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1S06.] AMERICAN FURa. 44ft
y:(.(>
th^ Roman question, espccialli', all the truest testimony to a state of /hind con-
of eloquence and sa/casin, all
aHSft^iilts sequent upon such transitional^ such mo-
the Vclght of well-groundecl /testimony mentous conditions of the Ration's life.
are brought to bear. Among 'noticeable The enthusiastic natriotisny that used to
eontriHutions of this class, I may mention find vent in Italian 8ont>6t8 or canzoni
The A Mictions of the liotnath States and has now its positive anil more rational
the Ftituxe of the Court ofJlmie, the Let- utterance. Next amoi^ prominent feat-
ters of Jria Holiness aiid of the Tuscan ures of this literary /4novement is the
Jiishops, mth Notes and Observations by absolutely startling Impetus of the hos-
one of their ^rethren, the COiirt of Home lility against an ^clesiastical system
and the Gomel, Napoleon III. an i the which, still potent |pid sincerely accepted
Clergy, etc. sThe Clenjy find their Mo- as it is by milli(ijfis^ on this side of the
rality in relation to the Ciiil Power, by Alps, no longer /corresponds to the de-
the Abbate FioVenza, isa pf^tnphlet of gra- velopments of Xsivil lifti, or intelligence
ver character, airected to the establish- among the re^ective or »ctive-minded.
ment of the wriVer's proposition that the And yet thiij/' literature, c^jnsidered as
teaching of the Cktholic clergy, as expres- a whole, caiftnot be called irreligious ;
sed by their best\accredited representa- rather indet^ is it imbued with'an under-
tives has always bien in accordance with curi'cnt of /reverence, in the spirit of
true political liberalism. Tjje first-named indignant protestation for the ho^or ot
in the above list, m Geimarelli, consists Divine Trifth. Inlmaginative literature
of contributions byUhat writer founded we perceive a purer moral than ever
upon documents tha\ f»?ll into the hands announced itself ihcnovelle or ronianzi m
of the new governniAit after the down- of earlier time ; in the historic, a wider
fall of the old in the Uiegations an ap- sympathy for the human ; in the .aggre-
:

preciation of ecclesiastical rule fully jus- gate we find sufficient in its attributes
tified by official evidence, logical in se- to claim a heartfelt welcome for Italian
verity, and backed by m-oofs that what- Literature as preeminently that of Hope.
ever else its characteristtes, inhumanity Kj. X'. 11.

was a distinguishing featui'e of its proce-

dure in that unfortunate country.
Contemporaneously witn the great
revolution in Italy, her Literature has
been evolving into vitality, and has cor-
responded to the great realities of the
present in a spirit of earnesti^ss that de-
serves thoughtful ajttention. It has kept
pace with the rapid march ofWents, by
discussing, commenting upon, W
record-
ing them in all th^ir aspects and tenden-
cies. It may fall 'short of expektation in
respect of some /high requirements; it
has not yet conveyed in univensally in-
telligible accent^ the announcement of
fixed purpose, on nationally adopljed con-
viction in the fephere of some of the
grandest interesis. But Avhat shoald we
expect from an^ literature more than the
reflex of existing temper, impulsA^ or
belief? The j&eficiency observabll^ in
Italian literature may be explained by
the very fact| that its heart and con-
science have l/een stirred so profoundly,
that the questions at issue are of such
vast bearings^ that the fruits must be
waited for, the produce left to mature
itself for years yet to come. A
certain
vagueness and hesitation is perhaps the
Tlie Leisure Hour.
AMERICAN FURS:
now TRAPPED AND TRADED.
BY J. K. LORD, F.Z.S.
It would be difficult to name any branch
of commerce that has tended more to
develop man's energy, courage, and pa-
tient endurance of every hardship and
privation than has the fur trade. To the
explorations of sturdy trappers, pioneers,
and adventui-ers of all classes, and from
all countries, in pursuit of fur, we may
trace the sources from Avhich the knowl-
edge of three fourths of the continent of
North America has been derived.
The use of furs, as of other skins, may
be s«>id to have existed since the days
wut^ man first wore garments ; but not
until the early part of the sixth cen-
tury was there any direct trade in furs
brought from remote districts. At this
early period we find the wealthier Ro-
mans used sables from the shores of tho
Arctic Ocean. In the twelfth century
wearing furs had become very general

