BEAVER TRAPPING. 



believe only that which I see. I have, how- 

 ever, seen one beaver carry a large piece 

 of wood by tucking one end under his 

 forearm, and walking away on his hind 

 legs, in a stooped position, trailing the 

 other end of the stick behind him. 



Before floating the wood and larger 

 branches down to the dam site, the bark, 

 which is the beaver's staple article of food, 

 is generally eatsn off, as clean as a clay 

 pipe stem. 



In our old school books, the beaver got 

 credit for using his tail as a mason would 

 use a trowel, but this has never been proven 

 to be the case. No ; the froni. feet are 

 handier than any trowel, and the way in 

 which lily roots, mud, etc., are handled in 



conjunction with the wood, is marvelous. 



As the dam progresses, the water backs 

 up and floods sometimes large tracts of 

 land, giving the beaver access to trees 

 which may be dropped into the water, cut 

 into lengths and secured in the mud under 

 water close to their house, which is usual- 

 ly some distance from their dam, for their 

 winter supply of food. As food is re- 

 quired, a log is drawn through an under- 

 ground door into their house. When the 

 bark has been stripped off, the log is eject- 

 ed, to be used the following spring for re- 

 pairing the dam. 



With the help of the moon and a power- 

 ful pair of field glasses, one can pass many 

 pleasant hours with the beaver. 



BEAVER TRAPPING. 



J. A. NEWTON. 



The beaver resembles no other animal 

 so much as he does the muskrat; his diet 

 and habits being similar. 



In 'j$ I first saw fresh signs of beavers. 

 It was my good fortune to accompany a 

 party to a great pigeon roost in Presque 

 Isle county, Michigan. There was a stream 

 near on which beavers were building 

 a new dam, felling poplars 5 and 6 inches 

 in diameter. An old trapper in the party 

 told me that the framework was about 

 completed. 



"Now," said he, "smaller brush will be 

 cut down and woven in : then they will be- 

 gin sending dirt down stream, which calks 

 the dam until it will hold water." 



It was a great wonder to me that an ani- 

 mal should possess such seemingly human 

 intelligence. I marvelled that they could 

 construct a dam that would hold water and 

 survive floods, place it where natural con- 

 ditions promised the least labor in con- 

 struction, and fell timber as unerringly as 

 expert woodsmen. 



The trapper and I formed a partnership, 

 sent for a kit of traps and spent the fall 

 there ; making our headquarters in the 

 pigeon hunters' shack. When our outfit 

 came it was still too early for the skins to 

 be of high value, therefore we spent the 

 time exploring the country. Grouse 

 were numerous and extremely tame, and it 

 required no effort to supply ourselves with 

 meat. We discovered 3 other dams in the 

 vicinity of Rainy river, evidently long es- 

 tablished. On the new dam its inhabitants 

 were working in midsummer, but we saw 

 no fresh sign to indicate occupancy of 

 the old dams until the first frosts came. 

 Then we noticed that repairs were being 



made on the dams which had been injured 

 by floods. 



Labide, the trapper, said the ponds are 

 deserted after the young have been raised 

 in early summer. The animals travel about 

 during warm weather ; but are sure to re- 

 turn, if unmolested, and restore their dam. 

 They cut poplars and willows, sinking them 

 in the pond, and the bark furnishes food 

 in winter. If no house is built the home is 

 a burrow in the banks, after the manner of 

 tht muskrat. When winter sets in, the 

 beaver is a prisoner, as it were, until the 

 spring breakup, all feeding and movements 

 taking place beneath the ice. 



About October 15 Labide said it was 

 time to set the traps. Double spring fox 

 traps were used. I watched his pre- 

 parations closely and listened eagerly to his 

 remarks. He said, 



"Where the water is deep enough, 

 trapping should be done from a boat, 

 so as to leave no signs ; for the beaver 

 is as suspicious of man's footprints, 

 scent and other evidence of his presence 

 as is the red fox. If the water is too 

 shallow, as it usually is, traps must be set 

 by wading. A beaver, like a muskrat, will 

 leg himself if the water is not deep enough 

 to drown. him; and he is worse to hold in 

 proportion than a rat because he must not 

 be staked solid lest he tear away. I bitch 

 to a chunk that can be pulled around, but 

 big enough to keep the game from es- 

 caping." 



No houses were seen except on one of 

 the dams, where there were 5. At the 

 of those we set traps under water. Else- 

 where traps were set under water against 

 the bank, in excavation signs. When visit- 



