Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast

Christmas at Devil's Portage - Charles Camsell


Listen Later

"So, does Christmas eliminate distance?"


Happy holidays from Explore! For this Yuletide episode, we’re dipping into our Canadian Geographic files for the reading of a story written by RCGS founding President and Arctic explorer Charles Camsell who recalls a memorable Christmas he had on the trail to the Klondike in 1897.


In the early 1900s, travelling by canoe and horseback, Camsell mapped hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of Canada’s north for the Geological Survey of Canada. 


Born at Fort Liard, N.W.T., in 1876, his father Julian was an English fur trader with the Hudson’s Bay Company. His mother, Sarah Foulds, was Metis, with deep roots in the Red River. After graduating from the University of Manitoba, Camsell returned to the Northwest Territories just in time to get swept into the Klondike gold rush. Like thousands of young men and women at the time, he and his friend Arthur Pelly set off for the Yukon to seek their fortune.


Lynne McGuffin, Camsell's granddaughter, found the following story in his personal files. It was dated 1937, around the time he was writing his memoir, Son of the North. For the past two decades, it's been a tradition of host David McGuffin to read this to his wife and children on Christmas Eve as they moved from continent to continent, country to country, often celebrating the holidays far from family and home.


So, pour yourself a favourite drink, settle into a comfy chair by the fire and enjoy this reading of Christmas at Devil’s Portage


To learn more about the Camsell family and their role in the fur trade, check out Season 2 of Explore, which features fascinating full archival recordings of Charles Camsell and his brother Philip Scott Camsell looking back on their Arctic childhoods.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcastBy Canadian Geographic

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

19 ratings


More shows like Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast

View all
Ideas by CBC

Ideas

369 Listeners

Bookends with Mattea Roach by CBC

Bookends with Mattea Roach

233 Listeners

The Sunday Magazine by CBC

The Sunday Magazine

67 Listeners

Q with Tom Power by CBC

Q with Tom Power

268 Listeners

Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly by Apostrophe Podcast Network

Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

786 Listeners

CANADALAND by CANADALAND

CANADALAND

208 Listeners

Outside Podcast by Outside

Outside Podcast

2,116 Listeners

Sidedoor by Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor

2,185 Listeners

Canadian History Ehx by Craig Baird

Canadian History Ehx

76 Listeners

Front Burner by CBC

Front Burner

417 Listeners

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

5,067 Listeners

What On Earth by CBC

What On Earth

20 Listeners

Paykiiwikay - The Metis Culture Podcast by Canadian Geographic - Metis Nation Saskatchewan - Explore Podcast Productions

Paykiiwikay - The Metis Culture Podcast

7 Listeners

Commemorate Canada by Commemorate Canada

Commemorate Canada

0 Listeners

The Decibel by The Globe and Mail

The Decibel

117 Listeners

The Warblers by Birds Canada by Andrea Gress for Birds Canada

The Warblers by Birds Canada

41 Listeners

Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe by Apostrophe Podcast Network

Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe

268 Listeners