The Esquimaux who inhabit the northern coasts of Hudson's Bayd- (to whom alone the following particulars apply.) seldom approach the Company's fort at Church hill River ; but a sloop is regularly sent to trade with them at Knapp's Bay, Navel's Bay, and Whale Covo. It is only since the middle of last century, that the Company's ser vants could venture to land among them, (partly, perhaps, because they were considered by the Esquimaux as the allies of their most inveterate enemies, the Northern In dians,) but they have of late become so much civilized, and reconciled to the Europeans, as readily to welcome their arrival, and to treat them with every mark of hospi tality. They have long been persecuted by their more powerful neighbours the Northern Indians with the most savage barbarity. No quarter is ever granted on either side ; and the strongest party never fails to massacre every creature of the vanquished, without sparing even the wo men and children. Of late years, however, the company's servants have extended their protection to the oppressed Esquimaux, and have succeeded in establishing a peace between the two nations, so far at least that parties and individuals of both tribes can meet each other in a friendly manner, or rather without any disposition to plot each other's destruction. But the more distant Esquimaux, who reside so far to the north as to have no intercourse with the Europeans, are still exposed and often fall a sacrifice to the fury of their enemies. They are tolerably well protected in winter by their remote situation ; and, in summer, they guard as much as possible against surprise, by residing chiefly on islands and peninsulas ; but with all these precautions, they arc often so harassed and closely pressed by their pursuers, as to be obliged to leave behind them those goods and utensils upon which they depend for procuring subsistence, and the loss of which they cannot replace without a great expense of time and labour. These more northern Esquimaux are of low stature and broad figure, but neither strong nor well proportioned. Their complexion is of a dirty copper colour, but some of their women arc considerably fairer. They have a sin gular custom which distinguishes them as a peculiar tribe, namely, that all the men have the hairs of their heads pulled out by the root ; but in most other respects, they resemble the Esquimaux of Hudson's Straits and Labra dore. Their arms and utensils, from the want of proper tools, are very inferior in workmanship to those of the more southern tribes of their nation; yet even with the im perfect instruments in their possession, many of their arti cles of furniture are formed and ornamented with wonder ful ingenuity, especially their stone kettles. They are made of a grey porous stone, of an oblong square shape, wider at the top than the bottom, with strong handles of solid stone left at each end, for the purpose of lifting them more conveniently, and are sometimes large enough to contain five or six gallons. They are all ornamented with neat mouldings around the rim, and occasionally with a kind of fluted work at the corners ; and all this is execut ed with no other instruments than such as are made of a harder kind of stone. Their arrows, spears, darts, &c. are generally pointed with a triangular piece of black stone, or sometimes a piece of copper. Their tools for wool work arc entirely of this metal, namely, hatchets, broad bayonets, and women's knives. The hatchets are made of a thick piece of copper, about five or six inches long, and from one and a half to two inches square, bevelled away at one end like a mortice chisel, and fastened at the other to a wooden handle about twelve or fourteen inches in length, so as to resemble an adze ; but they have neither weight nor sharpness to act like an adze or hatchet, and are generally applied in working like a chisel, being driven into the wood with a heavy club. The bayonets resemble an ace of spades, and are fastened to a handle of deer's horn about a foot long. During summer. they live in cir cular tents covered with deer skins, and employ them selves principally in fishing ; but in winter they occupy small huts, the lower half of which is sunk below the sur face of the earth, and the upper part formed with poles which meet at the top in a conical form. Those who re side near Churchhill river travel, in winter, from lake to lake, or from river to river, where they have magazines of provisions, and heaps of moss for fuel ; but as those stations are often far distant from each other, they fre quently pitch their tents on the ice, and cut holes in the ice within the tent, where they sit and angle for fish, which, for want of fire, they cat in a thanner alive as they come out of the water, and are altogether a miserable starv ing race of beings.
The original Hudson's Bay Company appear to have acted upon the most liberal and benevolent principles. Their instructions to their factors contain the most explicit directions, to use every mean in their power for reclaim. ing the Indians from a state of barbarism, and inculcating on their minds the principles of Christianity. They were, at the same time, admonished to trade with them equitably, and to take no advantage of their native simplicity ; to ex plore the country, and to study to derive such benefit from its soil and produce, as might redound to the interest of the mother-country, as well as to their own emolument ; to watch over the behaviour of the European servants, espe cially as to sobriety, temperance, and veneration for the services of religion. The chiel person in command at each settlement is called the governor of the fort, and some times there is one appointed to act under him, termed the second. These, with the surgeon and the master of the sloop attached to the place, constitute a council, who de liberate together in all matters of importance, or cases of emergency. The governors are appointed for a. period of 3 or 5 years, and have from 501. to 150/. per annum as fixed salary, with a premium upon the trade, which conse quently fluctuates according to its amount.* The labour ing servants, who are chiefly procured from the Orkney islands, are generally engaged for three, four, or five years, and, about twenty years ago, received six pounds per an num as wages, independent of maintenance. Their em ployments consist principally in carrying fuel, sledging the snow out of the avenues of the factory, and hunting. The company export muskets, pistols, powder, shot, brass and iron kettles, hatchets, knives, cloth, blankets, baize, flannels, gun worms, steels and flints, hats, looking-glasses, fish-hooks, rings, belts, needles, thimbles, glass-beads, vermilion, thread, brandy, Ste. with which they purchase from the na
tives skins, furs, whalebone, train oil, ivory, eider-down, Scc. The trade was understood, in its original flourishing state, to be the most profitable in the world ; and the pro prietors of the stock were generally supposed to gain about 2000 per cent. It has been denounced, however, as pro portionably detrimental to the mother-country ; and it has been affirmed, that, if laid entirely open, the number of per sons employed, and the quantity of wares exported, might easily be increased ten fold. The company are charged, at the same time, with transacting all their affairs with the greatest secrecy, and always spewing the utmost reluct ance to expose the details of their trade to public view. On the other hand, during a parliamentary inquiry into their proceedings in 1749, they produced documents to prove, that their profits were sufficiently limited, as ap pears from the following summary of their expenditure and returns, in the space of ten years, from 1739 to 1748, inclusive : The Company's establishments in the Bay, in the year 1790, may be seen at one view in the following Tahle.
