Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 4

Industrial and Agricultural Activities at Lower Fort Garry

by George Ingram

The Operation of the Farm

In 1857, the lower fort was poised on the brink of its venture into farming. Over the following decade, oxen, beef cattle, and other domestic animals were purchased and bred at the fort and land was placed under cultivation. The solutions to the two problems of the Company — transportation and food supply — were separate and yet combined. The large herd of oxen, kept mainly for the transport service, was often called upon to supply draught animals for the day-to-day work in the fields and for transporting the produce of the farm. In many ways cultivation was undertaken as an adjunct to the keeping of oxen. Certainly haying was an important task at the lower fort, and turnips were grown for feeding the stock. The two aspects, cultivation and the raising of livestock, developed simultaneously; for purposes of analysis, however, the two will be discussed in turn.

Livestock

The livestock operation had two main functions; the supply of meat for the fort and the fur trade, and the maintenance of draught animals for transport and other work in the Company's service.

After the decision had been made to establish a farm, Simpson lost little time in building up a herd of beef cattle. In 1858, he instructed his new agents in St. Paul, the Burbank brothers, to begin gathering oxen for a drive that summer.

We purpose sending a party to St. Paul in the course of the month of July, to drive from thence a herd of cattle for Killing in the fall. We require 100 head of good beef oxen, from 6 to 8 years old: — full sized animals none to be under 6 years. I learn that they may be purchased at moderate rates in your market, a few at a time, by a person who is able to watch the opportunities that offer. I should feel much obliged if you would immediately commence purchasing cattle, such as I have described, for the Hudson's Bay Co. from time to time as they may be offered.¹

At the end of June, James McKay and Alexander Lillie were sent down with four men to drive the livestock back from St. Paul. Many of the cattle were to be slaughtered upon their arrival in the settlement; others were to be kept for a later date.

The party will leave Red River about the end of this month, and are expected to be able to leave Saint Paul on their return the first week in August. As the pasturage at that season is very good, it is thought that by driving the cattle slowly across the plains, they may reach the settlement in condition to be slaughtered in the fall. With this addition to the stock already on hand, we shall have abundant means for meeting all demands upon us until the autumn of 1859, at which date many of the young oxen already purchased, may be brought into consumption.²

The oxen from St. Paul would supplement the herd bought from McDermot the previous fall.

The purchase of beef cattle for the Company in 1858 — a large one by any standards — seems to have been the last one of the sort for the next decade. Later purchases were partially made unnecessary by the continuation of breeding operations at the farm. At least a few bulls were kept permanently. In 1863, Dr. Bird, a settler, asked for and received "the loan of one of the Bulls at the Lower Fort this summer on the condition of his Keeping the animal over next winter."³ Also, in the large herd of oxen kept on hand for the purposes of transport the Company had a steady supply of beef, Simpson explained this advantage to the Company secretary in giving his reasons for using oxen instead of horses for the Company transport:

The advantage of employing oxen in preference to horses consists in the first cost being less, their maintenance less difficult, and the chance of their being stolen by Indians less; and above all, that when no longer required for draught purposes, they may be converted into Beef, the demand for which at Fort Garry at all times exceeds the supply.⁴

In the journal of the late 1860s and in the daily account books of the lower fort, there are frequent references in the fall to the slaughtering of oxen or cattle for the mess and the fur trade. Stocky animals were selected from the herd of draught oxen, slaughtered, and then processed and preserved. On 3 and 4 November 1873, for example, 29 cattle were slaughtered and dressed to 22,243 pounds of beef.⁵ The chore would be done by the ordinary servants of the Company.

Milch cows were also kept to supply milk and cheese for the upper and lower forts. The size of the dairy herd was probably not large as one maid, Charlotte Swain, was sufficient to do the milking.⁶ There was also a dairy at the lower fort.⁷

Other types of animals were maintained for their meat. Sheep, for instance, seem to have been kept in significant numbers. In 1873, 52 were slaughtered producing 3,462 pounds of mutton, and they were also sheared for their wool.⁸ Pigs were also included among the stock being attended by the herdsman. They, too, were kept in significant numbers. In 1871, fire destroyed "one pigstye" killing "forty-four small pigs."⁹ The journal implies that there was a much larger stock. Selected pigs were fattened and slaughtered in the late fall or early winter; in November, 1868, for instance, 37 pigs were slaughtered, dressing down to a weight of 4,149 pounds. The pork was salted or pickled and put up in casks, and hams were smoked.¹⁰

