ission. Here, in the heart of the wilderness, there was no
stint of food when the long tables were spread. Chefs brought from
Montreal prepared savoury viands; the brimming bowl was emptied and too
often replenished; and the songs of this deep-throated race of
merchantmen pealed to the rafters until revelry almost ended in riot.
At one end of the room stood the bust of Simon M'Tavish, placed so that
his gaze seemed to rest upon the proprietors and servants of the
company he had called into being. About the walls hung numerous
portraits--one of the reigning monarch, George III, another of the
Prince Regent, a third of Admiral Lord {118} Nelson. Here, too, was a
painting of the famous battle of the Nile, and a wonderful map of the
fur-bearing country, the work of the intrepid explorer David Thompson.

[Illustration: Simon M'Tavish, Founder of the North-West Company. From
a water-colour drawing in M'Gill University Library.]

The unexpected appearance of Lord Selkirk in the vicinity of Fort
William found the Nor'westers off their guard and created a great
sensation. It was a matter of common knowledge among the Nor'westers
that Selkirk was on his way to the Red River with a squad of armed men,
but they understood that he would follow the route leading past their
fort at Fond du Lac. There is evidence to show that a plot to compass
Selkirk's death or seizure had been mooted some weeks before. John
Bourke, on the road to Fort William as a prisoner, had overheard a
conversation between Alexander Macdonell and several other partners of
the North-West Company. This conversation had occurred at night, not
far from Rainy Lake. According to the story, Bourke was lying on the
ground, seemingly asleep, when the partners, standing by a camp-fire,
fell to discussing their recent coup at 'the Forks.' Their talk
drifted to the subject of Lord Selkirk's proposed visit to Assiniboia,
and Macdonell assured the others {119} that the North-West Company had
nothing to fear from Selkirk, and that if extreme measures were
necessary Selkirk should be quietly assassinated. 'The half-breeds,'
he declared, 'will take him while he is asleep, early in the morning.'
Macdonell went so far as to mention the name of a Bois Brule who would
be willing to bring Lord Selkirk down with his musket, if necessary.

Bourke told to his fellow-prisoners, Patrick Corcoran and Michael
Heden, what he had overheard. It thus happened that when Heden now