History of Lytton

First Descents

Back to History of Lytton

Highways of the Past

It's 1826. There are no roads, only trails. The fastest way to get around is on water. Sure, you can walk or ride horses along trails but if you want to make time, get on the water.

Canoes are the most common way to travel. Rivers are great if you are going with the current, not so great if you are going against it. Lakes are better and faster than trails. Rapids? Well, they are synonymous with rivers.

The Thompson River is a super, ten lane highway. Or so it seems. But for some reason very few Indians or Hudson's Bay men travel it. Apparently there are some major rapids downriver.

Besides, the Bay men find pack horses the most practical way to ship their furs and other goods to the Okanagan and down the Columbia River to the ships that take the goods to London.

Looking for a New Route

But times are changing. There aren't as many furs as there used to be in the "Thompson River District". Although it's a huge district, stretching from the South Okanagan, past Fort Kamloops, then north covering thousands of square miles, beaver pelt numbers are dwindling.

And the new CEO of the Hudson's Bay Company in North America (they call him the "Governor"), George Simpson, is worried about losing one of the most common western routes for shipping the furs to London.

Up to two hundred pack horses are linked together like a train, and snake their way along trails that lead from Fort Alexandria (up near present day Quesnel), to Fort Kamloops, through the Okanagan to the Columbia River. York boats and large canoes take the furs down the Columbia River to Fort Vancouver not far from the river's mouth where they are loaded on ships that go to England.

CEO Simpson is worried that the border between the USA and what is now Canada will be drawn along the 49 th parallel. If this happens (which of course it will), the HBC will lose every base of operation in what is now the USA. This means that the pack horses can't reach the Columbia and the ships that carry the furs to the "old country".

Simpson wants a backup route.

Archibald McDonald

Archibald McDonald, the new guy in charge of Fort Kamloops is asked to explore the Thompson River down to "the Forks" of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers at what is now Lytton.

Can canoes and York boats run the Thompson? Are the rapids too big?

In September 1826, McDonald, his family, his co-workers and their families from Fort Kamloops, twenty-three men, women and children leave the fort on horseback and head downriver following Salish Indian trails. Camping beside the azure river at night, everyone enjoys the spectacular scenery, the beautiful river, the desert-like countryside, and the congenial atmosphere.

Chief Nicolas

McDonald has made arrangements to meet Chief Nicolas, the Chief of the Upper Okanagan Indians, at the mouth of what is now the Nicola River at Spences Bridge (Nicola River and Nicola Lake are named after Chief Nicolas).

When the first tourists in the interior arrive at the mouth of the Nicola, Chief Nicolas is waiting. McDonald, Chief Nicolas, and several of the men in the party temporarily abandon the little group and ride downriver to The Forks, carefully scouting every rapid along the way as best they can.

Scouting Two Great Rivers

As they get to within ten miles of The Forks the trails are rougher, and often it's impossible to get close to the river for a good look at the rapids. To the west the mountains are high and rugged. Some of the rapids look huge and the river elevation drops dramatically.

At The Forks, they continue down the Fraser to check out "the dalles" or rapids of what is now Siska Canyon, about eight few miles downriver. Rumor has it that these rapids are like waterfalls and not passable by canoe or boat.

After all, didn't Simon Fraser walk down the river at this point eighteen years earlier?

Returning to camp, McDonald gathers the rest of the party and they follow Chief Nicholas up through the picturesque, winding Nicola River Valley to Nicola Lake and back to Fort Kamloops.

McDonald Reports to Simpson

McDonald reports to his immediate superior, John McLoughlin at Fort Vancouver, that in his opinion the Thompson River is navigable. From Fort Kamloops to the mouth of the Nicoamen River (halfway between Spences Bridge and Lytton), the river has quite a few rapids but they aren't formidable.

But the last ten miles are treacherous and should probably be run only at low water (in the fall) he reports. Further, the Fraser River at the dalles below The Forks has some big water but he found no waterfalls and with care and cunning they too can be run.

He doesn't tell his boss that he brought his family along on the scouting mission, or that the families of his friends were along, or that they all had a great seven day holiday.

Two years later, Simpson and McDonald are on the Thompson River facing the whitewater challenge of their lives.

1828

It's late September, he's sick, and Governor George Simpson, CEO of the Hudson's Bay Company in North America, knows he's nearing the end of a long, arduous journey.

But he doesn't let up on the hectic pace that he's kept since early July. Already he has travelled almost 3000 miles on this grueling canoe journey from the barrens of York factory on Hudson Bay to Fort Alexandria (below Quesnel) on the Fraser River. But his journey isn't over. Not by a long shot.

Averaging an incredible 50 miles a day, he wants to set a new cross-country canoe speed record, and he's close to achieving his goal.

Trouble is Brewing

Although Simpson is relatively new at the job, this is already his second trip across the country. One of his goals is to determine if a canoe can run the Fraser River from Fort Alexandria to the Pacific.

