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IN HIS LETTERS
PROBABLY no man shows
his real thoughts in any way more readily than in his correspondence
with his friends. Governor Simpson was an excellent correspondent,
and kept the whole of his wide-spread command in hand by letters
written promptly and frequently. He had the knack of dealing
succinctly and clearly with business matters and then drifting off
into a page of what he calls "chit-chat," which was very interesting
and was eagerly looked for by his correspondents.
We are to be
congratulated in our study of his life that the versatile governor
wrote so many letters. In a garret in Queen Street, Edinburgh, the
letters and papers of the late James Hargrave, chief factor of the
company and for many years master of York Factory, were stored by
his son with trusty solicitors. York Factory was for many years the
entrepot of all the goods for Rupert's Land, and the place of export
for the furs gathered from the Arctic solitudes. Hargrave's
correspondence accordingly embraced communications from all parts of
the fur traders' territory and from almost all men of prominence in
the far West.
Large packages of
Governor Simpson's letters were docketed and left in perfect order
by Chief Factor Hargrave, who, upon retiring, treasured these
memorials of the past. The writer, through the kindness of their
custodian, from the many hundreds of these letters, selected some
thirty written during the interesting portion of Governor Simpson's
life, beginning with 1830 and including a number of years following.
The governor had at
this time been ten years at the helm of the company's affairs, had
become acquainted with the work and with the thousands of men under
him. He was certainly master of the situation. In a letter from
Norway House in June, 1830, the governor writes that a change has
taken place in his condition, meaning that he had just been married.
Mrs. Simpson had accompanied hind to Norway I-louse and he writes
that she is to accompany him to York. His wife was a sister of the
wife of Chief Factor Finlayson, and on this account Red River
Settlement was the governor's residence for several years after his
marriage. With the zeal of a Benedict, he writes that Leblanc—a
faithful and expert workman—is to be ready to leave York Factory
with him and return to Red River Settlement to arrange a house for
the wintering of himself and his bride, and he gives orders to his
faithful man at York Factory to have his quarters on the bay in good
order for his arrival.
In the same letter,
however, in which he speaks of his new found felicity, a social
shadow falls across the view. He mentions that a leading factor has
been married, and has gone to Moose Factory. He says to Hargrave,
"Pray soothe his woman by any argument you can think of, and say she
will not be deserted." The meaning simply is that the officer had
been married—manage du pays—to a native, and that when he legally
married, lie pensioned off the woman or had her married to some one
else. This bad practice was only too common in certain quarters in
the fur country.
Governor Simpson was
a strong and sympathetic friend. In a letter dated Red River
Settlement, December, 1831, he speaks very feelingly of the death of
his friend Mr. Richardson—John Richardson, of the firm of Forsyth,
Richardson & Co.—of Montreal. His friend had been a prominent man in
the fur trade. The governor speaks of him as "a gentleman of the
first standing and character in Canada," and refers to the kindness
and attention which he had shown him.
Living happily in the
settlement he says, "here we are very happy and gay, but the weather
has been very changeable." He mentions the McKenzies and McMillans,
leading fur-trading people, the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Jones, the pioneer
clergyman and his wife, of whom Governor Simpson was fond, Dr. Tod,
an eccentric trader, and Dr. Hambly, the physician, "the strangest
compound of skill, simplicity, selfishness, extravagance, musical
taste and want of courtesy I ever fell in with." . . . "The people
are living on the fat of the earth; in short. Red River is a perfect
land of Canaan as far as good cheer goes." The governor was plainly
happy in the midst of his new-found domestic joys.
In all the governor's
letters there is a shrewdness and adroitness that is very marked. He
is, indeed, somewhat given to flattery. The great object of every
clerk in the service was to rise to the position of a commissioned
officer. The governor, in March, 1832, informs Hargrave that he has
prophesied at one of the annual gatherings that Hargrave would be
among the first to be promoted. He writes, "You are a prodigious
favourite with your bourgeois." He states, however, that the
suggestion to make him chief trader had been opposed in the council.
The governor promises that it will not be long delayed, and
promotion carne, as we have seen, in the following year.
The governor's
interest in the people is well shown in a letter written in
December, 1832. The crops in the Red River Settlement had been very
poor that season, owing to an unusually wet summer and very
"unseasonable frosts in the early part of the autumn." He hopes the
people may, however, have enough to eat. "You will be sorry to
learn," he says, "that Mrs. Simpson continues in very delicate
health. She joins in regards to you.
In 1833 the governor
himself was exceedingly unwell at Red River Settlement, and he
writes that the traders McMillan and Christie advise him to make a
trip to Canada and England. Mrs. Simpson also continued in a very
poor state of health. He comforts Hargrave by telling him that he
hopes to send him a commission from the next meeting of partners in
June at Norway House. In the same year there was a great scarcity of
the necessaries of life throughout the country; especially was there
a great dearth of pemmican and grease. Turning suddenly from an
expression of his sympathy for the people, the governor writes, "Sir
Walter Scott is no more; our universally admired and respected
fellow-countryman is gone."
An example of the
governor's firmness and skill in administering reproof is seen in a
letter written from the Red River Settlement in December,1833.
