Mission Point Fur Trader Encampment
In case you missed it…
Settled into a well provisioned camp among the tall pines of Mission Point, near the present Kettle Falls, Washington, “Badger” and friends prepared to conduct business with one of the area’s trading houses. "Badger" had guns to trade and offered gunsmithing in the remote wild Columbia wilderness. The landscape was quite different from his native Ohio Valley, but he welcomed this wilderness experience. His companions had beaver pelts to trade for winter provisions. 
The trading post at Kettle Falls was the result of a merger between North West Company and its bitter rival, the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821. The Hudson’s Bay Company then closed several posts, including Spokane House and established two centers of business, Fort Vancouver and Fort Colvile in 1825. This was a very profitable venture for many years.
“Badger,” also known as Bob Tryman is a part of the Living History group, Friends of Spokane House. On July 28th and 29th, they camped next to St. Paul’s Mission north of the town of Kettle Falls, Washington. The public mingled with the actors, stepped back in time and talked with traders, voyageurs, trappers, Métis, and others. Bob Tryman offered the public a look at his finely handcrafted firearms, carefully recreated to historical standards.
Demonstrations on how to use a tump line, flint and steel fire starting methods, open-fire cooking and the firing of various firearms were offered during the two day encampment. Saturday evening there was a power point program on David Thompson at the Kettle Falls Campground Amphitheater.
This successful event was the result of a partnership between Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area interpretive staff and the Kettle Falls Historical Society.