A30, 1851 and M c N e i l l to Board of Management, Fort Simpson, August \u00C2\u00A36, 185\u00C2\u00A3 (Fort Simpson, Correspondence outward, 1851-55). \u00E2\u0080\u00A2S7S frequent t r i p s to other posts and engaged i n other a c t i v i -t i e s as he had i n the 1855-39 p e r i o d . In 1847 and again i n 1848, he accompanied Douglas to f i n d a new route f o r the f u r brigade from the i n t e r i o r by way of the F r a s e r R i v e r since the Treaty of 1846 had placed the o l d route i n American t e r r i t o r y . Work stayed i n charge at F o r t Langley while Chief Trader Yale went on w i t h Douelas 547 to i n v e s t i g a t e . The year 1849 was a busy one f o r Work. Not on l y had he been busy abandoning Fort S t i k i n e hut he had been e s t a b l i s h i n g a new f o r t (Fort Rupert) near the northern t i p of yancouver Island f o r the purpose of mining c o a l . Here 548 he s e t t l e d a p a r t y of miners, During i t s short and. 'unsuccess-f u l , l i f e as a mining centre, f o r i t was abandoned as such i n 1853, F o r t Rupert had a stormy career. Work had heard r e p o r t s of d i f f i c u l t i e s there as e a r l y as the spring of 1850 and c a l l e d i n on h i s way n o r t h to F o r t Simpson, but everything seemed to be going w e l l at that time.. That summer however, d i f f i c u l t i e s arose. E i g h t Kanaka s a i l o r s whose contracts w i t h the Company had e x p i r e d , clamored to be sent home, or to C a l i f o r n i a i n the v e s s e l , England, which had c a l l e d i n at the p o r t . A u t h o r i t i e s at the f o r t recognized their, r i g h t to r e t u r n , but i n s i s t e d t h a t they wait f o r passage i n a Hudson's Bay v e s s e l and refused to pay t h e i r f a r e on the v i s i t i n g ship. 547 Douglas and Work to Governor and Committee, Fort Y i c t o r i a , November 6, 1847 and same to same, F o r t V i c t o r i a , December 5, 1848 (\"Fort Langley Correspondence,\" 1851-1858, i n a.C.H.q., v o l . 1, no. 3, pp. 191-193). 548 Work to E. Ermatinger, F o r t V i c t o r i a , December 10, 1849, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C.. A r c h i v e s ) , 273 To add to the' confusion, the miners proved d i f f i c u l t to manage and had been confined to the f o r t p r i s o n . They and t h e i r f e l l o w s brought before Dr.. Helmcken, who was resident magistrate, a charge of f a l s e imprisonment against the Com-pany. Work at Port Simpson was sent f o r and a r r i v e d by canoe 549 In J u l y . Meanwhile, another misfortune had overtaken the f o r t . Three s a i l o r s , who deserted from the ship Norman Morison at V i c t o r i a , sought refuge on the England, which had put i n at Po r t Rupert f o r c o a l . Hearing that the v e s s e l was about to be searched f o r them, they took to the wilds and 550 were murdered by l o c a l Indians. Work went on to V i c t o r i a t o report to Douglas' and then returned to Port Simpson i n August and c a l l e d i n at Port Rupert with i n s t r u c t i o n s , on h i s way north* A l t o g e t h e r he- had made a t r i p of 1500 miles by Indian. canoe. \"The fa t i g u e and dangers was [sic] of no a v a i l \" wrote Work, \"so f a r as the miners were concerned, they were gone 551 before I a r r i v e d . \" ' Work's a t t e n t i o n had been turned from f u r s to c o a l -mining. I t was now to be centred on gold. In 1850, Work wrote Douglas that t h e ' n a t i v e s of the Queen C h a r l o t t e I s l a n d s had discovered g o l d on the west side of the Island and tha t an Indian had brought a specimen to Port Simpson. Work then 549 Work to Donald Ross, Port Simpson, November 27, 1850, Helmcken to Blanshard, Port Rupert, J u l y 2, 1850, i n Ma g i s t r a t e ' s C o u r t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 P o r t Rupert Reports, ( o r i g i n a l s i n B.C. Archives) I b i d . 550 Helmcken to Blanshard, P o r t Rupert, J u l y 17, 1850, 551 Work to Donald Ross, Port Simpson, November 27 1850 ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 274 552 despatched P i e r r e legace' and a par t y of Indians i n a canoe w i t h i n s t r u c t i o n s - t o examine the gold d i s t r i c t . This expedi-t i o n d i d not reach the gold f i e l d because of d i f f i c u l t i e s with the Indians, but made the important discovery that there were two l a r g e i s l a n d s instead of one and that a c l e a r passage 553 e x i s t e d through them from Skidegate to the West Coast. Sub-sequently Work made the dangerous cros s i n g himself from F o r t Simpson i n May, 1851 by canoe w i t h six. men to E n g l e f i e l d Bay on Moresby I s l a n d , ITWe narrowly escaped being swamped and a l l l o s t while passing along open coast from Cartwright's 554 Sound to the mine,\" wrote Work. They prospected f o r two days, d i d some b l a s t i n g , and returned to Eort Simpson s a t i s f i e d t hat f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n might prove p r o f i t a b l e . Having returned from the north, the Beaver was sent from Eort Simpson, She t r i e d to get through Skidegate I n l e t but found the passage too narrow and returned. Now the Una set s a i l on J u l y 16, 1851 under Captain M i t c h e l l , with Work and M c N e i l l aboard. She came by way of the northern t i p of the Islands and remained at the mines f i v e days-returning to Eort Simpson again on August 3rd. That same f a l l the Una was despatched again to M i t c h e l l ' s Harbor, where the gold had been found. 552 This may be Work's f a t h e r - i n - l a w . He accompanied Work on the Umpqua e x p e d i t i o n . 553 \"Memorandum of Proceedings of the Hudson's Bay Company wi t h respect to the searching f o r Gold i n Queen C h a r l o t t e ' s I s l a n d . \" i n Record O f f i c e T r a n s c r i p t s H.B.C. CO., v o l . 726, ( t r a n s c r i p t i n B.C. Archives) p. 142. 554 Work to Douglas, Eort Simpson, August 6, 1851, i b i d . , p. 148. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 mean-iceaa .275 on Board were M c N e i l l and eleven men w i t h orders to winter . on the I s l a n d . They commenced mining and found gold i n four p l a c e s , but were f o r c e d to stop because the natives s t o l e t h e i r t o o l s and rushed i n to seize the gold a f t e r a b l a s t had been set o f f . A regular\"scramble took place, the Indians .grabbing the miners by the legs and holding them away from the g o l d . Some blows were struck but bloodshed was avoided. As a r e s u l t they remained but f i f t e e n days and then abandoned the venture. Then the Una set s a i l f o r V i c -555 . t o r i a and was wrecked on her way at Neah Bay. In the time news reached C a l i f o r n i a and s i x American vessels s a i l -ed f o r M i t c h e l l Harbor i n 1852. They met with l i t t l e succ and returned almost immediately. One of them, the Susan S t u r g i s returned f o r a second attempt. She was boarded and her crew overpowered by Indians. Chief Factor Work succeed-ed i n ransoming the crew, but was too l a t e to save the v e s s e l , which was l o o t e d and destroyed. During the same year the Hudson's Bay Company made another attempt to work the mines but the attempt f a i l e d and mining was abandoned by a l l con-cerned. Work also discovered gold up the Nass and the Skeena . 556 R i v e r a but not i n paying q u a n t i t i e s . These g o l d d i s c o v e r i e s were the f i r s t i n B r i t i s h t e r r i t o r y west of the Rockies. During t h i s p e r i o d Work was spending l e s s of his. time at F o r t Simpson and more at F o r t V i c t o r i a . The summer of 1852 seems to have been h i s l a s t i n the northern post. ' 555 Douglas to Grey, F o r t V i c t o r i a , January 29, 1852, (copy i n Record O f f i c e T r a n s c r i p t s , K.B.C., CO., v o l . 726, p. 7 556 Work to E. Ermatinger, F o r t V i c t o r i a , March 14, 1853, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . He was there from. A p r i l to November with M c N e i l l , who was i n charge, and then l e f t f o r V i c t o r i a with the annual returns, A year l a t e r M c N e i l l addressed the statement of h i s r e t u r n s to Work at V i c t o r i a , where he was now on the Board of Manage-ment f o r the Western Department. His Po r t Simpson days were over, Work's ambition had prompted him to go to Port Simpson i n the f i r s t p l a c e , \" I might have avoided going to t h i s undesirable p l a c e , but am induced to p r e f e r i t , \" he 557 wrote, \"because I may a t t r a c t more n o t i c e than elsewhere....\" The years there had taken t h e i r t o l l of h i s h e a l t h . He was not a. young manvwhen he f i r s t went, being already f o r t y -eight years of age. Tod spoke of him i n 1838 as having 558 become \"q u i t e b a l d , hollow-cheeked & slender limbed.\" I t was . 559 not very long before he was known as the \" o l d gentleman\". The fever that he had had on the Sacramento had l e f t i t s a f f e c t s on him.. He .had been ruptured by an a c c i d e n t a l f a l l i n the summer of 1840 while c l e a r i n g land f o r the garden and had aggravated t h i s c o n d i t i o n a month l a t e r by jumping down 560 , from a f a l l e n t r e e . Three years'1 l a t e r he was troubled by a cancerous growth on h i s l i p . Dr. Kennedy t r e a t e d i t ' f o r twelve months without success. F i n a l l y , the- surgeon of the 557 Work to E. Ermatinger, Columbia R i v e r , January 1, 1856, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 558 Tod to E. Ermatinger, Port Vancouver, February 28, 1838, ( i n Ermatinger t a p e r s ) . 