In 1863, there was an unsuccessful venture in keeping hens. The manner in which the incident is discussed seems to indicate that the scheme was a new departure and judging from its lack of success, it was probably not tried again. Mactavish with his usual meticulous eye chided Murray for his poor management:

Last fall you purchased for the Lower Fort about 1 doz. Hens half of them I know you sent up here in spring but from the remainder you have I believe not received a single egg while you have been buying eggs for the use of the Lower Fort Mess. I mention this to point out to you that after going to the expense of feeding the fowls through the winter through carelessness you have had no advantage from the expense.¹¹

The usual procedure was to buy eggs from the settlers and these were preserved in kegs for use in the trade or at the local posts.¹²

The large herd of oxen for the transport service was begun at the same time as Simpson ordered beef cattle from St. Paul. In the fall of 1858, he directed Mactavish to collect oxen and carts for the new southern route:

I have, therefore, to request you will endeavor to purchase, between this and the opening of navigation, if possible 100 head of working oxen also 100 carts and harness. At the rate of 5 carts to one driver, we shall require 20 teamsters, the whole to be under the orders of Mr. James McKay, who I think is well suited to the conduct of the transport business.¹³

In 1859, Simpson ordered 65 more draught oxen from J.C. Burbank. These were to be combined with the ox cart train from Red River for the return trip:

Our ox carts will start for St. Paul about the 20 instant. — say 100. They will take with them 50 spare carts for the oxen you are to purchase on the Company's account. Let me beg the favor of your having that purchase completed by the end of this month, and the oxen put out to some good pasture near St. Paul in readiness to start about the 10 July. They should be young animals and accustomed to work, otherwise they will scarcely be fit for our service. . . . P.S. On further consideration, it is thought advisable to have a few spare oxen; I have, therefore, to beg you will purchase 65 instead of 50 as originally ordered.¹⁴

Many of these were destined for the new post at Georgetown.¹⁵ Others were stationed at the lower fort.

4 Ox pulling sled. (Glenbow Foundation.)

The herd at the lower fort was a large one. In 1863, when Mactavish requested an inventory of those "fit for a trip to Saskatchewan," there were 100, or at most, counting young animals, 120 oxen available.¹⁶ Adding to these the oxen which were unfit, those already out on brigades and those required for work about the fort, the total would be considerable.

The oxen were occasionally used on the southern supply line when the steamboat failed to make the trip,¹⁷ Their main service was in the supply of the inland posts, especially those of the Saskatchewan district, which was supplied by land from Red River after the change in the transportation system. The cart train set out from Upper Fort Garry where most of the carts were stored (at the White Horse Plain) but the oxen were kept at the lower fort.

The lower fort was also a convalescent centre for oxen which were unfit for travel after the trip from an outpost to the Red River. Animals from the lower fort herd were given to the drovers for the return trip. Such was the case in 1863, when animals arrived exhausted from Carlton:

Your men arrived here on the night of the 29th Ultimo with only 4 oxen, one of their animals having died on the way down and one they left at Portage La Prairie, and as all their cattle are perfectly unfit to return I sent them on the 30th to the Lower Fort for 6 oxen, they returned with them last night & will leave today with 6 R.R. oxen & 30 Bags Pemican but I fear they cannot reach you by the time appointed by Mr. Christie, please take good care of our oxen as they will be required by likely the second Brigade of carts going from here to Carlton in ___ yours will remain here for the present & the time of their return to you must depend on circumstancy.¹⁸

Although the oxen were considered to belong to one post or another, there was an active exchange of borrowing and lending among them.

