Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail
Encyclopedia
The Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail, sometimes referred to simply as the Brigade Trail, refers to one of two routes used by Hudson's Bay Company
fur traders to transport furs, goods and supplies between coastal and Columbia District
headquarters at Fort Vancouver
and those in New Caledonia
and also in Rupert's Land
. Importantly the route was that used by the annual "Hudson's Bay Express", a shipment of the company books and profits to company headquarters.
The older of the two routes, and the most used, was from Fort Vancouver
via the Columbia
and Okanagan Rivers to Fort Shuswap (aka Fort Kamloops, today's City of Kamloops, then via the Bonaparte
and Cariboo Plateau
s to the Fraser River
at Fort Alexandria. From there the Express used river travel via the Peace River
to the Prairies
and Rupert's Land
. Another route used by the Express was direct to Rupert's Land via the Columbia River to Boat Encampment
on that river's Big Bend (beneath today's Kinbasket Lake
reservoir) and then via Howse Pass
. The route from Fort Kamloops to Fort Alexandria later featured prominently in the migration to the Cariboo goldfields
and was known to miners using it as the Brigade Trail. The southern part of the trail, between Forts Vancouver and Kamloops, was at this time known as the Okanagan Trail
.
In anticipation of the division of the Columbia District
/Oregon Country
, the company established a new fort just above the future boundary at Fort Langley
on the lower reaches of the Fraser River
and the exploration of alternate routes via British territory for the company fur brigades from the seacoast to the Interior was undertaken. Considered among the new routes were what later became known as the Lakes Route and passes in the southern Canadian Cascades later used by the Dewdney Trail and the Crowsnest Highway, but the most viable route was decided to be a difficult crossing of the Canadian Cascades, over the east wall of the Fraser Canyon
just above Spuzzum
onto the Thompson Plateau
, then to Fort Kamloops. A great deal of money was spent on the route, which was steep and narrow and carved into the mountainside, rising from Kequaloose, which lies opposite Spuzzum on the east bank of the Fraser near today's Alexandra Bridge
, and was only used a few times by fur brigades because of its difficulty for pack animals. Most shipments by this route were disastrous. It had fallen into disuse by the time of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
.
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
fur traders to transport furs, goods and supplies between coastal and Columbia District
Columbia District
The Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810...
headquarters at Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
and those in New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and also in Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
. Importantly the route was that used by the annual "Hudson's Bay Express", a shipment of the company books and profits to company headquarters.
The older of the two routes, and the most used, was from Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
via the Columbia
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
and Okanagan Rivers to Fort Shuswap (aka Fort Kamloops, today's City of Kamloops, then via the Bonaparte
Bonaparte Plateau
The Bonaparte Plateau, in British Columbia, Canada, is a subarea of the larger Cariboo Plateau which extends to the Quesnel River and lies between the Cariboo Mountains on the east and the Fraser River on the west. The Cariboo Plateau is a subarea of the Interior Plateau, aka the Fraser Plateau...
and Cariboo Plateau
Cariboo Plateau
The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau...
s to the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
at Fort Alexandria. From there the Express used river travel via the Peace River
Peace River (Canada)
The Peace River is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River flows into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River. The Mackenzie is the 12th longest river in the world,...
to the Prairies
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...
and Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
. Another route used by the Express was direct to Rupert's Land via the Columbia River to Boat Encampment
Boat Encampment
Boat Encampment was a rendezvous and staging-point for the Hudson's Bay Company in the early 19th century and later a locality by that name in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was located at the "top" of the Big Bend of the Columbia north of the city of Revelstoke, British Columbia...
on that river's Big Bend (beneath today's Kinbasket Lake
Kinbasket Lake
Kinbasket Lake is a reservoir on the Columbia River in southeast British Columbia, north of the city of Revelstoke and the town of Golden. The reservoir was created by the construction of the Mica Dam. The lake includes two reaches, Columbia Reach and Canoe Reach , referring to the river valleys...
reservoir) and then via Howse Pass
Howse Pass
Howse Pass is a pass through the Rocky Mountains. The pass was used by First Nations people such as the Kootenay and Piegan. European explorers first discovered the pass in 1806, and David Thompson explored it in 1807...
