THE CANADIAN FUR TRADERS. 343 the grant of the exclusive trade, but also of full territorial possession to all perpetuity of the vast lands within the watershed of Hudson's Bay. The Company at once established some forts along the shores of the great inland sea from which it derived its name, and opened a very lucrative trade with the Indians, so that it never ceased paying rich dividends to the fortunate shareholders until towards the close of the last century, when, as I have already mentioned, its prosperity began to be seriously affected by the energetic competition of the Canadian fur traders. In spite of the flourishing state of its affairs, or rather because the monopoly which it enjoyed allowed it to prosper without exertion, the Company, as long as Canada remained in French hands, had conducted its affairs in a very indolent manner, waiting for the Indians to bring the produce of their chase to the Hudson's Bay settlements, instead of following them into the interior and stimulating them by offering greater facilities for exchange. For eighty years after its foundation the Company possessed no more than four small forts on the shores of Hudson's Bay; and only when the encroachments of the Canadians at length roused it from its torpor, did it resolve likewise to advance into the interior, and to establish a fort on the eastern shore of Sturgeon Lake, in the year 1774. Up to this time, with the exception of the voyage of discovery which Hearne (1770 71) made under its auspices to the mouth of the Coppermine River, it had done but little for the promotion of geographical discovery in its vast territory. Meanwhile the Canadian fur traders had become so hateful to the Indians, that these savages formed a conspiracy for their total extirpation. Fortunately for the white men, the small-pox broke out about this time among the Red-skins, and swept them away as the fire consumes the parched grass of the prairies. Their unburied corpses were torn by the wolves and wild dogs, and the survivors were too weak and dispirited to be able to undertake anything against the foreign intruders. The Canadian fur traders now also saw the necessity of combining their efforts for their mutual benefit, instead of ruining each other by an insane competition; and consequently formed, in 1783, a society which, under the name of the North-West Company of Canada, at first consisted of sixteen, later of twenty partners or shareholders, some of whom lived in Canada, while the others were scattered among the various stations in the interior. The whole Canadian fur trade was now greatly developed; for while previously each of the associates had blindly striven to do as much harm as possible to his present partners and thus indirectly damaged his own interests, they now all vigorously united to beat the rival Hudson's Bay Company out of the field. The agents of this North-West Company, in defiance of their charter, were indefatigable in exploring the lakes and woods, the plains and the mountains, for the purpose of establishing new trading-stations at all convenient points. The most celebrated of these pioneers of commerce, Alexander Mackenzie, reached, in the year 1789, the mouth of the great river which bears his name, and saw the white dolphins gambol about in the Arctic Sea. In a second voyage he crossed the Rocky Mountains, and followed the course of the Fraser River until it discharges its waters into the Georgian Gulf, opposite to Vancouver's Island. Here he wrote with perishable vermilion the following inscription on a rock-wall fronting the gulf: A. Mackenzie arrived from Canada by land, The words were soon effaced by wind and weather, but the fame of the explorer will last as long as the English language is spoken in America. The energetic North-West Company thus ruled over the whole continent from the Canadian Lakes to the Rocky Mountains, and in 1806 it even crossed that barrier and established its forts on the northern tributaries of the Columbia River. To the north it likewise extended its operations, encroaching more and more upon the privileges of the Hudson's Bay Company, which, roused to energy, now also pushed on its posts further and further into the interior, and established in 1812 a colony on the Red River to the south of Winipeg Lake, thus driving, as it were, a sharp thorn into the side of its rival. But a power like the NorthWest Company, which had no less than 50 agents, 70 interpreters, and 1,120 voyageurs in its pay, and whose chief managers used to appear at their annual meetings at Fort William, on the banks of Lake Superior, with all the pomp and pride of feudal barons, was not inclined to tolerate this encroachment; and thus, after many quarrels, a regular war broke out between the two parties, which, after two years' duration, led to the expulsion of the Red River colonists and the murder of their Governor, Semple. This event took place in the year 1816, and is but one episode of the bloody feuds which continued to reign between the two rival Companies until 1821. At first sight it may seem strange that such acts of violence should take place between British subjects and on British soil, but then we must consider that, at that time, European law had little power in the American wilderness. The dissensions of the fur traders had most deplorable consequences for the Redskins; for both Companies, to swell the number of their adherents, lavishly distributed spirituous liquors