ie Shah iH eS ae Neer filt = sie A222 fas tye st T bbeeSoo ToOEO go WOO 0 0 1IOHM/18IN IIL eZ P 4 S86 S. ey SN ee \ i ty iy WN i RT 4h Sebo Wine Aree ST dpe unty Aten vane tary), ‘a ys AEX hs Ath ‘ ff i i! mil oir 4 mul Vege au tea abl a i! ¥ aes Radic Rig Gan . 4 : PlatelL. ae amen encenlcnt trom aFhathograph. LS Duval, Son & Co.Phil® AMERICAN BEAVER. 5 pe, THE /”). AMERICAN BEAVER | HTS eWaO Rake S. BY LEWIS H. MORGAN, AUTHOR OF “THE LEAGUE OF THE IROQUOIS.’ PHILADELPHIA: J. “BE EIPTINCORE & -Co. 1868, Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by LEWIS H. MORGAN, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States in and for the Northern District of New York. TO SAM UR Ee PoE EY, Eso. OF MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN, Chis Volume is inscribed AS A SEIGHT MEMENTO OF THE LONG AND UNINTERRUPTED FRIENDSHIP WHICH HAS SUBSISTED BETWEEN HIM AND THE AUTHOR. RocuesTer, NEw York, November 21, 1867. (ii) “Natural History, then, should be based on what is called a System of Nature; or a great Catalogue, in which all beings bear acknowledged names, may be recog- nized by distinctive characters, and distributed in divisions and subdivisions them- selves named and characterized, in which they may be found.”—Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom, Intro. 15. * And after all, what does it matter to science that thousands of species, more or less, should be described and entered in our systems, if we know nothing about them?”—Agassiz’s Nat. Hist. U. S., 1. 57. (av ) PREFACE. THE publication of Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom established an epoch in the science of zoology. This eminent scholar brought to his subject the critical and reflective powers of a great intellect, and the varied and profound acquirements of a laborious life. Having possessed himself of the results of antecedent as well as contemporary investigations, and extended his researches with more or less exactness, over the entire animal kingdom, he was enabled to construct, upon the “System of Nature,” that remark- able system for the classification of animals, which now forms the basis of zoological science.’ This system of classification is anded exclusively upon the anatomical structure of animals, whence comparative anatomy is the source of its materials. It not only rejects the habits and properties of animals as immaterial and transient, but it also leaves out of consideration their mental endowments, which, how- ever important in other respects, were incapable of affording a basis of classification. Under its clear and definite discriminations all the species of each of the four great branches of the animal kingdom are seen in intelligible and harmonious relations, notwithstanding their striking diversities of form. Unity of type runs through the structural organization of all the individuals comprised in each of these branches. The grandeur of this fourfold plan of creation is not more impressive than the wonderful adaptation of the sur- rounding elements to the condition and wants of the multitude of animal organisms which God has made. It is not, however, the whole of the science of zoology to 1 Agassiz dates the new period from 1812, ‘‘when Cuvier laid before the Academy of Sciences in Paris the results of his investigations * * * which had satisfied him that all animals were constructed upon four different plans.” —WNatural History United States, i. 193. The ‘‘Regne Animal” did not appear, however, until 1816. ) (v vl PREFACE. furnish a systematic catalogue of animals, with its exposition lim- ited to the frigid details of anatomical structure. This would restrict it to dead rather than to living forms. Each animal is endowed with a living, and, also, with a thinking principle, the manifestations of each of which are not less important and in- structive than the mechanism of the material frames in which they reside. In a comparative sense the former are intrinsically of higher concernment. A monograph upon each of the principal animals seems, there- fore, to be desirable, if not absolutely necessary, to fill out, in some measure, this great programme; and to complete the super- structure of a science, the foundations of which have been so admirably established. These should contain a minute exposi- tion of their artificial works, where such are constructed ; of their habits, their mode of life, and their mutual relations. When the facts bearing upon these several subjects have been collected and systematized, the necessary materials will be furnished for the proper elucidation of the long neglected subject of Animal Psy- chology. This volume upon ‘‘The American Beaver and his Works,” although it falls much below the dignity and completeness of a monograph, is offered as an experiment in this special undertaking of collecting and systematizing our knowledge of the habits and mode of life of the inferior animals. Whether the zoologist will turn aside from the more intricate and fascinating subjects of his science to consider the personal acts and artificial erections of this humble, but most industrious mute; and whether the general reader will find either pleasure or profit in studying the manifest- ations of intelligence by a single animal, when spread out with so much detail, I cannot pretend to form an opinion. A treatise overdone is as distasteful to the reader as one imperfectly exe- cuted; and since this is liable to both objections, it is submitted, not without misgivings, to the public judgment. As books of this description are more or less accidental pro- ductions, it is sometimes proper to state how they came to be written. Notwithstanding some reluctance to enter upon per- sonal details, there is, in the present case, an urgent necessity - for a brief explanation to bespeak the confidence of the reader in the results of this investigation. It furnishes an apology for introducing the following statement. PREFACE. Vil In the year 1852 a Railroad was projected and commenced by the late Honorable Heman B. Ely, to open the iron region on the south shore of Lake Superior, and introduce its rich and inex- haustible ores into the manufacturing industry of the country. In this enterprise his brothers, Samuel P. Ely, George H. Ely, and John F. Ely, and their uncle, the late Hervey Ely,' then residents, except one, of Rochester, New York, were associated. The mag- nitude of the undertaking will be appreciated when it is stated that this entire region was then an uninhabited wilderness, with the exception of a few hamlets at Marquette, the present port of the iron district on Lake Superior, and a few log cabins at the iron mines, which had shortly before been discovered, but were still uadeveloped. Atthat time the St. Mary’s Ship Canal, which three years later connected the lower lakes with Lake Superior, although projected, was not commenced ; consequently naviga- tion between these lakes was obstructed by the rapids in the St. Mary’s River. Besides this obstacle, it was five hundred miles from Marquette to Detroit, the nearest point from which supplies could be obtained. Notwithstanding these formidable difficulties, the Messrs. Ely persevered in the enterprise until 1856, when they found it advisable, after a large expenditure, to accept the co-operation of other parties in the further prosecution of the work. Joseph 8. Fay, Esq., of Boston, Edwin Parsons, Esq., of New York, and some other capitalists, were then admitted into the association. In 1858 the Railroad was completed to the three principal iron locations, and in 1865 to Lake Michigame, after an expenditure of about a million and a half of dollars. Under the stimulus of commercial causes a Railroad was thus constructed through a rugged wilderness for a distance of forty 1] cannot mention the name of my venerable and noble friend, now de- ceased, without expressing my high appreciation of his great abilities, of his genial and unselfish nature, and of his liberal and enlightened senti- ments. He will be favorably remembered as one of the great men of his day and generation. Born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, January 10th, 1791, he established himself in Rochester in 1813, where he engaged extensively in manufacturing and commercial enterprises, in which he con- tinued until 1861, when he retired from business. He died in this city, November 23d, 1862. It was my privilege to know him intimately for nearly twenty years; and this passing tribute to his memory is founded upon persoual knowledge of his worth. Vill PREFACE. miles, and opened a country which, but for its mineral deposits, would have been pronounced unfit for human habitation. With its unequaled summer climate, and its unlimited mineral wealth, it has now become one of the most attractive regions within our national limits. It so happened that this Railroad passed through a beaver dis- trict, more remarkable, perhaps, than any other of equal extent to be found in any part of North America. By opening this wil- derness in advance of all settlement, the beavers were surprised, so to speak, in the midst of their works, which, at the same time, were rendered accessible for minute and deliberate investigation, in a manner altogether unusual. A rare opportunity was thus offered to examine the works of the beaver, and to see him in his native wilds. Having been associated in this enterprise from its commence- ment, as one of the directors