134 THE AMER.CAN BEAVER. 



the same time the amount of speculative opinion with 

 reference to his ways, which is cherished and believed 

 among them, is very great. To reject all their con- 

 clusions, for want of complete verification, would be 

 not less unwise than to adopt them unconditionally. It 

 will, therefore, be my plan to state, as facts, such only 

 as I can assert upon personal observation, or have 

 verified upon reliable testimony; and to introduce, 

 from time to time, in addition thereto, such state- 

 ments and conclusions of other persons, and upon 

 their authority, as have a probable basis of truth; 

 leaving their verification or disproval to future inves- 

 tigators. 



Beavers are social animals in an eminent degree. 

 This disposition is manifested in their strongly de- 

 veloped propensity to pair and live in the family 

 relation. It is still further exemplified by the con- 

 struction of dams, lodges, burrows, and canals for 

 objects which are common to them as a family; and 

 by providing a store of subsistence for winter use. A 

 beaver family consists of a male and female, and their 

 offspring of the first and second years, or, more prop- 

 erly, under two years old. The females bring forth 

 their young, from two to five at a time, in the month 

 of May,^ and nurse them for a few weeks, after which 

 the latter take to bark. I have seen upon the Upper 

 Missouri a domesticated beaver of three weeks old sus- 

 tain himself upon twigs of cotton-wood. They attain 

 their full growth at two years and six months, and live 

 from twelve to fifteen years. This last statement is 

 upon Indian authority. The cry of a young beaver re- 



^ The rutting season is in the month of February. 



