Behind the Palisades: An Autobiography.

McTavish, George Simpson. Victoria, BC: Gray’s Publishing Canada, 1963.
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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McTavish (1834-93) was appointed Chief Trader of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1859, serving in several posts including Fort William, Albany, Rupert’s House, Moose Factory, and other locations. He retired in 1880; this posthumously published autobiography shows him very supportive and loyal to the Company.

Company of Adventurers: The Story of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Newman, Peter. London: Penguin Books, 1987.
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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p. xxviii-ix: Returned to English possession by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, York Factory was sacked nearly seventy years later by a valiant raiding party of French marines who had dashed north from the West Indies during the American Revolution. Joseph Colen, the HBC Chief Factor in charge of rebuilding it (and York Factory’s first resident intellectual; he moved in with a library of fourteen hundred books), decided to shift operations to their present site….

Literacy, Literature and Libraries in the Fur Trade,

Payne, Michael. by Michael Payne and Gregory Thomas. The Beaver 45 (Spring 1983) p. 44-53.
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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p. 44: However fortunately for me I have dead Friends (my Books) who will never abandon me, till I first neglect them. [Daniel Williams Harmon at Fort Alexandria in 1803.]

Lt. Aemilius Simpson’s Survey from York Factory to Fort Vancouver, 1826.

Simpson, Aemilius. Edited by William Barr and Larry Green. Journal of the Hakluyt Society(August 2014) 106 p., illus.
  • 1826 British Overland Survey from Hudson Bay to Fort Vancouver.
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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Transcript of Simpson’s “Journal of a Voyage across the Continent of North America in 1826.”Although the journal gives no instances of specific reading there are references to Fraanklin’s Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea(London, 1823) sufficient to infer that he had a copy with him on the journey.

Peace River. A Canoe Voyage from Hudson’s Bay to the Pacific.

Simpson, George, Sir. By the Late George Simpson, [Governor, Hon. Hudson’s Bay Company] in 1828. Ottawa: Durie & Son, 1872.
  • 1828 HBC Voyage of George Simpson from Hudson’s Bay to the Pacific.
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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p. iv, Preface, dated May, 1872, and signed M.M.: The Widow and legal representatives of my lamented friend the late Chief Factor A. McDonald have, with a public spirit which commends itself, allowed me the use of his “Notes,” as he calls them—They are now given as called for—That they are so crudely given is my fault; and I have but to trust to the generosity of those who may honor the little work with a reading, pleading as my excuse…that it has only been at snatched moments from engrossing business duties, and at odd hours in the night, that I have been able thus, with running pen, to throw off these hurried pages, to meet what seemed a pressing call and inquiry.

The Present State of Hudson’s Bay Containing a Full Description of That Settlement, and the Adjacent Country; and Likewise of the Fur Trade with Hints for Its Improvement, &c. &c….

Umfreville, Edward. Edited with an introduction and notes by W. Stewart Wallace. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1954. [First published London: Charles Stalker, 1790].
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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An intimate critique of the activities and business methods of the Hudson's Bay Company and one of the earliest narratives of the fur trade in Western Canada and the Great Lakes region. Umfreville had been in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company for eleven years from 1771, and was at York Fort in 1782 when it was captured by the French under La Pérouse. Upon his release after the Treaty of Paris in 1783, he joined the rival North West Company and was engaged in exploring a new canoe route from Lake Superior to Lake Winnipeg (via Lake Nipigon). From 1784 to 1788, he served on the North Saskatchewan River, commanding at its most westerly post.

The Substance of a Journal during a Residence at the Red River Colony British North America: and Frequent Excursions among the North West American Indians….

West, John. Second Edition. London: L. B. Seele, 1827.
  • 1820-23 British Chaplain Residence at Red River Colony.
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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West was “Late Chaplain to the Hon. The Hudson’s Bay Company” visiting various Forts of the HBC, but mainly serving as chaplain and missionary to the natives at the Red River Colony..