the coureur des bois.—the voyageur.—the birch-bark canoe.—the canadian fur-trade in the last century.—the hudson’s bay company.—bloody feuds between the north-west company of canada and the hudson’s bay company.—their amalgamation into a new company in 1821.—reconstruction of the hudson’s bay company in 1863.—forts or houses.—the attihawmeg.—influence of the company on its savage dependents.—the black bear, or baribal.—the brown bear.—the grizzly bear.—the raccoon.—the american glutton.—the pine marten.—the pekan, or woodshock.—the chinga.—the mink.—the canadian fish-otter.—the crossed fox.—the black or silvery fox.—the canadian lynx, or pishu.—the ice-hare.—the beaver.—the musquash.
as the desire to reach india by the shortest road first made the civilized world acquainted with the eastern coast of north america, so the extension of the fur-trade has been the chief, or rather the only, motive which originally led the footsteps of the white man from the canadian lakes and the borders of hudson’s bay into the remote interior of that vast continent.
the first european fur-traders in north america were french canadians—coureurs des bois—a fitting surname for men habituated to an indian forest-life. three or four of these “irregular spirits” agreeing to make an expedition into the backwoods would set out in their birch-bark canoe, laden with goods received on trust from a merchant, for a voyage of great danger and hardship, it might be of several years, into the wilderness.
on their return the merchant who had given them credit of course received the lion’s share of the skins gathered among the hurons or the iroquois; the small portion left as a recompense for their own labor was soon spent, as sailors spend their hard-earned wages on their arrival in port; and then they started on some new adventure, until finally old age, infirmities, or death prevented their revisiting the forest.
the modern “voyageur,” who has usurped the place of the old “coureurs,” is so like them in manners and mode of life, that to know the one is to become acquainted with the other. in short, the voyageur is merely a coureur subject to strict law and serving for a fixed pay; while the coureur was a voyageur trading at his own risk and peril, and acknowledging no control when once beyond the pale of european colonization.
the camel is frequently called the “ship of the desert,” and with equal justice the birch-bark canoe might be named the “camel of the north american wilds.” for if we consider the rivers which, covering the land like a net-work, are the only arteries of communication; the frequent rapids and cataracts; the shallow waters flowing over a stony ground whose sharp angles would infallibly cut to pieces any boat made of wood; and finally the surrounding deserts, where, in case of an accident, the traveller is left to his own resources, we must come to the conclusion that in such a country no intercourse could possibly be305 carried on without a boat made of materials at once flexible and tough, and capable moreover of being easily repaired without the aid of hammer and nails, of saw and plane. this invaluable material is supplied by the rind of the paper-birch, a tree whose uses in the hudson’s bay territories are almost as manifold as those of the palm-trees of the tropical zone. where the skins of animals are rare, the pliant bark, peeled off in large pieces, serves to cover the indian’s tent. carefully sewn together, and ornamented with the quills of the porcupine, it is made into baskets, sacks, dishes, plates, and drinking-cups, and in fact is, in one word, the chief material of which the household articles of the crees are formed. the wood serves for the manufacture of oars, snow-shoes, and sledges; and in spring the sap of the tree furnishes an agreeable beverage, which, by boiling, may be inspissated into a sweet syrup. beyond the arctic circle the paper-birch is a rare and crooked tree, but it is met with as a shrub as far as 69° n. lat. it grows to perfection on the northern shores of lake superior, near fort william, where the canoes of the hudson’s bay company are chiefly manufactured.
a birch-bark canoe is between thirty and forty feet long, and the rinds of which it is built are sewn together with filaments of the root of the canadian fir. in case of a hole being knocked into it during the journey, it can be patched like an old coat, and is then as good as new. as it has a flat bottom, it does not sink deep into the water; and the river must be almost dried up which could not carry such a boat. the cargo is divided into bales or parcels of from 90 to 100 pounds; and although it frequently amounts to more than four tons, yet the canoe itself is so light that the crew can easily transport it upon their shoulders. this crew generally consists of eight or ten men, two of whom must be experienced boatmen, who receive double pay, and are placed one at the helm, the other at the poop. when the wind is fair, a sail is unfurled, and serves to lighten the toil.
