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Fort Victoria Post Journal June 1847

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1847 June

      Tuesday 1st June  Overcast in the afternoon with a little rain.  100 pieces Granary were squared by the party who left yesterday.  One of the boilers was this evening hoisted out of the Mary Dare's hold & is at present hanging in the slings along side.  One of the ropes for leading it ashore having broke. No trade worth mentioning.  

      Wednesday 2nd  Overcast with some light showers of rain. The people employed squaring pieces for the Granary & assisting in discharging the boilers from the Mary Dare.   Letters were to day written to Vancr & Nisqually to be forwarded to morrow morning to Nisqually with the packet Mary Dare in charge of Mr. Kane who goes with some Nisqually Indians now here & bound for their own place. No trade worth noticing. The largest of the boilers is now landed. 

      Thursday 3rd   Raining almost all day.  About 9 AM. Mr. Kane having the packet received from England by the Mary Dare in charge, left for Nisqually with the Indians of that place who were here.  People employed as yesterday, three of the boilers are now landed. No trade.  Louis Satakarata & Kamakeea on the sick list. 

      Friday 4th  Blowing fresh from the South West and weather generally clear.  Had all the boilers & other sundries on board the Mary Dare for the Steamer discharged this evening so that the ox drivers may to morrow resume their usual employments.  

      Saturday 5th  Occasionally overcast with some light showers of rain. The principal results of this week's work are as follows:  16 posts & 8 beams of Granary put up, 350 filling up pieces do.  squared & 6 [hauled home], the boilers discharged from the Mary Dare, 30 pieces of the oak hauled out by the oxen and sundry other jobs performed about the stores.  No trade to day worth mentioning.  About At 5 pm. Mr. Walter Ross arrived with a large canoe of Nisqually Indians in charge of a packet of letters sent from Vancouver. 

      Sunday 6th  Weather beautifully clear with a strong breeze from the South West.  Nothing remarkable   In course of last night all the Tlalums encamped here left & when off the harbour attacked a party of Nanaimult & killed one man, wounded another. 

      Monday 7th  Occasionally overcast with a strong breeze from the South West. About 9 AM. Mr. Ross left for Nisqually with a canoe load of goods from this place. People employed cutting out pieces & getting the Mary Dare ready for sea.  Several beaver were traded to day from a Langley Ind who arrived in course of last night. 

      Tuesday 8th  Weather generally clear with a fresh breeze from the South East. Had 10 tons of coals discharged to day from the Mary Dare at which 5 men & 12 Indians were employed, the rest building &c. We are now busy packing up the Coast Outfit to be ready previous to the arrival of the Cowlitz & Cadboro which are daily expected here.  

      Wednesday 9th  Generally overcast with a little rain in the evening, wind easterly.  People employed as yesterday & all the Indians collecting stones ballast for the ship.  No trade.  We are still busy packing up the Coast Outfit. 

      Thursday 10th  Clear weather with a strong breeze from the Westward.  A large party of the Nanaimoult tribe arrived to day but brought very little for trade.  All hands employed as yesterday. Louis Satakarata still confined to the house with a sore eye.  No word of the Cowlitz & Cadboro

      Friday 11th  Blowing fresh from the South West, weather generally clear.  7 hands were to day rafting pieces, 6 hands building & the rest employed as usual.  The Coast Outfits are now packed and ready for shipment.  A large party of Nanaimoults left here this morning for their own quarter. 

      Saturday 12th  Fine clear weather with light winds from the Southward and Eastward.  Almost all the Songes left this morning for their fishing station at Canal de Arro.  No trade.  Week's work as follows: pieces cut out for & 4 spaces for the Granary filled with wallpieces, 50 rafts home, 10 tons of coals discharged from Mary Dare & about 30 tons of stones procured by our Indians for that vessel, 42 pieces of oak hauled out by the oxen, 20 bus. grain thrashd & the Coast Outfit packed in Depot.   

      Sunday 13  Fine clear weather with light breezes from the Southward and Eastward.  Nothing remarkable.  

      Monday 14th  Generally overcast with some heavy showers of rain. 5 men were sent to carry pieces out of the woods for the Granary, six building do., Minie making some ironworks for the Brig and the others employed as usual.  60 barrels of beef were shipped to day on board of the Mary Dare for Vancr.  No trade.  

       Tuesday 15th  Blowing strong from the South West & the weather generally clear.  People employed much the same as usual. This afternoon Captain Cooper handed me a packet of letters from the Sandwich Islands which had been mislaid on board & should have been forwarded with the English packet by Mr. Kane to Vancouver on the 3rd inst.  

      Wednesday 16th  Blowing strong from the South West with a heavy shower of rain.  Early this morning the Bqu Cowlitz entered the harbour from Columbia River when Captn Weynton delivd all the letters he had from Vancr for this place.  About 7 P.M. the schooner Cadboro arrived from the same quarter, when Captn Scarbh also delivd his letters.  People employed as usual.  

