1846
1847
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1848
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Fort Victoria Post Journal November 1847

1847 November

Monday 1^st Novr Overcast with light winds. Kept fair all day. All the Canadians kept this as holiday it being customary with them. The Islanders were employed shipping salmon &c. No trade. The M^y Dare disappeared in the evening at Rocky point.

Tuesday 2^nd Raining almost all day. All hands employed shipping salmon & making the fur box. All the salmon we have got for shipment to Ouahu are now shipped on board the Columbia.

Wednesday 3 Hard frost overnight, fine pleasant weather throughout the day. 6 hands & Indians in charge of Thomas were carrying out pickets, a party shipping stores on board the Columbia & making fur box. The fur box is now nearly completed & we shall be able the weather permitting to ship some bales of furs tomorrow.

Thursday 4 Keen frost over night, weather continued fair throughout the day, rain in the evening. Had all the furs shipped to day on board the B^qu Columbia with all the deer hides, the wool hides & other small packages still remain to be shipped. ~~Charp~~ Joseph Charpentier, one of our men, after having finished his day's work & when driving his yoke of oxen, which were yoked in a large cart, towards the stable, upset by which he had his skull fractured & died about an hour afterwards. No trade.

Friday 5^th Raining heavily overnight & snowing & raining alternately all day. Two hands making a coffin for Charpentier & two others digging his grave, the others hauling out pickets & performing sundry duties about the place. It being two {sic} wet to day no wool could be shipped on board. About 11 AM the Steamer arrived from Nisqually with 41 head of horned cattle, which were safely landed in course of the afternoon. Trade, 1 land otter & some oil & 5 deer.

Saturday 6 Keen frost overnight, weather alternately clear and cloudy throughout the day, with some rain. ~~Cha~~ The remains of poor Charpentier have this forenoon been consigned to the tomb. All our people with the Steamer's woodcutters attended at the funeral. Were busy shipping wool & other property on board the Columbia. No trade worth noticing. Our week's work does not show any great result except that all the furs & wool were shipped on board the Columbia, 83 pickets hauled out of wood & sundry other duties performed about the place.

Sunday 7^th Keen frost overnight. Fine pleasant weather throughout the day. Nothing remarkable.

Monday 8^th Frosty nights still continue, weather fine & pleasant during the day. The remainder of the Columbia's cargo for England viz: hides & horns were shipped to day on board of the Columbia. People employed shipping cargo & getting the Columbia ready for sea.

Tuesday 9^th Blowing strong from the North with hard frost. Sent almost all hands at the place to haul out pickets this morning & the others employed getting live stock & other stores on board the Columbia. Every thing is now ready on board that vessel for a start & will leave the harbour towed by the Steamer tomorrow morning. ~~Captain~~ Messrs. Douglas & Work also leave on the Steamer for Nisqually.

Wednesday 10 Hard frost over night. Clear weather all day with a light breeze from the North. Early this morning the B^qu Columbia towed by the Steamer left the harbour homeward bound. Captain Cooper, Messrs Holland & Lambert passengers. Kamakaha & Tarpaulin Islanders two of our men also left by her. Messrs Douglas & Work left for Nisqually by the Steamer. People employed hauling out pickets, roofing &c. as ∞ the labor book. No trade.

Thursday 11^th Frosty nights still continue. The weather became overcast towards evening & very cold indicating snow. The people employed as yesterday, 80 pickets were hauled out by the men and oxen to day. 1 land otter has been traded for cotton. Lecuyer & M^cPhail collecting the cattle for the purpose of taking their numbers. Mr. Nevin late 1^st Officer of the Cadboro remains here in Mr. Holland's situation.

Friday 12 Mild overcast portending rain. People employed as usual. No trade of any kind nor any remarkable occurrence.

Saturday 13^th Raining almost all night, mild weather throughout the day. People employed much the same as yesterday except Minie & Gagnon, the former squaring oak knees ∞ Granary & the latter putting posts under the beams of the flooring of N^o. 3 where the grain is stored. The week's work as follows: the houses plastered with mud & lime, 420 pickets taken out of woods, 200 head of cattle collected in the park beyond James Bay, 10 boards of 1in 40ft long sawn ∞ the roof of Granary. No trade. We are busy now taking our inventory & closing the books ∞ Outfit '47.

Sunday 14^th Gloomy & rainy. Wind blowing from the South West. Abundance of small fish are now seen in the harbour having but lately made their appearance for this year. No arrivals.

