The 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

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...

 in the early 19th century connecting York Factory

York Factory, Manitoba

York Factory was a settlement and factory located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. The settlement was headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Northern Department, from 1821 to...

 and 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...

. It was named "express" because it was not used only to transport furs and supplies but also to quickly move departmental reports and letters. It was the main overland connection between the Columbia Department

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...

 and the Hudson's Bay Company's headquarters at York Factory. Bulk cargo to and from the Columbia Department was shipped by sea. The express brigade was known as the York Factory Express on its eastbound journey in the spring, and as the Columbia Express or Autumn Express on its westbound journey in the fall. The same route was used in both cases. Its length was about 4200 kilometres (2,609.8 mi). To expedite messages the express messengers would often speed ahead of the main bodies carrying supplies and furs.

History

The York Factory Express evolved from an earlier express brigade used by the North West Company

North West Company

The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...

 between Fort George

Fort Astoria

Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Company's primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast. After a short two-year term of US ownership, the British owned and operated it for 33 years. It was the first British port on the Pacific coast...

 (originally Fort Astoria

Fort Astoria

Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Company's primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast. After a short two-year term of US ownership, the British owned and operated it for 33 years. It was the first British port on the Pacific coast...

 founded in 1811 by John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...

's American Fur Company

American Fur Company

The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...

), at the mouth of the Columbia River

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...

, to Fort William

Fort William, Ontario

Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...

 on Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

.

In 1821 the North West Company was forcibly merged (at the behest of the British government) into the Hudson's Bay Company after armed conflict in the Red River Settlement between the two companies. George Simpson

George Simpson (administrator)

Sir George Simpson was a Scots-Quebecer and employee of the Hudson's Bay Company . His title was Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land and administrator over the Northwest Territories and Columbia Department in British North America from 1821 to 1860.-Early years:George Simpson was born in Dingwall,...

, director of Hudson's Bay Company, visited the Columbia District in 1824-25, journeying from York Factory. He investigated a quicker route than previously used, following the Saskatchewan River

Saskatchewan River

The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada, approximately long, flowing roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to empty into Lake Winnipeg...

 and crossing the mountains at Athabasca Pass

Athabasca Pass

Athabasca Pass is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies. It is the headwaters of the Whirlpool River, a tributary of the Athabasca River.The pass lies between Mount Brown and McGillivray Ridge...

. This route was thereafter followed by the York Factory Express brigades.

By 1825 there were usually two brigades, each setting out from opposite ends of the route, 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...

 in 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...

 on the lower Columbia River

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 the other from York Factory on Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

, in spring and passing each other in the middle of the continent. Each brigade consisted of about forty to seventy five men and two to five specially made boats and travelled at breakneck speed (for the time). Indians along the way were often paid in trade goods to help them portage around falls and unnavigable rapids. An 1839 report cites the travel time as three months and ten days—almost 26 miles (40 km) per day on average. These men carried supplies in and furs out by boat, horseback and as back packs for the forts and trading posts along the route. They also carried status reports for supplies needed, furs traded etc. from Dr. John McLoughlin

John McLoughlin

Dr. John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, was the Chief Factor of the Columbia Fur District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. He was later known as the "Father of Oregon" for his role in assisting the American cause in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest...

 head of the 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...

 HBC operations, and the other fort managers along the route. This continued until 1846, when the lower Columbia district was ceded to the United States by the Oregon Treaty

Oregon Treaty

The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...

.

The supplies were brought into Fort Vancouver and York Factory by ship every year (they tried to maintain one year's extra supplies to avoid disastrous ship wrecks etc.). The furs they had traded were shipped back on the supply ships with the furs from Fort Vancouver often being shipped to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 where they were traded for Chinese goods before returning to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The furs from York Factory being sold in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in an annual fur sale.

James Sinclair

James Sinclair (fur trapper)

James Sinclair was a trader and explorer with the Hudson's Bay Company. He was the son of Hudson's Bay Company factor William Sinclair, from Eastaquoy in Harray, and his Cree wife, Nahovway. He was a brother of William Sinclair. James was born in Rupert's Land and educated in Scotland at Edinburgh...

 followed the southern portion of the route in 1841, when he brought nearly 200 HBC settlers from the Red River Settlement (located near the junction of the Assiniboine River

Assiniboine River

The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...

 and Red River

Red River of the North

The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...

 near present Winnipeg, Canada) into the Columbia District. This attempt at British settlement failed because 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...

's Chief Factor McLoughlin was slow to settle them; so most of the families eventually joined the American Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 settlers for the promise of free land in the Willamette Valley

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...

 south of the Columbia River.