      Thursday 17th  Fine pleasant weather.  Were busy all day discharging the Cowlitz and Cadboro & nearly all they had on board for this place is now discharged.  All the people who were not employed landing cargo were at their usual occupations.  

      Friday 18th Fine & dry weather with a fresh breeze from the Northward.  The Outfit for Fort Langley has been to day shipped on board of the Cadboro & were busy all day shipping the Ot. of Ft. Simpson & Stikine on board the Cowlitz.  The former vessel is now ready to leave & is making preparations for that purpose.  

      Saturday 19th  Weather still continues clear & was all this forenoon blowing fresh from the Northward.  Early this morning letters & other documents viz: copies of the invoices of goods shipped from this Depot for Forts Simpson, Stikine, Langley & the Beaver were delivered to Captain Cooper who left this harbour with the Brig Mary Dare for Vancr.  The Cadboro left for Langley at the same time.  Captain Weynton would not receive cargo after twelve o'clock, consequently the whole of the Coast Ot. is not as yet shipped.  The principal results of this week's labour is as follows:  about 40 pieces of the oak hauled out & 140 wallpieces Granary rafted home, 4 spaces of the wall of that building filled up, 30 bus. grain thrashed, 4 acres of potatoes weeded & sundry other jobs about the stores performed.  Various operations about the Mary Dare much interrupted the ordinary work of the place this week. 

      Sunday 20th  Weather generally clear during the forenoon but became overcast toward evening with the wind from the South West.  A party of Kawitchins arrived this evening & have got a few furs for trade.  

      Monday 21st  Generally overcast with a little rain, wind variable.  All the packages for the Coast are now shipped on board of the Cowlitz except the salt which will be sent to morrow morning.  The men who were not employed shipping cargo were building, were busy all this afternoon getting the Nisqually Outfit ready.  Had to slaughter another ox to day use of the Cowlitz.  

      Tuesday 22nd  Blowing strong from the South West all day which detained the Cowlitz in harbour. The people employed building & the Indians clearing the potatoes.  We now sell the 2 1/2 pt. best blanket for two beaver instead of 1 as formerly agreeably to the orders of the Board of Management.  Consequently some Kawitchins who came here to dispose of their beaver took them away intending to trade them at Langley. Two beaver were traded to day for beaver traps from some of the Whotlumie tribe. 

      Wednesday 23rd  Generally overcast with very little wind  The Barque Cowlitz warped out of the harbour in course of the day.  The Nisqually Outfit is now packed & ready for shipment & we are now busy making up the Servant Orders.  The people employed as yesterday, principally building.  No trade.  All the letters & other documents viz: invoices &c of goods for Fts. Simpson & Stikine were delivered this morning to Captain Weynton

      Thursday 24  Raining all night & for some time this morning with a strong breeze from the North East in course of the forenoon which veered to the South West about 2 pm.  The Cowlitz took advantage of the fair wind this morning & left the entrance of the harbour & must have been out of the Straits before the wind veered to the south west.  The men employed at the Granary and the Indians hoeing & clearing the potatoes.  No trade.  We were busy all this day getting the men's orders ready for distribution.  Satakarata still on the sick list, Dupuis the dairyman is also confined to the house with a pain in the chest. Francois Satakarata had therefore to take his place to day. 

      Friday 25th  Blowing strong from the South East & weather generally clear.  Had the Victoria Servants Orders completed to day & given out & we are now making up those for Nisqually.  People employed as usual. Dupuis is now fit for duty but Satakarata is still sick.  No trade & very little prospects of any now since the 2 1/2 pt blankets were raised in price.  

      Saturday 26  Beautiful weather with light variable airs.  People employed as yesterday.  The results of this week's labor is as follows: {blank} pieces cut out for & 5 spaces of the Granary wall filled up, 2[1] oak pieces hauled out oxen, the Outfits for Fts. Simpson, Stikine, Langley & the Beaver shipped on board the Cowlitz and Cadboro, all the potatoe field cleared & partly hoed.  No arrivals nor departures.  The Outfit of Nisqually was packed up together with the Servant's Orders of that post. 

      Sunday 27  Very warm weather with light airs. Early this morning several canoes of Cape Flatteries arrived, but brought nothing for trade, their object in coming being apparently to see whether there are any hostile tribes at present encamped here.  

      Monday 28th  Blowing strong from the South West with the weather partially overcast. A party of the men were squaring pieces for the Granary & the rest as usual.  Had the Victoria Ot . the current year taken to day from Depot.  No trade.  Louis Satakarata still confined to the house with a sore eye.  St. Gre hoeing the potatoes with the plough. 

      Tuesday 29th  Clear weather and no sign of rain.  Our crops appear to be suffering much from drought especially our potatoes.  People employed as yesterday.  No arrivals, nor departures.  

      Wednesday 30th  Weather same as yesterday with a fresh breeze from the South West.  Six hands were hauling out pieces for the Granary & six more cutting out those already rendered. Gagnon commenced mowing down the grass in the orchard being the first time this season.  No trade.  The Indian dogs are now so annoying that they are killing our young pigs. 

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