Peter Skene Ogden

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Skene Ogden (ca.1850s)

Peter Skene Ogden , also written Skeene , Skein or Skeen (baptized February 12, 1790 , † September 27, 1854 in Oregon City ) was a Canadian trapper and explorer. During his numerous expeditions, he explored Oregon , Washington , Nevada , California , Utah , Idaho and Wyoming .

His date of birth is given as 1774, 1794 and 1790, among others. He was the son of Presiding Judge Isaac Ogden of Québec . After a short time with the American Fur Company , he worked for the North West Company from 1809 . His first trading post was Île-a-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan , in 1810. In 1814 he ran a trading post in Green Lake, Saskatchewan, 100 miles south.

Ogden had multiple clashes with employees of the rival Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and became violent on several occasions. In 1816, according to information provided by HBC employees, he is said to have cruelly murdered an Indian who was working with the HBC. Although many in the North-West Company viewed such crimes as a necessary evil of living in the undeveloped west of Canada, the HBC labeled him a dangerous man. She found his deed particularly despicable because he was the son of a judge. Ogden was charged with the murder, and the North-West Company transferred him to a post further west of Canada to avoid further confrontation with the HBC.

After the HBC and the North West Company merged in 1821 under the direction of George Simpson , HBC had a hard time deciding how to continue using Ogden. She disapproved and distrusted his working methods, but ultimately decided that he had accomplished so much during the Fur-Trade wars that in 1823 he was entrusted with the post of chief trader for the Snake River area . Over the next few years, Ogden went on a number of expeditions to explore this part of Canada. Its reputation is based primarily on these research trips. The city of Ogden , Utah was named after him.

In 1830, Ogden was sent north to establish another HBC outpost. He also ran an outpost on the south coast of Alaska . In the 1840s he headed a trading post in Fort Vancouver , where he met the Canadian painter Paul Kane , who captured the life of the Indians in western Canada in sketches and oil paintings. During his time in Vancouver, he successfully negotiated several trade deals with Indian tribes. His actions include freeing the hostages of the Whitman massacre .

Ogden retired to Oregon City with one of his several Indian women. Based on his extensive knowledge of the life of the indigenous peoples of Western Canada, he wrote a memory book called " Traits of American Indian Life and Character. By a Fur Trader . ”It was published in 1855 after his death.

The Peter Skene Ogden State Park in Oregon was named after Ogden .

literature

personal data
SURNAME Ogden, Peter Skene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ogden, Peter Skeene; Ogden, Peter Skein; Ogden, Peter Skeen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian trapper and explorer
DATE OF BIRTH baptized February 12, 1790
DATE OF DEATH September 27, 1854
Place of death Oregon City