Wednesday, October 14, 2009

A Year in the Life of a Canoe Brigade

Chief Trader Archibald McDonald descending the Fraser, 1828 (Adam Sherriff Scott)
HBC Corporate Collection
When the North West Company built the Pembina River post in 1797, construction began on September 28th and ended on November 8th. In this time the brigade constructed a combined house, shop, and large house 70 feet long, plus two small houses. The proprietor and eight men lived in the large house, and the rest in the two smaller ones...One of the best accounts of the construction of a post is given by Alexander Henry the Younger...
From a fascinating article entitled A Year in the Life of a Canoe Brigade from the even MORE fascinating Northwest Journal. The journal is an incredible compendium of all things fur trade in our region. My hats are off to the people who created this amazing website!

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