392 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Mat 16, 1896. 
When he saw us he dived, slapping the water with his tail, 
and disappeared. We placed a net across the channel 
below the house and then set about clearing away the 
cache of willows that filled the creek channel close to the 
house was the beavers' winter supply of food. Getting the 
ground clear and cutting away a part of the willows and 
mad from about the entrance to the bouse, we placed our 
dip net so. that anything coming out would have to go 
into it. There had been an overhanging mass of stuff 
making a sort of long entry at right angles with the hole 
that led to the living room. While cutting this away I 
heard a beaver, but did not see it, so we were quite sure 
that one was in the house. 
|»v When everything was ready, Hague stood by the net, 
while Jump and I commenced to wade into the bouse. 
ThiB is very slow work; willow, mud, mos*, gn ss, some 
stones and clay are mixed and bound tojether, com- 
pelling one t-> use axe, pick, shovel and haa^s to remove 
the stuff. When we broke into the room nothing was 
seen of the beaver, but Hague soon yelled, "I've got 
him." and sure enough the beaver was there in the net, 
while Hague was holding it up as high as he could, the 
bottom of the net resting in the water. I soon had hoi 
of one side of the frame. There sat the beaver with its 
front paws folded, looking very much astonished. Soon 
it dived, attempting to go out that way, only to return to 
its sitting position. We carried it to the shore, opened 
the door of a cage, placed the mouth of the net in front 
and awaited the slow movements of the beaver. After 
looking around a bit, it slowly crawled into the cage. 
We shut the door, and then congratulated ourselves on 
having captured a beaver without so much as pulling one 
hair out or hurting it in the least. It had not shown 
any fight, so we concluded it was a female. I had been 
laughed at by some people when I told them how I ex- 
pected to capture beaver with a dip net; now I could 
laugh, as I had proved beaver could be captured without 
traps. 
The beaver was of good size, about 301bs. in weight. 
We packed it to the house, Yancey's, putting it in a cage 
with a small tank provided by the Government. I say 
we put it in a cage; we opened the doors of the cages, 
placed them together and poured water in the tank. 
The beaver slowly walked in and to the tank. At no 
time did we touch it or try to force its movements. 
Before we had left the beaver house we had looked 
for the mate, but it was not to be spen. After dinner we 
went to searching for the other beaver. We found 
several holes in the banks from 5 to 10: t. long, also run- 
ways starting from the bank. They would keep below 
the surface for 10, 15 and sometimes 20ft., then come out 
to the open air, usually into an open runway or canal. 
All these had been under water before we cut the dam. 
Often the banks of the creek were undermined, the sod 
and willows hanging over, leaving quite a roomy run- 
way. We spent the day looking for the other beaver, 
but it had escaped. The holes that we found we poked 
with long willows, and where we could not reach the end 
would cut in from the surface. The ends of some h id been 
used as nests or rooms before the water had flooded them 
by the raising of the dam. The short holes appeared to have 
furnished material for cememting the dams and mud 
for the house. It was all very wet, muddy and nasty 
work. The surface after the water was drawn off was 
covered with all kinds of water insects and many water 
plants, and of f en the mud was so deep we could not wade 
throu h it. We found bits of sticks from which the bark 
had been cleaned by the beaver scattered about, but no 
large ones. These had been used either at the house or dam. 
Next day we moved our cages, tools and netting down 
the, creek to a large pond, in which there were two houses. 
Above and below were many dams. The ponds were full 
of willows and in the early morning were frozen over, 
the ice being 2in. thick in some places. The dams were 
large, strong and old. We had to cut four dams before 
we could reach the one belonging to the two house pond. 
While doing so we found a house just started used by one 
beaver, but we could not find the owner, the ground 
being one network of runways. It was so undermined 
that the water of the creek left the channel and ran 
through some of the runways for more than 20ft. Even 
the dam had tunne 8 along its lower side We did not 
attempt to cut the main dam that dav, but cleaned the 
channel so ss to have the water go cff rapidly when we 
were ready lor it. 
When we went to work in the morning we found all 
the dams that we had cut replaced; the water wa« at its 
old lev«-l in all the ponds. The beaver had done all this 
work in one night, and strangely had used little if any of 
the material we had thrown to the sides the day before. 
