272 WITH GUN AND GUIDE 



thing should be done to remedy the threatened extinc- 

 tion of the salmon. 



It is undoubtedly true that the hatcheries, by arti- 

 ficially hatching out millions of eggs, are doing some 

 little to stay the inevitable hand of fate, which points 

 unerringly to the destruction of the salmon packing in- 

 dustry if some more drastic and revolutionary plan is 

 not soon adopted. 



Five years ago the interesting and valuable beaver 

 was in peril of obliteration in the province of British 

 Columbia, where the beaver grows to a large size and 

 is clothed with a skin that for color and texture chal- 

 lenges the world. A close term of five years was then 

 placed upon them, which at its expiration was extended 

 for one year more. 



As a consequence, the marshy bottoms and the 

 mountain streams are fairly alive with these industrious 

 animals. For twenty days I was among them all the 

 time, and could see their handiwork on every side. 



Their substantial dams can be found in every running 

 brook in the mountainous parts of the province. Their 

 houses may be seen on every mountain stream, and 

 their caches of food for the long winter months are 

 being filled by thousands and thousands of the busy and 

 hard-working little fellows. 



The value of the beaver lies not alone in his fur. To 

 the trapper, the prospector, the surveyor, the freighter, 

 the hunter and the red man his flesh is food of the 



