6 THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
AUTHENTIC 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 
FICTITIOUS HISTORY—Continued. 
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, yol. i. p. 464. (A 
hunters 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 sawhim getupon 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 nextday. 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, 
