MAMMALS OF NORTHEEN CANADA 273 



The foregoing fur statement was extracted from Arch- 

 bishop Tache's '' Sketch of North-Western America," 1868. 

 It was furnished to him by Chief Factor William Mactavish, 

 of Fort Garry, at that time the resident governor of the 

 Hudson's Bay Company in Canada 



The other departments (western, southern, and Mont- 

 real) of the service contributed the quantities of furs and 

 peltries lacking in this statement and the totals of same as 

 sold in London. It may, however, be said, that the Com- 

 I'any's trade year or outfit begins on June 1 and ends on 

 May 31, following, so that the 1865 returns in question 

 reached England in the fall of 1866, and were only disposed 

 of in the months of January and March, 186Y. Previous 

 to the introduction of steam in Athabasca (1884) and Mac- 

 kenzie Eiver (1886), the trade of Fort Yukon (abandoned 

 1870) was two years later in getting to market; for instance, 

 that of 1865 reached La Pierre's House in the summer of 

 1866, and was conveyed by dog trains to Fort McPherson 

 the following winter. In 1867 the returns were forwarded 

 by York boat to Fort Simpson, and thence shipped in 1868 

 to London hj way of Portage la Loche and York Factory, 

 Hudson Bay, where they were duly sold in 1869. La 

 Pierre's House (abandoned 1891) and Fort McPherson 

 returns occupied one year less in transit. ISTow, however, 

 the entire trade of the Mackenzie Piver district gets to mar- 

 ket as early as that of any other part of the North-West 

 Territories. In making estimates or comparisons between 

 one or more trade years or outfits, it would be well to re- 

 member these relative facts. 



The immense northern departments of the Hudson's Bay 

 Company may be briefly described as comprising the country 

 extending from the international boundary in latitude 49° 

 north to the shores of the polar ocean in latitude 70° north, 

 a distance of some 1,500 miles. Its longitudinal breadth 

 ranges from 92° to 122° and 141° west, and may average be- 

 tween 1,100 and 1,200 miles. The trading-posts and stations 



