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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Fort Simpson Journal |
| Library | University of Alberta |
| Date | 1 Sep 1853 - 30 Apr 1855 |
| Author / Creator | McNeill, William Henry |
| Description | The Fort Simpson Journal contains the expected daily and routine entries on weather conditions, entertaining descriptions of the labourers and their occupations, and general comments on trading activities. The journal also contains a plethora of lengthy and intensely interesting entries describing specific activities and events hitherto unknown and unrecorded elsewhere. Some example entry topics include: fur trading activities with coastal Indians, unrest amongst the local Indian tribes, Indian ceremonies, arrivals and departures of Hudson's Bay Company supply ships and the health of labourers. A two-page table of monthly trade statistics, located at the end of the journal, presents actual numbers of furs received at the fort during “Outfit 54” and part of “Outfit 55”. (Outfit is a reference to the trading year). This is a valuable insight into the type and quality of furs received at Fort Simpson, as well as the magnitude of trade carried on at the time. |
| Document Type | Journal, Manuscript |
| Theme(s) | Trade and Commerce; Employment and Labour |
| Keywords | alcohol, blacksmith, business, ceremony, climate, conflict, death, employment, fort, fur trade, gold, health, indigenous peoples, labourers, liquor, manners and customs, murder, outfits, rum, settlement, trade, trade statistics, tribe, unrest, weapons, venereal disease |
| Countries | Canada; UK; USA; Russia |
| Places | Fort Simpson; Pacific Ocean; Columbia River |
| Company | Hudson's Bay Company |
| Ships | Beaver |
| Additional Information |
Fort Simpson was one of six strategically-located Hudson's Bay Company forts along the Pacific Coast between the Columbia River and Russian-America, built between 1831 and 1846. Other posts in the chain included: Fort Vancouver (on the Columbia River), Fort Nisqually (on Puget Sound), Victoria (on Vancouver Island), Fort Langley (on the Fraser River) and Fort McLoughlin (on Millbank Sound, near present-day Bella Coola). Please note that some of the metadata and translations for this document are taken from the University of Alberta library finding aid, with information originally compiled by Bjarne Tokerud Bookseller Inc. |
| Copyright | University of Alberta |
