his time sufficiently weary. Right
willingly did they go down to the landing to see the Indians off. No
sooner had these taken their places in the canoes and paddled a few
strokes away than the grandmother remembered that she had a present for
the Factor and his wife. All paddled back again, and the Factor and
his wife were each presented with a pair of moccasins. No, she would
not take anything in return, at least, not just now. To-morrow,
perhaps, when they came to say good-bye.

"Losh me! I thocht they were aff an' gane," exclaimed the trader as he
turned and strode up the beach.

I inwardly laughed, for any man--red, white, black, or yellow--who
could make such a hard-headed old Scotsman as Donald Mackenzie loosen
up, was certainly clever; and the way old Oo-koo-hoo made off with such
a lot of supplies proved him more than a match for the trader.

THE BEST FUR DISTRICTS

While we were at supper a perfect roar of gun shots ran around the bay
and on our rushing to the doorway we saw the Inspector's big canoe
coming. Up went the flag and more gun shots followed. Then we went
down to the landing to meet Inspecting Chief Factor Bell.

After supper the newcomer and the Factor and I sat before the fire and
discussed the fur trade. I liked to listen to the old trader, but the
Inspector, being the greater traveller of the two, covering every year
on the rounds of his regular work thousands upon thousands of miles,
was the more interesting talker. Presently, when the subject turned to
the distribution of the fur-bearing animals, Mr. Bell took a case from
his bag and opening it, spread it out before us upon the Factor's desk.
It was a map of the Dominion of Canada, on which the names of the
principal posts of the Hudson's Bay Company were printed in red.
Across it many irregular lines were drawn in different-coloured inks,
and upon its margins were many written notes.

"This map, as you see," remarked the Inspector, "defines approximately
the distribution of the fur-bearing animals of Canada, and I'll wager
that you have never seen another like it; for if it were not for the
records of the Hudson's Bay Company, no such map could have been
compiled. How did I manage it? Well, to begin with, you must
understand that the Indians invariably trade their winter's catch of
fur at the trading post nearest their hunting grounds; so when the
annual returns of all the posts are sent in to the Company's
headquarters,