%-**-i*-«tt <(». >•

 446
in England, and we learn that Edward
ISd?, raudo an order that none of
III., in<
his subjeotH should wear fur unless able
to command an income of £100 per an-
num. About the seventeenth century
the idea of establishing a settlement for
the purpose of procuring the rich furs
said to abound on the shores of the frozen
seas was suggested by one Grosscliez
•
to the French government, but being
coldly received he left France and came
to England, and obtained an interview
with Prince Rupert. This negotiation
ended in the fitting out of a ship, which
in 1638 reached the land which has since
borne the name of Rupert's Land. The
ship returned after a sojourn of three
years, with a report so favorable in all
Its details that several noblemen and
gentlemen of wealth, headed by Prince
Rupert, formed themselves into a com-
pany, and subscribed a capital of £10,-
600.
In 1670 a charter was granted by
Charles II., giving the new company,
calling themselves " The Hudson's Bay dium of exchange has since then gradu-
Company," the entire possession " of all ally become familiar to the Indians, and
the lands and territories upon the coun-
tries, coasts, and confines of the seas,
lakes, bays, rivers, creeks, and sounds,
in whatsoever latitude they shall be,
that lie between the entrance of the
straits called Hudson's
Straits." It
would be of interest to ti-ace the
little
gradual rise of this Company, or to relate
the terrible jealousy, forays, and deadly
feuds that for many years, to the dis-
grace of civilization, raged betwixt the
Hudson's Bay and a rival Company, that
subsequently grew into existence, known
as the Northwest Company. These
feuds happily ended about the year
1838, when the two companies, to use
an Indian expression, " buried the hatch-
et," and became one, still retaining the
old title, "The Hudson's Bay Com-
pany."
The territories of this Company are
truly enormous, extending from the Ca-
nadian frontier to the shores of the Pa-
cificand Arctic oceans, including lands
that on the one hand own allegiance to
Russia, and on the other to the United
States. The area of the country under its
immediate influence is about 4,600,000
square miles in extent, divided into four
departments, fifty-three districts, and one
hundred and fifty-two trading posts. This
AMERICAN FURS. [April,
vast extent of hunting country is every-
where sprinkled over with lakes, and in
all directions intersected by rivers and
lesser streams, abounding wilh edible
fish. East of the Rocky Mou ;tain8 are
vast prairies over which roams tiie bison,
lord of the plains ; while west of these
mountains the land is densely timbered.
The most northerly station, east of the
Rocky Mountains, is on the Mackenzie
river, within the Arctic circle ; so terri-
bly intense is the cold at this post that
axes tempered specially can alone bo
used for splitting and cutting wood,
ordinary hatchets breasting aa thotigh
made of glass. West of the Rockies,
the most northerly station is Fort Simp-
son, situated near the Silka river, the
boundary betwixt Russian America and
British Columbia.
The systcnf of trading at all the posts
of the Company is entirely one of barter.
In early days, when first I wandered
over the fur countries east of the Rock-
ies, money was unknown but this me-
;
the all-potent dollar is rapidly asserting
its supremacy savagedom.
in
The standard of value throughout all
the territories of the Company is still,
however, the skin of the beaver, by
which the price of all other furs is regu-
lated. Any service rendered, or labor
executed, by the Indians, is paid for in
skins ; the beaver skin being the unit of
computation. To explain this system
more clearly, let us assume that four
leavers are equivalent in value to a sil-
ver-fox skin, two martins to a beaver,
twenty muskrats to a martin, and so
on. As an example, let us suppose an
Indian wishes to purchase a blanket or
a gun from the Hudson's Bay Company :
he would have to give, say, three silver
foxes, or twenty beaver skins, or two
hundred muskrats, or other furs, in ac-
cordance with their proper relative posi-
tions of worth in the tariff. For a very
evident reason, the price paid for furs is
not fixed in strict accordance with their
intrinsic value ; if this were so, all the
valuable fur bearing animals would soon
become extinct J" as no Indian would
bother himself to trap a cheap fur while
a high - priced one remained uncaught.
He may very possibly have to pay five
silver-fox skins for blankets (worth about
 : ;

