the Hudson Bay Company
sent its supplies, and received its furs in return, by way of the
Arctic Ocean and Hudson's Bay. There are only two months in the year
in which a ship can enter or leave Hudson's Bay. A ship sailing
from London in January, enters the Bay in August. When the cargo is
delivered at York Factory, at the mouth of Nelson's River, it is
too late in the season to send the goods to the great lakes of
Northwestern America, where the trading posts are located. In the
following May the goods are forwarded. They go by canoes where the
river is navigable, and are carried on the backs of men around the
frequent and sometimes long rapids. The journey requires three months.

The furs purchased with these goods cannot be sent to York Factory
until a year later, and another year passes away before they leave
Hudson's Bay. Thus, returns for a cargo were not received in London
until four years after its shipment from that port.

Since American enterprise took control of the carrying trade, goods
are sent from London to Fort Garry by way of New York and St. Paul,
and are only four months in transit. Four or five months will be
required to return a cargo of furs to London, making a saving of three
years over the old route. Stupid as our English cousin sometimes shows
himself, he cannot fail to perceive the advantages of the new route,
and has promptly embraced them. The people of Minnesota are becoming
well acquainted with the residents of the country on their northern
boundary. Many of the Northwestern politicians are studying the policy
of "annexation."

The settlement at Pembina, near Pembina Mountain, lies in Minnesota, a
few miles only from the international line. The settlers supposed they
were on British soil until the establishment of the boundary showed
them their mistake. Every year the settlement sends a train to
St. Paul, nearly seven hundred miles distant, to exchange its
buffalo-robes, furs, etc., for various articles of necessity that the
Pembina region does not produce. This annual train is made up of "Red
River carts"--vehicles that would be regarded with curiosity in New
York or Washington.

A Red River cart is about the size of a two-wheeled dray, and is
built entirely of wood--not a particle of iron entering into its
composition. It is propelled by a single ox or horse, generally the
former, driven by a half-breed native. Sometimes, though not usually,
the wheels are furnished with tires of raw