LABRADOR JOURNAL 305 



his disposition than sueh niun usually have, not 

 knowing what it was, and, perhaps, taking it for 

 a creatiu'e superior to the brute creation, stopped 

 and addressed it thus, " Thou need'st not cry, 

 " poor thing, for I would not hurt thee for the 

 " world; so thou mayest take up thy turn of fire- 

 " wood and go home about thy business." The 

 above story I do not give as a positive fact; re- 

 latino- it onlv as I have often heard it. It is an 

 actual truth however, that a late servant of mine, 

 Charles Atkinson, could ne\cr be prevailed upon 

 to taste the flesh of beavers, because he was sure, 

 he said, " They were enchanted Christians." 

 When beavers meet with a sufficiency of aspen, 

 birch, or such shrubs as they are fond of, and 

 which are not bigger than a stout pole, they will 

 seldom cut those of a larger size; but, when neces- 

 sity obliges them, they will cut down the largest 

 tree that ever grew. How long they are in per- 

 forming the work, 1 have no opportunity to as- 

 certain, but I believe it is done in no great time: 

 for I once found at the foot of a black spruce, that 

 they had ^-ut down, a chip of four inches in length 

 and two in l)readth, whir-h seemed to ha\-e been 

 taken off at one sti'oke. And T have secMi so many 

 stout trees, whieli 1i;ive l)een felled by ilieni in the 

 course of one season, tliat T nni convinced tliey 

 must work liotli (piick and diliucnlly. Small trees 

 they cut on one side only, l»iij large ones they go 

 round <'ind ;il\\;iys t'cli them towards Hk" water, 

 to sa\e thenisch es ciirriage. A stick, llic thick- 

 ness of a stoni walking c;iiic, llicy will cnl off at 



