HUDSON'S BAY.00MPANY. This re markable trading,.company. Obtains its name from the great inland :sea which lies westward of Labrador in North Ameriea. , The countries which inclose ,Hudson's.Bay,sui all.sides con stitute .by far the .greateSt ..pertion of ,the Bri tish dominions. in North, America. The area cannot be given, as.considerable.tracts of the coast are still u_nknown; but it, Probably does riot. fall much short of 3,000,000 square miles. This immense country may be divided into four natural regions. The most eastern is the. Sterile Region, which lies along the shores of the sea,.and extends far. inland, The se cond, or Wooded Region, extends on both shores of James's.Bay, and along the southern shores of Hudson's Bay, as far :westward as Cape Churchill. It is generally well wooded, and produces fur-bearing animals. Beyond this is the ,Savannah.Region, which extends.to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and northward to the.Lake,of Athabasca and the Peace River: its surface stretches out in. extensive plains, intersected only by the beds of several rivers, which are considerably below the plains. The fourth region, the Mackenzie Valley, compre hends the country between the Sterile Region and the Rocky Mountains, north of Lake Athabasca.
The present wealth of the country consists in its animals, especially rein-deer, musk-ox, moose-deer or elk, other kinds of deer, bears, wolves, wolverines, foxes, beavers, otters, racoons, and several smaller animals. Iron, copper, and lead are known to exist, though not yet worked to any extent ; and coal has been found at various places, Vancouver's Is land being one. The settlements of the Hud son's Bay Company are divided into two dis tricts ; the southern comprehends the settle ments on the west coast of Labrador, together with the more numerous establishments in the countries inclosing James's Bay, and as far as the banks of the Albany River. The principal depot is at Moose Fort, near the mouth of Moose River. The northern dis trict comprehends all the others as far north as Fort Good Hope on the Mackenzie River, north of the Polar Circle. Its chief settle ment is York, on the Hayes River.
The circumstances which led to the esta blishment of a trading company in these re gions have been noticed under Funs ; Fun TRADE. Vancouver Island, on the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, was granted by the British government to the Hudson's Bay Com pany in August 1848.