of the Railroad Company, and as one of its stockholders, business called me to Marquette, first in 1855, and nearly every summer since to the present time. After the completion of the Railroad to the iron mines, it was impossible to withstand the temptation to brook-trout fishing, which the streams traversing the intermediate and adjacent districts offered in ample measure. My friend, Gilbert D. Johnson, Superintendent of the Lake Superior Mine, had established boat stations at convenient points upon the Carp and Hsconauba Rivers, and to him I am specially indebted first, fora memorable experience in brook-trout fishing, and secondly, for an introduction to the works of the beaver within the areas traversed by these streams. Our course, in passing up and down, was obstructed by beaver dams at short intervals, from two to three feet high, over which we were com- pelled to draw our boat. Their numbers and magnitude could not fail to surprise as well as interest any observer. Although constructed in the solitude of the wilderness, where the forces of nature were still actively at work, it was evident that they had existed and been maintained for centuries by the permanent impression produced upon the rugged features of the country. The results of the persevering labors of the beaver were suggest- ive of human industry. The streams were bordered continuously with beaver meadows, formed by overflows by means of these dams, which had destroyed the timber upon the adjacent lands. Fallen trees, excavated canals, lodges, and burrows, filled up the PREFACE. 1X measure of their works. These together seemed to me to afford a much greater promise of pleasure than could be gained with the fish-pole, and very soon, accordingly, the beaver was substi- tuted for the trout. I took up the subject as I did fishing, for sunmer recreation. In the year 1861, I had occasion to visit the Red River Settlement in the Hudson’s Bay Territory, and in 1862, to ascend the Missouri River to the Rocky Mount- ains, which enabled me to compare the works of the beaver in these localities with those on Lake Superior. At the outset I had \ no expectation of following up the subject year after year, but \ was led on, by the interest which it awakened, until the mate- \rials collected seemed to be worth arranging for publication. \Whether this last surmise is well or ill founded, I am at least cer- ‘ain that no other animal will be allowed to entrap the unambi- ous author so completely as he confesses himself to have been by the beaver. My unrestrained curiosity has cost me a good dealt of time and labor. Me measuring and attempting to sketch a number of these dans, I found it impossible to reproduce even a feeble copy. It was evident that the photographic art was alone capable of handing such a complicated subject; and of fixing, once for all, its renarkable features. It seemed, also, to be extremely desir- able ty secure an accurate representation of these structures while would sjeedily fall into decay. While maturing a plan to take into the \ountry for this purpose a party of photographers, the desire was gratified by the adventure of Mr. James A. Jenney, who cameo Marquette in 1861, with an instrument and the necessary aypliances for taking landscape views. With him I made an arringement for a series of photographs. The following year, my fri\nd, the Rev. Josiah Phelps, rector of St. Peter’s Church at M&quette, who had taken up this beautiful art as an amateur, genebusly placed his instrument and his services at my disposal, and thus a large number of additional photographs were obtained fiym time to time. The engravings in this volume, with some exce\tions, were made from selections from these photographs. In addition to these, I made a general beaver collection, sufli- x PREFACE. ciently ample to illustrate other branches of the subject, consist- ing of mounted specimens of the beaver, and of his skeleton, skulls, pelts, tree cuttings, and limb and pole cuttings, of all sizes and kinds, engravings of specimens of which are given in the following pages. It has been my-aim to speak in all cases, in which it was pos- sible, from original specimens. In this manner, truth and cer- tainty are both secured, and the amount of necessary description is greatly abridged. It will be found, in the sequel, that this account of the beaver rests essentially upon actual works repro- duced by the photograph and copied by the engraver. Whatever value it may possess is chiefly referable to this fact. Marquette, which in 1853 consisted of a few scattering houses, now contains twenty-eight hundred inhabitants. Situated upor a bay of Lake Superior, and prosperous upon the large business of the iron region, it is not too much to say that it is the most beautiful village of the Northwest. The large investments made for the development of the mineral wealth, and fur the prosecu- tion of the constantly increasing trade of the iron district, fave drawn to it a higher and more intelligent class of businessmen than is usually found in villages of its size; and this, in turn, has given to Marquette, in a social sense, its superior and attrictive character. The climate also—a fact not suspected until the coun- try was opened—is one of the finest, in the summer, to b» found within the limits of the United States; while in the winter, from its steadiness and uniformity, it is less trying tha that of New England or New York. Marquette is destined to vecome a city; and the principal centre of business on Lake Sup»rior.' Besides the persons previously named, I am under very great obligations to many others for co-operation, infornation, and assistance, in various ways, while engaged upon ths investiga- 1This railroad, which was first known as the ‘‘Iron Mointain,” then as the ‘‘ Bay de Noquet and Marquette,” and now as the ‘‘ Mrquette and On- tonagon Railroad,” has carried down from the mines to Iarquette the fol- lowing amounts of iron ore: We PRBS. oho 31,000 Tons. | In 1868...........-+ 200,000 Tons. hae eee ee 65,000 « fea ek. Be 250,000 « TBH OW. canes . 116,000 « TSOB ste. eee 200,000 « Ss peek nee 45,000 « 1B66%.c.88:- oe 210,000 « PaGgi be.) 0 eh 115,000 « B67 ck... fee 270,000 « PREFACE, xi tion. First among them is my friend, Samuel P. Ely, Esq., now a resident of Marquette, and Vice-President and Managing Di- rector of the Marquette and Ontonagon Railroad Company. He has taken a cordial interest in the subject, joined me in some ex- peditions, and seconded my efforts in every possible way. The inscription of this volume to him is but a slight recognition of the part he has taken in the collection of the materials. To Hon. Peter White, of Marquette; to’Cornelius Donkersley, Esq., Su- perintendent; L. K. Dorrance, Esq., former Chief Engineer; and William H. Steele, Esq., Assistant Engineer of the same Rail- road, I am also indebted for many personal favors; and to Charles H. Kavis, the present Chief Engineer, as well. I desire also to mention the friendly and faithful services of Wm. Badger, who has spent many nights with me encamped by beaver dams, and who, as a camp master and explorer, possesses high qualifi- cations. To Capt. Daniel Wilson, an experienced trapper, as well as an accurate observer, I am indebted for valuable inform- ation. Iam also indebted to William Cameron, William Bass, Paul Pine, and Jack La Pete, Ojibwa trappers, for an acquaint- ance with the ‘“ beaver lore” of the Indians, which is both curious and instructive. I desire also to mention my friend, George 8. Riley, Esq., of Rochester, to whom I am indebted for valuable suggestions. There are still others whose names would be neces- sary to complete the list of those who have contributed in various ways to the materials contained in this volume, whose friendly offices are remembered with much pleasure. It is perhaps superfluous to name my friend, Dr. W. W. Ely, of Rochester, since he is a direct contributor to these pages. Having articulated the skeleton represented in Plate III., he ex- pressed a willingness to dissect a pair of beavers if they could be obtained, which was accordingly done. The carefully prepared and accurate presentation which he has made of this subject will furnish ample materials for the further comparison of the Amer- ican and European beavers. RocussteR, November, 1867. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT OF THE AMERICAN BEAVER; AND HIS POSITION IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Order Rodentia—Characteristics of the Order—The Beaver a Rodent —His Color—Black Beaver—Albinos—His Size—Movements—Func- tions of Tail—Vision short—Hearing and Smell acute—Social Pro- pensities—Habitat of American Beaver—Their Numbers—Habitat of European Beaver—Fossil European Beaver—Trogontherium— Fossil American Beaver—Castoroides—Great Antiquity of the Beaver Type—Systematic Position of Castoride—Brandt’s Classification of the Rodentia—Independence of this Family—American and Euro- pean Beavers Varieties of the same Species..........seceeeeeeessecseeeeees CHAPTER II. ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. Introduction—Description— Skeleton— Skull—Teeth — Muscles — In- ternal Organs: Mouth, Stomach, Intestines, Caecum, Heart, Lungs, Liver, Spleen—Respiration of Aquatic Animals—Brain ................. ApprnpIx A. 1. Measurements of Skull. 2. Differences between European and American Beavers considered. 3. Castoreum Organs, and Generative Organs..............