92 



A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



tree, pushing one another off, and playing a thousand interesting 

 tricks. He approached softly, under cover of the bushes, and pre- 

 pared to fire on the unsuspecting creatures, but a nearer approach 

 discovered to him such a similitude betwixt their gestures and the 

 infantile caresses of his own children, that he threw aside his gun. 

 This gentleman's feelings are to be envied, but few traders in fur 

 would have acted so feelingly. The musk rat frequently inhabits the 

 same lodge with the beaver, and the otter also thrusts himself in 

 occasionally : the latter, however, is not always a civil guest, as 

 he sometimes devours his host. 



These are the animals most interesting in an economical point of 

 view. The American hare, and several kinds of grouse and ptarmi- 

 gan, also contribute towards the support of the natives ; and the 

 geese, in their periodical flights in the spring and autumn, likewise 

 prove a valuable resource both to the Indians and white residents ; 

 but the principal article of food, after the moose-deer, is fish ; in- 

 deed, it forms almost the sole support of the traders at some of the 

 posts. The most esteemed fish is a species of salmo, the attih- 

 hawmeg of the Crees, and the white-fish of the Americans. Its 

 usual weight is between three and four pounds, but it has been 

 known to reach sixteen or eighteen pounds. Three fish of the ordi- 

 nary size is the daily allowance to each man at the fort, and is con- 

 sidered as equivalent to two geese, or eight pounds of solid moose- 

 meat. The fishery for the attihhawmeg lasts the whole year, but 

 is most productive in the spawning season, from the middle of Sep- 

 tember to the middle of October. The ottoimeebees, another species 

 of salmo, closely resembles the last. Three species of carp are 

 also found abundantly in all the lakes, their Cree names are namay- 

 peeth, meethquawmaypeeth, and wapaichawkeeshew. The occotc, or 

 river perch, termed also horn-fish, piccarel, or dore, is common, but 

 is not so much esteemed as the attihhawmeg. It attains the length 

 of twenty inches in these lakes. The methy is another common 



