Volume 1

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JOHN OF GARTH AND OTHER M'DONALDS. 279
Mr. Decoigne" arrived with a brigade consisting of six
Athabasca river canoes.
tered 1800-01 on the upper Saskatchewan, and summered 1801 with Ducoigne
at Fort Augustus. In 1802 he built the Rocky Mountain house on the Saskatchewan,
near the mouth of the Clearwater. In 1803 he came in to Fort
William (Kaministiquia), Daniel McKenzie was sent in his place,
to
and he went
Montreal "after an absence of 12 or 15 years," he says, and also to Boston,
Mass. In 1804 he was ordered to take the English River Dept. in place of
Donald McTavish, and wintered at Isle a la Crosse, 1804-05 (at this point in
his Notes he mentions the other John McDonald as taking Daniel McKenzie's
place with James Hughes on the upper Saskatchewan). In 1805 he returned
to the Saskatchewan, went up the south fork to the mouth of Red Deer r.,
built New Chesterfield house there, and wintered 1805-06. In 1806 we find
him at Montreal, sick. In 1807 he took charge of the Red River Dept. in
place of " Big " McDonnell ; had as assistant Alex McDonnell; built Fort
Gibraltar at the site of present Winnipeg ; wintered 1807-08 on the Qu'Appelle,
at the house where " Big " McDonnell had been for some years, and came
in to Fort William, 1808. Hearing that Thompson was in trouble in the
Rocky mts., he organized an expedition for his relief, which included George
J.
McTavish, a Mr. McMillen, and the bold guide, Joseph Paul, "an old
bully." He got into the mountains, and certainly wintered ; but whether this
was 1808-09, or 1809-10, or both, is obscure; he says at this point that he
has " been blending two seasons in one," and also that he got out of that
country in the spring of 1810; but he nowhere accounts for 1811 : compare
Thompson's mention of " J." and " Jo" McDonald, fall of 1811. He was
at Fort William in 18 12 ;
left in the schooner Beaver : went to Quebec ; left
in the Isaac Todd, for England ; left London in her for the Columbia r. Feb.,
1813 ;
off Rio Janeiro changed to the ship Essex, and later to the ship Raccoon,
Capt. Black, which reached Astoria Nov. 30th, 1813. Astoria thereupon
became Fort George, which he left Apr. 4th, 1814, with the overland party
which included Gabriel Franchere, John Stuart, Donald McKenzie, etc. He
made the Rocky Mt. house on the Athabasca r. May 17th ; was at mouth of
Pembina r., a branch of the Athabasca, June ist ; went up the Pembina and
over to Fort Augustus on the Saskatchewan, which he descended and was at
Fort William in July, 18 14. He went to Montreal, left the N. W. Co. in 18 16,
and settled at Garth, Gray's cr., Glengary Co., where he died, aged 86: seep. 762.
Some other McDonalds may be conveniently noted here : Alexander
McDonald is listed as voyageur N. W. Co., 1804, Lake Winnipeg.
Allen McDonald was a clerk N. W. Co., 1804, Fort Dauphin.—Angus
McDonald, brother of John of Garth, has been before mentioned ; he is also
noticed by Henry at Pembina, 1807-08.—Peter McDonald appears as voyageur
contre-maitre N. W. Co., 1804, Red Lake Dept.—Finan or Finnan McDonald,
clerk N. W. Co., was with Thompson at various places on the
upper Saskatchewan,
in the Rocky mts., and on headwaters of the Columbia, 1806-12.
*'
Francois Decoigne or Ducoigne, of whom we have record as clerk N. W.