The Commonwealth of Cedarwood River - National Storybook

[Cedarwood River]

The Commonwealth of
Cedarwood River - Rivière Cèdre

"I burn my father's flag"



Table of Contents
Geography
History
People of Interest

Listen to the rain,
On the oaks and the ashes,
On the cedars and the pines,
On the young ones' hearts,
And the old ones' minds.
Listen to the rain.
~ Jessica Ellis, extract from Cascade, 1964

I had not known liberty and love until I came to Cedarwood River.
~ Ferris Bukowski, first generation immigrant and writer, 1905

We'll stand like these mountains, we'll fight like this rain, and we'll let the world know that we are and always will be as free as the waters of this river.
~ Matthieu Lamarque, first president of Cedarwood River, 1800
[Translated from the French by Mandy Werner, 1996]

Too many god damned bears.
~ Anon

The Commonwealth of Cedarwood River is a small, prosperous nation that sits on the northwestern edge of North America, between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains. The country was formed in 1805 by groups of fur traders and colonists predominantly from France, Germany, Ireland and Scotland, as well as the fledgeling United States. It grew out of the settlements and trading posts that had been existing outwith national borders for years, and its people were forced to fight a series of wars against the colonial powers, and railway companies, that wished to affirm their grip on the frontier. The country is famous, or perhaps infamous, for the intense value it places on civil liberty and, due to this, a common Cedar stereotype is a loud, arrogant jingoist who nobody likes to talk to at parties, but who is a pretty decent singer.

The nation is, even today, largely wilderness, with the major cities and roads being built with the land rather than through it. With such a minute agricultural and industrial sector, the national economy is largely based on the fishing, hunting and lumber and knickknack and tourism industries. The arts are also a staple of the Cedar economy, with many poets, writers, painters and musicians hailing from Cedarwood River.

[Cedarwood River]

General Geography

The Commonwealth is situated in the Pacific Northwest, between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascades. The northern border lies between the northern tips of the Cascade Range and the Strait of Georgia, while the southern boundary is drawn by the Cedarwood River. The eastern border is marked by the mountains, beyond which is an expanse of overdeveloped agricultural land controlled by other nations. The Commonwealth has considerably more rainfall than the territories east due to the mountains' rainshadow effect. The Cascades are also home to several of the region's volcanoes; Mount Lamarque, Glacier Peak, Mount Helen, and Mount Kojack, all of which are considered active. Extensive woodland and wilderness, including the mountains, covers around two thirds of the entire Cedar mainland, and civil development is restricted by the Mother Nature Act of 1816.

Most of Cedarwood River

The Commonwealth also has territories in Alaska, controlling the Kodiak Archipelago, the Kenai Peninsula, Valdez, Cordova, Anchorage, Juneau and the Alexander Archipelago. Cedar expeditionaries also attempted to claim Mount McKinley, but one of them slipped and broke a nail halfway up the mountain, so they elected to go home. Those expeditionaries were consequently labelled nationwide as scaredy-cats.

Climate

Cedarwood River is famous for its oceanic climate, receiving around 4,100mm of precipitation annually. The nation is thus home to some of the world's only temperate rainforests. The Cedarwood climate, as well as its geography, is very much a part of the Cedar culture, with rain and the colour green often featuring in folk songs and modern poetry. The climate in the Alaskan territories is fairly similar, though significantly colder.

[Cedarwood River]

Early History

"Angrier than your average bear."

The native tribes of Cedarwood River are collectively known as the Salish, after their common language. The predominant tribes if the coastal areas were the Chinook, Lummi, Quinault, Makah, Quileute, and Snohomish. These tribes mostly survived through fishing and hunting, and they remain today, still known for their intricately carved totem poles, canoes and other woodwork. Cedar was one of the most important building materials for these tribes, being strong and long-lasting. The tribes on the Cedarwood River also had access to some of the richest and most abundant salmon on the continent. Halibut and whale were also commonly fished.

