It is a
considerable fur depot of the Hudson Bay Company; and there is a
recruiting station, from whence start expeditions of trappers to the
Rocky Mountains. I saw a large party of these adventurers, who were
about to start on an expedition to these remote confines. It consisted
entirely of young Frenchmen and Hollanders, who are preferred for the
service by the company. They were of slight make, and little calculated,
from their appearance, to encounter the hardships of such a life; but I
was told they soon become hardened, and return strong, athletic men. The
employment is, however, beset with danger, from the hostile dispositions
of the various tribes of Indians in the western wilds, who view their
intrusion with vindictive feelings, and seize every opportunity of
attacking and annihilating small parties, notwithstanding their
professions of friendship. Not long after my arrival, a party of
trappers arrived from the Upper Missouri in two boats, which were loaded
with buffalo and other furs. The stalwart look of these hardy
mountaineers proved the hardening effect of their mode of life.
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