Samuel Black | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Samuel Black

Samuel Black, fur trader, explorer (b at Pitsligo, Scot 3 May 1780; d at Kamloops, New Caledonia [BC] 8 Feb 1841). He joined the XY Co, which was absorbed by the NORTH WEST CO in 1804.

Black, Samuel

Samuel Black, fur trader, explorer (b at Pitsligo, Scot 3 May 1780; d at Kamloops, New Caledonia [BC] 8 Feb 1841). He joined the XY Co, which was absorbed by the NORTH WEST CO in 1804. A fierce opponent of the HUDSON'S BAY CO, he was one of the few Nor'Westers rejected by it at the 1821 union of the companies. But in 1823 he was admitted as clerk and in 1824 became chief trader. That year he explored the Finlay River, leaving a journal of his findings. Stationed at Kamloops in 1830, he became chief factor over all Thompson River District posts in 1837. Never popular with the natives, he was eventually murdered by one after a dispute.