. The route from Fort Kamloops to Fort Alexandria later featured prominently in the migration to the Cariboo goldfields
Cariboo Gold Rush
The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Although the first gold discovery was made in 1859 at Horsefly Creek, followed by more strikes at Keithley Creek and Antler Horns lake in 1860, the actual rush did not begin until 1861, when these discoveries were...
and was known to miners using it as the Brigade Trail. The southern part of the trail, between Forts Vancouver and Kamloops, was at this time known as the Okanagan Trail
Okanagan Trail
The Okanagan Trail was an inland route to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush from the Lower Columbia region of the Washington and Oregon Territories in 1858-1859...
.
In anticipation of the division of the Columbia District
Columbia District
The Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810...
/Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
, the company established a new fort just above the future boundary at Fort Langley
Fort Langley, British Columbia
Fort Langley is a village with a population of 2,700 and forms part of the Township of Langley. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company.-History:...
on the lower reaches of the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
and the exploration of alternate routes via British territory for the company fur brigades from the seacoast to the Interior was undertaken. Considered among the new routes were what later became known as the Lakes Route and passes in the southern Canadian Cascades later used by the Dewdney Trail and the Crowsnest Highway, but the most viable route was decided to be a difficult crossing of the Canadian Cascades, over the east wall of the Fraser Canyon
Fraser Canyon
The Fraser Canyon is an 84 km landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley...
just above Spuzzum
Spuzzum, British Columbia
Spuzzum is an unincorporated settlement in British Columbia, Canada. Because it is on the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately 50 km north of the community of Hope, it is often referred to as being "beyond Hope"...
onto the Thompson Plateau
Thompson Plateau
The Thompson Plateau, also known as the Okanagan-Thompson Plateau, forms the southern portion of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, Canada, lying to the west of Okanagan Lake, south of the Thompson River and to the east of the Fraser River...
, then to Fort Kamloops. A great deal of money was spent on the route, which was steep and narrow and carved into the mountainside, rising from Kequaloose, which lies opposite Spuzzum on the east bank of the Fraser near today's Alexandra Bridge
Alexandra Bridge
The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge is a steel truss cantilever bridge spanning the Ottawa River between Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. It is known locally as both the "Alexandra Bridge" and the "Interprovincial Bridge".-History:...
, and was only used a few times by fur brigades because of its difficulty for pack animals. Most shipments by this route were disastrous. It had fallen into disuse by the time of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River. This was a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton...
.
See also
- Canadian canoe routes (early)Canadian canoe routes (early)This article covers the water routes used by early explorers of Canada with special emphasis on the fur trade.-Canada and Siberia:Both Canada and Siberia were explored mainly by river. Both countries have many navigable rivers with short portages between them. There are no serious barriers to canoe...
- Vidette LakeVidette LakeVidette Lake is a small lake in the Deadman River Valley of the Thompson Country in the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is not on the Deadman River, but it is on a tributary within the river's valley.-History:...
- Dewdney Trail
- Okanagan TrailOkanagan TrailThe Okanagan Trail was an inland route to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush from the Lower Columbia region of the Washington and Oregon Territories in 1858-1859...
- Douglas RoadDouglas RoadThe Douglas Road, aka the Lillooet Trail, Harrison Trail or Lakes Route, was a goldrush-era transportation route from the British Columbia Coast to the Interior...
- Whatcom TrailWhatcom TrailThe Whatcom Trail was an overland trail from the Puget Sound area of Washington Territory during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858. Named for the then-chief of the Nooksack people on Bellingham Bay, where the trail began at Fairhaven , the route used went via a route known as the Columbia...
- River Trail (British Columbia)River Trail (British Columbia)The River Trail was a main route for travel in the colonial era of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia, running northwards along the Fraser River from to present day Lillooet to Big Bar, British Columbia and points beyond in the Cariboo District...
- Cariboo RoadCariboo RoadThe Cariboo Road was a project initiated in 1860 by the colonial Governor of British Columbia, James Douglas...
- Old Cariboo RoadOld Cariboo RoadThe Old Cariboo Road is a reference to the original wagon road to the Cariboo gold fields in what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia...
- Oregon boundary disputeOregon boundary disputeThe Oregon boundary dispute, or the Oregon Question, arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Pacific Northwest of North America in the first half of the 19th century. Both the United Kingdom and the United States had territorial and commercial aspirations in the region...
- York Factory ExpressYork Factory ExpressThe York Factory Express, usually called "the Express" and also called the Columbia Express and the Communication, was a brigade operated by Hudson's Bay Company in the early 19th century connecting York Factory and Fort Vancouver. It was named "express" because it was not used only to transport...