CHAPTER IV 



BEAVER AND CANADIAN HISTORY — SHOWING SOME- 

 THING OF THE PART PLAYED BY THEM IN THE 

 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY 



In reading the earlier history of Canada, we find 

 that from the very beginning, its development was 

 inextricably interwoven with the Hfe or, I should 

 say, the death of the beaver. It lived on the 

 beaver. It was opened up by the beaver, wars 

 were waged through the competition for the skins 

 of the little animals, the skins were the currency of 

 the country, the clothing to some extent, and 

 frequently did the earlier inhabitants depend on its 

 meat for their food. In no country has an animal 

 played such a conspicuous part. 



Going back to the first settlement of Canada, we 

 find that the beaver held an important place in the 

 life of the Indians. Their legends are full of 

 allusions to the animals, and some tribes believed 

 that the world was originally made by beaver, not 

 the same kind that we have now, but by gigantic 

 ones who were possessed of superhuman power. 

 Some legends state that the beaver is a reincarna- 

 tion of man, put back on earth to work for past 

 offences, and early drawings show the beaver with 



