Canada and the States Part 16

The system of trade was simple barter. The equivalent of value was beaver skins; while skins of less value were again calculated as so much of each for one beaver. A kettle was exchanged for one beaver. A pound and a half of gunpowder, one beaver. One blanket, six beavers.

Two bayonets, one beaver. Four fire-steels, one beaver. One pistol, four beavers. Twelve needles, one beaver. One four-foot gun, twelve beavers. Three knives, one beaver, and so on over a long list of various articles. Some of the things exchanged nearly 130 years ago, show that the Indians had a good knowledge of trade, and of objects used by civilised people. For example; brandy (English), one gallon, four beavers. Vermilion, one and a half ounces, one beaver; and combs, egg-boxes, files, gla.s.ses, goggles, handkerchiefs, hats (laced), hawk- bells, rings, scissors, spoons, s.h.i.+rts, shoes, stockings, and thimbles.

The factors were accused of imposing upon the Indians by using defective weights and measures; and it was said that the doubtful profit thus made, in opposition to the standards sent out from England, was called the "overplus-trade."

In the year 1748, the forts and settlements of the Hudson's Bay Company "in the Bay" were:--

_Lat.i.tude_

Moose Fort 51 28 Henley House, or Fort 52 The East Main House 52 10 Albany Fort 52 18 York Fort 57 10 Prince of Wales' Fort 59

This limited occupation contrasts in a marked manner with the area of posts, all over the continent, at this later date; see a list at pp.

222-226, and a map in front of this volume.

The skins and other articles imported, and sold at the Company's warehouse, in the City of London, by the "inch of candle"--a mode of auction common in those days (under which the bidding went on till the inch of lighted wax, candle went out)--fluctuated in the ten years between the years 1739 and 1748 very much. In that period the highest and lowest prices were for:--

L s d L s d_ Beaver (per lb ) 0 7 101/4 0 5 3 Martin (per skin) 0 6 8 0 5 11/4 Otter " 0 13 6 0 5 5 Cat " 0 18 0 0 10 101/4 Fox " 0 11 71/4 0 6 71/4 Wolverines " 0 7 0 0 5 5 Bear (per skin) 1 6 71/2 0 12 101/4 Mink " 0 4 8 0 2 0 Wolves " 0 18 11 0 9 01/4 Woodshock " 0 12 0 0 8 0 Elk " 0 11 7 0 6 1 Deer " 0 0 9 0 2 01/4 Bed feathers (per lb ) 0 1 41/4 0 1 0 Castorum " 0 13 21/4 0 6 1 Ivory " ---------- 0 0 61/4 Whale Fins " 0 2 9 0 1 101/4 Wesakapupa " 0 2 4 0 0 61/4 Whale Oil (per tun) 18 13 0 10 1 0 Goose quills (per 1,000) 0 18 0 0 11 7

"Ivory" only appears once, viz. in the sale of 1738-9. This article may have been, simply, bones of the whale; and "whale oil" only appears four times in the ten years quoted.

The report of Lord Strange's Committee quotes many quaint and solid instructions, as well in times of war as of peace, to the governors and agents on the Bay. A letter from London, dated 10th May, 1744, says, "The English and French having declared war against each other, and the war with Spain still continuing, we do hereby strictly direct you to be always on your guard and to keep a good watch; and that you keep all your men as near home as possible. We do hereby further direct that you cut away all trees, hedges, bushes, &c., or any other cover for an enemy; and lay all level and open round the factory, further than cannon shot, which we compute to be a mile; in order to hinder the enemy from attacking you unawares, and from being sheltered from the factory's guns. But you are to keep up, and repair, your palisadoes, for your defence." ... "You are to fire point blank upon any s.h.i.+p, sloop, or vessel that shall come near the factory, unless they make the true signal, and answer yours. The letter proceeds to offer 30_l_.

to the widow or children of any man killed in defence of the factory; to every one who should lose a leg, or an arm, 30_l_. Compensation to men receiving smaller wounds; and especial reward to such of the "chiefs, officers, and common men" as might specially distinguish themselves.

The 18th paragraph of this remarkable letter says: "In case you are attacked at Henley House, and, notwithstanding a vigorous resistance, you should have the misfortune to be overpowered, then you are to nail up the cannon, blow up the house, and destroy everything that can be of service to the enemy, and make the best retreat you can to the factory."

Grand old London merchants, these!

CHAPTER XIII.