Referring to some unpleasantness between Hargrave and one of his
fellow-traders, the writer states that no doubt his correspondent
will be happy and comfortable now that the source of the discord is
removed. Then he goes on to tell of all the craft (boats) of Red
River shopkeepers being stopped in the ice on their way to England
from York Factory. The crews of Logan's and Sinclair's had managed
to reach Norway House. McDermot's people had not in December been
heard from. He then states that the "trippers" blamed Hargrave for
delaying them so long at York. The governor says, however, that he
and Mr. Christie upheld his officer at the Factory; but privately he
states his fear that Hargrave in his anxiety to dispatch the Prince
George, the company's ship, on her journey through Hudson Bay to
England, had delayed the brigades five or six days.
In the same letter
Governor Simpson shows the part he took in religious of affairs. The
missionaries of the Church of England thus far held the whole ground
among; the Highland settlers of Red River. The people were somewhat
irritated. While the governor sympathized to a certain extent with
his fellow-countrymen in their desires, yet he feared dissension,
and preferred matters to remain in their existing condition. He
says, "have got into the new church (St. John's), which is really a
splendid edifice for the Red River people." He says they are now
less clamorous about a Gaelic minister. He likewise has a fling at
his complaining fellow-countrymen, saying that they had wished to
have their private stills, and now "about whiskey they say not one
word, that ruin is so cheap, and good strong heavy-wet' in general
use."
Among his chit-chat
in May, 18435, he speaks of a promising Scottish officer having gone
through his work manfully and being an efficient officer, is "which
is a feather in his cap." Ballenden afterwards became master of Fort
Garry.
In the year 1836
there are many letters. The governor was on the eve of going to
England, and after the council at Norway House writes a letter every
other day to Hargrave. In most generous terms he instructs Hargrave
to be attentive to Captain Carey and his family. The captain was the
new head of the company's experimental farm at Red River Settlement.
Extra allowances were to be made for the newcomers, and for three
officers at Red River Settlement, as well as greater liberality to
be shown to all the gentlemen and clerks.
In another letter of
the same month the governor urges that the several brigades should
be got off as early as possible, in order that they might all reach
their destinations before the setting in of the ice. They were to
leave in the following order: Saskatchewan, Columbia, Lac la Pluie
(Rainy Lake), Sinclair, and McKenzie (Red River).
The governor has been
charged with conniving to degrade the Indians and to prevent the
whites obtaining their rights. One evil, however, he continued
strongly to oppose, that was the use of strong drink, at least in
any general way. We have already seen how on the Pacific coast he
entered into a compact with the Russian governor to cornpletely do
away with strong drink among the Indians of the coast.
Writing July 6th from
Norway house, lie says to Hargrave: Has the allowance of wine
regulated by fixed system succeeded at York? I do not at all see
that it is necessary to introduce evening brandy and water parties
for the convenience of the captains. On the contrary I should be
glad that it was broken off; let them take their 'whack' at the
dinner table, like other people. When spoken to in England about
heavy drinking on shipboard, they said in their defence that it is
the custom of the service at the Factories."
In this letter the
governor's love for curiosities and display may be seen. He
instructs Hargrave to send to him at London the calumet (red pipe)
to be handed to him by Trader Ross; also a pair of leather shoes and
Indian scalps. He wishes to have the trader send him stuffed birds,
well made snowshoes, or anything else curious at the Factories.
These objects he showed with great pleasure to the numerous friends
whom he gathered around him in the world's metropolis.
Sometimes the
governor held a very strong opinion, favourable or otherwise, of
certain of his subordinates. Of John Tod, an irrepressible
fellow-countryman of his own, he had no good opinion. In 1823 an
historian has described with great liveliness Governor Simpson
summoning Tod and in bland terms telling him the council had been
pleased to send him to New Caledonia, which it is well known was
regarded as the Siberia of the fur-traders. The imperturbable doctor
was highly pleased and said to the governor that that was the place
where he most wished to go. In a letter of 1836 to Hargrave occurs
the following: "John Tod has been a most useless and troublesome man
of late. He goes home with his wife this summer. He requires more
luxury and attention, I understand, than ally governor of Rupert's
Land would be indulged with ; let him have all that is fit and
proper, but not an iota more."
On the other hand the
letter says: "If anything seems to you that may be useful to
Finlayson at Ungava let it be forwarded. He will have no further
supplies till autumn 1838, and perhaps not then. It has been decided
to send another man to Ungava."
An interesting group
of letters lies before me dated June, 1849. One of these is a letter
from Sir George Simpson to Hargrave at York Factory. It is written
from Norway House. With it is a letter, or copy of a letter, from
Hargrave to Sir George and within this a list of names. The
correspondence shows the inner history of how the appointments to
high offices were made in Sir George's time. Hargrave had now become
a chief factor. He is asked to select such men as he may regard most
fit in the company's service for appointment to commissions at the
meeting of the following year. This was presumably done by every
officer, and then from the lists suggested the appointments were
made.
Hargrave suggested
two names for chief factor. These were John Rae, the Arctic
explorer, and William Sinclair, an old and respected trader. By
contemporary lists we find that these two were appointed, and were
the only ones appointed to the chief factorship in 1850, shoving how
much Hargrave's opinion was valued. He suggested the names of six
clerks for the chief traderships.
In the year 1849 the
first bishop of Rupert's Land, Bishop Anderson, was appointed, and
came out from England in a company's ship by way of York Factory,
and thence to Fort Garry. It is amusing to find in the postscript to
this letter the evidence that Sir George desired to have his kingdom
in proper order for the inspection of the prelate. He says to
Hargrave: "I shall be up here, God willing, about June 10th next.
Pray take care that there be no drunken scenes at York at any time,
more especially when the bishop passes or during the visits of
missionaries or strangers, and do not let brigades start on
Sundays." |
