French Peter

In the early 1850s, Puget Sound was a wide-open wilderness, inhabited by the many Coastal Salish tribes of Lushootseed speaking people. The white settlers that were in the area had mostly settled Penn Cove, on Whidbey Island, and in around Olympia and Forts Nisqually and Steilacoom to the south, with few newcomers spread between them.

Former Hudson's Bay Company trader Peter Goutre landed at Tulalip Bay in 1853, and partnered with three other local men to build the first sawmill in the area. But when the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855 was signed by Governor Isaac Stevens and Chief's Seathl and Patkanim, Goutre and the other Tulalip pioneers were forced to relocate.

Journey To Hat Island shines a light on the earliest settlers of what would become Snohomish and Island Counties, and recounts the life of real-world homesteader Peter Goutre amongst the Snohomish Indians and the early colonists. But years later, when Goutre's past comes back to shatter his tranquil life on Gedney Island in the middle of Possession Sound, only the power of the legends of Whulge can overcome the wickedness that descends upon him.

In his latest novel, JD Howard brings the reader along on an adventure that begins at Fort Stikine in 1842, reliving one of the most traumatic scandals in the Hudson's Bay Company's history, and then travels across the world as Peter Goutre attempts to escape the wrong doing he's been made part of.


From the amazing introduction, which is a history lesson in itself, to the seemingly endless adventures, J.D Howard's latest historical novel is a must read for American history buffs. This fascinating era of the 1800s is begging to be explored and the author has done a magnificent job of bringing the audience into this intriguing story.
- Gene R. Fosheim, Former president of the Everett Museum of History, and the award-winning author of Mill Town Boy.

J.D. Howard's "French Peter - Journey to Hat Island" fills an important literary niche in the history of the Pacific Northwest. Masterfully told and chock-full of rich imagery, Howard weaves a poetic tale of the people and events that shaped early life along the Salish Sea. An enjoyable read from start to finish!
- Steve K. Bertrand, Snohomish County Historian, author of Paleolithica and Other Poems, and Modern Everett.