noon
All day the confusion of unloading boats continued . The dull tread of moccasined feet as Indians carried pack after pack from river bank to the fort , was ceaseless . Faster than the clerks could sort the furs great bundles were heaped on the floor . By noon , warehouses were crammed from basement to attic . Ermine taken in mid-winter , when the fur was spotlessly white , but for the jet tail-tip , otter cut so deftly scarcely a tuft of fur had been wasted along the opened seam , silver fox , which had made the fortune of some lucky hunter -- these and other rare furs , that were to minister to the luxury of kings , passed from tawny carriers to sorters . Elsewhere , coarse furs , obtained at greater risk , but owing to the abundance of big game , less valuable for the hunter , were sorted and valued . With a reckless underestimate of the beaver-skin , their unit of currency , Indians hung over counters bartering away the season 's hunt .