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BY GEORGE BRYCE, M.A., LL.D.
[The Hudson's Bay Company
service was a training school for character. Men in remote trading
posts, surrounded by wild Indians, developed patience, courage,
determination and resource. It was a field of action especially
congenial to Scotchmen. Of the two hundred and sixty-three commissioned
officers of the Company for the past seventy-five years sixty-five per
cent. have been Scotchmen. It is concerning the fortunes of one of these
men that the present sketch is written.]
MORE than twenty-six
years ago, the writer remembers as one of the first men he met in Red
River, Chief Factor Robert Campbell, the discoverer of the Upper Yukon
River, which is the goal of so many gold seekers to-day. Robert Campbell
was a natural leader of men. His tall, commanding figure, sedate
bearing, and yet shrewd and adaptable manner, singled him out as one of
the remarkable class of men who in the service of the Hudson's Bay
Company governed an empire by their personal magnetism, and held many
thousands of Indians in check by their honesty, tact and firmness.
Robert Campbell, like so
many of the Hudson's Bay Company's officers and men, was of Scottish
origin, and was born, the son of a considerable sheep farmer, in
Glenlyon, Perthshire, Scotland, on 21st of February, i8o8. Having
received a fair education in his native glen, which was further carried
on in the city of Perth, he was led by Sir George Simpson, the Governor
of the Hudson's Bay Company, to come to the Red River in 1832 to
superintend the sheep farm being started by the Company at St. James
Parish, on the Assiniboine River, a few miles west of the city of
Winnipeg of to-day.
The Hudson's Bay Company
at this time seems to have been in earnest in endeavoring to promote the
development of the Red River as a farming country. That they succeeded
so poorly is probably the reason that they afterwards settled down to
the erroneous belief, expressed so decidedly by Sir George Simpson in
the investigation by the Imperial Parliament in 1857, that agriculture
could not be successfully carried on in the country.
The period beginning with
1830 or 1831 was one of great activity at Red River. Sir George Simpson
threw himself with great vigor into projects for developing the country.
We can do little more than mention them. Indeed, they need little more
than mention, for they ended in failure.
(1) The Buffalo Wool
Company, a wild scheme to manufacture cloth from buffalo's wool and to
tan the hides for leather. An absolute loss of upwards of £6,000
sterling gave the promoters serious cause for reflection.
(2) Sir George promised
to take all the Company's supplies from the colony; but he was
disappointed by the carelessness and discontent of the people.
(3) An experimental farm
was begun on the Assiniboine near the farm since known as Lane's farm.
After six years of effort the farm failed, having cost the Company
£3,500 sterling.
(4) A farm for growing
flax and hemp. The flax grew and the hemp grew, but they rotted in the
fields; while a costly flax mill to manufacture the product fell into
decay.
(5) Sheep from Kentucky.
Governor Simpson determined to introduce the care of sheep as an
industry suitable to the country.
A joint stock company was
formed. £1,200 was raised, and the enterprise was begun with high hopes.
It was in connection with this scheme that Robert Campbell came to the
country. In charge of the enterprise was a gentleman of the Hudson's Bay
Company, by name, H. Glen Rae. With him was associated John P. Bourke,
one of the Irish immigrants who had come with Lord Selkirk's first
party. Bourke was a man of education, had served the Company well, and
was well fitted for the task assigned him. In 1833, Rae, Bourke and four
others, one of whom was Robert Campbell, crossed the plains to Missouri
to purchase sheep for the new company. Dissatisfied with the excessive
charges of the Missourians, Rae insisted on going on to Kentucky, 500
miles further. The sheep were bought at a price Of $r.00 to $2.00 a
head, and a party started with them for the Red River. The journey was
most disastrous. Foot sore and wearied, many of the sheep died by the
way. Pierced by the spear grass (Stipa Spartea) many perished; the
leaders of the party quarrelled; the flock became steadily less; and of
1475 sheep bought in Kentucky only 251 reached Red River.
(6) Other unsuccessful
schemes, such as the Tallow Company, followed this, but Campbell was
sent away to the far west, and exchanged the peaceful role of shepherd
for that of a trader.
Robert Campbell had from
the first the confidence of Sir George Simpson, and now the Governor
despatched him to what seems to have been the favorite hunting grounds
of the early traders, the Mackenzie River basin. In 1834 he was at Fort
Simpson, and at once took his place as a daring and hardy explorer of
new ground. In 1834 he volunteered to establish a post at the head
waters of a tributary of the Mackenzie, and his offer was accepted.
