James Hector

The Canada Experience

James Hector and the Palliser Expedition

1857 – 1860

On Friday 15 May 1857 John Palliser, with three of the four other members of his team:- Eugene Bourgeau (botanist), James Hector (doctor and geologist) and John Sullivan (astronomer and secretary), left London for Liverpool and the following day they were on board the Arabia bound for New York.

Three weeks later, on the sixth of June, the party boarded the steamer Illinois in Detroit heading for Sault Sainte Marie. This was the date of the first entry in Palliser’s “Journal of Expedition”.

At Sault Sainte Marie they collected their two large 30 foot long by 5 foot wide birch-bark canoes – each with its crew of eight ‘voyageurs’ (a term used in Canada at that time for the locals engaged to transport furs by canoe).

Palliser had planned to cross Lake Superior in the canoes but, given the risk of damage that could be caused by the floating ice on the lake, he changed his mind and had them hoisted on board the Illinois which took the party to near Fort William in Thunder Bay, at the western end of Lake Superior. Here they were encouraged to get smaller, lighter canoes as well which would be more suitable for one of the planned side trips up the White Fish River.

Part 1- Travel by canoe to the Red river

Fort William is where the expedition really started in earnest and where Hector began earning his keep – although it is recorded that shortly after arriving in America he had had to nurse his boss through a “sharp attack of typhoid”. The days of being the golden headed student in the eyes of his Edinburgh professor of botany, “Billy” Balfour, and others were over. The excursions into the Scottish countryside were past and there was certainly no place for student practical jokes.

The area of Canada they were to explore could be divided into three distinct parts. The first stage was from Lake Superior to the Red River, which flows north into Lake Winnipeg. Although there are no major mountains, and Lake Winnipeg is not a great deal higher than Lake Superior, it is very rugged country with a mass of little waterways and small lakes. The distance in a straight line is nearly 400 miles.

The second stage was the country between Red River and the Rocky Mountains. This is largely made up of vast open plains, rising gradually from a height of under 650 feet to nearly 3250 feet and about 2½ times the distance of the first leg. The plains are marked by three distinct steppes.

The third stage was the crossing of the Rocky Mountains themselves, on the border of Alberta and British Columbia, and through the rugged land beyond them to the Pacific Coast.

In her book “The Palliser Expedition” Irene M. Spry wrote:

The expedition was to map all three regions; to examine possible transport routes to and through them; and to appraise their capabilities for settlement, reporting on their agricultural, mineral, and other resources and keeping careful botanical, zoological, geological, meteorological and magnetic records.

All routes had to be entirely within Canadian territory and from Red River onwards, including through the Rockies, accompanied by horses!

The journey from Lake Superior was hard going. The trip up to the watershed where the waters to the east flowed down to the Great Lakes meant they were working against the current. On top of this they were continually having to stop and “track” (or tow) the canoes through some of the rapids, or else, in more difficult places, where they were faced with waterfalls, impossible rapids and steep ridges, “portage” the canoes and the equipment. There were over twenty of these portages. All the gear was repacked into convenient sized “pieces” that were not too bulky but still weighed a hefty 88 pounds. The voyageurs would carry two of these pieces at a time using a strap that went round their foreheads. And of course the canoes had to be man-handled to the next short stretch of navigable water. Hector’s own pack was heavy enough at about 77 pounds. From the watershed down to the west where the flow was in the direction of the Winnipeg Basin they at least had the current in their favour, but it was still not easy. For some distance before reaching the Lake of the Woods they had to carry the canoes and gear across a large area of swamp. Further down it got slightly easier when they were able to sail across the lakes.

All the way they were meticulously recording their observations and Hector was drawing detailed maps of their route - another example of his considerable skills.

Eventually, nearly a month after leaving Fort William, they reached Lower Fort Garry, on the Red River. Here they were able to part with their canoes, collect their horses and ride the 20 plus miles to the Upper Fort.

Part two – Across the Prairies

Now for the second stage of their exploration – crossing the prairies to the foot of the Rockies – totally different from the last four weeks.