559 Tod to E. Ermatinger, Columbia, C o w l i t z P l a i n , \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 February, 1840. ( i b i d . ) 560 Work to E. Ermatinger, F o r t Simpson, February 15, 1841, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 277 B r i t i s h sloop of war, Mode ate, removed the growth by o-oer-561 a t i o n . Added to a l l these throubles were rheumatism,a heart c o n d i t i o n and h i s old problem of sore eyes which n e a r l y blinded him. So Work grumbled about \"the p r i v a t i o n s of the 562 Service & t h i s 'Cursed Country\"'. -. . Most of the time at Port Simpson he had h i s f a m i l y to comfort and cheer him. They d i d not accompany him. north at f i r s t but on December 31, 1836 h i a wife and the two youngest g i r l s -joined him, l e a v i n g the two eldest ones at school In 563 Port Yancouver. These eldest g i r l s were entrusted to the care of American m i s s i o n a r i e s at Willamette when the school at Yancouver stopped because of Mcloughlin's q u a r r e l with the chap l a i n , the Eev. Herbert Beaver.. Work was very proud when they were able to w r i t e t h e i r own l i t t l e l e t t e r s to him. His wife went south to the Willamette i n the summer of 1841 and brought the p a i r back w i t h her. They d i d not care f o r t h e i r new home. At Port Simpson, s i x of Work's eleven c h i l d r e n were b o r n \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h r e e g i r l s and three boys. A l l of them f e l l i l l w i t h measles at the same time, and Work to h i s d i s g u s t , had -to do most of the n u r s i n g . Then a fe v e r attacked them, proving n e a r l y f a t a l f o r two of the g i r l s . In 1849 he sent h i s whole f a m i l y to V i c t o r i a so that those of school age might r e c e i v e the rudiments of an education. His wife and the three youngest were w i t h him at Port Simpson again i n 561 Work to M c l o u g h l i n , P o r t Simpson, October 11,1844, (Port Simpson Correspondence outward 1841-44). ^ 562 Tod to E.. Ermatinger, Columbia C o w l i t z P l a i n , February, 1840 ( i n Ermatinger Papers)'. 563 Work to E. Ermatinger, Fort Simpson, February 15, 1837, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 278 564 1850, \"but a l l of them were soon to be s e t t l e d i n t h e i r new home at V i c t o r i a , In 1851, an i n c i d e n t occurred which i l l u s t r a t e s the anti-Hudson's Bay a t t i t u d e which was adopted by the e a r l y American s e t t l e r s i n Puget Sound. The town of Olympia had been newly e s t a b l i s h e d as a port of entry into the United S t a t e s . The steamer Beaver was employed towing the Mary Bare to N i s q u a l l y , On board the steamer as passengers were John Work, h i s w i f e , h i s daughter l e t i t l a , and one of h i s sons. In the p a r t y was Rose B i r n i e . The two g i r l s l e f t the v e s s e l at N i s q u a l l y and the ships proceeded to.Olympia f o r entry. Here, the Captain and Work discussed the vessels w i t h the customs a u t h o r i t i e s but apparently d i d not complete the necessary f o r m a l i t i e s . Both ships were seized by the Ameri-can a u t h o r i t i e s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e Beaver because she was entered i n b a l l a s t 565 and had none, the Mary.Dare because of sugar aboard. Work and Tolmie went to Olympia to t r y to untangle matters, f i n a l l y Work a r r i v e d back at N i s q u a l l y on the Beaver, which 566 was r e l e a s e d , l a t e r , the Mary Dare was released under bond and the charges against her s e t t l e d i n Washington. To com-p l i c a t e matters, t r o u b l e also arose concerning the lan d i n g of the two g i r l s at N i s q u a l l y . The courts f i n a l l y awarded 564 Work to Donald Ross, f o r t Simpson, November 27, 1850, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 565 Bagley, C.3., and F a r r a r , V.J.,eds., \"J o u r n a l of Occurrences at N i s q u a l l y House\", Washington H i s t o r i c a l q u a r t e r l y , v o l . 14 11925) pp. 223-4\": 566 I b i d . , p\u00C2\u00BB 233. \u00C2\u00A379 567 the Company #1,000.00 f o r the detention of the ve s s e l s . As l a t e as 1850 Work was not quite decided as to where he would s e t t l e a f t e r l e a v i n g Port Simpson. l e t t e r a f t e r l e t t e r to h i s f r i e n d Edward Ermatinger t e l l s of h i s hopes of moving to Upper Canada. He apparently also thought of the .Red R i v e r , and decided against i t . F i n a l l y , he decided that since i t must be west of the Rockies, he would t r y Vancouver I s l a n d , although he was l o a t h to face the d i f f i c u l -. 568 t i e s of carving a farm out of the bush. From 1853 he r e s i d e d . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 569 at V i c t o r i a \"where he and h i s f a m i l y took up residence f i r s t rr... i n Mr. F i n l a y s o n ' s house at Rock Bay, without a p a r t i c l e 570 of f u r n i t u r e . . . F r o m here he wrote h i s son-in-law, Dr. Tolmie, at N i s q u a l l y - t o l o o k out f o r f u r n i t u r e there f o r him and t o t r y to get some oxen, cows and horses f o r h i s farm. Work s t a t e s t h a t he d i d not intend to spend too much, l e s t the venture should not prove to be a permanent one. From t h i s time on, Work1 s' l i f e was to be t h r e e - f o l d , a p u b l i c 567 Of,. Report of the Proceedings of the Mixed Commis-s i o n on P r i v a t e Claims, established, under the convention . between Great B r i t a i n and the United States of America\"~of February 8, 1853 w i t h judgements of the Commissioner and Umpire. Compiled from the O r i g i n a l by Edmund Hornby, London, Ha r r i s o n and Sons, 1856, pages S12 f f . This.account s t a t e s that the trade goods on the steamer were s t r i c t l y open to seiz u r e but were ordered released by the court. But the matter of trade goods d i d not j u s t i f y h o l d i n g the Beaver. Hence,; the award of |l ,000.00. No reason was brought forward by a u t h o r i t i e s f o r the seizure of the Mary Dare. . 568 Work'to Donald Ross, F o r t Simpson, November 27, 1850, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 569 Work to E. Ermatinger F o r t V i c t o r i a , August 8, 1856, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 570 Work to Tolmie, F o r t V i c t o r i a , March 14, 1853, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . . 280 servant, a member of the Company and a p r i v a t e farmer. During n e g o t i a t i o n s f o r the grant of Yancouver I s l a n d to the Company, S i r -John P e l l y had suggested James Douglas as the Governor of the I s l a n d , He also tendered a l i s t of fourteen men whom, he considered suitable., as j u s t i c e s of the peace f o r Yancouver I s l a n d . Work's name appears 571 f o u r t h on the l i s t . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 In 1851, Blanshard l e f t the colony and Douglas became Governor. As h i s l a s t a c t, 31anshard had created a l e g i s l a t i v e Council of three members. Work was not a member -of the i n i t i a l c o u n c i l which consisted of James Douglas, John Tod and James Cooper. In A p r i l 1853, Douglas announced t h a t he had \"...appointed John Work Esqre, a gentleman of p r o b i t y and respectable character, and the l a r g e s t l a n d holder on Yancouver I s l a n d , to be a. member of 572 . . . C o u n c i l . , . . \" T h i s appointment was confirmed the f o l l o w i n g March. Work remained a f a i t h f u l member of this, body u n t i l h i s death, be coming'Senior member, and during May and June 575 1861, a c t i n g f o r the Governor during h i s absence, From the Minutes of C o u n c i l he does not appear to have had much to say, but seems to have missed but one meeting. He appears as a member of a Committee of four to examine and s e l e c t a s i t e 571 Sage, Douglas, p. 148, n. 2. Howay & S c h o l e f i e l d , op. c i t . , v o l . 1, p. 504, s t a t e t h a t these commissions,. w i t h the exception of that appointing Douglas as governor, were dul y made and forwarded. 572 Douglas to Newcastle, V i c t o r i a , A p r i l 11, 1853, . Vancouver I s l a n d , Governor (Douglas). Dispatches to London 1S51-1855-, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . H.B.S, ,. IV, p. 35~8, wrongly gives t h i s appointment as i n 1857. . 575 Cf, Vancouver I s l a n d , Governor (Douglas) Correspond-ence' outward, January-September 1859, p. 163, pp. 169-170, 172-3. \u00C2\u00A381 574 f o r a road between Sooke and Y i c t o r i a . In 1855, b i s name appears again to be one of the Commissioners constructing; the 575. present Gorge Road which was then described as a road on the east bank of Y i c t o r i a Arm. On September 23, 1853, the l e g i s l a t i v e C o uncil set up a court of common pl e a s . The judge who was appointed was David Cameron, a brother-in-law of Douglas, who had come to the colony just a few months \"before. He had no l e g a l t r a i n -ing and had previously.been employed as a o l e r k by the Nanal-mo Goal Company\". T h i s appointment aroused a storm of p r o t e s t . A committee was formed, which drew up and sent a memorial to the c o l o n i a l s e c r e t a r y , the Duke of Newcastle. The' memorial f o r the removal of Cameron sta t e d t h a t he was not a f i t person to hold o f f i c e as judge, had no l e g a l t r a i n i n g , and had not been i m p a r t i a l In h i s judgments. This memorial was signed by seventy persons i n the colony. Douglas r e p l i e d 576 to these charges v i g o r o u s l y and enclosed an address to him-s e l f which supported the appointment and which was signed by John Tod, John Work, Roderick F i n l a y s o n and f i f t y - o n e other 577 landed p r o p r i e t o r s of Vancouver \" i s l a n d . James Cooper, always the stormy p e t r e l of the C o u n c i l , had agreed to the appoint-ment of Cameron at f i r s t , then had changed h i s mind and l e d 574 Minutes of Council of. Vancouver Is l a n d , p. 20. .575 Ibid.., p. 27. 576 Douglas to S i r George Grey, V i c t o r i a , December 11 1854, i n Vancouver I s l a n d , Dispatches 1851-55, p. 177 f f . 