298 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



contains on an average fourteen bear, sixty otter, seventy 

 beaver, one hundred and ten fox skins, or six hundred muskrat 

 skins. A pack of assorted furs contains about eighty skins and 

 the most valuable ones are placed in the centre. 



During the next few days the great "North" or six-fathom 

 canoes — made of birch bark and capable of carrying from three 

 to four tons of freight in addition to their crews of from eight to 

 twelve men — were brought out of the canoe house, and to- 

 gether with the two new ones, had their bows and sterns 

 painted white in readiness for their finishing touch of decora- 

 tion in the way of some symbol of the fur trade. 



As the principal Indian canoemen, who were to join the Fur 

 Brigade, were already familiar with my ability as an artist, 

 they waited upon the Factor and requested him to solicit 

 my help in the final decorating of those beautiful canoes. So 

 it came to pass that on the bow of one a leaping otter appeared 

 and on the bows of others, a rearing bear, a flying goose, a 

 rampant caribou, a galloping fox, a leaping lynx, a rampant 

 moose, and on still another the coat-of-arms of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company. Each in turn had its admirers, but Oo-koo- 

 hoo, who was to have charge of all the voyageurs, sidled up to 

 Factor Mackenzie and whispered that if Hu-ge-mow — Master 

 — would let him take his choice of the canoes, he would not 

 only give the Factor a dollar in return for the privilege, but he 

 would promise to keep that particular canoe at the very head 

 of the whole brigade, and never once allow another canoe to 

 pass it during the voyage. 



The Factor was not only interested in the Indian's apprecia- 

 tion of art, as well as amused over the idea that he would 

 accept a bribe of a dollar, but he was curious to know which 

 canoe the Indian most favoured. It was the one that displayed 

 the Great Company's coat-of-arms; so Oo-koo-hoo, the famous 

 white-water-man, not only won his choice and retained his 

 dollar, but furthermore, he and his crew actually did keep 



