FURNESS ABBEY FUR-TRADE. 



485 



The castle was built of stone, and surrounded a 

 fair court, being itself encompassed by a double 

 moat. The great dining-room was well garnished 

 with pictures, the hall large and spacious, the lodg- 

 ings were goodly ; there was a convenient yard 

 for wood, large brewhouses, and a capacious barn. 

 On the south side the river Nene formed the moat, 

 and the inner moat was formed by the mill-brook. 

 The demolition of the castle by James was in- 

 tended to mark his indignation at the execution of 

 his mother. In 1787, when Mr Nicholls visited 

 the site, he remarked that " almost all the mate- 

 rials have been carried away, and even the founda- 

 tions dug up, for the purposes of building, and for 

 repairing the roads, causeways, and banks of the 

 river. The palace was situated on the south-east 

 side of the castle-hill, fronting the river that runs 

 below, commanding a most beautiful prospect over 

 the extensive meadows into the south. The porch, 

 or entrance, except a small fragment, has been 

 taken down within these few years. A farm-house 

 has been built on the spot occupied by the old 

 stables." Mr Nicholls says that the hall where 

 Mary was beheaded was on the first ascent, and 

 the keep on the second. There was an excellent 

 specimen of an old hostelry existing in 1787, which 

 was then still used as an inn. 



The village has not a population of three hun- 

 dred souls. The fair and market which it once 

 possessed have long ceased to attract sellers and 

 buyers. A nunnery which existed here was trans- 

 ferred at an early period to another place. In 1411 

 a college was begun for a master, twelve chaplains, 

 or fellows, eight clerks, and thirteen choristers. 

 Henry IV., and Edward, duke of York, who was 

 buried at Fotheringay, were the co-founders of this 

 institution, which was not dissolved until the 

 reign of Edward VI. As Lelaiid remarks of the 

 village "The glorie of it standeth by the paroch 

 church of a fair buildid and collegiated." It con- 

 tains an ancient stone pulpit and a fine font. 



FURNESS ABBEY, at one time an extensive 

 and important monastic establishment, which now 

 forms a series of splendid ruins. It is situated in 

 Lancashire, in the parish of Dallon in Furness, and 

 hundred of Lonsdale, distant from Ulverstone 

 seven and a half miles. The abbey was founded 

 by king Stephen, and was of the Cistercian order. 

 It rose high in rank and power, and its ruins are 

 to this day among the most splendid monuments 

 of architectural antiquity in the county. Profes- 

 sor Wilson has celebrated it in a poem of consider- 

 able extent, entitled, " An Evening in Furness 

 Abbey." 



FUR-TRADE. (.) The fur-trade of North 

 America has long been an extensive and lucrative 

 one. So early as 1670, a company was established, 

 termed the Hudson's Bay Company, which exists 

 under the same name to the present day, and has 

 always possessed a large share of the traffic. Nu- 

 merous other companies have sprung up from time 

 to time with the same views ; of which the North- 

 west, the North American, and the Columbian 

 companies, have been the most important and suc- 

 cessful. In all these establishments, the natives 

 are the principal collectors of the furs, which they 

 barter for arms, and such other commodities as civ- 

 ilized nations can alone manufacture. Only two 

 companies, properly speaking, now exist ; the Hud- 

 son's Bay Company having been of late years in- 

 corporated with the North-west one. The share- 

 holders of this establishment are almost all of them 



British merchants, resident in London. With re- 

 spect to the other companies, the North American 

 was composed of a body of New York merchants, 

 and the Columbian likewise was supported by the 

 inhabitants of the United States. The latter of 

 these companies confined its operations to the 

 Mississippi and St Peter's river, while the Ameri- 

 can company held possession of the trade on the 

 Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and the great lakes. 

 After existing separately for many years, these es- 

 tablishments were united, and still continue so. 

 The Hudson's Bay Company, again, as its name 

 implies, trades in the more northern regions of the 

 new world, occupying, with its numerous branches 

 and stations, the whole range of country between 

 the lakes and the arctic sea. Private adventurers, 

 and smaller firms, are to be found, besides, engaged 

 in many quarters in the fur trade, but it can only 

 be carried on efficiently by an enlarged combina- 

 tion both of men and capital. It is from this 

 cause, rather than from privileges and charters, 

 that the large companies have always enjoyed a 

 monopoly, which smaller associations, rising now 

 and then, could never disturb. 



The most noted of the numerous establishments 

 of the Hudson's Bay Company are Churchill Fort, 

 York Factory, and Moose Fort, on Hudson's Bay; 

 Fort William on Lake Superior; Norway House 

 on Lake Winipeg; various forts and houses on the 

 rivers which descend from the Rocky Mountains, 

 such as Carlton House on the north branch of the 

 Saskatchewan, Chesterfield House on the south 

 branch, and Cumberland House on the united or 

 main stream of the same river, which falls into 

 Lake Winipeg ; Fort Chipewyan on the Athabasca 

 Lake, from whence Mackenzie set out on his two 

 expeditions; Fort Resolution on Great Slave Lake; 

 and Forts Simpson, Norman, and Good Hope, on 

 the Mackenzie River ; the latter is the most north- 

 erly establishment, and is about 3800 miles from 

 Montreal. The furs, however, which are procured 

 at the most northern establishments are shipped 

 from Hudson's Bay. All the routes taken by the 

 fur-traders are chains of lakes and rivers, connected 

 by links of portages, some of them very toilsome 

 to the voyageurs, or French Canadian boatmen, 

 who must carry canoes and packages over them. 

 From Fort William on Lake Superior to Cumber- 

 land House the distance is 1018 miles; from Cum- 

 berland House to Fort Chipewyan, 840 miles; 

 from Fort Chipewyan to Fort Resolution on Great 

 Slave Lake is 240; the Mackenzie issues from 

 Great Slave Lake; the first fort on it, Fort Simpson, 

 is 338 miles from Fort Resolution ; the second, 

 Fort Norman, is 236 miles lower down than Fort 

 Simpson; and Fort Good Hope is 312 miles below 

 Fort Norman, or 886 miles from Fort Resolution. 

 Yet the clerks in charge of these forts (who are 

 mostly all Scotsmen) look upon each other as 

 neighbours. 



Lord Selkirk and Sir Alexander Mackenzie have 

 both left full descriptions, from personal observa- 

 tion, of the manner in which the details of fur- 

 dealing are conducted. During Sir Alexander's 

 connection with the trade in Canada, the North- 

 West Company were in the habit of penetrating to 

 the great distance of 4000 miles to the westward 

 of Montreal. In the service of the establishment, 

 were fifty clerks, seventy-one interpreters, and 

 1120 canoe men. A great number of these indi- 

 viduals were Indians, or half-breeds, and their 

 wives and children, who generally accompany the 