Leaving Fort Simpson, which is on an island in the Mackenzie River, and
near the junction of that river with the Liard, he ascended the latter
river, which was also known as Mountain River, reached Fort Liard,
nearly two hundred miles from the junction, and passed on as much
further to Fort Halkett, which is built among the mountains. In the
winter of 1837, the ardent explorer went on three or four hundred miles,
enduring great hardships, and in the spring of 1838 succeeded in doing
what his predecessors had tried in vain to accomplish, viz., established
a Hudson's Bay Company's post on Dease Lake at the source of the wild
mountain stream. In the summer of that year the intrepid adventurer
crossed to the Pacific slope and reached the head waters of the Stikine
River. Indeed, he spent this and the following year in journeys of the
most daring kind, in ascending and descending the fierce mountain
streams of the Rocky Mountain divide.
The winter of 1838-9 was
to the explorer one of the greatest trial. The writer has often heard
Mr. Campbell descant on the adventures of that eventful year. A new post
had been erected by Campbell to advance the fur trade, and the energy of
the trader awakened the hatred of the Secatqueonays, a tribe who, with
their allies, numbered about six thousand souls. These Indians lived at
the mouthof the Stikine River, and they were in the habit of going
inland for one hundred and fifty miles to trade at a great village mart,
which was only sixty miles from Campbell's new fort on Dease's Lake. At
this time the trader and his men nearly reached starvation. They were so
reduced in supplies that they subsisted for some time on the skin thongs
of their moccasins and snowshoes, and on the parchment windows of their
huts boiled up to supply the one meal a day which kept them alive. Early
in the year 1840, the explorer crossed to the western side of the
mountains, and descending from the head waters of the Stikine, explored
this river for a distance. The Indians, hostile to him on account of the
energy which he displayed, took him and his party prisoners. The daring
party, however, escaped, it has been reported, after having almost met
death, and having to chop down a bridge, to prevent the pursuing Indians
from overtaking them. Campbell's life was only saved by the bravery and
devotion of a female chief who ruled the Nilharnies, the owners of the
trading village which was the rendezvous. Campbell, in his journal,
speaks in the most glowing terms of the fine character of this Amazon of
the mountains, whose humanity proved his shield in trying times. In the
year following his escape, Trader Campbell was compelled to leave his
station on Dease's Lake, and his fort was burnt by the irreconcilable
Indians. The explorer, however, was greatly satisfied when some time
after he received from Sir George Simpson, in answer to his report, word
to the effect that the Governor and Council had expressed their entire
satisfaction with his energetic action and shrewd management. In Sir
George Simpson's book, "A Journey Round the World" (1847), full credit
is given to Campbell for his courage and faithfulness.
The favorable message
from the Governor but urged on the youthful explorer to new fields of
discovery. In going to Dease's Lake Campbell had taken the more
southerly of the mountain affluents making up the Upper Liard River.
Under a new order he started in 1840 to explore the northern branch of
the Liard. For this purpose he left Fort Halkett, his mountain
rendezvous, in May, and journeyed northward, thinking that perhaps,
though starting below 6o° N., he might come upon the river discovered by
Dcase and Simpson two years before, running into the Arctic ocean about
70° N., and called by them the Colville. Ascending the mountain gorge
through which the swift Liard flows, Campbell came to a beautiful lake,
to which, in honor of Lady Simpson, he gave the name Lake Frances. The
lake was divided by a promontory called by him "Simpson's Tower," and
leaving the lake he ascended one of its tributaries, clambering along
its rocky banks, which in turn came from a small mountain reservoir
called by him Finlayson's Lake, as its affluent was also named. This
lake at high water gives one part of its waters to the Pacific and the
other to the Arctic Ocean. Campbell, with the hardiest of his seven
trusty companions, who were some of them whites and others Indians, now
made an inland journey of more than a day's march, and saw the high
cliffs of the splendid river, which were named the Pelly Banks in honor
of the Governor in London, Sir Henry Pelly. The Hudson's Bay Company
would have called it Campbell River, but the unassuming explorer refused
the honor. On reaching the stream the party made a raft and drifted a
few miles down, far enough to see the magnitude of the river. On their
return to Lake Frances they found that their companions had erected a
house at Simpson's Tower, and the explorer called this, in honor of his
birthplace, "Glenlyon House." Returning with his full party, Campbell
reached Fort Halkett, having been absent four months.
The result of Campbell's
successful discovery was an order from Sir George Simpson to establish a
trading post at the source of the Liard. This was accomplished, and a
post erected at Frances Lake in 1841. In the following year birch bark
was brought up the river from Fort Liard, and sent during the winter by
dog sleighs to Pelly Banks. Here, in 1843, an establishment was erected
and arrangements made for descending the river by means of the canoe
built at Pelly Banks. We give the story of the commencement of his great
voyage on the river in the words of the intrepid explorer:
"Early in June, 1843, I
left Frances Lake with some of the men. We walked over the mountains to
the Pelly Banks, and shortly after started down stream in the canoe with
the interpreter Hoole, two French Canadians and three Indians. As we
advanced the river increased in size and the scenery formed a succession
of picturesque landscapes. About twenty-five miles from Pelly Banks we
encountered a bad rapid — Hoole's—where we were forced to disembark
everything. Elsewhere we had a nice flowing current. Ranges of mountains
flanked us on both sides; on the right the mountains were generally
covered with wood; the left range was more open, with patches of green
poplar running up its valleys and burn- sides, reminding one of the
green brae-face of the Highland glens."
