From the SelectedWorks of David A Bainbridge 2013 The udH son’s Bay Company Brigades of 1832-33 and the Malaria Epidemic in California David A Bainbridge Available at: http://works.bepress.com/david_a_bainbridge/40/ The Hudson’s Bay Company Brigades of 1832-33 and the Malaria Epidemic in California one shilling on the market in China. Profits of Chapter 3 from The Fur War in the West: 500 percent or more found ready investors in Ecological and Cultural Consequences, Rio Boston and England and the fur trade in Redondo Press, San Diego, CA. California grew quickly. As new fur resources, or as the Russians so aptly put it, David A. Bainbridge “soft gold,” were discovered, they were exploited as well. Abstract Trade in seal skins and beaver pelts The ecological and cultural impacts of the followed the sea otter rush, involving Hudson’s Bay Company fur brigades to Russian, American and British companies, California were long term and important. The independents, Spanish residents, missionaries expedition of 1832-33 led to a catastrophe and native people. The first rumors of fur comparable to the Jewish Holocaust or the trappers from the north working in California Palestinian Nakba. The fur trappers were raised as early as 1820-21, but the first inadvertently spread a malarial “intermittent official Hudson Bay Company’s (HBC) fever” leading to mortality rates from 50-90 brigade, led by Thomas McLeod, reached the percent or more. It is possible that more than Klamath River in northern California in 1826. 30,000 people died from the fever in the Jedediah Smith’s party was the first American affected areas of California, with many group, arriving through the southern desert tribelets simply wiped out. In addition to this the same year. By 1843, after less than 20 social and cultural tragedy the removal of the years, the ‘soft gold’ rush in California was Native American land managers and beaver essentially over. initiated many changes at the plant- Many of the fur trapping parties left no community, ecosystem and landscape scales. records. As Robert Cleland noted, “ the very If we wish to understand the landscape we see nature of the men who made up these today, we must try to understand what has expeditions also adds to the difficulty of the happened in the past, and these two years task. The fur hunter, like most pioneers, was a deserve much greater attention. man of action rather than a chronicler of events…” We know much more about the HBC brigades because the chief traders were Introduction required to maintain careful records and most Few Californians and even fewer of their journals have been preserved. The Americans are aware of California’s historic Hudson’s Bay Company brigades seeking fur trade. The Russians learned the value of beaver were the most impressive fur trade sea otters first (1742), and were active on the enterprises in California, beginning in earnest coast for many years before the British and in 1827 and continuing until 1843, when the Americans arrived. British and American sea market had collapsed due to changing otter hunting began in earnest after 1779, fashions, causing tremendous ecological and when prime skins from the Cook expedition cultural impacts on the environment and the brought a return of £90 on an investment of people. 1 Cultural impacts of the fur trade French Camp just south of Stockton). More The Intermittent Fever like a village on the march than our common perception of fur trappers as solitary or small Arguably the most devastating groups of mountain men, they moved slowly, expeditions took place in 1832-33 under the trading with native people, as well as setting leadership of Chief Trader John Work and their own traps. They worked their way up Michel LaFramboise. After returning from an and down the state’s rivers, streams, and expedition to the Snake River country on July wetlands with expertise honed in the Snake 27th 1832, Work was ordered to make a quick River country and the desire to create a ‘fur turn-around, to head up the outgoing desert’ that would discourage American California brigade and to keep an eye on a trappers and slow the American smaller California brigade under Michel advance. LaFramboise. The ecological and cultural impacts of the Unlike the American fur trapping parties, 1832-33 expedition included not only the small and almost all male, these HBC parties traditional heavy pressure on the beaver were large, well organized and very effective population, hunting for food and sport, but trappers, often with more than 100 people, more critically the introduction of a fatal including wives, children and babies, and disease that traveled with the 1832 brigade. hundreds of horses, figure 1. These brigades The “intermittent fever,” apparently malaria, moved south from Spokane or Fort made its way into the western fur trade Vancouver (now