Posted 11 years ago
walksoftly
(167 items)
Recent purchase, one page from Harper's New Monthly Magazine, October, 1860.
Fort Ellice, Hudson's Bay Company, Rupert's Land.
Print & accompanying article by Manton Marble (1834–1917) a New York journalist. In 1859, he went to the Red River Valley as The Evening Post's correspondent. He contributed three papers on his journey, to Harper's Magazine.
Fort Ellice was built to protect the Hudson’s Bay Company’s trade with the Assiniboine and Plains Cree from American competitors situated on the Missouri River. As a major post in the Swan River Trading District in the 1850's, the role of Fort Ellice shifted from the collection of furs and bison products to the distribution of supplies, horses, oxen and carts.
Nothing remains of Fort Ellice, there is however a cairn marking it's location. It is located above the Assiniboine River downstream from where it is joined by the Qu'Appelle River. Near present day St. Lazare, Manitoba.
I bought the print for it's local history content, I live 50 kilometers S E of the former Fort & a few miles from the Assiniboine River.
The image on the other side of the page was a surprise bonus, it is of the Mouse River (Souris River), near it's confluence with the Assiniboine River. That is a few miles from where my Paternal Great Grandparents homesteaded starting in 1882.
Link to history of St. Lazare & Fort Ellice
http://stlazare-ellice.com/cim/32C408_666T30270.dhtm
Link to Harper's New Monthly articles "To Red River and Beyond"
http://archive.org/details/toredriverbeyond00marb
Thanks for giving this some love, Tony, Mani, Thoscahaba & vetraio.
this is great!!!
Small world, isn't it?
yes it is!!!
It is a small world indeed!
The story starts not that far from you Sean, at St. Paul Minnesota, the last point of easy travel.
Thanks for the love on this 153 year old image Phil, it would be nice to see tepees & buildings at the Fort Ellice site. The RM of Ellice expropriated the land from the family that owned the site since the 60's, with the plan to develop it as a tourist attraction. Little has been done with it though as far as I know.
Thanks for the love, gargoyle, Amber, PW, B'buss & Sean
A wonderful item, David, and the history behind it makes it more so....!
Thanks so much Ted for the love & the nice comment. For anyone interested in history from that time period the three articles are an interesting read. Although as one would expect the author looks down upon the native & mixed breed (métis) people.
But it is a realistic portrayal of the difficulty of travel in the time period & the activities that were occurring there at the time.
By 1862 the area would be caught up in the Dakota War or Sioux Uprising.
@ Phil are these charcoal sketches or line engravings?
Thanks for giving this some love Budek & Moon.
Thanks for giving this some love Matty.
It is a wood engraving . I love old Harpers ,they showed life like photo's for people to see what was happening pre on site camera's . My Favorite Engraver was Winslow Homer .
Thanks Sis, for answering my question. It's amazing to have an illustration that is so old.
Illustrators allowed people to see parts of the world they could only imagine!
Winslow Homer did some amazing work I can see why he was a favorite!
@ Bro -I had to make up for you having to go to work all day solving :-)
Beautiful! I saw some prints from Nebr. of Winnebago Indians! There villages were always neat looking! Unlike many hole in the wall towns made by settlers! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for giving this some love Petey & Don.
Thanks for the comment as well Don, the Native Americans had some very interesting dwellings.
Did the Winnebago Indians use aluminium t-pees? LOL. Sorry fans, but I just got home after the airlines made me perform an un-natural act. Getting up @ 4:30AM!
Thanks for giving this some love Kerry.