The beauty of the scenery
and the joy of the explorers as they floated down the enlarging Pelly
cannot be described. But their day-dream was rudely interrupted. They
had reached the juncture of the Pelly with the Lewis, as they called the
new found stream, and this was 400 or 500 miles from Pelly Banks. Here,
at the spot where afterwards Fort Selkirk was erected, was encamped a
band of "Wood Indians." This being the first band of explorers down the
Pelly, the Indians had never seen white men before. The savages spoke
loud, seemed wild and distant, and, although they smoked the pipe of
peace, yet were not to be depended upon. It was the intention of
Campbell to proceed further down the stream, but his hosts would not
hear of it. They depicted the dangers of the route, spoke of the Indians
of the lower river as being very treacherous, said they were "numerous
as the sand," and "would not only kill, but eat the white man."
Campbell's men, alarmed by these tales, which were only too true, would
go no further; and so, throwing a sealed can into the river with word of
his voyage, he turned his prow up stream again. No sooner had Campbell
started back than the Indians, showing greater hostility, stealthily
followed the party, and were very nearly falling upon the small band of
voyageurs. Two years afterwards the Indians informed Campbell that they
had intended to murder him and his crew. They depicted very vividly how
on one night when it was as clear as day he had himself; while on guard,
kept in his hand something white. This had been a book, a religious
work, of which he was fond—" Hervey's Meditations,"— some say it was the
Bible. This little book they had regarded as a charm, and it saved his
life. They told him that he had occasionally gone to the river brink to
drink, but that he drank from a horn cup. Had he knelt down to drink
they would certainly have killed him and thrown him into the river.
Campbell was in his religious spirit in the habit of attributing his
safety on this occasion to the special care of his Heavenly Father.
The misadventure of the
first voyage did not deter the daring fur traders from seeking out the
river again. The winters were spent in trading between Frances Lake and
Pelly Banks, but in the summer, parties descended the river on hunting
expeditions, and brought back many a quarry of moose, deer and bear, and
supplies of the bighorns or mountain sheep, noted for the delicacy of
their flesh. The constant visits made to Pelly Banks led to much
speculation as to what the outlet of the Pelly River was. Was it the
Colville? Or was it, as Campbell with true prescience conjectured, the
upper part of the Yukon? It was at length determined to place a fort at
the junction of the Pelly and Lewis, the point reached on a former
journey a few years before.
Having spent the winter
before in building boats at Pelly Banks, they sent their returns in
early spring down to Fort Simpson, and in July, 1848, started off with
great expectation to take possession of new territory. Reaching the
junction of the Pelly and Lewis they erected a fort, calling it Fort
Selkirk. In this there was a remarkable example of the modesty of the
explorer. It was said that the head officer of the Company in writing to
him called the fort Campbell's Fort, but the sturdy trader maintained
that he knew no such fort, and insisted upon calling his post Fort
Selkirk. For many years the fort, which now lies in ruins, was known in
the region as "Campbell's Fort."
While the ardent
explorers, along the west of the mountains, had been thus doing their
work, another movement was taking place down the Mackenzie River. That
fine navigable river was descended from Fort Simpson, and its mouth
reached on the Arctic Ocean. One of the rivers flowing into the delta is
the Peel. Going up this a short distance, the traders had come to a
point where, by a portage of ninety miles, they were able to reach the
Porcupine River, and descending this they came upon the grand river of
Alaska, the Yukon. Thus reaching the junction of the Porcupine and Yukon
in 1847, the Hudson's Bay Company's trader, A. H. Murray, erected Fort
Yukon, and entered upon the fur trade of the Company. This advance
movement of the Company had been encouraged by the leasing some eight
years before of the strip from 50º 40º on the coast up to Mount St.
Elias by the Russians to the Hudson's Bay Company.
In 1850 Campbell obtained
permission from Sir George Simpson to descend the river from Fort
Selkirk, confident that he would find it to be the Yukon. Accomplishing
a journey from the height of land of about 1,200 miles, Campbell proved
his surmise correct. From Fort Yukon he ascended the Porcupine in
company with Murray, crossed on foot to the Peel River, and thence
ascending the Mackenzie reached Fort Simpson. He refers with great glee
to the surprise of his friends seeing him return to the fort up the
Mackenzie instead of down the Liard, as he had been wont to come. The
difficulty of the Liard route may be seen from the fact that the regular
Hudson's Bay Company's route for transporting the Pelly River furs was
by way of the Yukon, Porcupine and up the Mackenzie River.
