The fur trade is lively, the winter is bitter cold, and it's normal to slaughter animals in the basement. This is eastern Canada in the 1900's; welcome to a true winter and real hunters. The cold is cold enough to give burns, and because of this harsh weather, Alice Munro describes the coating of the animal's thick fur. In "Boys and Girls," where there is luscious fur to be found, there is a fur trader as well.
It was custom of the fur traders in Canada to kill foxes for the purpose of selling the fur. …
