Snow Shoes and Canoes; The Early Days of a Fur-Trader in the Hudson Bay
Territory, by William H G Kingston.
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The basic story-line is that there is a fort in the Hudson Bay Territory
that needs some stores and materials to be sent to it from another fort
about 150 miles away. The journey could be done by canoe, but there are
none available at this time. So a party of people are sent overland to
fetch what is required.
There are encounters with bears and other dangerous animals; there are
times when they are very hungry and very tired. They encounter both
friendly and unfriendly Indians. They borrow canoes at one stage, and
have wrecks in the mighty rapids.
There are strong overtones indicating that Kingston has read the
authentic books by Ballantyne, who had worked in the Hudson Bay Company,
and whose letters home had set off his literary career. But Kingston
has a unique style of his own, and he was good at research, so he can be
forgiven for using valuable authentic material to help him get his facts
right, and make his story credible.
About 10.5 hours to read aloud.
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SNOW SHOES AND CANOES, THE EARLY DAYS OF A FUR-TRADER IN THE HUDSON BAY
TERRITORY, BY WILLIAM H G KINGSTON.