James McDougall (explorer)
James McDougall was a nineteenth-century
McDougall was third-in-command on Fraser's team, functioning as junior clerk to John Stuart. Fraser and his crew entered the territory they would call New Caledonia in 1805, a foray that would culminate in the successful descent and ascent of the Fraser River in the spring and summer of 1808. During that time, Fraser and his men constructed several fur-trading posts.
The first of these resulted from a trip undertaken by Fraser and McDougall up the
That winter Connor Swingle, the crew member left in charge of the deserted nascent post, and McDougall were charged with administration of the post while Fraser and Stuart were engaged elsewhere. During that time, McDougall seized the initiative to investigate reports he had received of an important lake and fur region to the northwest, in the heart of the region inhabited by the
Following Fraser's expedition, McDougall stayed in New Caledonia to assist Stuart as a trader at the Fort St. James' post for a period of some years.
External links
- Lamb, W. Kaye (1976). "Fraser, Simon". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IX (1861–1870) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- A fishing article on the Fraser River article containing a paragraph detailing McDougall's explorations.
- Simon Fraser's Contribution's by Dorthea H. Calverley