California with her husband, we are daily looking for her return You must excuse me for this letter I am so hurried to write it the express being off a few days ago for Canada hopg to hear from you I am
Yours ever truly
David McLoughlin
DR. JOHN MCLOUGHLIN TO John FRASER
Vancouver 12th April 1843
My Dear Sir
I presume that before this reaches you you will have heard of the Murder of my Son John on the night of 19/20 April last at one of our Establishments on the West Coast of which he had Charge In Oct 1841 in passing there Sir George Simpson saw Every Thing in such high Order, Every thing so Well Arranged that he was Induced to accommodate an other Officer who wished to come here on account of his health to take my Sons assistant to replace this officer and leave my Son the only Officer at the place Where there is the most Danger on the N W Coast, and which Sir George Simpson would not have done so if my deceased sons Good Conduct had not given us the Utmost confidence in his abilities. But among the men belonging to the place there were three men of very Bad Characters who formed a plot to murder him. It seems my deceased Şon found it out and found one of them that night lurking about his Door with his Gun whom he took, and put in confinement and as he was in search of the two others one of them shot him in the Breast as he was turning the Corner of a house, My son fell and while writhing in the Agonies of death his murderer rushed on him and put his foot on his neck. My poor Son brought on his death by his own Rashness as after he put one of them in prison if he had temporised for five Days Sir George Simpson would have been with him Indeed at the time he was in Momentary Expectation of Sir George Simpsons arrival to whom the men Made Believe that my deceased Son was Given to Liquor and that when in that state he Used to Beat the Men most Unmercifully as if one man could ill use when Intoxicated twenty two men (the number at the place) so much as to make them murder him when if he was as they said they could have tied him Especially
