430 



ACCOUNT OP ANIMALS. 



places so low, that they are generally, at that 

 season, overflowed by water. During the sum- 

 mer months, they have no fixed residence : but 

 are found in different places, among the grass. 

 As the winter approaches, they erect new huts, 

 in which they pass the winter. Carver is surely 

 mistaken when he states, that they winter in hol- 

 low trees, without any sustenance, and that, in 

 the summer, they feed on raspberries, strawber- 

 ries and other kinds of fruit. 



In the North West country, there are only three 

 kinds of squirrels, which are the red, the striped 

 and the flying. The black and grey squirrel, sel- 

 dom go farther north, than latitude forty five 

 or six. 



The beaver has been so frequently and so mi- 

 nutely described, and his sagacity, ingenuity and in- 

 dustry are so well known, that a very particular ac- 

 count of this animal, in this place, would be super- 

 fluous. As some other animals, in the foregoing 

 description, have been compared with the beaver, 

 it may be necessary to state, that his weight is 

 usually about sixty pounds : that his body is about 

 four feet in length, and that his legs are short, 

 particularly his fore-legs, which are not more than 

 four or five inches in length. His fore feet are 

 armed with claws, and his hind feet are furnish- 

 ed with a web or membrane between the toes, 

 for the convenience of swimming, as he is an amphi- 



