The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-04-06

only half century, but the whole O.
their lives among the aborigines, some
times from choice and sometimes from
necessity. But what / refer to is not a
person, but only a common piece OF
foolscap paper with writing upon it,
and the strange part of the story con-
nected Herewith.
should qualify that, for it's not a
story, but fact, and an incident hard
ly paralleled by fiction.
The paper alluded to was written
and given to the chief of the Skeena
River Indians by an officer of the Hud-
sons Bay company in 1912, and was re-
turned to the man that wrote it, ex-
actly fifty years after, by the present
governor of the Hudson's Bay COM
pany, at the Windsor hotel. in the city
of Montreal.
1t was at banquet given to the as
sembled officers of the company who
had met in Montreal for the holding of
the usual yearly council, and Mr. Camp
bell, the writer of the paper alluded
to, was an invited guest. Mr.. Camp
bell had long since retired from active
service, and had made his home for his
declining years near the beautiful city
OF Victoria, Vancouver's Island; and he
was then, during the last day of the
council, passing through Montreal ON
his way home from Scotland, where he
had paid, as he said, his last visit to his
native land.
Some of those assembled at the pen-
erous board of the Windsor he had !
known as young man just entering the
service, and now they were men past |
the prime of life, some of them, in
deed, could be classed as old men.
These, as have said, he had known
years ago filling unimportant positions
In the company, and now in Montreal
ne met them as men directing the DO
litical economy of this vast trading
corporation, the oldest commercial
body in the world; for in this good year
IT our Lord, 1892, it had had its trading
in existence for two hun
ired and twenty-five years. It's estab-
lshments are to be found from the
labrador in the east to the Pacific in
ne west, and from the rivers falling
INTO the st. Lawrence on the south to
ar up within the arctic circle in the
orth.
Mr. Campbell told us that evening.
yer the wine, many strange romances
his first coming to Canada. saw
TRANCE, because it appears so to us
owadays when we are used to seeing
lrge ocean steamers landing their
assengers at our docks and the trans
ontinental railway trains that carry
to the Pacific with such comfort and
,eed.
de spoke Of his passage from Quebec
Montreal on steamboat of such
mited power that oxen had to tow her
the st. Mary's current to the post.
mad then embarked in canoes. &c
AIMED by Iroquois, that took three M
onths to reach Fort Garry, where the V'
" OF winnipeg now stands. &C
Truly this was man of the past. ~
OUR governor, at this juncture, drew Id
folded paper from his pocket and. ul
dressing the old gentleman, said: su
Mr.. Campbell, perhaps you are not cl'
rare that at the commencement of OF
IT year the company decided to re- ST.
en- the Slseena River district, and SD
1t Mr.. McFarlain 70 make his head pr
arters at Hazleton. Mr.. McFarlain, ia,
'rtly after reaching there, received
paper hold in my hand from the wa
ang chief, and sent it to me as a ma
'iosity. AS it was written by you. 20
nost to day. half century ago, bir
lslder l cannot do better than to re- OF
n it to your own hands," sid
With that he leaned across the table ito
presented it to the old factor with In
bO,