April 19, 1862, at the age of eighty-six, he died at St. Andrews, Ontario, where he had lived as a boy.
In recognition of his explorations of the Fraser River, Fraser was offered knighthood, but his limited means prevented his acceptance. It is said, however, that one reason for his refusal was that he believed that he was entitled to be Baron Lovat, as the nearest relative of the noted Lord Lovat, of whom I have spoken.
Simon Fraser was one of the intrepid explorers and hardy pioneers of the Pacific Northwest, men who found the way and showed others where and how to follow. The armies of occupation and of civilization followed slowly on. In a few years he was succeeded by the great leaders and successful furtraders of the Hudson's Bay Company. At the old, the original Vancouver, on the Columbia River, came and ruled. Dr. John McLoughlin, the Father of Oregon, James Douglas, afterwards knighted, and Peter Skene Ogden, all held in grateful memory in Oregon and Washington.
In this one hundred years since Simon Fraser's exploration of the Fraser River, the whole Pacific Northwest has grown Wonderfully in population and in civilization. The days of centennials, beginning with that of Gray's discovery of the Columbia River, show that while the long ago of this part of the continent is comparatively new, its traditions are those of a hardy, a brave, and an intrepid people.