the canadian voyageur combines the light-heartedness of the frenchman with the apathy of the indian, and his dress is also a mixture of that of the red-skins and of the european colonists. frequently he is himself a mixture of gallic and indian blood—a so-called “bois-brûlé,” and in this case doubly light-hearted and unruly. with his woollen blanket as a surcoat, his shirt of striped cotton, his pantaloons of cloth, or his indian stockings of leather, his moccasins of deer-skin, and his sash of gaudily-dyed wool, in which his knife, his tobacco-bag, and various other utensils are stuck, he stands high in his own esteem. his language is a french jargon, richly interlarded with indian and english words—a jumble fit to drive a grammarian mad, but which he thinks so euphonious that his tongue is scarcely ever at rest. his supply of songs and anecdotes is inexhaustible, and he is always ready for a dance. his politeness is exemplary: he never calls his comrades otherwise than “mon frère,” and “mon cousin.” it is hardly necessary to remark that he is able to handle his boat with the same ease as an expert rider manages his horse.
when after a hard day’s work they rest for the night, the axe is immediately at work in the nearest forest, and in less than ten minutes the tent is erected306 and the kettle simmering on the fire. “while the passengers—perhaps some chief trader on a voyage to some distant fort, or a back or a richardson on his way to the polar ocean—are warming or drying themselves, the indefatigable “voyageurs” drag the unloaded canoe ashore, turn it over, and examine it carefully, either to fasten again some loose stitches, or to paint over some damaged part with fresh resin. under the cover of their boat, which they turn against the wind, and with a flaming fire in the foreground, they then bid defiance to the weather. at one o’clock in the morning “lève! lève! lève!” is called; in half an hour the encampment is broken up, and the boat reladen and launched. at eight in the morning a halt is made for breakfast, for which three-quarters of an hour are allowed. about two in the afternoon half an hour’s rest suffices for a cold dinner. eighteen hours’ work and six hours’ rest make out the day. the labor is incredible; yet the “voyageur” not only supports it without a murmur, but with the utmost cheerfulness. such a life requires, of course, an iron constitution. in rowing, the arms and breast of the “voyageur” are exerted to the utmost; and in shallow places he drags the boat after him, wading up to the knees and thighs in the water. where he is obliged to force his way against a rapid, the drag-rope must be pulled over rocks and stumps of trees, through swamps and thickets; and at the portages the cargo and the boat have to be carried over execrable roads to the next navigable water. then the “voyageur” takes upon his back two packages, each weighing 90 pounds, and attached by a leathern belt running over the forehead, that his hands may be free to clear the way; and such portages sometimes occur ten or eleven times in one day.
for these toils of his wandering life he has many compensations, in the keen appetite, the genial sensation of muscular strength, and the flow of spirits engendered by labor in the pure and bracing air. surely many would rather breathe with the “voyageur” the fragrance of the pine forest, or share his rest upon the borders of the stream, than lead the monotonous life of an artisan, pent up in the impure atmosphere of a city.
during the first period of the american fur-trade the “coureurs des bois” used to set out on their adventurous expeditions from the village “la chine,” one of the oldest and most famous settlements in canada, whose name points to a time when the st. lawrence was still supposed to be the nearest way to china. how far some of them may have penetrated into the interior of the continent is unknown; but so much is certain, that their regular expeditions extended as far as the saskatchewan, 2500 miles beyond the remotest european settlements. several factories or forts protected their interests on the banks of that noble river; and the french would no doubt have extended their dominion to the rocky mountains or to the pacific if the conquest of canada by england, in 1761, had not completely revolutionized the fur-trade. the change of dominion laid it prostrate for several years, but our enterprising countrymen soon opened a profitable intercourse with the indian tribes of the west, as their predecessors had done before them. now, however, the adventurous “coureur des bois,” who had entered the wilds as a semi-independent trader, was obliged to serve in the pay of the british merchant, and to follow him, as his “voyageur,”307 deeper and deeper into the wilderness, until finally they reached on the athabasca and the churchill river the indian hunters who used to sell their skins in the settlements of the hudson’s bay company.
this company was founded in the year 1670 by a body of adventurers and merchants under the patronage of prince rupert, second cousin of charles ii. the charter obtained from the crown was wonderfully liberal, comprising not only the grant of the exclusive trade, but also of full territorial possession to all perpetuity of the vast lands within the watershed of hudson’s bay. the company at once established some forts along the shores of the great inland sea from which it derived its name, and opened a very lucrative trade with the indians, so that it never ceased paying rich dividends to the fortunate shareholders until towards the close of the last century, when, as i have already mentioned, its prosperity began to be seriously affected by the energetic competition of the canadian fur-traders.
