84 CASTOROiOGIA. 



portion of meat to keep him healthy and help to develojje his 

 strength. This was the cause why primitive man was almost invaria- 

 bly a hunter, and the uses he has made of the skin and other parts 

 have been incidental to his first want, that of meat. It must then be 

 evident that those animals which most conveniently supply the im- 

 perative demand for meat are of first importance to man, and in this 

 category we find the beaver serving pre-eminently the wants of the 

 Indian and the early travellers in America. It is well to remember 

 that the highways of America were until very lately her waterways ; 

 the birch bark canoe having accomplished the long journej^ from 

 Montreal to the Arctic Ocean, by way of the Ottawa and French 

 rivers, the Saskatchewan and the Mackenzie ; and it is not too much 

 to assert that this and many other similar accomplishments depended 

 for their success on the supply of beaver meat obtainable by the way. 



Testimony is so universally favorable as to the excellent quality 

 of the meat, that it would be heresy to dispute its merits, particu- 

 larly as its reputation was earned centuries ago in Europe, and in 

 America there exists a kind of proof which is very convincing. 

 It is said, in regard to the methods of preparing the dish for 

 table, that the favorite plan was to roast the animal in the skin, and 

 when there were plenty of beavers to be had, it did not seem to have 

 attracted the attention of the traders, that a few skins were thus 

 destroyed by their " couriers ;" but in later days, when competition 

 increased as the beavers decreased, every skin was in eager demand, 

 and consequently we find frequent mention of the difficulty to prevent 

 the destruction of the skin, by roasting it together with the carcass. 



The meat is tender, and at most seasons very sweet tasted, not 

 unlike pork ; and so generally esteemed, that even now, it is often 

 sold at our markets and not infrequently it appears on the ' ' bill of 

 fare ' ' in country hotels. In earlier times it was dried and pounded 

 to meal or powder, for convenience of carriage and preservation. 



The members of the ' ' Beaver Club ' ' in Montreal, used to serve a 

 roasted beaver at their banquets, with all the dignity observed in 

 serving the royal dishes in the old baronial days of England. The 



