Chief Factor Thompson:

"Which is the more important, the summer or the winter mail?"

"Oh, the winter; for, when inward bound, it bears the Commissioner's
instructions to the district chief factors; and, when outward bound, it
contains information regarding the results and the progress of the
fur-trade, and orders for additional supplies."

"How many miles a day do the packeteers average on their winter trips?"

"Well," replied the Chief Factor, "I think the rate of speed maintained
by our packeteers is remarkable; especially when one considers the
roughness of the country, the hardships of winter travel, the fact that
the men must make their bread, cook their meals, care for their dogs,
and, when on the trail, cannot even quench their thirst without halting
to build a fire and melt snow. Yet the packeteers of the Mackenzie
River mail cover their two thousand miles on snowshoes at an average
rate of twenty-seven and a half miles a day, including all stoppages."

"That is certainly splendid travelling. Some of the packeteers, I
should judge, have made great records; haven't they?"

"Yes, that's true," acknowledged the trader, "the packeteers do make
great efforts to break records between posts. But, though they may
have succeeded in cutting down the time, their achievement is never
mentioned on the way-bill, nor does it affect the time allowed for the
completion of the trip; for, though the mail be brought in ahead of
time, it is never handed over to the relay until the appointed hour has
struck. Otherwise, the whole system would be thrown out of gear.