+. Feacaeeatecent sac caus sis ucsrae stars wsldias oz CHAPTER III. BEAVER DAM Remarkable Beaver District—Number of Beaver Dams—Other Works —Character of the Region—Beavers now abundant—Map of Area —Object of Dams—Their Great Age—Of Two Kinds—Interlaced Stick-Dam—Solid-bank Dam—Great Beaver Dam at Grass Lake— Its Dimensions—Surrounding Landscape—Mode of Construction— Lower Face—Water Face—Great Curve—Mode of discharging Sur- ( xiii) 17 46 287 X1V CONTENTS. plus Water—Artistic Appearance of this Dam—Necessity for Contin- uous Repairs—Measurements—Cubic Contents—Photograph—Man- ner of taking same—Relation of Dam below—Same of one above— Manner, of Repairing Dams..-o.-ccesscenaenermeesencers ccesce scene scseeeserae 78 CHAPTER IV. BEAVER DAMS.—(CONTINUED.) Solid-bank Dams—Places where constructed—No Dams in deep Water—Where impossible, the Beavers inhabit River Banks—De- scription of Solid-bank Dam—Opening for Surplus Water—Pond confined to River Banks—Similar Dam with Hedge-—Fallen-tree .Dam—Use of Tree accidental—Spring Rill Dam—Series of Dams on the Carp—Dams in a’Gorge—Lake Outlet Dams—High Dam— Long Dam—Description of same—Manner of Photographing same —Dams in other Districts of North America—Petrified Beaver Dams AMUIEGTI TAM Dac eceec sas cbacesesescossess sauces conranes teemeeetentetume ta arecdicestacs ss 104 CHAPTER V. BEAVER LODGES AND BURROWS. Habits of Beaver—Our Knowledge limited—Indians and Trappers as Observers—Source of Buffon’s Extravagant Statements—Disposi- tion of Beavers to pair—The Family—Outcast Beaver—Beaver Mi- grations—Adaptation to Aquatic Life—Suspension of Respiration— Length of Time—Artifice of Musk-Rat—Burrowing Propensities— Varieties of the Beaver Lodge—Island Lodge at Grass Lake—Size and Form—Chamber—Floor—Wood Entrance—Beaver Entrance— Their Artistic Character — Bank Lodge — Mode of Construction — Chamber—Entrances—Another Variety of Bank Lodge—Chamber and Entrances—Nature of Floor—Lake Lodge—Differences from other Varieties — False Lodge of Upper Missouri— Lodges Single Chambered—Burrows—Their Form, Size, and Uses—Examples, with Measurements—Number of Beavers to the Lodge—Number of Lodges GO LHe AON eis «ssnsscseseaks <+-> ob oncelsastet peer mmtnetess=cineexss\-cs\scesssisesecseemee 132 CHAPTER VI. "SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. Subsistence exclusively Vegetable—Kinds of Bark preferred—Roots of Plants—Incisive Teeth Chisels—Their cutting Power—It dimin- ishes with Age—Provisions for Winter—Season for collecting—Fell- ing Trees—Their Size—Number of Beavers engaged—Manner of cutting—Chips—Short Cuttings—Moving them on Land—Floating CONTENTS. XV them in Water—Sinking them in Piles—Wood-eating—Evidence that they eat Clear Wood—Brush-heap at Lodge—Restricted to Particu- lar Places—Their Use—Ponds in Winter—Winter Life of Beavers... 166 CHAPTER VII. BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. Beaver Canals—Their Extraordinary Character—Originated by Neces- sity—Their Uses—Evidences of their Artificial Character—Canals at Natural Pond—Their Form and Appearance—Canal on Carp River—Use of Dams in same—Canal Across Bend of Esconauba— Same across Island in Pond—Beaver Meadows—How formed—Their Extent—Beaver Slides on Upper Missouri—Scenery on this River— Bluffs of Indurated Clay—Bad Lands—White Walls—Game—Con- nection of River Systems with Spread of BeaverS.............sssecesseeee ga CHAPTER VIII. MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. Other Habits of the Beaver—Indications of Age—Tame Beavers—Nursed by Indian Women—Building and Repairing Dams—Great Beaver Districts—Hudson’s Bay Company—American Fur Company—Pri- vate Adventurers—The Steel Trap—Trapping Season—Trapping at the Dam—At the Lodge—Traps sprung—Whether the Beaver when caught bites off his Fore Foot—Trapping under the Ice—Catching in a Pen—Trapping Bank Beavers—Catching in Burrows—Trap- pers as a Class—Custom of hanging up Skulls—Statistics of Fur Trade— Early and Recent Exportations—Immense Numbers of MAOH CU Suecuntantanices sec'ss|s celceeiccecaeeseceneseaanearaettnners/ecs ss -fectarehae ceseeey OLS CHAPTER IX ANIMAL PSYCHOLOGY. Inquiries proposed—Whether the Mutes possess a Mental Principle— Whether its Qualities are similar to those manifested by the Human Mind—Whether the Differences are of Degree, or of Kind—Consider- ations from Structural Organization—The Principle of Life—Memory —Reason—Imagination—The Will—Appetites and Passions—Lu- nacy of Animals—General Conclusions..............cesescecsssseseeees seeee 248 APPENDICES. AP NOTES TO CHAP Di lene cease scence ess ooeecsed oth oeSs ooo wlece eceaealbewee eee whe 287 B.—SaMuEL HEARNE’S ACCOUNT OF THE BEAVER.........cececececccccccees 806 C.—BENNETT’s ARTICLE ON THE BEAVER $17 POO e eee eee ee ewes Cee EOE REE HEEEe Hee tee THE AMERICAN BEAVER. CHAPTER ET. CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT OF THE AMERICAN BEAVER; AND HIS POSITION IN THE ANIMAL KING- DOM. Order Rodentia—Characteristics of the Order—The Beaver a Rodent—His Color—Black Beavyer—Albinos—His Size—Movements—Functions of Tail —Vision short—Hearing and Smell acute—Social Propensities—Habitat of American Beaver—Their Numbers—Habitat of Huropean Beaver— Fossil European Beaver-——7Zrogontherium—Fossil American Beaver—Cas- toroides—Great Antiquity of the Beaver Type—Systematic Position of Castoride—Brandt’s Classification of the Rodentia—Independence of this Family—American and European Beavers varieties of the same Species. In structural organization the beaver occupies a low position in the scale of mammalian forms. His low respiration and clumsy proportions render him slow of motion; and being a coarse vegetable feeder, and adapted both to water and to land, he is inferior to the carnivorous, and even the herbivorous animals, in those characteristics upon which the gradations of structure are established. In intelligence and sagacity he is undoubtedly below many of the carnivora which depend exclusively for subsistence upon their skill in entrapping and seizing prey ; neither is it probable that he is possessed of higher endowments than other 2 CET) 18 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. animals of a corresponding grade. And yet no other animal has attracted a larger share of attention, or acquired by his intelligence a more respectable posi- tion in public estimation. The reason is obvious. In a pre-eminent degree he requires artificial erections to promote his happiness, and to secure his safety; con- sequently, we are enabled to place our hands upon his works, and to trace step by step, through tangible forms, the evidences of his architectural skill. Around him are the dam, the lodge, the burrow, the tree-cut- ting, and the artificial canal; each testifying to his handiwork, and affording us an opportunity to see the application as well as the results of his mental and physical powers. There is no animal, below man, in the entire range of the mammalia, which offers to our investigation such a series of works, or presents such remarkable materials for the study and illustration of animal psychology. The specific characteristics and habitat of the American beaver, and his position in the animal king- dom, require some notice before entering upon the subject of his artificial erections, habits, and mode of life. Our interest in this animal will be much in- creased by a preliminary consideration of these several topics. Of the nine orders of mammals established by Cuvier in his systematic treatise upon the Animal Kingdom, the fifth is the order Lodentia, or the gnawers. To this order the beaver belongs. He is thus found in the same category with the squirrel, the rat, the marmot, the porcupine, and the rabbit, and with many other mammals, all of which agree in the possession of two large incisive teeth in each jaw, CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT. 19 separated from the molars by an empty space. These incisors are the distinctive characteristic upon which the order is founded. With jaws thus mounted, the rodents are physically incapable of seizing a living prey, and consequently are formed to draw their nu- triment from the vegetable kingdom. The general characteristics of this order are given by Cuvier as follows: “Two large incisors in each jaw, separated from the molars by a wide interval, cannot well seize a living prey or devour flesh. They are unable even to cut the aliment; but they serve to file, and by con- tinued labor to reduce it into small particles; in a word, to gnaw it; hence the word rodentia applied to animals of this order; itis thus that they successfully attack the hardest substances, frequently feeding on wood and the bark of trees. The better to accom- plish this object, these incisors have enamel only in front, so that their posterior edges wearing away faster than the anterior, they are always’ naturally sloped [or chisel like]. Their prismatic form causes them to grow from the root as fast as they wear away from the tip [their formative pulp being persistent], and this tendency to increase in length is so powerful that if either of them be lost or broken, its antagonist in the other jaw, having nothing to oppose or commi- nute, becomes developed to a monstrous extent. The inferior jaw is articulated by a longitudinal condyle in such a way as to allow of no horizontal motion, except from back to front, and vice versa, as is requis- ite for the action of gnawing. The