_The Hudson's Bay Posts--to-day_.

In their Report of 28th June, 1872, the Governor and Committee report the details of the varied posts from Ocean to Ocean of the Hudson's Bay Company, as follows:--

_Statement of Land belonging to the HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY, exclusive of their claim to one-twentieth of the Land set out for settlement in the "Fertile Belt," or the district coloured green in the accompanying Map [in front of this volume]_.

---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Acres District | Post | of | | Land ---------------------------------------------------------------- LAKE HURON | 1 | La Cloche | 6,400 TEMISCAMINQUE | 2 | Kakababeagino | 10 SUPERIOR | 3 | Long Lake | 10 UNITED STATES | 4 | Georgetown | 1,133 MANITOBA, or }| 5 | Fort Garry | 500 RED RIVER SETTLEMENT }| 6 | Lower Fort | 500 }| 7 | White Horse Plains | 500 MANITOBA LAKE | 8 | Oak Point | 50 PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE | 9 | | 1,000 LAC LA PLUIE | 10 | Fort Alexander | 500 | 11 | Fort Frances | 500 | 12 | Eagles Nest | 20 | 13 | Big Island | 20 | 14 | Lac du Bennet | 20 | 15 | Rat Portage | 50 | 16 | Shoal Lake | 20 | 17 | Lake of the Woods | 50 | 18 | White Fish Lake | 20 | 19 | English River | 20 | 20 | Hungry Hall | 20 | 21 | Trout Lake | 20 | 22 | Clear Water Lake | 20 | 23 | Sandy Point | 20 SWAN RIVER | 24 | Fort Pelly | 3,000 | 25 | Fort Ellice | 3,000 | 26 | Qu'Appelle Lakes | 2,500 | 27 | Touchwood Hills | 500 | 28 | Shoal River | 50 | 29 | Manitobah | 50 | 30 | Fairford | 100 | | | c.u.mBERLAND | 31 | c.u.mberland House | 100 | 32 | Fort la Corne | 3,000 | 33 | Pelican Lake | 50 | 34 | Moose Woods | 1,000 | 35 | The Pas | 25 | 36 | Moose Lake | 50 | 37 | Grand Rapid Portage | 100 | | |50 Acres | | |at each | | |end of | | |Portage SASKATCHEWAN | 38 | Edmonton House | 3,000 | 39 | Rocky Mountain House | 500 | 40 | Fort Victoria | 3,000 | 41 | St Paul | 3,000 | 42 | Fort Pitt | 3,000 | 43 | Battle River | 3,000 | 44 | Carlton House | 3,000 | 45 | Fort Albert | 3,000 | 46 | Whitefish Lake | 500 | 47 | Lac la b.i.+.c.he | 1,000 | 48 | Fort a.s.siniboine | 50 | 49 | Lesser Slave Lake | 500 | 50 | Lac St Anne | 500 | 51 | Lac la Nun | 500 | 52 | St Albert | 1,000 | 53 | Pigeon Lake | 100 | 54 | Old White Mud Fort | 50 | | | ENGLISH RIVER | 55 | Isle a la Crosse | 50 | 56 | Rapid River | 5 | 57 | Portage da Loche | 20 | 58 | Green Lake | 100 | 59 | Cold Lake | 10 | 60 | Deers Lake | 5 | | | YORK | 61 | York Factory | 100 | 62 | Churchill | 10 | 63 | Severn | 10 | 64 | Trout Lake | 10 | 65 | Oxford | 100 | 66 | Jackson's Bay | 10 | 67 | G.o.d's Lake | 10 | 68 | Island Lake | 10 | | | NORWAY HOUSE | 69 | Norway House | 100 | 70 | Berens River | 25 | 71 | Grand Rapid | 10 | 72 | Nelson's River | 10 | | | ALBANY 73 | Albany Factory | 100 | 74 | Martin's Falls | 10 | 75 | Osnaburg | 25 | 76 | Lac Seul | 500 | | | EASE MAIN | 77 | Little Whale River | 50 | 78 | Great Whale River | 50 | 79 | Fort George | 25 | | | MOOSE | 80 | Moose Factory | 100 | 81 | Hannah Bay | 10 | 82 | Abitibi | 10 | 83 | New Brunswick | 25 | | | RUPERT'S RIVER | 84 | Rupert's House | 50 | 85 | Mista.s.sing | 10 | 86 | Temiskamay | 10 | 87 | Woswonaby | 10 | 88 | Meehiskun | 10 | 89 | Pike Lake | 10 | 90 | Nitchequon | 10 | 91 | Kamapiscan | 10 | | | KINOGUMISSEE | 92 | Matawagauinque | 50 | 93 | Kuckatoosh | 10 | | | LABRADOR | 94 | Fort Nascopie | 75 | 95 | Outposts do. | 25 | 96 | Fort Chimo (Ungava) | 100 | 97 | South River, Outposts | 30 | 98 | George's River | 50 | 99 | Whale River | 50 |100 | North's River | 25 |101 | False River | 25 | | | ATHABASCA |102 | Fort Chippewyan | 10 |103 | Fort Vermilion | 500 |104 | Fort Dunvegan | 50 |105 | Fort St John's | 20 |106 | Forks of Athabasca River | 10 |107 | Battle River | 5 |108 | Fond du Lac | 5 |109 | Salt River | 5 | | | MCKENZIE RIVER |110 | Fort Simpson | 100 |111 | Fort Liard | 300 |112 | Fort Nelson | 200 |113 | The Rapids | 100 |114 | Hay River | 20 |115 | Fort Resolution | 20 |116 | Fort Rae | 10 |117 | Fond du Lac | 10 |118 | Fort Norman | 10 |119 | Fort Good Hope | 10 |120 | Peel's River | 10 |121 | Lapierre's House | 10 |122 | Fort Halkett | 100 ----------------------------------------------------------------

