268 THEOUGH THE MACKENZIE BASIN 



their entire yearly collection is obtained from Alaska and 

 other suitable sections of the United States of America. The 

 Lampsons' share of the foregoing summary statement would 

 therefore be subject to the following estimated outside ot 

 Canada reductions: Many of the (badgers, bears, beavers, 

 ermines, fishers, blue and cross foxes, and all of the 31,597 

 gray, a large proportion of the silver and white, with upwards 

 of three-fifths of the red foxes, and many also of the white 

 foxes, lynxes, and martens; fully three-fifths of the minks; 

 more than two-thirds of the musquash; an important quota 

 of the otters and rabbits; all of the 3,517 sables; some of 

 the dry-hair seals; fourteen-fifteenths of the skunks, and a 

 fair share of the wolves and wolverines. 



We find 57 swan skins in the above summary, and they 

 no doujbt belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company. Although 

 no skins of Olor columhianas or 0. buccinator appear in 

 their fur catalogues for 1897, 1900, 1902, or 1903, yet for 

 many years they never failed in having quite a number of 

 swan skins for sale in London. From 1853 to 1877 they 

 sold a total of 17,671, or an average of nearly 707 skins a 

 year. There were seven good years (1853 to 1856, 1861, 

 1862 and 1867), with sales ranging between 985 and 1,312 

 in 1854 (maximum), and seven poor years (1870 to 1877), 

 with returns varying between 338 and the minimum (122) 

 irt 1877. From 1858 to 1884, inclusive, Athabasca District 

 turned out 2,705 swan skins, nearly all of them from Fort 

 Chipewyan. Mackenzie River District, according to a state- 

 ment in my possession, supplied 2,500 skins from 1863 to 

 1883. From 1862 to 1877 Fort Resolution, Great Slave 

 lioke, contributed 798 thereof. For 1889 Athabasca traded 

 but 33, as against 251 skins in 1853. In 1889 and 1890 

 Isle a la Crosse, headquarters of English River District, sent 

 out two skins for each outfit 



2. 



The wording of the Corporation's commission is almost 

 unknown outside of the service, and the copying herein of the 