[April, 1866.1 AMERICAN FURS. U1

evcry- at a rough estimate, represents a money
1
£3), the value of the skins paid repre-
and in senting i;40 ; still he can, if ho chooses, value ecpial to £20,000,000 sterling. It
jrs find buy the same article by paying for it in will be interesting to give a brief history
edible rauskrat, yellow fox, or other furs of in- of the various furs traded by the Hud-
lins are ferior worth. The Company very gen- son's Bay and other companies, how and
e bison, erally issue to the Indians such goods as where caught, together with a statement
)f tlicse
they need up to a certain amount, when of the average number of each species
inbered. the summer supplies arrive at the posts annually imported from the Company's
i of the — ^these advances to be paid for at the territories and other fur-yielding coun-
ickenzio conclusion of the hunting season. In tries.
so teri'i-
hiring Indians east of the Cascade Foremost in the list is the Hudson's
o8t that Mountains, while occupied in marking Bay Sable {Mustela Amerieana). The
lono be the boundary line, our agreement was pine martin, or sable of Northwest
r wood, always to pay them in beaver skins, say, America, is not esteemed so valuable
though two or three per day, in accordance with as the sable from Russia, known to natu-
Rockies, the duty required ; but this agreement ralists as MuHtda Zibillina ; but there
rt Simp- did not mean actual payment in real is no doubt that the two species are in
ver, the skins— a matter that to us would have reality one and the same, the difference
irica and —
been impossible but that we were to of temperature, and other local modify-
give the Indian an order on the nearest ing causes, readily accounting for the
;he posts trading post of the Hudson's Bay Com- better quality of the Russian fur. About
»f barter. pany, to supply him with any goods he one hundred and twenty thousand skins
,'andered might select up to the value of the beaver are brought on an average into this
lie Tlock- country every year by the Iludson's Bay
skins specified on the order.
this me- The trading posts of the Company are Company, and to these we may add
!n gradu- strange, quaint - looking places, built ac- quite as many, if not more, from Russia
ians, and cording to a general type. A trading and Tartary. The ligliter-colored skins
asserting ^fort is invariably a square inclosed by are usually dyed, and frequently sold as
immense trees or pickets, one end sunk Russian sable. Martin trapping requires
ghout all deeply in the ground, and placed close great skill and experience. The favorite
y is still, together ; a platform, about the height haunts of the little robber are the pine
aver, by of an ordinary man, is carried along the forests, especially where dead or burnt
8 is rega- sides of the square, so as to enable any timber abounds. Its food consists of
or labor one to peep over without being in danger anything it can catch by craft or cun-
lid for in from arrow or bullet; the entrance is ning, young birds and eggs, squirrels,
)e xinit of closed by two massive gates, an inner the lesser rodents, marmots, and rabbits.
8 system and an outer ; and all the houses of the The trap most frequently used is a fall
that four chief traders and employes, %\\q trading trap (although sometimes steel traps are
e to a sil- house, fur room, and stores, are within employed ; in other words, the ordinary
a beaver, the square. In many of the posts the rat gin). The fall trap is of Indian in-
I, and so trade room is cleverly contrived, so as to vention, and a very ingenious contriv-
ippose an prevent a sudden rush of Indians ; the ance. A half circle is first built of large
lanket or approach from outside the pickets being stones to the height of about three feet
onipany through a long narrow passage, only of then a heavy tree is laid across the en-
ree silver sufficient width to admit one Indian at trance, one end being raised and sup-
3, or two a time, and bent at an acute angle near ported on a contrivance very like the
irs, in ac- the window, where the trader stands. figure - of - four trap, nsed by boys for
itive posi- This precaution is rendered necessary, catching small birds ; a dainty bit of
or a very inasmuch as were the passage straight rabbit, or a ruffed grouse skinned, is hung
for furs is they might easily shoot him. At the on a projecting stick, built into the back
with their four angles are bastions, octagonal in of the semicircle of stones. The little
so, all the shape, pierced with embrasures, to lead poacher can only get at the bait by
^ould soon the Indians to believe il^the existence of creeping under the tree ; then seizing
an would
I
cannon, and intended to strike terror in it, and finding himself unable to pull it
fur while any red skinned rebel daring to dispute down, he backs out, tugging the string
un caught, the supremacy of the Company. to which the bait is .attached along the
o pay five The total worth of the furs that have stick, on which rests the figure of four,
orth about been collected by this Company alone. supporting the tree. Just as the centre

L4Vjio
T
44% AMERICAN FURa [April,

of hlfl back comes under the fall or tree, it is not known to catch fish or go in the
he loowH the support by tugging the water, except to wash, or swim a stream.
meat otl" the Htick, when down it falls on It climbs readily, and lives on birds and
him, killing him instantly, but doing no rodents. A very fine pair are in the
injury to the fur. The winter fur is by Ucgent's I*ark Zoological Gardens. It
fiir tiio most valuable, and the Indians is trapped much in the satne way as the
say the first shower of rain after the martin. The tail is very long and bushy,
snow disappears spoils the martin. The tapering to a fine brush-like point, and
animal is skinned somewhat like a rab- quite black. At one time a large trade
bit, the skin being inverted as it is re- was carried on with tails, only the tail
moved, then placed on a flat board, and being worn by Jpwish merchants as an
so dried in the sun. A good martin ornament in Poland. About twelve
skin is worth in the trade from two and thousand fisher skins aio annually im-
a lialf to three dollars ; about ten or ported. I obtained some remarkably
twelve shillings. Very fine martins come fine specimens of the fisher in the pine
from the western slopes of the Cascade woods of the Na-hoi-lc-pit-ke valley, on
and coast ranges of mountains the fur- the Columbia river. The valu*?, or trade
;

