32 



THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



AUTHENTIC HISTORY— Continued. 



continue to live with their parents until they are full three 

 years old; then pair off, build a house for themselves, and 

 begin to breed. Yet sometimes, and not uncommonly, if 

 they are undisturbed and have plenty of provisions, they 

 will continue longer with the old ones, and breed in the 

 same house. 



"Whether they do or do not make use of their tails as 

 trowels to plaster their houses with, I cannot say, though 

 I am inclined to believe they do not; because their tail is 

 so heavy, and the tendons of it so weak, though numerous, 

 that I do not think they can use it to that effect; and that 

 therefore they daub the earth on with their hands, for I 

 must call them so. When they dive, they give a smack 

 on the water with their tails as they go down; but that 

 appears to me to proceed from the tail falling over with 

 its own weight. They move very slowly on land, and 

 being also a very cowardly creature, are easily killed there 

 by any man or beast that chances to meet with them: yet, 

 being defended by long fur, and a thick skin, and armed 

 with long strong teeth, firmly set in very strong jaws, they 

 are capable of making a stout resistance. I have heard 

 of an old one, which cut the leg of a dog nearly off at one 

 stroke, and I make not the least doubt of the truth of the 

 information. Still I have been informed, that otters will 

 enter their houses and kill them; but I believe it must 

 only be the young ones, when the old ones are from home; 

 for I hardly think that an old Beaver would suffer itself to 

 be killed by an otter. 



«' These creatures begin to grow fat after the middle of 

 July, are in tolerable case by the end of August, and by 

 the end of September are at their best, provided they have 

 good living, and are not disturbed. Those which feed 

 upon brouze, particularly on birch, are the most delicious 

 eating of any animal in the known world ; but the flesh of 

 those which feed upon the root of the water-lilly, although 

 it makes them much fatter than any other food, has a strong 

 taste, and is very unpleasant. After Christmas they begin 

 to decline, and by May are commonly poor; in these par- 

 ticulars they resemble the porcupine, as they do in many 

 other respects. 



" Buffon and others say, that they make use of their tails 

 as sleds to draw stones and earth upon: I cannot contra- 

 dict their assertions, as I have never seen these ani- 

 mals work; but I do not believe it, because, their tails 

 being thickest at the root and down the centre part, it 

 would be almost impossible for them to keep a stone on it, 

 unless held there by another. Nor have I ever observed, 

 that they had taken any stones off the ground; but they 

 bring them from the sides and bottoms of the water, and 



must make use of their hands for those purposes, as they 

 could easier shove and roll them along, than draw them on 

 their tails: besides, the skin of the under part of the tail 

 would be rubbed off by the friction on the ground; which 

 never yet has been observed to be the case with them, and 

 is a stronger proof, that they never do make use of them 

 for that purpose. Those who compare this account with 

 the writings of Buffon and others, will find a great differ- 

 ence, but it must be remembered, that they wrote entirely 

 from hearsay, and I, from experience chiefly. — Cart- 

 wrighfs Journal of Transactions on the Coast of La- 

 brador, A.D. 1783. 



"The Indians inhabiting the countries watered by the 

 tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi, take the Beavers 

 principally by trapping, and are generally supplied with 

 steel-traps by the traders, who do not sell, but lend or 

 hire them, in order to keep the Indians dependant upon 

 themselves, and also to lay claim to the furs which 

 they may procure. The name of the trader being stamped 

 on the trap, it is equal to a certificate of enlistment, and 

 indicates, when an Indian carries his furs to another trad- 

 ing establishment, that the individual wishes to avoid the 

 payment of his debts. The business of trapping requires 

 great experience and caution, as the senses of the Beaver 

 are very keen, and enable him to detect the recent pre- 

 sence of the hunter by the slightest traces. It is neces- 

 sary that the hands should be washed clean before the 

 trap is handled and baited, and that every precaution 

 should be employed to elude the vigilance of the animal. 



" The bait which is used to entice the Beaver is pre- 

 pared from the substance called castor {castoreum,) ob- 

 tained from the glandulous pouches of the male animal, 

 which contain sometimes from two to three ounces. This 

 substance is called by the hunters bark-stone, and is 

 squeezed gently into an open-mouthed phial. 



"The contents of five or six of these castor bags are 

 mixed with a nutmeg, twelve or fifteen cloves, and thirty 

 grains of cinnamon, in fine powder, and then the whole is 

 stirred up with as much whiskey as will give it the con- 

 sistency of mustard prepared for the table. This mixture 

 must be kept closely corked up, and in four or five days 

 the odour becomes more powerful; with care it may be 

 preserved for months without injury. Various other 

 strong aromatics are sometimes used to increase the pun- 

 gency of the odour. Some of this preparation, smeared 

 upon the bits of wood with which the traps are baited, 

 will entice the Beaver from a great distance. 



" The different appearances of the fur, caused by age, 



