44 TJic Home of tJic Wolverene and Beaver. 



But the days of feasting and relaxation are soon 

 over ; then the different detachments enter their 

 canoes and push up into the wilderness, each to 

 encounter the severity of the winter in the best 

 manner it can ; and there, until the welcome 

 spring removes from the rivers and watercourses 

 the seal set upon them by the ice king, these hardy 

 men remain, hunting and trapping themselves, 

 inciting the Indian tribes in their vicinity to do 

 likewise, and leading a life that, at its best, must 

 be regarded as one of terrible hardship. 



After the despatch of the wintering parties the 

 agents return to Montreal, paddled over the lovely 

 reaches of the Ottawa by their faithful French 

 Canadian boatmen, who venerate the Company as 

 an institution, and almost deify McClosky and his 

 colleague as the representatives of a body potent 

 for good or evil in the eyes of these simple fresh- 

 water sailors. 



Such is a brief sketch of the Montreal fur- 

 traders ; but meanwhile the Hudson's Bay Com- 

 pany were not idle, and instead of waiting, as 

 hitherto, for the Indians to come to their trading 

 places on the shores of the Bay, pushed outposts 

 in every direction towards the interior, and Jeft no 

 stone unturned to crush or oust their daring rival 

 the North-West Company. The United States 



