The road and its many offshoots transited or terminated at open pasturage where the flocks could expand.

By early spring, crews of Cowitchan Indian employees had cleared a rough track running north-south up the center of the 16 1/2 mile-long island, which became known as the 'Cowitchan' (and later the 'Military') Road. Griffin set about establishing the operation with vigor. It was the realization of the vision expressed by Alexander Mackenzie when he wrote about his epic journey across Canada to the Pacific in 1793.

Wool, mutton, lumber and fish, in addition to furs, were shipped from the West Coast to Russian America (Alaska), China and other points west, as well as to England. However, by the late 1830s the company operated several corporate farms in the Oregon Country, which, combined with timber and fishing interests, made it an economic force on the Pacific Rim. The foray into agriculture by a company principally known for the fur trade, had begun in the 1820s as means to feed and clothe employees. In his role as governor of the crown colony of Vancouver Island, Douglas had already 'succeeded in defeating every attempt made to preoccupy the Arro Islands (San Juans) by American Squatters' by warning off Yankee timber men, while at the same time establishing HBC fishing stations on San Juan's western shore.Д«elle Vue Sheep Farm was the last of the agricultural facilities established by the HBC south of the 49th parallel. The presence of a thriving agricultural community would solidify Great Britain's claim to the island, which had been in dispute with the United States since the two nations signed the Treaty of Oregon in June 1846. While San Juan Island's open prairies were ideal for agriculture and livestock, Douglas's primary purpose was political. Gazing at the magnificent Olympic Mountains directly across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Griffin appropriately called his prairie home 'Belle Vue Sheep Farm.' He then appointed Charles John Griffin (right) chief agent of this new Hudson's Bay Company establishment. Douglas also brought along seed for crops and farm yard animals, including several Berkshire boars. On a chilly December 15, 1853, a group of Europeans, Hawaiians, and Indians led by Fort Victoria Chief Factor James Douglas landed on the southern tip of San Juan Island and turned loose 1,369 sheep to graze on the sweeping prairies that gave onto the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Griffin was then reassigned to the Red River He was assigned as 'clerk in charge' of Belle Vue Sheep Farm in December 1853, then elevated to 'chief trader' here in 1857. Griffin began his Hudson's Bay Company career in 1846 at Fort Coulonge in Montreal. Born in 1827 in Limerick, Ireland, Charles J.

Destiny 2 seed of light farming