Charles Bucknor, resigned his
military commission in 1858 to go to BC. He hoped to find a position
quickly within the Government.
Sadly, by the time he arrived in the
Colonies, most if not all the plum posts were already occupied.
During the Spring of 1859, as the
Commission began the preparations to return to the work on the Boundary,
Hawkins came to realize the
need for more men, with specialized skills, who would be required to allow
the work to continue.
To that end, Hawkins hired Charles Bucknor on the 7th July 1859.
| "...in
consequence of the large quantity of provisions and stores
accumulated at our principal depot on the Chilukweyuk River, I
found it necessary to obtain the services of a Storekeeper or
Officer in charge of the depot. For this purpose Mr. C. Bucknor,
late an Officer in Her Majesty's Army, was temporarily engaged . . .
from the 7th June 1859;
--Hawkins reports to London
(25th October, 1859) |
The next mention we have of Bucknor is
from Lt. Wilson's Journal a few weeks later, during the Mosquito Season.
|
"...found poor Bucknor in bed, his mind rather irritable and the mosquitoes have
worked him so that he has scratched into a vein in his neck which
bled a good deal and we had to keep bathing it during the day."
-- Diary of Lt.
Charles Wilson, 26th July 1859 |
The next entry paints a worsening
situation.
| "...Last night was a dreadful night. I
spent it in our hospital and did not get a wink of sleep. Bucknor was weak from loss of blood and could hardly stand. "
-- Lt.
Charles Wilson,
27th July 1859 |
Hawkins later wrote to the Foreign Office in London
regarding Bucknor.
| "...but this gentleman
(Bucknor) did not prove equal to the post, his services were
dispensed with on the 26th July 1859."
--Hawkins reports to London
(25th October, 1859) |
A few weeks later, one of the American
Commission Officers comments on Bucknor's situation in a letter to his
brother.
|
"Roach, Mayne, and Dr.
Lyall returning to their Naval duties and another officer, Buckner,
having resigned to get rid of the mosquitoes."
--7th Aug
1859, Joseph Harris,
American Boundary Commission |
According to Stanley
(Lt. Wilson's editor), Bucknor went on to serve as a police man in Yale after his
Boundary Service.
|
