Peter Skene Ogden, Fur Trader. 267 the children, was indeed good news for me. At present I shall not write you a long letter but merely say I am truly anxious to see you all again and hope to be with you before next spring. * * * You say in your letter I will find warm hearts ready to receive me, in you particularly. My Dear Daughter, I never doubted it, and you are indeed often the subject of my thoughts. Now do not for one moment sup- pose that your Father will ever forget you ; if it has entered banish such an idea from your mind, but I do not think you ever formed such an opinion of me. I know your goodness of heart, and your Mother's also. Excepting when traveling I lead a very solitary, lonesome life and never go into society, indeed live more retired than I did at Vancouver. Now my dear daughter, may God bless you and all your children and your Mother and children. * * * Ever your affectionate Father. Peter Skeen Ogden. We diverge a moment to note Mr. Ogden's slight contribu- tions to literature. As a letter writer he was given to playful allusion and amusing fur trade gossip and we could wish that more of his letters were in existence. One he wrote from Western Caledonia to John McLeod in 1837 nas already been printed in full (in Vol. II p. 260 Washington Historical Quarterly) but reveals his style and a small part will be reproduced here : "When at Vancouver last summer I saw our Steam Boat and made a short trip in her. She cost fifteen thousand pounds but our commerce will soon repay us, at all events will have a decided advantage over our opponents, again last summer they, the Americans, had four ships there (i.e. on the N. W. Coast). * * * Amongst the many good things their honours from Fenchurch Street sent us last summer was a Clergyman and with him his wife, the Rev'd Mr. Beaver, a very appropriate name for the fur trade; also a Mr. & Mrs. Coppindale to conduct the Farm Establishment & by the Snake country we had an assortment of Am. Mis- sionarys the Rev. Mr. Spalding and Lady two Mr. Lees & Mr. Shepherd surely clergymen enough when the Indian population is so reduced but this not all there are also five more Gents as follows : 2 in quest of Flowers 2 killing all
