LEAVES FROM A TRAPPER'S NOTE BOOK. 



A. T. BICKFORD. 



During the winter of 1902-3, my partner 

 and I _ were camped in the mountains 

 of British Columbia on the upper reaches 

 of the Kettle river, a tributary of the Col- 

 umbia. Just below our camp on the river 

 bank, a colony of beavers had their home, 

 so we had excellent opportunities to ob- 

 serve their mode of living, and to take 

 note of their ways. In view of the in- 

 terest which was taken by the readers of 

 Recreation in some photos of mine, illus- 



and those living in lodges, or houses. When 

 beavers are found living in holes in the 

 bank of a river, or in washes, as they are 

 termed by trappers, it may be taken as an 

 indication that the original colony has been 

 disturbed and broken up. Our beavers 

 were living on the small poplars, or cotton- 

 woods, growing on the slope of the bench, 

 40 or 50 feet above the water. The beavers 

 had a deep path worn in the snow, where 

 they had dragged down the saplings, seiz- 



AMATEUR PHOTO BY A. T BICKFORD. 



CUTTING TIMBER FOR A DAM. 



trative of "Beaver Work," which appeared 

 in the issue of June, 1900, I again venture 

 to place before you a more recent photo, 

 and my experiences among these interest- 

 ing animals. 



This particular colony probably con- 

 sisted of 4 or 5 pairs of what are 

 termed bank beavers; that is, they 

 lived in burrows, or holes, in the bank,, 

 running back 15 to 25 feet from the water's 

 edge, the entrance being below the sur- 

 face. As far as I can discover there is no 

 physical difference between bank beavers 



ing them between their powerful teeth, as 

 is shown in the illustration. 



In the river bed could be seen their store 

 of food, laid up for times when the river 

 might be frozen over, thereby holding them 

 prisoners; the poplars being stowed under- 

 neath some sunken logs. About 5 miles 

 from our camp was a lake comprising 100 

 acres of clear water, 6 to 10 feet in depth. 

 This lake* had been formed by the beavers 

 damming a small stream, so one can im- 

 agine how the topography of a country may 

 be altered by these little animals whose in- 



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