Simon Fraser (explorer) - Descent of The Fraser River

Descent of The Fraser River

From the outset, the aboriginal inhabitants warned Fraser that the river below was nearly impassable. A party of twenty-three left Fort George in four canoes on May 28, 1808. They passed the West Road River where Alexander Mackenzie (explorer) had turned west and on the first of June ran the rapids of the Cottonwood Canyon (Fraser River) where a canoe became stranded and had to be pulled out of the canyon with a rope. They procured horses from the Indians to help with the portages, but the carrying-places were scarcely safer than the rapids. They passed the mouth of the Chilcotin River on the 5th and entered a rapide couvert where the river was completely enclosed by cliffs. The next day the river was found to be completely impassable. The canoes and superfluous goods were cached and on the 11th the party set out on foot, each man carrying about 80 pounds. On the 14th they reached a large village, possibly near Lillooet where they were able to trade for two canoes. On the 19th they reached a village at the mouth of the Thompson River, where they obtained canoes for the rest of the party. After more rapids and portages, and losing one canoe but no men, they reached North Bend, British Columbia where they again had to abandon their canoes. In places they used an Indian path made by poles set on the side of the gorge (probably somewhere near Hells Gate, British Columbia). On the 28th they left the Fraser Canyon near Yale, British Columbia where the river becomes navigable. Escorted by friendly Indians and well-fed on salmon, they reached the sea on the second of July. Fraser took the latitude as 49°. Since he knew that the mouth of the Columbia was at 46° it was clear that the river he was following was not the Columbia.

Fraser proved adept at establishing friendly relations with the tribes he met, being careful to have them send word to tribes downstream of his impending arrival and good intentions. For the most part, this tactic was effective, but Fraser encountered a hostile reception by the Musqueam people as he approached the lower reaches of the river at present day Vancouver. Their hostile pursuit of Fraser and his men meant that Fraser was not able to get more than a glimpse of the Strait of Georgia on July 2, 1808. A dispute with the neighbouring Kwantlen people led to a pursuit of Fraser and his men that was only broken off near present day Hope.

Returning to Fort George proved to be an even more perilous exercise, as the hostility Fraser and his crew encountered from the aboriginal communities near the mouth of the river spread upstream. The ongoing hostility and threats to the lives of the Europeans resulted in a near mutiny by Fraser's crew, who wanted to escape overland. Quelling the revolt, Fraser and his men continued north upstream from present-day Yale, arriving in Fort George on August 6, 1808. The journey upstream took thirty-seven days. In total it took Fraser and his crew two-and-a-half months to travel from Fort George to Musqueam and back.