But home isn’t Montreal. Home is Libby. She’s out there somewhere, and I will find her no matter how long it takes.
“Sometimes, Captain,” I say, “fate makes other plans fer us. Show me where I can stow my things. I’m ready to go.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Nor’Wester is a work of fiction. While Simon Fraser and the men of the North West Company did embark on a journey to the Pacific in 1808, there is nothing in the historical record to indicate they did so as an official response to the journey of Lewis and Clark.
Simon Fraser, John Stuart, Jules Quesnel, Hugh Faries and the voyageurs that Duncan meets in Fort St. James are real, including the unpleasant La Malice, although his hatred of Duncan and his fate as described in this book are fiction.
Additionally, while there is no evidence to show that Duyunun accompanied Fraser down the river, he, Chief Kwah, and the other Indigenous people described in this book, including Little Fellow, were real historical figures. The journey is heavily based on Fraser’s own journal, and some of Fraser’s dialogue is taken from the very words he used in his own account. The village of Chunlac is a real place, and the massacre described in the book is an historical event that occurred around the year 1750.
There was a migrant ship called the Sylph that travelled the Atlantic Ocean from Liverpool to Quebec in the early years of the 19th century, and although Tom and Francis are fictional characters, the description of the Atlantic crossing is based on first-hand accounts from both crew members and passengers who made the hazardous journey.
John Davis, Henry Mackenzie, Luc Lapointe, Callum Mackay and Louis and Louise Desjarlais are all fictional. William McGillivray was the head of the North West Company, and the descriptions of the North West Company headquarters, Lachine, Fort William and Fort St. James are historically accurate.
A word on the names of the Indigenous peoples used in this account: there was a conscious effort to respect and use the names preferred by the Native peoples themselves, instead of the names ascribed to them by Fraser and others, including “Indian.” For example, the Secwepemc (pronounced She-whep-m) were called the “Atnah” by Fraser and have, at various other times in history, been given other names. Nlaka’pamux is pronounced Ing-khla-kap-muh; in Fraser’s journal they were called the “Hacamaugh.”
Two books in particular were invaluable to the creation of this story. The first is Stephen Hume’s Simon Fraser: In Search of Modern British Columbia (Harbour Publishing, 2008). The second is W. Kaye Lamb’s edition of The Letters and Journals of Simon Fraser, 1806–1808 (reprinted by Dundurn Press, 2007). A third book, Bruce Hutchinson’s The Fraser (Irwin Publishing, 1982), is also an important resource for those seeking more information about this fascinating period of early British Columbia history.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Starr is a prize-winning author of three previous books. In Bombs to Books, he chronicled the stories of refugee children and their families coming to B.C. Golden Goal is a young adult soccer-themed book for reluctant readers. The Insider’s Guide to K–12 Education in B.C. is a resource guide for parents about the B.C. school system. David grew up in Fort St. James, a town that plays a large role in The Nor’Wester. He now lives in greater Vancouver with his wife, four children and a dog named Buster. He combines the roles of high school principal and author.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Author’s Note
About the Author