APPOINTED TO THE CHARGE OF FORT GEORGE—­MURDER OF MR. YALE’S MEN—­MYSTERIOUS LOSS OF MR. LINTON AND FAMILY—­ADVENTURES OF LEATHER PARTY—­FAILURE OF CROPS—­INFLUENZA.

In the beginning of September, Mr. Ogden arrived from Fort Vancouver, and I was appointed by him to the charge of Fort George, whither I proceeded forthwith.  Mr. Linton, my predecessor, was directed to wait the arrival of the party sent to Jasper’s house for a supply of leather, ere he took his departure for Chilcotin, an outpost of Fort Alexandria.

Fort George was established a few years ago, and passed through the bloody ordeal ere yet the buildings were completed.  The gentleman in charge, Mr. Yale, had left his men at work, and gone on a visit to Fort St. James, where he only remained a few days; on his return he found his men had been treacherously murdered by the Indians during his absence.  Their mangled bodies were found in one of the houses, with one of their own axes by their side, which evidently had been the instrument of their destruction.  The poor men were in the habit of retiring to rest during the heat of the day, and were despatched while they slept.

A great change has come over this people since that time; they are now justly considered the best disposed and most industrious Indians in the district.  The situation of the post is exceedingly dreary, standing on the right bank of Frazer’s River, having in front a high hill that shades the sun until late in the morning, and in the midst of “woods and wilds, whose melancholy gloom” is saddening enough.  Yet it has its agremens, its good returns,—­the ne plus ultra of an Indian trader’s happiness,—­its good Indians, and its good fare; the produce of the soil and dairy.

Poor Linton had remained with me till late in autumn; when the cold weather setting in with unusual rigour, the ice began to drift on the river, rendering the navigation already dangerous; and no accounts having been received of the leather party, he determined to embark for his destination without further loss of time.  He, alas! had already waited too long.  Having occasion in the beginning of winter to send down a messenger to Fort Alexandria, I was surprised to see him two days after enter the fort, accompanied by one of Mr. Fisher’s men, who brought me the melancholy tidings of Mr. L.’s death, part of his baggage having been found by the natives among the ice.  Eight souls had perished, no one knows how; Mr. L., his wife and three children, an interpreter, his wife and one child.

Some suspicions attached to a disreputable family of Indians who were known to be encamped on the banks of the river at the time; but it is more probable that the catastrophe occurred in a rapid not far from this post, as a dog which the party had with them came back at an early hour the day after their departure.  This misfortune threw a gloom over the whole district, where Linton was much beloved, and his death, so sudden and mysterious, made the blow be felt more severely.