in spite of the flourishing state of its affairs, or rather because the monopoly which it enjoyed allowed it to prosper without exertion, the company, as long as canada remained in french hands, had conducted its affairs in a very indolent manner, waiting for the indians to bring the produce of their chase to the hudson’s bay settlements, instead of following them into the interior and stimulating them by offering greater facilities for exchange.
for eighty years after its foundation the company possessed no more than four small forts on the shores of hudson’s bay; and only when the encroachments of the canadians at length roused it from its torpor, did it resolve likewise to advance into the interior, and to establish a fort on the eastern shore of sturgeon lake, in the year 1774. up to this time, with the exception of the voyage of discovery which hearne (1770–71) made under its auspices to the mouth of the coppermine river, it had done but little for the promotion of geographical discovery in its vast territory.
meanwhile the canadian fur-traders had become so hateful to the indians that these savages formed a conspiracy for their total extirpation.
fortunately for the white men, the small-pox broke out about this time among the redskins, and swept them away as the fire consumes the parched grass of the prairies. their unburied corpses were torn by the wolves and wild dogs, and the survivors were too weak and dispirited to be able to undertake any thing against the foreign intruders. the canadian fur-traders now also saw the necessity of combining their efforts for their mutual benefit, instead of ruining each other by an insane competition; and consequently formed, in 1783, a society which, under the name of the north-west company of canada, at first consisted of sixteen, later of twenty partners or shareholders, some of whom lived in canada, while the others were scattered among the various stations in the interior. the whole canadian fur-trade was now greatly developed; for while previously each of the associates had blindly striven to do as much harm as possible to his present partners, and thus indirectly damaged his own interests, they now all vigorously united to beat the rival hudson’s bay company out of the field. the agents of this north-west company, in defiance of their charter, were indefatigable in exploring the lakes and woods,308 the plains and the mountains, for the purpose of establishing new trading-stations at all convenient points.
the most celebrated of these pioneers of commerce, alexander mackenzie, reached, in the year 1789, the mouth of the great river which bears his name, and saw the white dolphins gambol about in the arctic sea. in a second voyage he crossed the rocky mountains, and followed the course of the fraser river until it discharges its waters into the georgian gulf opposite to vancouver’s island. here he wrote with perishable vermilion the following inscription on a rock-wall fronting the gulf:—
a. mackenzie
arrived from canada by land,
22 july, 1792.
the words were soon effaced by wind and weather, but the fame of the explorer will last as long as the english language is spoken in america.
the energetic north-west company thus ruled over the whole continent from the canadian lakes to the rocky mountains, and in 1806 it even crossed that barrier and established its forts on the northern tributaries of the columbia river. to the north it likewise extended its operations, encroaching more and more upon the privileges of the hudson’s bay company, which, roused to energy, now also pushed on its posts farther and farther into the interior, and established in 1812 a colony on the red river to the south of winipeg lake, thus driving, as it were, a sharp thorn into the side of its rival. but a power like the north-west company, which had no less than 50 agents, 70 interpreters, and 1120 voyageurs in its pay, and whose chief managers used to appear at their annual meetings at fort william, on the banks of lake superior, with all the pomp and pride of feudal barons, was not inclined to tolerate this encroachment; and thus, after many quarrels, a regular war broke out between the two parties, which, after two years’ duration, led to the expulsion of the red river colonists and the murder of their governor, semple. this event took place in the year 1816, and is but one episode of the bloody feuds which continued to reign between the two rival companies until 1821. at first sight it may seem strange that such acts of violence should take place between british subjects and on british soil, but then we must consider that at that time european law had little power in the american wilderness.
the dissensions of the fur-traders had most deplorable consequences for the redskins; for both companies, to swell the number of their adherents, lavishly distributed spirituous liquors—a temptation which no indian can resist.
the whole of the hunting-grounds of the saskatchewan and athabasca were but one scene of revelry and bloodshed. already decimated by the small-pox, the indians now became the victims of drunkenness and discord, and it was to be feared that if the war and its consequent demoralization continued, the most important tribes would soon be utterly swept away.
