THE FUR-TRADE OF THE HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORIES. 317 



er. As its toes are connected by a small web, it is an excellent swimmer, and 

 as formidable to the salmon or trout in the water as to the hare on land. 



The Canadian fish-otter (Lutra canadensis) far surpasses the European spe- 

 cies, both in size and in the beauty of its glossy brown skin. It occurs as far 

 northward as 66 or 67 lat., and is generally taken by sinking a steel trap 

 near the mouth of its burrow. It has the habit of sliding or climbing to the 

 top of a ridge of snow in winter, or of a sloping moist bank in summer, where, 

 lying on the belly, with the fore feet bent backward, it gives itself with the 

 hind legs an impulse which sends it swiftly down the eminence. This school- 

 boy sport it continues for a long time. 



The red fox (Vulpes fulvus), which is found throughout the Hudson's Bay 

 territories, has likewise a much finer fur than our common fox. It is of a bright 

 ferruginous red on the head, back, and sides ; beneath the chin it is white, 

 while the throat and neck are of a dark gray, and the under parts of the body, 

 toward the tail, are of a very pale red. The crossed fox ( Canis decussatus), 

 thus named from the black cross on its shoulders, is still more valuable ; its 

 skin the color of which is a sort of gray, resulting from the mixture of black 

 and white hair being worth four or five guineas. Peltry still more costly is 

 furnished by the black or silvery fox (Canis argentatus), whose copious and 

 beautiful fur is of a rich and shining black or deep brown color, with the long- 

 er or exterior hairs of a silvery white. Unfortunately it is of such rare occur- 

 rence that not more than four or five are annually brought to a trading-post. 



The Canada lynx, or pishu (Lynx canadensis), is smaller than the European 

 species, but has a finer fur, those skins being most valued which approach to a 

 pale or whitish color, and on which the spots are most distinct. It chiefly feeds 

 on the hare (Lepus americanus), which is not much larger than a rabbit, and 

 is found on the banks of the Mackenzie as far north as 68 or 69. 



Still nearer to the Pole, the ice-hare (Lepus glacialis) ranges as far as the 

 Parry Islands (75 N". lat.), where it feeds on the arctic willow, and other high 

 northern plants. Its favorite resorts are the stony districts, where it easily 

 finds a refuge ; in winter it burrows in the snow. In summer its back is gray- 

 ish white, but as the cold increases, it becomes white, with the exception of the 

 tips of the ears, which remain constantly black. 



Formerly the beaver (Castor fiber) was the most important of the fur-bear- 

 ing animals of the Hudson's Bay territories. In the year 1743, 127,000 beaver 

 skins were exported from Montreal to La Rochelle, and 26,700 by the Hudson's 

 Bay Company to London. At present, the exportation hardly amounts to one- 

 third of this quantity. As the beaver chiefly lives on the barks of the willow, 

 the beech, and the poplar, it is not found beyond the forest region ; but along 

 the banks of the Mackenzie it reaches a very high latitude. 



The musk-rat, ondatra or musquash (Fiber zibethicus) which is about the 

 size of a small rabbit, and of a reddish-brown color is called by the Indians 

 the younger brother of the beaver, as it has similar instincts. Essentially a 

 bank-haunting animal, it is never to be seen at any great distance from the 

 water, where it swims and dives with consummate ease, aided greatly by the 

 webs which connect the hinder toes. It drives a large series of tunnels into 



