Lac La Biche - History - Transportation

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Life at Lac La Biche

Letters of W. E. Traill, 1874-1881 – Part One
Edited by Edward J. McCullough and Michael Maccagno

In the early 1900s, William E. Traill began writing short articles on his experiences in the Canadian West. He was one of the few remaining old timers who recognized the value of his experiences and the importance of communicating them to others. His flair for writing was part of a family tradition; his mother was Catharine Parr Strickland, the author of seven books including The Backwoods of Canada (London, 1835) (1). She was a member of a famous literary family which included sisters Agnes Strickland, who wrote Lives of the Queens of England (London, 1840-48), and Susanna Moodie, author of Roughing it in the Bush (London, 1852), as well as a brother, Samuel Strickland, author of Twenty-seven Years in Canada West (London, 1853).

William Traill, however, did not produce a major account of his life in the West; his brief "Reminiscences" now in the Glenbow Archives were never finished. Fortunately, he also was a prolific letter writer and recorded significant events and personal experiences which provide insight into life on the frontier.

The following are excerpts from letters written at Lac La Biche during the period 1874 to 1881, supplemented with excerpts from his "Reminiscences". Paragraphs and sentences have been rearranged, spelling corrected, and punctuation added where necessary to present an orderly compendium of Traill's thoughts; additions by the editors are placed in square brackets. Items judged to be extraneous to Lac La Biche have been omitted.

The editors have tried to retain the literary style used by Traill in his "Reminiscences". He wrote in the first person, noting that "it is against the grain for me to write so much in the first person singular, but when one is situated as I was, and no one now alive cognizant of the facts left to chronicle the same I ask an indulgent public [to excuse me for my style].” It is precisely this style which permitted the editing of Traill's letters into a form which closely parallels that of the "Reminiscences".

This article is the first of three parts, dealing with the period from spring 1874 to the summer of 1875.

[I joined the Hudson's Bay Company as a clerk in 1864. While serving at Fort Ellice, I met my future wife Harriet, eldest daughter of Chief Trader William McKay. We were married in 1869 and have three children. We have been informed that I am to take charge of the Lac La Biche Post.]

I am glad I am going to Lac La Biche. If I get on well I will not remain a clerk more than three years. If not I may as well bid good bye to the service. One thing in my favor is that I cannot do worse than my predecessor has done. Lac La Biche is a very dull out of the way hole. There is however a Roman Catholic French Mission close to the Post. Some of the priests are very intelligent men and the nuns are very nice creatures.

The Post is very comfortable in some respects. There is a small farm, a mill, cows, etc., so if the person in charge does not live comfortably it is his own fault. Fish is the staple article of diet but with all the conveniences I have mentioned anyone of any recourse can greatly add to the cuisine.

Summer 1874 – Arrival at Lac La Biche

[On July 27, 1874 I left Carlton to take charge of my post at Lac La Biche. My wife Harriet and my children, Walter, Katie and Molly accompanied me. At Carlton our dear ones were] all in good health, little did we think that we would go soon be bereft of our little lamb. God [saw] fit to take from us the flower of our little flock. My darling little Mary (Molly we always called her) was taken from us the day after we arrived at this place [Lac La Biche]. We always hoped we would find someone here that could give relief to our darling pet Molly but it was the will of God that she should be taken from us. Three days out from Carlton, our children caught a bad cold which turned out to be the whooping cough. Last winter all the children at Prince Albert had it but ours, and when we got to Carlton they were constantly in contact with children recovering from it. Long ere we left Carlton the complaint had disappeared and we hoped that our children had quite escaped, but they caught it when no one was near that had it.

