– by Valerie Green –
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit down and talk to some interesting characters from Greater Victoria’s past? If so, wonder no more. Although these conversations are merely creative figments of my imagination, they are all based on fact.
Herbert Henry Hall was a legend in his own lifetime – a fur trader, explorer and pioneer in Canada’s frozen North establishing fur trading posts for the Hudson’s Bay Company and living the life of a “wilderness man.” He was, however, educated in Victoria and spent some of his happiest times back on Vancouver Island.
(“Interview” conducted in the early 1930s).
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I am honoured to meet you, Mr. Hall, and long to hear of your many adventures in the North.
First of all, please call me “Herb.” Yes, I have many stories, but the North has changed. It’s not like the days when I first worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company and later became an independent fur trader. Those were the days when men were real men and you had to be strong and healthy ‘cos if you got sick up there, you simply died.
How did it all begin?
I was born in 1880, in Port Simpson, and spent some of my youth on Dundas Island near the Queen Charlottes. My father was district manager and fur trade commissioner for the HBC. The wilderness life always held an attraction for me.
And yet you moved to Victoria?
Yes, for my education and I made many friends here such as Bert Todd, a one-time Victoria Mayor. On visits back here, I often accompanied Bert and his two sons, Dick and Joe, on camping trips to the Highlands or to Sooke. When we fried up potatoes and sausages, I told the boys to keep the left-over grease. In the North we could never waste it because fat and grease were life savers. I also collected seagull eggs and then used the nesting material for fire to boil the eggs. I ate at least 40 eggs at one sitting! (I could quite see how Herb weighed over 300 lbs and stood all of 6 feet 4 inches tall!)
When did you join the HBC?
When I was 16 but I only served a 3 year contract before resigning to work for a gold mining Company in Omineca. I did eventually re-join the HBC as purser on the S.S. Saskatchewan. While working in the Saskatchewan district, I often hiked into the Barren Lands beyond the tree line. Within ten years I became fluent in Eskimo, Cree and Chipewyan. I learnt how to build a shelter, live on deer meat and fish and endure extreme temperatures.
And you worked for the HBC for many years establishing fur trade posts. Why did you decide to quit in 1924?
I just decided to become an independent fur trader.
And how did that go?
It was a tough life. In 1926 I attempted an exploit never before tried – coming out from Sugluk by dog team. The most strenuous journey I have ever taken in the North – but I enjoyed the challenge.
An incredible life.
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In 1938, Herbert Hall died the way he had lived. Fifty miles from the nearest trading post, his dog team broke loose and he was thrown onto the ice sustaining numerous injuries. It was three months before he was brought into Prince Albert for medical help. His death there in hospital marked the end of an era in Canadian history.
Valerie Green is an author and historian and can be reached at valgee@shaw.ca