ther north, the darker and better are price, in liritish Columbia, is from two
the skins. dollars fifty cents to three dollars per
The Russian Sable inhabits the forest^ skin. The fisher in full winter fur makes
clad mountains of Siberia, a desolate, a far handsomer mutf than the sable.
cold, inhospitable region. The animal The fur of the Mink {Ifustela vison)
is hunted during winter, and gener- is vastly inferior to either the fisher or
ally by exiles. There are various meth- martin, being harsh, short, and glossy.
ods of taking the sable. Great numbers The habits of the animal, too, are entire-
are shot with small-bore rifles; others ly different. The mink closely resembles
are trapped in steel and fall traps, and the otter in its mode of life, i'requenting
many taken in nets placed over their streams inland, and rocks, small islands,
places of retreat, into which they are and sheltered bays on the sea-coast. It
tracked on the snow. Who can picture swims with great ease and swiftness,
to himself, without shuddering, the case captures fish, eats moUusks, crabs, and
of the condemned sable - hunter ? He any marine animal that falls in its way.
leaves, with heavy heart, the last thinly- Should a wounded duck or sea-bird hap-
scattered habitations which border the pen to be discovered by this animal, it is
pathless wilds ; a sky of clouds and at once pounced upon and greedily de-
darkness is above, bleak mountains and voured. On the inland rivers it dives
gloomy forests before him the recesses for and catches great numbers of cray-
;

of the forests, the defiles of the moun- fish, that abound in almost every stream
tains must be traversed : these are the east and west of the Cascades. Along
haunts of the sable. The cold is below the river banks, the little heaps of cray-
zero, but the fur will prove the finer! fish shells direct the Indian to the where-
Nerved by necessity, and stimulated by abouts of the mink, which is generally
the hope of sharing the gains, on he caught with a steel trap baited with (iifHciiltl

presses. Fatigue and cold exhaust him, fish. The trade price is about fifty cents, liimself
[
a snow storm overtakes him, the bear- or two shillings, per skin. Very little of i Kkiii II

ings or way-marks are lost or forgotten. the fur is used in England, the greater Iso poJ
Provisions tail, and too often he who part being again exported to the Conti- ree v[
promised, to his expecting and anxious nent. About two hundred and fifty ao sanj
friends, a speedy return, is seen no more. thousand skins are annually imported. x skill
Such is sable - hunting in Siberia, and I procured some very fine specimens of |tchinr
such the hapless fate of many an exile, the mink at Vancouver Island, that are
who perishes in the pursuit of what now stuff^ed and set up in the British liortii
only adds to the luxuries and superflui- Museum. #y th(
ties of the great. The Ermine {Mustela longicauda) of #ed en
The Fisher {Mustela Penanntii) is very Northwest America is hardly worth im- a|nualh'
similar to the pine martin in all his porting. The fur never grows long, or iThe
habits, but mych larger. Why it was becomes white enough in winter. The MrchasJ
Darned a fisher I could never imagine, as Indians use it for ornamental purposes^ CHfalers. [
 1866.] AMERICAN FURS. 440
[April,

;o in the and often wear the skin as a charm, or ped in fall traps, very similar in con-

stream, nu'dU'ine, us they term it. In suinnu'r struction to those used for the martin.
,

irtlrt aiul
till' ermine is reddish brown.
- weasel The famed Beaver ( C<^'^/or /rVicr), in
ia the
Tiie best comes from Siberia, both structure and habits, is by far the
eriniiie
)

lenfl. It Norway, and Hiissia. The bhu^k of the most interesting animal killed and hunt-
tail was, in the time of Edward III., for- ed for the sake of its skin. So much
ly as llio

(I bushy, bidden to Ik! worn by any but meml>errt was its fur in demand, prior to the in-
mid of lie royid family.
t troduction of silk and rabbits' fur, in
Dint,
•re trade ThcKViceoon {Procyon lotor) is wide- the manufacture of hats, that the poor
the tail ly distriliuted throughout North and little rodent had in some districts become
Noitliwest America. Crafty and artful, nearly exterminated. IX'scriptions of
nts as an
twelve to an American proverb, his life is en- their houuM and damn have been so fre-
im- tirely one of brigandage! plundering on quently given by various writers that it
nally ;

narkably every available opportunity, and waging would be waste of space to repeat them
the i>ino
destructive war on any bird, beast, or here. On the streams in Southern Ore-
on reptile inferior to himsoU in strength, gon th(! beaver is most abundant, and
ralley,
«, or trade courage, or cunning. The fur is not one shallow lake I accidentally came
from two very valuable, being principally used in upon was literally filled M'ith beaver-
per ni'ikiiig carriage rugs, and lining infe- houses there must have been many
;
)lhir8
rior cloaks and coats on the OontiiiMit. hundred habitations, as the lake was
fur makes
sable.
About five hundred and twenty tliou- quite a mile in width, and round it the
saiid skins are sent annually from the trees were felled in all directions, as if
ila vison)
fisher or
Hudson's Hay Company's territories. the land was being cleared for farming.
I

