136 Sir ALEXANDER MACKENZIE

man. The veterans of the Company, McTay-
ish in particular, whose wintering days were
long past and who were enjoying their com-
fortable incomes in Montreal, disliked the
intrusion of this popular and restless young
rival who had pushed his way to the front so
rapidly and had dimmed their own fame by
his achievements in exploration. The Com-
pany, indeed, after preserving its self-made
monopoly intact since.1787, was once more
beginning to break up. In 1795 rivals entered
the field, backed by a Montreal firm, Forsyth,
Richardson and Company; though at first
these were able to secure only a small share of
the trade, they grew steadily stronger. The
Hudson’s Bay Company also was becoming
more vigorous in the interior. When an
arrangement was made in the autumn of 1795
for renewing the North West Company’s
agreement-atter its expiration in 1798, it was
noticeable that Mackenzie did not sign it on
his own behalf. Clearly he was not on happy
terms with some of his associates, and one may
surmise that their reluctance to accept his