a temptation which no Indian can resist. The whole of the hunting-grounds of the Saskatchewan and Athabasca were but one scene of revelry and bloodshed. Already decimated by the small-pox, the Indians now became the victims of drunkenness and discord, and it was to be feared that if the war and its consequent demoralisation continued, the most important tribes would soon be utterly swept away. The finances of the belligerent Companies were in an equally deplorable state; the produce of the chase diminished from year to year with the increase of their expenditure; and thus the Hudson's Bay Company, which used to gratify its shareholders with dividends of 50 and 25 per cent., was unable, from 1808 to 1814, to distribute a single shilling among them. At length wisdom prevailed over passion, and the enemies came to a resolution which, if taken from the very beginning, would have saved them both a great deal of treasure and many crimes. Instead of continuing to swing the tomahawk, . they now smoked the calumet, and amalgamated in 1821 under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company,' and under the wing of the charter. The British Government, as a dowry to the impoverished couple, presented them with a licence of exclusive trade throughout the whole of that territory which, under the name of the Hudson's Bay and North-West territories, extends from Labrador to the Pacific, and from the Red River to the Polar Ocean. This licence was terminable in 21 years, but in 1838 it was renewed again for the same period. The good effects of peace and union soon became apparent, for after a few years the Company was enabled to pay half-yearly dividends of five per cent., and the Indians, to whom brandy was now no longer supplied unless as a medicine, enjoyed the advantages of a more sober life. About 1848 the Imperial Government, fearing that Vancouver's Island might be annexed by the United States, resolved to place it under the management of the Hudson's Bay Company. This was accordingly done in 1849. A licence of exclusive trade and management was granted for ten years, terminable therefore in 1859 (the time of expiration of the similar licence over the Indian territory). These were the palmy days of the Hudson's Bay Company. They held Rupert's Land by the Royal charter, which was perpetual; they held Vancouver's Island and the whole Indian territory to the Pacific by exclusive licences terminable in 1859; and thus maintained under their sole sway about 4,000,000 square miles-a realm larger than the whole of Europe. For the ten years ending May 31, 1862, the average net annual profits of the Company amounted to 81,000l. on a paid up capital of 400,000l., but a portion only of this income was distributed as dividend. In 1863 the Company was reconstructed with a capital of 2,000,000l., for the purpose of enlarging its operations—such as opening the southern and more fruitful districts of the Saskatchewan or the Winipeg to European colonisation; but the northern, and by far the larger portion of the vast domains over which, after the dismemberment of British Columbia and the Stikine territory, it still holds sway, have too severe a climate ever to be cultivated, and, unless their mineral wealth be made available, must ever be what they are now-a fur-bearing region of gloomy pine-forests, naked barren-grounds, lakes, and morasses. Over this vast extent of desert the Company has established about 150 trading posts, called 'houses,' or 'forts,' which, however, consist merely of a few magazines and dwellinghouses protected by a simple wall, stockade, or palisade, sufficiently strong to resist any sudden attack of the Indians. Among the tribes with whom a friendly intercourse has long subsisted, and whose fidelity may implicitly be trusted, no guard is ever kept, and it is only in forts more recently built in remote parts that precautions are taken. These forts are always situated on the borders of a lake or river, both for facility of transport and for the purpose of catching fish, particularly the species of Coregonus or whitefish, which, from its importance to all the natives of Rupert's Land between the great Canada Lakes and the Arctic Sea, the Crees call Attihawmeg, or the reindeer of the waters.' In many of the trading posts it forms the chief food of the white residents; and it is asserted that though deprived of bread and vegetables, a man may live upon it for months or even years without tiring. According to Sir John Richardson, no fish in any country or sea excels the white fish in flavour and wholesomeness, and it is the most beneficial article of diet to the Red Indians near the Arctic Circle, being obtained with more certainty than the reindeer, and with less change of abode in summer and winter. Each of the principal forts is the seat of a chief factor, or general administrator of a district, and of a chief trader, who transacts the business with the Indians. Besides these principal functionaries-out of whom the governor is chosen-the Company employed, in 1860, 5 surgeons, 87 clerks, 67 postmasters, 1,200 permanent servants, and 500 voyageurs, besides temporary employés of different ranks, so that the total number of persons in its pay was at least 3,000. Besides this little army of immediate dependents, the whole male Indian population of its vast territory, amounting to about 100,000 hunters and trappers, may be considered as actively employed in the service of the |