Eyewitness

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

According to the preface, many of the events in this book actually
happened and several of the characters were real people. However, the
central figure, Peter Mackenzie, and some of the closest people around
him are the author’s creations.

In 1822, Peter was almost seven when his widowed father died in an
accident while serving the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort St. James in
New Caledonia (present-day British Columbia). Orphaned, Peter is cared
for by Robert Findlay, a clerk at the fur trade post. From then until
the summer of 1828 when Sir George Simpson, the Governor of the HBC,
visits their post and offers Peter the opportunity to apprentice as an
accountant at Fort Vancouver, Peter is an “eyewitness” to many
happenings.

Key to the plotline is Peter’s visit to Fort George on his eighth
birthday. There he encounters a pair of Carrier Indians who have just
killed two members of the post. When the murderers escape, Peter is
convinced that one of them (Tzoelhnolle), knowing that Peter can
identify him, will seek to kill him.

The story’s principal weakness is the long time span contained within
its relatively short length, a situation that causes Thompson to flit
from episode to episode. Readers do get some feel for the historical
period—especially the hardships encountered—but Peter remains
largely a distant figure. Through Peter’s friendship with Cadunda,
great nephew to the Carrier chief, Thompson offers a sympathetic
portrayal of the relationships between the land’s indigenous peoples
and the newcomers. Recommended with reservations.