Regular readers will recall that each of the last two summers I have posted an update to the history of The Cabinet. Parts One and Two took us from the early aboriginal pulque trade here right through to the coming of the Selkirk Settlers and in particular Angus Matheson, who constructed a whisky still at the ford immediately behind the present Cabinet Chambers.
I will now move the story forward several decades to 1864 when Dr. John Rae, most famous as an Arctic explorer, passed through Fort Garry during his survey work for the Hudson's Bay Company's planned telegraph line from St. Paul, Minnesota to Quesnel, British Columbia. He tackled this work with characteristic intensity and precision, calculating for example that 9908 poles would be required for the portion of the line running from St. Cloud to Fort Garry. Rae and his party arrived at Fort Garry June 15, 1864. His visit is recorded in a letter he wrote to the HBC agent in London, Thomas Fraser. Rae writes:
"On June 24 I met with the most influential among the local Saulteaux Indians. I informed Panaasay, their spokesman, that the Telegraph was not meant to injure them, and that it was better for their friends the English to put it up, than for the Big Knives (Americans) to come into the country and do so. Panaasay thereupon made a long speech during which he referred several times to the good omen of 'amiknika'. After the gifts had been distributed I asked one of the guides what he meant by 'amiknika', which I had understood to translate to English as 'beaver goose'. The guide explained that as midsummer's eve had just passed and that there had been a full moon, 'amiknika", a winged beaver, had emerged from his burrow in the banks of the Assiniboine River, near the ford by the St. James Church, and was seen by people who had gathered there to drink whisky. I was astonished by this account and questioned its veracity, but the guide assured me that it was true. The appearance of 'amiknika' is taken by the local Indians to be a powerful omen of good fortune. William MacTavish (HBC Chief Factor) confirmed that some of his men had been there and had reported something that could have been a flying beaver late midsummer's night. Mr. MacTavish however went on to say that these men were known for their love of drink and that the spirits manufactured there were very strong." (1)
I have scoured every archive available to me for more references to this mythical "flying beaver", but unfortunately there is scant further information. Interestingly however, Earnest Thompson Seton, probably the most famous naturalist ever to live in Manitoba made this remark during a speech to the Manitoba Historical Society in 1886:
"I have sometimes been asked about the flying beaver, who in jest I refer to as Castorapteryx, and whether such a fancicful beast, should it exist, be classified as a mammal or a bird." (2)
In any case, Rae and his men spent the night of June 24th at the ford, drinking whisky (now distilled by Matheson's nephew) and looking out for this winged beaver. It might go without saying that Castorapteryx did not show himself that night, but the legend is fascinating, and the presence of John Rae at the Cabinet site is important to note. The next day they went on, eight men, one wagon, three Red River carts and fourteen horses, to make the 22 mile journey to their next stop Lane's Post at the White Horse Plains. Ultimately Rae's expedition was in vain as the Hudson's Bay Company abandoned the project when Western Union connected its trans-continental line up from San Francisco to New Westminster, BC. Fort Garry would not get a telegraph connection until 1871.
(1) John Rae to Thomas Fraser, 24 June 1864, Fort Garry. HBCA E 15/13, fo. 15.
(2) A List of the Mammals of Manitoba: A Paper Read before the Society on the Evening of May 27th, 1886 MHS Transactions, Series 1, Number 23, 1886
I will now move the story forward several decades to 1864 when Dr. John Rae, most famous as an Arctic explorer, passed through Fort Garry during his survey work for the Hudson's Bay Company's planned telegraph line from St. Paul, Minnesota to Quesnel, British Columbia. He tackled this work with characteristic intensity and precision, calculating for example that 9908 poles would be required for the portion of the line running from St. Cloud to Fort Garry. Rae and his party arrived at Fort Garry June 15, 1864. His visit is recorded in a letter he wrote to the HBC agent in London, Thomas Fraser. Rae writes:"On June 24 I met with the most influential among the local Saulteaux Indians. I informed Panaasay, their spokesman, that the Telegraph was not meant to injure them, and that it was better for their friends the English to put it up, than for the Big Knives (Americans) to come into the country and do so. Panaasay thereupon made a long speech during which he referred several times to the good omen of 'amiknika'. After the gifts had been distributed I asked one of the guides what he meant by 'amiknika', which I had understood to translate to English as 'beaver goose'. The guide explained that as midsummer's eve had just passed and that there had been a full moon, 'amiknika", a winged beaver, had emerged from his burrow in the banks of the Assiniboine River, near the ford by the St. James Church, and was seen by people who had gathered there to drink whisky. I was astonished by this account and questioned its veracity, but the guide assured me that it was true. The appearance of 'amiknika' is taken by the local Indians to be a powerful omen of good fortune. William MacTavish (HBC Chief Factor) confirmed that some of his men had been there and had reported something that could have been a flying beaver late midsummer's night. Mr. MacTavish however went on to say that these men were known for their love of drink and that the spirits manufactured there were very strong." (1)
"I have sometimes been asked about the flying beaver, who in jest I refer to as Castorapteryx, and whether such a fancicful beast, should it exist, be classified as a mammal or a bird." (2)
In any case, Rae and his men spent the night of June 24th at the ford, drinking whisky (now distilled by Matheson's nephew) and looking out for this winged beaver. It might go without saying that Castorapteryx did not show himself that night, but the legend is fascinating, and the presence of John Rae at the Cabinet site is important to note. The next day they went on, eight men, one wagon, three Red River carts and fourteen horses, to make the 22 mile journey to their next stop Lane's Post at the White Horse Plains. Ultimately Rae's expedition was in vain as the Hudson's Bay Company abandoned the project when Western Union connected its trans-continental line up from San Francisco to New Westminster, BC. Fort Garry would not get a telegraph connection until 1871.
(1) John Rae to Thomas Fraser, 24 June 1864, Fort Garry. HBCA E 15/13, fo. 15.
(2) A List of the Mammals of Manitoba: A Paper Read before the Society on the Evening of May 27th, 1886 MHS Transactions, Series 1, Number 23, 1886
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