molars also have flat crowns, the enameled eminences of which are always transversely, so as to be in opposition to the 20 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. horizontal movement of the jaw, and better to assist trituration.”” - ig e “Throughout the present group, the brain is almost smooth, and without furrows. ix 5 = In a word, the inferiority of these animals is perceptible in most of the details of their organization.” Baird remarks upon the rodents: “They exist in all parts of the world, and are especially abundant in America, which contains nearly as many species as all the rest of the world put together. South America, however, counts more species than the northern half of the New World, the preponderance being caused principally by the large number belonging to the genus Hesperomys, of which our little deer-or white-footed wood-mouse, is a familiar example.” Waterhouse introduces the order Rodentia in the following language: “The Rodentia, so called from their gnawing propensities, form one of the most clearly defined groups of the mammalia; a group which has representatives in all parts of the world,, and the species of which are very numerous. They feed upon vegetable substances, and are of small size, few exceeding the common hare in bulk. The most striking characters of the rodents are those furnished by the teeth; the long, vacant space which separates the incisors in front, here adapted for gnawing, from the masticating teeth behind. 3 . * Sometimes the width of the incisor is very great, and exceeds the depth; the rodents which burrow, and live almost entirely under ground, present this form 1 Animal Kingdom. Carpenter and Westwood edition, p. 107. 2 Explorations fora Railroad Route, etc. to the Pacific, viii. 235. CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT. yap | of incisors, their powerful teeth being, no doubt, used to gnaw through the roots which would otherwise obstruct their subterranean course. +i * “ Those of the upper jaw are always shorter than those of the lower, and usually describe about three parts of a circle. The larger incisors of the lower jaw form a smaller segment of a larger circle.” Among living rodents the beaver is the largest with the exception of the capybara of South America, which is about one-third larger.” The form and general appearance of the American beaver are well known. His color is a reddish brown, but varying in some localities to a yellowish tinge upon brown, and in others to a glossy black. , Reddish-brown, however, is the prevailing color. I have two pelts in my collection of a dark chestnut, this being the color _ of the coarse fur or hair which in all cases determines the general color of the skin. The fine or true fur is of a clear uniform brown from the root to the tip, and the staple is short. It varies in length from one- half to three-quarters of an inch, while the coarse hairs, which resemble bristles, are from one and three- quarters to two and a half inches in length, and suf- ficiently abundant to completely overspread the fur. Black beavers are scarce, and appear to be confined to higher northern latitudes. The fact that they are sometimes found of this color is attested by Hearne. “Black beaver,” he remarks, “and that of a beautiful _ 1? Nat. Hist. of the Mammalia. Lond. ed., 1848, ii. 1. ? One shot by Darwin at Montevideo weighed 90 pounds. In general appearance it resembles the hare much more than the beaver. yeh THE AMERICAN BEAVER. gloss, are not uncommon; perhaps they are more plentiful at Churchill than at any other factory in the bay; but it is rare to get more than twelve or fifteen of their skins in the course of one: year’s trade.” The skin of the foetal beaver, of which I have two speci- mens in my collection, is covered with a thick fur, which is soft and silky to the touch, and of a clear brown, with aslightly reddish tinge. In these skins the coarse hairs are undeveloped. Albinos are occasionally found, but they are rare. Upon this subject the same author remarks: “In the course of twenty years’ ex- perience in the countries about Hudson’s Bay, though I have traveled six hundred miles to the west of the sea-coast, I never saw but one white beaver skin, and it had many reddish and brown hairs along the ridge of the back. The sides of the belly were of a glossy silvery white.”? Prince Maximilian speaks of white beaver as occasionally found upon the Yellowstone River. He says: “I saw one beautifully spotted with white; yellowish-white and pure white are not unfre- quently caught on the Yellowstone.’ The skin of the beaver when tanned is thicker than the thickest calf skin, and coarse in texture. When full grown, the weight of the American beaver varies from thirty to sixty pounds, the latter weight being rarely attained. The weight of the three largest Lake Superior beavers of which I have reliable knowledge, was fifty-eight pounds each to two 1 Hearne’s Journey to the Northern Ocean. Dublin ed., 1796, p. 241. 2 Tbid., 240. ’ Travels in North America. Lond. ed., 1843, p. 332. CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT. aa of them, and sixty pounds for the third. One mounted specimen in my collection was a full-grown three- year old beaver when taken, and weighed thirty-five pounds. He measured from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, three feet and eight inches; around the centre of the abdomen two feet and one inch; and around the head, back of the ears, one foot and two inches. That part of the tail which is covered with scales measured nine inches in length, and four and a half in width at the centre, from which point it nar- rowed in both directions. A second mounted speci- men, also in my collection, and a male, weighed, when taken. thirty-two pounds, and measured in his greatest length three feet six and a quarter inches; around the centre of the abdomen two feet two and a half inches; and around the neck, back of the ears, one foot two and a half inches. A third mounted speci- men, the one represented in Plate I., and also in my collection, was a two-year old beaver, and a female, and weighed twenty-nine and a half pounds. She measured in her greatest length three feet six and a quarter inches; around the centre of the abdomen two feet; and around the neck, back of ears, one foot one inch. The skeleton represented in Plate ILI., now in my collection, is that of a female beaver, full grown, and three years old and upwards. She weighed forty- three and a half pounds, and measured in her greatest length three feet six inches; around the centre of the abdomen two feet and six inches; and around the neck, back of ears, one foot three inches. That part of the tail covered with scales measured ten inches in — ? One caught by Capt. Daniel Wilson weighed 58 pounds, and two by John Armstrong weighed respectively 58 and 60 pounds. 24 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. length, and five and a half inches at its greatest width. Another beaver, whose pelt I have, weighed thirty-three and a half pounds. It was caught in the year 1862, upon the same dam and at the same time with the one whose skeleton is shown, and was probably her mate, and if so, a male. These beavers, all of which were taken on the south shore of Lake Superior, may be regarded as average speci- mens of the beaver of this locality. From a compar- ison of their skulls with others in my collection from the same district, sixty pounds is not an improbable weight in occasional instances. The skull belonging to the skeleton referred to, and which is No. 4 in the Table of Measurements prepared by Dr. Ely (Appendix A, note 1), measures 475 inches from the end of the nasal bones to the occipital ridge, while that marked No. 40 in same table measures 570 inches. As the for- mer beaver weighed forty-three pounds, it is a reason- able inference that the latter must have weighed at least sixty pounds. The beavers of the Upper Mis- souri are about the same size, while those in Oregon and California are said to attain a larger average size, with how much of truth I cannot state. Brandt, in his elaborate work on the Rodents, and which is par- ticularly full upon the beaver, concludes, after a com- parison of a large number of specimens, that the Asiatic, European, and American beavers are not dis- tinguishable from each other in size.’ In form the beaver is short between the fore and hind legs, broad, heavy, and clumsy, and. his motions are slow and awkward. He walks with a waddling 1 Mémoires de l’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Peters- bourg. Sixth Series. Sciences Naturelles, tome vii. p. 61. CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT. 25 gait, with his back slightly arched, with his body barely clearing the ground, and his tail dragging upon it. Heruns slowly, with alternating steps, but when he makes his most rapid movement, it is by the regular quadruped gallop, the fore feet being raised together and followed in the same manner by. the hind. An ordinary dog could overtake him in ashort chase. In the water, however, his motions are free and graceful. Water is his natural element, and he cannot trust himself far from it with personal safety. The usual representations of the beaver show a gradual increase in the size of the body from the head to the thighs, with the posterior portion much the largest. While the hips are broader than the shoulders, he is the largest around the centre of the abdomen, from which the body tapers in both directions, but more forward than back. Some of the details of the structural organization of the beaver are of a striking character. The mus- cles which regulate the movements of the inferior jaw are large and powerful, as may be inferred from the relative size of the head, and particularly from the measurements of the neck immediately behind the ears. This jaw has a free horizontal movement from side to side, as well as forward and back, the , inferior incisors moving both to the right and to the left of the superior, thus enabling the beaver to mas- ticate his food by a transverse and diagonal as well as forward and back movement of the molars on each other. Incapacity for this transverse movement of the inferior jaw is made one of the characteristics of the rodent order. Cuvier deduced its necessary move- ments from the nature of its articulation, and from — 26 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. the main direction of the enameled eminences of the molar teeth, and then limited its horizontal move- ment to a single direction, which was forward and back. The American beaver is an exception to the general rule.’ The powerful muscles, before referred to, give to this animal the “horrid bite” (horrendus morsus), to use the language of Pliny, for which his tree-cuttings, if not his combative propensities, show him to be distinguished. Kach condyle is movable upon its fulcrum, which is a plain surface, and must be held with immense strength to sustain the grasp of the incisors while in the act of cutting down trees. In swimming, the propelling power is furnished by the hind legs. To adapt their feet for this purpose they are completely webbed to the roots of the claws, and are capable of a lateral spread of eight or nine inches on the exterior line of the membrane. The legs are thrown out behind, in the act of swimming, like those of a duck, and nearly in a horizontal line. While swimming, the fore feet are not used, but are pressed back against the abdomen,’ their smallness rendering them nearly useless for this purpose. Dr. Ely, however, discovered a rudimentary membrane between the fore fingers of these paws which is par- ticularly conspicuous between the second and third. The paws are very small relatively to the size of the animal, and very much smaller than the hind feet; but as they are capable of a very considerable rotary movement, he is able to hold sticks and limbs of trees, 1 The squirrel, the rabbit, and the rat also appear to be excep- tions. ? The otter is a more rapid swimmer than the beaver, but does not use his fore feet, which are placed in the same position. e ae Oy Oe ee Ce en Fo aii t io 1h) ca ary Plate IL PS Duval, Son # Wo. frile From a Photo gra TAIL of BEAVER, % nat. Size. 1 CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT. at and to handle them with great dexterity while cut- ting them, and also to carry mud and stones. As he is capable of sitting up erect upon his hind legs, and of walking upon them, his paws are thus liberated, and by that means his architectural skill is rendered possible. Man’s great superiority over the inferior animals is shown in nothing more conspicuously than in the freedom of his hands. The beaver is a burrowing animal, his normal hab- itation being the burrow rather than the lodge. To enable him to excavate the large chambers under ground, hereafter described, his paws are armed with claws which are long, curving, and strong. In a full- grown beaver, the claw upon the third finger measures seven-eighths of an inch. Those upon the hind feet are still longer and broader, and equally well adapted to assist in excavating burrows. Upon the second toe of each hind foot there is an extra claw, set im- mediately under the true one and transversely. It is very thin, broad, and round edged, and projects nearly to the tip of the claw. It is peculiar to this animal. In its form, structure, and uses, the tail, of which a representation will be found in Plate II., is the most conspicuous organ of the beaver. It is nearly flat, broad, and straight, and covered with horny scales of a lustrous black. These scales, which are such in ap- pearance only, cover every portion of the surface both above and underneath. The tail is attached to a pos- terior projection of the body extending some inches beyond the pelvis, and is furnished with strong mus- cular attachments, by means of which its movements are determined. Its principal uses are to elevate or depress the head while swimming, to turn the body 28 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. and vary its direction, and to assist the animal in diving. It is also used to give a signal of alarm to its mates. When alarmed in his pond, particularly at night, he immediately dives, in doing which the pos- terior part of his body is thrown out of water, and, as he descends head foremost, the tail is brought down upon the surface of the water with a heavy stroke, and deep below it with a plunge. The violence of the blow is shown by the spray which is thrown up two or three feet high. While watching upon their dams at night I have been startled by this tremendous stroke, which, in the stillness of the hour, seemed like a pistol shot. I have heard it distinctly for half a mile, and think it can be heard twice or three times that distance under favorable conditions. On the Upper Missouri, beavers are frequently seen in the river by day, or basking in the sun under its banks. I have seen them dive in this river in the daytime, and without giving the signal stroke. In such cases, their motions, in going under, are quick and graceful, the upper line of the body, from the head to the tail, coming into view in a curve, although but one-third of their length is above the surface at one time. While swimming in a direct course, with the head above the water, the tail is not used, but is extended motionless behind. Itis capable of a diagonal move- ment from one side to the other, and vice versa, and also of assuming a nearly yertical position. This en- ables them to use it as a scull, which they do when entirely under water, and swimming at the most rapid rate. It is most flexible at the intersection of the tail proper with the posterior projection of the body to which it is attached. The muscles for CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT. 29 its down motion are several times stronger than for either its upward or lateral movements. He is able to turn his tail under him and sit upon it, or to use it extended behind him as a prop while sitting up upon his hind feet. Young beavers, while feeding or resting, usually swing their tails around by their side in the same manner as a cat, but with the lower surface uppermost. It has often been asserted that the beaver uses his tail as a trowel in preparing mor- tar from mud. This mistake is sufficiently explained by stating that he uses mud and soft earth, sometimes intermixed with roots and grass, precisely as he finds them, and without any preparation whatever, for their conversion into mortar. But he uses his tail to ' pack and compress mud and earth while constructing a lodge or dam, which he effects by heavy and re- peated down strokes. It performs in this respect a most important office, and one not unlike some of the uses of the trowel. The eye of the beaver is disproportionately small, the optic nerve a mere thread, and its foramen one of the smallest in the skull. As his vision is of short range, he does not rely upon this sense except with reference to near objects. On the contrary, his hear- ing is very acute. The auditory tube, which is usu- ally about half an inch in length, terminates in a tympanic cavity, or bulla, of nearly globular form, and large relatively to the size of the skull. It is considerably larger than in man, and its size is, to some extent, the measure of the strength of this sense. This provision to intensify the hearing is, however, equally conspicuous among the carnivora. Upon this sense the beaver relies to a much greater 30 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. extent than upon his sight. He sits up on his hind legs to listen, which is his usual position when on the alert or suspicious of danger. He will often select a slightly elevated and exposed position, and, sitting up, listen for a considerable time and then retire, but to return at intervals and repeat the observation until satisfied whether or not danger is near. Since this attitude is one expressive of intelligence, as well as the one in which his form is seen at the best advant- age, I have adopted it in the engraving (Plate I.) as the most suitable for his representation. Scarcely inferior to this sense in power is that of smell, which is abundantly attested by the structure of the nasal organs. The cavity occupied by the eth- moid and turbinated bones is but little inferior in size to that in which the brain is enveloped. As these bones are laminated, the superficial surface of mem- brane exposed to the air is very large. It is evident from structural considerations that smell and hearing are the principal informing senses of the beaver. Their social propensities furnish another character- istic. They pair, and with their offspring live in the family relations until the latter attain maturity, when they are forced to leave the parent lodge. It usually happens that two or more such