European Exploration

"Never, in all my days and years, have I seen so many bears."
~ Leroy Baxter, mercenary for the Hudson's Bay Company, 1793

The first European settlements west of the Cascades were trading posts built around 1790 by intrepid coureur des bois who, having reached the Pacific coast, were left with nowhere to go. These entrepeneurs began their trading and communicating with the local Salish, with little conflict to speak of. When word of the fertile soil and abundant, exploitable fauna spread back east, hundreds of pioneers or, as some would call them, refugees from civilisation came travelling from the encroaching boundaries of the United States to found settlements outwith restrictive national laws. The first notable township to develop was Tempest Bay, on the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula. The Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company soon took notice of this underdeveloped wilderness and dispatched teams of mercenaries and officials to seize control of some of the land's resources. Among these mercenaries was 23-year-old Matthieu Lamarque, who would become the first president of Cedarwood River. As one of the last frontiers, the Cedarwood territories were the destination of choice for prospectors, entrepeneurs, political exiles and other such individuals. Most of these immigrants hailed from France, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and the United States, as well a fair flow from Mexico.

A group of fur traders that had settled in the territory established the Cedarwood River Trading Company in Tempest Bay in 1798, which still survives today. Sadly, so does the Hudson's Bay Company.

The Cascade Revolution

Matthieu Lamarque

The land grabbing by the companies soon met resistance from the native tribes, who first began attacking caravans belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, easily the most aggressive of the firms, in 1799. Matthieu Lamarque defected to one such tribe and was soon joined by other coureur des bois and a party of exiled Scottish expatriates, lead by one Ruairidh MacDonald, with a grudge against the Hudson's Bay Company along with all things British. The fighting soon escalated as British troops were deployed from Canada to protect the HBCo's interests.

"Exit, pursued by a bear."
~ William Shakespeare, English playwright, 1623
[Stage direction from The Winter's Tale]

Several settlements and communities in the territory, upon hearing news of the invasion, pledged militias to fight against the British force, fearful for their tax-free sovereignty. Knowing the forests and how to best exploit the wilderness, the native-settler coalition, for lack of a better name, had the upper hand against the invading forces, and the British soon became scattered, undersupplied and mostly devoured by the local bears. The HBCo mercenaries fared better, having already explored the territories. However, their morale was soon deminished, and most either defected to the coalition or went back to Canada or wherever they were from. The last HBCo and British forces retreated from the Cedarwood territory, and the bears, in late 1800.

The leaders of the coalition had emerged as Lamarque, MacDonald, an American trapper named Ryan Carter, a German prospector named Adrian Schröder and Chetzemoka, leader of the Klallam tribe that first attacked the HBCo. It was at the end of the conflict that MacDonald, in a meeting (or "congress") of the settlements and tribes, recognised the need for a permanent, professional force to defend the territory from any future invading forces or opportunistic trading companies. Lamarque, who was reportedly drunk at the meeting, went one step further, stressing the categorical demand for a sovereign nation. Since most of the other leaders were drunk as well, the motion was passed 99-1, the "1" being MacDonald. Lamarque, Carter and Schröder, being the only ones literate, together drafted the first Declaration of the Sovereignty and Intentions of the Commonwealth of Cedarwood River. The document was read to the others, who unanimously supported it, and signed it with crosses. Minutes later, the bear was declared the national animal.

First Election

"Let it be known, throughout our world, that Cedarwood River is the land of liberty and equality for all. Except women."
~ Ryan Carter, presidential candidate, 1801

Save for Chetzemoka who, half the time, had no idea what the other leaders were talking about anyway, all of Cedarwood River's "founding fathers" were fiercely republican, a radical ideology of the time which was fitting for the nature of the new nation, and it was easily decided that the Commonwealth would be governed as a democratic republic. The first presidential election was held in late 1801 and the first parliamentary and senatorial elections in 1802, once the basic structure of the government had been established; a French-style parliamentary democracy. The Cedar parliament was significantly smaller than that of France, however, as the population of the territory barely reached 700,000. The turnout for the presidential election was naturally small, as most Cedars were barely aware that there had been a revolutionary war, let alone an election, and Lamarque emerged the victor, with 53% of the vote. Carter, his only opponent, would become the second president four years later.

