invests that member has not much of the character which generally belongs to absorbing surfaces.

"Bread, and bread and milk, and sugar, formed the principal part of Bunny's food, but he was very fond of succulent fruits and roots, and of the bark of willow and alder branches, with which he was occasionally supplied. He was a most entertaining creature, and some very funny scenes occurred between the slow beaver and a little and agile monkey that was kept in the same apartment."

Some writers assert that the beaver in captivity exhibits scarcely any feeling but that of passive obedience, even to the person who feeds and constantly attends to it. But an animal so sociable in his habits ought to be very affectionate, at least to its kind. It is related that two young ones were taken alive, and brought to a neighbouring factory in Hudson's Bay, where they throve very fast, until one of them was killed accidentally. The survivor felt the loss at once, began to moan, and would not eat any more, so that it soon died. A male and female were captured when young, and kept together in a room, where they seemed to be very happy till the female died. For a day or two her partner seemed hardly aware of his loss, and brought food, which he laid beside her; but, finding that she did not move, he covered her body over with the twigs and leaves of the branches given him for food, and soon pined away and died.

THE INDIAN WIFE.

SHO

HORTLY after the coureurs des bois began to carry packs and drive dog sledges in the lands on the upper waters of the Mississippi, there lived at the Kahpozhah village, three leagues below the mouth of the river St. Peters, an Indian who was the cynosure of all the maidens in his band. This was because of his rare personal beauty; not of form, for that is common to all Indians, but of countenance. His skill as a hunter, and his bravery as a warrior, were qualities more likely to recommend him to their parents; but strange to say, the swarthy daughters of the forest judged by the eye, as some authors have falsely asserted their sex is in the habit of doing. The object of their admiration had feminine features, and a skin lighter by five shades than the national complexion of the Dahcotahs, and his hair, besides being light, was also fine and glossy. He prided himself upon it, and suffered it to grow long;

thereby grievously scandalizing the male population of the village. His toilet was usually adjusted with scrupulous accuracy; he changed the fashion of his paint five times per diem, and his activity in the chase enabled him to wear so much scarlet cloth, and so many beads and silver broaches, as made him the envy of those of his own age and

sex.

Those who imagine that the aborigines are all stoics and heroes, and those who think them solely addicted to rapine and bloodshed, and are therefore disposed to dispute the truth of this sketch of Indian character, are informed that there are fops in the forest as well as in Broadway; yet the elegance of the features of Toskatnay (the Woodpecker), for so was our Dahcotah dandy called, and his taste in dress, were not his only merits. The war eagle's plume, which completed his array, was an honourable evidence that he had acquired a right to call himself a man. In fact, beneath an almost feminine appearance, and much frivolity of manner, he concealed the real strength of his character. To the maidens who listened with glistening eyes to his discourse, and blushed when he addressed them, his motto seemed to be "Let them look and die." Exquisite as he was, his soul was 'full of higher matters than love or gallantry. He aspired to sway the councils of his people, and to lead them in battle, and if he condescended to please the eyes and tickle the ears of the women, it was only because

he knew that it was the surest way to exert an influence over the men. He was not so much of a savage as not to know so much of human nature. Yet he had no idea of marrying, but as it might further his views; and to the admiration of the young squaws he shut his eyes, while against their complaints that no one cared for them," he hardened his heart.

With all his schemes, he had not calculated upon the power of the blind god. But his time was to come, and the connection he was destined to form was to have a powerful influence on his future fortunes.

In the same village with our hero dwelt a damsel, whose name was Weenokhenchah Wandeeteekah (the Brave Woman). This girl never praised Toskatnay's attire, nor listened to his compliments, nor sought to attract his attention. On the contrary, she avoided his notice. Why she did this we do

not pretend to explain. We pretend not to expound the freaks of passion, any more than the profundities of philosophy, nor can we tell why love should choose to show himself in such a capricious manner. Let it suffice, that she was thought to hate our hero, until an event occurred that contradicted the supposition.

One hot day in July a rabid wolf, such as are sometimes seen in the prairies, came to pay the village a visit. The cornfields lay in his way, and as animals in his predicament never turn aside, he entered it. It so chanced

that Weenokhenchah Wandeeteekah was at that time using her hoe therein, in company with other girls, while Toskatnay stood near them, cheering their labour and edifying their minds, pretty much in the style of Ranger in the "Jealous Husband." The wolf made directly at him, and the girls, seeing by the slaver of his jaws what ailed him, shrieked and fled. Toskatnay, being no Yankee, could not guess the cause of their terror, and was looking about for it, when the animal was within five paces of him. Weenokhenchah Wandeeteekah alone stood firm, and seeing that he must inevitably be bitten, she advanced and clove the beast's skull with her hoe, contrary to the law in such cases made and provided by novel writers, which ordains that the gentleman shall rescue the lady from danger, and not the lady the gentleman. Having thus done, the colour forsook her cheeks, and she swooned and fell. Toskatnay, though an Indian fine gentleman, did not catch her in his arms, nor kneel by her. But he did what was as much to the purpose. He ran to the village, which was but a few rods distant, and sent the women to her assistance. With some difficulty they brought her to her

senses.

From that hour his attentions, which had before been considered by the girls as common property, were confined to her. Love and gratitude prevailed, and for a while his dreams of ambition were forgotten. He wore leggings of different colours, and sat all day