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Simon Fraser: In Search of Modern British Columbia
Winner of the 2009 BC Book Prizes' Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize
In 1808 seeking a navigable route to the western sea for the North West Company, Simon Fraser descended the great river that now bears his name. Most of us learn that much in school----but who was this blunt, tenacious man, and what drove him to make a dangerous journey halfway across an uncharted continent?
Journalist and poet Stephen Hume followed in Fraser's footsteps and canoe wake for four years. He studied fading maps and diaries in archives across North America, interviewed the descendants of people who aided Fraser and retraced Fraser's route across British Columbia's vast and varied landscape.
Hume found Fraser's own blazes and signs in the wild terrain that the Nor'wester crossed with the help of aboriginal peoples, all the way from the Rocky Mountains to the mouth of the ferocious river we call the Fraser. This is the story of diligent research and reconstruction of his route, the rigours of early nineteenth-century travel and the peoples and places he saw and recorded.
"Simon Fraser: In Search of Modern British Columbia" is the story of Fraser's great journey, but not solely from a historian's or biographer's pen. Hume writes with his usual lyrical power based in a profound knowledge of the landscape and history of BC.
In 1808 seeking a navigable route to the western sea for the North West Company, Simon Fraser descended the great river that now bears his name. Most of us learn that much in school----but who was this blunt, tenacious man, and what drove him to make a dangerous journey halfway across an uncharted continent?
Journalist and poet Stephen Hume followed in Fraser's footsteps and canoe wake for four years. He studied fading maps and diaries in archives across North America, interviewed the descendants of people who aided Fraser and retraced Fraser's route across British Columbia's vast and varied landscape.
Hume found Fraser's own blazes and signs in the wild terrain that the Nor'wester crossed with the help of aboriginal peoples, all the way from the Rocky Mountains to the mouth of the ferocious river we call the Fraser. This is the story of diligent research and reconstruction of his route, the rigours of early nineteenth-century travel and the peoples and places he saw and recorded.
"Simon Fraser: In Search of Modern British Columbia" is the story of Fraser's great journey, but not solely from a historian's or biographer's pen. Hume writes with his usual lyrical power based in a profound knowledge of the landscape and history of BC.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2008
4 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Hume
20 books9 followers"Born in England in 1947, Vancouver Sun columnist and senior writer Stephen Hume immigrated to British Columbia with his parents in 1948. He was educated at Mount Douglas Senior Secondary in Victoria, the University of Victoria, the University of Alberta and the Banff School of Advanced Management.
Hume began his writing career as a reporter for the Victoria Daily Times in 1968, joining the Edmonton Journal in 1971 as that paper's Arctic correspondent covering Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Greenland. He later served the paper for a decade as editor-in-chief and general manager, leading the newspaper to various national and international awards, including a Roland Michener citation for public service journalism in 1983.
In 1989, Hume returned to writing and the West Coast, joining the Vancouver Sun as columnist-at-large. Hume's writing in The Vancouver Sun won the Southam President's Award for commentary in 1991, national newspaper award citations in 1990 and 1993, provincial newspaper award citations in 1993, 1994 and 1996, the Marjorie Nichols Memorial Award for column writing in 1995, a silver medal for feature writing from the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation in 1999 and a Jack Webster Award in 2000.
An award-winning author of six books of poetry, essays and natural history, Hume's writing appears in numerous anthologies and is cited in textbooks including: The Alberta Diamond Jubilee Anthology (1979); Inside Poetry (1984); Home and Homeland: The Canadian Immigrant Experience (1993); Vistas: Exploring Poetry, Prose and Non-Fiction (1993); The Canadian Oxford Guide to Writing (1994), Dimensions II: Precise Thought and Language in the Essay (1996) and Contre-taille: Poemes choisis de vingt-cinq auteurs canadiens-anglais (1996). His collection of essays, Ghost Camps, won the Alberta Writer's Guild Literary Award for best work of non-fiction in 1989. Bush Telegraph: Discovering the Pacific Province, a collection of essays published in 1999, won a B.C. 2000 book award. A new collection of essays, Off the Map: Tales from the Road Less Travelled, is to be published this fall."
Hume began his writing career as a reporter for the Victoria Daily Times in 1968, joining the Edmonton Journal in 1971 as that paper's Arctic correspondent covering Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Greenland. He later served the paper for a decade as editor-in-chief and general manager, leading the newspaper to various national and international awards, including a Roland Michener citation for public service journalism in 1983.
