174 



BEAVER. 



Company's servants. And it is their constant 

 custom, when their noses bleed by any accident 

 to lick their blood into their mouths and swallow 

 it. 



Though the beaver, which furnishes the 

 staple fur of the country, is not common in 

 this immediate neighbourhood, an Indian was 

 successful enough to kill one at a short dis- 

 tance down the river, which he brought to 

 the Fort. It was roasted for dinner, and 

 proved of excellent flavour, though I could not 

 agree that the tail, which was served up in a 

 separate dish, was of that superior taste it 

 is generally considered to be. The sagacity 

 of this animal has often been described ; and I 

 have frequently been surprised at the singular 

 construction of their houses, the care with 

 which they lay up their provision of wood, and 

 the mode in which they dam up the water near 

 their habitations. They cut with their teeth 

 sticks of a considerable size, and when larger 

 than they are able to drag, they contrive to fell 

 them on the bank, so that they may fall and 

 float down the stream to the place where they 

 design to make the dam ; and then entwine 

 them with willow twigs, which they plaster with 

 mud, so as effectually to obtain a head of 

 water. 



