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Weekly Feature #202
For the week of May 8th - May 16th, 2004
FAR-AWAY FORT GARRY
History
United States - BNA postal history includes some examples of US postage selling in Canada. These stamps were intended for use on Canadian mail, paying the American rate. Much of this occurred in the East, notably Montreal. Covers posted at Montreal, bearing US postage are sought-after and command high premiums among collectors.
Not as widely known, are envelopes from certain Western settlements, which used US postage on outgoing mail, including mail traveling to locations elsewhere in Canada. Fort Garry, the outpost for the Hudson's Bay Company, made the US stamps available to settlers along the Red River. Nominal sterling fees would convey the mail to the 'lines', or border, and the American postage covered the transit cost of relaying the items through the US. Because of their isolation, the settlements relied on the cross-border routing process for timely communication.
The Cover
This particular item exemplifies this reliance. Posted at Red River Settlement and addressed to Freelton, Canada West, the letter carries a horizontal pair of the 3c rose (#65), and a vertical pair of the 2c black, (#73), sufficient to ensure the delivery through US territory. The stamps are franked by targets, the cover is backstamped Dundas U.C (Dec.28), and a transit c.d.s. reads, 'Pembina Dakota/Dec 11.
The Pembina office opened in 1857, and served as the point of exchange for mail from Fort Garry and the Red River settlements. Prior to using Pembina, mail was routed through Fort Ripley, Minn., a distance of nearly 400 miles from Fort Garry; in contrast, Pembina was a mere 73 miles away, cutting down on delivery time.
The cover is accompanied by an enclosure, datelined Red River Settlement Nov. 27, 1865. It is a very long piece of personal correspondence. Some excerpts:
My very Dear Friend,
I take a quiet evening hour to prepare something in the shape of an answer to your most kind and most welcome letter of Aug.1, which was received in due course.
...Your account of the families in Montreal is delightful. I sincerely trust and pray that the (?) and the prayers of the parents will be blessed to the satisfaction of one and all of their children.
...Dec. 5. I could not get this ready for last week's mail so I send it now. Meantime, I have received a letter from Oakville intimating that Miss Miller had reached home safely...
...Your most Sincere Friend
& fellow laborer
James Nisbet
This is fine example of Canadian mail, routed through American channels, posted with locally sold US postage. While lacking the fame of the 'Montreal' covers, this example of a Western cover makes an important addition to collections of British North American and US postal history.
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