160 THE BEAVER 
Astoria, mouth of the Columbia River, in 1811 to 1814, 
says that at Fort Kamloops he bought one hundred and ten 
beavers for leaf tobacco at the rate of five leaves per skin, 
and at the last, when he had but one yard of white cotton 
remaining, a chief gave him twenty prime beaver skins for it. 
Father DeSmet tells us that in 1843 the beaver skin sold 
for nine or ten dollars worth of provisions, the real value of 
which was less than a single dollar. ‘For a gill of whiskey, 
which has not cost the trader more than three or four cents 
is sometimes sold for three or four dollars, though the chief 
virtue it possesses is to kill the body and soul of the buyer.” 
Farnham related that at Pueblo, Colorado, in 1889, 
a pint of whiskey was paid for a beaver skin, value $4.00. 
Townsend said they traded trifles costing 125 cents for 
beaver skins, worth in Boston $8 to $10. This was in 1833. 
The possibilities of developing the supply of beaver fur by 
enforcing a close season and the permitting of a limited 
amount of trapping under license, are shown by the follow- 
ing figures from the Minnesota Department of Conservation: 
1919-20, 361 pelts @ $35.00.2.....).............5. S127 
1920-21, 1200 pelts @ 20.00....................-.. 24,000.00 
1921-22, 3633 pelts @ 18.00. 2.2.0.6) .c.0...0..000..  Gopaonmee 
GUA Gores an ees t ee ee eb ae one eat eee eee $100,229.00 
The estimated catch for 1922-23 was eight thousand pelts, 
valued at $200,000, which appears to me to be too high an 
estimate. 
Previous to the enforcement of a close season beavers 
were practically extinct in many localities in Minnesota. 
In most of the states the beaver is protected, and trapping 
either forbidden, or allowed under restrictions. This has 
resulted in an increase in the numbers of the animal, and 
provides a supply which might be drawn upon for fur. If 
this matter is handled intelligently we should have a con- 
stant supply of beaver fur. 