They set out with 17 men, 29 horses, 6 Red River carts (which could carry about 440 pounds), and 2 American wagons (which required two horses and could carry a load of 1200 pounds). Red River carts were ideally suited to the conditions the explorers were about to encounter. They were made entirely of wood, which meant that in the event of a breakdown, they could be easily repaired with any piece of wood that happened to be about. If there was no wood they could use the green skin of a bull bison to firmly lash the broken shaft or wheel. When it dried out it held the repair with an iron-like grip. Their main provisions consisted of pemmican, flour, tea, sugar and an abundance of ammunition, not only for themselves but also for presents or barter.

They were quick to discover a whole new range of challenges. The horses were in poor condition because the previous winter had been particularly bad and some of them were not trained for the purpose for which they were required. The American wagons, which had looked so promising, were not satisfactory. One wagon soon broke down and the other sank in a deep part of the South Saskatchewan River. The Red River carts, on the other hand, proved to be most reliable and just kept trundling on, right up to the Rocky Mountains.

Palliser was an experienced horseman but it is unlikely that Hector and Sullivan were. They may have done some riding back home, but now they would have to come to terms with travelling long distances on horseback for days at a time. M. Bourgeau was never a horseman and he always travelled in one of the Red River carts. This was a bit of a problem to the team when they engaged in “le sport” which involved the horsemen heading off at break-neck speed after herds of bison (also referred to as Buffalo in a number of sources) – a mad practice as it only needed a horse to lose its footing to end up with major injuries to horse, rider or both. M. Bourgeau, not wanting to be left out, joined in these crazy escapades in his little cart. This of course played havoc with the mileage records provided by the odometers attached to the wheels.

Rather than following the Carlton Trail (the route often used by the Hudson Bay Company) which went north west to the North Saskatchewan River, or the route chosen by most traffic which went all the way by boat along the North Saskatchewan River, Palliser’s planned route would take them due west to the South Saskatchewan River through a trackless wilderness and across land occupied by the warlike Plains Indians. Palliser had had some dealings with the Indians in the USA and his reputation had travelled north but they really had little idea of what the reception would be like. At one point when Palliser wanted to continue west, his guide persuaded him that it was unwise given the attitude of the Indians. Palliser reluctantly agreed and headed in a more northerly direction to avoid any confrontation.

There were times when they were advised by their Indian guide that they should carry enough wood for five days. Frequently water was scarce so this, too, had to be loaded onto the carts. Fires were another worry. A spark from a smoker’s pipe landing in the tinder-dry grass could be enough to set 100 square miles ablaze.

They reached Fort Carlton in October 1857. Their first summer was all but over and Palliser realised that they were not going to complete their mission in the two years allotted. He decided go back to New York, not only to send an urgent message to the Colonial Office in England asking for an extension to the expedition’s time, but also to sort out the expedition’s finances with the Hudson Bay Company and to get many of their damaged instruments repaired. Hector, Bourgeau and Sullivan were to spend the winter at Fort Carlton.

Winter provided more challenges than just the severe cold. Wolves were a problem round the fort. They would from time to time attack and sometimes kill one of the horses. The party heard about epidemics of hydrophobia which made the wolves especially dangerous. If someone got bitten, the Indian cure was “to sew the patient up in an old buffalo robe and to fling him on a large fire until well singed, when he is considered done”. The doctor thought that, if the patient survived the treatment, the fright and violent perspiration might help to cure him.

Lieutenant Thomas Blakiston, the last member of the party, left London on 21 June 1857 and seven weeks later he arrived at York Factory in Hudson Bay. After a few days taking magnetic readings he set off up the Hayes River. Hopefully going largely by water would be less damaging on the delicate instruments than travelling large parts of the journey on land. Over 400 miles and several portages later he arrived at Norway House, crossed the top of Lake Winnipeg and followed the Saskatchewan River to Fort Carlton where things did not start well. When he arrived he found that Palliser had gone east, Hector was out geologising and Sullivan had gone off to see about some horses. The only member of the party present was M. Bourgeau. Blakiston was upset at not being formally welcomed. He was a stickler for good manners and was used to strict army routines. He was uncomfortable with the relaxed, easy-going style of the rest of the party. To make matters worse he thought that he should have been put in charge of the party while Palliser was away. He could not understand or willingly accept Hector being given this responsibility. However a little observatory was built, Blakiston’s instruments were set up and in early November the group took turns to make the regular recordings, day and night, required for his magnetic observations.