It was not as d fficult to remove the new dams as it was 
the old onps. After they were cut the main dam was 
reached. Then we stationed a man above, near the next 
dam above, with netting across the creek, with instruc- 
tions to watch it and see that no beaver passed. As soon 
as the dam was cut and the water low enough we run the 
netting around both houses, stopped all runways, canals 
and channels as well as possible, and then started in on 
one of the houses, first getting a good location for the 
dip-net at what I thought was the most likely place for 
the beaver to come out. To this house there were four 
entrances that we could see, and later we found another 
under water leading through an underground channel to 
a point 6ft. from the house, but foitunately inside our 
netting. 
We blocked all the entrances but one with stakes, and 
then began to tear t^e house to pieces. It was very large 
and strong, had been over 5ft. out of the water and was 
now about 10ft. out. There was water around the house 
in deep holts dug by the beaver in obtaining material for 
the house. When the room or nest was reached it proved 
to be very large, with several alcoves or nests, each a few 
rnohes higher than the main fl .or. This was nearly level, 
6lt. long by about 4 in the widest place, an irregular oval 
—a half an egg shaped room, with one entrance at the 
small end and another at the larger one and a little inside 
giving room for a beaver to have its nest between the 
entrance and the outer wall. 
The walls and alcoves were made by cutting away the 
material of the house from the inside, the teeth marks 
ot the beaver showing plainly on the ends of sticks. The 
room was quits dry and bad been about 3in. above the 
water s level at the lower end. Soon after we broke into 
the room a 2 year-old beaver went into our net and was 
soon caged. When the hole in the roof was large enough 
1 got down into the room, finding space enough to crawl 
about, and could look into the entrances. Jump worked 
here, and on the floor soon broke through into another 
room with four openings, and later found another and 
smaller room under this. The two lower rooms had been 
under water, but were now dry. We could hear water 
running through the lowpr passages, and now and then 
get a glimpse of a beaver, a large one. 
Making the hole in the second room lare^e enough to 
crawl in, and with two at work with willow sticks, we at 
last drove this large beaver into the net. As soon as he 
found himself a prisoner he showed some fight, tried to 
cut the wire once and made a dive at the feet of any one 
near the net. When in the cage it became quiet. We 
could find no mor" beaver in this house, but there were a 
great many passages, in fact, the whole house was honev- 
combed with them, and the ground under it as well We 
did not think there could possibly he any more beaver in 
})laces we had poked and punched so much with wil- 
ows, but I now think they were biding in there. 
Not having sufficient experience, we missed them. 
We now moved to the other house and broke into that, 
finding one room with one passageway to an inner circu- 
lar runway that had three outlets: one led to the cache. 
The cache was Bmall and contained no more material 
than the one in the dam above, where we got our first 
beaver. There was no cache at all by the first house we 
opened. We did not find any beaver in the house, neither 
could we get trace of any in the runways or tunnels. 
We were somewhat disappointed, because we supposed 
there would be six or eight beaver at least, judging from 
the amount of work done in one night putting in the four 
dams we had cut. However, the cache was so small that, 
after more experience with them, I believe there were 
not more than two more at the most. 
We carried our beaver home and I sent word to the 
Springs that I would send the beaver in. 
I made a large box for future use, lined it with tin so 
that it would be impossible for the beaver to cut through. 
We prospected the country below, but concluded it would 
be very difficult work to catch any beaver there. One 
evening I watched a beaver house and dam above the 
meadow with my glasses and could see large and small 
beaver swimming around. I saw the little ones on the 
dam making their toilet. They did a great deal of 
scratching and rubbing, going over all parts of their bod- 
ies until they must have been quite clean. Then after a 
plunge in the water they went to work cutting willows, 
small ones, and taking the branches to their cache. I 
saw the large beaver come out, go up the stream 200yds., 
cut a bunch of long willows and swim to the house with 
them. Other beaver were out in the pond, where the 
willows were so thick I could not see them well. I was 
on a hill about 100ft. above the water. Jump and I made 
up our minds that there were at lpast five in this family. 
Next day we moved all our outfit to the dam. There 
was a grove of quaking asp on a side hill, 50yds. from 
the water where the beavers were cutting winter food. 