The water route from Hudson Bay in the east to Fort Alexandria on the Fraser is already well established.

But at Alexandria, canoes are abandoned and pack horses loaded. Trains of up to 250 horses, stacked with furs, plod south to Fort Kamloops, then further south to the Okanagan and on to Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia River. At Fort Vancouver near the mouth of the Columbia River ships take the furs to England.

But trouble is brewing. CEO Simpson worries that the border between what is now the USA and Canada will be drawn along the 49 th parallel. If this happens (which of course it will), the HBC will lose access to every base of operation in the USA. This means that the pack horses can't reach the Columbia.

He must find an alternative route.

Fort Alexandria

Simpson has a plan. At Fort Alexandria he divides his party into two. One group of fourteen men, led by Mr. James Yale (the town of Yale is named after him) are to take two canoes down the Fraser River to "The Forks" (present day Lytton). Simpson's group will go overland to Fort Kamloops, then take canoes and a boat down the Thompson River to The Forks. The two parties are to meet at The Forks.

Although Simon Fraser canoed the river that now bears his name twenty years earlier, he abandoned his canoes at Leon Creek, almost 100 miles above Lytton, and walked beside the river to the Pacific coast.

Yale will undertake the first descent of the entire river. If he makes it, it may confirm a new highway to the coast. If he doesn't make it, well, that's another story.

Best River Runner in the Country

The guide in charge of the Simpson canoe brigade is Jean Baptiste Bernard, a French-Canadian Voyageur, who is one of a unique breed of rivermen that earn their living and their reputations running rivers. By reputation, Bernard is "the best judge of river navigation in the Indian Country".

Usually short in stature, powerfully built, and endowed with a happy disposition, the Voyageurs sing continuously as they paddle. Their work day: 18 hours. Stops to rest: non-existent. Stops for meals: as short as possible. Sleep: six hours a night.

Simpson hand picks three of the best voyageurs in the country, with Jean Bernard in charge of running the brigade.

Fort Kamloops

Yale and his men head down the Fraser, while Simpson and his group depart Fort Alexandria on horseback for Fort Kamloops. Seven days later they arrive, flag flying, bag pipes playing, and guns blazing. Two canoes and a newly constructed York-style river boat are waiting for them.

Wasting no time, Simpson checks the newly built boat and a day later at 4:00 pm on October 6, 1828 he and Archibald McDonald (the manager of Fort Kamloops), along with three experienced river "steersmen" and eleven paddlers depart Fort Kamloops for The Forks (Lytton).

The "miserable Thompson River boat" requires twelve paddlers, two men paddle each of the canoes. This is the first time a craft will descend the Thompson. Everyone is nervous.

They paddle seven miles then establish camp where the Thompson River (temporarily) ends and Kamloops Lake begins. Everyone agrees: the boat is sluggish and a beast to paddle.

Up at 4:00 am (it's still dark) they paddle across Kamloops Lake to what is now Savona, arriving at 7:45 am. Simpson no longer feels sick and he again is the taskmaster.

First Descent of the Thompson River

Entering the current of the Thompson River they make good time. Paddling without stopping to scout any rapids, they arrive at "a dangerous one", now called "Black Canyon", a big rapid a few miles below modern-day Ashcroft. All three craft run it without incident, keeping tight to the right shore.

At 3:45 pm they run "Rapid Croche" (now called Martel Rapid) about 8 miles above Spences Bridge, and "Long Rapid" (now called Orchard Rapid). The paddlers notice the river flows faster, and the rapids grow bigger and stronger.

On past the mouth of the Nicola River at 4:15 (now Spences Bridge) and past McDonald's 1826 camp (near present day Goldpan Park). They camp near Shaw Springs at 5:15.

The group gets on the river at 6:00 am and arrives at the mouth of the Nicoamen River, a small tributary of the Thompson 10 miles from The Forks, an hour later. The big rapids of theThompson lie ahead.

The Devil's Gorge

Carefully they examine the next five rapids (now called The Devil's Gorge). The second one (Devil's Kitchen) and the last one ("dangerous indeed" - JAWS OF DEATH!), worry the group.

All goes well until the Jaws of Death. Simpson writes in his journal: "we were nearly swamped, for in three swells we were full to the thafts, and the danger was increased by the unavoidable necessity of running over a strong whirlpool while the boat was in this unmanageable state".

They press on to The Forks running twelve more rapids in an hour. At The Forks, they are still pumped with adrenalin and extremely happy to find that Yale and his men are anxiously waiting their arrival.

Like all river runners, they swap stories, laugh about their hair-raising runs through dangerous rapids, and congratulate each other for being the first to descend two great rivers.

For a time they forget that the biggest and meanest rapids of the Fraser River lurk in the dark, canyon shadows just ahead.

Into the Heart of Thunder and Darkness

Governor Simpson, CEO of the Hudson Bay Company in North America, is impatient. He wants to get back in the boat and head downriver to Fort Langley, his destination.

