384 VERTEBRATA. 



to accomplish, and is performed in the following manner: every man being furnished with an ice- 

 chisel, lashes it i<> the end of a small staff about four or five feet long; he then walks along the 

 edge of the banks, and keeps knocking his chisel against the ice. Those who are acquainted with 

 that kind of work well know by the sound of the ice when they are opposite to any of the bea- 

 vers' holes or vaults. As soon as they Buspect any, they cut a hole through the ice big enough 

 to admit an old beaver, and in this manner proceed till they have found out all their places of 

 retreat, or at least as many of them as possible. While the principal men are thus employed, 

 -..me of the understrappers and the women are busy in breaking open the house, which at times 

 o easy task, for 1 have frequently known these houses to be five or six feet thick, and one in 

 particular was mote than eight feel thick in the crown. When the beavers find that their habita- 

 tions are invaded, they fly to their holes in the banks for shelter; and on being perceived by the 

 Indians, which is easily done by attending to the motion of the water, they block up the entrance 

 with -takes of wood, and then haul the beaver out of its hole, either by hand, it' they can reach 

 it, or with a large hook made for that purpose, which is fastened to the end of a long stick. 



"In this kind of hunting, every man has the sole right to all the beavers caught by him in the 

 hohs or vaults; and as this is a constant rule, each person takes care to mark such as he discov- 

 ers by sticking up a branch of a tree, by which lie may know them. All that arc caught in the 

 house are the property of the person who finds it. The beaver is an animal which cannot keep 

 under water long at a time, so that, when their houses arc broken open, and all their places of 

 retreat discovered, they have but one choice left, as it may be called, cither to be taken in their 

 house or their vaults; in general, they prefer the latter, for where there is one beaver caught in 

 the house, many thousand are taken in the vaults in the banks. Sometimes they are caught in 

 nets, and in summer very frequently in traps. 



"In respect to the beavers dunging in their houses, as some persons assert, it is quite wrong, 

 as thev alwavs plunge into the water to do it. I am the better enabled to make this assertion 

 from having kept several of them till they became so domesticated as to answer to their name, 

 and follow those to whom they were accustomed in the same manner as a dog would do, and they 

 were as much pleased at being fondled as any animal I ever saw. In cold weather they were 

 kept in my own sitting-room, where they were the constant companions of the Indian women and 

 children, and were so fond of their company, that when the Indians were absent for any consider- 

 able time the beaver discovered great signs of uneasiness, and on their return showed equal marks 

 of pleasure by fondling on them, crawling into their laps, lying on their backs, sitting erect like a 

 squirrel, and behaving like children who see their parents but seldom. In general, during the 

 winter, they lived on the same food as the women did, and were remarkably fond of rice ami 

 plum-pudding; thev would cat partridges and fresh venison very freely, but I never tried them 

 with fish, though I have heard they will at times prey on them. In fact, there arc few graminiv- 

 orous animals that mav not be brought to be carnivorous." 



< >f the habits of the beaver in a state of confinement, M. Broderip furnishes us with the follow- 

 interesting account, relating to one taken to London some years ago: 



"The animal arrived in England in the winter of 1825, when very young, being small and 

 woolly, and without the covering of long hair which marks the adult beaver. It was the 

 survivor of five or six which were shipped at the same time, and it was in a very pitiable condi- 

 tion. I- 1 treatment quickly restored it to health, and kindness soon made it familiar. Win' 



called by it- name, 'Binny,' it generally answered with a little cry, and came to its owner. Tin 

 hearth-rug was its favorite haunt, ami thereon it would lie stretched out, sometimes on its back. 

 sometimes on it- side, and sometimes flat on its belly, but always near its master. 



••The building instinct showed itself immediately it was let out of its cage, and materials wen 

 placed in its way; ami this before it had been a week in its new quarters. Its strength, even be- 

 fore it was half-grown, was ureal. It would drag along a large sweeping-brush or a warming' 

 pan, grasping the handle with its teeth, so that the load came over its shoulder, and advancing 

 in an oblique direction till it arrived at the point where it wished to place it. The long and larg< 

 material- were always taken first, and two of the longest were generally laid Crosswise, with ODt 

 of the end- of each touching the wall, and the other ends projecting out into the room. The 



