A hot temper and an incident with a rude British soldier changed the life of an eighteen-year-old medical apprentice. Young John McLoughlin's temper pushed him out of what might have been a calm Quebec medical practice and into the wilderness to keep away from the King's soldiers. When he received his license in 1804, Dr. McLoughlin signed on as a physician with the North West Fur Company. He spent the next twenty years traveling from post to post near Lake Superior. His company joined the Hudson's Bay Company and in 1824 he went West to the Oregon Territory. He established HBC headquarters at Fort Vancouver.
Fort Vancouver was the source of supplies and the seat of law and order for a territory that stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and from Alaska to California. John McLoughlin settled disputes, gave out punishment, befriended the Indians and aided the pioneers. A huge man with a shock of white hair and a blistering temper, he was called the "the white-headed eagle" by the Indians. He ruled Fort Vancouver with an iron hand, but with enormous compassion.
His story is told here with many brief quotations from his own writings. It is the story of the early Northwest, with its color, its hardships, its mistakes and its courage.
Currently out of print. We recommend checking addall for used copies.
Did you find this review helpful?