Transport

An inland boat, the York boat

York boat

The York boat was an inland boat used by the Hudson's Bay Company to carry furs and trade goods along inland waterways in Rupert's Land and the Columbia District. It was named after York Factory, the headquarters of the HBC, and modeled after Orkney Islands fishing boats...

, was used to carry furs, trade goods along inland waterways 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...

 and the Columbia District. The express brigades also used these boats, although they did not carry bulk cargo. The boats were named after their destination: York Factory headquarters of the HBC, and were modeled after Orkney Islands fishing boats (themselves a descendant of the Viking long boat). York Boats were preferable to the canoes, used by North West Company

North West Company

The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...

 Voyageurs

Coureur des bois

A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....

 as a cargo carriers, because of its larger size, greater capacity, and improved stability in rough water. The boat's heavy wood construction also gave it an advantage in travelling through rocks or ice; it was much more immune to tears and punctures. That advantage became a disadvantage, though, when portaging was necessary. The boat was far too heavy to carry, and it was necessary instead to cut a path through the brush, lay poplar rollers, and laboriously drag the boat overland. The mountainous terrain of the Pacific Northwest necessitated the regular use of pack horses over significant portions of the fur brigade routes.

A style of boat slightly different from the York boat was made specifically for use in the Columbia District and constructed on the Columbia River. In 1811 the American Pacific Fur Company

Pacific Fur Company

The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. Half of the stock of the company was held by the American Fur Company, owned exclusively by John Jacob Astor, and Astor provided all of the capital for the enterprise. The other half of the stock was ascribed to working partners...

 introduced the use of bateaux on the Columbia River, heavy boats made of split or sawn cedar. After the NWC took over the PFC the practice of using bateaux was quickly adopted, birch bark canoes having proved too dangerous on the rivers of the Pacific Northwest. In the 1820 Joe McKay of the HBC described the Columbia District bateaux as "made from quarter-inch pine board, and are thirty-two feet long, and six and a half feet wide in midships, with both ends sharp, and without a keel—worked, according to the circumstances of the navigation, with paddles, or with oars."

Route

From west to east, Fort Vancouver to York Factory, the express route ran as follows. Up the Columbia River past the posts of Fort Nez Perces

Fort Nez Percés

Fort Nez Percés, sometimes also spelled Fort Nez Percé , named after the Nez Perce people and later known as Fort Walla Walla, was a fortified British fur trading post on the Columbia River on the territory of modern-day Wallula, Washington...

, Fort Okanogan

Fort Okanogan

Fort Okanogan was founded as a fur trade outpost by John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company in 1811. It was built at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers, in what is now Okanogan County, Washington...

, and Fort Colvile

Fort Colville

The trade center Fort Colville was built by the Hudson's Bay Company at Kettle Falls on the Columbia River, a few miles west of the present site of Colville, Washington in 1825, to replace Spokane House as a regional trading center, as the latter was deemed to be too far from 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...

 (today under 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...

), then over Athabasca Pass

Athabasca Pass

Athabasca Pass is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies. It is the headwaters of the Whirlpool River, a tributary of the Athabasca River.The pass lies between Mount Brown and McGillivray Ridge...

 to Jasper House

Jasper, Alberta

Jasper is a specialized municipality in western Alberta, Canada. It is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park, located in the Canadian Rockies in the Athabasca River valley....

, down the Athabasca River

Athabasca River

The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada...

 to Fort Assiniboine

Fort Assiniboine

Fort Assiniboine is a hamlet in northwest Alberta, Canada, within Woodlands County. It is located along the north shore of the Athabasca River at the junction of Highway 33 and Highway 661...

, then overland to Fort Edmonton

Fort Edmonton

Fort Edmonton was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1795 to 1891, all of which were located in central Alberta, Canada...

. Thence down the North Saskatchewan River

North Saskatchewan River

The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....

 and Saskatchewan River

Saskatchewan River

The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada, approximately long, flowing roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to empty into Lake Winnipeg...

 to Lake Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...

 and via Norway House

Norway House, Manitoba

- Treaty and York Boat Days :Held annually each summer, the York Boat events serve as the main attraction.-External links:* * * *...

 on the Nelson River

Nelson River

The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its full length is , it has mean discharge of , and has a drainage basin of , of which is in the United States...

. Finally the brigade would travel down the Hayes River

Hayes River

The Hayes River is a river in Northern Region, Manitoba, Canada that flows from Molson Lake to Hudson Bay at York Factory. It was an historically important river in the development of Canada, and is today a Canadian Heritage River and the longest naturally flowing river in Manitoba.-Course:The...

to York Factory on Hudson Bay.