238 CANADIAN WILDS. 



cording to its size, if well dressed, it ought to 

 have weighed a pound and a half, or three quar- 

 ters at most. Judge of my surprise when I 

 found it tipped the scales at two and half 

 pounds. This was phenomenal and uncanny, 

 and I remarked to the hunter, that we would 

 leave the skins in the store until after dinner 

 before closing the trade. 



During the mid-day hour I slipped out and 

 examined the skin critically, and found the 

 rascal had flinched up layers of the inner skin 

 or "cutem," and had inserted small sheets of 

 tea-chest lead, after which he had pressed the 

 skin down flat and dried it in this state. This 

 was insult added to injury, because about a 

 month previous he had begged the lead from me 

 to make bullets with. Verily there are more 

 tricks with horses and furs than meets the eye. 