families inhabit the same pond, and contribute their labor to the mainte- nance of the dam, whence the common and nearly universal opinion that they live and act in colonies, or associated in villages. This is altogether an over- statement. Hach family has its own lodge and _ bur- rows, and its separate stock of winter provisions; and there is no authentic evidence of any concert of ac- tion among several families, either in building or CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT. 31 repairing dams. If such instances have occurred they must be exceptional. This subject will be re- ferred to again. It is extremely difficult without dissection to de- termine the sex of beavers, as they are monotrema- tous, and there is nothing in their general appearance to indicate the difference. The female brings forth her young usually in May, and from two to five and sometimes six at a time. In some rare instances eight have been found in a foetal state among the beavers of Lake Superior, and the same number born alive in the lodge. Upon this subject Hearne remarks: “The Indians, by killing them in all stages of gestation, have abundant opportunities of ascertaining the usual number of their offspring. I have seen some hun- dreds of them killed at the seasons favorable for these observations, and never could discover more than six young in one female, and that only in two instances; for the usual number, as I have before observed, is from two to five.” The female has but four nipples, two between the shoulders and two a few inches back of them. At six weeks, a young beaver, captured and domesticated, wili wean itself and take to bark. The period of gestation is from three to four months, and the ordinary duration of their lives from twelve to fifteen years. The habitat of the American beaver is unusually broad. It is not surpassed by that of any other animal upon the continent, the deer and the fox not excepted. He was found from the confines of the Arctic Sea on the north, to the Gulf of Mexico, the 1 Hearne’s Journey, p. 241. 9 By) THE AMERICAN BEAVER. Rio Grande, and the Gila rivers on the south, and southward of these ranges in Tamaulipas in Mexico, which is the southernmost point to which he has been definitely traced. Throughout all the intermediate areas, from Hudson’s Bay and the Atlantic on the east, to the Pacific on the west, he was found dis- tributed at the several epochs of Kuropean discovery. Climatically he may be said to belong to the temper- ate regions, from which his spread northward within the Arctic Circle and southward into Mexico is doubt- less ascribable to the courses of the rivers and to his aquatic habits. Beavers were found in the greatest numbers in the thick wood country around Hudson’s Bay, one-half of which, according to Sir George Simp- son, is under water; around the shores of Lake Superior, upon the head waters of the Missouri and the Siskatch- ewun,! and upon the tributaries of the Columbia. The regions bordering on the Yukon, on the upper part of Mackenzie River, on Frazer’s River, and on the Sacra- mento were also notable for beavers. New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and the Canadas were less abundantly but very well supplied at the period of col- onization. Southward, toward the Gulf, they were less numerous, and in the vast prairie area in the interior of the continent they were confined, of course, to the margins of the rivers. With the commencement of colonization their habitat began to contract. They have now substantially disappeared from the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, except in the States of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and lowa; and in the Territories of Nebraska, Dakota, Idaho, 1 Kis-sis-katch’-e-wun, ‘“ Swift Water.” Cree Dialect. CHARACTERISTICS AND. HABITAT. Ets | Montana, and Colorado. They are still occasionally seen in Maine, New York, and Virginia. In the Hudson’s Bay Territory, and in some portions of the Canadas, and west of the mountains in Oregon, Wash- ington, California, and Nevada they are still numer- ous. They are also still abundant on the south shore of Lake Superior in Upper Michigan, where their works, in numbers and magnitude, are not sur- passed by those of any other beaver district in North America. Their immense numbers in former periods are suff- ciently attested by the statistics of the fur trade, of which some notice will be given in a subsequent chap- ter. The earliest colonists found in their rich furs their first exportable merchandise; and thus this ani- mal contributed, with his life, in no inconsiderable degree, to the colonization and permanent settlement of the Canadas and the United States. The habitat of the EKuropean beaver was as wide- spread as that of the American. He was found in the British Islands, in all parts of the European Con- tinent, in Siberia, and southward, in Asia Minor, to the Euphrates. He is now extinct in Europe, except upon some of the larger rivers of the Continent, and in some portions of Russia. In Scotland and Wales he was found as late as the twelfth century. He is still found in Siberia. There are marked differences in the habits of the American and Kuropean beavers, although it is doubt- ful whether the species are distinct. The European beaver is said to lead a solitary life in burrows, rarely constructing lodges or dams; while the Ameri- can beaver is pre-eminently a builder of both dams 3 34 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. and lodges. M. Myerink, of Berlin, described, in 1829, the operations of a small number of European beavers established on the River Nuthe, an affluent of the Elbe, which consisted in the construction of burrows and lodges, and of a small dike or dam about a foot high.t This last act was evidently re- garded as noteworthy, if not exceptional. Instances of this kind of work appear to be rare on the part of the European beaver, while the American turns the smaller streams, by means of dams, into a series of ponds, one above the other, for miles together. The region around the Black Sea was famous for ‘beavers in the classical period, whence he was called by Piiny the “Pontic beaver.” In his brief account of this animal, he describes his practice of cutting down trees, but is silent upon the far more remark- able performance of constructing dams for the pur- pose of forming artificial ponds. No other Roman, and no Greek author, as far-as I am aware, makes mention of this practice. If the European beaver had been a dam-builder to any considerable extent, the fact would not, probably, have escaped the notice of this indefatigable investigator.? It is surprising 1 Bennett’s Garden and Menagerie of the Zoological Society Delineated. Quadrupeds, i. 158. 2 Kasdem partes sibi ipsi Pontici amputant fibri, periculo ur- gente, ab hoc se peti gnari; Castoreum id vocant medici; alias animal horrendi morsus, arbores juxta flumina, ut ferro, ceedit; ho- mines parte comprehensa, non antequam fracta concrepuerint ossa, morsus resolvit, Cauda piscium iis, cetera species lutre, Utramque aquaticum ; Utrique Mollior pluma pilus.——Plin. Nat. Hist., Lib. viii. e. xlvii. The ancients confounded the testes with the castor sacs, and perpetuated as credible this conceit of self-amputation. Herodo- CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITAT. 5) how little can be gleaned from the Greek authors with reference to the beaver. Herodotus speaks of him (iv. 109) as a well-known animal, but without giving any particulars. Adlian describes him (Hist. Anim., Lib. vi. ¢. Xxxiv.) as aquatic in his habits, spending the daytime concealed in the rivers, and roving by night upon the land. Strabo (Geograph., iii. 163) contents himself with pronouncing the castoreum of the Spanish inferior to that of the Pontic beaver; while Aristotle knew so little with reference to him that he describes the same animal under the names of castor (xésrwp) and latax (dda) as two different animals." tus is one of the oldest authorities for the mistake first mentioned. Book iv. ec. 109. Thus Ovid— Sic, ubi detracta est a te tibi caussa pericli, Quod superest, tutum, Pontice castor, habes. Nux Elegia, 165. And Juvenal— —imitatus castora, que se _ Eunuchum ipse facit, cupiens evadere damno Testiculi, adeo medicatum intelligit unguen. Sat., xii. 34. Pliny, however, elsewhere states that Sextus, a Roman physi- cian, questioned the truth of this statement. Vide Lib. xxxii. ¢. xiii. 1 “Certain wild quadrapeds,” he remarks, ‘also seek food around the lakes and rivers, but around no sea, the sea-calf (seal) excepted. Of this genus are the beaver (xdéctwp), and satherion (cadeptov), and satyr (catuprov), and otter (évdpors), and latax (Aéra&), which is broader than the otter, and provided with teeth very much more robust. Going forth commonly by night, it eats off the nearest bushes with its teeth. The otter also bites men, nor, as they say, does he loose his hold before he shall have 36 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. Another interesting fact with reference to the bea- ver is that of his great antiquity upon the earth. A presumption to this effect would arise from his coarse subsistence and his aquatic habits; but it is confirmed by decisive evidence. Both the European and Amer- ican beavers are found in a fossil state, and under con- ditions which establish for each of them a very ancient epoch for their first existence among living animals. Upon the European fossil beaver, Owen observes: “That the present European beaver is not the degen- erate descendant of the great Trogontherium is proved, not only by the differences in the dental structure ‘pointed out in the preceding section, but likewise by the fact that beavers in no respect differing in size or anatomical characters from the Castor Huropzus of the present day, coexisted with the Trogontherium. Re- mains of the beaver have been discovered by Mr. Green in the same fossilized condition, and under cir- cumstances indicative of equal antiquity with the extinct mammoth, in the lacustrine formations at Bacton. * * * Remains of the beaver have been found associated with those of the mammoth, hippo- potamus, rhinoceros, hyena, and other extinct mam- mals, in the pleistocene fresh-water or drift formations of the Vald’Arno; and remains of both Trogonthertwm and Castor were found fossil by Dr. Schmerling in the ossiferous caverns in the neighborhood of Liege. * * heard the cracking from the bones. The hair of the latax, which is intermediate between that of the deer and seal, is rough.” (Tept Cdwy 0. 