Campbell, on reaching the
junction of the Pelly and Lewis, built his fort, and for a short time it
promised to be an important centre, but in 1852 a thieving band of coast
Indians, called the Chilkats, made a raid upon Fort Selkirk, plundered
and shortly afterwards destroyed it, so that to this day ruins may be
seen at the junction of the rivers mentioned. After this destruction,
Campbell made one of the most marvellous journeys on record, walking the
whole distance from Fort Simpson to Fort Garry on snowshoes, which is
not less than 2,000 miles. He then pushed on on foot to Red Wing,
Minnesota.
In 1853, Campbell visited
Britain, and there, under his direction, maps were prepared by Arrow-
smith of the region explored by him. To few men has been vouchsafed the
privilege of naming the important points in so large a region as
Campbell thus described. The rivers and more notable points were named
by him after his own acquaintances in the Company, or from the places in
his native valley in Perthshire. Such names as McMillan, Lewis, White
and Stewart, given to large tributaries of the Yukon, are illustrations
of this. Much indignation was aroused a few years ago by a worthless
subaltern in the United States army, Lieut. Schwatka, attempting, after
going over Campbell's ground, to rename the places fixed in Arrow-
smith's map years before by our explorer.
After returning from
Scotland, Campbell was sent back to the Athabasca district, where he
remained till 1863. During the latter part of this time his lonely abode
was made joyful by the arrival of a brave Scottish lady, Miss Eleonora
Sterling, who came in company with her sister, but otherwise unattended,
all the way from Scotland to be his bride. The late Consul Taylor used
to describe with great animation this heroic journey of the Scottish
lassies whom he had seen, as they made their overland journey from St.
Paul to Fort Garry of upwards of 400 miles, and then courageously pushed
on to go 400 miles further north to Norway House to be met by Campbell
from his far off post in Athabasca. Robert Campbell was most devoted to
his wife, and she gave him two sons and a daughter. The writer well
remembers him in 1871, when he hadreceived a few weeks before the news
of the death of his wife, who had gone home to Edinburgh. The old fur
trader seemed as if he were in a dream, dwelling on the terrible loss he
had sustained.
After remaining his full
term in Athabasca, Campbell removed east on his appointment to the
charge of the Swan River district. Here he was in charge till 1871, when
he retired from the service with the rank of Chief Factor. His children
were educated in Edinburgh, and he spent the time in coming and going
from the land of his birth to the western land where he had seen so many
adventures. In i88o, he took up land in Riding Mountain, Manitoba,
erected buildings upon it, and to this home gave the name Merchiston
Ranch. It was his delight to come down once or twice a year to Winnipeg,
attend to necessary business and spend a few weeks meeting old friends
and recalling old times. This was his life till May 9th, 1894, when he
passed away after a short illness at the ripe age of eighty-six years
and a few months. He was buried at Kildonan, a large company of old
friends following him to his tomb.
As we examine his life
and recall his character, we are impelled to give an estimate of our old
friend, Robert Campbell:
(1) He was a man cast in
an heroic mould. His bravery, decision of character, honesty of purpose,
and devotion to duty stand out prominently during the period of nearly
forty years in which he served the Hudson's Bay Company.
(2) His deeply religious
nature maintained its fervor and devotion during the long period of
service among heathen savages in the far west, and among scenes of
competitive trade, and at times debauchery and even bloodshed. It was
his delight in earlier days to pay visits to Kildonan, and in his later
years to the Church of his fathers in Winnipeg. He was a friend of all
good men, and was a man of singular modesty.
(3) Though marrying somewhat late, he was exceedingly domestic in his
habits, and was intensely devoted to his wife and children. His success
as a fur trader was recognized by his company; he was always a favorite
of Sir George Simpson; and he was singularly free of the arts by which
subordinates seek to ingratiate themselves with their superiors.
(4) His work as an
explorer gave him his highest distinction. To this his ardent Highland
nature gave him a bias; the love of adventure was strong in him; he
laughed at dangers which would have deterred other men. He had a great
faculty of managing Indians; and was highly regarded by them. The glory
of being the discoverer of the Upper Yukon, the river of golden sands,
will ever be his.
(5) He was an ornament to
the Hudson's Bay Company's service, which retained a high standard among
its officers. It affords the writer pleasure to testify, having had a
large acquaintance with the officers and men of the Company, that few,
if any, bodies have ever retained a higher standard of honor, honesty
and respectability, among their men than the old Company of 250 years'
standing, which preserved peace among the wandering tribes of Indians,
kept the British flag flying from Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean,
and worthily earned the title of the Honorable the Hudson's Bay Company. |