It is worth noting that, mainly due to their major role in the war and the already established cultural understanding, the native tribes of Cedarwood River faced little subjagation at the hands of the new government as many of their comrades had under British, Mexican and US rule. The same cannot be said of the slaves who, while significantly smaller in number than in most other countries due to the individual nature of Cedar trades, were not emancipated until 1808, one year after the British Empire had been the first to outlaw the slave trade.

The River War with the United States

US troops attack some expendable tribesmen

While Cedars called it a "glorious victory" and Americans called it "not worth our while", The River War was a short conflict between 1810 and 1812 that saw the second invasion of the Cedarwood territory by a far larger foreign power. The expansion of the United States of America into the west after the Louisiana Purchase was halted at the boundaries of the Cascades, and US surveyors were baffled by the existence of some backwater republic where the Pacific coast should be. They reported back to an equally bemused Washington D.C. who, mistaking the Cedars for strangely European-looking natives, ordered an invasion soon after.

US marines landed in Tempest Bay on the 4th of July, 1810, occupying the city for most of the war. A land incursion was attempted by forces who anticipated the logistical and physical difficulty of the Cascades and instead came down through Canada on the Columbia River (hence "River War"). These forces were halted, however, by attacks from tribesmen and Cedar skirmishers, and they became bogged down in fighting in the northern forests, facing the same fate as the British had a decade before. It was during this conflict that Ruairidh MacDonald, now a general in the Cedarwood River National Defence Corps, established the Cedar Commando Corps (or CCC) out of those who had successfully halted the American advance through cunning use of the wilderness and guerrilla tactics. Tempest Bay remained American until 1812, once the US marines were recalled after the British discovered the US army had been using Canada and declared war.

The US army left soon after, with American general George Kayman declaring that the United States would "never get so gummed up in an unwinnable rural war against zealous natives ever again".

Colonisation of Alaska and Consequent War with Russia

General Fyodor Zamolodchikova, "The Butcher of Kodiak Island"

The Cedarwood River Trading Company first approached President Chetzemoka in 1817 with an appeal for funds for an expedition to survey, chart and colonise the Alaskan territories northwest of Canada. After much lobbying, the funds were granted in 1818 and Cedar ships landed in the Alexander Archipelago on the 9th of June. Several Cedar settlements were founded along the coast, mostly by old coureur des bois that had found somewhere to go, while a small number of settlers pushed upward into the Alaskan interior. The most northernly Cedar Alaskan city to be founded was Eagle, which still stands today, to the east of Fairbanks, though it was essentially just stolen from the Han people that had gone fishing and left the town unattended.

Russia first noticed the Cedar expansions in 1820, once an unusually high number of Han people began immigrating to Sitka, and Russian soldiers began firing on any Cedars they came across. The first real act of war occurred on the 17th of September, 1820, when Russian troops, led by General Fyodor Zamolodchikova, landed on Kodiak Island, a Cedar colony, and slaughtered the vast majority of the settlers. Once news of this reached Tempest Bay, President Chetzemoka authorised the deployment of the CCC to the Alaskan territories, and yet another gruelling wilderness war ensued. However, unlike the gentrified US and British troops, the Russians were just as accustomed to mountains and eating pinecones as the Cedar soldiers, and there were no native allies to come to their aid.