He knows that no human has descended the Fraser River between the Forks (Lytton) and Fort Langley. Simpson knows no fear and he gives the order to get the boats back on the water.

There are now four canoes, the Thompson River boat, and thirty men that paddle into the unknown. Rumors circulate of a waterfall that roars like thunder and is veiled in the darkness of the Fraser's canyons. If any of the men feel fear, none show it.

McDonald's Dalles

Back in their boats at 1:00 pm, Simpson and his men board their canoes and river boat. The voyageurs sing their lusty songs as the canoes approach McDonald's dalles (Siska Canyon) four miles from The Forks.

Wind, common in the Canyons of the Fraser, has plagued the canoes for three days and today it blows with an infuriating passion. Simpson writes in his journal: "progress is slow and hazardous".

Although none of the rapids from the Forks to Siska are particularly bad, the men find them dangerous because of swirling boils and whirlpools. Progress is slow and it takes four hours to paddle four miles.

At Siska Canyon, the boat runs the churning water but the canoes dare not follow. They line them back upstream and everyone spends the night "in a very bad encampment." It's windy and dusty and a miserable place to spend the night.

Running The Fraser Canyon

The next day is a long one and progress improves dramatically as the wind dies and the sun comes out. The Fraser is relatively wide for the next twenty miles with few rapids and they can be skirted.

Then, near the mouth of present day Anderson River (Boston Bar), the river changes, the canyon changes, and the voyageurs tighten their grips on their paddles. A constriction in the river creates enormous whirlpools that the boat barely survives. The canoes, although lighter and more mobile, are portaged around the foaming cauldron.

Next the river constricts with solid granite walls on both sides (Scuzzy rapids). The water hits both walls and pushes back on itself into the middle. The voyageurs paddle like their lives depend on it. Once through the canyon, everyone breathes a collective sigh and enjoy a beautiful, dancing river that falls into the Fraser from the west.

Simpson notes in his journal that the trip through the canyon with the current is bad but getting back upstream an impossibility. He wants a river that provides two-way navigation. This place is bad.

Within minutes they are into another rapid (China Bar) with huge, rolling waves but with lots of room on the sides. They skirt the rapid and carry on. Not ten minutes later they hear the roar of still another rapid (Hell's Gate). Pulling ashore to scout the rapid, they determine to run it on river left. Instantly swept into the maelstrom, the river boat survives the attack the best. The canoes are more fragile and need gumming to repair leaks after the run.

A mile downstream they again hear the thunder of a rapid (Little Hell's Gate). As they approach they see the rooster tails of the water exploding in the air on river left. Pulling ashore to scout the rapid, Jean Bernard, the chief guide and by reputation the best river guide in the country, finds a route tight along the river's right side that misses the worst of the monstrous waves. The other craft follow him through two huge waves and into the large eddy on river right. All is well.

Churning and boiling in the Black Canyon continues for miles, the river challenges the expedition time and time again, but they make good time and distance. Before the day is over they have paddled fifty miles.

The Final Day

Friday, October 10 is the final day of the journey. McDonald records the event in his diary:

"Started at broad day-light, and in twenty-five minutes came to head of Simpson's Falls (Saddle Rock), where the river is choked up by a most solid rock of about half an acre."

The canoes and boat stop. The river splits in two with the right side narrow, winding and rocky. They decide on running the left side. Immediately downstream of the rock where the split river converges a huge reversing wave and "hole" sits menacing. Complete with powerful currents, whirlpools, boils, and reversing currents, Simpson's Falls is a nightmare.

Because the portage is virtually impossible, they decide to run it. The top riverman in the country, Jean Bernard, takes the first canoe down. This is serious whitewater and the crew paddle for their lives. The hole threatens to suck the craft into its abyss, they stall and move sideways towards the hole. The paddlers tighten their grips and dig in even harder. Slowly they prevail then suddently the boat is flushed downstream. They make it.

The river boat with twelve paddlers is next. Because of the extra weight of the boat and strength of the paddlers they flush through only a few feet from the hole without incident.

The second canoe approaches the Falls more cautiously and threads the eye of the needle between the swells and currents of the hole on the left and the rocks on the right. They wash through and keep paddling.

Around the bend (Yale B.C.) the character of the river changes: it broadens, slows its speed, the vegetation on shore is more profuse, and the shoreline flatter.

Simpson is Unhappy

They've done it! They have conquered the mighty Fraser River. No loss of life. No serious injuries. Lots of tales to tell. The fleet arrives at Fort Langley in the dark at 8:00 PM, singing songs and cheering wildly.

Simpson is unhappy. The river is not navigable like he'd hoped. In his opinion, it would result in "certain death in nine attempts out of ten".

Still, they've done it! They've descended two great rivers for the first time. They have paddled 3181 miles in 65 days, a new record. Everyone celebrates.

Back to History of Lytton

Copyright 2008
Bernie Fandrich

Duplication not permitted without consent of the author.