1846
1847
1848
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1849
1850

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Fort Victoria Post Journal April 1848

1848 April

Saturday 1^st April Generally clear & blowing a gale from the South West. No occurrence of any note. The principal results of the week's works are as follows: 3 window frames made & glazed ∞ Sale Shop, 26 logs ∞ saw squared & hauled out of woods, 30 acres of field ∞ pease sown & harrowed, 6 acres of new land ploughed twice, timbers squared & cut ∞ cattle stands, 2 pig styes made, shelves made & put up in Dupuis' Dairy, 66 bus. oats thrashed & winnowed, a portion of land cleared & about 30 boards 10ft long1in sawn with as many of 2in, 150 cogs ∞ Saw Mill raised, partition put round the office chimney & a stove put therein, 2 bushels potatoes planted in the garden, 2 barrels of fine salt made by Dixon ∞ the salting butter, 46 rafters ∞ Grist Mill hauled out of woods by four hands.

Sunday 2^nd Blowing strong from the South West with weather generally clear. Nothing remarkable.

Monday 3^rd Overcast with a mod. breeze from the South East. People employed principally as last week (in labor book). Very little doing now in the way of trade. The dairymen have got 48 milch cows. We have to day had 8 wild oxen yoked for the purpose of allowing the old oxen to recruit. A canoe of Sinahomish arrived this evening & brought nothing for trade. They gave a woful account of the death amongst that tribe from measles & dysentery. One of our Indian's wives has had the measles & is now convalescent.

Tuesday 4 Raining all day, wind E.S East, light. People employed as usual: ploughing, hauling out pieces ∞ cattle stalls, making & repairing ox yokes & wheels, filling up the foundation spaces of Granary & squaring pieces ∞ d^o, pit sawing &c. No trade worth noticing. M^cPhail & Dupuis were out to day but brought in no cows.

Wednesday 5^th Raining for the greater part of the day. Wind light and variable. People employed as yest^y. About 7 AM Mr. Fenton, a millwright, accomp^d by Beauchamp, a blacksmith, & our interpreter Thomas Ouantany {Ouamtany} arrived from Nisqually & brought advise from Vanc^r up to the 21 ult^o & and from Nisqually to the 30^th. News upon the whole favourable. The measles are not so prevalent as they have been at those places. Intelligence had been received at Vanc^r from the S^h Islands by an American vessel of the safe arrival of the B^qu Vancouver at that place from England & may now be daily expected here. Beaver is to be hereafter purchased at the rate of 3 for blkts 2 1/2 pts. ea with other goods to be raised in price for the same article in proportion. 13 bus. oats were sown to day & partly harrowed.

Thursday 6^th Blowing strong from the S. West with frequent showers of rain. Had a trip to the Mill Seat with Mr. Fenton prior to making arrang^ts for commenc^g the Saw Mill. Mr. F. speaks favorably of the waterfall. Operations going on as usual: Beauchamp employed rep^g iron works for Nisqually & Thomas attending men & Indians in the field.

Friday 7^th Alternately clear and cloudy with frequent heavy showers of hail & blowing strong from the South West. 20 bus. pease were to day sown and partly harrowed, 3 hands making stands ∞ cows, 2 making a dray & the others as usual. The measles are now spreading fast at this place, four of our Sand^h Islanders are laid up with them as are some of the women ~~all~~ & many of the Indians across. We could not dispatch a party to the Mill Seat to day owing to the high winds.

Saturday 8^th Fine pleasant weather, but very cold with a strong South Westerly wind. Early this morning the Nisqually Indians left & brought a letter for Dr. Tolmie. 2 boats with 8 hands provisioned for a week were at same time sent over to the Mill Seat where we intend to commence erecting a Saw Mill on Monday. The results of the week's work are as follows: 1 sill 100ft long with wallplate mortised & placed for cattle stands, 4 sills & wallplates & 20 logs hauled out with oxen, a pr cart wheels made, 30 plank 23ft long 2in thick sawn, a dray made, 2 sills &wallplates ∞ Smithy sq^d, 12 bus. oats harrowed, 16 acres of land cross ploughed, sown with pease & harrowed, 55 1/2 bus. pease are now sown & harrowed, being all we intend to sow this spring, sundry iron work was done by Minie & other jobs performed about the Estab^t by other disposable hands. Jack Kaau, Friday, Ebony & Captⁿ Cole are laid up with the measles, as are three of the women & a boy. A considerable number of the Songes in the camp are also laid up with the same complaint. Medicines as prescribed by Dr. Tolmie were given them. Jeealthuc the Songes Chief having got well over the measles, is now very ill with the dysentery, being the only case we have seen of it here.

Sunday 9^th Fine clear weather with a light breeze from the North, some frost overnight. About 8AM the B^qu Vancouver anchored at Pt. Ogden, being from England via the Sandwich Islands. Captain Mott delivered the London packet here at 9 AM when we set about taking a copy of the NW invoice & bill of lading. Every thing ~~having~~ being ready at 11 PM for a start to Nisqually. Francois Coté with a canoe, manned by seven Indians then left with the packet, being conveyed by Mr. Nevin in one of the ship's boats man^d by five of our hands to Pt. Wilson. The tide & wind would not admit of the Vanc^r entering the harbour to day. ~~The~~

Monday 10^th Blowing full from the South West this afternoon. Weather generally clear. Mr. Fenton started this morning for the Mill Seat, having Minie & two Islanders employed with him there. The few hands we have got about the Estab^t were employed much the same as last week. Okaia, Kaau, Ebony, Friday & Captⁿ Cole are laid up with the measles, the latter appears to have the dysentery. The Vancouver is still lying at anchor outside, consequently we could not receive any packages from her to day. Several Skatchets & Kawitchins traded a few trifles in provisions & furs, the former had some beavers, which they would not dispose of at the tariff recently established. 26 bus. oats were sown to day & partly harrowed.

Tuesday 11^th Fine clear & pleasant weather with light variable winds. People employed same as yest^y. About 11AM the Vanc^r ent^d the harbour. 15 bus. oats were sown & partly harrowed. Some trifles were traded from Kawitchins. Okaia one of the mill men came over to day sick in a canoe.

Wednesday 12^th Fine pleasant weather with light variable airs. 138 packages of dry goods with several casks of molasses were discharged to day from the Vanc^r at which almost all our disposable hands were employed. Early this morning Mr. Nevin with the men who left with him on the 9^th returned, four of whom were sent to the Mill Seat. 9 bus. oats were sown & harrowed to day. 5 of our men are still sick with the measles & the women of the Estab^t are daily becoming ill by the same complaint. Jeealthuc the Songes Chief who had been troubled with dysentery after having recov^d from the measles, is now I am happy to say getting better.

Thursday 13^th Beautiful weather with little or no wind. Had upwards of a hundred packages landed from the Vanc^r the cargo being mix^d with that for the Columbia, the packages cannot be got so readily as could be wished. In hoisting up to day at the wharf, Beauchamp our blacksmith got his hand between the block & the rope, which completely cut off the tip of one of his fingers. He will be disabled from working for some time in consequence. 3 cows with calves were taken in to day, 3 ploughs were under way ploughing the potatoe field. Being short of hands for hoisting up the bales, in consequence of so many being sick, I had two oxen yoked to the fall, which work well in hoisting. Late in the evening a canoe arrived from Langley & brought a letter from Mr. Yale importing that the measles are prevalent at his place.

Friday 14^th Very fine weather & warm. About 11 AM the Beaver arrived from the North & landed some few furs here as ∞ Sunday a/c Book. Measles appears to have carried off many during winter to the North. People employed discharging the Vanc^r, ploughing &c. Five men on the sick list. Several packages have been got ready this afternoon for Nisqually, where the Steamer is bound as soon as ready.

Saturday 15^th Fine & warm with light variable airs. People employed principally about the Fort shipping & receiving cargo. We have the same n^o. as yesterday on the sick list. Every thing we had ready for Nisqually having been shipped on board the Beaver & that vessel being wooded she started for Nisqually about noon. Letters & documents for Vanc^r & Nisqually were delivered to Captain Dodd. The principal results of the week's work are as follows: the Smithy taken down to be enlarged & the new sills mortised, 3 acres of potatoe field ploughed, 26 bus. oats sown & harrowed, 300 packages discharged from the Vancouver, & with some work done at the Saw Mill Seat & sundry other duties performed about the Estab^t. We have now got 64 cows with their calves in but we are short of milk dishes.

Sunday 16^th Fine pleasant weather with a strong breeze from the South West. Late in the evening the Brig Mary Dare arrived & anchored at P. Ogden when Captain Scarborough landed & delivered letters & other documents from Ft. Vanc^r.

Monday 17^th Fine weather still continues, with light variable airs. Two more of our men Kahela & Bole are laid up with the measles. Seven men being at the Mill leaves us at present badly off for hands to discharge the vessels. Several skow loads of sundries were landed to day from both principally by the assistance of the Natives.

Tuesday 18^th Fine pleasant weather with light variable airs. No packages were received to day from the Vanc^r as they were busy on board taking in ballast & stowing. 4 cows with calves were taken in to day by the dairymen. Minie arrived in the evening from the Mill & brought Tai with him sick with the measles. Keave is so ill there with the same complaint that he could not come. The latter poor man lost a child having died this forenoon. Gagnon's wife, who had been very ill for the last month departed this life this morning, being the first one on our obituary, Keave's child the second. Gagnon's wife's principal complaint was an abortion, that with the measles at the same time caused the poor woman's death. Several of the women & children of the Estab^t are now ill with that prevailing epidemic, together with ten of our Sand^h Islanders. We have now got hardly a man to discharge or ship cargo. Several packages for Langley were to day shipped on board of the Mary Dare.

