248 RODENTIA. 



standard by which ah barters were settled : so many 

 blankets went to a Beaver skin, so many Mink or Musk- 

 rat skins, more or less, were considered equal to a 

 Beaver, and a certain number of Beaver skins to a gun. 

 The Beaver skin, in fact, throughout British North 

 America passed currency. We must, however, receive 

 with a certain amount of doubt the story of the exchange 

 of a musket for Beaver skins, which transaction is said 

 to have taken place on the Peace Eiver, and the Beaver 

 skins are stated to have been heaped up to the height of 

 the musket standing on end. 



The Indians now are mostly paid in cash, instead of 

 in kind. They know the value of the skins, and 

 although they still bring the bulk of their collection to 

 their old friends, the Hudson's Bay Company, yet they 

 are open to an advantageous bid from a private trader. 



The Beaver has been adopted as the crest of the coat- 

 of-arms of the Dominion of Canada, and was formerly 

 depicted on the old postage stamps of the province of 

 that name. 



The Beaver measures from 1 to 21- feet long, but a 

 few exceed 3 feet. The tail, which is fiat, scaly, and 

 devoid of hair, is about 9 inches long. The incisor 

 teeth are extremely strong and well developed, and are 

 set in a circular socket. The hind feet are webbed, but 

 the front are not. The upper part of the fore-paws are 

 protected with harsh hair. The claws are very strong. 

 The nails on two of the toes of the hind feet are double, 

 the use of which has not yet been discovered. The 

 colour of the fur varies from light to dark brown ; in 

 many cases it is almost white. Pure white, fawn, 

 brown with silvery hairs, mottled, and grizzly Beavers 

 are rarely met with, only about twenty animals of these 

 colours being found annually in the large importation of 



