untry, a _castore_ in another.

The first man that stepped forward to the counter was a chief. A big,
coarse-looking, disagreeable man, but a first-rate hunter. He had two
wives in consequence of his abilities, and the favourite wife now stood
at his elbow to prompt, perhaps to caution, him. He threw down a huge
pack of furs, which the trader opened, and examined with care, fixing
the price of each skin, and marking it down with a piece of chalk on the
counter as he went along.

There were two splendid black bear-skins, two or three dozen martens, or
sables, five or six black foxes, and a great many silver foxes, besides
cross and red ones. In addition to these, he had a number of minks and
beaver-skins, a few otters, and sundry other furs, besides a few buffalo
and deer-skins, dressed, and with the hair scraped off. These last
skins are used for making winter coats, and also moccasins for the feet.

After all had been examined and valued, the whole was summed up, and a
number of pieces of stick were handed to the chief--each stick
representing a castore; so that he knew exactly how much he was worth,
and proceeded to choose accordingly.

First he gazed earnestly at a huge thick blanket, then he counted his
sticks, and considered. Perhaps the memory of the cold blasts of winter
crossed his mind, for he quickly asked how many castores it was worth.
The trader told him. The proper number of pieces of stick were laid
down, and the blanket was handed over. Next a gun attracted his eye.
The guns sent out for the Indian trade are very cheap ones, with blue
barrels and red stocks. They shoot pretty well, but are rather apt to
burst. Indeed this fate had befallen the chief's last gun, so he
resolved to have another, and bought it. Then he looked earnestly for
some time at a tin kettle. Boiled meat was evidently in his mind; but
at this point his squaw plucked him by the sleeve. She whispered in his
ear. A touch of generosity seemed to come over him, for he pointed to a
web of bright scarlet cloth. A yard of this was measured off, and
handed to his spouse, whose happiness for the moment was complete--for
squaws in Rupert's Land, like the fair sex in England, are uncommonly
fond of finery.

As the chief proceeded, he became more cautious and slow in his choice.
Finery tempted him on the one hand, necessaries pressed him on the
other, and at this point the trader stepped in to help him to decide; he
recommended