ii8 



CASTOROLOGIA. 



from half an inch to nearly an inch in depth, and bluish or silvery- 

 grey in color. There is no special utility in the fur, and it has 

 many rivals which tend to make it less esteemed than it otherwise 

 would be ; and to the unpractised eye there is a general resemblance 

 to it in the plucked otter, plucked nutria, and plucked raccoon. 



In the report of the Hudson's Bay Company for this year, pub- 

 lished in London, July i4tli, announcement is made that " owing to 

 the state of trade the Directors had closed a number of their posts." 

 The beaver hunter finds his occupation usurped by every villager who 

 can procure a trap or gun, and who sallies into the woods intent on 

 the destruction of whatever comes in his way. The ' ' voyageur ' ' 

 has long lost his usefulness now that steamboats throng our waters, 

 and the old institutions of the once famous beaver trade are one by 

 one passing into the mists of oblivion, so that to Mrs. Hopkin's 

 beautiful portrayal of the ' ' Brigade of voyageurs crossing Lake 

 Superior ' ' we may appropriately apply the alternative title, and 

 fancy that we witness the actual passing of the old regime into ' ' the 

 Spiritland. ' ' 



^,i;'i|^j ^^5:irii.:!s|g 



LAKE SUPERIOR, OR THE SPIRIT LAND. 



