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Show igoo] ANIMAL LIFE 65 ding, and shield; the sinews, which gave thread, rope, and bow- string; and the bones and horns, which were fashioned into implements of various kinds. \ Turning now to the fur- bearing animals, we find that these belong chiefly to the carnivora and the rodents, though many are distributed over the entire continent, the fur - bearers as a rule inhabit the northerly regions, and a large proportion are of more or less aquatic habits. The larger carnivora, including the bear, wolf, and cougdr, or puma, are far less important commercially as fur- bearers. From the economic stand- point these animals are rather to be regarded as nuisances, owing to their depredations among deer and other game animals, and even among cattle and sheep. Of all these the wolf is the worst offender. We are likely to underestimate the importance of the fur- bearers as a factor in the progress of civilization, unless we consider that for two centuries and a half these animals have been chiefly responsible for the penetration of the forests by trappers and traders, in order to supply the demand of European markets. \ This exploitation of the furs was in the north due chiefly to the famous Hudson Bay Company, established in 1670; but as early as 1763 a fur-trading post was established on the present site of St. Louis, and continued to be of great importance for the trade until the middle of the nineteenth century. Examination of the carefully kept statistics of • OL. II.- I |