Thank you, Dutch, for the offer: Your note is the first encounter I have had to indicate that music was a part of the Orcadian existence here with the HBC. I always felt the highland Scots and the English in charge of the larger forts would impose their own style. But then there were all those inland trips and posts dominated by Orcadians. It would be interesting to hear some of it, played by our Orkney/Cree relatives in the Athabaska. When I first discovered that the HBC might have records about oury relatives service with the company, I contacted them in Winnipeg, and was astounded with what they came up with. Oddly, whereas our relatives here all know where the old farm is in Orkney, and many have visited, nobody ever thought to contact the HBC. The first file the lady sent was the employment of William Davie, one of ours for sure. He was a clerk with the company when the Constitution was signed in Canada in 1867. On the bottom of the file was a note that said, "His Grandfather Also Served." Then they gave us the grandfather's file as well as many others dating well back to the 1700's. The first Governor of the company in the North West at Fort York was an Isbister, a common Orkney name, and one intermingled with our family and many others in the 1700's. One of the amazing stories was the John Gunn story, the chap who travelled by water and land and on snow to get to Fort York. He collapsed in the factor's house in the freezing night. When he began to scream, his coat was removed and it was discovered by his incredible chest configuration that John Gunn was a woman, Isobel (I think) in fact. She was looking for her boyfriend, and the screaming was an announcement of labour pains. She was a determined lady. She remained in the fort for years. Dutch, I have flown several times over that Hudson's Bay area east of Churchill, in a small floatplane. and the very thought of trying to squeak through the Hudson Strait pack ice in August in a wooden sailboat with no escape option is frightening to me. The shoreline is very inhospitable, and there is very little shelter from the wind and water, save as to river mouths. You sense an overwhelming feeling of being exposed to the elements in that country. I can't imagine how it would have imprinted on the mind and heart of a young teenager from Orkney. Once they boarded those boats, there was no turning back. They (HBC) have records of the boats that sank. Some of the boat names appear year after year for decades, sailing back and forth from home. I am familiar with Beaver and see it on the bookshelf still. Another good one in Up Here. How did you find a 1988 Beaver? Stephen- > The article I'm quoting from was written by Dr Glyndwr Williams > Head of > Dept & Prof of History Queen Mary College, Univ of London & former > general > editor of the Hudson's bay Record Society. The Beaver Magazine dates > from > autumn 1983. > Hearne's ( plus Isham & Graham) journals are primary sources for the > long > article-in fact the entire magazine is this article -in this special > issue > which I'm more than willing to pass along to you if you wish. > I have no HBC connections- my Thomsons & Burgars ( & Pottingers I > think) > emigrated to Nova Scotia only (as far as I can figure-although there's > a 20 > year blank spot from around 1800-1820 when I have found written > records from > NS) > Life wasn't much better in NS at that time- lots of trees & bears, but > no > factors barking out orders ! > I have 2 letters sent from family in Papa W & Kirkwall from 1823 & > 1832 > describing "this vast & howling wilderness" left behind-Orkney- which > might > well describe the weather there in the past 24-48 hrs ! > > cheers Thompson > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "stephen davie" <stephen.davie@sympatico.ca> > To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 10:31 PM > Subject: Re: [<orcadia>] HBC > > >> Interesting About the Orcadian HBC Employee Stature >> >> At dinner a relative said our Orkneymen explorer relatives were all >> short and squat. I did a little research and discovered that as they >> did with our family, the HBC picked clean the Orkney landscape of >> young >> virile men, often numerous generations off the same farm. Then >> apparently rules were set in place to minimize the exodus. One of >> these >> rules was a height limitation. The result was many boys of twelve >> years >> or so were signed on. The reason therefore that many were short is >> simply that they were still children. >> >> The HBC have incredible records of Orkneymen. All their records were >> moved from London to Winnipeg and the Manitoba Museum does a good job >> of portraying the HBC. >> Interestingly enough, the natives respected the Orkney way, and the >> natives and Orcadians got on better than the Brits and the Scots. My >> relative, Andrew, was captured in Fort Prince of Wales in 1782 by the >> French. The Orkneymen on the post never fired a shot. They were >> treated >> with respect by their captors and set free. Among them was SAmuel >> Hearne.I suppose the alternative was to die for the British? >> >> Fascinating stuff. >> On Wednesday, January 28, 2004, at 05:46 AM, Dutch Thompson wrote: >> >>> Hello- >>> From autumn 1983 The Beaver magazine, an article titled : "The >>> HBC >>> and the Fur Trade:1670-1870': >>> >>> " The rations served out to the men consisted of provisions from >>> England-salt pork & beef, flour, suet, peas, bacon, cheese, butter, >>> and oatmeal- together with geese, ptarmigan, venison, rabbit and >>> fish. >>> To the modern eye the amounts seem gargantuan. On Christmas Day, >>> 1705, >>> each mess of four men at Albany was given twenty pounds of flour, 2 >>> lb >>> of bacon, 8 pints of oatmeal, 2 pints of rice, 2 lb of raisins, 1/2 >>> lb >>> of currants, 8 lb of mutton, 3 fresh and 2 salted geese, one 'piece' >>> of salt bread, 12 partridges, 4 lb of biscuit bread, 2 lb of cheese, >>> 1 >>> 1/2 lb of butter, 3 lb of suet, and 60 fish. This was, the factor >>> concluded, rather more than usual, but it was matched by the list >>> given by Andrew Graham a half-century later of daily rations. Graham >>> claimed...' the Orkney servants yearly send home to their wives and >>> children flour that they store up.' >>> If true, this was a bizzare stae of affairs, since the flour had been >>> expensively shipped from England to the Bay only the previous year. " >>> >>> " The patent unsuitability for hard work of many of those >>> prepared >>> to sign on for Hudson Bay was one reason for the Company's decision >>> to >>> hire, first, Lowland Scots, and then Orkneymen, in increasing >>> numbers. >>> If dour and clannish, the later were hardier and more reliable than >>> the general run of urbanized labourers, and by the 1730s most of the >>> Company's labourers and some of the craftsmen came from the Orkneys >>> (sic)-a regular port of call for the Company ships on their voyage >>> from the Thames'north about' to the Bay... >>> ...the French Wars from 1793 onwards came as a heavy blow. >>> European wars had always broght their own difficulties to the >>> HBC...above all a shorage of manpower. The British navy's demand for >>> seamen drew many Orkneymen onto the service, and this hit the Company >>> hard, for they were now providing 3/4 of the workforce in the Bay-390 >>> out of 498 officers and men in 1800. If David Thompson is to be >>> believed, by about 1796 the Orkneymen reaching York in the annual >>> ship >>> were few in number and small in stature-so much so that the Indian >>> wife of one of the Company servants challenged him with the >>> observation: ' have you not always told me, that the people in your >>> country are as numerous as the leaves on the trees, how can you speak >>> such a falsehood, do we not see plainly that the very last of them is >>> come, if there were any more would these dwarfs have come here.' >>> >>> cheers Thompson >>> >>> >>> ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== >>> To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the >>> word >>> 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >>> >> >> >> ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== >> To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the >> word >> 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >> >> > > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the > word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >