CHAPTER VIII. 



Beaver Meat, a Stapi,e Food STjppr,Y — Beaver Coats, Mittens and 

 Moccasins — The Fat as an ointment — Luxurious uses oe Cas- 

 TOREUM — Beaver Chisei^ — The Vai,ue of the Beaver-Pond, and 

 Beaver-Meadow — Beaver Trade the Foundation oe our Pre- 

 sent CoMMERCiAE Greatness. 



Man's first and constant need is food, and in all times and places, 

 the question as to food supply must be settled before other concerns 

 are entertained. The lower animals almost invariably exhibit a 

 complete disregard in the matter of preserving supplies ; they con- 

 sume at sight, all that it is possible for them to do, even to glutton- 

 ous waste, and then, are prepared to face starvation before another 

 gorge is obtainable. In this respect we find the lower orders of 

 mankind very similar, and it marks the advancing scale of develop- 

 ment, when any race shows signs of storing food or preserving a food 

 supply. The Indian of North America makes an exceedingly inter- 

 esting ethnological study, for his ways are singularly typical, and 

 amply repay investigation. Though constituting one grand race, the 

 many varieties of climate and circumstance with which he has had 

 to contend, produce marked difierence of character. We have already 

 referred to some of the distinguishing characteristics of the Indian 

 tribes, and those which now claim our attention are the settled tribes 

 of the northern districts. It is of these that writers have recorded 

 the fact of their settlements being in close proximity to the beaver 

 colonies, and the great economy of the beaver to them is a subject 

 of much importance. 



Man as an omnivorous feeder requires a varied diet, and while 

 the vegetable kingdom contributes very largely to his sustenance, he 

 has ever been dependent on herbivorous animals for a sufficient pro- 



