34 Sir ALEXANDER MACKENZIE

once a day, good tobacco to smoke, a warm
blanket, and a kind master who will take his
share of hard times and be the first in danger.

Credulous, superstitious, and careless of the
morrow, they were easily discouraged if they
lacked confidence in their leader; but they
could be persuaded to follow to the ends of
the world a man whom they trusted, as
Mackenzie was to show.

During the long winter months time
dragged slowly for those who had been used
to better things. The work of a post took up
only a small part of the trader’s day, except
when traffic with the Indians was actually in
progress. Books were valued possessions; the
library at Chipewyan became famous through-
out the North-West. Mackenzie did not pass
his time in idleness. Attracted by geographi-
cal questions, he had trained himself to take
observations of latitude and longitude, and
had provided himself with a few instruments.
As a fur-trader he was naturally interested in
the discovery of new regions from which furs
might be secured, but he was inspired by
broader ideas than those of trade alone. His