The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-03-05


say to you that as we all go to build
up this great state and everything rad.
iates from our great state capitol, that
there Is no room for envy, no hatred,
but only love of the people of a COM
mon state for their great state capitol.
HUDSON BAY COMPANY.
j. H. Buck Tells an Interesting Story
Of Its History
The Hudson Bay company, Mr.. Buck
sketches the early history of the COM
pany, which is practically the early
history OF Canada, and said that it's
influence had been both good and bad,
both for its agents and servants and
for the Indians who were yielding
inch by inch to a civilization they
neither adopted, understood or de-
sired. Chartered by Charles II, Off
cered by princes in England, served
and made rich by the struggles. of
small but brave band of followers in
the wilds of an unknown country,
making many of its stockholders veal
thy and again on the verge of bank
ruptcy, it is still salient feature of
Canada life.
The Hudson Bay company was or
ganized in London, England, in 1869,
practically as a competitor of the COM
pany Of the Hundred Associates of
France, which was doing fiourishing
trade with the Indians in Canada, bar
tering with them for furs, the beaver
principally. Two of the principal
Frenchmen interested in the Hundred
Association on this side made trip
to the forests and wilds of Wisconsin
and Minnesota, and returned to Mon
treal with sixty canoes laden with val
liable furs worth about 100000. One
OF them made two more trips back in
the wilderness and then started for
the Hudson Bay territory where
Henry Hudson died many years pre-
viously. 1t was twenty-five years
since white man had visited Hudson
Bay, and the voyage was made safely,
the party landing at the southern part
OF the bay which is really an inland
sea, as it contains 100000 square mil
es. Grcscillers, the leader in the adj
venture, decided to intercept the trade
with the Frenchmen at its source
and soon sent cargo Of valuable fur
skins to London and the King granted
petition from a charter to the Hud-
son Bay company. Things went along
fairly well until the Frenchmen re-
scented the interference of the English
and one Oberville, a young French
man from Montreal, formed an ex-
petition Of about eighty soldiers who
started on snow shoes and succeeded
In reaching Hudson Bay, capturing
the English forts and returning to
Montreal with 10000 beaver skins.
For many years there was constant
war between the French and English
fur companies, and fighting with the
Indians, which Mr.. Buck graphically
described. Fine forts were built, one
OF them, the Prince Of Wales, was in
its day the most strongly fortified
place on the continent with the ex-
ception Of Louisbourg. The history
OF the Hudson Bay company as a
whole is the history of the gradual
disappearance of game. The French
company devoted itself almost exclu-
sively to beaver skins, as the others
were too heavy to carry so many miles
to Montreal, but the Hudson Bay COM
pany took everything the Indians
brought that was salable. Two hun
dred years ago buffalo were numerous
as Tar east as the Saguenay river, but
today are hardly to be found in Amer
lea. The Indians can kill ten times
as much game with their Winchester
rifles as they could with their bows
and arrows. and the end of the big
game will come some day. In 1742 the
two forts at York and Churchill took
In upwards of $4,000 beaver skins and
5000 martens. That was no more
than an average year. For years the
company paid 200 per cent on it's
stock. One year $4,000 worth of
hatchets, knives and blankets were
sent out to Hudson Bay and were ex-
changed for $4,000 worth of furs. In
1872 upwards of $50 trading posts
were in furnishing condition. The
company claimed to own all the coun-
try in which 1t operated, but was driv-
en- in 1870 to concede to Canada it's
sovereignty although it was allowed
to hold and still holds from its origi-
nal charter an aggregate of over So
600 acres of land around its forts,
some of 1t valuable, but most of it
worthless. The price paid for the
transfer was $1,500,000.
Almost every page of the company's
history is full of romance. The old
trails of the little bands in the early
days of the company are still visible
and the descendants Of those who were
prominent in the company's early his
tory are now the foremost men in
Canada.
Self-made men nearly always make
loud noise when they talk.
A silver dollar isn't very heavy, but
some men find It difficult to raise.