756 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NA TIONAL MUSEUM. 



VOL. XXVIII. 



tinentui Arctic America. As to certain brief references herein to the 

 great fin- traders of the Northwest and Hudson's Ba}^ Company of 

 former days, as well as to some of the Arctic explorers, especially to 

 those Avho have been engaged in the Franklin search, in which he has 

 always felt a deep and abiding interest, the compiler believes that 

 these digressions will be condoned by his readers, not only b^^ the 

 older for reminding them of the almost forgotten past, but by the 

 younger, for calling their attention to the noble work accomplished 

 \)y those who have gone before; and also for the reason that the suc- 

 cessful collector and naturalist must necessarily be, more or less, 

 imbued with an aml)itious. enterprising, and persevering spirit, similar 

 to that which, without doubt, actuated those men in their respectivel}^ 

 able and heroic labors for science, Crown, and country. 



For items of new or corroborative information used in the prepara- 

 tion of these notes, the undersigned feels much indebted and obliged 

 to Chief Traders Henry J. Moberly, Pierre Deschambeault, William 

 J. McLean; to Factor Alexander Milne, M. D.; to Chief Factor Ar- 

 chibald McDonald; and to Messrs. Colin Thomson, George Descham- 

 beault, Murdo MacLeod, Henry MacKay, and Angus McLean of the 

 Hudson's Bay Company. 



Should this 1)rief and far from perfect record of past achievements 

 by those mentioned therein, ha\'e the etl'ect of somewhat stimulating 

 the innate ardor of some of the younger men of the company's service, 

 and otJiei'K, to make renewed and more systematic efforts than their 

 predecessors, in the already referred to and much desired direction of 

 obtaining and contributing material toward the completion of the 

 natural history of the great Dominion of Canada, he will consider 

 himself well repaid for the time, labor, and attention which he has 

 here and formerly given to the interesting and important subject in 

 question. 



4. 



Statement of fur returnti for the Xorfhern Department for outfit 1865. 



