When Joseph Howse's HBC expedition of 1810-1811 came to light in 1993 /1994 few had ever heard of him.  Some were critical of the publicity that was given the story, citing mistakes of fact that appeared in at least two articles.  Compounding this was local history unknown to the critics. The doubters believed the mystery rock story was a fabrication. 

 

In 1994 Dave Swart responded to one of these skeptics in this fashion:  I'm the person who made the connection between the stone held by the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center and Joseph Howse, the first explorer employed by the Hudson's Bay Company to reach the Pacific Northwest.  This is an extremely interesting find and adds some new dimension to our local history.  This rock was on display for 70 years (unidentified) and was even denounced by at least one knowledgeable person as a hoax.  Joseph Howse was a very real person and the marker appears authentic.  The only place that his name appears in local history books, that I'm aware of, is in A GENERAL HISTORY OF OREGON by Charles H. Carey, Vol.1, Chapter XIV, Arcadian Oregon, 1935 edition.  Even Mr. Carey lacked knowledge of the full story but at least he gave him credit and the date is correct.  Four or five lines on page 224 tells all he knew.

 

There is no question that David Thompson of the North West Company was by far the best trained and equipped explorer to enter the area.  His qualifications were without blemish.  You are correct in stating that the North West Company was Canadian and not American.  This appears to have been Howse's last expedition and he led a rather obscure life thereafter, although he remained in the employ of HBC.

 

I have never read the Spectrum but believe the article that you allude to was reprinted from an article entitled, "Stone unveils gorge history," published in the Vancouver edition of The Oregonian, on December 18, 1993.  The article has several errors, unfortunately, including the misstatement that the North West Company was an American operation.  The exploration period was 1810-1811, not 1811-1812, as stated.  

 

To assist you in this matter, I am enclosing a copy of Explorations, published by the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center, under date of December, 1993.  In my research there came to be many unexpected discoveries, one is that John M. MacGregor, a personal friend, donated the Hudson's Bay Record Society encyclopedia set of 33 volumes to the Oregon Historical Society when he was living in New York City.  John was a member of the society at that time and has since passed away.