James Mc Millan (fur Trader) - Chief Factor of Fort Langley (1827-1828)

Chief Factor of Fort Langley (1827-1828)

In the weeks and months immediately following the erection of the Fort, McMillan watched as the horses perished in the wilderness conditions, noted a minor earthquake, and described the scene around the Fort once as "dull and monotonous." However, on Christmas Eve, 1827, a surprise visit was paid by HBC Chief Trader Alexander Mackenzie from Fort Vancouver. His party having been pinned in by ice at the mouth of the Fraser River, and apparently robbed and threatened by the Musqueam, Mackenzie dispatched a sympathetic Kwantlen to convey a distress message to McMillan at Fort Langley. Upon receiving the message, McMillan sent an armed party to recover Mackenzie who was later greeted at the fort by a beaming McMillan. Following a celebratory holiday fueled by liquor recently delivered to the Fort, McMillan opted to return to Fort Vancouver with Mackenzie and show off Fort Langley's haul of 1,200 furs. However, stranded at Point Roberts in stormy weather for 10 days, McMillan returned to Fort Langley with the furs, while Mackenzie and his group continued onto Fort Vancouver. Rumour soon reached McMillan that Mackenzie's party had been massacred on the shores of Puget Sound en route back to the Columbia River, which later proved true.
In October 1828, McMillan was transferred out of Fort Langley by Sir George Simpson. It is unclear whether he requested the transfer or was assigned elsewhere. He was replaced by Archibald McDonald.