577 Of. Correspondence with the'government of Vancouver I s l a n d , r e l a t i v e to the appointment of Chief Justice\"Cameron The House of Commons, J u l y 25, 1863, pp. 40-IU ~' 282 the o p p o s i t i o n . The f i n a l upshot of the a f f a i r was that the appointment of David Cameron was f i n a l l y approved by the 578 C o l o n i a l O f f i o e i n 1856. Before t h i s t u r m o i l had died down, Douglas and h i s Council were faced w i t h mandatory d i r e c t i o n s to set up re p r e s e n t a t i v e government on Vancouver Island. Douglas had opposed the formation of a popular Assembly. In t h i s o p i n i o n he was supported by Work who stated h i s view quite c l e a r l y , I have always considered such Colony & such a government where there are so few people to govern as l i t t l e b e t t e r than a far c e and t h i s l a s t scene of a house o f re p r e s e n t a t i o n the most absurd of the whole....The p r i n c i p l e of re p r e s e n t a t i o n i s good, but there are too few people and no body to pay taxes..... 579 In s p i t e of these p r o t e s t s the orders of Henry labouchere, then s e c r e t a r y of state f o r the c o l o n i e s , had to be c a r r i e d out. The C o u n c i l drew up the property q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r members of the Assembly and f o r v o t e r s . The former r e q u i r e d the ownership of \u00C2\u00A3300 of f r e e h o l d property and the l a t t e r a minimum of twenty acres of f r e e h o l d l a n d . Four e l e c t o r a l d i s t r i c t s were set up; V i c t o r i a , I s q u i m a l t , Sooke and Nanaimo. The f i r s t e l e c t i o n was held and'\"on August 12, 1856 the f i r s t popular assembly, i n B r i t i s h t e r r i t o r y west of the Great l a k e s , met. Out of the seven e l e c t e d members, f i v e were connected with the Hudson's Bay Company, which s t i l l h e l d sway i n s p i t e of rep r e s e n t a t i v e government. During t h i s time Work was s t i l l , a Chief Factor 578 Sage, Douglas, pp. 186-188, gives a d e t a i l e d account o\u00C2\u00B1 the whole i n c i d e n t . 579 Work to Edward Ermatinger, V i c t o r i a , August 8 1856 ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 283 i n the employ of the Company, With Douglas, he served on the Board of Management of the Western Department from 1853-58. Nothing much i s known of Work's a c t i v i t i e s during t h i s p e r i o d . He deplored the slow growth and settlement of V i c t o r i a . Both Douglas and Work f e l t that one of the main impediments to c o l o n i z a t i o n was the ru l e l a i d down, by which s e t t l e r s could not purchase l e s s than l o t s of twenty acres. To obviate t h i s Inconvenience Douglas and Work, a c t i n g as t r u s t e e s - f o r what was known as the Pur Trade Branch of the 'Hudson's Bay-Company, i n 1856 purchased p u b l i c land f o r the purpose of dis p o s i n g of i t afterward at the o r i g i n a l cost of \u00C2\u00A31 an acre, i n small allotments to bona f i d e s e t t l e r s , who 580 were unable to purchase the l a r g e r blocks. .When James Douglas severed his. connections with' the Company i n 1858, to become governor of Vancouver Island and B r i t i s h Columbia, c o n t r o l of the Company at V i c t o r i a passed into the hand of Alexander Grant D a l l a s , John Work 581 and Dugald McTavish. One of Work's recorded tasks i n t h i s c a p a c i t y consisted of advancing the land claims which the Hudson's Bay Company made to thd. B r i t i s h government a f t e r 1858. Douglas h i m s e l f , had been requested to forward these claims by the Secretary of State f o r the Colonies, S i r Edward Bulwer l y t t o n , who wrote, 580 The indentures covering these purchases are i n the land Office,' Parliament B u i l d i n g s , V i c t o r i a , B.C. (see also Serena to l y t t o n , London, March 4, 1859, i n Record O f f i c e T r a n s c r i p t s , H.3.C., v o l . 728, pp. 111-112) ' 581 Chapter I , pp. 26-27. e 284 You w i l l t herefore at your e a r l i e s t oonvenienc he good enough to inform me as accurately as you can o f the extent and character of the land claimed.... Meanwhile you w i l l understand that i t i s the wish of H.M. Govt, to' take a l i b e r a l view of the claims of the Company.... 582 The Company had already communicated with L y t t o n suggesting that they possessed the same t i t l e to the land around t h e i r f o r t s as they had had i n Oregon, which had been recognized 585 by the B r i t i s h Government. Work and McTavish, as c h i e f f a c t o r s o f the Company \"how wrote to Douglas s e t t i n g f o r t h \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 the claims of the Company and l i s t i n g - a l l of t h e i r f o r t s i n 584 B r i t i s h t e r r i t o r y on the coast. Amor De Cosmos, e d i t o r of the B r i t i s h C o l o n i s t at Y i c t o r i a , succeeded i n g e t t i n g a copy of \"the l e t t e r and p r i n t e d i t under the heading \" G i g a n t i c 585 . . land. Grabbers\" , I n d i c a t i n g h i s f e e l i n g s about such claims. Work became one of the gentlemen farmers of Yancouver I s l a n d and i t s l a r g e s t l and owner. His purchases of p r o p e r t y as recorded i n the Department of lands at Y i c t o r i a , B.C.,' t o t a l 1504.23 acres, not i n c l u d i n g acreage 586 deducted f o r roads, swamp and ropk. 'The home farm at H i l l -side c o n s i s t e d of 5383 acres net. I t s approximate boundaries 582 l y t t o n to Douglas, Downing St.,-November 16,1858. (Record O f f i c e Transcripta,0.0. 60, v o l . 2, part 1,pp.127-28). 583 Berens to l y t t o n , London, October 12, 1858,(Record o f f i c e Transcripts,0.0.60, v o l . 2, part 1, pp. 124-5). 584 7/ork and McTavish to Douglas, V i c t o r i a , November 24, 1858. (Record O f f i c e T r a n s c r i p t s , CO.60, v o l . 1, part 2, p. 162) . 585 B r i t i s h . C o l o n i s t , October 10, 1859, p. 3. Amor De Cosmos, born W i l l i a m Alexander Smith, was born i n Nova S c o t i a , came to C a l i f o r n i a 1852, and thence to B r i t i s h Columbia. He was a c r i t i c of Douglas and the Hudson's Bay Company. 586 O f f i c i a l l a n d R e g i s t e r , V i c t o r i a D i s t r i c t , Dept. of l a nds, V i c t o r i a , B.C.pp. 3, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 30. 285 I would s t r e t c h from. S e l k i r k Water, due east to Cook Street and he hounded on the north by Tolmie Avenue- and the south by Bay S t r e e t . Another l a r g e area l a y across the low^ying lands of Shelbourne S t r e e t and stretched up over Mt. Tolmie. The t h i r d p o r t i o n consisted of two sections from Gordon 587 * Head along to Arbutus Bay. H i s son-in-law, Roderick l i n l a y s o t o l d how the land was secured: The Company about t h i s time were g e t t i n g very anxious i n regard to the Settlements. The news of Grant's f a i l u r e became known i n England & i t was n o w - d i f f i c u l t to get s e t t l e r s to come out. In those days\u00E2\u0080\u0094'51- r52 were formed lar g e reserves of land so that no one could get l a n d w i t h i n 20 m i l e s of the f o r t . The Co. now r e l a x e d those r u l e s to a c e r t a i n extent; they gave' every encouragement to r e t i r e d , a c t i v e o f f i c e r s of the H.B.Co....and gave them the p r i v i l e g e of t a k i n g lands beyond c e r t a i n p l o t s l a i d o f f f o r the Town. The o f f i c e r s seeing the Cos. predicament & the w i l l i n g n e s s of the Co. to s t a r t settlement bought w i l d lands at \u00C2\u00A31 an acre. I myself was one of those- so was Mr. Douglas, Mr. Work, Mr. Tod, Dr. Tolmie and a number of others, 588 He went on to e x p l a i n that the o f f i c e r s on the a c t i v e l i s t , such as himself and Work, c a r r i e d on farming by g i v i n g h a l f shares, the o f f i c e r s p r o v i d i n g the c a p i t a l and t h e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s the l a b o r . Work himself complained of these r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s or \"conductors\" as he termed them, and spoke of the heavy expense of c l e a r i n g , f e n c i n g and breaking i n the land. But - he admitted that i t was \"...a f i n e climate, the 589 s o i l . , . g o o d and with j u s t i c e done i t would y i e l d w e l l . . . . \" 587 See map between pages 284 and 285. 588 E i n l a y s o n , op. c i t . , p. 39. 589 Work to A.C. Anderson, Y i c t o r i a , A p r i l 7, 1858, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) , 286 The f i r s t census of Vancouver Island sheds a great deal of l i g h t on the type of farming i n which Work s p e c i a l i z e d . He does not seem to have bothered much about l i v e s t o c k , except f o r his. immediate needs. Ho sheep are l i s t e d at a l l . In 1854 he was the greatest producer of potatoes, producing o n e - f i f t h (1200 bushels) of those grown. at V i c t o r i a . Only the F a i r f i e l d Farm belonging to Douglas produced more wheat'. Besides these, he planted oats and 590 pease. The V i c t o r i a Gazette f o r October 22, 185)8, contained the f o l l o w i n g item on Work's prowess as a. farmer, We yesterday were shown a couple of pumpkins r a i s e d on the farm of Mr. John Work,\"a 'mile and a h a l f from V i c t o r i a , which, i n conse-quence of t h e i r enormous s i z e and weight, are worthy -of s p e c i a l note. ' The l a r g e s t one weighs I08-i\u00C2\u00A7- and the other 68 pounds, 591 Work's only other business venture seems to have been the purchasing of shares i n a sawmill i n 1851. This was a \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e but a l l the i n v e s t o r s were Hudson's Bay employees.. The Company acted as banker. T o t a l c a p i t a l was \u00C2\u00A32,000 d i v i d e d i n t o \u00C2\u00A3100 shares. Work bought one share. 592 . The venture f a i l e d . The home of the Works a t - H i l l s i d e was noted f o r i t s h o s p i t a l i t y . \"...The Works are about the kindest people I ever came across,\"' wrote L i e u t . Charles W i l l i a m 590 ''Census of Vancouver I s l a n d , 1855\" i n B.C.H.Q. , v o l . 4, pp. 51-58. ( c f , Douglas to Russell', . V i c t o r i a , August 21, 1855 i n Vancouver Is l a n d Despatches, 1851-55, p. 230) 591 D a i l y V i c t o r i a Gazette, October 22, 1858, 592 Lamb, W. Kaye, -\"Early lumbering' on Vancouver I s l a n d \" , P a r t I . , 1844-1855, i n B.O.H.Q., v o l . 2, no. 1, pp. 42-46. / ' 287 593 Wilson, \"''my Western home' i c a l l i t .\" The -family was a lar g e one, eleven c h i l d r e n i n a l l , so a few e x t r a guests made l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e and were always welcome. Work's l a s t c h i l d , named Josette a f t e r her mother, was \"born on September 15, 1854. None of the three sons\" proved to he a worthy successor of t h e i r f a t h e r . Henry, the second son, died i n 185 6, at twelve years of age. The other two hoys, John and David., d i d not enjoy enviable r e p u t a t i o n s . \"The f a m i l y of our l a t e departed' f r i e n d Work, 1 reg r e t to say,\" wrote John Tod, \"seem overwhelmed w i t h g r i e f at the r e c k l e s s p r o f l i g a c y of the eld e r Son...the other, Son, altho s u f f i c i e n t l y temperate, as regards d r i n k , i s Yet i n my opin i o n , a much more d i s p i c a b l e 594 -[sic] character than h i s brother.\"' 595 A l l of the g i r l s married. Conventionally enough, 593 Wilson, Charles W i l l i a m ( l i e u t . R.E.) Journal of Servi c e with Boundary Commission , 1858-1862, v o l . 1, p. 68. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 594 Tod to E. Ermatinger, Oak Bay, V. I. , November 12, 1868, ( i n Ermatinger Papers). 595 Marriage of daughters; 1st--Jane to Dr. W.P. Tolmie, Feb. 19, 1850. R e g i s t e r of Marriages at Fo r t Yancouver and V i c t o r i a (Photostat copy i n A r c h i v e s ) . 2nd\u00E2\u0080\u0094Sarah to Roderick F i n l a y s o n , Dec. 14, 1849. I b i d . 3 r d - - l e t i t i a to Edward Huggins (date not known) c f . l u g r i n , N. de B., Pioneer Women of Yancouver I s l a n d , 1843-1866. V i c t o r i a , Women's Canadian Club, 1928,'p. 63. 4th\u00E2\u0080\u0094 M a r g a r e t to Edward H. Jackson, Feb. 5, 1861, B r i t i s h C o l o n i s t , February 7, .1861. 5th--Mary to James A l l e n Graham, Sept. 5, 1860, B r i t i s h C o l o n i s t , . S e p t . 7, 1860. 6 t h \u00E2\u0080\u0094 C a t h e r i n e (Kate) to Charles W. Wallace, J r . , Feb. 5, 1861, B r i t i s h C o l o n i s t , Feb. 7, 1861. 7 t h - - C e c i l i a Josephine to Charles Septimus Jones, Oct. 12, 1870, B r i t i s h C o l o n i s t , Oct. 13, 1870. 8th--Josette (Suzetta) to Edward Gawler P r i o r , Jan. 30, 1878. D a i l y Standard, Jan. 31, 1878. S88 W o r k d e c i d e d t o h a v e h i s own m a r r i a g e s o l e m n i s e d b y t h e C h u r c h o f E n g l a n d . H i s f i r s t m a r r i a g e t o J o s e t t e l e g a c e 7 h a d t a k e n p l a c e a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c u s t o m o f t h e c o u n t r y . T h i s s e c o n d o n e . w i t h h e r , t o o k p l a c e j u s t a m o n t h b e f o r e t h e m a r r i a g e o f h i s s e c o n d d a u g h t e r , S a r a h . T h e c e r e m o n y w a s p e r f o r m e d b y t h e R e v e r e n d R o b e r t S t a i n e s , C h a p l a i n t o t h e \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 H u d s o n ' s B a y C o m p a n y . J a m e s D o u g l a s a n d J o h n T o d s i g n e d t h e 5 9 6 m a r r i a g e c e r t i f i c a t e ' a s w i t n e s s e s . J o s e t t e W o r k made h e r m a r k , f o r s h e o o u l d n o t w r i t e . T h e y e a r 1 8 6 1 w a s W o r k ' s l a s t . F o r some t i m e h e h a d h a d t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f a n o l d man. H i s s t r e n u o u s l i f e , h i s i n j u r i e s a n d i l l n e s s e s , r a t h e r t h a n h i s y e a r s , h a d a g e d h i m p r e m a t u r e l y f o r h e w a s t h e n o n l y s i x t y - n i n e . H i s f r i e n d J o h n T o d f e l t t h a t he s h o u l d r e t i r e f r o m t h e C o m p a n y . \" O u r p o o r f r i e n d Y/ork h a s g o t c o m p l e t e l y i n t o h i s S e c o n d d o t a g e , \" h e w r o t e . \" I n s u c h a s t a t e i t i s p i t t i f u l j s i c j t o s e e h i m s t i l l c l i n g i n g t o ' t h e s e r v i c e , a s i f h e w o u l d d r a g i t a l o n g 5 9 7 w i t h h i m t o t h e n e x t w o r l d . \" I n O c t o b e r , W o r k w a s a t t a c k e d b y a r e c u r r e n c e o f t h e f e v e r w h i c h h a d s a p p e d h i s s t r e n g t h y e a r s b e f o r e o n h i s ' r e t u r n t r i p f r o m t h e S a c r a m e n t o V a l l e y . 5 9 8 F o r t w o m o n t h s h e w a s c o n f i n e d t o h i s b e d a n d f i n a l l y , o n t h e 2 2 n d o f D e c e m b e r , h e d i e d . . H i s f u n e r a l t o o k p l a o e t h e 5 9 6 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 N o v e m b e r 6, 1 8 4 9 . R e g i s t e r o f M a r r i a g e s f o r F o r t V a n c o u v e r a n d V i c t o r i a . ' 5 9 7 T o d t o E . E r m a t i n g e r , V a n c o u v e r I s l a n d , J u l y 2 7 , 1 8 6 1 , ( E r m a t i n g e r P a p e r s ) . 5 9 8 T o d t o S. E r m a t i n g e r , V a n c o u v e r I s l a n d , D e c e m b e r 2 0 , 1 8 6 1 , ( E r m a t i n g e r P a p e r s ) . . 2 8 9 d a y a f t e r C h r i s t m a s f r o m t h e P o r t y a r d . He was b u r i e d i n t h e C h u r c h R e s e r v e C e m e t e r y . T o t h e f u n e r a l , came G o v e r n o r D o u g l a s a n d h i s s u i t e , C h i e f J u s t i c e C a m e r o n , t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e l e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l t h e - S p e a k e r a n d t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e A s s e m b l y , o f f i c i a l s o f t h e C o m p a n y a n d m a n y r e l a t i v e s a n d 5 9 9 f r i e n d s . T o - d a y h i s t o m b s t o n e m a y b e f o u n d i n P i o n e e r S q u a r e . H i s w i f e l i v e d u n t i l t h e w i n t e r o f 1895-6. A t h e r d e a t h t h e l e g i s l a t u r e p a s s e d t h e f o l l o w i n g r e s o l u t i o n , T h a t t h e m e m b e r s o f t h i s l e g i s l a t u r e h a v i n g h e a r d w i t h \" r e g r e t t h e d e a t h o f M r s . W o r k , w i f e o f t h e l a t e H o n . J o h n W o r k , a member o f t h e C o u n c i l o f Y a n c o u v e r ' s I s l a n d f r o m ' 1 8 5 3 t o 1 8 6 1 , who b e f o r e h e r d e m i s e w a a t h e o l d e s t . r e s i d e n t o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , a n d w i l l b e r e m e m b e r e d . f o r h e r u s e f u l n e s s i n p i o n e e r w o r k a n d m a n y g o o d d e e d s , b e g t o e x p r e s s t h e i r s y m p a t h y w i t h t h e r e l a t i v e s o f t h e d e c e a s e d . 6 0 0 T h e n a m e s o f W o r k a n d t h o s e o f h i s f a m i l y h a v e \" b e e n p e r p e t u a t e d i n p l a c e n a m e s i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a a n d e s p e c i a l l y i n a n d a b o u t 6 0 1 V i c t o r i a . H i s p i c t u r e h a n g s i n t h e A r c h i v e s i n t h e l e g i s -l a t i v e B u i l d i n g s a t V i c t o r i a . J o h n W o r k was n o t a g r e a t man, b u t h e was a c a p a b l e , c o n s c i e n t i o u s s u b o r d i n a t e , who c o u l d b e b e t t e r c o u n t e d o n t o c a r r y o u t o r d e r s , t h a n t o g i v e t h e m . He l a c k e d t h e n e c e s s a r y h a r d n e s s o f c h a r a c t e r t o b e a r e a l l y s u c c e s s f u l l e a d e r , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e w i d e r f i e l d t o w h i c h h e - w a s p r o m o t e d a n d 599 T h e B r i t i s h C o l o n i s t , D e c e m b e r 2 7 , 1 8 6 1 . 6 0 0 l u g r i n , o p . c i t . , p p . 6 3 - 6 4 . 6 0 1 A p a r t i a l l i s t o f t h e s e wo.uld i n c l u d e , W o r k C h a n n e l n e a r P o r t S i m p s o n . W o r k S t r e e t , W o r k P o i n t B a r r a c k s i n V i c t o r i a . J o h n , H e n r y a n d D a v i d S t r e e t s n a m e d a f t e r h i s s o n s , a l s o ' i n V i c t o r i a . \u00C2\u00A390 w a s o f t e n t o o w i l l i n g t o e x c u s e h i s men t h e i r s h o r t c o m i n g s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y f o r W o r k , h e w a s a m b i t i o u s a n d t h r o u g h t h e l a t e r y e a r s w h e n p r o m o t i o n came s l o w l y a n d h e saw s u c h men a s D o u g l a s a n d M c N e i l l c r e e p i n g u p t o h i s r a n k , h e b e c a m e c r i t i -c a l a n d s o m e w h a t b i t t e r . H i s l e t t e r s t o E d w a r d E r m a t i n g e r a n d t o J o h n T o d a r e f i l l e d w i t h h i s e x a s p e r a t i o n . \" l a s t t i m e I h e a r d f r o m o u r f r i e n d W o r k , \" w r o t e T o d , \" . . . h e a p p e a r e d i n v e r y l o w s p i r i t s - - i n d e e d o f l a t e y e a r s h e h a s s c a r c e l y b e e n o t h e r w i s e a t . l e a s t i f we m i g h t j u d g e f r o m h i s l e t t e r s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 602 a l w a y s c o m p l a i n i n g o f t h e C o u n t r y . \" T o d a c c u s e d W o r k o f a w a n t o f d e c i s i o n , o f n o t c u t t i n g t h e G o r d i a n k n o t w h i c h h e l d h i m t o t h e c o u n t r y . T h i s w a s n o t a w a n t o f d e c i s i o n b u t r a t h e r a n a f f e c t i o n f o r h i s w i f e a n d f a m i l y , c o u p l e d w i t h a k n o w l e d g e t h a t a n y a t t e m p t t o t r a n s p l a n t t h e i r w e s t e r n n a t u r e s t o t h e o l d e r l e s s t o l e r a n t e a s t , m i g h t e n d i n m i s e r y a n d d i s a s t e r . W o r k d i d n o t s h a r e D o u g l a s ' s r a t h e r c o l d a n d c a l c u -l a t i n g n a t u r e . He s h o w s a w a r m s y m p a t h y , a m o u n t i n g t o s e n t i m e n t a l i t y , t o t h e w o r l d i n w h i c h h e m o v e d . T h e s t i n g -i n g r e p r i m a n d w h i c h M c L o u g h l i n ' m e t e d o u t t o h i m i n 1 8 4 4 o r i g i n a t e d f r o m W o r k ' s u s e o f t h e C o m p a n y v e s s e l t o h e l p M c L o u g h l i n b r i n g h i s s o n ' s m u r d e r e r s t o j u s t i c e . T o W o r k ' s r a t h e r s e n s i t i v e n a t u r e t h e r e p r i m a n d w a s a l l t h e m o r e b i t t e r b e c a u s e o f t h i s f a c t . 6 0 2 T o d t o E . E r m a t i n g e r , E o r t A l e x a n d r i a , M a r c h 1 , 1 8 4 1 , ( E r m a t i n g e r P a p e r s ) . S91 He w a s e x t r e m e l y c a p a b l e a s a l e a d e r o f s m a l l e x -p e d i t i o n s i n t h e f i e l d . T h r o u g h o u t h i s c a r e e r h e h a d l e s s t r o u b l e w i t h h i s men t h a n o t h e r s . H i s p h y s i c a l c o u r a g e a n d g r e a t e n d u r a n c e s t o o d h i m i n g o o d s t e a d i n d a n g e r o u s m o m e n t s i n t h e I n d i a n C o u n t r y . B u t m o r e o f t e n t h e s a f e t y o f h i s p a r t y w a s d u e t o h i s c a u t i o n , f o r e t h o u g h t a n d a t t e n t i o n t o d e t a i l s . T h e s m a l l t h i n g s s u c h a s t h e p l a c i n g o f g u a r d s a n d t h e c o r r a l l i n g o f t h e h o r s e s a r e b u t a f e w i n s t a n c e s o f t h i s . He w a s s u c c e s s f u l i n h a n d l i n g I n d i a n s . T r u e h e w a s b a c k e d b y H u d s o n ' s B a y t r a d i t i o n , b u t h e u n d e r s t o o d t h e i r c h i l d i s h n e s s a n d t h e n e e d f o r k i n d n e s s a n d f i r m n e s s . He k n e w t h e i r l o v e o f pomp a n d c i r c u m s t a n c e a n d how much a f i t -t i n g s a l u t e m e a n t t o a v i s i t i n g c h i e f . When C h i e f F a c t o r J o h n W o r k d i e d , t h e H u d s o n ' s B a y C o m p a n y l o s t a s e r v a n t who h a d c o n t r i b u t e d y e a r s o f a b l e a n d d e v o t e d s e r v i c e . S92 BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARY SOURCES ' Manuscript M a t e r i a l s F i n l a y s o n Roderick, H i s t o r y of Yancouver I s l a n d and the Northwest Coast, ( T r a n s c r i p t i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . Fort' Simpson Correspondence outward, Sept. 6, 1841-Qot. 11, 1844, being i n the main, l e t t e r s to John M c l o u g h l i n signed by John Work, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . F o r t Simpson, Correspondence outward, Nov. 2 0 , 1851-Nov. -2, 1855, being l e t t e r s signed by W.H, M c N e i l l ^ ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. Archives)-, L e t t e r s to Edward Ermatinger from John Work, A r c h i b a l d McDonald and others, January 2, 1828-November 14, 185 6, ( t r a n s c r i p t i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . Papers of Edward Ermatinger 182 6-1845, c o n s i s t i n g mostly of l e t t e r s to\"Ermatinger signed by John Tod, ( t r a n s c r i p t \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 i n B.C. Archives) . Mcleod, John, Correspondence inward, J u l y 182 6-February ' 1857, (copy i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . M a g i s t r a t e s C o u r t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 F o r t Rupert--Reports to Governor Blanshard, ( o r i g i n a l s i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . \" Record O f f i c e T r a n s c r i p t s , 0 . 0 . 60:., 1858, (copy i n B.C. Arch ives) . Record O f f i o e T r a n s c r i p t s , H.B.C., CO., v o l . 726, 1852-1856, (copy i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . Register, of Marriages at Fort Yancouver, B r i t i s h Columbia, North West Coast of America and at Y i c t o r i a , Yancouver Island\" (photostat i n \" 3 . C. Ar chives) Yancouver Island--5overnor (Douglas) Correspondence, outward, Jan. 7-Sept. 15, 1859, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . -Yancouver Island\u00E2\u0080\u0094Governor (Douglas) Despatches to London, Oct. 5l/51-Nov. 24/55, ( o r i g i n a l o f f i c i a l l e t t e r book i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . Wilson, Charles W i l l i a m .(Lieut., R,E.), Journal of Ser v i c e with the Boundary Commission-1858-1862, 2 volumes, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 2 9 3 Wo r k, J o h a , J o u r n a l s , 1 . ( a ) J u l y 1 8 - 0 o t . 2 8 , 1 8 2 5 . Y o r k F a c t o r y t o S p o k a n e H o u s e . ( h ) A p r i l 1 5 - N o v . 1 7 , 1 8 2 4 , C o l u m b i a Y a l l e y T r a d i n g E x p e d i t i o n s . ( S p o k a n e H o u s e , F t . G e o r g e , O k a n a g a n , e t c ) ( h o u n d a s o n e v o l u m e , o r i g i n a l i n B.C, A r c h i v e s ) 2 . J o u r n a l o f a V o y a g e f r o m F o r t G e o r g e t o t h e N o r t h w a r d , _ W i n t e r 1 8 2 4 , l - i o v . 1 8 - D e c , 3 0 , 1 8 2 4 , ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 3 . J o u r n a l , M a r c h 2 1 - M a y 1 4 , 1 8 2 5 , ( o r i g i n a l i n \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ~~ 4 ' J o u r n a l , J u n e 2 1 1 8 2 5 - J u n e 1 2 , 18.26, ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) , 5, J o u r n a l , J u l y 5 - S e p t . 1 5 , 1 8 2 6 , ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) 6, J o u r n a l , M a y 2 0 - A u g . 1 5 , 1 8 2 8 , ( o r i g i n a l I n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 7, J o u r n a l , A p r i l 3 0 - M a y 5 1 , 1 8 3 0 , ( o r i g i n a l I n BTC , A r c h i v e s ) . 8, J o u r n a l , A u g u s t 2 2 , 1 8 5 0 - A p r i l 2 0 , 1 8 5 1 , ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) , 9, J o u r n a l , A p r i l 2 1 - J u l y 2 0 , 1 8 5 1 , { o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 1 0 , J o u r n a l , A u g u s t 1 8 , 1 8 5 1 - J u l y 2 7 , 1 8 3 2 , ( i n t w o p a r t s , f i r s t p a r t e n d i n g O c t . 5 1 , 1 8 B T ) , ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . ^ f 1 1 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 J o u r n a l , A u g u s t 1 7 , 1 8 3 2 - A p r i l 2 , 1 8 5 3 , ( o r i g i n a l / i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . i ^ 1 2 . J o u r n a l , A p r i l 5 - 0 c t \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 5 1 , 1 8 5 5 , ( a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e p r e v i o u s j o u r n a l ) , ( o r i g i n a l i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . 1 5 . J o u r n a l , M a y 2 2 - J u l y 1 0 , 1 8 5 4 , ( o r i g i n a l i n B . C . A r c h i v e s ) . r 1 4 , J o u r n a l , D e c . 1 1 , 1 8 5 4 - J u n e 5 0 , 1 8 5 5 , ( o r i g i n a l ( 1 5 . J o u r n a l , J u l y 1 - O o t , 27 1 8 5 5 , ( a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e p r e v i o u s j o u r n a l ) , ( \" o r i g i n a l i n 3. C. A r c h i v e s ) . 294 Work, John,Correapondenoe outward, ( o r i g i n a l s , w i t h one checked exception, i n the P r o v i n c i a l Archives-at V i c t o r i a , B.C.) , Work to E. Ermatinger, C o l v i l l e [sic] , January 2, 1828. Same to same , C o l v i l e , March 28, 1829. Same to same, Plat.Head, March 19, 1830. Work to John Mcleod, Port Nezperces, September 6, 1831. (photostat i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . Work to E. Ermatinger, Port Vancouver, August 5, 1832. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Same to same, Port Vancouver, February 24, 1854. Same to same, Columbia E l v e r , December 13, 1834. Same to same, Columbia R i v e r , January 1, 1836. Same to same, Port Simpson, February 15, 1837. Same to same, N.W. Coast America, February 10, 1838. Same to same, Port Simpson, September 10, 1838. Same to. same, Steamer Beaver, October 24, 1839, Same to same, F o r t Simpson, February 15, 1841. Same to same, Port Simpson, October 11, 1841. Same to same, F o r t Simpson, February 6, 1844. Work to Simpson, Port Simpson, October 8, 1844. Work t o E. Ermatinger, N i s q u a l l e y [ s i c ], January 10, 1846. Same to same, Vancouver, November 14, 1846. Same to same, F o r t Vancouver, November 23, 1847. Work to Donald Ross, F o r t Vancouver, November 25, 1847. Work.to E. Ermatinger, F o r t V i c t o r i a , November 9, 1848. Work to Donald Ross, Fort V i c t o r i a , November 28, 1848. Work to E. Ermatinger, F o r t V i c t o r i a , December 10, 1849. Work to A r c h i b a l d B a r c l a y , Fort V i c t o r i a , February 20,1850. (copy i n Work's handwriting) Work to Donald Ross, F o r t Simpson, November 27, 1850. Same to same, F o r t V i c t o r i a , January 7, 1850, ( f i r s t page m i s s i n g ) . 295 Work, John, Correspondence outv/ard, cont'd. Work to William-P. Tolmie, Port N i s q u a l l e y , December 25, 1851. Work to Donald Ross, Y i c t o r i a , March 15, 1852. Work to W i l l i a m P. Tolmie, Port Y i c t o r i a , March 29,1852. Work to E. Ermatinger, Port Y i c t o r i a , March 14, 1853. Work to Tolmie, Y i c t o r i a , J u l y 50, 1855. Work to E. Ermatinger, Y i c t o r i a , August 8, 1856. Work to \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 A.C. Anderson, Y i c t o r i a , A p r i l 7, 1858. (This l i s t does not Include o r i g i n a l s or copies-mentioned otherwhere, as i n Port Simpson, Correspondence outward, 1841-1844, etc.) Work, John, Notebook, containing e n t r i e s f o r May and June 1834, ( o r i g i n a l i n - 3.0. A r c h i v e s ) . P r i n t e d M a t e r i a l s Correspondence w i t h the Government of Yancouver I s l a n d , r e l a t i v e to the Appointment of Chief J u s t i c e Cameron, London, the House, of Commons, J u l y 25, 1863, ~ ( i n bound volume e n t i t l e d , Miscellaneous Papers r e l a t i n g to Yancouver I s l a n d , 1848-1863, i n B.C. Archives) Bagley, C.B., a n d P a r r a r , Y.J. eds., \"Journal of Occurrences at N i s q u a l l y House\" i n Washington H i s t o r i c a l Quarterly, v o l s . 