Glacier County chief., 1940-05-10
By WALTER E. TAYLOR

ose adventures led them at one
e or another across territory
included in the state of Mon
IA, none was more observant or
more valuable record of fur
ding days than did John Work,
officer Of the Hudson's Bay Co.,
% seems to have been everything
II officers of that great trading
pcern tried not to be. John
brk was an early visitor to the
per Missouri river country and
Of the early traders among
Flathead Indians of western
bntana.
pst of the high ranking members
Pie officialdom of the Hudson's
| Co. were Scotchmen, but John
e was really "Wark," and one Won
how it happened that the Scotch
Of the Hudson's Bay Co. allowed
son of Erin to win his way to
pinnacle OF success in the company.
describing John Work, H. H.
croft, the noted chronicler of life
be early west, has said: His mind
his frame was constructed for
|sical use and endurance, rather
for beauty or brilliance" From
description 1t may be gathered
John Work was no Adonis, but he
hail fellow well met. This bluff
Imam endured the aristocratic pose
bis fellow officers with amused
lance. He had a natural love for
fellow man and had no time to
Der with the intricacieS of the pc
pr caste system upon which the
Eson,s Bay Co. was founded. He
ted lowly clerks and titled officials
be same hearty way, and he horri-
his more cultured co-workerS with
mapner in which he murdeded the
bch Language. One of the require
ttS for employment with early trad
companies was knowledge OF
hch, and most of the men of the
tson's Bay Co. prided themselves
the excellence of their French pro-
Iciation. Work had learned just
ugh French to get by on, and a
had stated that to hear
tk speak French with an Irish
que was really memorable ex-
Ience.
Had Well-Ordered Mind
bin Work may not have been
ster of French or as cultured a
tleman as some of the other COM
y officials of his time, but his
naturally orderly mind; his
mails are well divided and arranged
Ording to expeditions and separate
DDS of his eventful career on the
liter. His spelling is equally as bad
that of Lewis and Clark, but in his
mails there is a clarity that is not
nd in some others of the same
3D. His reports are as readable as
Sc of Gabriel Franchere and Alex
er Ross.
his Irish trader travelled more than
II other early traders in the north
i He entered the service of the
ison's Bay Co. in 1914. serving his
. eight years on the eastern slope
the Rocky mountains. Then he
sSed over to Astoria and in the
: three decades covered vast por-
Of the wilderness as representa-
of the company. rising ever high
rs an official First he was clerk,
n chief trader. later chief factor;
1887 he became a member of the
.pany council. and at the time of
death he was an active member
The board of management. He died
B. c., in 1861. His log man.
still stands in the Canadian city,
his original journals are kept in
archives of the province.
Left Interesting Journals
4 special interest to Montanans are
Work journals for the years 1925
1926, for during that period he
lie a journey from the Pacific coast
ne Flathead country in the present
assure state, spending the winter Of
1925 at Flathead fort on the Clark
k river. The fort Work occupied
several miles up the river from
original Salish House which David
,mpson had established at Thomp-
Falls in 1909. The Flathead fort
at or near the present site of the
road station at Eddy. in Sanders
nty. In his journal entry for Nov.
1925, Work records his arrival at
fort and thereafter gives an &C
ate picture Of fur traders life in
y Montana.
Dec. Embarked at little past
clock and arrived at the fort at
The houses are all standing but
lout doors or windows and all the
RS torn up by the Indians scouting
anything that might be under
n. Some of the pieces were buried
marks of where a fire had been
lie in the dwelling house that had
"oOA bCCll "oold 2lasS
yed all the buildings. Some of the
rs could be found and several men
e employed the afterpart of the day
ng doors to the store and laying
rs. The store was got temporarily
ed and the goods slowed in it.
Two Indians who were here were
; off to the Pend Oreille camp
l whom a piece Of tobacco was sent
he three principal men-and notice
+ them that we would be ready to
lie tomorrow or next day when they
Sc to come.
friday, 25th-Snow in the night and
ming. most of which had thawed
disappeared on the low grounds
ards evening. An Indian, one OF the
d Oreille chiefs, arrived to inquire
m we would be ready to trade.
ugh word had been sent them yes
lay that we would be ready when
, chose to come Gave him a little
acco when he set off and few
S and powder to send some of his
ng men to get some fresh meat. A
ng man also came with present
four fresh buffalo tongues.
Brisk Trade With Indians
Saturday. 26th-The Indians began
lrrive about noon and brisk trade
Immediately commenced and con-
led on till 1t was getting dark. am
ble To ascertain exactly the amount