Monday 15^th Blowing fresh from the North East. The people resumed, with little alteration, their occupations of last week, hauling out pickets, pit sawing, collecting cattle, putting oak knees to Granary & making book case. No trade in furs nor any appearance of any.

Tuesday 16 A mod. breeze from the North. People employed as yesterday. We are now busy with the acc^ts. Had a raft of pickets taken down this evening & will have them taken on to the site to morrow if all goes well.

Wednesday 17^th Overcast with a fresh breeze from the eastward. People employed stripping bark off the pickets, rafting them home & hauling them up the bank. The roof of the Granary is now completed.

Thursday 18^th Fine pleasant weather with a light breeze from the North^d & eastward. People at their usual employments. Began this afternoon stripping bark off the pickets. No trade worth noticing.

Friday 19^th Raining almost all night & weather wet & showery during the day with a strong South West wind. Operations going on as yesterday, except the sawing, two of the sawyers Kaau and Tai being sick.

Saturday 20^th Blowing strong from the south west with frequent showers of rain. The principal results of this week's operations appear to be as follows: 400 pickets hauled out of woods & 250 rafted home & taken to the site, 130 barked, posts put under the beams of N^o. 3, bolts made to fasten oak knees to one side of Granary, about 15 bus. wheat thrashed since Wednesday & about the same quantity of pease, all the cattle numbered & sundry other jobs performed about the establishment. No trade. Kaau and Peter still on sick list. Boards from 6 to 10ft long sawn.

Sunday 21 Cloudy with occasional showers of rain. Nothing remarkable.

Monday 22 Raining almost all night & for the greater part of this day. Men employed as ∞ labor book, stripping bark of the pickets, mortising king posts, putting knees to the Granary, hauling up & rafting pickets. Had a few Indians engaged to thrash out our grain at which they are employed attended by Robis C[o]e. Jeeathuc {variation of 'Jeealthuc'} traded two large beaver to day for a blanket of 2 1/2 pts. being the first since the new tariff was established.

Tuesday 23^rd Raining almost all day with little or no wind. People at their ordinary employments, Lazard who has charge of the gang employed adjusting & otherwise preparing the pickets gets on as well as could be expected. 12 oxen with two drivers are at present employed hauling the pickets up the bank, M^cPhail who was this morning sent in quest of the cattle lately received from Nisqually returned this evening with carcass of one of the calves which got drowned at the head of the arm in attempting to cross it. No trade to day of any kind.

Wednesday 24^th Very foggy with light winds from the North^d and Eastward. A raft of pickets has been taken down to day from the head of the arm. People employed the same except the sawyers who were to day at the pickets. 49 1/2 bus. pease were winnow^d to day & yesterday. Okaia on the sick list.

Thursday 25^th Foggy morning with fine clear weather throughout the day. Wind light from the North^d. People employed as yesterday at the stockade, rafting & hauling pickets. No trade worth noticing.

Friday 26^th Overcast with occasional showers of rain. People employed much the same as yesterday. About 1pm the Beaver arrived from Nisqually having 34 head of horned cattle on with 7 horses on board which were landed in safety.

Saturday 27 Overcast & very hazy with some rain. People at their usual occupations. Week's work as follows: 100 feet of the front stockade adjusted, about 350 pickets hauled up the bank and rafted home, 49 bus. pease fann^d & about 30 thrashed, also 20 bus. wheat thrashed & sundry other jobs performed about the Fort & Stores. No trade. A canoe of Indians arrived last evening from Langley & brought Mr. Yale's a/cs which can now be forw^d with our own.

Sunday 28 Occasionally overcast with light variable winds. Nothing remarkable.

Monday 29^th Raining heavily all night generally fair throughout the day wind light from the South West. People employed as ∞ labor book preparing & cutting out pickets, cutting wood for the Steamer &c.

Tuesday 30^th Fine clear weather throughout the day. Wind blowing fresh from the North^d & East^d. People employed as yesterday: principally at the stockade & cutting wood for the Steamer. Our annual accounts with those of Fort Langley were this evening given in charge to Captain Dodd for conveyance to Nisqually & from thence to be taken across the Cowlitz portage to Fort Vancouver by Thomas Ouamtany who leaves this post for that place ∞ orders of Mr. C{hief} F{actor} Douglas. The Steamer, weather permitting, leaves to morrow morning for Nisqually. Balthazard, who had been employed here since the 4^th also leaves by the Steamer, being one of her wood cutters. 14 cords of firewood have been cut both to day & yesterday for the Steam Vessel by our people. 31 1/2 bus. pease have been win^ed this week by Indians.

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