by Jerry Rosman

Two men claim to be the first whites to set eyes on the long-sought Stikine River in the 1830's. One got the credit, but documents show he was the second to locate the river. It’s a puzzle...

Chief “Trader John M. McLeod of Hudson's

Bay Company was the first white man known to penetrate the Cassiar country to the Stikine River. His record of his.explorations in 1834 indicate he found the Stikine, although later references by others claim he stopped short of the river. _ It seems to be a situation where a modest man claiming discovery, was overpowered by another who had his eye set on glory. We'll never know the answer, we can only draw conclusions from the facts we can find and be content with the puzzle.

In the summer of 1834, McLeod left Fort Halkett, located at the junction of the Smith and Liard Rivers. He canoed down the Dease (then called the Nahanny), to the head of Dease Lake - then travelled the Dease-Telegraph Creek trail. An account of his trip of discovery has been preserved in the Archives of Hudson's Bay. Here he starts south from the foot of Dease Lake at the mouth of the Dease River.....

“Having only plain sailing before us, as soon ‘as we could see sufficiently clear....we were on the move, and with a light and lively stroke of the Paddle made rapid progress....(This) must be the same Lake from which the Nahanni Indians (Thaltan) make a portage to the large river west

of Mountains, and in this opinion 1 am more the’

sanguine from a well beaten path proceeding from South end, at which there was a Wooden Canoe sufficiently large to carry = Persons and made in the same Model as a Boat.’

McLeod then mentions a small white stream in a deep gorge - likely the Tanzilla. When they reached it they...“were put to a complete stand how to cross’. The sides of the gorge were high and perpendicular. They found an Indian bridge made of 5 tree trunks about 22 feet long sus- pended 15 feet above the stream. McLeod des- cribed the treacherous bridge as one...’‘which rolled under in a white foam.’His group made it across.

Later that same day they came to another wild river and bridge. This one was double the length of the first, 5 feet wide, and swaying 27 feet over the tumultuous waters. McLeod commented, “So slender was its construction

that only one of the men, John Norquay would

venture the crossing.’’ (Hopefully, Norquay’s courage was passed on to his son. He became the first premier of Manitoba.)

McLeod camped that night on the rocks near the bridge without attempting to cross. Up-

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Who found the Stikine?... Campbell or McLeod ?

stream they saw a “beautiful waterfall of up-

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wards of 100 feet.’’ In honor of McLeod's friend and fellow explorer, Thomas Simpson, McLeod named it Thomas’s Falls. McLeod was on the Tuya River. Tuya means ‘‘falling waters’ in the Thaltan language.

The next day, July 31, 1834, “only myself and two others could obtain the opposite side.” The three walked down the west bank of the stream while the rest of the party travelled the east bank, each group keeping pace with the other. They followed the Tuya to its confluence with the Stikine...and McLeod wrote:“This stream is the same so much and so long spoken of, by which the coast Indians annually came in Boats on trading excursions with the Nahanni : and other Indians of the interior.’” McLeod reached the Stikine!

That evening, McLeod and his men a ae to their encampment at Tuya River, and... honor of our worthy Governor’s Lady we csiieet atte the foaming stream, ‘Frances River’.“”” The name gs was never officially adopted, although it appears ae on Arrowsmiths Map of 1852, though dropped 4% from the 1854 version.

McLeod also drew an “Indian Chart” of his journey which was included in his 1834 report to HBC’s: Governor Simpson. It shows Fort Halkett - his starting point - Dease River, Dease Lake and the trail followed southwest. It indi- cates he crossed the Tanzilla twice, though he likely crossed the Tanzilla and the Tuya, think- ing they were the same stream. His trip ends at aa his “Frances River’ ---indicated as the Stikine. a

McLeod’s: confusion can tbe justified py Sepe todays knowledge of the Dease-Telegraph trail. 5. The old trail crossed the Tanzilla - once - and the § an Tuya- once. If McLeod followed the Tuya south a he would have soon encountered the, Stikine. % It’s the writer’s conclusion that confusion arose & from McLeod's account of when and where site he named the ‘‘Frances River’’. Since he was back at his #@ uya camp, it could be interpreted # by his contempories as referring to that stream and not the Stikine. Since Arrowsmith’s 1852 map locates the Frances River as the Stikine, we

can safely assume that’s what McLeod meant. Arrowsmith made his maps of this area from HBC reports.

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3 Who he was.

No One Remembers by Karen Clark

Someone whispered to me, Once a long time ago, “Watch for the hill on the Bank as you walk,

McNab is buried there.

At Lower Post, the people

Have no special name

For the place where the

Dease River meets the Liard River. Two running waters, both

Broad, both bringing

Trees and roots from

Old villages

Long ago abandoned.

Once the way for the People to get from there To here, the rivers become Impractical.

And all the knowledge Of the ripples and rapids Is fading like ink from The pages of an old Book, face down on the Floor of an

Empty cabin.

There was a time, though,

When prospectors, trappers,

And Indian river men . Passed through the

Country and took the

Dease to the Post for

Ammunition and conversation.

But the rivers are no Longer swift enough, or Convenient enough.

The people are gone from Fort Halkett. Sylvesters’ Point was knocked apart For firewood.

No one remembers McNabs’ | Point now, or even

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