Though the two parties were made up of daring and head-strong men, yet
adversity is a hard but effective teacher.
The Hudson's Bay Company was represented by Andrew Colville, a warm
friend of the house of Selkirk, the opponents by Edward Ellice, a
Nor'-Wester. It seemed, indeed, the very irony of fate that Ellice
should be a negotiator for peace. He and his sons the writer heard
spoken of by the late Earl of Selkirk--the son of the founder--as the
bear and cubs. On the other hand the burly directors of the Hudson's Bay
Company possessed with all the confidence of the British Lion, and with
their motto of "Skin for skin" were only brought to a state of peace by
the loss of dividends. Much correspondence passed between the offices of
Leadenhall Street and Suffolk Lane in London, which the two companies
occupied, but articles of agreement were not sufficient to make a union.
All such coalitions to be successful must circle around a single man.
This man was a young Scottish clerk, who had spent a year only in the
far Athabasca district. He had not depended on birth or influence for
his advancement, was not yet wholly immersed in the traditions or
prejudices of either company, and had consequently nothing to unlearn.
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