42 THE TRAPPER'S ART. 



has ever been resorted to. They are usually hunted with 

 boats, and shot. Audubon says that they are carefully ap- 

 proached by the boat, and when within a short distance are 

 shot, and then harpooned by the bowsman before they sink. 

 A careful study of their habits and haunts would probably 

 indicate some method of taking them with the steel-trap, 

 which would be more successful and inexpensive than any 

 other. 



THE BEAVER. 



The Beaver belongs to the same family with the muskrat, 

 and, like the latter, is amphibious. Indeed, these two species 

 are so nearly alike, that a Beaver seems to be only a muskrat 

 enormously enlarged. The body of the Beaver is thick, 

 heavy, and squat ; about two feet and a half long ; weighing, 

 when full grown, from sixty to eighty pounds. The tail is 

 the most notable part of the animal. It measures from ten 

 to twelve inches in length, and from three to four and a half 

 inches in breadth. It is oval in shape, but flattened on the 

 upper and under sides, and is covered with a species of hairy 

 scales, which are set upon a thick, dusky skin. It is believed 

 by trappers who have diligently watched the ways of this ani- 

 mal, that it uses its tail as a spade or trowel in working mud 

 and sand. This member also answers the purpose of a prop, 

 to help the animal stand erect while at work. It serves as 

 both rudder and oar in swimming, being turned under the 

 body at a right angle, and swung from side to side with great 

 rapidity and power, the operation being like the sculling of a 

 boat. 



Beavers are not gregarious in summer, but become so at 

 the approach of winter, when they build their huts and dams 

 and gather their stores of food. Their huts are built first, 

 generally in September, arid are much like those of the musk- 

 rat, but larger and stronger. They rise out of the water, 

 and have their entrances at the bottom. They are made to 

 hold ten or twelve animals each. Some Beavers live on the 

 banks of large rivers and lakes, and, having of course plenty 

 of water, do not build dams, but have their holes in the banks, 



