steamboat on Lake Winnipeg. Then there's the Liard River packet and
the Reindeer Lake packet. Each travels about five hundred miles by
dogs in winter and by canoe in summer. The Moose Factory packet from
Temiscamingue to James Bay goes by canoe in summer, but by men in
winter. All mails in and out from Hudson Bay or James Bay to or from
the next post in the interior, are hauled by men. Dogs are seldom used
on those routes, on account of the depth of the snow and the scarcity
of dog feed."

[Illustration: "There's the York Factory packet from Hudson Bay to
Winnipeg, a distance of seven hundred miles. In winter it is hauled by
dogs between Selkirk and Or ford House, but between the latter post and
York Factory it is hauled by men with toboggans. All mails in and out
from Hudson Bay to or from the next post in the interior are hauled by
men. Dogs are seldom used on those routes, on account of . . ." See
Chapter V.]

Though I well knew that packeteers did not carry firearms, I asked
Chief Factor Thompson--just for the sake of getting the truth from him
and giving it to the public:

"How does the Hudson's Bay Company arm their packeteers?"

"Arm them?" the Chief Factor laughed outright, "why, we always provide
them with an axe."

"Firearms, I mean."

"Firearms! Why, they aren't allowed to carry firearms at all. It's
against the rules and regulations of the Company. In the first place,