Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-04-25
THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY
THE GREAT FUR-TRADyNa COM
GERM OF THE NoRTHwEsTs I
Lite at ~ EOst-Tho Discipline Main,
tanned gherc--A Aumdruus Exist
eucc iIc Winter

tstttCN hthGEG--fk IAuIntIruIn tIXt4LI
eucc Inv Winter.
Life Mt post OF the great tur-trsding
concern, the Hudson Bay Company, is at
best rather dull and humdrum affair
Tho Indians are now entirely under con-
troll, and time is apt to hang heavily upon
the hands of tho garrison. which may
consist of from two to half hundred
mcn-accortling to- whether the post is a
central depot of supplies, u permanent
fort, or merely an isolated stockadc for
the accumulation of provisions and pol |
tries for the use of larger forts. But
whatever may he the character of tho
establishment, certain amount of dis
ciplinc is carefully maintained, and an
observer could hardly fail to be struck
with the prompt obedience shown to
some mere STRIPPING of clerk by the
grizzlcd, weather beaten voyagcurs and
laborers under his control
The day begins with breakfast, which
is usually ut q o'clock in winter, and an
hour earlier in summer, although the
higher officials may prolong their morn,
ing nap little, if they feel inclined !!
There is an officers mcs, and sorvants1
mess, the latter drawing rations at rcgu,
lnr intervals, and having them cooked by
one OF their number set apart for tho
purpose. The officers by no means re-:
gard lightly tho pleasures Of tho table, |,
md great care is taken to keep tho lardcr
well stocked. Thcir fare is, Of course,
conliucli largely to such wild game and
fish as the country round about affords,
but the supply isnbundnni, and the variety
extensive. Buffalo hump-now, Mas,
little more than tender, juicy memory
moose -mulllc, trcmulous and Opaque as II
vegetable conserve, beaver tnil, unctnous
md satisfying, vcnison hnunch and savo-
ry duck, crimson salmon and snowy
| whitciish--onc does not soon tire of such
viands as these, especially when they arc
prepared by French cooks. Tho hours
Of business at tho forts during tho sum
mcr season nro from nine to six, with n
break at MONDAY for dinner; and If tho
post he an important one, there Is plenty
of animation and bustlc, but no undue
haste, II careful attention TO details being
never forgotten. Tho Indians, in bands,
upon horseback, or singly upon foot, pre-
! rent themselves with furs to trade. Tho
! voyageurs arc hard mt work londing with
bales Of costly furs the bouts lying in tho
river, or 'lnlondng them of thcgoods they
have brought Brigadcs of bonts destined
for more distant points pause for n few
days or hours 10 exchange tho news and
take a little breathing spell; while now
and then the arrival of the district in
spcctor or some other important 0lllcinl,
with his train of servants, crcntcs SEN
sation that only subsidies with his depart
urc for another station.
All summer long II Hudson's bay Of
flccr's lot is rather hnppy one, which
many n cribbcd, cabincd and confined
city dwcllcr might envy; for in the inter
walls of work there are hunting, fishing,
booting, swimming, and other athletic
pursuits TO be enjoyed in tho finest climate
in tho world 1t is whom the long winter
comes, and tho whole world around is
buried beneath II fall of snow from three
to thirty feet deep, TINT the utmost in
gcnuity is needed TO drive dull cnnui
nwny. The cold is intense, yet not un-
bcarablc, owing TO dryncss of the atmos-
phorc. Not II step can be taken except
on snow-shocs. A silence as Of death
''''' 'l'Oh iHtNHOt NV u OIlu btllRb
in the lcailess trees, not n creature stirs
within the range of vision; "thc waters
are hid as with n stone, and the face of
the deep is frozen" and tho warm, cozy
mess room Of the fort possesses attractions
not 80 evident in the glorious days of
midsummer. Then are the men thrown
upon their own resources for entertain
mcnt, and whether tho hours pass brightly
or heavily will depend upon themselves.
There is very little work to bc done. The
fnrs have to he sorted, looked to frc-
qncntly, and packed in readiness for the
coming of spring; and visits may bc cx-
changed with tho nearest fort Those
who like to dnbblc in ink have now fine
opportunity to write up their diaries; and
others, with taste for natural history,
can amusc themselves in mounting and
preserving specimens; while the studiously
inclined can follow their favorite lines of
study. WU
The northern mail starts out from
Winnipeg carly in December. 1t consists
Of two ormore toboggans drawn by dogs,
and laden with strong wooden boxes in
which is placed an astonishing amount
ol Hiait mutLcr. proceeding nS 1ar us
possible along the frozen bosoms of the
lakes and rivers, the train rushcs north
ward ut tho rate of forty miles day, the
drivers on snow shoes easily keeping
pace with the well-broken dogs, OF
which four are harnessed to each tobog-
gan, until Fort Carlton, in the Saskntch-
evan Valley, is reached. Here the entire
mail is overhauled and repackcd, branch
packets being sent off east and west,
while tho main packet continues ever
northward over the -billowed
plains, across the dcep-drifted valleys,
through the sigbing, shadowy forests,
diminishing steadily in bulk as fort after
fort is visited, until at last reduced to n
mere handful, that man might put in
his pocket, it reaches the end of it's Jour