Zamolodchikova's army captured many of the Cedar towns along the coast, and even Eagle, while Cedar commandoes managed to defend Valdez and Cordova and even captured Sitka, much to the chagrin of the Han who had just arrived. The Russians began to gain the upper hand on the Alaskan land, pushing the Cedars back into the panhandle. However, once Tempest Bay dispatched the corvettes of the Cedar navy, which began shelling the Russians indiscriminately, their army was forced to retreat into the interior as Cedar marines seized most of the coastal settlements. The CCC, along with a number of polar bears, began to wear the scattered Russian forces, and Zamolodchikova, who had managed to tame a pack of wolves to do his bidding, was captured after a four hour battle, first between Cedar troops and his wolves, then between Cedar troops and himself. After the Cedar navy, including the corvette SS MacGregor bombarded Minsk, the Russians, who were equally bored of the fighting, offered peace in exchange for Eagle, which now belongs to Canada.

[Cedarwood River]

Historic Figures

Matthieu Lamarque

Matthieu Lamarque, the first president and one of the national founders, is probably who most Cedars would put down in a survey that asked them who their favourite leader was/is. This is purely because his personality has plunged into cult, folk tales and myth. Originally a freelance coureur des bois in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, Lamarque defected to a Salish tribe that was fighting the company's mercenaries in the Cascade Mountains for some reason or another. While some have said he betrayed the company for his love of the Pacific Northwestern landscape and the majesty of nature that the company threatened to tarnish, the cause for his defection was most likely his red hot love affair with some nubile Salish maiden, though this issue is controversial. He was one of the three signatories of the Declaration of the Sovereignty and Intentions of the Commonwealth of Cedarwood River, and the nation's first president. Under Lamarque, laws were passed safeguarding the freedoms of the native tribes to exist as they had, and he also laid the groundwork for Cedarwood River's social safety net, reconciled the Commonwealth with the British, and punched a bear in the face.

Lamarque is remembered as a renegade, a warrior, a troubadour and a gentleman. Charismatic and handsome, the reality of his personality has been mostly blurred, though it is fairly certain he was a philandering, cynical alcoholic that, for some reason or another, hated the Scots in his later years. His last words on his deathbed, said to his old friend Ryan Carter, were "Merde ces Ecossais."

Ryan Carter

The sherriff of a mining town in western North Carolina, where he grew up, Ryan Carter was profoundly unsatisfied with life, which mostly involved shooting at drunks and chasing loose women. Carter left for the west, taking a trapping to make his living, as muskrats and beavers were only slightly harder to catch than drunken townspeople. While on his travels he wrote two books, several poems, and one guide to constructing outhouses. He arrived in the Cedarwood territory at the height of the Cascade Revolution, and was originally captured by a Klallam tribe. He met Matthieu Lamarque while imprisoned in a longhouse, and persuaded him to free him if he were to join the cause. Carter fought in the frontlines of the conflict, reportedly killing four mercenaries with his bare hands. During battle he was shot in the leg, and was forced to use a crutch for the rest of his life.

Notably more cantankerous and curmudgeonly than Lamarque, Carter was known mainly for wrecking the friendship Lamarque had crafted with the British, attending sessions of parliament while drunk on moonshine, shooting a man in Reno, several other random acts of violence, blatant chauvanism, and ending the slave trade in Cedarwood River.

Ruairidh MacDonald

No pictures exist of Ruairidh MacDonald, as he was not the type of man that would stand still long enough for one to be taken. Born in Glen Coe in the highlands of Scotland, MacDonald fought with his clan against the English army in whatever Scottish war of independence was going on at that time. After their defeat, MacDonald and many of his able comrades were forced to flee to North America. While some stayed put when they landed in New York and became powerful bankers, MacDonald and several others pushed on into the frontier, selling their services as a mercenary force. The clansmen, that became known as Ruairidh's Company, fought for the Spanish against Mexican rebels and for the United States against the British. After serving in California, the company travelled north to the Cedarwood territory, a year before the revolutionary war.

After the nation was established, MacDonald founded the Cedarwood River State Defence Corps. On top of commanding the forces in The River War and the wars in the Alaskan territories, MacDonald spent a lot of time complaining about the English.