6. Seun. vii. 5. Ed. Schneid. i. p. 362.) Pliny, by some misapprehension, speaks (supra) of the beaver as having the same pertinacious bite ascribed properly by Aristotle to the otter. POSITION IN ANIMAL KINGDOM. 37 But the most common situation in which the remains of the beaver are found in this island, as on the Con- tinent, is the turbary peat-bog, or moss-pit. * * * Remains of the Castor Huropeus have been found at the depth of eight feet and a half beneath peat, rest- ing upon a stratum of clay, with much decayed and seemingly charred wood, associated with remains of megaceros, or great Irish deer, at Higley, Norfolk.” Beaver-gnawed wood was found in the same cavity with, and five feet above the skeleton of the mastodon discovered in 1867, at Cohoes, near Albany, New York. This wood, which was first noticed by Dr. 8. B. Wool- worth, is now in the State Cabinet of Natural History. It appears from the description of Prof. James Hall, who personally superintended the removal of the prin- cipal bones, that this mastodon was found in a pothole excavated in the shale rock (Hudson River group), and more than forty feet below the surface. The remains were imbedded in clay and river ooze, resting upon gravel, and covered with an accumulation of peat. In the presence of this beaver-gnawed wood so near the mastodon, some evidence is furnished that the beaver and the mastodon were contemporaneous. The fossil remains of the Trogontherium were first discovered by Fischer on the borders of the Sea of Azof, and afterward in various parts of England. Cuvier placed him in the genus Castor, and gave the name ? British Fossil Mammals and Birds. Lond. ed., 1846, p. 190. ? Prof. Hall, in describing the position and relations in which this skeleton was found, remarks: ‘‘In the peaty deposits where these bones have occurred, the remains of recent or existing vege- tation are present; and the relations of these deposits show very clearly that the surface of the country has undergone no important 38 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. upon Fischer's description. Owen afterward, by means of additional specimens, detected variations in the forms of the jaws and teeth which led him to question this classification, and to assert a sub-generic position for this animal. He remarks: “The well-marked dif- ferences which the English fossils have demonstrated, not only in the proportions, but in the form and struc- ture of the teeth of the Trogontherium, will, I trust, be allowed to yield the same grounds for its sub-gen- eric distinction as has been proposed or accepted by the best modern zoologists for the subdivisions of the same value in the rest of the rodent order.” The Trogontherium was about one-fifth larger than the Hu- ropean beaver, the skull measuring seven inches and three lines from the occipital ridge to the most convex part of the incisors. Since both the European beaver and the Trogon- theritwm have been found in a fossilized state in the newer pliocene formations, and in deposits which have yielded remains not only of the mammoth and the rhinoceros, but also of the mastodon, and since there is evidence tending to show that the American beaver was cotemporaneous with the mastodon, the generic type of Castor, and also the family type of Castoride are thus carried far back into the tertiary period. Upon the American Continent the American bea- modification since the period of the mastodon. This animal, and the fossil elephant, Hlephas primigeneus, were coeval with the existing flora and the present conditions of the surface of the con- tinent; and there are no reasons, geologically, why they may not have coexisted with the human race.”’ 1 British Fossil Mammals and Birds, p. 188. POSITION IN ANIMAL KINGDOM. 39 ver has likewise been found in a fossil state. On this subject, Baird remarks: “The bone caves at Carlisle yielded a large number of remains of beaver, both young and old. There are no satisfactory points of difference from the existing species, although in size some of the teeth are larger than any recent speci- mens I have seen, indicating a length of quite six inches for the skull.” As the European beaver has its prototype in the Trogontherium, so the American species had its fore- runner in Castoroides, a gigantic fossil beaver, surpass- ing in size all existing as well as extinct rodents. But few specimens have as yet been found. The first was described by Foster and named Cuastoroides Ohio- ensis; and the second by Hall and Wyman. The lat- ter was found in a lacustrine formation subsequent to the drift in Wayne County, New York. From the geological relations in which these fossil remains were discovered, Hall pronounces Castoroides cotempora- neous with the mastodon. The skull, measured from a cast in my collection, is ten inches and fifteen hun- dredths in its greatest length, and seven inches and sixty hundredths in its greatest width. He must have been five or six times larger than the beaver of the present time. Baird observes that the genus Cas- toroides is nearer to the genus Zrogontheriwm than to Castor, which is an interesting fact, showing that the fossil genera are nearer to each other than either is to the existing genus. Although it thus appears that three distinct genera of the beaver family—if Trogontherium stands inde- 1 Explorations for a Railroad Route, ete. to the Pacific, viii. 361. 40 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. pendent of Castor—have been ascertained, and that the existence of its distinctive type extends backward well toward the earliest epoch of mammalian life upon the earth, yet it seems that the position of this family in the animal kingdom is not as yet fully determined. Whether the Castoride are entitled to the full rank of an independent family, or should be attached, as a sub-family, to some other group, is the question. Brandt, whose treatise upon the rodents is particu- larly elaborate with reference to the beaver, gives prominence to this question, and also to that of the specific differences between the Huropean and American beavers. He proposes to divide the ro- dent order into four sub-orders, and to arrange the genera in twelve independent families. Under this classification the Castoride become an independent family of full rank. “The general structure,” he ob- serves, “and especially the character of the skull being more accurately considered, the order of the Gnawers manifests, as it seems to me, four quite dis- tinct types, exhibiting the equivalent of the sub-orders Sciuromorpha, Myomorpha, Hystrichomorpha, and La- gomorpha, of each of which respectively the common genera Sciurus, Mus. Hystrix, and Lepus, known to all, may be declared the foundations. The four types just indicated appear by no means to be constantly separated by ascertained differences, but they rather offer, by means of common marks and intermediate forms, a series bound in unity with sufficient con- cord.” The Castoride are placed in the second sub- 1 “Structura generali et preesertim cranii ratione accuratius con- sideratis Glirium Ordo typos quatuor admodum distinctos, ut mihi POSITION IN ANIMAL KINGDOM. 41 order (Myomorpha), in which it constitutes the second family, and the third in the general series from the first. This arrangement appears merely to transfer without obviating the difficulty, and tends to comph- cate rather than simplify the question. Baird introduces into the family Castoride the genus Aplodontia, consisting of a single species found in Oregon, and confined to the Northwest Coast. In some features of the teeth and skull it resembles Castor, and in other particulars affiliates equally well with other genera of rodents. He then, having placed the Scvwridx, as other zoologists have done, in the front rank of the rodent order, attaches the genera Aplodontia, Castor, and Castoroides to this group as a sub-family, expressing, however, a doubt as to the propriety of the arrangement in the following lan- guage: “There has been of late a decided tendency to place them near or among the Sciwridz. In this view I am disposed to concur, although there still remains the question, whether the two are not typical of as many different sub-families, themselves forming a family of full rank.” Although unqualified to offer any solution of this problem, it appears to me plain that the greater rela- videtur, subordinum valorem exhibentes manifestat: Glires, Sciu- romorphos, Myomorphos, Hystrichomorphos, et Lagomorphos, quorum quidem singulorum fundamenta generalia genera Sciurus, Mus. Hystrix, et Lepus omnibus nota declarari possunt. Typi quatuor modo dici vero notis constanter diversis minime disjuncti apparent, sed notarum communium formarumque intermediarum ope series potius satis harmonice in unitatem conjunctas offerunt.” —Meémoires de Académie Imperiale des Sciences de St. Peters- bourg. Sixth series. Sciences Naturelles, tome vii. 292. 