Adventure and adventurers > Hudson Bay, or, Everyday life in the wilds of North America

WHITE-FISH AND TROUT.
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rocky shores and rolling billows vie with the ocean itself
in grandeur and magnificence.
Fort William was once one of the chief posts in the
Indian country, and, when it belonged to the North-
West Company, contained a great number of men.
Now, however, much of its glory has departed. Many
of the buildings have been pulled down, and those that
remain are very rickety-looking affairs. It is still,
however, a very important fishing station, and many
hundreds of beautiful white-fish, with which Lake
Superior swarms, are salted there annually for the
Canada markets. These white-fish are indeed excellent;
and it is difficult to say whether they, or the immense
trout which are also caught in abundance, have the
most delicate flavour. These trout, as well as white-
fish, are caught in nets; and the former sometimes
measure three feet long, and are proportionately Inroad.
The one we had to breakfast on the morning of our
arrival must have been very nearly this size.
The fur-trade of the post is not very good, but the
furs traded are similar to those obtained in other parts
of the country.
A number of candies de maitre, or very large canoes,
are always kept in store here, for the use of the Com¬
pany’s travellers. These canoes are of the largest size,
exceeding the north canoe in length by several feet,
besides being much broader and deeper. They are used
solely for the purpose of travelling on Lake Superior,
being much too large and cumbersome for travelling
with through the interior. They are carried by four men
instead of two, like the north canoe; and, besides being