Sadly relationships within the party became increasingly tense. Only M. Bourgeau managed to remain unruffled, cheerful and friendly towards all the others and willing to take on more than his share of the work to try and keep conflict to a minimum. Dealings between Blakiston and Sullivan became particularly difficult. Both of them complained to Hector. By the end of the five months that the magnetic recordings were being taken all the work was being done by Blakiston and Bourgeau. Blakiston, to his credit, put on public record his appreciation of the work put in by the rest of the team.

In November Hector tried walking on snow shoes for the first time and covered a distance of 10 miles. Two days later he had his first experience of dog driving. He was obviously a quick learner because in the middle of December, with three companions, two teams of dogs and two sleds, he set off from Fort Carlton for Edmonton. The weather was piercingly cold. When they travelled over fresh snow some of the party had to go in front and flatten it with their snowshoes to enable the sleds to get across. When they stopped at night a regular routine was established. One man would clear away a patch of snow big enough for the party and cover it with willow twigs on which the men would lie, side by side with their feet towards the roaring fire. Another man would cut the firewood – two metre long logs. The billy would be put on (no shortage of water with all the snow) and the group would change into dry moccasins. Travelling with damp feet could end up with the loss of toes to frostbite. Moccasins were the standard footwear and instead of wearing knitted woollen socks they used to wrap squares of blanket round their feet.

They reached Fort Edmonton on the last day of 1857 – the journey of nearly 400 miles taking them 17 days, including four days spent at Fort Pitt on the way. The population within the fort at Edmonton was about 150 people who were fed largely on bison meat and, if the crop was good, a small ration of potatoes. They consumed on average 2 bison a day!

Hector’s main purpose in visiting Edmonton over the winter was to engage “half-breeds” for the next season. Discovering that they were all away on the plains he decided to make a little excursion to the Rocky Mountain House, about 60 miles. Off he set with three men, each with his own dog train. The provisions consisted of pemmican, a little dried bison meat, and a small stock of tea and sugar. On the evening of 13 January, Hector got his first view of the Rocky Mountains, a rather vague outline on the horizon. Six days after leaving Fort Edmonton they arrived at the Rocky Mountain House, a rather run down little fort.

Hector discovered that there were many rumours, some quite extraordinary, going round amongst the Blackfoot Indians about the purpose of the Palliser expedition. He decided to give an account of the expedition’s purpose and thus gain the good will of the chiefs by giving them information to distribute to their people. Only a few turned up for the meeting that morning, the rest being too drunk on the spirits they had consumed the night before. That night one of the chiefs he had spoken to in the morning “…harangued the others from the palisades of the fort upon the necessity of their good behaviour towards these white men, reminding them that they get nothing but good at their hands, and not to confound them with the ‘Big Knives’ as they termed the Americans, who, he said, did not treat them well but were deceitful.” Hector then had a much more successful meeting with about 12 of the chiefs who had crowded themselves into his little room. He handed out personalised papers to the chiefs and further copies to give to others who were not present. This meeting proved to have a huge impact on the party’s relationship with the Indians and the overall success of the expedition.

Hector then made contact with a Stoney Indian who had the reputation for knowing the Rocky Mountains well. Nimrod, so named because Hector couldn’t pronounce his real name, agreed to act as his guide in the mountains the next summer. After this successful visit to the Rocky Mountain House, Hector made the return trip to Edmonton. About a fortnight later he set off with one companion to the mission at Lake St Anne about 50 miles away, again hoping to catch up with the people he wanted to engage in the summer. On this trip they experienced the coldest night Hector ever spent camped out. It was -47°F

In early March, Hector went out again onto the plains to find the Lake St Anne Métis needed for the next season’s work. The Wesleyan missionary’s interpreter, Peter Erasmus, went with him. They found the hunters’ camp and Hector was able to recruit all the men he needed for the summer. With this task accomplished Hector set off back to Fort Carlton travelling on the river. Hector managed easily, having borrowed a pair of skates, while the other members of the party slipped and slid their way along. For the last part of the journey the ice was no longer safe to travel on and the snow had melted, so they had to give up on the sleds. They packed the equipment on the dogs and followed the trail.