WESTERN DEPARTMENT

---------------------------------------------------------------- VANCOUVER'S ISLAND |123 | Victoria, including | | | Town Lots, about | 70 |124 | Esquimault (Puget's Sound | | | Company Land | 2,300 |125 | Uplands Farm | 1,125 |126 | North Dairy Farm | 460 | | | BRITISH COLUMBIA |127 | Fort Alexander | 100 |128 | Fort George | 100 |129 | Fraser's Lake | 100 |130 | Stuart's Lake | 100 |131 | McLeod's Lake | 100 |132 | Connolly's Lake | 100 |133 | Babine | 100 |134 | Chilcotin | 100 | | Five other places | 100 |135 | Fort Dallas | 50 |136 | Fort Berens | 50 |137 | Fort Shepherd | 100 |138 | Fort Simpson | 100 |139 | Salmon River | 50 |140 | Langley and Langley Farm | 2,220 |141 | Yale, sundry small blocks | |142 | Hope | 5 |143 | Kamloops | 1,976 |144 | Similkameen | 1,140 | | Barkerville ) | Town | | Quesnel ) | Lots ----------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER XIV.

_"Uncertain Sounds"_

I may ill.u.s.trate the consequences of vacillation and delay in the vigorous government of the Hudson's Bay territory, and in all distant parts of the Empire, by giving a verbatim copy of a Bill ordered to be "printed and introduced" in July, 1866, into the "House of Representatives" of the United States, at Was.h.i.+ngton, providing for relieving the Queen of her sovereign rights in the British territories between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The only excuse--an excuse far from valid for so monstrous a proposal--was that no one knew what the British Government were inclined to do; and at Was.h.i.+ngton no one believed that John Bull would "make a fight of it;" while everyone knew that if a similar Bill, with the object of enabling the Southern States to come under the dominion of the Queen, had been introduced into the British House of Commons, the United States Amba.s.sador "to the Court of St. James'" would have been recalled--to begin with. The British Amba.s.sador took no notice, made no remonstrance; but the advent of Mr.

Disraeli to power discouraged such outrages, and led in the following year to the pa.s.sing of the Act for Confederation. In printing this Bill, my object is to show the mischief, mischief which half-a-dozen times in my lifetime has placed before my countrymen the alternative of ignominious concessions or war between English-speaking people, of "uncertain sounds." It is essential to continued peace, trade and prosperity, that it should be known to all the world that the broad lands between the two great oceans are an integral part of the Empire; that they will never be parted with without a struggle, in which all our forces will be amply used; and that either invasion, or the insidious agitations which from time to time are hatched in the United States with an eye to rebellion, will be put down by force.

Here is this insulting doc.u.ment printed verbatim. I challenge the quotation of any similar outrage on the part of any civilized nation at peace with the Empire attacked:--

"[Printer's No., 266.

"39TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION.

"H. R. 754.

"IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

"JULY 2, 1866.