The division of labour of the two Forts Garry in the work of the fur trade also necessitated a constant intercourse between the two, and when the river was frozen or impassable, oxen and carts were used for transport. In 1859, Roderick Campbell noted that "a cart Trail as old as the pyramids of Egypt ran parallel with the river between these two forts.¹⁹ Staples and provisions would be sent from the lower fort for use at the upper fort and to fill out ladings of brigades leaving from that post. From the upper fort would come goods from England for use at the lower fort and trade articles to fill out the indents of brigades leaving from the lower fort.²⁰

In addition to their duties in transportation, the oxen were used in the work of the farm,²¹ and for this there must have been a herd of significant size connected with the lower fort in the 1860s. There was also a number of riding and wagon horses — at least six and probably more. In 1864, when Governor Dallas was brought up from the United States, Mactavish asked Davis at the lower fort for "Kirkby, Billy the Butcher, the Canadian Horse, Grey Jack, McKenzie, and Split Log."²² His selection implies that there were more, By 1871 there was also a mule team at both the upper and lower forts.²³

Livestock: The Operation

When the herd of oxen was first accumulated it was no doubt kept in cattle byres north of the fort. The oxen were fed turnips²⁴ and hay, some of which was grown in the area immediately south of the fort but most hauled from great distances. The time-consuming task of bringing fodder to the oxen may have forced the Company to look eventually to its satellite stations for keeping the cattle. Toward the end of the sixties only some of the oxen were at the lower fort, although the cattle byres were still there. Probably those needed for work around the fort, some of the beef stock, and those required immediately for cart trains would be found at the fort itself.

The remainder was distributed to various subordinate stations such as Cook's Creek in the Indian Settlement and Netley Creek near the mouth of the Red River. In 1861, men were building sheds for the cattle at Cook's Creek²⁵ and by the mid-sixties, there were also sheds at Netley Creek where cattle were wintering.²⁶ Both of these places were the locations of considerable haying operations each fall, so they were probably selected because of their proximity to winter feed and for their lush pasture in summer. By the end of the 1860s, Netley Creek had become an important station. Robinson described its appearance and operation:

At a distance of some twenty miles, at the foot of Lake Winnipeg, among the marshes and lowlands, are the cattle ranches of the company. There the stock is herded during the summer and housed in winter, being only driven to the uplands during the spring and fall freshets. The generally high price of cattle makes stock-raising extremely profitable, and the wandering life attendant upon their care is particularly suited to the native herdsmen. The stock is collected every spring and branded, and such a number selected as may be required for work purposes during the summer months. Oxen are used for freighting to a large extent; trains of several hundred, harnessed singly in carts, crossing the prairies, being not an unusual sight. The majority of the large forts in the Southern country have their stockyards and farms, and the amount of wealth accumulated in this way is enormous.²⁷

However, Netley Creek remained a substation of Lower Fort Garry. Labour was sent from there and the cattle station was included in the fort's accounts. In 1868, for instance, men went from the lower fort to the creek to repair the cattle sheds in November, remaining for a number of weeks, and every fall, men went to cut and stack the hay. In October, 1871, one man was sent to assist in branding the cattle.²⁸ Also, all through the fall and winter, men went with carts and sleds to bring back loads of hay to the lower fort for the cattle and other stock which were wintering there. Oak Point on Lake Manitoba was a station similar to Netley Creek. Men were sent there to assist in the haying, and cattle and oxen were shunted back and forth between there and Lower Fort Garry.²⁹

Very little information survives describing the care of the Company livestock and in fact very little attention seems to have been paid to their care. An observer in 1859 noted generally of the cattle in the Red River Settlement that "little care seems to be taken of them at any time."³⁰ The oxen appear to have been stabled around November: toward the end of October each year, the men of the fort would be "hauling mud for fixing up the byres" and generally putting them in repair.³¹ They seem to have remained inside as late as May in some years. After their release, only a loose watch was kept while they were out to pasture, especially after those needed for the brigades and for the work on the farm had been selected. It seems that the oxen were taken to good pasturage and allowed to roam until they were required or brought back for winter stabling. The men of the a lower fort were given advance notice to collect oxen for brigades, and sometimes warned to keep their oxen together. In the fall for at least a month and sometimes longer, men were sent out to collect strays up and down the settlement.

Cultivation

Cultivation began immediately after the decision had been made to establish the farm at Lower Fort Garry. Alexander R. Lillie, who had entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1854, was appointed to Lower Fort Garry to take charge of the farm bringing with him considerable experience in agriculture. Roderick Campbell described Lillie and the farm in the early years, incidentally ascribing to the farm a significant pioneer contribution to Canadian agriculture in the West.