There were two trails over which they dragged the sticks 
and brush, each trail leading to a canal dug for the pur- 
pose of transporting their wood. The canals were about 
l4in. wide and from 1 to 2ft. deep. Jump and I thought 
possibly we could catch a beaver away from the water 
with our dip-net, if we watched ; so that evening we posted 
ourselves in a favorable place to intercept them on their 
way from the grove to the pond; it was our intention to 
let them go to the grove before making our presence 
known. "When we first stationed ourselves — an hour be- 
fore sundown — we saw a band of Yancey's horses coming 
down a hill to the lower end of the main pond, and at the 
other side from us. As soon as the leader waded out into the 
water to drink, we heard a heaver strike the water with 
its tail close to the horses. These all threw up their heads 
to look. Again the beaver struck the water quite close 
to the leader, who was in the water up to its knees. The 
horses left this part of the pond, walked along the side 
hill back from the water about 25 7ds. until they came to 
a sort of bay, where they again attempted to drink. The 
braver slapped the water with its tail, kepping it up until 
the horses trotted off over the hill. This was the first 
time I had ever seen anything of the kind. I had often 
beard the animal make the noise and supposed they did 
it to al rm other beaver, but tbiB time it was used to 
drive other animals away from their dam and pond. The 
beaver had followed along the shore until the horses at- 
tempted to drink the second time, and did drive them 
away. Where he did his last splashing was in long grass, 
the water standing from 1ft. to aft. deep. Jump and I 
could see him plainly. 
We watched the beaver for an hour or so longer; could 
hear and see them at work, but not once did we see them 
come to the canal, so we concluded we did not want to 
catch beaver that way. I am quite sure the beaver did 
come through the canal and were watching for enemies 
before showing themselves, They very probably scented 
us or bad strong suspicions we were near by, I have see n 
them go so slowly and quietly through their canals, keep- 
ing under water, that if it had not been very clean I would 
not have known they were there at all. When they 
wished to come to the Burface they did so very slowly and 
carefully, making no disturbance or wave on the surface; 
but when they knew they were discovered they were not 
a bit careful, but went through the canal like a shot, tak- 
ing a wave with them that overflowed the banks of the 
canal on both sides. When swimming under the surface 
rapidly they can be traced by a wave, but if they wish 
they can go so qnietly through the water that they make 
no sign at all. They will often come to the surface close 
to a person and watch him, nothing showing but the top 
of their beads; then possibly diving, slapping the water 
with their tails. I have been startled by them while fish- 
ing along the Yellowstone, where they live in banks. I 
have seen them in the clear water, swimming along close 
to the bottom, seen them stop, slowly fl >at to the surface 
and look at me. Sometimes tbey will sink again without 
making any noise, and swim off a long way before giving 
an alarm. E. Hofer. 
[to be concluded next week.] 
A Death Struggle. 
Two IiAROE buck" of a herd of thirteen Virginia deer, 
kept in the p trk of Hon, J F Dans tmbe, of Fort Dodge,' 
la., fought last December until both were dead. The bat- 
tle was not seen by any one, but on the morning of D-c. 
5 the two were found with locked horns. While they 
were covered with bruises and more or lees gored, an ex- 
amination of the animals indicated that death was due to 
exhaustion. 
AMERICAN ANIMALS FOR EUROPE. 
A consignment of American animals was shipped from ( 
Hoboken to Germany on the North Oerman Lloyd 
steamer Meier, on Saturday, May 9. the animals being in- 
tended for different z S'agieal gardens. There were in 
the lot five buffalo, two moose and a doz°n raccoons, and 
they were in charge of Messrs, E ; sing & H< ff man, who i 
are animal dealers. The buffalo were packed in separate 
crates, which affordpd them but little room, while the 
moose, which are more or less tame, were in a stall to- 
gether. There were five of the buff ilo — four cows and a 
bull — and they came from the Lincoln Park Zoological 
Gardens, and are exchanged for various foreign animals. 
Two of the buffalo are destined for the Riyal Menagerie 
at Schoenbrunn, near Vienna, and the other three are to 
go to the Z'ological Gardens of L°ipsic, in Germany. 
While the buffalo were extremely wild and hard to 
handle, and therefore were closely confined as stated, the 
moose had been more or less handled by Mr. Eising, and 
it is Baid could he driven. While on the cars during, 
the trip to New York, a quick movement of the head of 
one of the buffalo cows, is said to have crushed a keeper's 
hand so badly that it had to be amputated. It is reported 
that Messrs. Eising & Hoff man will return to this country 
in June in search of more animals for Europe. There is 
said to be a steady and constantly increasing demand for 
our American wild animals among the Zoological Gardens 
of Europe. 
