318 On the Fur 2\ade, and Fur-bearing Animals. 



French seized it with avidity, and the English were not slow in avail- 

 ing themselves of this new source of wealth, brought to light by their 

 countryman. The advantage of water conveyance by the St. Law- 

 rence and its immense tributaries, and by the lakes, which like a 

 chain of inland seas, intersect the whole country from Lower Cana- 

 da to the head waters of the McKenzie, gave a ready access to the 

 deepest solitudes, which for thousands of miles had never been inva- 

 ded by the footsteps of civilized man. 



The French obtained a great amount of furs and peltry from their 

 trading posts on the St. Lawrence, and throughout the region near 

 the head waters of the Mississippi.* After they lost possession of 

 Canada in 1762, the trade fell principally into the hands of the Eng- 

 lish and Scotch. 



The Hudson's Bay Company was at first but a handful of private 

 adventurers. They were incorporated in 1670, but had neither the 

 capital nor the enterprise of the French, nor did they for many years 

 accumulate as large an assortment of furs. 



In 1775, Joseph Frobisher explored the region between Lake Su- 

 perior and Lake Winnipeg, from which country vast amounts of valr 

 uable furs were obtained. 



In 1783, another association called the North West Company, 

 was formed for the purpose of exploring and appropriating, if possi- 

 ble, the territory between Lake Winnipeg and the Rocky mountains. 

 McKenzie, one of the agents of this new company, discovered in 

 1793, the river which bears his name, and left to the geographer some 

 of the most valuable data respecting those then unknown regions. 



The avidity of trappers and fur traders on the American continent, 

 is by no means confined to foreign or incorporated companies. In- 

 dividuals and company adventurers, spread over the whole tract of 

 unsettled country, from Bhering's straits to the mouth of the Rio del 

 Norte, pursue the object through incredible hardships.' 



The Pacific Fur Company, established by Mr. Astor of New 

 York, for the prosecution of the trade on the Columbia river, was 



"\ * Peltries are skins merely dried as they come from the hands of the hunters. 



.' The same skins converted on the inner side into leather, by an aluminous process, 



■ without removing the fur, are called furs, and the art of dressing them is called fur- 



/ riery. In a stricter meaning, peltry comprises all skins covered with short hair, 



S such as the deer, elk, buffalo, &c. principally manufactured into leather. In a gen- 



1 eral sense, furriery includes all skins dressed into leather, with the hair or fur on. 



/ 't McKenzie's Journey to the Arctic Ocean. 



