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, those returns accurately define the distribution of the
fur-bearing animals for that year. These irregular lines across the
map were drawn after an examination of the annual returns from all the
posts for the last forty years. Publish it? No, siree, that would
never do!"

But the Inspector's remarks did not end the subject, as we began
discussing the greatest breeding grounds of the various fur-bearers,
and Mr. Bell presently continued:

"The greatest centre for coloured foxes is near Salt River, which flows
into Slave River at Fort Smith. There, too, most of the black foxes
and silver foxes are trapped. The great otter and fisher centre is
around Trout Lake, Island Lake, Sandy Lake, and God's Lake. Otter