ACCOUNT OF ANIMALS. 



431 



bious animal. His fore-teeth stand obliquely, 

 projecting forward out of his mouth, and are 

 broad, crooked and sharp. His incisors, or side 

 teeth, are firmly set and sharp, and his grinders 

 are very strong. By means of these teeth, he is 

 able to cut down considerable trees, and to 

 break the hardest substances. The ordinary 

 colour of the beaver is brown, which becomes 

 darker in the northern, and lighter in the more 

 southern latitudes. The number of beavers in 

 the North West country, is continually diminish- 

 ing. The skins of this animal constitute, with the 

 Natives, the principal article of trade ; and the 

 price of other things is computed, by comparing 

 them with a beaver skin. 



The otter is an amphibious* animal, bearing 

 some resemblance to the beaver, and yet in many 

 respects, differing from it. His body is, in every 

 part, less than that of the beaver, though it is 

 nearly as long. His teeth are different, being in 

 shape like those of a dog or wolf. The hair 

 of the otter is not more than half the length of 

 the beaver; and in some parts particularly un- 

 der the neck, stomach and belly, is more greyish. 

 This animal, when closely pursued, will not only 

 defend himself; but he will attack dogs and even 

 men. His food consists of roots «*md fish; and 

 his flesh tastes and smells of the latter, and is not 

 very palatable food. 



