Complex sentence: Downie explored British Columbia at the request of Governor James Douglas, in 1858 investigating the route from Bute Inlet to the Cariboo via the Homathko River an attempted development of which led to the Chilcotin War a few years later.
Split into simpler sentences: Downie explored British Columbia at the request of Governor James Douglas. In 1858 he investigated the route from Bute Inlet to the Cariboo via the Homathko River, an attempted development of which led to the Chilcotin War a few years later.