CHAPTER IV 
BEAVER AND CANADIAN HISTORY—SHOWING SOME- 
THING OF THE PART PLAYED BY THEM IN THE 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY 
In reading the earlier history of Canada, we find 
that from the very beginning, its development was 
inextricably interwoven with the life or, I should 
say, the death of the beaver. It lived on the 
beaver. It was opened up by the beaver, wars 
were waged through the competition for the skins 
of the little animals, the skins were the currency of 
the country, the clothing to some extent, and 
frequently did the earlier inhabitants depend on its 
meat for their food. In no country has an animal 
played such a conspicuous part. 
Going back to the first settlement of Canada, we 
find that the beaver held an important place in the 
life of the Indians. Their legends are full of 
allusions to the animals, and some tribes believed 
that the world was originally made by beaver, not 
the same kind that we have now, but by gigantic 
ones who were possessed of superhuman power. 
Some legends state that the beaver is a reincarna- 
tion of man, put back on earth to work for past 
offences, and early drawings show the beaver with 