113. winter hut of hunters.
the finances of the belligerent companies were in an equally deplorable state; the produce of the chase diminished from year to year with the increase309 of their expenditure; and thus the hudson’s bay company, which used to gratify its shareholders with dividends of 50 and 25 per cent., was unable, from 1808 to 1814, to distribute a single shilling among them. at length wisdom prevailed over passion, and the enemies came to a resolution which, if310 taken from the very beginning, would have saved them both a great deal of treasure and many crimes. instead of continuing to swing the tomahawk, they now smoked the calumet, and amalgamated in 1821, under the name of the “hudson’s bay company,” and under the wing of the charter. the british government, as a dowry to the impoverished couple, presented them with a license of exclusive trade throughout the whole of that territory which, under the name of the hudson’s bay and north-west territories, extends from labrador to the pacific, and from the red river to the polar ocean. this license was terminable in 21 years, but in 1838 it was renewed again for the same period. the good effects of peace and union soon became apparent, for after a few years the company was enabled to pay half-yearly dividends of five per cent., and the indians, to whom brandy was now no longer supplied unless as a medicine, enjoyed the advantages of a more sober life.
about 1848 the imperial government, fearing that vancouver’s island might be annexed by the united states, resolved to place it under the management of the hudson’s bay company. this was accordingly done in 1849. a license of exclusive trade and management was granted for ten years, terminable therefore in 1859 (the time of expiration of the similar license over the indian territory).
these were the palmy days of the hudson’s bay company. they held rupert’s land by the royal charter, which was perpetual; they held vancouver’s island and the whole indian territory to the pacific by exclusive licenses, terminable in 1859; and thus maintained under their sole sway about 4,000,000 square miles—a realm larger than the whole of europe.
for the ten years ending may 31, 1862, the average net annual profits of the company amounted to £81,000 on a paid-up capital of £400,000, but a portion only of this income was distributed as dividend.
in 1863 the company was reconstructed, with a capital of £2,000,000, for the purpose of enlarging its operations—such as opening the southern and more fruitful districts of the saskatchewan or the winipeg to european colonization; but the northern, and by far the larger portion of the vast domains over which, after the dismemberment of british columbia and the stikine territory, it still holds sway, have too severe a climate ever to be cultivated, and, unless their mineral wealth be made available, must ever be what they are now—a fur-bearing region of gloomy pine-forests, naked barren-grounds, lakes, and morasses.
over this vast extent of desert the company has established about 150 trading-posts, called “houses,” or “forts,” which, however, consist merely of a few magazines and dwelling-houses, protected by a simple wall, stockade, or palisade sufficiently strong to resist any sudden attack of the indians. among the tribes, with whom a friendly intercourse has long subsisted, and whose fidelity may implicitly be trusted, no guard is ever kept, and it is only in forts more recently built in remote parts that precautions are taken.
114. fort edmonton, north saskatchewan.
these forts are always situated on the borders of a lake or river, both for facility of transport and for the purpose of catching fish, particularly the species of coregonus, or white-fish, which, from its importance to all the natives of311 rupert’s land between the great canada lakes and the arctic sea, the crees call attihawmeg, or the “reindeer of the waters.” in many of the trading-posts it forms the chief food of the white residents; and it is asserted that though deprived of bread and vegetables, a man may live upon it for months or312 even years without tiring. according to sir john richardson, no fish in any country or sea excels the white-fish in flavor and wholesomeness, and it is the most beneficial article of diet to the red indians near the arctic circle, being obtained with more certainty than the reindeer, and with less change of abode in summer and winter.
each of the principal forts is the seat of a chief factor, or general administrator of a district, and of a chief trader, who transacts the business with the indians.
besides these principal functionaries—out of whom the governor is chosen—the company employed, in 1860, 5 surgeons, 87 clerks, 67 postmasters, 1200 permanent servants, and 500 voyageurs, besides temporary employés of different ranks, so that the total number of persons in its pay was at least 3000. besides this little army of immediate dependents, the whole male indian population of its vast territory, amounting to about 100,000 hunters and trappers, may be considered as actively employed in the service of the company. armed vessels, both sailing and steam, are employed on the north-west coast to carry on the fur-trade with the warlike natives of that distant region. more than twenty years ago this trade alone gave employment to about 1000 men, occupying 21 permanent establishments, or engaged in navigating five armed sailing vessels and one armed steamer, varying from 100 to 300 tons in burden.