Tlu^y are generally shot those that are I do not believe the curiously fiattened
;
id glossy,
trapped are taken in steel traps. scaly Uril is ever used, save as a j)ower-
are entire-
resembles The three species of foxes traded by fid 0(ir,or rather nidder, aiding the ani-
•equenting the Hudson's Bay Company are tlu; Ued mal to dive and swim, but particularly
iill islands, Fox ( yii/pcs niacronruti), the Cross in towing heavy sticks in rapid streams

-coast. It Fox { V(tr ilecnssatus), and the Silver or across pools to its dams and houses.
swiftness, Fox ( ['^iir concur (Juite as many trees are cut by the
arf/eiitatiiH). I (piite

crabs, and with Professor Baird in making the red beaver's sharp teeth to procure fi)od as
its Avay.
fox of IJritish Columbia and (Oregon a to construct dams ; the bark of the top-
n
distinct s[)ecies, .ind in considering the most branches of the Poptdus trcnm-
a-bird hap-
cross and silver foxes as varieties of th.e loldes, or aspen, being its favorite diet.
niroal, it is
;reedily de-
red. I have again and again carefully The beaver trapper, be he white man
examined large numbers of fox skms at or Indian, must, of necessity, lead a soli-
rs it dives
the dillerent trading posts of tlij Com- tary, desolate, and dangerous life. To
rs of cray-
{)any, and have invariably found every be alone in the wildest solitudes of un-
rery stream
Along ntermediate tint of color, mcging by known wastes demands a courage and
es.
ips of cray- i"egular gradations, from the red into endurance of no ordinary kind. The
the cross, and from the cross into the lone trapper knows not the emxdation,
\ the where-
iiher and black, rendering it often a the wild hurrah and crash of music that
8 generally
Oifficidt question even for the trader cheers the soldier as he marches steadi-
waited with
himself to decide which of the varieties ly up to the deadly breach he cannot
tfifty cents, ;

ery little of i skin really belonged to. The Indians feel that powerful incentive to be brave
tfso positively assert that ctths of the arising from the knoAvledge that a gal-
the greater
Wiree varieties are constantly seen in lant deed will be handed down with his
) the Conti-
io same litter. The black and silver name in the pages of history he has no
. and fifty ;

kx skins are very valuable, a good skin opportunity for display before his fellow-
y imported,
Itching readily from forty to fifty dol- man alone with nature and his Creator,
pecimens of ;

,nd, that are

%s, £10 to £12; the red fox is only he is self-dependent, and his indomitable
igortli about as many shillings. About courage can only spring from a firm re-
the British
^y thousand red foxes, forty -five hun- liance on his own strength, ever support-
gicauda) of
ted cross, and one thousand silver, are ed by an unseen hand. beaver is a A
ly worth im- aiinually imported. very difficult animal to trap. The trap-
long, or
iThe Silver Fox fur is almost entirely per knows at a glance the various marks
ows
The Mrchased by the Chinese and Russian of the animal, called signs ; these dis-
winter.
tal purposes, 2|falers. The animals are nearly all trap- covered, the next operation is to find
 ;
: ;