Wednesday 19^th Fine weather still continues. About 9 AM the Beaver arrived from Nisqually & brought a cargo of shingles with salt & fresh beef. Several packages for Ft. Langley were shipped to day on board of the Mary Dare. They are still employed on board the B^qu shipping ballast & turning over the cargo. Consequently we got nothing from them to day. All our ~~people~~ Islanders still confined to the house with sickness. Several of the women & children were laid up in course of the day. This afternoon Gagnon's wife with Keave's child were ~~confined~~ consigned to the tomb.

Thursday 20^th Fine weather still continues. We received several packages to day from the Vanc^r but not sufficient as yet to complete the Outfits of the Interior. Operations going on as yesterday as well as our means will permit.

Friday 21^st Very warm weather. The NW packages are coming on shore daily one by one. Having received almost all we want to complete the interior's Out^s late this evening, we began pack^g the packages for those places & finished about midnight. The Mary Dare is now nearly ready for sea. 14 hands now on the sick list & we have scarcely a hand to do any thing about the place. A few of our men with Indians are employed ploughing land for potatoes.

Saturday 22^nd Occasionally overcast but mild. About 5 AM the Brig Mary Dare towed by the Steamer left for Ft. Langley, the remainder of her cargo for that place having been shipped on board her at 4 o'clock & the despatches for Mr. Yale deliv^d to Captain Scarborough. The principal result of this week's work consists of about 300 packages of goods having been landed from the Vanc^r & about 10 acres of land ploughed. Nothing more of any consequence done. Two more of the mill men are now laid up, leaving only Minie , Provelle & Kanome to work w{ith} Mr. Fenton. M^cPhail is also laid up & Peltier has now to attend the Dairy in his stead. George Dixon who had been here since last Dc^r joined the Mary Dare this morning.

Sunday 23^rd Fine pleasant weather. Nothing remarkable.

Monday 24th Rain over night, which continued for sometime this forenoon. Fine clear weather in the afternoon. The people employed as last week. All our Sandwich Islanders (twelve) are now laid up with the measles. We got 6 hhds of sugar this evening from the Vanc^r one of which had been breached & two thirds of its contents taken out. No trade.

Tuesday 25^th Beautiful weather with light variable airs. All the men & Indians we could muster were to day employed preparing the potatoe field. A woman & child died to day in the Songes camp with the measles. Some of the inmates of the Fort are al very ill with the same complaint, especially our Sandwich Islanders. No trade worth noticing. The last N^os. of the NW packages were received this evening from the Vancouver.

Wednesday 26^th Fine weather still continues. Some private packages for the gentlemen in New Caledonia were landed to day from the Vanc^r. 12 bus. potatoes were planted yesterday and 75 bushels planted to day. Four cows with calves were taken in to day, making now in all 73 milch cows. M^cPhail is now laid up with the measles and Peltier is now acting in his stead. No trade worth mentioning. The measles do not appear to be abating for the Indians in the camp are being daily laid up with them. One of the casks of sugar landed from the vessel yesterday is 921^oz short of the invoiced quantity & what remains is scarcely worth using being damaged with the salt water.

Thursday 27^th Weather still continues fine. All the hands we can muster here were planting potatoes. The people on sick list appear to do as well as can be expected. Documents & letters were written to day for Columbia River & handed in the evening to Captain Mott. He is therefore now ready to leave this {place} for that place.

Friday 28^th Had a little rain over night. Beautiful weather throughout the day with a stiff breeze from South West. The Vanc^r is still in the harbour waiting for a favorable chance to proceed to sea. About noon Coté arrived from Nisqually having letters from Vanc^r to the 18^th and Nisqually 24^th ins^t. Charles Deroche & Bates accompanied Coté from Vanc^r who are to remain at this place. Montgomery one of the Nisqually men also came on with the party for the purpose of castrating our stud horses. Keave & Bahia are beginning to recover from the measles.

Saturday 29^th Fine weather as yesterday. The Vanc^r still remaining @ anchor this side of Shoal point. Operations as usual, the result of the week's work is as follows: dung carted out for, & 150 bus. potatoes planted & covered with the plough. Mill operations not as yet ascertained, Mr. Fenton not having as yet arrived. No trade. About 4 pm the Beaver arrived from Langley with the Brig Mary Dare in tow & brought letters from that place with some pork for Depot & empty beef barrels for Nisqually. Kaau & Ebony are getting better. Served out rice to the sick people instead of their usual allowance.

Sunday 30^th Blowing fresh from the South West with clear weather. Nothing remarkable.

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