CASTOROLOGIA. 59 



who again became the great monopolists of the beaver trade. But 

 the height of fame had been reached, and the demand, once depen- 

 dent solely on the beaver, was now supplied from several sources, 

 if not altogether supplanted by the introduction of silk. 



Some colonies still linger in the United States, on the slopes of 

 the Rocky Mountains, and are sparcely scattered over the continent, 

 — ^occupying mostly the upper tributaries of our great waterways — 

 as shown by the shaded portion on the foregoing map. 



The question is often asked, ' ' Where, to-day, are beavers to be 

 found in their primitive state ?" and the answer is not difScult to 

 give, for the beaver is of slow locomotion on land, and its habits 

 confine it very closely to the neighborhood of its birth ; it keeps to 

 the water courses, and as the hunters follow, it recedes farther up the 

 streams, till on the height of land, the quiet lakes and pools offer a 

 last retreat, but alas, no sanctuary ; and the white man with his 

 " fire waggon" dashes through the woods, changing as if by magic 

 the country through which he passes, with utter disregard for the 

 quiet denizens of the forest. 



As to the ultimate destruction of the beaver no possible question 

 can exist, and the evidences of approaching extermination can be 

 seen only too plainly in the miles of territory exhibiting the decayed 

 stump, the broken dam and deserted lodge. The passing bear or 

 wolverine tears open the lodge, partly in the vain hope of finding a 

 meal, partly from habit ; the rising waters float the logs away, while 

 the drifting ice in fall and spring gradually destroy the dam till 

 within a decade, where once the busy colony spent their happy 

 domestic lives, no sign remains of all their wondrous toil. 



Along the watershed, between the Hudson's Bay and the St. 

 lyawrence ; in the upper waters of the Frazer and Peace Rivers, and 

 along the Rocky Mountain range may be considered the last homes 

 of the beaver. 



