nearly. It is an innocent animal, feeding mostly on roots [Footnote: There
is a plant of the lily tribe, upon the roots of which the porcupine feeds,
as well as on wild bulbs and berries, and the bark of the black spruce and
larch. It will also eat apples and Indian corn.] and small fruits; it
burrows in dry stony hillocks, and passes the cold weather in sleep. It
goes abroad chiefly during the night. The spines of the Canadian porcupine
are much weaker than those of the African species. The Indians trap these
creatures and eat their flesh. They bake them in their skins in native
ovens,--holes made in the earth, lined with stones, which they make very
hot, covering them over with embers."

Mrs. Frazer had told Lady Mary all she knew about the porcupine, when
Campbell, the footman, came to say that her papa wanted to see her.




CHAPTER VII.

INDIAN BAG--INDIAN EMBROIDERY--BEAVER'S TAIL--BEAVER ARCHITECTURE--HABITS
OF THE BEAVER--BEAVER TOOLS--BEAVER MEADOWS.


When Lady Mary went down to her father, he presented her with a beautiful
Indian bag, which he had brought from Lake Huron, in the Upper Province.
It was of fine doeskin, very nicely wrought with dyed moose-hair, and the
pattern was very pretty; the border was of scarlet feathers on one side,
and blue on the other, which formed a rich silken fringe at each edge.
This was a present from the wife of a chief on Manitoulin Island. Lady
Mary was much delighted with her present, and admired this new-fashioned