Mr. Lillie was known to Sir George Simpson, governor of the company, to have had considerable experience in farm management in his native Fifeshire, and he was forthwith charged with the first establishment of an experimental farm there under the Hudson's Bay Company. He superintended the farm for some years with success far beyond the fondest expectation. Indeed, had anyone, however sane, said fifty years ago that the wheat crop of the Red River district would one day be an important factor in the total yield of Canada, he would have been looked upon as a wild visionary, so universal was the ignorance respecting the climatic conditions and the agricultural possibilities of that or any other section of the vast Hudson's Bay territory in the regions beyond Lake Superior.³²

In the fall of 1857, 40 to 50 acres of land were already ploughed under and it was planned to plough as much again before winter set in.³³ Although ploughs and harness were ordered from England, production must have begun using local equipment as already in the following spring a mixed crop was sown:

2 acres under turnips³⁴

This was a considerable undertaking for the first year's planting.

After the flurry of spring planting, Lillie went with James McKay to St. Paul to pick up a herd of cattle which the Company had ordered and at the same time brought back "a reaping machine for the Lower Fort Farm."³⁵ This machine was probably manufactured and purchased in the United States. One year later, when Simpson was establishing a new post at Georgetown, he asked his agent in St. Paul to purchase a reaping machine for the farm there.³⁶

The farm was thus prepared for its first harvest in the fall of 1858, a harvest which Mactavish described as "tolerable."³⁷ Lillie reported the crops as follows:

Simpson was pleased, but not overly so, with the first year's production:

The crop at the Lower Fort farm of which you have sent a note, is satisfactory for the first season.³⁹

After the farm's first year, the size of the crops increased spectacularly, except in the years when farm production throughout the whole of the Red River Settlement was affected by natural phenomena. In 1859, the crop of wheat alone was expected to exceed 2,000 bushels:

The Wheat crop as far as it has been thrashed out is turning out better than was expected — our own Crop at the Lower crop [sic] judging from what has been thrashed will exceed 2,000 Bushels of Wheat.⁴⁰

As for the other crops in that year, Roderick Campbell, who arrived at the fort in 1859, described them in glowing terms:

The experiment in agriculture proved most encouraging, and the harvest was everything that could be desired. The golden-tinted wheat, the plump round barley, the capital potatoes and turnips, soon showed the fertile capabilities of the Red River Valley.⁴¹

Elsewhere he was more imaginative in his description:

When I arrived at Lower Fort Garry in October, 1859, upon going round the place on the first morning, I quite imagined I had peradventure fallen from the sky into a large farmyard in the country of Midlothian, so great ware the number of wheat, barley and oat stacks in the farmyard in the wilderness.⁴²

In spite of the size of the crop returns, Mactavish was still skeptical of the results because of the costs. If it had not been for the independence of the settlers which the farm gave, he seemed prepared to abandon the venture.

The crop of the Lower Fort Farm has this season been very large, but the Establishment is so very expensive that beyond the advantage of having the grain of our own & thereby to some extent making us independent of the Settlers, I do not think there is any profit.⁴³

A bumper crop in 1860 erased even Mactavish's scepticism:

I expect that the yield of the Company's Farms here will be over 4,000 Bushels of Wheat which will if realized go far to render us independent of the Settlers.⁴⁴

But in the following year (1861) a general failure destroyed the crops of the Red River, not excluding the lower fort farm.

I regret to say that the Crops in the Settlement this season are very inferior, the Wheat of this season will it is thought be unequal to a year's consumption and the Barley & potatoe Crops are perfect failures; the yield of the Company's farms has been better than most of the Farmers have had but the Wheat sown has only given from 7 to 8 [bus.?] returns, the Barley crop has been a fair one but the potatoes failed entirely, however I am happy to say that we have a fully sufficient stock for the wants of the Trade.⁴⁵

In 1861, Lillie left Lower Fort Garry and farming to pursue the fur trade once again. In the winter of that year, he was sent north to stave off some illicit traders, and by 1863 he was in charge of Carlton.⁴⁶ For a time after his departure the farm was left in the hands of the ordinary servants of the Company. George Davis, listed as being an interpreter in 1855 and later placed in charge of the post,⁴⁷ supervised the farm along with his other duties. William Mactavish, in charge of the district and accommodated at the upper fort, kept a watchful eye on the affairs of the lower fort.