In June of 1858 the whole party was together for the first time. Their Cree guide would no longer accompany them because of the feuding that had resumed between the Cree and the Blackfoot tribes. This warring was not going to make life easier for the expedition. A second problem was that although there was plenty of bison for the men to eat, food for the horses was an ever-continuing concern. In some areas the prairie had been practically stripped bare by the bison, leaving nothing for the horses to graze on.

M. Bourgeau was once again a happy man. He had already amassed a huge number of plant samples and seeds and with the return of summer he was able to resume his botanical researches.

Three quarters of the way through July they were again within sight of the Rocky Mountains which was something of a relief after spending over a month with nothing but the curve of the horizon to look at. By now they were in the vicinity of the Red Deer River.

In August the party split up. Palliser took one party, Sullivan a second and Blakiston a third. We will follow the progress of Dr Hector who, with M. Bourgeau, set off up the valley of the Bow River. His party consisted of Peter Erasmus, two Red River men, (Sutherland and Brown), and his Stoney Indian Guide, Nimrod. They had eight horses, three of which were used to carry the baggage (instruments, bedding, ammunition, and tobacco). As they were anticipating no shortage of food in the area of the mountains they intended exploring, they took nothing but a little tea and a few pounds of grease.

They travelled up the Bow River and into the mountains. Bourgeau was happy because he could do some real alpine botanical research, and Hector was happy because he could once again make detailed geological observations in land that wasn’t covered in thick soil. Bourgeau decided to stay on in this area (near where Banff stands today) while Hector with his party carried on, increasingly excited by his geological finds, and making maps and sketches as he went along.

On August 21 they crossed over the Vermilion (Vermillion) Pass, a neglected route that had been used by early Indian war parties, to the western side of the ranges. Hector and Palliser in their final report concluded that of all the passes traversed by the expedition, the most favourable and inexpensive route would be over this pass. The next morning heavy, drenching mist soaked everything they had. The land became practically impassable with masses of fallen logs and patches of near impenetrable bush. The mist ensured that all their possessions remained damp, their well cured moose meat became quite rotten, and there was very little game to be had. The only grass for the horses was at the bottom of the valley but there it was too soft for them to feed. Having followed the Vermilion River down to where it joined the Kootenay, they then went north-west up the Kootenay to its headwaters, across the divide into the headwaters of the Beaverfoot, and followed that down until it joined a larger river. They had not travelled far up this river when – and here I quote Hector’s words in the official report

… one of our pack horses, to escape the fallen timber, plunged into the stream, luckily where it formed an eddy, but the banks were so steep that we had great difficulty in getting him out.

In attempting to recatch my own horse, which had strayed off while we were engaged with the one in the water, he kicked me in the chest, but I had luckily got close to him before he struck out, so that I did not get the full force of the blow. However, it knocked me down and rendered me senseless for some time.

This was 29 August, 1858. Hector had to rest up for another day. The men went out hunting but caught nothing. To make matters worse Nimrod managed to run a sharp spike into his foot. They pulled out the last five pounds of pemmican – enough for one meal for the team but Hector was determined to make it last three!

Slowly they worked their way up the river in the hopes of finding a way back to the east. On September 3 they came to a large river which Nimrod immediately recognised as Bow River. Their luck changed. The weather improved and they were able to find food. So ended Hector’s most famous adventure. Throughout the ordeal Hector continued to take his measurements, prepare his maps and study the geology.

This was not the end of Hector’s explorations in the Rockies. In mid-September he and Sutherland found themselves on a great glacier. It was difficult going because of all the crevasses. Their feet were cold because they were clad in nothing but moccasins. One crevasse, four feet wide, they had to jump across. On the way down they were hit by a snow storm and at one point they nearly had to turn back when they came to a precipice. By knotting their leather shirts together and taking off their moccasins, which were now frozen, they managed to get past the difficulty. Hector had never before been on a glacier.

Before the summer was over Hector had been through the Bow Pass and down the North Saskatchewan, Blakiston had gone home to England and the rest of the party were preparing to settle down for the winter at Fort Edmonton.