6, 7, 11-15. ~ \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 : ' / Douglas, David, \"A Sketch'of a Journey to the North-Western P a r t s of the Continent of North America during the years 1824, 5, 6 and 7\". In Companion to the B o t a n i c a l Magazine, nos, 15, 16 and 17. London, Samuel C u r t i s , 1835-6, pp.. 82-140. (bound copy i n B.C. Archives) \"Edward Ermatinger's York F a c t o r y Express J o u r n a l , being a Record of Journeys made Between Port Yancouver and Hudson,Bay i n the Years 1827-1828\", i n Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal S o c i e t y - o f Canada, Ottawa, James Hope & Son -1912, v o l . 6, pp. 67-132'. E l l i o t t , T. C. , ed. , \"Journal of a Yoyage from Port George to the Northward, Winter 1824\", i n Washington H i s t o r i c a l Q u a r t e r l y , v o l . 3, pp. 198^228. E l l i o t t , T.C. , ed. , \" J o u r n a l of John Work, June 1825-June 1826\", i n the Washington H i s t o r i c a l Quarterly, vol.. 5, pp. 83-115, 163-191, 258-287. 296 ^ i n G * 4 0 S 5 n ' J 0 U r n a l 0 1 J o l u i Work, A p r i l 30 to May d l , 1830\", m the Quarterly of the Oregon H l s t o r \"Journal of John Work, Covering \"the Snake Country E x p e d i t i o n of 1830-31\" i n the Quarterly of the Oregon ' H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y , v o l . 13 (1914) , op. 363-371 and v o l . 14 (1915), pp. 281-314. Fleming, R. Harvey, ed., Minute.s of Council Northern Depart-ment of Rupert l a n d , 1821-31, Toronto, The Champlain 'Society, 1940 (Hudson's Bay Company S e r i e s I I I ) , \"Fort l a n g l e y Correspondence 1831-1858\" , i n B r i t i s h Columbia H i s t o r i c a l Q u a r t e r l y , V i c t o r i a , B.C. the\" Archives of \" B r i t i s h Columbia, v o l . 1 (1957), no. 3, pp. 187-194. Journal kept by David Douglas during h i s t r a v e l s i n North America, 1823-1827. Published under the d i r e c t i o n of the Royal H o r t i c u l t u r a l S o c i e t y , London, W i l l i a m Wesley & Son, 1914. Lamb, W.K. ed., \"Census of Vancouver I s l a n d , 1855\", i n B r i t i s h Columbia H i s t o r i c a l Quarterly, V i c t o r i a , B.C., the A r chives of B r i t i s h Columbia, v o l . 4 (1940), no. 1, pp.. 51-53. Lewis, W i l l i a m S., and P h i l l i p s , Paul C. , eds. , The Journal of John Work, a c h i e f - t r a d e r of the Hudson's Bay Co. during h i s e x p e d i t i o n from Vancouver to the Flatheads and B l a c k f e e t of the P a c i f i c Northwest, Cleveland, The Ar t h u r H. C l a r k Company-, \"1923, Merk, F r e d e r i c k , ed., Fur Trade and Empire, George Simpson's J o u r n a l . Remarks connected with the Fur Trade i n .the Course of a Voyage from York Fac t o r y to P o r t George and back to York F a c t o r y 1824-25; together w i t h Accompanying Documents, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1931, O l i v e r , E.H., ed., The Canadian North-West, I t s E a r l y Develop-ment and L e g i s l a t i v e Records, Ottawa, Government P r i n t -ing Bureau, vol,. I (1914), v o l , 2 (1915). ( P u b l i c a t i o n s of the Canadian Archives No. 9) Report of thl Proceedings of theJli^dJ3^nm^\u00C2\u00A3sion on P r i v a t e ~~~ ^ 1 ^ ^ ^ ^he \"convention between Great B r i t a i n and the United Sta t e s of America of February 8, 1855 w i t h judgements.of the Commissioner and Umpire. Compiled from the O r i g i n a l by Edmund Hornby, London, Ha r r i s o n and Sons, 1856. R i c h , E.E,, ed., Journal of Occurrences i n the Athabasca Department by~George Simpson, 1820 and 1821 \"and Report, Toronto, The Champlain S o c i e t y , 1958, (Hudson's Bay. Company S e r i e s I ) . 297 R i c h , E.E. , ed. , The L e t t e r s of John. McLoughlin from Fort Vancouver to the Governor and Coramittee, F i r s t S e r i e s 1825-38, Toronto, The Champlain S o c i e t y , 1941. (Hudson's Bay Company S e r i e s IV). (Introduction by W. K. Lamb) Ross, Alexander, The Fur Hunters of the Far West; a Narra-t i v e of Adventures i n the Oregon and Rocky Mountains. London, Smith E l d e r and Company, 1855, 2 volumes. Sage, W.N., \"John Work's F i r s t Journal 1825-1824\" i n the Canadian H i s t o r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n , Report of the Annual Meeting h e l d at Ottawa May 22-25 1929 , Ottawa, Department of P u b l i c Archives, 1950, pp. 21-29. S c h o l e f i e l d , E.O.S., ed., Minutes of the C o u n c i l of Vancouver I s l a n d , commencing August 30th, 1851, and terminating w i t h the Prorogation of the House of Assembly, February .6, 1861. V i c t o r i a , King's P r i n t e r , 1918. (Archives of B r i t i s h Columbia\u00E2\u0080\u0094-Memoir II) S c o t t , L e s l i e M., ed., \"John Work's Journey to the Umpqua\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 R i v e r , 1834\", i n the Quarterly of the Oregon H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y , v o l . 24 (1925), pp. 238-268. : ~ S u l l i v a n , Maurice S., The Travels of Jedediah Smith, a Documentary o u t l i n e , I n c l u d i n g the Journal of the Great American P a t h f i n d e r , Santa Ana, C a l i f o r n i a , The Fine A r t s Press, 1934. SECONDARY SOURCES' ' \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 S p e c i a l Works Baker, Marcus, Geographic D i c t i o n a r y of Alas k a , Washington, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Government P r i n t i n g O f f i c e , 1906, p u b l i c a t i o n of the Department of the I n t e r i o r . The B r i t i s h Columbia P i l o t , London, Hydrographic O f f i c e , A d m iralty, 1888. Chittenden, Hiram M a r t i n , The American Fur Trade of the Far West, New York, The Press of the Pioneers, 1955,2 volumes. Coues, E l l i o t t , H i s t o r y of the Ex p e d i t i o n under the Command of Lewis and Cla r k to the Sources of the M i s s o u r i R i v e r , thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the Columbia R i v e r to the P a c i f i c Ocean, performed during the Years 1804-5-6, by Order of the Government. of the United S t a t e s , London, Henry Stevens & Son, New York, F r a n c i s P. Harper, 1895, 4 volumes. Dallenbough, F r e d e r i c k S., Fremont and '49, New York and London, C P . Putnam's Sons, 1914. 298 Davidson, Donald C., \"Re l a t i o n s of the Hudson's Bay Company with the Russian..American Company on the Northwest Coast, 1829-1867\", i n the B r i t i s h Columbia H i s t o r i c a l Q u a rterly, Y i c t o r i a , B.C., Archives of B r i t i s h Columbia, v o l . 5 (1941), pp. 35-51, F i s h e r , V a r d i s , d i r e c t o r , Idaho, a Guide i n Word and P i c t u r e , C a l d w e l l , Idaho, Carxton P r i n t e r s , 1957. Hodge, F r e d e r i c k Webb, ed,, Handbook of American Indians North of Kesri oo, Washington, Government P r i n t i n g O f f i c e , * 1912, i n two p a r t s , ( B u l l e t i n 30 of the Bureau of American Ethnology). Ha eking, No nuan, E a r l y Marine H i s t o r y of B r i t i s h Columbia, U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, Yancouver, B.C., 1934, t h e s i s f o r ,a Bachelor of A r t s Degree, (copy i n B.C, Archives) . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Iamb, W. Kaye, \" E a r l y lumbering on Vancouver Island\" i n B r i t i s h Columbia H i s t o r i c a l Quarterly, V i c t o r i a , B.C. the A r c h i v e s of B r i t i s h Columbia, v o l . 2 (19.58), no. 1, pp. 51-55, no. 2, pp. 95-121. \"The Advent of the Beaver\" i n the B r i t i s h Columbia H i s t o r i c a l Q u a r t e r l y , V i c t o r i a , B.C., The Archives of \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 B r i t i s h . uo\u00C2\u00B1umoia~7~vbl. 2 (1958), no. 3, pp. 163-179. l u g r l n , N. de Bertrand, The Pioneer Women of Vancouver I s l a n d 1845-1866, V i c t o r i a , The Women's Canadian Club, 1928, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2McArthur, Lewis A., Oregon Geographic Names, P o r t l a n d , Oregon, Eoke-Chapman Company, 1928. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Sage, W.N., S i r James.Douglas and B r i t i s h Columbia, Toronto, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 The U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press, 1930. Wright, E.W. , ed.., -Lewis & Dfyden's Marine H i s t o r y of the P a c i f i o Northwest, P o r t l a n d , Oregon, The Lewis & Dryden P r i n t i n g Company, 1895, Walbran, John T. , B r i t i s h Columbia Coast -Names, 1592-1906 to Which are added a few Names i n Adjacent United States t e r r i t o r y , t h e i r O r i g i n and History,' Ottawa, Government P r i n t i n g Bureau, 1909. Voor h i s , Ernest, H i s t o r i o F o r t s and Trading Posts of the French Regime and of the E n g l i s h Fur Trading Companies, Ottawa., Department of the I n t e r i o r , 1950. 2 9 9 general Works B a n c r o f t , H u b e r t . Howe, H i s t o r y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , .1792-1 8 8 7 , S a n F r a n c i s c o , T h e H i s t o r y C o m p a n y , 1 8 8 7 . H i s t o r y o f t h e N o r t h w e s t C o a s t , S a n F r a n c i s c o , T h e H i s t o r y C o m p a n y , 1 8 8 6 , 2 v o l u m e s . H i s t o r y o f W a s h i n g t o n , I d a h o , a n d L i o n t a n a , 1 8 4 5 -1 8 8 9 , S a n F r a n c i s c o , T h e H i s t o r y C o m p a n y , 1 8 9 0 . M o r t o n , A r t h u r 8., A H i s t o r y o f t h e C a n a d i a n W e s t t o 1 8 7 0 -7 1 , b e i n g a H i s t o r y o f R u p e r t ' s L a n d ( t h e H u d s o n ' s B a y C o m p a n y ' s T e r r i t o r y ) a n d o f t h e N o r t h - W e s t T e r r i t o r y ( i n c l u d i n g - t h e P a c i f i c s l o p e ) , L o n d o n , E d i n b u r g h , e t c . , T h o m a s N e l s o n a n d S o n s , 1 9 5 9 ( ?) . S c h o l e f i e l d , E . 0 * S . , B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a f r o m t h e E a r l i e s t T i m e s t o t h e P r e s e n t , V a n c o u v e r , C h i c a g o , e t c . , t h e S . J . C l a r k e P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , ,1914, 4 v o l u m e s . ( V o l . 2 , w r i t t e n b y F.W. H o w a y ) . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Newspapers B r i t i s h C o l o n i s t , V i c t o r i a , B.C. D a i l y V i c t o r i a G a z e t t e , V i c t o r i a , B.C. V i c t o r i a D a i l y S t a n d a r d , V i c t o r i a , B.C. 299a ;MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. John Work, copied from a photograph i n the B. 0. Archives. B r i t i s h North America, from a map by J . Arrowsmith, London, 1854, (Copy i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . Reproduction of a page in. Work's j o u r n a l s , taken from J o u r n a l 7, A p r i l 50-May 51, 1850. F i r s t Snake R i v e r Expedition., copy of a map by Geo. Woodman-, San F r a n c i s c o , A. Gensoul, 1864, (Copy i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . Flathead and Bl a c k f o o t Country, copy of a map by W.W. de Lacy, '.New York,- Rae -Smith, 1865, (Copy i n B.C. A r c h i v e s ) . Sacramento E x p e d i t i o n , from a map by the N a t i o n a l Geographical S o c i e t y , Washington, D.C., 1941. Sacramento E x p e d i t i o n (continued) from a map by the N a t i o n a l Geographical S o c i e t y , Washington, D.C., 1940. Northwest Coast, from a map p r i n t e d by the Department of Lands, P r o v i n c i a l Government of B r i t i s h Columbia, V i c t o r i a , B.C. Home at H i l l s i d e , from an o l d photograph i n the B.C. Archives. No attempt has been made t o i d e n t i f y the f i g u r e s i n the p i c t u r e . V i c t o r i a D i s t r i c t , copy of V i c t o r i a D i s t r i c t o f f i c i a l map, 1858, from the o r i g i n a l i n the Department of Lands, V i c t o r i a j B. C. I K 300 D E X Abert lake, 205. Active Oove, 234 Alexandria, 80 Allan, Capt., 240,244,251 American Fa l l s , 165,165n Annanoe, Francis N., biog-raphy 53;53n,68,113,116 Aplshamores, 31 Arrow Stone River, 174,174n Ashley, William, 90,121n Astoria, sold to N.W.Co.,3 Athabasca River, 41,44 Au Platte Portage, 102 Baker's Bay, 68 Bank's Island, 235,241,244 Bannack Pass, 188,191 Bannock River, 160,160n,164 Battle Creek, 208n,222 Bear Creek, 208,210,211,221 Beaver, steamer, 1.8,2.8,238n, B~607274,278 Beaver River, 38 Beaver Head, 161,184 Beaverhead River, 183,184, 189,190 Bella Bella, 234 Big Hole River, 183,189 Big lost River, see Goddinrs River Birnie, James, biography, 48n; 87, 99, 235, 240 Birnie, Rose, 278 Bitterroot Mountains, 177 Bitterroot River, 179 Black lake, 72, 76 Black River, 72, 76 Black, Samuel, biography 6; 99, 130, 134 Blackfoot H i l l , 156-7 Blackfoot River, t r i b . of Hellgate River, 180 Blackfoot River, t r i b . of Snake, 156n Blanshard, Richard, biog-raphy 22; governor of V.I., 22-23 Blue Mountains, 143 Bodega Bay, 216 Boat Encampment, 45 Boise River, 145-6, 148, 160, 195 Bolivar, vessel, 240n, 247, 248, 250 Bonner's Ferry, 102 British Colonist. 284 Briti s h Columbia, created, 26; a province of Canada, 28 Broughton, sloop, 232n Burnt River, 144, 199 Buttes, 209, 221 301 Butte Greek, 208 Butte Sink, 208, 212 Cabrie, 31, 197, 197n Cadboro, schooner, 15. 20 257n ' ' Calapooya Mount a i i i s , 230 Oaia.poo.ya R i v e r , 228 C a l v e r t I s , 243 Camass P l a i n , 148, 177 Cameron, David, 281-2 Canning, Hon. George, 96 Cape Disappointment, p o s s i b l e s i t e f o r f o r t , 7; 68, 234 Cape Murray, 236 Gape S c o t t , 243 Gape Swaine, 234-5 Cascades, 52, 55, 62, 63, 84 127, 156, 175 ' Cascade Mountains, 215, 217, 250 Ca s s i c u s , 70 Cedar l a k e , 55 C e l i l o P a l l s , 51n, 84, 175 Cbampoeg, 224n, 227, 251 Cheam Peaks, 76 Chehalis Bay, 69 Chehalis R i v e r , 70 Chimakine R i v e r 152 C h u r c h i l l R i v e r , 56 Chutes, 51, 175, 200 C l a r k ' s Pork, 92, 174, 179 Clear l a k e , 217 Clearwater R i v e r , 116 176 178 Clemanculty, 240 Coast Range, 223, 226 Coeur d'Alene, P l a i n 62 Columbia Bar, 234 Concomly, 70 Connolly, Chief F a c t o r W i l l i a m , biography 115n; 125, 127 Consumnes R i v e r , 218, 220 Cooper, James, 280-2 Coquin R i v e r , see Rogue R. Cow Creek, 207n, 222 Cowli t z Farm, 77 , C o w l i t z R i v e r . 55, 77, 78, 256 Crooks & Co., 151n Cumberland House, 33, 56 Gumshewa. I n l e t , 246 D a i r y Creek, 22 6 D a l l a s , Alexander Grant, biography 27,- on board of management, 27 D a l l e s , 51, 52, 128, 155, 136, 200 D a l l e s des Morts, 46 Day's D e f i l e 155 Dears, Thomas, biography 85n; 86, 91, 94, 98, 114, 125, 127 302 Dease, Chief Trader John Warren, biography 10n; 60, 85, 86, 122 Deception Creek, 208, 221 De Cosmos, 284, 284n Deschutes, R i v e r , 199, 199n Dixon Entrance, 236 Dogrump Creek, 40 Dominus,Captain, 248, 250 Douglas, David, biography and a r r i v a l on coast, 83, 85n; 85-,- 112 , 115, 116, 118, 123 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Douglas,. S i r v James, ^ biog-E l k Mountain, 224 . England, v e s s e l , 272 Ermatinger, Edward\" biog-raphy 99n. Ermatinger, F r a n c i s b i o g -raphy 98n; 112, 125, 127 Europa, b r i g , 240, 247., 248, 251 F a l l R i v e r , ,223 Feather R i v e r , 209-211, 212 218, 221 F i n l a y s o n , Duncan, 20, 258, 258n F i n l a y s o n , Roderick, biography, ? ? P h y - I?V ( a t ^ - ^ a Crosse 21 ;\" at Fort V i c t o r i a ^ I \" 37; w i t h Connolly and the \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 269 285 brigade to Yancouver, 113; horsetrading e x p e d i t i o n 115 Flathead Country 61 f f . ; i n charge of c o a s t a l t r a d e , 258; made Chief Fac t o r , 262; completes agree-ment wit h Russian American Co., 17; v i s i t s Yancouver I s l a n d , 20; on Board of Management, 271; Member of C o u n c i l of Y.I., 280; Gov-ernor of Y.I., 23 f f . , 280; Fort A s s i n i b o i n e , 42 L i e u t .-Gov., of Queen Char-l o t t e I s . , 25; severs connection w i t h H.B.Co. , 26 Flathead House, 90, 91, 100, 120 Five I s l a n d s , 38-9, 40 F o n t e n e l l e , l u c i e n , 15In, 161-3 283; governor of B.C. and Y.I., 26, 283 D r i p s , Andrew, 161-2 Dryad, b r i g , 232, 233 Duncan, Capt. Alexander, 237, 266 Dungeness, 254 Edmonton, 39-40 E e l R i v e r , 216n E l d I n l e t , 73 E l k Creek, 229, 230 F o r t C o l v i l e , .site chosen, 9-10, 89; named, 10; 87, 93, Work's d e s c r i p t i o n of, 94; c o n s t r u c t i o n stopped, 95; resumption of c o n s t r u c t i o n , 97; 132, 159, 175 F o r t George, abandoned by H.B. Co., 7, 81 f f . ; d e s c r i p t i o n , 55; 232, 63 Fort l a n g l e y , b u i l t , 79; 254 Fort Mcloughlin b u i l t , 15; abandoned, 20; 234-5, 252.-3, 263, 265 F o r t N i s q u a l l y , b u i l t 15; 256 F o r t Ross, 213, 213n Fort Rupert, 272 F o r t Simpson, f i r s t post on Nass, 15; abandoned, 16; new post, 16; 235, 239,'245 F o r t S t i k i n e , 20, 263, 272 F o r t Taku, 17, 20, 262, 263 2 65 Fort' Yancouver , s i t e deter-mined 8, 81 f f . ; moved nearer to R i v e r , 9; fever a t , 20; named 81; 114, 126, 139, 159, 200, 225, 231 . F o r t Y i c t o r i a , . f o u n d e d , 20; growth., 21; depot of H.B.Co. 22; cost of land around, 25; c h i e f port of entry to F r a -ser mines, 26; incorporated as c i t y , 28 Fr a s e r Mine s, 26 F r a s e r - R i v e r , 75 f f F r a s e r , Simon, 2, biography, 2n Gardner, Johnson, 90 Garry, N i c h o l a s , I Goddin's R i v e r , 151, 151n,155, 194 , Goose l a k e , 205 Grand Rapids, 35 Grand Trou, see B i g Hole Gray's Harbor, 69 Grey's Bay, 69 Harmon,- D a n i e l W. , 3, b i o g -raphy , 3n Harney Bas i n , 204 Harney Lake, 204 Hat Creek, 206n H a t z i c Slough, 7 6 Hayes R i v e r , 54 Hecate S t r a i t , 235 H e l l g a t e , 180,' 180n Hellgate. R i v e r , 180, 182 Helmcken, Doctor, 273 Heron, F r a n c i s , 152, biog-raphy 132n H i l l s i d e , 286 ' Horse P r a i r i e Creek, 185 188, 191 Hudson's Bay Co.i , competi-t i o n . w i t h N.W.Co., 2; c o a l i t i o n 4, development of ooast trade, 13 f f . ; agree-ment w i t h Russian American Go. 16-17, 261-2 Humboldt R i v e r , 163, 166-169, 204 H e a-la-Crosse, 36, 37 Ilwaco, 68n I s a b e l l a , v e s s e l , wrecked 18 Isl a n d Lake D i s t r i c t , 2 I s l a n d Lake House, 2 Jasper House, 45-44 Je f f e r s o n Fork, 185 Joe, 229 John Day's R i v e r , 85, 126, 155, 170, 171, 199-200 Ka i g a n i Harbor, 256, 247, 249 Kamloope, 7 6, 80 Kennedy, Chief F a c t o r Alexander, biography 8n; search f o r a new s i t e to r e -place F t . George 8; at Boat Encampment, 45; 48, 60 304 Kennedy, Doctor John, 235, 235n, 250., 276 K e t t l e F a l l s , s i t e of Fort C o l v i l e , 9; 47, 87-88 K i p l i n g , Captain, 232 K i t t s o n , William., 47, biog-raphy 47n; 62, 92, 93, 95, 98, 99, 102, 113, 119, 121 128, 256 Klamath R i v e r , 223 Kootenay l a n d i n g , 12In Kootenay R i v e r , 88, 99. labouchere, Henry 24 l a c l a Biche, see Red Deer la k e l a f r a m b o i s e , M i c h e l , j o i n s - Work on Sacramento, 15, 211; 209, 210, 213-214, 224, rj \u00C2\u00B028 lama, b r i g , 18, 232, 253; 255 , 239, 243,. \u00C2\u00A347, 248, 249, 251 l a n g l e y P r a i r i e , 75 Legace, J o s e t t e , 141 Legace*, P i e r r e , 274 Lemhi Pass, 186, 192 Lemhi R i v e r , 186,.187, 189, 192 L'Etang, 147n Lewes, Chief Trader John Lee, p r o f i t a b l e trade i n Snake country, 11; Cum-berland House, 33, 56 Lewis & C l a r k , 193 L i t t l e B l a c k f o o t R i v e r , 182 L i t t l e Wood R i v e r , 146n, 194-195 Jbolo Hot Springs & R i v e r , 179 Lolo T r a i l , 177, 178 Long Tom R i v e r , 228, 250 231 Lower Arrow Lake, 47 luckiamute R i v e r , 228n Lummi Is l a n d , 127 McDonald, Finan, 47, biog-\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 raphy 47n ; 50, 61, 62, 84, 114, 117, 122 M c G i l l i v r a y ' s Rock, 45 McKay, C . , 105 McKay 0 re ek, 2 \u00C2\u00A3 6' McKay, Thomas biography 58n, 68, 84, 114 McKenzie-, Alexander, 127 Mcleod, Chief Trader, A.R., biography 98n, 115, 117 McLeod, Chief Trader, John biography, 84n, 112 McLoughlin, Dr. John, biog-raphy, 6n; takes over Colum-b i a , 6-7; search f o r a new t s i t e to replace F t . George, 8; develops ooast trade, I 5 f f . ; stresses c o a s t a l posts, 15; orders stopping of c o n s t r u c t i o n on Fo r t C o l v i l e , 95-9 6; 172, 174, 261,. r e s i g n a t i o n , 21 McLoughlin, John J r . , biog-raphy, 17n; murdered, 17; 267-8; consequences of murder, 21 McMill a n , James, biography, 8n; to le a d e x p e d i t i o n to Fraser River,. 