The steamship Lahn, which sailed on Tuesday, the 12th, 
carried one of the first, if not the very first, Rocky Moun- 
tain sheep that has ever erone to Europe. This is a full- 
grown ram weighing 400lbs. and supporting a pair of 
massive horns. He reached New York by rail last week 
en route for Germany, where he is designed for one of the 
zt o logical gardens. He was shipped from Leadville, 
Col.,' to Dr. William A. C mkltn, the dealer in wild ! 
animals, and when he arrived showed the effects of a long 
and bard journey. J 
He had been confined in a Wilcox & White organ box 
measuring about 5ft. in length and about 8ft. wide by 4ft. 
high. This box was padded with burlap and excelsior, 
and was closed up tight when the animal reached New I 
York. He had had no water and very little air, and as a 
consequence was a pretty sick sheep at the end of his' 
journey. He signalized his arrival, however, by butting, 
out one end of bis pen and incidentally snapping in the 
middle a piece of 2 by 4in. batten that formed apart of its 
construction. Without doubt be would have secured this 
much needed ventilation earlier in his journey if he had 
been in less cramped quarters; but as it was, when he 
stood up bis tail touched the rear end of the box and he 
had no chance to back off for a genuine butt. 
It is said that this sheep is the largest ever taken alive. 
The following measurements, made by Forest and 
Stream, show that he is a good one; Spread of horns, i 
2:iin, ; length of left horn, 33£in. ; circumference at base, 
16£in. 
WANTED— RUFFED GROUSE EGGS. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Anon comes the spring, and the bland and childlike I 
inquiry of Hough for ruffed grouse eergs to wring my | 
heart afresh. If the man whose letter Mr. Hough printed 
had spent half a day ransacking his brain for atypical) 
non-commercial article, he could never have hit upon a i 
better. A great many things have a market value and : 
can be bought with monev, but ruffed grouse et?gs do not 
come in the category N>w and then they are reduced : 
to possession by accident; but by design — never. When 
one wants grouse eggs and really expects to get them in i 
the vernal season, he must make his arrangements in the 
fall. N >t the fall before, but a year back of that. Then 
if his plans are properly made, he ought to have no serious 
trouble; in securing a moderate supply of a home-grown i 
article. 
The writer only a few years since succeeded in obtain- . 
iner ruffed grouse eggs from birds in confinement for four 
different seasons. In two of these ye»rs the eggs were' 
fertile and in two they were sterile. In one of these cases I 
a living chick was brought out by the mother arouse, 1 
while the remaining chicks perished in the shpll after , 
having fully matured. This is the only case of the kind 
on record in the United States so far as I have been able 
to discover. 
It is an utter waste of time to attempt to hatch and rear 
ruffed grouse under the common domestic fowl of what- 
ever ppecips. The two are altogether antagonistic under 
this hind of combination. Forest and Stream readers 
will remember that one of my grouse bens hatched and 
reared several (four) game bantam chicks, but that was a 
different matter. The young grouse can no more under- 
stand the language of the barnyard fowl than a Yankee 
child can understand Chinese, and thev will not try to 
learn. My first introduction to the ruffed grouse, while j 
still a lad, was when I captured two chicks but a few 
days old and placed them in a coop with a common hen. 
The little fellows stood up like ComanoheR, savage and 
utterly irreconcilable, and had they not managed to es- 
cape the same day would have starved to death with the 
greatest cheerfulness and determination. Jay Beeee. 
Toledo, O., May 2. 
Bluebirds in the Northwest. 
Oroville, Wash., April 25 — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Last Sunday, while a companion and I were traveling 
down Kettle R ver, British Columbia, seven black-tail 
deer ran across the road just a little ahead of us, and 
within a few hundred yards a flock of at least 100 blue- 
birds flaw up into some small trees. 
They have been very numerous here for the last three 
years. 
[Were these bluebirds S. mexieana or S. arctica? We 
should be disposed to think the latter. Can our cor- 
respondent tell us? S arctica is wholly blue, of varying 
intensity; S mexieana has a patch of chestnut brown on 
middle of back and breast, and sides are brown.] 
Birds, Snakes and Cherries. 
Some writer whom I recently read says that in hia 
boy bond there was great plenty of good cherries through- 
out New England, but that the trees and fruit are at- 
tacked by all manner of worms and insects, so that no • 
good cherri(!8 are to be had I wonder how much the 
destruction of birds and snakes has had to do with the 
matter. Coahoma. 
