Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal 321 



An earlier traveller had described the territory as ' ' with- 

 out almost any vegetation, scarcely a tree, shrub or plant 

 to be seen, except a few dwarf willows and great patches 

 of lichens." Here he spent thirteen quiet years, but 

 uneventful though they seemed, the manner in which 

 they were passed affords a key to his subsequent marvel- 

 lously successful life. Most of his time, of course, was 

 taken up with trading with the Indians, who brought 

 furs to the posts. But he had a great deal of leisure 

 time on his hands, which he filled up with canoeing, 

 boating, and shooting and fishing for recreation in sum- 

 mer. The long nights of the eight months ' winter, when 

 the thermometer often reached 50° below zero, he em- 

 ployed in reading, with an occasional journey on snow- 

 shoes or on dog-sledges to outlying parts of the territory 

 adjoining the main stations of the company. On one 

 occasion, it is stated, that he ventured on a winter jour- 

 ney all the way to Montreal, to seek medical treatment 

 for an affection of the eyes, without leave of the gover- 

 nor, but was brusquely sent back with a reprimand to 

 the vacant post of duty, encountering untold hardships 

 on the way. The life spent so largely in the open air, 

 and all the exercises which he underwent in his early 

 manhood contributed to build up the rugged frame and 

 to knit compactly the muscles of the man as he was 

 known in after years. His splendid physique was a fit 

 instrument for the very capable intellect which it em- 

 bodied. Most young men in his circumstances would 

 have succumbed to ennui and quitted the monotonous 

 life he was compelled to live ; but Donald, the name 

 which he was reluctant to relinquish when made a peer, 

 the name by which he was endeared to his mother while 

 she lived, and which he loved to hear from the lips of 

 Lady Strathcona to the end, found delightful and profit- 

 able occupation in the library which the company had 

 stocked with standard works on every subject. He not 

 only read the books but digested their contents very 

 thoroughly, and thus developed the well furnished mind 