Vancouver, Washington) into through Fort Vancouver and surrounding California, reaching as far as the Gulf of tribes beginning in 1830. It is possible that a California over the course of many months or sailor named Jones on the American Brig as long as two years. The men might be Owhyhee, captained by John Dominis, was salaried workers (engagés) or freemen (called the source of the disease. He had probably free trappers by the Americans), paid on a per been infected in Hawaii or China. The native fur basis. The women played a critical role in people in the Columbia region were processing furs, enabling the men to devote convinced the fever was brought by the ship their time to trapping. The brigades often Owhyhee and Captain Dominis. However, over-wintered at Camp de los Franceses (now this might have been early political spin by Figure 1. The California brigade heads north from Sutter’s Buttes, 1833. 2 the HBC in an effort to blame their The first case of intermittent fever in 1832 competitors. The disease persisted in the area was reported at Fort Vancouver on July 5, the around Fort Vancouver for several years, day the first brigade left for the Snake River reaching peaks in spring and fall when the Country en route to California. John Work Anopheles mosquitoes were most abundant. It and his brigade left on August 17 with 26 was still a problem when Ewing Young men, 22 women (including his wife, Josette), headed north from California in 1834 with a 44 children (including Work’s three young band of horses and Hall Jackson Kelly. Kelly girls), and six Indians. Sadly, they carried the almost died, but was saved by help from the fever with them. His clerk, Francis Payette, Hudson Bay leaders who had experience with was so sick he had to be left at Fort Nez the disease. Perce, and the illness delayed their departure Impacts near Fort Vancouver were until September 9th. Work was dosing ten catastrophic in 1830-31, with many villages people for the fever when he left the fort. abandoned and later burned by Hudson’s Bay Michel LaFramboise’s smaller brigade of 63 Company employees to dispose of the bodies. people, with 22 trappers and 41 Indians, The Chinook village downstream from the departed earlier but was also carrying the fort was hard hit. Within a few years the disease. The epidemic rose and fell over noble chief Casenove, a friend to the whites, Work’s yearlong expedition, with almost was the only survivor of a tribe which had everyone sick at some time. In August 1833 once mustered four or five hundred warriors. Work notes, “Some of those who have been Other tribes disappeared completely, “many longest ill are a little better, the greater others (tribes) have been swept off entirely by number of others are very bad and 7 more are this fatal disease, without leaving a single taken ill during the last night and today survivor to tell their melancholy tale.” making in all 72 ill.” Two men, an Indian and Thousands died and as people fled the two children died along the way despite epidemic they helped spread it. In 1831 the Work’s use of medicine (which ran out long disease was carried around the Northwest by before they returned) and care. fur traders and native travelers. Most As these large parties traveled through the Europeans were sickened, but recovered countryside trapping beaver on rivers and side thanks to quinine, better treatment, and innate streams and hunting for meat, native people resistance; but mortality ranged from sixty to would also meet them bringing the disease ninety percent or higher in the native carrying outsiders in contact with many local population. Like the Jewish Holocaust and people. Work’s brigade went down the eastern the Palestinian Nakba – everything changed route (Ft. Nez Perce, Malheur Lake, Pit as communities were destroyed almost River) and LaFramboise started down the overnight. coastal route but switched to the Siskiyou trail (Willamette, Umpqua, Shasta) and both Fever on the march returned up the Siskiyou trail after trapping the Sacramento, San Joaquin and coast range, “I am going to start with my ragamuffin figure 2. An American fur trapping party freemen to the South.” John Work to Francis under Ewing Young met the HBC brigades, Ermantinger, 27 July 1832 and in turn picked up the intermittent fever and spread it through their travels. Two 3 Figure 2. The fur brigade routes in California 1832-33. people in Young’s much smaller party died, mosquitoes, and diminished on the coast and and Young became very ill. in the mountains. There were plenty of mosquitoes as Work noted on June 1, 1833 “We are much annoyed The Catastrophy by muscatoes, they are very numerous.” The impact of the disease was clear even Three days later he added, “Muscatoes are as the brigades returned north in the fall of like to devour us in every situation that is 1833, sick themselves.