Fast forward to 1789 at 14, I moved to Montreal for additional schooling, where Uncle John was active in the fur trade. Then in 1792, I was apprenticed to the fur-trading North West Company.
In 1801 I was elected one of the company's youngest partners. Then an opportunity came...
In 1805, I was selected to expand the company's operations beyond the Rockies. I got to explore, and it was all funded by the company!
That is when I founded the first European settlements in central British Columbia, establishing Fort McLeod in 1805.
and Fort George (present Prince George) in 1807
Look!! A bridge named after ME.
I called this area New Caledonia, as it reminded me of my mother’s descriptions of the Scottish Highlands.