Columbia Son, by Don Gayton

Columbia Son, by Don Gayton

Ranald McDonald, son of a Scottish Hudson’s Bay Factor and a Chinook princess, spends his youth at various Forts in the Pacific Northwest, interacting with Indigenous peoples, as well as Scots, English, Quebecois, and Hawaiians. At Fort Astoria, he befriends a Japanese shipwreck survivor. After a stint in central Canada, young Ranald ships aboard a whaling vessel bound for the Orient. He then purposely shipwrecks himself in Japan at a time (1848) when that country is totally closed to foreigners. Imprisoned at first, Ranald learns Japanese and soon becomes a valued translator. Eventually leaving Japan, he prospects for gold in Australia, and then travels to British Columbia, where he engages in prospecting and ranching. Subsequently, he joins the Vancouver Island Expedition. Finally, McDonald retires to Fort Colville, where he lives out his final days. The author faithfully embeds the known facts of MacDonald’s life in this fascinating novel.

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