The farm did not fare well under these arrangements: an observer in 1867 reported that it had declined somewhat after Lillie's departure:

A few years before the large farm attached to the establishment had been under a very able agriculturist from Scotland, Mr. A. R. Lillie, but he had forsaken the plough to follow the fur trade and become a chief trader. The farm was still carried on in a way to provide employment to a number of temporary servants, but the intensive methods of Mr. Lillie had been largely abandoned.⁴⁸

By 1868, the farm was once again in the hands of a specialist, Mr. Geddes,⁴⁹ who may have been there earlier. He terminated his charge and left the service 1 June 1870.⁵⁰ With the departure of Geddes, the cultivation of wheat seems to have ended. During the 1860s, the crops had remained much the same as those of 1858; that is, wheat, barley, oats, peas, potatoes, turnips and hay. After 1870, mention is made only of a garden, then under James Voller, and the growing of potatoes, peas, and other garden crops.⁵¹

There is no documented reason for the change, but it appears that the Company no longer felt that it was economical to carry on farming at Lower Fort Garry. After the lean years of the late 1860s when crops failed repeatedly throughout the settlement, farming in the Red River took a leap forward and finally came into its own. By this time production was such that the settlement could easily satisfy the needs of the Company, and if this failed, the Company had farms elsewhere. Also, improvements in transportation made outside supplies more accessible. This removed the reason for the farm's existence as it had been established not so much to accrue profit as to provide an independent and secure source of supply.

The Agricultural Operation

Area Under Cultivation

In the first year of the farm, 1857, 40 to 50 acres were already under the plough by the early fall and it was planned to have as much again broken under by the arrival of winter.⁵² This would give a total of at least 100 acres for the initial planting in the following spring (1858). Most of this was located across the road west of the fort. At the same time land immediately south of the fort was used as meadowland where hay was cut in the fall.

By 1860, the year of the bumper crop, considerably more land must have been under cultivation. The yield in wheat was expected to be over 4,000 bushels and allowing a generous return per acre of 40 bushels,⁵³ this would indicate that a minimum of 100 acres was devoted to wheat alone. Above this were the lands planted in oats, barley, peas, turnips, potatoes, and so on.

A plan of the fort in the early 1870s, when the main operations of the farm had been discontinued, indicates three farming areas: a long strip across the road from the fort (it is marked "park" in the plan and apparently was used for growing wheat); a square of land immediately across the road from the fort, and a small area on the other side of the creek south of the fort. The acreage of all three areas would hardly exceed 100 acres, Even this may be excessive for the amount of farming activity at that time.

The Farming Routine

(The more active years have been used for illustration, especially 1868-69, when the activity was recorded in the Lower Fort Garry journal. Information from other periods has been included, however.)

The spring planting began each year toward the end of April,⁵⁴ both the garden and the large farming operations commencing at the same time. The following excerpts from the journal of 1869 explain the routine:

For seed, the farm used its own stock if possible. In 1864, for example, Mactavish sent lengthy instructions as to the planting:

I was glad to hear your farming was progressing so satisfactorily the quantity of wheat to be sown seems small/take care it is not being sown too thin — you can take the pease at the Lower Fort for seed . . . . I have here a few bushels black oats which I might perhaps give rather than want seed. Mr. Lane wants 10 Bushels Barley for seed & 30 Bushels lime for plastering his house — perhaps you will be able to send them both up when you send for potatoes. . . . I send down . . . a few garden seeds/be particular in marking them as I am desirous to see how each kind thrives/note particularly a new kind pea sent called "Sugar Pea"/was all the seed I left below last year sown [? ] Unfortunately I have had no carrot seed sent me.⁵⁶

After a poor year, seed wheat was sometimes imported.⁵⁷

Immediately after the seeds were in the ground the fields were fenced — an annual chore. The fences were probably taken down in the spring and fall to allow farm vehicles and machinery to pass unimpeded through the fields. In early April, 1869, four men were preparing pickets for the field fence⁵⁸ and in June after the seed was in the ground, five men were "working at the fencing,"⁵⁹ probably erecting the fence. In the fall, there is reference to boys hauling fencing.⁶⁰ With the cattle allowed to run freely, fences were necessary to protect the crops.

