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James Murray
Yale
(1776-1871)
The
third Chief Factor in charge of Fort Langley, he
ruled the outpost's destiny for 25 years.
(page 15) |
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Falls on
Kanaka Creek
(page 16) |
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It was in the early 1830s that
the Company's Board of Directors decided that Fort Nisqually should
replace Fort Langley. The Board was concerned with
the difficulties sometimes encountered by their overseas
sailing vessels in attempting to navigate the Fraser as
far as Fort Langley to collect the yearly take of furs
and salmon. The Board also felt that Nisqually
would be more easily accessible
from Fort Vancouver. They
sent Chief Trader Francis Heron,
then in charge of Fort Colville on
the Upper Columbia, to
supervise the (<--14) (17-->) move. Dr. McLoughlin stalled
it, and before the Board could again intervene, steam
vessels began appearing on the Pacific Coast putting as
end to the need for a move. McLoughlin
instructed Yale to commence farming
operations at Fort Langley on a large scale. Yale
found 2,000 acres of choice farmlands southeast of the
fort capable of producing enormous crops. These
fields became known as the Hudson's Bay Company
Farm or the Great Langley
Prairie. Etienne Pepin plowed the first
furrow on the farm.
Also known as Etienne Pepen, Etienne Maillé and Etienne Magice, Pepin
was born in Yamaska,
Quebec, the eldest child of Marguerite Pepin and Michel
May. He started his service with the Hudson's Bay Company in the
mid 1820s, starting at Fort Vancouver and then moving to Fort Langley in
December of 1827. In HBC records, he is listed as a servant in
1827, but by 1838 is listed as a blacksmith,
though journal
entries indicate that he functioned as a blacksmith as
early as 1828. He had at least two, perhaps three country
wives, and had three children, Marie in 1835, François in 1838, and
Simon in 1855, all born at Fort Langley.
In 1856,
Etienne married Isabelle, a Kwantlen woman in a Catholic ceremony. In 1858, Etienne was
recalled by Jason Allard to be the farm's overseer, and
shortly thereafter became the senior representative of
the non-Scottish tradesmen. Etienne Pepin died in
Fort Langley in 1874, at approximately 75 years of age,
and was buried in the fort's cemetery, along--it is
thought--with Isabelle.
In 1836 Yale received a visit from the Hudson's Bay
Company's steamer Beaver. As a
floating post this vessel took away some trade from Fort
Langley's doorstep. The Beaver was the first steam
vessel on the Pacific Coast and was a familiar sight on
the Fraser in the early days.
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