away the snow. This operation over, the finer branches of the balsam
tree are laid upon the ground to a certain depth; then logs of dry
wood are placed at right angles to the feet at a proper distance, and
ignited by means of the "fire-works" alluded to. In such an encampment
as this, after a plentiful supper of half-cooked peas and Indian
corn--the inland travelling fare of the Montreal department--and a
day's hard walking, one enjoys a repose to which the voluptuary
reclining on his bed of down is a perfect stranger.

We reached our destination on the following day about noon, where we
found but little to recompense us for our journey. Both our own people
from the outpost and our opponents had already traded all the furs the
Indian had to dispose of, although his supplies at the Lake of Two
Mountains and at my post amounted to a sum that would have required
his utmost exertions to pay. We remained that night at his lodge, and
very early on the succeeding morning, started on our return. With the
exception of a couple of trips I made to the inland posts, nothing
disturbed the monotony of my avocations during the remaining part of
the winter. Petty traders swarmed all over the country; the posts
which were established in the interior to cope with them traded freely
with the natives, in order to secure their furs from competitors. Thus
the immense sacrifices which the Company had made to obtain a
monopoly, as they imagined, yielded them no advantage whatever; and
repeated defalcations on the part of the natives, induced them to
curtail their advances at their principal station. The natives,
however, found no difficulty in procuring their requisites in exchange
for their furs, either from the posts belonging to the Company in the
interior, or from the opposition; for they were, with few exceptions,
of the same character as the individual already alluded to.