Mervin Vavasour

In a letter written in April 1846 to Governor George Simpson, Odgen complained that Vavasour was "to the last hour a disagreeable Puppy and at times most disgusting particularly when under the influence of Brandy and Opium.

These included: their poor evaluation of the readiness of the HBC forts and other facilities for military uses, the significant number of American settlers crossing into the territory via the well established Oregon Trail, and the considerable obstacles posed by the Rocky Mountains to British supply lines.

[citation needed] Vavasour sailed to England in October 1846, and served in the British Isles, being promoted to 2nd captain in 1849.

[1] Vavasour published his notes and the images drawn by Warre in Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory (1849).

From this comes some of the earliest European artistic renderings of the Rocky Mountains and also valuable records such as an 1846 plan diagram of Fort Edmonton to scale.