Landmarks of the Old Oregon County; Fort Vancouver: The Inland Fur Trade

[beep] [Intro music] Landmarks of the old Oregon country. Visiting historic places in the Northwest. [music] Lewis and Clark's cross-country journey to the Pacific, along with Robert Gray's discovery of the

Columbia River, gave the United States a good claim to the lands west of the Rocky Mountains. But for nearly 40 years after Lewis and Clark's expedition, almost all business and trade in the old Oregon country was dominated by a company from England. [Mark Sparks] Hello again, I'm Mark Sparks [Jane Ferguson] and I'm Jane Ferguson. Our search for landmarks from the old Oregon country has taken us into the state of Washington this time. [Mark Sparks] just across the Columbia River, north of Portland, to Fort Vancouver. Fort Vancouver is a national historic site. It was built on the exact location of the original fort, which burned to the ground in 1866. Many of the fort's buildings are still waiting to be rebuilt where they once stood inside the fort. but since 1966 the National Park Service has rebuilt the walls of the fort stockade and several of the buildings, including the bastion,

the company trade store, the blacksmith shop, the bakery, and the Chief Factor's house. [Mark Sparks] The modern day sounds of nearby traffic and airplanes are reminder of how much things have changed. [Jane Ferguson] So, it's lucky that here at Fort Vancouver, as we did in Fort Clatsop, we'll again have the help of trained interpreters to tell us the story of the inland fur trade. [Mark Sparks] This is the Chief Factor's office. [Jane Ferguson] That's right. He and his family made their home in the rooms on this side of the house, and in these rooms lived his assistant, James Douglas, with his wife and their four daughters. [Mark Sparks] Next question: what's a Chief Factor? [Jane Ferguson] An officer in charge of all the business at a trading center like Fort Vancouver was known as the Chief Factor. But before we go any further, we need to know more about who the Chief Factor worked for: the Hudson's Bay Company.

The Hudson's Bay Company was the first great English trading company in North America. Their ships and trading posts in the New World were carefully controlled from the company's offices in faraway London. And for many years, Indians from all over the central and eastern parts of Canada brought furs to Hudson's Bay Company trading posts to trade for blankets, beads, tools, and other supplies. A fair deal for both the Indians and the company meant the fur trade would continue in peace, and the idea of a fair bargain may have been the meaning of the company's motto, which in Latin means "a skin for a skin." A man who lived here was not only the Chief Factor of Fort Vancouver but he was also its founder. His name was Dr. John McLaughlin and he was the man many people now call the father of Oregon. [Mark Sparks] And to think he and his family could be living like this a little over 20 years after Lewis and

Clark spent their hard winter not all that far from here at Fort Clatsop. Things were starting to change very quickly. [Jane Ferguson] They certainly were and Lewis and Clark helped it all get started. In their accounts of their trip, they told of an abundance of beaver living along the streams of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. Fur trappers and traders from England and the United States became very interested in the Northwest. Beaver pelts could bring a good price on the world market and trappers and traders began a kind of race to see who would control the inland fur trade in the Northwest. Two English fur trading companies were already making their way west. The Hudson's Bay Company and their chief competitor, the Northwest Company of Montreal. But it was an American, John Jacob Astor, who made the first move. Astor was the richest man in America. In 1808, he organized the Pacific Fur Company and began plans to build a central trading station at the mouth of the

Columbia. He sent one party by land and one by sea. Many setbacks awaited Astor's men. But in spite of their hardships, by 1812, the American flag was flying over Astoria. Then came the War of 1812 between England and the United States, and the English, who had a much stronger hold on the Northwest, purchased Astoria and renamed it Fort George. For the next 30 years, England would have nearly complete control of the Northwest, overseeing its trading outposts along the Columbia and beyond. [sniff] Mmm, something smells delicious. [Mark Sparks] The cook is preparing something special. Tell you what. Let's explore the fort and meet back here when it's ready. [Jane Ferguson] It's a deal. [Mark Sparks] Oh, I hope you don't mind eating in the kitchen. [Jane Ferguson] Why can't we eat in here? [Mark Sparks] You'll find out. Until the closure of the fort in 1860, the Hudson's Bay Company employees and their families lived here in peace. The high walls of the stockade were built mainly to prevent thieves from stealing supplies, and the cannons housed in the bastion, a

combination lookout and gun tower, were never fired in anger. The cannons here were fired only to salute the arrival of special ships, but they were ready if there ever was a threat of danger. The bastion was built in 1845, at a time when the fear of attack was very real. It wasn't an Indian attack this British company feared. They were afraid the growing numbers of American settlers might decide to claim the fort for the United States. But that attack never came. [music] [Jane Ferguson] The Hudson's Bay Company joined with the Northwest Company and became even more powerful. For the next 35 years, Fort Vancouver was the center of the fur trade in the northwest, and under the watchful eye of Chief Factor McLaughlin, the fort community kept growing. [music] Trappers and traders could find anything they needed here at the fort's trade store. Members of the neighboring Chinook and Klickitat Indian tribes were also frequent visitors.

The Hudson Bay Point blanket was a trademark of the company and was always a favorite trade item. These four marks mean this is a four point blanket. It would cost a trader four excellent beaver pelts. [hammering] Dr. McLaughlin knew that any tools or supplies that could be me here at the fort would make it less dependent on shipments of supplies ordered from England. So the role of the blacksmith here became very important. Michael Derrick is an interpreter here at the blacksmith shop. As you can see, he does a lot more than just talk about what went on in the original shop. [sizzling] Hi Michael. [Michael Derrick] Hi Mark. [Mark Sparks] Michael, I was wondering what some of the four blacksmith's jobs were besides making and repairing traps. [Michael Derrick] Well, they had many other duties. The blacksmiths were the mechanics of their day, and if they were good they could make or repair almost anything of iron and steel. The ships that sailed up the Columbia to the fort often needed major repairs. And when Dr.