8, 68 f f . ; comes west, 64; i n charge -of F o r t l a n g l e y , 79 M c N e i l l , W i l l i a m H. , b i o g r a -phy 20ri; explores southern t i p of Y . I . , 20; 232, 241 245, 249, 2 60, made c h i e f ' t r a d e r , 262; 264, 271 McTavish, Dugald, biography ' 27n; board of management 27; 284 Malade R i v e r , 146, 149, ex-p l a n a t i o n of name 149n; 194 Malheur l a k e , 170,. 204 Manson, Donald, 234, 234n 253, 266 Marroris , 31 Mary Dare, schooner, 278 Mendocino, Gape, 216 Middle Bute,156, 156n - Milbahke Sound, 234. M i l l Creek, 208, 221, 229n M i t c h e l l C aptain, 274 M i t c h e l l Harbor, ;25, 274, . 275 M i s s o u r i R i v e r , 180 Modeate, H.M.S.,.277 Mokelumne R i v e r , 218n Montana, 182 Moose Encampment, 44 Moose Portage, 38, 40 Mount Adams', 137n Mount Baker, 73, 137n Mount R a i n i e r , 73, 137n Mount S t . Helens, 75, 135, 137n Multnomah Channel, 226 N a h w i t t i Harbor, 24In. 241-243 N a s p a r t i , 243n Nass R i v e r , 14, 23 6, 244 Neah Bay 254, 275 New Westminster, 76 Nicomekl R i v e r , 74 N i s q u a l l y R i v e r , 73 Nootka Sound, 254 Norman Morison, v e s s e l , 273 North West Company, competi-t i o n with H.B.Co-., 2; c o a l i t i o n w i t h H.B.Co., 4 Norway House, 54 ' Ogden, Peter Skene, bio g r a -phy , 6; west i n 1823, 6, 33 f f . , organizes Snake Ri v e r e x p e d i t i o n , 11; t r a n s -f e r r e d to coast trade, 12; founds Port Simpson, 15; succeeded by Work, 15, 140; i l l , 41 f f , ; 60, 93, 169, sent north to b u i l d post on S t i k i n e , 235; on Board of Management,271 Ogden 1s Hole, 161, 161n Ogden 1s R i v e r , see Humboldt R. Okanagan.:, 50,, 62, 67, 80, 87 Orcas I s l a n d , 74 Oregon, j o i n t c o n t r o l , 4, 5; t r e a t y 1846, 22 Otte r , v e s s e l , 82, 84 Owyhee R i v e r , 166-169 Oxford House, 54 Pahsimaroi R i v e r , 193 palouse R i v e r , 152 306 Painbrun, P i e r r e , biography 113 a Payette, F r a n c o i s , 203, biography 205n Payette T s R i v e r , 145, 197 P e l l y , Governor J.H. 96 Pembina R i v e r , 42 Pend d 1 O r e i l l e , l a k e , 61,91 100, 106, 109, 119 Pend d 1 O r e i l l e , R i v e r , 61, 88, 91, 99, 119 Pine Greek, 208, 212, 221 P i t R i v e r , 206, 223 Po i n t Grey, 76 Point Roberts, 74, 76, 254 Portneuf R i v e r , 160, 160n , Po r t Townsend, 256 Powder R i v e r , 143, 199 P r i e s t ' s Rapids, 126 P r i n c i p Channel 241 Puget Sound, 73 f f . Puget Sound A g r i c u l t u r a l Company, formed, 17, 261 Queen C h a r l o t t e I s l a n d s , 24, 28, 232, 273 Queen C h a r l o t t e Sound, 242 Quesnelle R i v e r , 208, 321 R a f t R i v e r , 165, 165n Read's R i v e r , 145, 197 Red Deer l a k e , 41 Red Rock Creek, 185, 188,191 Redoubt S t . Dio n y s i u s , 233, 238 Robbidoux, Antoine 15In Rock Creek, 165, 165n Rocky Mountain House, see Jasper House Rogue R i v e r , 223 Rosario S t r a i t , 254 Rose S p i t , 232 Ross, Alexander, biography, 11; Snake e x p e d i t i o n , 1824, 11; at Boat Encampment, 45; 152, 196 Ross, Charles, biography, 20; i n charge of Port Y i c t o r i a , 20-21- death, 21 Ross, Donald, 2 70 Russian American Company, comjeMtion w i t h H.B.Co.\u00E2\u0080\u00A2, 14; stops H.B.Co. er e c t i n g post on S t i k i n e , 232-235, agreement w i t h H.B.Co. 261-2; Russian R i v e r , 217 Sacramento R i v e r , 204, 207, 209 210, 212, 217, 221 S t . Mary's R i v e r , 224, 228 \" Salmon R i v e r , t r i b . of Eraser 75 Salmon R i v e r , t r i b . of Snake, 145, 150, 152-5, 176, 186, 187, 192 f f . San P r a n c i s c o , 215 San Juan I s l a n d , 74 Sand Encampment 224 Sand R i v e r see Mokelumne R. Sandwich Island R i v e r , see Owyhee R i v e r S a l t l a k e , 165, 166 307 Saskatchewan, E l v e r 35 38 ~ ' Scottsburg, 229 Seoular, Doctor, biography 83 Seal Harbor, 241 Semiahmoo' Bay, 74 Seven Oaks, 3 Severn D i s t r i c t , 1 Severn House, 1 Sheep Rock,' 223 Shoalwater Bay, 69 Shoshone Cove., 185, 185n, 188, 191 S i c k l y E l v e r , see Mai ad e E. S i l v i e R i v e r , 170, 198, 204 Suislaw R i v e r , 228 Simpson, George, at Atha-basca, 4; gov. of Northern Dept. , 4; reform i n Colum-b i a D i s t r i c t , 5-6; west i n 1824, 6, 7, 64; n o r t h to A l a s k a , 17-18; northern p o l i c y , 18; p o l i c y of s e l f -s u f f i c i e n c y of posts, 66; chooses s i t e f o r F t . C o l v i l e , 89; 130, 2 64 Skeetsho Portage, 119-120 Skidegate Harbor, 245, 274 Skidoon Harbor, 244 Slacum, W i l l i a m A., r e p o r t 19 Smith's R i v e r , see Stones-l a u s R i v e r Snake R i v e r , 1.16, 198 Sonoma, 213, 213n,'214 Sourie R i v e r , see St. Mary's R i v e r .Spokane House, reason f o r abandonment, 10; 47, des-c r i p t i o n of, 48-9- 62, 87 88, 106, 109 Spokane R i v e r , 47 S t a i n e s , Reverend Robert, 288 S t a n i s l a u s R i v e r , 219n S t e i n 1 s Mountain, 170 S t i k i n e R i v e r , 15, 233 Stromness, 1 S t u a r t , John, biography 2 Susan S t u r g i s , schooner, 25, 275 : . Sycamore R i v e r , 208, 222 S y l v a i l l e s l a k e , see Malheur Lake S y l v a i l l e s R i v e r , see S i l v i e s R i v e r T i l b u r y Island 7 6 Thompson, David, biography, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 3 Thompson1 s . F a l l s , 92 , 100, 106 Thompson, R i v e r , 76 Tod, John, 130, 280-1 Tolmie, W i l l i a m F r a s e r , .- 234, 234n Tongass Harbor, 239 , 25.9n,251 Tongue P o i n t , 63 508 T u a l a t i n R i v e r 2.27 224, 22 6 U m a t i l l a R i v e r , 2.02 Umpqua (old) f o r t , 230, 230n Umpqua R i v e r , 20, 66, 225 Una, v e s s e l , 24, 274, 275\" Yancouver, schooner, 232 232n wreck,-257; 238 Yancouver I s l a n d , s e l e c t e d as s i t e f o r depot, 19; crown colony, 22 Yerveau R i v e r , 229 V i g i l a n t , supply s h i p , 62 Y i c t o r i a Gazette, 286 Wal l a Walla, 51, 62, 63, 67, \" 85, 114, 142, 171, 175, 200, 202 . Wapato l a k e , 227 Warm Springs 185 Washougal R i v e r , 158 Weippe, 17 6, 177n Weiser R i v e r , 145, 198 Whidby's I s l a n d , 19 ' White Salmon R i v e r , 156 Willamette V a l l e y , 19 Willamette R i v e r , 52, 67, 224, - 225, 250 W i l l i a m and Ann, v e s s e l , 14, 18, 65, 130 W i l l i a m Henry's Old House, 43, 44n Wilson, Charles. W i l l i a m , 287 Winnipeg, l a k e , 34 woodland, 217 Work, John, e a r l y days wi t h H.3.C., 1; west i n 1825, 6, 35 f f.; to accompany McMill a n to f r a s e r R i v e r , 9, 65 f f . ; f i r s t a r r i v e s at Spokane, 48; winters at Spokane, 50; f i r s t at fort-George, 1824, 55; summer on Columbia, 1824, 55 f f . ; w i t h Inland brigade, autumn 1824, 59 f f . ; t r a d i n g ex-p e d i t i o n to flatheads-, autumn . 1824, 61 f f . ; h u r r i e d ex- ' p e d i t i o n to f t . George, Sept, 1824, 62 i f . ; removing of f t .\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 George to F t . Vancouver 82 fI*. ; returns to Spokane, 1825, 84 f f . ; on a horse-t r a d i n g e x p e d i t i o n , . J u l y 1825, 85 f f , ; i n charge of moving Spokane to C o l v i l e 1825, 9-10, 88 i f . , 110-111; i n quandary over Ogden, 1825, 90 f f . ; expedition to F l a t -' head summer 1825 , 91 f f . . ; at C o l v i l e , August 1825,'93 . f f . ; e x p e d ition to Flatheads winter, 1825-6, 99 f f . ; ' f i r s t mentions h i s wife-, 107; accompanies brigade to Vancouver, 1826, 113 f f . ; horsetrading expedition, J u l y 182 6, 115 i f . ; expedi-t i o n to Flatheads, Aug. 1826, 119 f f . ; i n charge of C o l v i l e winter 1826-7, 122 f f . ; where-abouts 1826-1828, 125-4; with brigade to Vancouver, 1828, 124 f f . ; h e a l t h , 124, 276; at C o l v i l e winter, 1828-9, 129; expedition against C l a t -sops 1829, 150-1; at -Flatheads, March, 1830, 152; by horse from; C o l v i l e to Vancouver 1850, 152 f f . ; succeeds Ogden i n Snake Country 12, 140* on Snake R i v e r Expedi-t i o n 1850-51, 140 f f . ; appointed chi e f trader 140, 175; attacked by Bla c k f e e t 147, 181-2, 184; winters on the Snake R i v e r 1850-51, 157 f f . ; e x p e d i t i o n to the Flathead and Blackfeet 174 f f . ; hunts American t e r r i -t o r y , 180 f f . ; back at Walla 309 Work, John, cont'd Walla, 1832, 200; to Sacramento, 12, 202 f f . ; meets Laframboise, 211;' at San Fra n c i s c o Bay 1833, 214; leaves Laframboise 1833, 217; attacked by fev e r 1833, 222 f f . ; a r r i v e s back at Vancouver, Oct. 1833 225; to Umpqua 20, 225 f f . ; reported on coal at Cow-l i t z Ju , 232; t r a n s f e r r e d to coast trade 13, 15, 232 f f . ; at K a i g a n i , 238; at \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Nahwitti, 241-243; comple-t i o n of Fo r t Simpson, 245 f f . ; garden at F o r t Simp-son, 248; en route to Van-couver, 252 f f . ; at F o r t Langley, 1835, 254-5; at F o r t Simpson, 16, 258 f f . ; s e t t l e s mutiny on steamer Beaver, 2 60-1; surveys land f o r Puget Sound A g r i -c u l t u r a l Co., 261; demoted 263-6; appointed Chief F a c t o r , 271; w i t h Douglas i n search of new brigade route from i n t e r i o r posts 272; member of Board of Management.23, 27, 271 f 276; t r o u b l e s at F o r t Ru-p e r t , 272-3; d i s c o v e r s gold' on Queen C h a r l o t t e s 24, 2 73-5; rescues crew of Susan Sturg i s , 2 7 5 ; removes to V i c t o r i a 25, 275 f f . ; f a m i l y , 142, 277, 287, 287n-i n d i f f i c u l t i e s w i t h Amer- * i c a n customs a u t h o r i t i e s , 278-9 ; j u s t i c e of the peace 280; member of Cou n c i l of V . l . , 23, 280; supports appointment of David Camer-on, 281; a t t i t u d e t o assem-b l y , 282; pr o p e r t y owner 23, 284-5; i n v e s t s i n sawmill, 286; marriage 288; death and funeral-, 288-9; estimate of character, 289-291 Work, Josette, death, 289 Wrangell, Baron, 233 Tal e , James Murray, biog-raphy, 127n; 254, 272 Yam h i l l R i v e r , 224, 227 Yangara R i v e r 228n York Factory, 1, 33, 64 Zayas I s l a n d , 239 "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "10.14288/1.0105686"@en . "eng"@en . "History"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en . "Graduate"@en . "John Work: A chronicle of his life and works"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/39031"@en .