JAMES DOUGLAS ON THE COLUMBIA. 1830-1849 *
By PROFESSOR W. N. SAGE
University of British Columbia
There are few more trying positions in life than that of
second in command , and James Douglas at Fort Vancouver
found his case no exception to the rule . By his ability and
force of character Dr. John McLoughlin dominated the
Columbia District and shaped the policy of the fur trade
beyond the Rocky Mountains , subject only to the orders of
the Governor and Committee in London and the decision of
the Council of the Northern Department of Rupert's Land, which met annually in the Red River Settlement or on the shores of Hudson Bay . When Douglas came to Fort Vancouver in 1830 he was still merely a clerk in the company's service , when he transferred the depot from Fort Vancouver to Fort Victoria in 1849 he as a chief factor and one of the lords of the fur trade . The years on the Columbia form the crucial period of the career of James Douglas . Yet it must be confessed that we know relatively little of Douglas ' life at Fort Vancouver . One obvious reason for this is that he was , very naturally , overshadowed by Dr. McLoughlin . McLoughlin was a striking personality . Every one who met him at the great depot on the Columbia was im pressed by the old doctor , and many visitors have left vivid descriptions of him . But references to Douglas are much less common . He was in a subordinate position, and it was
Read before the Annual Meeting of the Members of the Oregon Historical Society , October 23 , 1926 .
only when Dr. McLoughlin was absent that we find his
indefatigable assistant accorded much prominence . It
should not be inferred that McLoughlin deliberately kept
Douglas in the background . It is merely that it is extremely
difficult to study the orbit of a satellite in the full glare of
the sun!
Before attempting to outline what is known of Douglas '
career on the Columbia it will be well briefly to set forth
the salient points of his early life . According to a summary
entered in his handwriting in an account book kept
when he was in New Caledonia , and now a treasured possession of his daughter , Mrs. Dennis Harris of Victoria , B. C., James Douglas was born on June 5 , 1803. The place of birth is not stated , but the Douglas family maintains that it was in Lanarkshire , Scotland . A search of the Edinburgh records has not yet established this point — the name , James Douglas , being a common one in Lanarkshire . From the old account book we know that Douglas left England on board the brig “ Matthews ” on May 7 , 1819. He was entering the service of the North West Company , although he had not yet completed his sixteenth year . After spending the winter of 1819-1820 at Fort William on Lake Superior , he was sent to Fort Isle á la Crosse , in what is now north ern Saskatchewan . In 1821 the North West Company amalgamated with the Hudson's Bay Company and young Doug las entered the service of the new and reorganized company . Four years later he was transferred to New Caledonia , where , after a brief period at Fort McLeod on McLeod's Lake , he was stationed at Fort St. James on Stuart Lake . He remained five years in New Caledonia , during which time he married Amelia Connolly , daughter of William Connolly , chief factor at Fort St. James . The date of his marriage was April 27 , 1828 .
Douglas was rather unfortunate in his relations with
the Indians at Fort St. James , and twice was forced
to deal with most serious situations . On the first occasion
his life was in danger , and if Mrs. Douglas and Mme. Boucher had not in the nick of time placated the natives with liberal presents it is more than probable that the
career of Douglas would have come to an abrupt and in
glorious termination . The second incident is much more
obscure . All we know of it is the cryptic entry in the old
account book : “ ( 1828 ) Nov. 3. Monday assaulted by the
Indians of Fraser Lake. ” Father Morice is of the opinion." that Douglas ' transfer to the Columbia was brought about as the result of these difficulties with the natives . Possibly it was a cause , but the determining factor seems to have been the retirement of Edward Ermatinger from an important post at Fort Vancouver .