More ground was broken in the summer months. In June and early July there are frequent references to men "ploughing fallow ground."⁶¹ In this case the farm may have been employing some form of crop rotation; however, at other times, new land was placed under the plough.⁶²

Most important of all the summer activities was the caring for the planted fields. There is frequent reference to "women grubbing and weeding" or to "Mr. Geddes and some women weeding wheat."⁶³

Sometime in August, depending upon the type of season, the harvest began. Early in the month, the haying operations were already under way and the cutting of the wheat soon followed. In 1863, Mactavish was worried that the wheat harvest had not begun before 6 August.⁶⁴

The following selections from the Lower Fort Garry journal of 1869 illustrate the hustle of the fall:

After the harvest, the crops were either handled immediately or piled in stacks in the corn yard or hay yard for threshing at a later date. The turnips and potatoes were stored in the root house. Rhubarb from the garden was turned into preserves for the long winter ahead. Often the crops would not be completely processed in the fall and would be held over to the winter or spring. In April, 1870, for example, four men were threshing peas with flails.⁶⁵ The wheat required the most attention as the largest and most important crop. After the wheat was threshed, it was kept in various buildings about the fort including the barn, the distillery, and other storehouses. Over the fall and winter it was taken out in small lots to be ground. In the early years of the farm, the wheat was hauled by cart or boat to the private mills in the settlement, especially Tait's mill a few miles up-river and McDermot's mill past Upper Fort Garry at the junction of the Assiniboine and Sturgeon Creek. The flour was brought back to the lower fort or taken to the upper fort to be used in the service of the trade. Later in 1865, when Lower Fort Garry obtained its own steam mill, the grinding was done there over the winter months.

In addition to handling the crops, other duties such as putting up the farm machinery for winter were taken care of after the harvest.⁶⁶

Gradually over the long winter, some of the provisions were consumed at both the lower and upper forts. Much of the flour and other staples were sent out on the brigades in the following spring and summer.

Equipment

During the decade of operation, a quantity of equipment was accumulated for the farm. In the first year of production a reaping machine was brought up from St. Paul and harness, ploughs and other implements were ordered from England.⁶⁷

Many of the implements were made at Lower Fort Garry by the blacksmith, including sickles and other small tools, as well as larger pieces of equipment. Both in 1869 and 1871, men were making a "horse rake" and a "hay rake for horse power."⁶⁸ He also repaired the implements; for example, on 15 July 1869, the blacksmith was fitting out the mower and on 2 October 1869, one man was repairing the threshing mill.⁶⁹

At times equipment was brought in from outside; for instance, in 1870, a "two horse power threshing mill" belonging to a William Johnston was used at the fort.⁷⁰ After the steam mill was brought into operation, it was sometimes used for threshing.

In spite of the wide range of equipment on the farm, much of the work was still done by hand, including the flailing of peas, cutting of crops, digging of potatoes, and so on.

Work Force

Most of the labour used on the farm was casual, hired by the day to undertake specific tasks. A very large number was women, probably the majority of these Indians brought up from the Indian settlement just down the river from the fort. In August, 1865, for example, thirty-six people, mostly women, were paid for two to four days for reaping barley and oats, and in October, 1870, some "Swampy women" were taking up potatoes.⁷¹ References such as these abound in the journal and the accounts. Many of the men used in the ploughing, planting and harvesting as well as for other heavy work about the fort were also hired as temporary servants. Boys were hired for light tasks.

It is difficult to determine which of the men engaged about the fort were permanent. It seems that the cattlemen, or at least one of them, would be permanent as well as the herdsmen. Perhaps one or two of Mr. Geddes' hands would be permanent as well. All of the supervisory staff would most certainly be. Mr. Lillie was made a clerk in 1858, the year after he took charge of the farm. Mr. Davis was in charge of the fort, in addition to having the responsibility for the farm. Mr. Geddes was permanent although his specific position is not known. James Voller, the gardener, seems to have been a long-time fixture.

The extensive use of day labour for working the farm drove its costs to a level much higher than usual for operating a farm of its size, It is no wonder that Mactavish could complain of the "very considerable cost" of keeping up the farms at the White Horse Plain and the lower fort.⁷² But the farms were then necessary for "checking the exhorbitant prices" in the settlement.⁷³ The high cost of the farm labour probably led the Company to drop the farm as soon as a secure supply of agricultural produce became available from the settlement.