CHAPTER y. 



BEAVER LODGES AND BURROWS. 



Habits of Beaver — Our Knowledge limited — Indians and Trappers as Ob- 

 servers — Source of BufiFon's Extravagant Statements — Disposition of 

 Beavers to pair — The Family — Outcast Beaver — Beaver Migrations — 

 Adaptation to Aquatic Life — Suspension of Respiration — Length of Time 

 — Artifice of Musk-Rat — Burrowing Propensities — Varieties of the Beaver 

 Lodge — Island Lodge at Grass Lake — Size and Form — Chamber — Floor 

 — Wood Entrance — Beaver Entrance — Their Artistic Character — Bank 

 Lodge — Mode of Construction — Chamber — Entrances — Another Variety 

 of Bank Lodge — Chamber and Entrances — Nature of Floor — Lake Lodge 

 — Differences from other Varieties — False Lodge of Upper Missouri — 

 Lodges Single Chambered — Burrows, their Form, Size, and Uses — Ex- 

 amples, with Measurements — Number of Beavers to the Lodge — Number 

 of Lodges to the Pond. 



Notwithstanding our familiarity with the beaver, 

 through the persevering efforts made for his capture 

 by both American and Indian trappers, the amount of 

 our minute information concerning him is not as large 

 as might have been expected. Any attempt to pro- 

 nounce definitely upon his habits and mode of life 

 will lead us into errors, if we pass beyond such facts 

 as are susceptible of verification. These facts, from 

 the nature of the case, are difiicult of ascertainment. 

 Although not exclusively nocturnal in his habits, the 

 beaver performs the principal part of his work at 

 night. He is both shy and timorous of disposition, 

 and, when seen, it is usually by accident, for a brief 

 space of time, and when engaged in one particular 

 act. No single observer, however favorable his oppor- 

 tunities, could cover the field, for which reason it is 

 (132) 



