A Gentleman Adventurer: The Arctic Diaries of Richard Bonnycastle ed. by Heather Robertson (review)

REVIEWS 91 (76).Intentuponputtinganendtospeculation aboutaNorthwest Passage, his neglect of riversallowedthe possibility of sucha passage - asthe Annual Register putit - onlytobe'considerably lessened' (245). Lamb'streatmentof the textualannotations ismoreopento question and quibble thanhisassured handling oftheintroduction. Fromahydrographical view,thenotes cannotbefaulted.Virtuallyeverygeographical pointandplace name isprecisely given,especially the388placenames bestowed bythevoyage (of whichsome9ø per cent remain). A reader with even the mostcasual naturalist interest, however, willcomeawaydisappointed. Of botany,zoology, andgeology, thereisverylittle.Scotch pineisonlyaplace name; weneverlearn thatnosuch termnowapplies toanytreeonthecoast. Presumably theyareC.F. Newcombe's ScrubPine,P. contorta, butreadersshouldnothaveto goto his editionof ArchibaldMenzie's journal torealizethat.We havea full historyof RippleRockin Seymour Narrows,whichnooneonthevoyage eversaw,but themysteries of arbor-vitae, marrowstone, saranne, andfuller'searthpass by withoutcomment. Wallpieceis notedasa kind of swivelgun (lO17),but a readermustgo to the dictionaryto find that a chief's'twohangers,one of Spanish, theotherof English manufacture,' wereshortsabers (566). Ethnology faresbetter.Tribal groups arenotedandidentifiedandsomeof the matters that attracted Vancouver'sattention are explained. This is probably enoughfor thegeneralreader,butthecitations beginandendwith Fisherand Gunther.It isa ratherneattrickto citethesetwocontradictory authors on questions of nativedepopulation (54o, 626). An editorhastomakechoices ofwhatneeds explanation andenlargement andLamb's decisions, whilenotwholly satisfying toallreaders, canbejustified. Vancouver's achievement andreputation, afterall,areasa marinesurveyor and the Hakluyt Society's concernis with maritimeexploration.These volumes, especially the introduction and appendices, do honorto Richard Hakluyt andtothenoble series ofwhich theyareapart.Atthesame time,they are a fittingcommemoration of the achievements of CaptainGeorgeVan- ,couver, RN. DOUGLAS COLE Simon Fraser University A Gentleman Adventurer: TheArcticDiariesof RichardBonnycastle. Edited by aV. AtaER ROBERTSON. Toronto:Lester & OrpenDennys 1984.Pp.217.$24.95 Published diaries are, at most times, difficult to review, but Heather Robertson 's handling ofthearctic tripdiaries ofRichard HenryGardyne Bonnycastle (•9o3-•968) meritsadmiration.Shehasmanagedto editjudiciously and to havesupplemented Bonnycastle's diariesfor theyears1928tO1931withher own illuminatingtext, colourfulcontemporary accounts, not to mention Bonnycastle's photographs. The yearscovered bythediarywereparticularly precarious fornorthern natives, theirfragile lifestyle anddependent economy, 92 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW andextremely difficultfor theHudson's BayCompany, theforemost trading andrulingconcern in theArctic.The natives weresuffering fromallsorts of maladies: tuberculosis, influenza, the effects of alcohol, and the odious commercial practices of tradingconcerns andfreetraders. The Company, not muchgivento humanitarian concerns, wasfacingstiffcompetition fromits rivalsfor a commoditywhosemarketwas,moreoften thannot,unstable. In effect,the Company's fortuneswerefailingseriously, andBonnycastle was chosen toinvestigate eachof itsfur tradeposts alongtheMackenzie Riverand the western Arctic. WhatBonnycastle saw onhisfourjourneys was certainly lightyears fromhis ownupbringing. Bornintoa modest Ontariofamilywitholdandrespected connections, educated atOxfordwhereheplayedhockey withLester Pearson andRolandMichener,he forsookthe practiceof lawto become oneof the Company's accountants inWinnipeg.Oncenorthheenteredaworldforwhich he maynothavebeenprepared,but hisenergyand curiosity, andfaithin himself, puthimin goodstanding withhisfellowemployees. The strength of Bonnycastle's observations layin thefactthattheyweremeanttobeprivate, devoidof romance, withnomalicetowardanyoneor anything. The diaries dealwithinnerthoughts, harrowing experiences, thedelights oflocalgossip thesocial bondoftheNorth- toalesser degreethecondition ofthenatives in theWesternArcticand, from Bonnycastle's vantage,thelamentable stateof affairsrampantin theCompany's northernposts andoffices: intemperance, illiteracy, incompetency and,mostserious, thelackof incorruptible loyalty to theCompany. At the time, Richard Bonnycastle was not a central characterin the Company's fortunes,but hisprivatediaries- asopposed to the obligatory formalreports- providea remarkableinsightinto the operationof the venerable company anda vanished world;to a lesser degree,thesepersonal diaries tracethegrowthof Bonnycastle fromanambitious, youngmantoan experienced andresourceful trader,a forthrightcompany servant whowent ontobecome secretary totheCompany's Canadian Committee andpersonnel managerfor the fur trade. mC•IA• mV•A•.•OConcordia University TheEmbattled Northeast: TheElusive IdealofAlliance in Abenaki-Euroamerican Relations. •w,z•i M. MORmSO•. [Berkeley]:Universityof CaliforniaPress •984. Pp.x, •,56.$•'4.95 This book is about Abenaki/Euroamerican relations from the time of earliest contacts (•48o) to •7•,7. Composed of anintroduction andsixchronologically ordered chapters plusforty-eight pages ofnotes, itexamines theways inwhich Indians, French,andEnglish colonials interacted indifferentfrontierarenas. ...