Things I've Learned From My Socials Novel, "Where the River Takes Me - The Hudson's Bay Company Diary of Jenna Sinclair"

• in the 19th century it took nearly a year to travel halfway across Canada!
• the most valuable fur in BC was the otter pelt
• "brigades," were groups of men who worked for the HBCo, carrying supplies to various forts across Canada for six months at a time
• in Victoria, the First Nations people grew, "camas," in Beacon Hill Park. Camas were potato-like plants that were dug up and replanted every year, and could be cooked many different ways. Only the blue ones were edible, though, the white camas were poisonous. You could only tell which was which during the spring, when their flowers were in bloom, so to ensure none of the white bulbs were ever replanted, the First Nations people would dig them up and plant them far away from the blue bulbs.
• each year after the camas harvest, the First Nations people would burn the meadows and surrounding brush, to control the plants and create better growing soil.
• the HBCo motto was roughly, "a skin for a skin"
• Dr. Helmcken arrived at Fort Victoria in December of 1850 to replace Dr. Benson, who had been transferred to Fort Vancouver
• When the HBCo post was established in Fort Victoria, the First Nations people started to trade with them. They developed a system so that every pelt brought in was compared with a, "made beaver," or perfect pelt. In exchange for the pelts the First Nations traders would receive coins, that said, "N B" on them. They were actually supposed to say, "M B," for, "made beaver," but the die-maker made a mistake and put an, "N," instead. The First Nations people could collect these tokens like money, and use them to purchase European goods, like muskets, at the HBCo trade stores.