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 > >