115. trader’s camp.
the influence of the company over its savage dependents may justly be called beneficial. both from motives of humanity and self-interest, every effort is made to civilize them. no expense is spared to preserve them from the313 want into which their improvidence too often plunges them; and the example of an inflexible straightforwardness serves to gain their confidence. this moral preponderance, and the admiration of the indian for the superior knowledge and arts of the europeans, explain how a mere handful of white men, scattered over an enormous territory, not only lead a life of perfect security, but exercise an almost absolute power over a native population outnumbering them at least several hundred times. the indians have in course of time acquired many new wants, and have thus become more and more dependent on the white traders. the savage hunter is no longer the free, self-dependent man, who, without any foreign assistance, was able to make and manufacture, with his own hands, all the weapons and articles needed for his maintenance. without english firearms and fishing-gear, without iron-ware and woollen blankets, he could no longer exist, and the unfortunate tribe on which the company should close its stores would soon perish for want. “history,” says professor hind, “does not furnish another example of an association of private individuals exerting a powerful influence over so large an extent of the earth’s surface, and administering their affairs with such consummate skill and unwavering devotion to the original objects of their incorporation.”
the standard of exchange in all mercantile transactions with the natives is a beaver skin, the relative value of which, as originally established by the traders, differs considerably from the present worth of the articles represented by it; but the indians are averse to change. they receive their principal outfit of clothing and ammunition on credit in the autumn, to be repaid by their winter hunts; the amount intrusted to each of the hunters varying with their reputations for industry and skill.
the furs which, in the course of the year, are accumulated in the various forts or trading-stations, are transported in the short time during which the rivers and lakes are navigable, and in the manner described at the beginning of the chapter, to york factory, or moose factory, on hudson’s bay, to montreal or vancouver, and shipped from thence mostly to london. from the more distant posts in the interior, the transport often requires several seasons; for travelling is necessarily very slow when rapids and portages continually interrupt navigation, and the long winter puts a stop to all intercourse whatever.
the goods from europe, consisting (besides those mentioned above) of printed cotton or silk handkerchiefs, or neck-cloths, of beads, and the universal favorite tobacco, require at least as much time to find their way into the distant interior; and thus the company is not seldom obliged to wait for four, five, or six years before it receives its returns for the articles sent from london. it must, however, be confessed, that it amply repays itself for the tediousness of delay, for dr. armstrong was told by the esquimaux of cape bathurst—a tribe in the habit of trading with the indians from the mackenzie, who are in direct communication with the hudson’s bay company’s agents—that for three silver-fox skins—which sometimes fetch as high a price as twenty-five or thirty guineas apiece at the annual sale of the company—they had got from the traders cooking utensils which might be worth eight shillings and sixpence!
the value of the skins annually imported into england by the company314 amounts to about £150,000 or £200,000. besides, many of its furs are bartered for russian-american peltry, and a large quantity is exported direct to china.
116. swamp formed by deserted beaver-dam.
after this brief account of one of the most remarkable mercantile associations of any age, some remark on the chief fur-bearing animals of the hudson’s315 bay territory may not be without interest. among these, the black bear, muskwa, or baribal (ursus americanus), is one of the most valuable, as his long hair—unlike that of the brown or the white bear—is beautifully smooth and glossy. he inhabits the forest regions of north america, but migrates according to the seasons. in spring he seeks his food in the thickets along the banks of the rivers or lakes; in summer he retreats into the forests; in winter he either wanders farther to the south, or hollows out a kind of lair beneath the root of an overthrown tree, where, as the cold is more or less severe, he either finds a retreat after his excursions, or hibernates buried in the snow. he feeds chiefly on berries, grain, acorns, roots, eggs, and honey; though, when pressed by hunger, he will attack other quadrupeds. he climbs upon trees or rocks with great agility, and, being very watchful, is not easily got at in summer. sometimes, however, his caution brings about his destruction; for, from fear of some possible danger, or at the slightest noise, he rises on his hind legs to look over the bushes under which he lies concealed, and thus offers a mark to the bullet of the hunter. in the winter, when the snow betrays his traces, he is more easily shot, and his skin and flesh are then also in the best condition. in spite of his apparent clumsiness and stolidity, the muskwa is more alert than the brown bear, whom he nearly approaches in size; he runs so fast that no man can overtake him, and is an excellent swimmer and climber. when attacked, he generally retreats as fast as possible into the forest; but if escape is impossible, he turns furiously upon his pursuers, and becomes exceedingly dangerous. dogs alone are incapable of mastering him, as he is always ready to receive them with a stroke of his fore paw; but they are very useful in driving him up a tree, and thus giving the hunter an opportunity of hitting him in the right spot. when in a state of captivity, the baribal, in his mild and good-humored disposition, is distinguished, from the brown and white bear. his fur is also much more valuable than that of the brown bear.
