Why paddle the Beaver River?

During the initial planning stages of the Voyage to the Bay 2006 we looked very close at using the widely known Methy Portage route.  There is a certain intrigue that surrounds the possibility of traversing a 19 kilometre portage that required even the intrepid Voyageurs two days to complete.  As you can imagine there arose an incredulous outcry from the other expedition members, “ It’s how long?!”

As the research into our trip continued I discovered a brief mention of the Beaver River in “Canoeing the Churchill” by Marchildon and Robinson.  This piqued my interest and sent me in search of this forgotten and ignored fur trade route. After some research I discovered information regarding Portage La Biche, a series of two portages, that would allow a party to traverse the height of land with a total land distance of less than 5 kilometres. 

In 1798, David Thompson, while surveying for the Northwest Company, became the first recorded European to utilize Portage La Biche.  Following the founding of trading posts utilized by the NWC and HBC in 1798 and 1799, Portage La Biche and the Beaver River became the gateway to the southern Athabasca and most importantly, the Pacific trade, via the Columbia River.

The advantages to the Beaver River Route were multiple.  Due to its location near the southern edge of the boreal forest, just beyond the territory of the Blackfoot who were notorious for attacking brigades along the North Saskatchewan River, the route provided a greater degree of safety.  And it allowed direct access to the southern Athabasca Country to the north and the Northern Plains to the South.  It became the preferred route for the voyageurs who paddled the famous Columbia Express canoe that delivered mail and administrative messages from England clear to the mouth of the Columbia River near present day Portland, Oregon. 

If the Beaver River Route was indeed so advantageous, what role did the Methy Portage fulfill?  Situated farther to the north, the Methy Portage, permitted easier access to the Northern Athabasca country, the Peace country, ultimately the Mackenzie and the Arctic Ocean.  In this view the two routes can be viewed as complementary rather than competitive.

Despite its distinctive role in the fur trade the Beaver River was not without its own unique challenges.  During low water the brigades were often forced to send men ahead to create a series of dams.  Upon reaching each dam the canoemen would break the dam and ride the wave of backed up water downstream.  As a result the descriptions of the Beaver River route range from glowing to disparaging.  In 1824 George Simpson wrote the following concerning the route:  “tediousness and uncertainty… even to the half-laden North Canoes, rendering the Voyage extremely harassing to the people.. and in dry Seasons incurring the risk of not getting to the Wintering Grounds before the Ice sets in.”

Included in Simpson’s journal of his 1828 voyage from the Hudson’s Bay to the Pacific is a letter from John Stuart, Chief Factor of Lesser Slave Lake.  In the letter Stuart suggests that the Beaver River Route is “ the shortest, easiest and in every respect best route to the Athabasca Region, and to Athabasca Lake, and is moreover the straightest route, almost in air line to Lesser Slave Lake, and is, when the water is not at its lowest, the best and safest road to Jasper’s House."

Despite the directness of the route, the Beaver River was not able to support the larger York Boats that became an economic necessity during the time of Simpson's directorship of the HBC.  Resultantly, in an effort to streamline transportation, the HBC ceased using this route in favour of the Methy Portage to the north and the Edmonton-Fort Assiniboine Trail to the South.

By 1825 the bulk of the trade was divided between the Edmonton cart track to the South and the Methy to the North with only local traffic by the HBC traveling the entire Beaver River to Lac La Biche and Lesser Slave Lake.  On the other hand, the La Biche Mission continued to be the supply post for all of the missions to the north.  After the company refused to carry their goods any longer for free the Catholic Church continued their own trade up the Beaver to supply 'the Mother Mission' in Lac La Biche.  From this point fresh produce and meat from the Mission Farm and goods and missionaries were sent down the Athabasca and beyond.  

Then in 1969 a book was published by one of our most famous Canadian canoeists, Eric Morse, who with a single stroke of his pen and doubtfully ever dipping a paddle in the Beaver, described the Beaver as a useless, difficult and unimportant waterway.  He goes on in conclusion that “It [Beaver River] was too meandering and shallow to serve as a trade route.  Nor should anyone think seriously of it as a canoe trip today.”  This statement in Fur Trade Routes of Canada: Then and Now, has unfortunately continued to influence people today due to its wide availability and the profile of the author.

As we have seen from the historical record, Morse is unequivocally wrong  in his dismissal of the usage of the Beaver River during the fur trade era.  We know that the route was used extensively from 1798 -1825 by the HBC/NWC and until 1875 for the purpose of supplying goods and people to La Biche Mission.  In addition, shorter sections of the Beaver River were used to transport pemmican from the plains to Ile a la Crosse and beyond.

In retrospect, would I choose Thompson or Morse as the judge of the importance of a waterway?  Personally, I prefer the historical record left by Thompson and his contemporaries and the detailed record keeping of the Hudson's Bay Company concerning their activities.  George Simpson did order the abandonment of the route because of its lack of suitability for larger craft, but only after  more than 25 years of usage.  Unfortunately, due to the availability of Morse's book and his profile as canoeist and author, his opinion has become the most dominant position on the Beaver River despite his errors in research.

The interest in reviving this forgotten part of Alberta and Canadian history has become one of the deciding factors in our inclusion of Portage La Biche and the Beaver River in our travels.  And perhaps, through our efforts, people will once again recognize the importance of this route to the fur-trade era of the past and its potential for recreational use into the future.

For further information concerning Portage La Biche, the Beaver River and the associated history feel free to contact Voyage to the Bay or the La Biche Mission Historical Society.

Written by David T. Delafield with research assistance by Tom Maccagno. 02/02/06