In 1989, Hume returned to writing and the West Coast, joining the Vancouver Sun as columnist-at-large. Hume's writing in The Vancouver Sun won the Southam President's Award for commentary in 1991, national newspaper award citations in 1990 and 1993, provincial newspaper award citations in 1993, 1994 and 1996, the Marjorie Nichols Memorial Award for column writing in 1995, a silver medal for feature writing from the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation in 1999 and a Jack Webster Award in 2000.
An award-winning author of six books of poetry, essays and natural history, Hume's writing appears in numerous anthologies and is cited in textbooks including: The Alberta Diamond Jubilee Anthology (1979); Inside Poetry (1984); Home and Homeland: The Canadian Immigrant Experience (1993); Vistas: Exploring Poetry, Prose and Non-Fiction (1993); The Canadian Oxford Guide to Writing (1994), Dimensions II: Precise Thought and Language in the Essay (1996) and Contre-taille: Poemes choisis de vingt-cinq auteurs canadiens-anglais (1996). His collection of essays, Ghost Camps, won the Alberta Writer's Guild Literary Award for best work of non-fiction in 1989. Bush Telegraph: Discovering the Pacific Province, a collection of essays published in 1999, won a B.C. 2000 book award. A new collection of essays, Off the Map: Tales from the Road Less Travelled, is to be published this fall."
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 5, 2009
I've long admired the writing of Stephen Hume, an author and journalist. This book did not disappoint-- I enjoyed the juxtaposition of ancient and modern throughout this history of modern British Columbia, and the sometimes lyrical prose. The images are in full colour, drawn from archives and the digital camera of the accompanying photographer on their journey across Canada in the footsteps of the Nor'Wester, Simon Fraser.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
June 3, 2014
THIS IS IDENTITY THEFT!!!!!!!!! I DID NOT DO ANY OF THESE THINGS!!
June 3, 2014
This book tells lies about me! It stoles muh name! THIS IS IDENTITY THEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
January 16, 2026
“And so, while David Thompson was probing the southern mountains for passes, Fraser had been dispatched to the north, first to establish a trading presence on the western slope, then to determine whether the river reported by Mackenzie was actually the upper Columbia and whether it was navigable for trade.
Ultimately Fraser’s journey would be recognized by his own peers as a feat of unsurpassed courage, diplomacy and river craft. He would travel almost two thousand kilometres to tidewater and back and pass through some of the most rugged and unforgiving terrain on the continent, sometimes under desperate conditions. He would make contact with First Nations that were not always welcoming. Most telling, he would return home safely with all his men after his patience and leadership extricated them from the most threatening circumstances where lesser men might have resorted to violence.”
Ultimately Fraser’s journey would be recognized by his own peers as a feat of unsurpassed courage, diplomacy and river craft. He would travel almost two thousand kilometres to tidewater and back and pass through some of the most rugged and unforgiving terrain on the continent, sometimes under desperate conditions. He would make contact with First Nations that were not always welcoming. Most telling, he would return home safely with all his men after his patience and leadership extricated them from the most threatening circumstances where lesser men might have resorted to violence.”
September 13, 2024
If you have ever wondered why everything in British Columbia is named Fraser. A good read for someone interested in the adventures of the Voyageurs.
April 13, 2012
I understand that Simon Fraser has little stuff written on his expedition, which makes Canadians frustrated when they see the mass of literature on Clark & Lewis's overland trip, around the very same period.
McKenzie was the first to get overland to the Pacific in 1973, Clark & Lewis in 1805, while Fraser made it in 1808, but his journey was way north, so far less practical.
The book give some good descriptions of that era, the battle between the Hudson Bay Co and the North West Co, who were mainly the French and the Scottish fur traders.
The Loyalist's battle against the "Rebels" in the USA is also describes as background, making the whole interesting.
I noted this low, as about a third is the authors recent observations and his trip, which is less fascinating. but maybe there are no other books on Fraser..
McKenzie was the first to get overland to the Pacific in 1973, Clark & Lewis in 1805, while Fraser made it in 1808, but his journey was way north, so far less practical.
The book give some good descriptions of that era, the battle between the Hudson Bay Co and the North West Co, who were mainly the French and the Scottish fur traders.
The Loyalist's battle against the "Rebels" in the USA is also describes as background, making the whole interesting.
I noted this low, as about a third is the authors recent observations and his trip, which is less fascinating. but maybe there are no other books on Fraser..
January 23, 2012
This was an excellent history and personal account of traveling the routes Simon Fraser discovered. But at times it failed to really pull together the history, and the writing was far from any academic standard.
June 3, 2014
Patrick is the smartest person I know, and I wish I was like him. Also, I have gas and should change my name to Thunder Buns Jr..
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews