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The Journal/Of John Work a Chief-Trader of the Hudsons Bay Co

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The Journal/Of John Work a Chief-Trader of the Hudsons Bay Co / The Journ al ofJohn W ork ’ - h n s B a o A chi e f tra d e r o f t e H u d s o y C . du ri n g his e x pe diti o n fro m Va n co u ve r t o the Fl ath e a d s an d Bla ckfe e t o f the Pa cific N orthwe s t e e and h of Fur r e the dit d, wit account the T ad in r e fe of r No thw st, and Li Wo k by William S. Le wi s and P s Pau l C . hillip Th r r r e A thu H . Cla k Company Cleve land : 1 9 2 3 COPY R GHT 1 2 B Y I , 9 3 , K COM Y THE ARTHUR H. CLAR PAN C o n te n ts PREFAC E TH E FU R TRADE IN THE NORTHWEST LIF E OF JOHN W ORK J OU RN AL OF JOHN WORK APP ENDIX ORIGINAL LETTERS OF JOHN WORK TO EDWARD ERMATINGER BIB LIOGRA PHY OF THE FU R TRADE IN THE NORTHW EST INDEX Ill u s trati o n s JOHN WORK Fro an Old oto r now in the ro nc l br r m ph g aph P vi ia Li a y, tor r t s o u . ia, B i i h C l mbia ’ TH E B AC OOT RIV R e r McNamara s L d L KF E , n a an ing Fro r cent ot r th o l e tu o m a e ph og aph by e C lvi l S di . B EAVERH EAD ROC K Fr r nt oto r om a ece ph g aph . LEWIS AN D CLARK TRAIL over Lemhi Pass Fr o an or n oto r o n E ees 1 0 . m igi al ph g aph by J h . R , 9 3 B LU FFS ALONG TH E SALMON RIVER n n r o n ees . Fr om a origi al photog aph by J h E . R MAP SHOWING ROU TE OF JOHN WORK Pre face ’ John Wo rk s J our na ls furnish the most extensive reco rds Of the fur trade in the Pacific No rthwest at the r e e e r time of its g eat st activity. Al xand Ross and Ross Cox desc ribed it at the time Of its o rigin but John Wo rk e e r desc rib e d it wh n the busin ss had reached matu ity . ’ John Wo rk s J our na ls lack the pictu resque settings r e r r Of r e r for that cha act ize the w itings his p ed cesso s , with him trading and trapping we re only se rious mat J ou r na ls r r r e . te s of busin ss His , howeve , illust ate the ’ ’ e r g og aphy of the Hudson s Bay Company s activities , r e and the methods and extent of its t ad . The edito rs of this J our na l are indebted for assist M r . ance to . T C Elliott of Walla Walla , Washing M r . Of ton , John E . Rees Salmon , Idaho , Miss Jean o r Bishop of Dillon , M ntana , and Miss Hazel He man Of r Of r the State Unive sity Montana . The autho ship of the notes is indicated by initials . The Fu r Tra d e in the N o rthw e s t The Ame rican fur trade began with the fi rst explo ra 1 tions of the No rth Atlantic coast. This beginning was at a time when Eu rope was seeking new mate rials f for . O shoes , hats , and clothing An abundance deer p romised leathe r with which to make comfo rtable shoes to take the place of the heavy wooden ones or to r r supply those who were ba efoot. The beave and musk rat colonies we re able to fu rnish vast numbe rs Of pelts with which to p rovide all classes with serviceable r fur r and handsome hats . Othe bea ing animals gave their skins to add to the comfo rt and beauty Of the ’ r r Eu opean s d ess . During the seventeenth and e ighteenth centu ries French and B ritish trade rs pushed the fur t rade back r he t f om t Atlantic coast into the basin of the S . Law r the r e the r ence and G eat Lak s , along sho es of Hud ’ r r e r son s Bay, and even to the count y bo d ing on the 2 e r h Ohio and Mississippi Riv s . On t e Pacific coast 1 “ ere ar e in t es rtes ost e t and r r furr s Re Th h e pa m d lica e a e e . orts o Ye C ontr r H um hre G lbert oes to s cou in o n fiic p f ie S . p y i g di C lo ial O e ecor s v ol . No 2 . o in n n r s A Dis cours e th R d i C py Ca adia A chive . of e n eces s itie of pla nting E nglis h col on ies up on the N or th pa r tes of America es an ccount of rtens e er s foxes c e and te . giv a ma , b av , , bla k whi ’ H a klu t C oll ections 8 . o s Her ot o o er of e s r e orte y , 9 Th ma i , a f ll w Ral igh p d “ in 1 5 86 : Furres all alon g the s e a coast ther e a r e gre at stor e of otter s which ” oo ro t. b d 8 . l e I . wil yi ld g d p fi i , viii , 34 2 For accounts of the Fr en ch and Br iti s h fur tr ad e in the s eve nteenth and i t n r r E arl Tr a d n C om a n ies o N ew e gh ee th centu i es s ee Bigga ( H . P. ) y i g p f Fra n ce n er s t of Tor onto Stud es in H s tor 1 01 and s on , U iv i y i i y, 9 , Will ec les The Gr ea t C om a n Tor onto 1 8 . ( B k ) p y , , 99 1 6 JOURNAL OF JOH N WORK r too , Be ing, a Dane in the service of the Russian czars , e r r about the middle of the eighte nth centu y, gave a g eat r e impetus to the t ade in sea ott rs . His successors catered to the vanity of Chinese manda rins with im e r re r r mense profit to themselv s . So eage we t ade s to secu re these valuable and beautiful fu rs that the sea 3 r e otter long ago became p actically xtinct . In spite of the vast t rade in fu rs the Columbia Rive r basin and the valley Of the uppe r Missouri remained untouched and almost unknown to white traders and trappe rs until afte r the opening Of the nineteenth cen r tu y . The streams of th ese mountainous regions 4 r abounded in beave r . The pelts we e not so la rge and heavy as those e ast of the mountains but they we re dark 5 “ r in color and rich in textu e . Hardly less numerous r r r - r w r we e the otte s whose heavy, da k b o n fu s were prized by Russians and Chinese next to those of the sea r r r r otte . Bea s , wolves , lynx, fishe s , musk ats , and foxes , mostly of the re d and c ross va rieties also fu rnished pelts ’ r to make up the t apper s toll . Along the easte rn slope Of the Rockies began the 6 r or great buffalo ange of the N thwest. Countless e n r thousands of th se a imals fu nished the Sioux, the 3 i n on th a c c 1 6 1 For er n s ee G ol r F. Rus s a n E x a ns o e B i g de ( A ) i p P ifi, 4 1 8 0 e el n 1 1 . 5 , Cl v a d , 9 4 4 Peter Skene Ogd en who w as tr appi ng and tr ading in the Sn ake Rive r “ country in 1 825 -1 826 r eported the di s covery of a country r icher in be aver " t n a n t n s countr w as s e enteen s tr el ha y hey have e ve r s ee . Thi y v day av ro Fort V ncou r on th o u e ctor McLa u hlin to G ov f m a ve e C l mbia . Chi f fa g ’ c ruor s on of the Hu s on s o n Fort V ncou e r u ust 1 8 Simp d Bay C mpa y, a v , A g , 1 L J u na ls in n n rc e s 6 .
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