460 AMERICAN FURS. [April.

out how tho beaver gets to ]m lionso, in these days of progross it has become
\^hicli is pcnernlly in Bliallow water. nearly obsolete, although it is still pur-
Then a Hteel trap is sunk in the water, chased from the Indians.
euro being taken to regulate tho deptli, Tho Musk liat {Fiber ZibetictiH) is
BO that it may not be more tlian twelve very like the beaver in many of its hab-
or fourteen inches below the surface ; this its. A species that I brought from tho
is accomplished by cither rolling in a log, Osoyoos lakes, east of the Cascades,
or building in large stones. Immediate- which proved to bo new, now called M-
ly over tho trap is the bait, made from her Osoyooaenaia^ makes a house precise-
the castor^ or medicine -gland of the ly like a beaver ; others live in holes in
beaver, suspended from a stick, so as muddy banks. Tho Indiiitis genefally
just to clear the water ; with a long cord spear them through the walls and roofs of
and log of cedar wood as a buoy (to liifcir dwellings. Their fur is of very little
mark the position of tho trap when the value, although many hundred thousand
beaver swims away with it), tho trap is skins are annually imported. Large bun-
complete. Tho poor little builder, per- dles of tho tails of the muskrat are con-
haps returning to his home and family, stantly exposed for sale in tho bazaars
scents tho tempting castor purposely at Stamboul as articles for perfuming
placed in his road ; ho cannot reach it clothes.
as he swims, so he feels about with his Tlie Lynx, or wild bat (Lynx cona-
hind-legs for something to stand on demis), is common east ana west of tho
this, too, has been craftily placed for Rocky Mountains. Tho fur, though soft
him. Putting down his feet to stretch and prettily marked, is not of much
up for the coveted morsel, he finds them value. It is either trapped in a steel
suddenly clasped in an iron embrace trap or shot in tho trees. I need only
there is no hope of escape. The log, mention casually (as the systems of tak-
revealing his hiding place, is seized by ing the anrtuals are pretty much the
the trapper, and the imprisoned beaver same) tho Otter {JJntra canadensis), of
dispatched by a single blow on the whicn about seventeen thousand skins
head, and the trap set again. A trapper are often procured, and the wolf {Lupus
will sometimes spend many weeks camp- griseus), which supplies fifteen thousand.
ed near a good beaver village. About The Wolverine, or Glutton ( Gulo lua-
sixty thousand skins are now brought cus), is a curious beast, like a tiny bear,
from the Hudson's Bay Company's ter- but tho most dire and untiring enemy
ritories, but a great many skins are also to the martin trapper, following his steps,
procured from various places in Europe and eating the martins after .they are
and the north of Asia. Just to illustrate caught. It is almost impossible to
the difference between the trade in bea- cache (hide) anything that these robbers
ver now as compared with what it was, do not find and destroy ; their strength
we may mention that in 1T43 the Hud- is prodigious, and they do not hesitate
son's Bay Company alone sold twenty- to attack a wounded deer. The fur
six thousand seven hundred and fifty is coarse, but used for muffs and linings.
skins, and over one hundred and twenty- Those from Siberia are deemed the best.
seven thousand were imported into Ro- About twelve hundred are general-
chelle. In 1788 Canada supplied nno ly Importf^d. In size tho v.vlverine is
hundred and seventy thousand, and in rather larger than our English badger
1808 one hundred and twenty-six thou- in color dark brown ; tails, legs, and un-
sand, nine hundred and twenty-seven der parts black ; a light yellowish band
skins. extends over the flanks, reaching to the
The principal use made of the fur now tail. A grizzly patch, almost whit© in
is ip the manufacture of bonnets in old animals, covers the temples. The
France, and in making cloaks. The head is much like that of the bear ; th:
long hair is pulled out, and the under eyes are remarkably small, a& are the
fur shaved down close and even by a ears, which are nearly concealed in the
machine ; some of it is still felted into a fur. The feet, large and powerful, arc
kind of cloth. The castor, too, is, or armed with sharp, curved claws. The
rather used to be, an article of consider- hair is quite as long as that of the blacl;
able trade for medicinal purposes j but bear, but of coarser staple. In NortL
 1866.] AMERICAN FURS. 451
[April,

America it is almost entirely confined In South America, living in tho valleys

as become
to boreal regions ; its farthest southern along the slopes of the Andes, is a curi-
Btill pur-
range being the valley of the Salt Lake ous little animal {Ckinchillit fjtoihjira)
in Utah territory. The glutton is vora- half hare, half rat, the fin* of whicOi is
beticxis) iH
cious and bloodthirsty, but fortunately known as Chinchilla. This fur was much
of its nnb-
its sizi. by no means e<iuals its ferocity ; valued and extensively used by the (thler
b from tho
there hurillv lives a more cunnino^ Inhabitants of Peru and Chili, being
Cascatles,
/*?• crafty animal, proving on beavers, nu»sk- manufactured into a fine kind of cloth,
r called
rats, and squirrels. JJy trackin),* them and then made into articles of clothing.
use precise-
or lurking hid among the '.ichen and Many thousand skins annually find their
in holes in
moHH-covered branches of the nino-trccs, way into our markets, and are consumed
genotiiHy
it pounces upon its pny ana speedily in the manufacture of mufiTs, tippets, and
and roofs of
kills it. The sharp incisor teeth, six in lining for cloaks. Tho animal is entirely
)f very little
each Jaw, together with the formidable a vegetable feeder, and of most harmless
)d thousand
Large bun-
claws, enable it to overcome anitnals and inoffensive habits. Apair may be

