148 CANADIAN WILDS. 



shore nearest to the Indian, and beat the water 

 at his gun's shot. 



The sport was becoming quite exciting, and 

 I would have had no objection to continuing it 

 longer, but the Indian arose and called across 

 to me to gather up our beaver, having a large 

 and a small one each, a very fair division. 



He then set to work to repair the damaged 

 dam as well as he could, and explained to me 

 that the remaining ones would finish off the job 

 when the fear was off of them. 



The Indian said that amongst his tribe the 

 hunters often used this mode of hunting, and 

 what beaver was left unkilled they either trapped 

 later on or trenched them out when the ice set 

 fast. One thing I learned from that afternoon's 

 hunt was that it was simple and successful, and 

 I used the knowledge several times, in other 

 years, to my advantage. 



We had to pack those beaver through four 

 miles of trackless bush, and each pack must have 

 weighed ninety pound, and, as far as I remem- 

 ber, we rested only three times. I mention this 

 because I saw in one of the letters that appeared 

 in H-T-T, where a man mentions having killed a 

 beaver that weighed fifty pounds, which was so 

 heavy he had to drag it home. 



I have heard of dragging a deer or hair seal, 

 but never of a fur-bearing animal. I wonder 



