THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



AUTHENTIC HISTORY— Continued. FICTITIOUS HISTORY— Continued. 



that the compiler of a general work can be intimately ac- 

 quainted with every subject of which it may be necessary 

 to treat, yet a very moderate share of understanding is 

 surely sufficient to guard him against giving credit to such 

 marvellous tales, however smoothly they may be told, or 

 however boldly they may be asserted, by the romancing 

 traveller. 



" To deny that the Beaver is possessed of a very con- 

 siderable degree of sagacity, would be as absurd in me, as 

 it is in those authors who think they cannot allow them 

 too much. I shall willingly grant them their full share; 

 but it is impossible for any one to conceive how or by 

 what means, a beaver, whose full height when standing 

 erect does not exceed two feet and a half, or three feet at 

 most, and whose fore-paws are not much larger than a 

 half-crown piece, can ' drive stakes as thick as a man's 

 leg into the ground three or four feet deep.' Their 

 'wattling those stakes with twigs,' is equally absurd; 

 and their plaistering the inside of their houses with a com- 

 position of mud and straw, and swimming with mud and 

 stones on their tails,' are still more incredible. The 

 form and size of the animal, notwithstanding all its saga- 

 city, will not admit of its performing such feats; and it 

 would be as impossible for a beaver to use its tail as a 

 trowel, except on the surface of the ground on which it 

 walks, as it would have been for Sir James Thornhill to 

 have painted the dome of St. Paul's cathedral without the 

 assistance of scaffolding. The joints of their tail will not 

 admit of their turning it over their backs on any occasion 

 whatever, as it has a natural inclination to bend down- 

 wards; and it is not without some considerable exertion 

 that they can keep it from trailing on the ground. This 

 being the case, they cannot sit erect like a squirrel, which 

 is their common posture; particularly when eating, or 

 when they are cleaning themselves, as a cat or squirrel 

 does, without having their tails bent forward between 

 their legs; and which may not improperly be called their 

 trencher. 



" So far are the beavers from driving stakes into the 

 ground when building their houses, that they lay most of 

 the wood crosswise, and nearly horizontal, and without any 

 other order than that of leaving a hollow or cavity in the 

 middle; when any unnecessary branches project inward, 

 they cut them off with their teeth, and throw them in 

 among the rest, to prevent the mud from falling through 

 the roof. It is a mistaken notion, that the wood-work is 

 first completed and then plaistered; for the whole of their 

 houses, as well as their dams, are from the foundation one 

 mass of wood and mud, mixed with stones, if they can 



towards its fall, he gave notice of the danger to his compa"- 

 nions, who were still at work, gnawing at its base, by slap- 

 ping his tail upon the surface of the water, and they imme- 

 diately ran from the tree out of harm's way." — Long's 

 Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, vol. i. p. 464. (j2 

 hunter's story.) 



" At the head of one of the rivers of Louisiana I disco- 

 vered a Beaver dam. Not far from it, but hidden from 

 the sight of the animals, I and my companions erected our 

 hut, in order to watch the operations at leisure. We 

 waited till the moon shone pretty bright; and then carry- 

 ing branches of trees in our front to conceal us, we went 

 with great care and silence to the dam. I then ordered 

 one of the men to cut, as silently as possible, a gutter, 

 about a foot wide, through it, and retire immediately to the 

 hiding-place. 



"As soon as the water through the gutter began to 

 make a noise, we heard a Beaver come from one of the 

 huts, and plunge in. We saw him get upon the bank, and 

 clearly perceived that he examined it. He then, with all 

 his force, gave four distinct blows with his tail, when im- 

 mediately the whole colony threw themselves into the 

 water, and arrived upon the dam. When they were all 

 assembled, one of them appeared, by muttering, to issue 

 some kind of orders; for they all instantly left the place, 

 and went out on the banks of the pond in different direc- 

 tions. Those nearest to us were between our station and 

 the dam, and therefore we could observe their operations 

 very plainly. Some of them formed a substance resem- 

 bling a kind of mortar; others carried this on their tails, 

 which served as sledges for the purpose. I observed that 

 they put themselves two and two, and that each of a cou- 

 ple loaded his fellow. They trailed the mortar, which 

 was pretty stiff, quite to the dam, where others were sta- 

 tioned to take it; these put it into the gutter, and rammed 

 it down with blows of their tails. 



"The noise of the water soon ceased, and the breach 

 was completely repaired. One of the Beavers then struck 

 two blows with his tail; and instantly they all took to the 

 water without noise, and disappeared. 



" We afterwards retired to the hut to rest, and did not 

 again disturb these industrious animals till the next day. In 

 the morning, however, we went together to the dam to ob- 

 serve its construction, for which purpose it was necessary 

 that we should cut a part of it down. The depression of the 

 water in consequence of this, together with the noise they 

 made, roused the Beavers again. The animals seemed much 

 disturbed by these exertions; and one of them in particular, 



