The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-01-23
DEA tn OF RoDERICK FINLAYsoN.
"Reminiscences of One of the Early Set
tiers In the Northwest.


tiers In the Northwest.
Yesterday mornings PosT-lSTELLIGES-
GER contained brief announcement of the
death at Victoria of Roderick Finlayson,
who for several years ranked as the oldest
surviving pioneer of the Northwest. Mr..
Finlayson, who was a brother-in-law of
Edward Higgins, of Tacoma, formerly the
Pierce county auditor. had a number of
friends and acquaintance IN this city.
HIS last visit here was on September Il,
1891, when he came with his two daugh-
tiers and remained several days. Though
his hair and the beard surrounding the
lower part of his face were then perfectly
white he still looked like man with five
or ten years of life yet before him.
Mr.. Flnlayson played a large part in the
development of British Columbia, and his
name appears more than once in Ban
croft's history of the Coast. For years he
was the chief factor in the Northwest of
the Hudson Bay Company: he served in
the legislative council of Vancouver, and
he was in 1873 mayor of Victoria.
When he was at the Rainier hotel in
September he related to PosT-INTELII-
GENcER correspondent number of remi-
nlscenses of his life and the early days
here. He said, among other things:
1t was in 1887, when l was a very young man,
that landed in New York, and then went up
into Eastern Canada in the service of the Hud-
son Bay Company. ! WAS there two years, and
then the company leased from the Russian gov
eminent for trading purposes the strip OF
Alaska from where Mount ST. Elias is to fifty
four forty'-the present lower boundary. Alaska
then extended East to the Mckenzie river.
l was one of the party that came West to es-
tablish posts in that new territory OF the COM
pany. On horseback and In canoes we crossed
the plains and the rivers until in 1889 we
reached the company's trading post the
Columbia at Vancouver. There was another
station at Nesgually-not far from Steilacoom-
one on the Fraser river, that is, Fort Langley,
and Fort Simpson at the Alaska boundary.
We came from Vancouver TO Nesqually, and
then took the Beaver-the first steamship on the
Pacific coast-for Sitka I was the secretary of
the Hudson Bay Company's agent Sir James
Douglas, and our errand at Stka was to perfect
the arrangements for the lease OF the territory.
stka was then lively town with a garrison of
500 men in command of a governor who was
Russian admiral
When our business was done they turned the
territory over into our hands, together with
what is now Fort Wrangel We built another
fort, $50 miles TO the north, at Taku bay. I was
sent with party of eighteen to construct that
fort, aud l remained there for some time.
After year or two we found that il was hard
to maintain and defend forts that could not
easily be reached by ships. and so the garrison
at Taku was Withdrawn. l was placed at the
head of that body of men and with another gar
rison. making fifty all told, came TO the south
ern end OF Vancouver island, and on the LIST OF
June, 1913, started to build the fort at Van
conver. We constructed it as strongly as posi-
Bile with bastious at the corners, and heavy
walls. At first the natives gave US good deal
N md fha of fhnf
problem OF some difficulty
Mr.. Finlayson told how the first contro-
versy with the Indians arose over their
killing some cattle which he had brought
from Nesquaily. The natives would listen
to no protests, but came down 5000 strong
about the fort at Victoria. In order not to
shed blood and yet to show the Indians his
power. Mr.. Finlayson had an interpreter
run out from the fort, and. playing the
role of deserter. warn the savages out of
certain group of lodges. When every
thing was ready, Mr. Finlayson fired on
these tents with grape and tore them
all to bits. The natives were terribly
alarmed when they saw the destruction
wrought by the cannon, and soon made
oVertures OF peace.
On another occasion the Indians killed
one of the Hudson Bay Company's shep-
herds. Mr.. Finlayson promptly sus-
pended all traffic until the murderer was
found. and then for an example hung the
criminal in front of the fort before all the
tribe.
In continuing his story, Mr.. Finlayson
said:
In 1S44 the first English man-of-war came to
Victoria. She had on board 500 men-sailors
Z 81.
form their eyolutions on the esplanade in front
OF the fort The blue jackets of the sailors and
the red and white uniforms OF the soldiers, to-
gether with the show OF arms, greatly Increased
the respect in which we were held by the ma
tiyes.
Then in 1916 the cry "Fifty-four, Forty or
Fight was taken up in the United States, and
it looked for a while as II there might be fight
to fix the boundary at that parallel. A
number OF war vessels appeared our part of
the coast, but the matter was compromised by
fixing the boundary at the forty-nlnth parallel,
and leaving all the island OF Vancouver to
Canada.
The need of some other government than that
OF the Hudson Bay Company soon became ap-
parent, for II the cOmpany's officers arrested a
man there wac no court nearer than Montreal
at which to try him. So Vancouver was made
into colony aud governor appointed with
authority 10 hold court. Then il was that land
was first taken and title secured. Yet there
were lev settlers besides the officers and en-
ployes of the company. For while Sir James
Douglas was governor and agent for the COM
pany into the bargain, but it WAS found that
conflicting interests made it impossible to com
bire both offices.
When first came tn Puget sound the only set
ilemcRt was at Nesquaiiy, ana have been up
ana down by canoe when there were no villages
except those of the Indians between Nesqually
a .
days we were going from what is now AIki point
To the shore here where seattle now stands, and
as we crossed the bay we encountered heavy
storm, which nearly swamped our canoe But
we finally landed safely down hero on The edge
Of the bay.
scandinavian Club Meeting.