it is not yet fully ascertained whether the american brown bear is identical with that of europe; the resemblance, however, is close. in summer he wanders to the shores of the polar sea, and indulges more frequently in animal food than the baribal. he is even said to attack man when pressed by hunger; but all those whom sir john richardson met with ran away as soon as they saw him.
as the grizzly bear (ursus ferox) is found on the rocky mountains up to the latitude of 61°, he undoubtedly deserves a place among the sub-arctic animals. the skin of this most formidable of the ursine race, who is about nine feet long, and is said to attain the weight of eight hundred pounds, is but little prized in the fur-trade. he is the undoubted monarch of his native wilds, for even the savage bison flies at his approach.
although the raccoon (procyon lotor) is more commonly found in canada and the united states, yet he is also an inhabitant of the hudson’s bay territories, where he is met with up to 56° n. lat. this interesting little animal, which, like the bears, applies the sole of its foot to the ground in walking, has an average length of two feet from the nose to the tail, which is about ten inches long. its color is grayish-brown, with a dusky line running from the top of316 the head down the middle of the face, and ending below the eyes. the tail is very thickly covered with hair, and is annulated with several black bars on a yellowish-white ground. its face is very like that of the fox, whom it equals in cunning, while its active and playful habits resemble those of the monkey. its favorite haunts are the woods, near streams or lakes, for one of its most marked peculiarities, from which it has received its specific name of lotor, or the washer, is its habit of plunging its dry food into water before eating it. the raccoon devours almost any thing that comes in his way—fruits and grain of all sorts, birds’ nests, mice, grasshoppers, beetles: while the waters yield him fishes, crabs, and oysters, which he is very expert in opening. his fur forms no inconsiderable article of commerce, and is very fashionable in russia. in 1841, 111,316 raccoon skins were imported into st. petersburg, and more than half a million were stapled in leipzig, intended, no doubt, for smuggling across the frontier.
the fur of the american glutton, or wolverine, is much used for muffs and linings; yet, from its being a notorious robber of their traps, the animal is as much hated by the indian hunters as the dog-fish by the northern fishermen.
the hudson’s bay territories can not boast of the sable, but the american pine marten (martes abietum) is not much inferior in value, as its dark-brown fur is remarkably fine, thick, and glossy. it frequents the woody districts, where it preys on birds, and all the smaller quadrupeds from the hare to the mouse. even the squirrel is incapable of escaping the pine marten, and after having vaulted and climbed from tree to tree, sinks at last exhausted into its gripe.
the pekan, or woodshock (martes canadensis), the largest of the marten family, is also the one which most richly supplies the fur-market. it is found over the whole of north america, and generally lives in burrows near the banks of rivers, as it principally feeds on the small quadrupeds that frequent the water.
several species of ermine inhabit the hudson’s bay territories, but their skins are of no great importance in the fur-trade. like many other species of the marten family, they eject, when irritated or alarmed, a fluid of a fetid odor; but in this respect they are far surpassed by the chinga (mephitis chinga), whose secretion has so intolerable a smell that the least quantity suffices to produce nausea and a sense of suffocation. this animal is frequently found near hudson’s bay, whence it extends farther to the north. in spite of the formidable means of defense with which it has been armed by nature, it is of use to man, for its black and white striped fur (which, as may easily be supposed, never appears in the european market) provides the indians with coverings or tobacco-pouches. before seizing the chinga, they irritate it with a long switch until it has repeatedly emptied the glands from which the noxious vapor issues; then suddenly springing upon it, they hold it up by the tail and dispatch it.
the mink (vison americanus), another member of the weasel family, is one of the most important fur-bearing animals of the hudson’s bay territories. it resembles the small european fish-otter (vison lutreola), but its skin is far more valuable—the brown hair with which it is covered being much softer and thicker.317 as its toes are connected by a small web, it is an excellent swimmer, and as formidable to the salmon or trout in the water as to the hare on land.
