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The Journal of Robert Shakely

edited by Dr. J. C. Amicable

Introduction

We who study history are always delighted to locate any text recording our past, whether it be the smallest of pictographs ripe for the rubbing or an original manuscript such as the one reproduced, annotated and indexed here. These texts are as much crystal balls shedding prisms of light on images of previously unknown worlds as they are precious hints to our own passions, the mechanics of our world, and the private activities within it. ‘The heart of the Wachana tribe,’ as Shakely refers to it, may still beat within these pages, and I present here the entirety of what remains of the manuscript because, as the now infamous manuscripts of Peter Fidler and Edgar Christian have shown us, even the most seemingly banal pieces of documentation can prove fruitful, either for what they casually include or for what they intentionally avoid mentioning.

My own desire, however, is not to enter into the rich and ambiguous realm of empiricist intentionality at this time, but simply to present the work along with some pieces of information that I have recognized as being related. Nor would I wish to belittle the historical and anthropological value of this document, but I would be delighted to know that in some instances it will be the pure and innocent quest for adventure that has driven others to finger the pages as it drove mine to finger the original. There is a passion, a vitality, within the annals of history that is often lost in their reconstruction and it is my hope that, in this instance, I have managed to bring forward a view of life and a system of values that may exist in contemporary society even if these values have no voice of their own. I am speaking here of the bravery, spirit, individualism and quest for adventure that seems to have run through the blood of these traders and explorers.

The following journal was located in its original form at the New York Municipal Archives by myself in the summer of 2003 while I conducted research on the Hudson’s Bay Company’s inland explorations of the late eighteenth century. It is recorded as arriving in Montréal, Canada, in 1902 from the London archives of the Royal Trade Company records. At some point it was transferred to New York, where it has until now remained in storage. It would appear that a first transference would have to have occurred prior to the fire at the Montréal Archives in 1932, though three random leaves of the document bear French-language date stamps of 7 August 1937 (to be referred to in future as the French Random Leaves, or the FRL), suggesting that these fragments of the document had not left Montréal prior to that date. Furthermore, the only date stamp I have been able to locate with an insignia matching that found on two of the three random stamps are those used by customs guards between Canada and the United States in Québec and possibly in the province of New Brunswick. But these latter stamps are traditionally accompanied by a signature stamp, of which there are none on the FRL.

It is certain that the document has spent time in storage in the United States soon after 1937, because there are seven random leaves bearing English date stamps of 6 January 1938 (to be referred to in future as the English Random Leaves, or the ERL), strongly suggesting that the French stampage was part of a customs export shipment procedure (though the style of stampage does not correlate to the style on other manuscripts exported to the United States at this time) and that the English stampage was part of a customs import shipment procedure (the style of stampage, in this case, correlating adequately [that is consistent with at least 75 per cent of Assumed Basic Customs Records Procedures (ABCRP)] with the style on other manuscripts imported by the United States from Canada at this time).

However, the New York Archives record the manuscript as arriving on 12 March 1953 and the date stamps on the storage leaves, signed by O. M. Weakan, corroborate this date. Calligraphy verifies that Weakan was also the person who placed the entry in the Archive records, thereby undermining the validity of this date somewhat. Furthermore, my assistant (may I take this moment to acknowledge my five star-quality assistants, who have helped in every aspect of my inspections and uncoverings), Brix McConnell, has located an entry in the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, stating that the manuscript, or the unlikely possibility of another manuscript carrying the title ‘Journal of the most remarkable Transactions and Occurrences at Prisom Factory Commencing 3d April 1775 and ending March 1776,’ was entered as in possession on 1 July 1938. This information would suggest that the document had, after entering the United States in 1937, passed back into Canada in 1938, possibly for further archival documentation, and then lay forgotten until March 1953, when it would have been delivered to the New York Archives, where it has remained until now. However, the Ottawa possession date, which is sharply and clearly inscribed, is dubious, since that is Canada’s national holiday and, while certain civic workers would be expected to work to maintain the regularity of the nation, archival researchers, my assistant has discovered, would not in all likelihood have been among them.

The Montréal fire may be a false concern if the manuscript was simply not in storage at the central building. Similarly, it cannot be definite that an archivist was not working on Canada’s national holiday. In summary, the manuscript seems to have been written for the Hudson’s Bay Company by Robert Shakely and later delivered by someone to his shareholders in London. It then passed through Montréal on its way to New York, returning to Canada for an extended visit at the National Archives before returning to New York in 1953.

The text itself has been deemed legitimate, as the signature of Clairy Prundt on the inside cover of the original corresponds with his signature elsewhere in the company’s records and the dates in the text correspond with dated references made by other company employees and employees of the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company in their records. As Robert Shakely’s journal is itself the only record of the completion date of the document, historians are left to conjecture on the validity of its claim. Occasional statements suggest that sections of the journal consisting of more than one day were probably written during single sittings. It is definite, though, that the journal was completed at some time between 16 December 1775, when William Pond refers to his visit to Prisom Factory via Wachannabee Gorge, and 1 April 1776, when Pond returned to the central storage post by the same route, in response to requests made by the Home-Guard Cree.

Shakely’s history, prior to his joining the Royal Trade Company, is unrecorded. Company records state that Shakely was hired on 12 August 1775 as Governor of Prisom Factory (named after Lord Ashley Prisom, Principal Shareholder) to oversee twelve men, with ‘that number increasing substantially the following year if trade proves lucrative’ (Records: 1775, 36). Shakely’s journal implies that he was fairly well educated in surveying and had been trained in commerce. He also seems to have been somewhat read and was learning astronomy from Peter Post, the factory surveyor, during the autumn, before their situation became more dire.

The original of Shakely’s journal can be viewed at the Royal Trade Company Archives (Archives of the Province of Ontario, 212 Glasshall Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K2K 4A2). For an analysis of Shakely’s incorporation of astronomy into his company duties, see my article ‘Robert Shakely and Astronomic Narrativity,’ Studies in Navigational History 3.11: 54–69. The influence of subordinates on Shakely’s management is analyzed in my article ‘“The Heart of the Wachana”: Robert Shakely and Hegemonic Despondency,’ Journal of Exploration Discourse 5:IV: 12–27. A comparison of Shakely’s text to the records of William Pond is forthcoming in Journal of Exploration Discourse 7:1.

Dr. J. C. Amicable