122 THE FUR TRADE OF AMERICA 



the park had to complain of flooded lands and the colonies of the 

 beavers, themselves, spread outside the park ; and whole families 

 of Indians camped on the edge of the park to slaughter the rodents 

 who ventured outside limits. 



This illustrates the necessity of large and naturally appropriate 

 ranging ground in any game preserve, or fur farm for beavers, and 

 in view of the value of the fur to Canada's national income, I do 

 not think too wide an area of wild lands can be set aside to preserve 

 the beaver, not as a wild life specimen, but as a source of national 

 income. The beaver works at night, but not being an eight-hour 

 man, he begins work and can be seen at sunset. Fur bearers, as 

 far as I have been able to observe them, abhor union hours, though 

 they live in communities in peace and ask only laws to prevent their 

 destruction. As far as each beaver is concerned, he is an individ- 

 ualist in his own house. Another point — if the current is strong, 

 it is a fact the beaver curves his dam up stream. That is a pretty 

 fine point for animal intelligence, whether you call it instinct, or 

 thought. Beaver houses are from a few feet to 15 feet in diameter 

 and five feet above water line. The muscles of the beaver's jaws 

 are literally massive for his hard timber-sawing jobs — whether 

 the result of centuries of selective survival of the fit and death of 

 the weak, or so originally created — I don't know. His favorite 

 timber for house building is poplar, cottonwood, willow, birch, young 

 elm, box aspen — all soft woods. His feet are webbed or palmated 

 as all aquatic fur bearers are. Beaver was coin of the realm for 

 centuries in all Canada. Skins were not passed as coin, but values 

 were computed in beaver skins. Until the '90's of the last century, 

 the Hudson's Bay Company used to cut down its lead tea chests 

 into round coins on which were stamped 1 B, I B, } B and the dis- 

 trict from which issued — YF — EM — NH — York Factory, 

 East Main, Norway House ; and these coins passed as currency at 

 all Company stores ; but of this I have given a full account in another 

 volume on the Hudson's Bay Company — "The Conquest of the 

 Great North West." 



