phical knowledge of the
northern parts of the great region watered by the Coppermine, the Great
Fish--also called the Back,--and other streams which fall into the
Arctic Seas. As we glance at the map of this vast region, we still see
the names of the numerous posts where the servants of the fur companies
passed their solitary lives, only relieved by the periodical visits of
Indian trappers, and the arrival of the "trains" of dogs with supplies
from Hudson's Bay. Forts Enterprise, Providence, Good {384} Hope, and
Resolution are among the names of posts which tell in eloquent terms
the story of the courage, endurance, and hope that first planted them
throughout that solitary land.

It was on the banks of Red River, where it forms a junction with the
Assiniboine, that civilisation made the first effort to establish
itself in the illimitable domain of fur-traders, always jealous of
settlement which might interfere with their lucrative gains. The first
person to erect a post on the Red River was the elder Verendrye, who
built Fort Rouge about 1735 on the site of the present city of
Winnipeg. The same adventurer also built Fort La Reine at Portage La
Prairie. In 1811 an enterprising Scotch nobleman, the Earl of Selkirk,
who had previously made a settlement in Prince Edward Island, became a
large proprietor of Hudson's Bay stock, and purchased from the company
over a hundred thousand square miles of territory, which he named
Assiniboia. In 1812 he made on the banks of the Red River a settlement
of Highland Scotch and a few Irishmen. The Northwest Company looked
with suspicion on this movement of Lord Selkirk, especially as he had
such large influence in the rival company. In 1816, the employes of
the former, chiefly half-breeds, destroyed Fort Douglas and murdered
Governor Semple, who was in charge of the new Scotch settlement. As
soon as the news of this outrage reached Lord Selkirk, he hastened to
the succour of his settlement, and by the aid of some disbanded
soldiers, whom he hired in Canada, he restored order. Subsequently he
succeeded in {385} bringing to a trial at York several partners and
persons in the service of the Northwest Company on the charges of "high
treason, murder, robbery, and conspiracy," but in all cases the accused
were acquitted. The Northwest Company had great influence at this time
throughout Canada, and by their instigation actions were brought
against Lord Selkirk for false imprisonment,