For nearly a week the weather was very cold and raw which of course was unfavourable for the little sufferers. Still they bore up well. The darling Molly was good and playful, never giving the least trouble. She had a smile for every one. She was beginning to stand by catching hold of anything and was crawling about. At Fort Pitt they all got worse, especially Walter who rather alarmed us, but when we left that place, he and Katie got livelier, but the dear Molly began to get worse; our third or fourth day she began to give us some alarm. At last we left the cart brigade hoping to reach [Lac La Biche] our second day, and thought it probable that some one [there] could give our little one relief if it was the will of God that she should be spared to us. Our horses were not good and the trail execrable, the worst I ever was on, so that instead of taking 2 days we only arrived ... our fourth day at noon; for the last two days our darling took no notice of anything. Her dear eyes wandered unceasingly from side to side and she moaned slightly but unceasingly but never once from the time she left Fort Pitt did she utter the slightest cry; dear little soul it was very distressing to see her.

When we arrived [at Lac La Biche] all was done for her that could be done but it was only too evident that our darling was to be taken from us. We arrived ... on Saturday at noon. We sat up with our darling that night. We had intended taking her to the Roman Catholic Mission on the Sunday but when the Sunday came I saw that it would be a risk but as one of the people from here was going to church I sat down to write a note to the “père” with whom I was acquainted asking for assistance, but whilst writing I was startled by a cry from the poor mother who was holding the dear child in her arms. I started up to find my child in the throes of death, a fit of coughing had carried her off ... We were prepared for our child being taken from us but not so suddenly. Oh how hard it is to part with a loved child in a strange place and among total strangers with but one kind friend who could comfort us under our sore trial.

We had our darling buried in the garden from whence we will have her removed in winter to Prince Albert where we expect our future home to be. The poor mother had to dress it with her own hands. Dear dear little Molly, now that she is gone we can say, "Our father thy will be done." We would not wish her back, knowing that what is our loss is her eternal gain, but yet it is hard to bear. We will console ourselves by the hope of joining her in that realm of bliss where parting sin and sorrow shall be known no more. [Poor Harriet] she feels our loss very much. She is left much to herself as I am always busy and there is only one woman in the establishment and she is blind.

This is a pretty place. The Post is built on the south shore of the lake - a fine sheet of water. The lake is 25 miles in extreme length and varying from two or three to eight miles in width. There are islands in it but so large as not to be distinguishable from the main shore. [Although this is a pretty situation] I cannot say much for the dwellings or other buildings. The establishment consists of the officer's house which is a long low back roofed log house resembling a byre. There is a similar one but just like it with two rooms for the men. The trade shop and fish store are much the same only smaller. There is a pig stye, stable and tumble down byre that constitutes the establishment of Lac La Biche. In summer we set our nets just in front of the house for you must know living at Lac La Biche consists of fish three times a day or as often as you like. I do not want better living than we have had since we came here - fish cooked in half a dozen different ways, boiled, fried, fresh, split and smoked, salted fish, etc. Then we have ducks, prairie chickens, etc., partridges, rabbits, with a taste of beaver, moose nose, etc., with vegetables. We will soon have beef and pork to add to our bit of fare so you see we are in no danger of starving [as at Plains post] as the fish stock is inexhaustible.

Fall 1874

[It is October and our dear Molly is still very much in our minds.] Dear soul how we miss her at every turn. She was so amiable and quiet and good. Even when sick and suffering she never once cried during her illness from Pitt till she was taken from us here. We cannot but miss her but do not grieve for her, knowing that she is now happy in the arms of her Savior. She has escaped all the snares and temptations, sorrows, pains and tears of this life and doubtless now looks down upon us. God give us grace to live more with a hope of meeting her in those realms of bliss that she is now an inhabitant of. Mr. McKay [her grandfather] in writing us after he heard of our sad loss ... said that Molly was too good a child to remain with us on this earth. She was a dear dear child and when nicely dressed was very pretty in our eyes at least.

The other children have not had a trying time nor are they quite over it. Sometimes we fancy the cough has almost left them and then in spite of all our care they seem much worse. Just now they are suffering from a complaint which is making the rounds - sore ears. Little Katie I cured with harts horn and sweet oil and the same medicine cured others but Walter continues to suffer. He is quite deaf today but not in such great pain. I trust he will recover his hearing in a day or two.

We do not intend to let the natives have the run of the whole house as they have been wanting at this place. I am getting along pretty well so far with the trade and hope in time to get things in good order.

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