STIRRING UP GHOSTS

Like other pieces in Stirring up Ghosts, the song “John Tod” is strongly linked to British Columbia’s past. Bruce Coughlan’s song about the old fur trader piques our interest, and it is fortunate that we know as much about the life of Tod as we do. His employer, the London-based Hudson’s Bay Company, kept meticulous records on Tod and his co-workers. Moreover, his long-time friend, Edward Ermatinger, saved the correspondence he received from Tod and other fur traders. In later years, the letters provided contemporary historians with a wealth of information on the day-to-day lives of fur traders.

The Fur Trade

When the Europeans came to western Canada more than 200 years ago, their purpose was not to net fish, mine ore or even to farm, but to seek wealth of a different kind. Wildlife was plentiful in the rolling prairies and high mountains to the west. The thick coats that kept the animals warm during the winter were highly valued by Europeans. It isn’t surprising then that many early adventurers saw furs as a source of limitless wealth.

On May 6, 1670, English King Charles II gave monopoly-trading rights into Hudson Bay to a syndicate that included his cousin Prince Rupert. The enterprise, which became known as the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), was at first very successful. From York Factory, their far northern post on Hudson Bay, the company exported the pelts they traded with the indigenous people of the north. Although they readily accepted other furs, the company’s most valuable export was the beaver whose undercoat was processed into      water-resistant felt used for top hats.[i]

Believing that northern Britons were better suited to the cold climate of the northwest of America, the HBC was long committed to hiring Scottish youth as non-commissioned officers called apprentice clerks. In time, the younger men would fill the more rarified ranks of the commissioned officers: chief factors and chief traders. As the years passed, the Hudson’s Bay Company increasingly relied on young men who came from the Orkney Islands to fill the labouring jobs. These “servants” as they were called did a broad range of tasks from cooking food to building forts. Not all Orkney men were of lesser station, but the company servants only rarely broke the barrier between officer and servant.

For many years, the North West Company transported furs taken in Rupert’s Land to Montreal where they were shipped to London. Although the shorter Hudson Bay route from York Factory gave the English company an advantage, it was the Nor’Westers who prospered. They did not wait for the Indians to approach their forts to trade. Instead the North West Company partners organized routes that spread along the rivers and lakes of the rich Athabasca Country.

In response, the HBC adopted North West Company tactics and were soon building forts away from the shores of Hudson’s Bay. This heightened hostilities. What had started as a commercial dispute, eventually escalated into bloody skirmishes. In 1821 open warfare ended when the Canadian company sold out to the HBC.

The HBC victory came as a surprise to many in the fur trade because it appeared that the London Company was losing its war with the Nor’Westers. The North West Company lacked the funds to carry them from one year to the next, particularly when times were difficult.

While there was much cheering in the Hudson’s Bay camp, the lower ranks didn’t realize the full implications of a HBC victory. The defeat of the Canadians restored a Hudson’s Bay Company monopoly, which meant that fewer men and resources had to be diverted into expensive competition. Interestingly, the end of the North West Company occurred at the same time as the appointment of a new field governor, George Simpson. With virtually a free hand, Simpson could and did change the way the company operated. Many of the officers who had gained fame through their military prowess were dismissed.