"Read twice, referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and ordered to be printed.

"Mr. BANKS, on leave, introduced the following Bill: "A BILL

"For the admission of the States of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada East, and Canada West, and for the organization of the Territories of Selkirk, Saskatchewan, and Columbia.

_"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress a.s.sembled_, That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and directed, whenever notice shall be deposited in the Department of State that the Governments of Great Britain and the Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Canada, British Columbia, and Vancouver's Island have accepted the proposition hereinafter made by the United States, to publish by proclamation that, from the date thereof, the States of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada East, and Canada West, and the Territories of Selkirk, Saskatchewan, and Columbia, with limits and rights as by this Act defined, are const.i.tuted and admitted as States and Territories of the United States of America.

"SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the following articles are hereby proposed, and from the date of the proclamation of the President of the United States shall take effect, as irrevocable conditions of the admission of the States of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada East, and Canada West, and the future States of Selkirk, Saskatchewan, and Columbia, to wit:

"ARTICLE I.

"All public lands not sold or granted; ca.n.a.ls, public harbors, light- houses, and piers; river and lake improvements, railway stocks, mortgages, and other debts due by railway companies to the provinces; custom-houses and post-offices, shall vest in the United States; but all other public works and property shall belong to the State governments respectively, hereby const.i.tuted, together with all sums due from purchasers or lessees of lands, mines, or minerals at the time of the union.

"ARTICLE II.

"In consideration of the public lands, works, and property vested as aforesaid in the United States, the United States will a.s.sume and discharge the funded debt and contingent liabilities of the late provinces, at rates of interest not exceeding five per centum, to the amount of eighty-five million seven hundred thousand dollars, apportioned as follows: to Canada West, thirty-six million five hundred thousand dollars; to Canada East, twenty-nine million dollars; to Nova Scotia, eight million dollars; to New Brunswick, seven million dollars; to Newfoundland, three million two hundred thousand dollars; and to Prince Edward Island, two million dollars; and in further consideration of the transfer by said provinces to the United States of the power to levy import and export duties, the United States will make an annual grant of one million six hundred and forty-six thousand dollars in aid of local expenditures, to be apportioned as follows: To Canada West, seven hundred thousand dollars; to Canada East, five hundred and fifty thousand dollars; to Nova Scotia, one hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars; to New Brunswick, one hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars; to Newfoundland, sixty-five thousand dollars; to Prince Edward Island, forty thousand dollars.

"ARTICLE III.

"For all purposes of State organization and representation in the Congress of the United States, Newfoundland shall be part of Canada East, and Prince Edward Island shall be part of Nova Scotia, except that each shall always be a separate representative district, and ent.i.tled to elect at least one member of the House of Representatives, and except, also, that the munic.i.p.al authorities of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island shall receive the indemnities agreed to be paid by the United States in Article II.

"ARTICLE IV.

"Territorial divisions are established as follows:--(1) New Brunswick, with its present limits; (2) Nova Scotia, with the addition of Prince Edward Island; (3) Canada East, with the addition of Newfoundland and all territory east of longitude eighty degrees and south of Hudson's Strait; (4) Canada West, with the addition of territory south of Hudson's Bay and between longitude eighty degrees and ninety degrees; (5) Selkirk Territory, bounded east by longitude ninety degrees, south by the late boundary of the United States, west by longitude one hundred and five degrees, and north by the Arctic circle; (6) Saskatchewan Territory, bounded east by longitude one hundred and five degrees, south by lat.i.tude forty-nine degrees, west by the Rocky Mountains, and north by lat.i.tude seventy degrees; (7) Columbia Territory, including Vancouver's Island, and Queen Charlotte's Island, and bounded east and north by the Rocky Mountains, south by lat.i.tude forty-nine degrees, and west by the Pacific Ocean and Russian America.

But Congress reserves the right of changing the limits and subdividing the areas of the western territories at discretion.

"ARTICLE V.

"Until the next decennial revision, representation in the House of Representatives shall be as follows:--Canada West, twelve members; Canada East, including Newfoundland, eleven members; New Brunswick, two members; Nova Scotia, including Prince Edward Island, four members.

"ARTICLE VI.

"The Congress of the United States shall enact, in favour of the proposed Territories of Selkirk, Saskatchewan, and Columbia, all the provisions of the Act organizing the Territory of Montana, so far as they can be made applicable.

"ARTICLE VII.