con-
even superior to itself in si/.e and strength. seen in tho Uegcnt's Park Gardens.
Tat are
It appears a connecting link botwi.\t tho Another South American fur in great
tho bazaars
bears and weasels. request is that of the Coypu ( Mi/opota-
perfuming
The Skunk (Mephitis Americanus)^ so mu8 lionarienais), also called ftletrld,
renowned for the terrible stench it emits from the Spanish for "otter," a name
Lynx carta-
when interfered with, is very much derived from tho similitude the fur bears
west of the
more handsome than useful. So potent to that animal. Nearly all the skins are
though soft
is the smell of the secretion it has tho obtained from Rio do la Plata. About
ot of much
f)Ower of squirting many yards, that I 1,125,212 skins were imported in one
in a steel
lave frequently buried articles of cloth- year ; latterly tho supply has ' en less,
need only
ing and steel traps for weeks, and then although it is still very considerable. Tho
stems of tak-
the stench has been as bad as ever. long hair is plucked out, as in the treat-
much the
of
The Indians generally shoot the skunk, ment of beaver, and, when dressed, tho
nadensis),
and always skin it under water. About skin much resembles that of the beaver
loueand skins
a thousand skins are usually collected. both in color and texture, and is used for
wolf (Lupii^
Bears, black, brown, and grizzly, are similar purposes.
een thousand,
always in demand, and used for innu- All the fur skins previously mentioned
on ( Oulo lu8- •^merable purposes. The number killed are collected during the fall ond winter
:q a tiny bear,
^Jannually is not easily obtained, but, at months at the different trading posts ;
atiring enemy
la rough average, may be estimated at and, as the system adopted at the vari-
wing his steps,
.about nine thousand. The greater num- ous posts is pretty much the same, a
after .they are
ber are killed in the winter, during their brief^ sketch of the routine at Fort Col-
impossible to
j)eriod of hibernation. ville. on the Columbia river, will suffice
these robbers
i
•
The fur of the Sea Otter{Enhi/dra Ma- for all.
their strength
fina) is by far the most valuable traded, As the furs are brought by the Indians
o not hesitate jind is very difficult to obtain. The ani- they are traded by the person in charge
er. The fur |iial is
generally caught in nets, or spear- of the trade-shop. If an Indian were to
ifis and linings,
ed by the coast Indians in the sea ; a bring a hundred skins of different sorts,
emed the best,
%ood skin is worth £40, trade jirice. or all alike, he would trade off every skin
are general-
SThe sea otter ranges from Alaska to the separately, and insist on payment for
e Y.vlverine is "^alifornian coast in the North Pacific, es^h skin as he sold it hence it often
;

nglish badger;
t appears to be an intermediate link bc- occupies several days to barter a batch of
Is, legs, and un-
een the true seal and the otter ; but skins and it is a curious and interesting
;
yellowish band ery little is known about its habits, or sight to watch a party of Indians select-
reaching to the ode of reproduction. Nearly all the ing from the stores articles they require,
ilmost white in a-otter fur goes to China. as they dispose of skin after skin. An
temples. The
There is also an immense trade in Rab- Indian trader needs to possess more than
f the bear ; th: t fur. Added to the many thousand average patience. The skins, as pur-
lall, a6 are the
ins that annually come from the Hud- chased, are thrown behind, and then
oncealed in the
n's Bay territories, 1,300,000 are sold carried to the fur room, and piled in
d powerful, are rery year in the markets of London, heaps, that are constantly turned and
ed claws. The le skins of which are used in the fur aired. In the spring, as soon as the
hat of the blaci ade. snow is gone, generally in April, the
aple. In Nortb

i:^3iiio
452 TUB MfSTKRY OK HM;i:i'. [A|.til,

xk'liolc force, iiltniit four wIiilcH, tlic iicr- the larvM' of moths, 'i'liey are shipped
iiianciit i-tall' (iIk! iTst coiiijiohfil of lined on bo.ard the " Princess Koyal," that
Iii)li:ins), bcoiti to pack all lint hkins id atmually brings out the stores from
Idles of from einlil V |ioiiii<ls to oiu! Iiiki- F.iigland to N'ancoiiver Isl.and, and .are
• weight. Tlie oilier cov-
jreij )ioiin(ls in eventually stjld at public auct'iii in Lon-
(linjj; is bulllilo skin loops afo timdo to
; don.
each packa<j;e, so as t<» slini^ tliem over Such is a brief outline of the fur trade
llic pack saddles tlio pack-sad<lles uvv
; as earied on by the llud.Non'.s iJay and
rej)aired, and rawdiido strips cut to faf • other American companies.
led lli(! hales on to tlio horses, 'i'l e

Company's horses, ahoul ojie hundreii

in numher, that havo bcon wintored in
Home sheltered valley, under the earu of Cliiiiiilicni'ii Jniirnnl.