In forming a standard of trade with the natives, the beaver skin is taken as the universal measure ; and a com parative valuation made of the other kinds of peltry, &c.
Out of this standard, however, which is in itsell suf ficiently hard upon the Indians, the factors are allow ed, for their own emolument, to raise a surplus-trade ; so that the natives often pay at the rate of one-third, or even one half, more than the preceding rates. In conse quence of this griping traftc, and the alleged supineness of the company, the trade has been gradually decreasing, the articles procured have been bringing a higher price at home. This is partly ascribed to the competition of the Canadian traders since 1773, who penetrate into the interior, and establish trading ports nearer the abodes of the natives, who often collect more skins than they are able to convey to the settlements on the coast, and are glad also to find a market without needing to seek it through a long and laborious journey. By these enterprising competitors under Mr Joseph Frobisher, the company's trade suffered so severely, that, in 1775, it fell short nearly one half of what it had been in 1774. They immediately commenced pursuit of the trade, by erecting trading houses in the interior. In 1775, they formed a settlement at Stur geon Lake, in north latitude 53° 56', and west longitude 15'; in 1793, their traders repaired to the south-east of Portage de Traite, among the Kuisteneaux, whom they term their home guards ; and, about the beginning of the present century, to Athabasca river, in north latitude 56° 42', among the Chepewyans. Since the establishment of these trading houses, which are maintained at a great ex pence, the Indians have in a great measure ceased to visit the factories on the coast of Hudson's Bay, which have thus become little better than storehouses for the articles of the trade. Still, however, in spite of these endeavours to secure the traffic of the natives, they have found the ad venturers from Canada in every respect an overmatch for their people in the business ; a circumstance for which it is difficult to account, when it is considered how much nearer to the Indian hunters is the residence of the Hud son's Bay traders, and in how much shorter a time they can procure a return upon their goods. The directors of the Company appear to have readily authorised their agents to pursue the inland trade since the encroachments of the Canadians, of which a proof may be adduced from the fol lowing manuscript notes in a copy of Mackenzie's Voy ages, by one of their factors at that period.* 64 When chief factor at York Fort, I sent inland several young men with the Indians, to observe the movements of the Canadian ad venturers. They found bands of them, with servants and coureurs des boil, pursuing the fur trade with more spirit than their predecessors the French. From that date, 1762 to 1764, 1 yearly sent inland, and repeatedly informed the directors of what was going forward. The Company's trade at York Fort increased for two or three years after the conquest of Canada ; but decreased after Findlay, Cur rie, &c. penetrated to Saskatchiwine river. Anno 1774, I advised the directors to establish settlements inland, with which they readily complied ; and have continued to do so at an enormous expence. I do affirm, the Company spare no cost to promote trade in every branch. This I say from my own experience, having been 26 years in their service, greater part of that time governor and chief factor ; and since I left the employment, have been highly honoured with their esteem, and application for advice on the sub ject. But our countrymen from Canada are bold adven turers, and far superior to the Company's servants : the former work for their own benefit, while the latter do not." " I repeatedly advised the Directors to prosecute the trade to Athabasca ; but the servants never would venture, mak ing as excuse, that they would be in want of food." The company, however, have been loudly and publicly charged with making only the most languid exertions, with failing from an ill-judged parsimony to animate their servants by adequate salaries, and with injudiciously employing in the carrying part of the inland trade the native Indians, who are so much less active than the Canadian servants, and who are thus withdrawn from their more profitable service as hunters. It has been affirmed, in short, that were they to prosecute the trade with spirit, the Canadian associations would be obliged to relinquish it entirely ; and it has been consequently urged, that so inefficient a monopoly should he thrown open to the exertions of the public. These charges, however, are made chiefly, and rather inconsist ently, by the rival fur traders from Canada, who have certainly been the greatest gainers by the reinissness of those from Hudson's Bay ; and who must be convinced, that, if the trade were thrown open, it would naturally be prosecuted rather through the more favourable stations on Hudson's Bay, than through the circuitous route of the St Lawrence. See Foster's History of Voyages and Discoveries in the .Yorth ; Hearne's Travels to the Northern Ocean ; Mac kenzie's Voyages through the Continent of North America ; Umfreville's State of Hudson's Bay ; and Long's Travels in Canada. (q)