roduced a race of half-breeds who were
especially successful in securing furs. The cession of Canada to England
was a severe blow to the French traders, as it opened the country to the
enterprise of the English, a few of whom were quick to avail themselves
of its advantages. The French and Indians at first regarded them with
hostility, but gradually became reconciled to their presence.

Under the French rule the savages had not been furnished with liquors,
but the English soon sold whisky and rum in great quantities to them,
receiving the best furs in return. As a consequence, intemperance spread
rapidly among the savages, and threatened to put an end to their
industry as gatherers of furs. To check the evil results of this
irregular trading, a company was established in 1785, called the
North-west Company. It was managed by twelve partners, some of whom
resided at Montreal, and others at the trading posts in the interior.
Their chief station was at Fort William, on Lake Superior. Here, at
stated times, the agents would come up from Montreal and hold a
consultation for the purchase of furs. These meetings always drew crowds
of French and Indian trappers, boatmen, and others, who brought in large
quantities of skins.

A few years later a third company was organized, with its principal
station at Michilimackinac, near Lake Huron. It was called the Mackinaw
Company, and its field of operations was the country bordering Lake
Superior, and that lying between the Mississippi and the Rocky
Mountains. The company was English, but did not hesitate to operate in
American territory, so little regard did Great Britain pay to the rights
of the infant republic.

"Although peace had been concluded, the frontier forts had not been
given up. Oswego, Niagara, Detroit, Michilimackinac, and other posts
were still in the hands of the English. The Indian tribes continued
hostile, being under English influence. No company had as yet been
formed in the United States. Several French houses at St. Louis traded
with the Indians, but it was not until 1807 that an association of
twelve partners, with a capital of forty thousand dollars, was formed at
St. Louis, under the name of the Missouri Company.

"The trade, it will thus be seen, was almost wholly in the hands of the
English companies--the Hudson's Bay Company in the north, the North-west
Company in the Canadas, the Mackinaw Company in the territories of the
United States--and the few Amer