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 504: NORTHWEST TERRITORIES soil and with governmental powers within the region. The country "W. of this, watered by streams flowing into the Arctic and Pacific oceans, was distinguished as the Indian or Northwest territory. In 1783 the Northwest company was chartered, with headquarters at Montreal, for the purpose of carrying on the fur trade. The two companies had frequent collisions till 1821, when the Northwest com- pany was merged in the Hudson bay company. In that year the British government .granted the latter company a license of exclusive trade in the Indian territory for a period of 21 years, and in 1838 a new license for 21 years. After its expiration in 1859 the company continued to carry on the fur trade in the Indian terri- tory, though possessing no special privilege there. In 1858 the colony of British Colum- bia was formed from the W. portion of the Indian territory, and in 1859 Vancouver island, in which in 1849 a license of exclusive trade and management for 10 years had been granted to the company, was erected into a colony; while in 1870 the province of Manitoba was created in the Red river valley, reducing the region formerly under the control of the Hud- son Bay company (and commonly called the Hudson Bay territory) as proprietor or grantee of a trading monopoly to the limits described at the beginning of this article. Before the last mentioned date, however, the company had become a mere commercial organization. The parliamentary act of 1867 creating the Dominion of Canada contemplated the acqui- sition by that government of the Hudson Bay territory, and negotiations were opened which resulted in the surrender by the company to the crown of all its territorial and govern- mental rights, by deed dated Nov. 19, 1869. It retained its posts with a small lot of land around each of them, and reserved the right to certain portions of land in the fertile belt S. of the N. branch of the Saskatchewan. The Canadian government agreed to pay in return the sum of 300,000. The country became a part of the Dominion on July 15, 1870, in ac- cordance with a royal proclamation of June 23. An act of the Dominion parliament of June 22, 1869, had provided for its government, when annexed, under the name of the North- west territories. The Hudson Bay company in its trading capacity extends its operations beyond the regions already described, into por- tions of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and that part of Labrador under the jurisdic- tion of Newfoundland. At one time it had posts on United States territory, in Oregon, Washington territory, and Alaska. Its fur trade has been of vast extent, and its profits at times enormous. In its dealings with the Indians it has had remarkable success. The field of oper- ations is divided into four departments: the Montreal department, which includes the es- tablishments in Quebec, in the Newfoundland portion of Labrador, and in the adjacent por- tions of the Northwest territories ; the southern department, including the establishments in the remainder of the Northwest territories E. of the 90th meridian and those in Ontario ; the northern department, embracing the portion of the Northwest territories W. of the 90th meridian ; and the western department, "W. of the Rocky mountains. These were placed in charge of a governor (formerly the governor of Rupert's Land), under whom were different grades of officers and employees, known as chief factors, chief traders, clerks, apprenticed clerks, postmasters, interpreters, and numerous guides, boatmen, &c. The governor was as- sisted by a council of chief factors and traders for each department, which met annually. Un- der a recent reorganization the principal officer is denominated chief commissioner, under whom are inspecting chief factors, factors, chief tra- ders, junior chief traders, &c. The departments are subdivided into districts, each under the superintendence of a factor or trader, and the districts include various posts or forts in charge of officers of different grades. The officers and employees are remunerated as formerly, in part by fixed salaries and in part by a percentage of profits. In 1856 the whole number of em- ployees was about 3,000, including the gover- nor, 16 chief factors, 29 chief traders, 5 sur- geons, 87 clerks, 67 postmasters, 1,200 per- manent servants, and 500 voyageurs, with tem- porary employees, chiefly voyageurs and ser- vants. At that date there was a fifth depart- ment, Oregon, and the whole number of dis- tricts was 33, and of posts 152. At the time of the surrender to the crown there were 20 districts within the present limits of the North- west territories and Manitoba, viz.: Albany, Athabasca, Cumberland, East Main, English River, Kinogumisse, Labrador, Mackenzie Riv- er, Manitoba Lake, Moose, Norway House, Portage la Prairie, Rainy Lake (Lac la Pluie), Red River, Rupert's River, Saskatchewan, Su- perior, Swan River, Temiscamingue, and York ; these contained 120 posts. The northernmost post is the " Ramparts," on the Porcupine river and the Alaska border, about lat. 67. The two most important posts are York Factory, on Hud- son bay near the mouth of Nelson river, and Fort Garry in Manitoba. The latter is the com- pany's headquarters in America; the former until a recent period was the sole point of im- port and shipment, and is still visited by one or two vessels annually ; but the greater part of the trade is now carried on through the United States, by way of Manitoba. Communication between the different posts and transportation of goods are effected in winter by means of dog sledges, and in summer by means of canoes and boats on the streams, frequent portages around rapids and between different water- courses being in many cases necessary. See " Notes of a Twenty-five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay Territory," by S. McLean (2 vols., London, 1849); "The Hudson's Bay Territories," &c., by R. M. Martin (London, 1849) ; "Exploration of the Country between