Remembering Simon Fraser’s Journey
2 Jul
The Vancouver Sun just posted THIS story to commemorate Simon Fraser’s 1808 canoe journey from Fort George, British Columbia (now Prince George) to the mouth of what is now the Fraser River.
Working for the North West Company, Faser was charged with exploring travel routes and establishing posts in the Canadian Northwest in the wake of Alexander McKenzie’s initial travels in the area. Fraser’s 1808 trip hoped to discover that a route from Fort George to the sea connected with the Columbia River.
Fraser didn’t reach salt water via the Columbia, but rather by a river north of it. Fraser didn’t get as far as the ocean, either, as hostile relations with natives in the area forced him to turn back at what is now Vancouver, British Columbia on the Strait of Georgia.
Fraser’s trip, just short of 1,000 miles round-trip, took 36 days on the descent and only a day longer in return.