McLaughlin tried to start a lumber mill and encourage farming in the area, there were plows and other tools to be made. Blacksmiths were the king of the craftsmen. It was their presence here at Fort Vancouver that really made this so much more than just another fur trading post. They made this a strong and independent community. [Mark Sparks] Was this made here at the fort? [Michael Derrick] Yes, it was. It helped if the blacksmiths could make a mean Beaver trap. [loud clang] [Jane Ferguson] The work of the trappers was a dirty and often dangerous business, and staying healthy in this rugged land wasn't easy. Tending to the needs of everyone who came to the fort seeking help was very important to Chief Factor McLaughlin and he wouldn't deny aid to anyone, even his American competitors. Here in the same building as the trade store are the company hospital and the apartment of Dr. Barclay, the company physician, and his family. In the name of the Hudson's Bay Company, Dr.

McLaughlin was bringing civilization to this part of the world. He made sure there would be a place where people could find supplies, get something fixed, or see a doctor. And he saw that they all had something to eat. [bang] Trappers, traders, clerks, or sailors–everybody at Fort Vancouver needed to eat. At the fort bakery, bread and sea biscuits were prepared in brick ovens. Sea biscuits were rock-hard crackers used on board ships and by trappers during long winters. What they lacked in flavor, they made up for by lasting a long, long time. [clanging] [music] [Mark Sparks] Winters for those Hudson's Bay Company trappers were long indeed. In the East, Indians did almost all the trapping for the company. But here in the West, bands of trappers were sent out under orders from the company to spend the winters collecting furs. These bands were called brigades, and later on, Hudson's Bay Company Governor George

Simpson sent them out on missions to discourage all other trappers. And what was Simpson's plan to keep other trappers out of the area? He had his brigades trap out whole regions. He had them go in and trap every fur- bearing animal until there were none left. Simpson's plan worked, to a point. The company got rich and made it very hard on other trappers. The beavers soon became too hard to find, and the American settlers kept coming to the Oregon country whether Simpson liked it or not. There you are. You're just in time. What's that? [Jane Ferguson] A sea biscuit. The original jaw breaker. Want a bite? [Mark Sparks] No thanks, I'll wait for lunch. We're down in the kitchen, located just behind the Chief Factor's house. David Hanson, the curator here at Fort Vancouver, is making soup. The first course for a traditional meal served in the dining room or mess hall. [David Hanson] The midday meal with one of the big events of the day. [Jane Ferguson] If soup it was the first course, how many courses were there? [David Hanson] Seven or eight, usually.

The English loved doing things very formally. Here at the fort, dinnertime was very different from what the average American settler would have had. [Jane Ferguson] Who was served in the mess hall? [David Hanson] Only the commissioned officers of the company and very special guests. [Jane Ferguson] Were women included? [David Hanson] No, I'm afraid not. [Jane Ferguson] Not even their wives? Not even Dr. McLaughlin's wife? [David Hanson] No, that was the rule. [Jane Ferguson] I'm glad we don't have rules like that anymore. [Mark Sparks] Remember when I said we'd be eating in the kitchen? [Jane Ferguson] Yeah. [Mark Sparks] Many of the American settlers who visited here didn't care much for some of the rules of the fort, but they just had a very different way of doing things back then. [Jane Ferguson] Who ate at this table? [David Hanson] The staff. Nothing fancy down here, but that was part of their world. Everyone had to know his place and learned to accept it. And Dr. McLaughlin knew that for most of them, living with the old rules was better than trying to survive with no rules at all. [Jane Ferguson] Thanks. [Mark Sparks] Thank you very much David. It smells delicious. [Jane Ferguson] Oh, brother. [David Hanson] It's my pleasure. And I do hope

you'll come back for Queen Victoria's birthday celebration. [Mark Sparks] I can't get over it. Just finding food had been a matter of life and death for Lewis and Clark. But here at Fort Vancouver, only a few years later, Dr. McLaughlin could eat in a fine dining room with all the comforts. He really brought civilization to the Northwest. [Jane Ferguson] He also made the fur trade more successful than it had ever been before. [Mark Sparks] He gave farming, an industry, their first real beginnings in the Northwest. [Jane Ferguson] He proved a community could not only survive here but also grow and live in peace with the native people. [Mark Sparks] And in spite of being ordered to discourage Americans from settling and trading here, he offered help to anyone who needed it. [Jane Ferguson] I'm beginning to understand why he's been called the Father of Oregon. After serving as Chief Factor here in Fort Vancouver for 22 years, Dr. John McLaughlin was to play another important part in the history of the Oregon country.

But we'll be learning more about that later on. [Mark Sparks] By the 1840s, there were very few beaver left in Oregon, and when the Hudson's Bay Company moved its headquarters out of Fort Vancouver in 1849, the inland fur trade was almost over. [Jane Ferguson] More and more missionaries and settlers were coming west. But it was time to decide, once and for all, whether England or the United States would control Oregon. [music] [Mark Sparks] Our visit to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site ends here, in the visitor center. Like the fort, it's open daily from 9 o'clock till 5 o'clock. Here you'll find more displays and information about the history of the fort and the people who lived and worked there. [Jane Ferguson] And with the help of the fort's interpretive tours you can get a clearer picture of the contributions of Dr. McLaughlin and Fort Vancouver to the inland fur trade and to the history of Oregon. [music] [announcer] Major funding provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek Michigan, through the

Kellogg project, Office of Museum Programs, Smithsonian Institution. Additional funding provided by the Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust, the Oregon Education Association, and Safeco Insurance companies.