APPENDIX. 495 



with the natives. The consequence is, that no animal 

 is mpre persecuted ; and as the admirable works it exe- 

 cutes betray its abode, it is not surprising that it should 

 be greatly reduced in numbers. The flesh is much 

 prized by the natives as an article of diet, — a roasted 

 beaver being the prime dish on their feast days. As 

 the food of the beaver consists in a great measure of the 

 bark of deciduous trees, particularly of the poplar, 

 birch, and willow, its range must be restrained within 

 the limits of the woods; but runs to a high latitude 

 on the banks of the Mackenzie. The beaver may 

 be considered as the civil engineer among quadru- 

 peds ; and the skill with which it selects the proper 

 situation for its dam, so that it may be constructed 

 with the least labour and the greatest effect for flood- 

 ing a large extent of ground, and keeping up a proper 

 supply of water during the winter, is very surprising, 

 especially when we consider that the dam is often 

 at a considerable distance from the beaver-house. It 

 also shows great providence in excavating a number 

 of vaults on the margin of the pond, for places 

 of retreat in the event of the dwelling-house being 

 assailed. Its habits, however, having been thoroughly 

 studied by the Indian hunter, its skill is no match for 

 his perseverance; and but for the care taken by the 

 Hudson's Bay Company to preserve the various dis- 

 tricts for four or five years in succession, the animal 

 would soon become very scarce. Fifty thousand beaver 

 skins are annually imported into London from North 

 America. 



The Musquash. Fiber zibethicus. (Cuvier.) F. B. A. 



1. p. 115. 



The musk-rat, musquash, watsuss, or wachusk, — for 



