James Isham (1716-1761), originally employed as a "writer" by the Hudson's Bay Company, advanced to be Chief Factor at York Fort and Governor of Churchill. His Notes and Observations on Hudsons Bay (1743), which includes this drawing of beaver hunting, was intended primarily for the London Governing Committee of the Company. Isham's work contains numerous illustrations done in an intriguing, primitive style which supplied information on trade goods and hunting and trapping methods.
The numbers on the drawing refer to detailed captions which accompanied the original illustration:
1-6
describe a beaver house made of stone, mud and wood.
7
shows an Indian breaking open the house with a "Chissel, tied to a long stick".
8
is the beaver hearing a noise and fleeing the house.
9
indicates nets set in the creek to catch beaver trying to escape.
10
is "a Indian sitting by a fire watching a Nett, with a stick by him to Kill them as he hauls them out".
11
shows dams made by the beaver "that the water should not Run too fast upon them".
12
are described as "vaults", underground tunnels made by the beaver to flee from enemies.
13-16
refer to the beaver's tree cutting activities.
14
is a barrier put up by Indians to keep the beaver from going into the river.
17-23
are anatomical parts of a beaver.
24
is an Indian tent.
25-30
refer to physical features of the region, including no. 27, a flock of partridges.
This type of hunting, when practised by large numbers of Indians, reduced significantly the beaver population in a region.