(ho Indians, an; now hroui^ht to the

Tiir. MVSTKIJV OF SbKKI'.
l''ort. This is called littini,' out iho bri-
irade. Their destination is Fort JTope, TwKi.vi; liundr<'il millions (»f di-eams
situated at the he;id of navigation on the make a net-work of wild fancies nightly
Frazer, tliero to meet tho steamer hrinj^- about our planet. To go, if it were pos-
injjf the yearly supplies. This is tho an- sible, through this world of sleep woidd
nu:d grand event in tho chief traders' be a strangi'r process than that, of ex-
and cinploi/iii^ lives, and is looked lor- ploring tjie whole waking world for in ;

v.ard lo as a schoolboy anticipates his
-lolidays. All bein<» re.'idy, the bales of
fur are crossed over the Columbia in Ixtt-
Cfn/.r (tlat-bottonied boats), and the horses
swim }i distance of four hundred yards.
Safely across, they are packed and st.'irt-
ed. Tho trip to and irom Fort IIopo
occupies from two and a hsill'
months. On Fort the
arrivin;^ at tho
furs are handed over to the steamer, and
tlie various goods to Rujtply the trade at
l*"'ort Colville, nntil a similar exclumgo
next ye.ir, are handed over to the chief
trader, who generally goes in charge of
tlie brigade. I was ])resent atFort Hope
in early days, at a meeting of tho bri-
gades from Thompson's river, Camiloops,
l<'ort Colville, and elsewhere, and it was
truly a quaint and singular sight. The
wild look, long unkempt hair, sunburnt
faces, and leather eosttnues of the trad-
ers, -were only exceeded by tho still
Avilder appearance and absence of al-
most any clothing among their Indian
attendants. The scene while the
gades remained Avas one continuous
orgie ; still no harm came of it, and
obedience Avas always readily observed
towards the traders when disputes, and
sometimes blows, demanded their inter-
ference. When the brigades depart for
their several destinations, the Fleamer
leaves for Victoria, where the furs are ination.
all sorted and repacked, being pressed How sleep comes over liiin, every nianl
into bales by an enormous lever and may observe, if ho will be at the i)ainsj
slei'p every living being is ;i poet, from
the i»aby that clings in its dreams to tho
bri-asts of goddesses, to the centc narian
who, with xtair and spectacles, hobbles
about paradise at the heels of seraphs.
Sleeping and' v^aking are the two grtat
jdienom(>na of our existence. What is
to three done and thought in the e\ery-day woik-
ing world, where the ordinary business
ol life is carried on, no living creature
has ever fully revealed to anotlier. Tliere
are reti(!ences in the confessions of the
most fraid;, things which cannot, and
therefore wliich never will be spoken
thoughts which transcend the limits of
—
language hopes which the power of no
lairy could satisfy. —
fears wliich even
Lucil(.'r himself would fail to exaggerate.
If this jtortion of our life, which is .at
least subjected to our own observ.ation,
cannot be faithfully and fully described,
still less can that other portion which
defies even our own scrutiny, converts
us into mere spectators of ourselves, sets
bri- free our .actions from the control of our
will, and transforms us into so many j>as-
sivo spfikes in the great Avheel of des-
tiny. Whatever may bo the laws by
which it is regulated, sleep presents th.c
counterpart of the waking world dis- —
torted, mutilated, thrown into irremedi-
able confusion by the force of the imag-
;

rum and tobacco are placed betwixt the —

and it requires pains since thedrow-l —
layers of skins to keep out ir~ctt3 and sy state which precedes the complete abT
 */•

[Apiil,

re nlii|i|i('( I

.val. that
jloll'M f'lOtll

|mI, iiml aru

iti ill I.tiM-

iiir tnido
li s lia^ and

A'.KV

\H () f(l I't'ams
lines III ,!;l'lly
ll WVVr lioK-
SIO( p w oil l<l
llial, of I'X-
i'OI 1(1: Ior in
a poet, (Voiii
11 aiiiH to tlio
(•ciit( iiarian
i-li's,

s of
liolddc's
scraitli.-'.
W
lu two <;rt at
•i'. What is

y-*hy woik-
lary iiii.viiit'ss

viiiiy; c'K aliire

lotliiT. Tlicro
-SIOllS o f tl lU
cannot, and
1)0 spoken
tliu Jiinils of
3 powiT ol' no
I wliicli t'vcn
oxa^gorale.
, wliicli is at
1 observation,
lly (it'scrilied,
jorlion wliicli
tiny, converts
•urselves, sets
iontrul of onr
so many pas-
wheel of ties-
the laws h\
in csents tl'.e

world — dis-
n't"?

into irrerne di-

of the imaij;- ^^ f"J"

-t4
iin, every nianl
I nt the paiiisj K-^-~~
nee the d row-
ti^i'
conip lete ab-