, the arrival of our canoe was causing
excitement at the Post. Trader Spear laughed aloud:

"That's one on old Mackenzie. He's taking my canoe for that of the
Hudson's Bay Inspector. He's generally due about this time."

From all directions men, women, and children were swarming toward the
landing, and when our canoe arrived there must have been fully four
hundred Indians present. The first to greet us was Factor Mackenzie--a
gruff, bearded Scotsman with a clean-shaven upper lip, gray hair, and
piercing gray eyes. When we entered the Factor's house we found it to
be a typical wilderness home of an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company;
and, therefore, as far unlike the interiors of furtraders' houses as
shown upon the stage, movie screen, or in magazine illustration, as it
is possible to imagine. Upon the walls we saw neither mounted heads
nor skins of wild animals; nor were fur robes spread upon the floors,
as one would expect to find after reading the average story of Hudson's
Bay life. On the contrary, the well-scrubbed floors were perfectly
bare, and the walls were papered from top to bottom with countless
illustrations cut from the London _Graphic_ and the _Illustrated London
News_. The pictures not only took the place of wall paper, making the
house more nearly wind-proof, but also afforded endless amusement to
those who had to spend therein the long winter months. The house was
furnished sparingly with simple, home-made furniture that had more the
appearance of utility than of beauty.

At supper time we sat down with Mrs. Mackenzie, the Factor's half-breed
wife, who took the head of the table. After the meal we gathered in
the living room before an open fire, over the mantelpiece of which
there were no guns, no powder horns, nor even a pair of snowshoes; for
a fur trader would no more think of hanging his snowshoes there than a
city dweller would think of hanging his overshoes over his drawing-room
mantel. Upon the mantel shelf, however, stood a few unframed family
photographs and some books, while above hung a rustic picture frame,
the only frame to be seen in the room; it contained the motto, worked
in coloured yarns: "God Bless Our Home." When pipes were lighted and
we had drawn closer to the fire, the Factor occupied a quaint,
home-made, rough-hewn affair known as the "Factor's chair." On the
under side of the seat were inscribed the signatures and dates of
accession to that throne of all the fac