34 COMMON BEAVER* 
which they find on the land side ; this is done for 
the purpose of putting through it a dog, who is so 
trained that he holds the beaver with his teeth, 
and suffers himself to be drawn out by his hind 
legs. The Indians about Hudson’s Bay first drain 
off the water of the dam, and then, covering 
the houses with nets, break in at the top ; on 
which the * affrighted beavers running through 
the door to escape, become entangled in the 
meshes. The hunters immediately seize and skin 
them. 
In some parts of Lapland, beavers are caught 
in traps made of the twigs of fir-trees. The top 
of these the hunters fasten with a small branch of 
poplar, of which the animals are very fond. The 
beaver gnaws away this fastening, is let down, and 
caught. But it is remarked, that wherever two 
have been together, the one has always set the 
other at liberty. 
Besides these associated beavers, there is ano- 
ther sort, called terriers, which either want indus- 
try or sagacity to form houses like the others. 
They burrow in the banks of rivers, making 
the mouth of their holes beneath the freezing 
depth of the water, and work up for a great num- 
ber of feet. These also form a winter stock of 
provisions. 
Beavers vary in their colours. The finest are 
black ; but the general colour is a chesnut brown, 
more or less dark. Some have been found, but 
Very rarely* entirely white ; others spotted. Their 
skins are a prodigious article of trade, being the 
foundation of the hat manufactory. There were 
sold in a single sale of the Hudson’s Bay company, 
in 1763, no fewer than fifty-four thousand, six 
hundred, and seventy skins. They are distinguish- 
ed by different names. Coat beaver is what has 
been worn by the Indians ; parchment beaver has 
