Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 20

The History of Fort Langley, 1827-96

by Mary K. Cullen

Appendix B. Reminisences of Fort Langley
by Aurella Manson (Daughter of James Murray Yale).¹

Jason Allard gives a written account of the finding of the site, and the building of the Fort where his father was Postmaster, that is he had charge of the Indian shop, and the kegs of the fort. Many a time I have heard him calling out the time for the people to go out, and of course all strangers would hurry out.

I used to visit him when he was trading with the natives for their cranberries and hazel nuts.

The blacksmith's shop was a wonderful place for me. The Smith made nails of different sizes, and iron hoops for the kegs, barrels and vats, that were being made by the Cooper, W. Cromarty, with his three or four assisstants [sic], getting ready for the salmon run. Ovid Allard did all the trading with the natives for their salmon. He used to stand at the wharf with two or three trunks full of the Indian's favorite stuffs such as vermillion for the women to give themselves rosy cheeks, and Tobacco for the men.

W. Cromarty at the big cauldron, making brine, and ever so many boys, and a man or two, would be running from the wharf withe [sic] the salmon, which they piled before the woman of the fort and others who were seated in a circle in the shed where they cut the salmon. No rest for the boys. They had to continue their running, this time with the cut salmon to the men in the big shed where they were salting the salmon. And so they worked all the week, Early in the morning till late at night till the salmon run was over.

All that old Basil, with his three or four assisstants [sic] used to do, was to milk the cows, make the butter, and look after the herd in winter. Now and then I used to see the words "Picked from the Langley herd of cattle" in the papers. Someone advertising his cows for sale. The men of the fort, with Indian lads, used to go to Langley prairie to cut the grain which they had sown in the Spring.

Those stirring days are now gone forever. Langley was a fur trading station of the Hudson's Bay Co. so I was not surprised when I heard the Chief Trader J.M. Yale say "Old Langley will again make her five thousand dollars." That was counting the kegs of cranberries, Hazel nuts, butter, Pork, Bacon & Hams, and the kegs of salt Salmon.

When I saw Langley again five or six years afterwards, the stockade and other buildings were cut up for firewood. Mr. Newton was in charge of the place at the time, and J.D. Manson was the clerk. The next year Mr. Newton was promoted to Victoria and Mr. Ovid Allard was put in his place. After his death Mr. Henry Wark was put in charge of old Langley.