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John Bell () was born Isle of Mull, Scotland and emigrated to Canada where he worked for the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...
as a fur trader and colonizer. He was one of the colonizers of the Yukon River."Dear Sir / I have great pleasure in informing you that I have at length after much trouble and difficulties, succeed din reaching the 'Youcon', or white water River, so named by the natives from the pale colour of its water. ... /// I have the honour to Remain Your obt Servt / John Bell"
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...
candence to George Simpson from John Bell (August 1, 1845)
HBC Archives
D.5/14, fos. 212-215d, also quoted in
, at page 21
Bell was appreciated by the company for his "professionalism, flexibility and dedication to the interests of the fur trade" as well as his abilities as a "manager of men". In 1839, he was sent to colonize the land west of the Mackenzie River. With the assistance of Alexander Kennedy Isbister, he established
Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. A ...
,
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
on the Peel River not far from the Mackenzie, and colonized the Peel into what is now the
Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
. In 1845, Bell crossed the mountains into the
Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercourse ...
watershed, and went down the Rat River to its confluence with the
Porcupine River The Porcupine River (''Ch’ôonjik'' in Gwich’in) is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada and the United States. It rises in the Ogilvie Mountains north of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. From there it flows north through the community of ...
. The Rat River has been renamed the Bell River in his honour. After managing the fur trade at Fort McPherson until 1845, he returned to the Bell River, and Followed the Porcupine to its juncture with the
Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercourse ...
, the eventual site of Fort Yukon. He set the stage for the Yukon trade which proved extremely lucrative for the Hudson's Bay Company and for Canada's claim over what is now the Yukon Territory. He had some involvement in organizing John Rae's 1848–1849 expedition to search for Sir
John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...
, and continued working in the Mackenzie District for the Hudson's Bay Company until 1860. Although his exploits as an explorer are most often publicized, Bell preferred to work as a manager and organizer. He accepted the exploring jobs as required but did so "without the enthusiasm and sense of destiny that inspired other HBC explorers. He was, in fact, a fur trader rather than an explorer, both in talent and temperament." Bell completed his career in Quebec, retiring from the company in 1860. He then moved to Saugeen,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and farmed in the area until his death.


References


External links


Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, John History of Yukon Scottish explorers of North America Explorers of Canada Canadian fur traders 1790s births 1868 deaths Year of birth uncertain