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Donald Manson1796-1880
Hudson's Bay Company Explorer and Chief Trader
Donald Manson was an adventurer and outdoorsman who's various positions with the HBC over the years suited his nature. Among his adventures was the testing of the Brigade Trail in 1849 with A.C. Anderson as their guide. The route proved perilous and Fort Yale would have been a welcome site for the exhausted travelers and their animals as they came down the last stretch of the trail. At the time of this expedition Manson was the HBC's Chief Trader and Superintendent of New Caledonia.
Manson started with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1817 at the age of 21. "An 1822 report noted that he was a 'fine powerful active young man [and a] tolerable Clerk & Trader." 1 Through his time with the HBC he most preferred exploring and active service; he explored the Nass and Skeena Rivers in 1831 and 1832, while in charge of Fort Simpson. During his term there he constructed Fort McLoughlin on Millbank Sound, which he heavily fortified against any possibility of a native invasion. Manson also built Fort George and Fort Langley on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1837 he was promoted to Chief Trader.
With the title of Chief Trader usually came the position of Chief Factor, but due to his tendency towards brutality this advancement was continually withheld by Governor George Simpson until Manson discontinued his policy of 'club law.' Due to this clause, Manson was never promoted to chief factorship. "Any HBC officer had to be ready to look after himself in a rough world, but Manson seemed to find a positive pleasure in threats and beatings, and encouraged his subordinates to imitate his own brutality." 2 It was Manson's skill at getting the furs that kept his rank as chief trader despite his brutality.
In 1841 Manson took over the Kamloops Post, had a brief stint at Stikine before being moved to Fort St. James, New Caledonia in 1844. Manson retired in 1857, renowned for not only his temper but his skills as an outdoorsman.
He had married Felicite Lucifer in 1828 while stationed around Fort Langley. Donald Manson moved his wife and their eight children to a farm in Oregon after his retirement. Manson died on the farm on January 7, 1880. Felicite had predeceased him by 13 years.
Written by Darla Dickenson, edited by Irene Bjerky
1- The Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 1871 to 1880. Vol. X. Toronto, On: University of Toronto Press (pg 495-496)
2- Akrigg, Helen and G.P.V. British Columbia Chronicle, 1847-1871. Gold & Colonists. Vancouver: Discovery Press, 1977. Pg 69.
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Hudson's Bay Company/North West CompanyWith the fur trade dwindling, the colony of B.C. entered into a new era that included former HBC man James Douglas becoming governor of B.C. The new era was marked by the Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858.
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