the canadian fish-otter (lutra canadensis) far surpasses the european species, both in size and in the beauty of its glossy brown skin. it occurs as far northward as 66° or 67° lat., and is generally taken by sinking a steel trap near the mouth of its burrow. it has the habit of sliding or climbing to the top of a ridge of snow in winter, or of a sloping moist bank in summer, where, lying on the belly, with the fore feet bent backward, it gives itself with the hind legs an impulse which sends it swiftly down the eminence. this schoolboy sport it continues for a long time.
the red fox (vulpes fulvus), which is found throughout the hudson’s bay territories, has likewise a much finer fur than our common fox. it is of a bright ferruginous red on the head, back, and sides; beneath the chin it is white, while the throat and neck are of a dark gray, and the under parts of the body, toward the tail, are of a very pale red. the crossed fox (canis decussatus), thus named from the black cross on its shoulders, is still more valuable; its skin—the color of which is a sort of gray, resulting from the mixture of black and white hair—being worth four or five guineas. peltry still more costly is furnished by the black or silvery fox (canis argentatus), whose copious and beautiful fur is of a rich and shining black or deep brown color, with the longer or exterior hairs of a silvery white. unfortunately it is of such rare occurrence that not more than four or five are annually brought to a trading-post.
the canada lynx, or pishu (lynx canadensis), is smaller than the european species, but has a finer fur, those skins being most valued which approach to a pale or whitish color, and on which the spots are most distinct. it chiefly feeds on the hare (lepus americanus), which is not much larger than a rabbit, and is found on the banks of the mackenzie as far north as 68° or 69°.
still nearer to the pole, the ice-hare (lepus glacialis) ranges as far as the parry islands (75° n. lat.), where it feeds on the arctic willow, and other high northern plants. its favorite resorts are the stony districts, where it easily finds a refuge; in winter it burrows in the snow. in summer its back is grayish white, but as the cold increases, it becomes white, with the exception of the tips of the ears, which remain constantly black.
formerly the beaver (castor fiber) was the most important of the fur-bearing animals of the hudson’s bay territories. in the year 1743, 127,000 beaver skins were exported from montreal to la rochelle, and 26,700 by the hudson’s bay company to london. at present, the exportation hardly amounts to one-third of this quantity. as the beaver chiefly lives on the barks of the willow, the beech, and the poplar, it is not found beyond the forest region; but along the banks of the mackenzie it reaches a very high latitude.
the musk-rat, ondatra or musquash (fiber zibethicus)—which is about the size of a small rabbit, and of a reddish-brown color—is called by the indians the younger brother of the beaver, as it has similar instincts. essentially a bank-haunting animal, it is never to be seen at any great distance from the water, where it swims and dives with consummate ease, aided greatly by the webs which connect the hinder toes. it drives a large series of tunnels into318 the bank, branching out in various directions, and having several entrances, all of which open under the surface of the water. if the animal happens to live upon a marshy and uniformly wet soil, it becomes a builder, and lives in curiously-constructed huts, from three to four feet in height, plastered with great neatness in the inside, and strengthened externally with a kind of basket-work of rushes, carefully interlaced together. the judgment of the animal shows itself in the selection of the site, invariably choosing some ground above the reach of inundation, or else raising its hut on an artificial foundation; for, though obliged to reside near flat, submerged banks, where the soft soil is full of nourishing roots, it requires a dry home to rest in.
in winter the musquash villages—for the huts are sometimes built in such numbers together as to deserve that name—are generally covered with thick snow, under which this rodent is able to procure water, or to reach the provisions laid up in its storehouse. thus it lives in ease and plenty, for the marten is too averse to the water, and the otter too bulky to penetrate into its tunnels. but when the snow melts, and the huts of the musquash appear above the ground, the indian, taking in his hand a large four-barbed spear, steals up to the house, and driving his weapon through the walls, is sure to pierce the animals inside. holding the spear firmly with one hand, he takes his tomahawk from his belt, dashes the house to pieces, and secures the inmates. another method employed by the indians to capture the musquash is to block up the different entrances to their tunnels, and then to intercept the animals as they try to escape. sometimes the gun is used, but not very frequently, as the musquash is so wary that it dives at the least alarm, and darts into one of its holes. the trap, however, is the ordinary means of destruction. the soft and glossy fur of the musquash, though worth no more than from 6d. to 9d., is still a not inconsiderable article of trade, as no less than half a million skins are annually imported into england for hat-making; nor is there any fear of the musquash being extirpated, in spite of its many enemies, as it multiplies very fast, and is found near every swamp or lake with grassy banks as far as the confines of the polar sea.