In November Hector went off for nine days to carry out geological studies at Fort Pitt. Later that month he was off again, this time with Peter Erasmus and a couple of others, to study the country near Devil’s Head, north east of Banff. In January he went off to Jasper, and in March he was off again to Fort Pitt – this time to tend to a clerk who had fallen seriously ill. When he arrived he found several people, including the clerk, suffering from a fever, and a group of Americans, two of whom had had a quarrel and taken shots at each other. They both had gunshot wounds and one died as a consequence.

The next summer, 1859, having gained approval for an extension of time and some more funding, the party went on their last great adventure – right through the heart of Blackfoot country. This would take them through the Cypress Hills, right down to the American border and across the bottom of Canada to the Rocky Mountains. This was a very dangerous trip. Not only did they suffer the usual hardships of travel across the plains, and encounters with rattlesnakes and grizzly bears, they now had to survive the very real risk of attack by the Indians. They had several confrontations with the Blackfoot tribes. Each time Palliser managed to salvage the situation with a combination of negotiation, compromise, and presents of ammunition and tobacco (the Expedition never used alcohol as a gift because they never carried any for social consumption when they were out in the field). Palliser also had to deal with near mutinies by men who were scared out of their wits by the thought of a Blackfoot attack and tried to either change the course of the expedition or leave the party. Again Palliser managed to reach satisfactory outcomes that enabled the expedition to continue.

One day, while camped beside the South Saskatchewan River, they were invited into a Blood Indian camp. They were in one of the tents when a sick child was brought in to the doctor, who made some mixture for it out of medicines he had taken with him. Before he had time to give the child anything, one of the medicine-men of the tribe, accompanied by his satellites with their drums, rushed into the tent, snatched the child out of the Hector’s hands, and commenced drumming and howling. Hector told the Indians, through an interpreter, that he would not answer for the child. The baby died soon afterwards. Later Hector was asked to treat a child that was in a fit. While he was preparing some medicine, the medicine-man who had interfered the day before came in again and attempted to take the child away. The child’s mother sprang on the medicine man like a tigress and prevented his interference. To Hector’s great relief he child recovered.

At the Cypress Hills the party split up for the final time. Hector went up the Bow and Pipestone Rivers, over the Pipestone Pass and the Howse Pass and into a tributary of the Columbia River. He then worked his way south up the Columbia River and crossed over to join the Kootenay where they found the well beaten track that Palliser had used the year before. Eventually, late in October he reached Colville (also spelt Colvile by Spry), on the American side of the border, where he met up with Palliser and Sullivan. On the last day of November they arrived at Fort Vancouver (USA) on the Columbia River not far from Portland. Much of their gear had not arrived, having been held up by ice on the Columbia River.

In January 1860 Hector arrived in Victoria, on Vancouver Island. At the request of Sir Roderick Murchison he spent a week studying the coal fields at Nanaimo and produced a thorough report on the subject. Having time to spare because their baggage had still not arrived, Hector set off on another trip from Victoria part way up the Frazer River.

In March, when the baggage finally arrived (rather the worse for wear) Hector and Palliser (Sullivan had already left for England earlier in the month) caught the steamer to San Francisco where they had to wait a fortnight for the next ship to Panama. They used the time to go inland and study the gold fields and giant trees of the Sierra Nevada Range. They then took a ship to Panama, crossing the Isthmus overland. From there Hector returned directly to England while Palliser went via Havana and New York – arriving in mid-June – just over three and a half years after the expedition set off.

Hector had played a huge part in the success of the expedition for a number of reasons:

Everywhere they went Hector found patients, or perhaps more accurately the patients found him. An example was the 91 year old voyageur who had taken two days (driving a bull) to walk the seventy miles from Fort Garry to where the expedition was camped. He wanted to know what he should do for his knees. He did not “find them so strong as they used to be”.

On another occasion Hector came across a village where many of the inhabitants were ill. By getting them to move their camp up stream and suggesting ways of improving the hygiene he brought about a dramatic change.

What happened after Palliser, Hector and Sullivan got back to England? Records of observations were checked, the report was written and speaking engagements programmed. At the end of it all Hector turned to Sir Roderick Murchison for suggestions as to where to go now. Murchison gave him two offers of employment. One was to undertake a mission as political agent and geologist in Kashmir. The other to take up a three year contract as geologist to the Provincial Government in Otago where the money would not be as good but the fun, excitement and adventure would be greater.

So it was that James Hector set off for new adventures in New Zealand.