1 Explorations for a Railroad Route, ete., viii. 350. 49, THE AMERICAN BEAVER. tive antiquity of the three genera Castor, Castoroides, and Trogontherium, and the unique and distinctive type of animal life which they represent, should de- termine the question in favor of the independence of the Castoride as a family. Another question remains, namely: whether the American and European beavers are the same or dif- ferent species. Linngeus, who founded the genus Cas- tor in 1755, made but one species—C. Fiber. The earlier naturalists, from Linneus to Buffon and Cu- ‘vier, accepted, without investigation, the specific iden- tity of the European and American species. According to Brandt (Mémoires, etc., 44), Oken was the first in time (1816) who thought upon the question of a possible difference of species. In 1819, Frederick Cuvier (Hist. Nat. des Mamifers, No. 16) gave a pretty full description of the external characteristics of a Canada beaver in the Garden of Plants, but without discussing the question of its possible difference from the European. Again in 1825 (ib., No. 51) he de- scribed a beaver of the Rhone, compared its skull with that of an American beaver, and then, for the first time, pointed out the differences in its skull which have since been recognized as establishing distinct- ness of species. He also named the American beaver Castor Americanus, and the European Castor Gallicus. Between these two periods (1820), Kuhl described a Canada beaver in the British Museum, and named it Castor Canadensis: but his description failed to show any grounds of specific difference." 1“ Castor Canadensis.” ‘‘ Supra rufus, infra rufescente cinereus. Extremitatum pallide brunescentium piles adpressis, brevibus, POSITION IN ANIMAL KINGDOM. 43 Owen (1846), disregarding Fr. Cuvier’s name of the European beaver, calls him Castor Europeus, in which he is followed by Brandt and other zoologists. With respect to the American beaver, if specifically different, it is doubtful whether there is such a priority of scien- tific determination in favor of Kuhl’s name, Castor Canadensis, as to enforce its acceptance. Castor Amer- icanus, from the great extent of his habitat, would be more appropriate. The question, however, of a specific name for the American beaver ‘is at least premature. It is neces-- sary, first, to show that they are of different species, which cannot as yet be conclusively asserted. Brandt, who has investigated this subject more elaborately than any other zoologist, came to the same conclusion as Fr. Cuvier, that they were specifically different. Since the publication of his memoir upon the Rodents, this conclusion has been very generally acquiesced in by zoologists. It appears, however, that his observa- tions and comparisons were limited to eight skulls of the European, and five of the American beaver. The differences revealed by these skulls undoubtedly justi- fied the inference of difference of species. A com- parison of a much larger number of skulls might show, nevertheless, that the variations relied upon were not constant; and such has proved to be the case. For the purpose of testing the constancy of these assumed variations, I increased my collection of lucidis. Unguibus tegularibus obtusis, corneis. Cauda applanata, piles ad basin squamarum raris et brevibus. Dentibus surrufis. Longitudo corporis, 225, poll, caude, 7’/’. Hjusque latitudo, 24 pollicum. Ad Fretum Hudsoni. In Musco Britanico.” —Beitrige zur zoologie und Verleichenden Anatomie. .Frankf., 4, p. 64. 44 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. American beaver skulls to ninety-eight. Beside these, seven American skulls and one European were loaned from the Smithsonian Collection, and two American from the New York State Collection, which increased the whole number of American skulls examined to one hundred and seven. A comparison shows that the several variations between the skulls of the European and American beavers, claimed to exist by Brandt, are not constant; that the supposed differ- ences shade off into each other and disappear, and ‘that the tendency to diverge, which plainly exists, is no greater or stronger than would be unavoidably due to the long-continued separation of these stocks, and to climatic influences inseparable from their widely- extended habitat. If brought together, they would, without doubt, produce, inter se, a fertile offspring. The anatomical differences between them are probably less than between individuals of the most strongly contrasted families of mankind. It will not be neces- sary to present the comparative measurements in this connection, as they are fully given in Appendix “A,” to which the reader is referred. The tendency to variation, however, is sufficiently marked to charac- terize the American and European beavers as varie- ties of the same species, which is the most that can, at present, be claimed. This would fix the nomencla- ture for the first as Castor Fiber, var. Americanus, and of the second, as Castor Fiber, var. Europeus. The beaver, in the duration of his distinctive type, is one of the oldest of living mammals. He is also shown to have been the cotemporary of many species now extinct. His coarse subsistence, aquatic habits, rugged strength, and prolific nature, eminently fitted POSITION IN ANIMAL KINGDOM. 45 him for a long career of life upon the earth, trans- mitted through the species. It is not improbable that his first appearance antedates the present configura- tion of the continents. Of the mastodon but one species, I believe, has been found in America, while several have been discovered in Europe and Asia, neither of which is identical with the American spe- cies. How the beaver, adopting the conclusion of but a single species, propagated himself from one con- tinent to the other, may be wholly unexplainable; but it does not affect the question whether the two beavers are of the same, or of different species. Of all the mammals without the Arctic Circle in Europe and America, with the exception of man, the beavers of the two continents are probably the only individ- uals whose specific identity can be established by anatomical comparisons. The second chapter and Appendix A, as has else- where been stated, are from the pen of Dr. W. W. Ely, whose able and thorough exposition of the anatomical structure of the American beaver will command the attention of the comparative anatomist, and prove in- structive to the general reader. The comparison of the skulls, referred to on the preceding page, was made by him. CHAPTER II. ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. Introduction—Description—Skeleton—Skull—Teeth — Muscles — Internal Organs: Mouth, Stomach, Intestines, Caecum, Heart, Lungs, Liver, Spleen—Respiration of Aquatic Animals—Brain. ApprenpIx A. 1. Measurements of Skull. 2. Differences between Euro- pean and American Beavers considered. 38. Castoreum Organs, and Gen- erative Organs. In the study of animals for the purpose of determ- ining their zoological relations, it has been found necessary not only to consider their external charac- teristics, but also to investigate their internal struc- ture. The distinction of species is often impossible without the aid of anatomical research. In the case of the beaver, the closely-allied Huropean and Amer- ican animals could not be distinguished by anything in their external conformation. Anatomists resort, therefore, to a minute investigation of the cranial and other structures to discover essential points of differ- ence. For this reason, some account of the anatomy of the beaver seems appropriate to the present volume, which, although popular in its character, is sufficiently comprehensive in its design to admit of the introduc- tion of the scientific element. A somewhat general resumé of beaver anatomy has been attempted in order to give greater completeness to the work. It would be impossible, in the limits of a chapter, to give all the details belonging to this subject, which would re- (46) ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 47 quire a special treatise. The same objection applies to frequent references to comparative anatomy. If the scientific reader requires any other apology for omissions in the descriptive part, it must be found in the writer’s desire to avoid compilation, and to give only the results of personal observation. In a few points he is at variance with authorities, but not without due consideration. DESCRIPTION. The beaver is the largest indigenous rodent in Kurope, and the largest rodent now living except the capybara (Hydrochzrus Capybara) of South America. In the following description I shall refer to three adult animals, one male and two females, captured near Lake Superior, in February, March, and April, 1866. Two had lost an arm each from previous cap- ture, the parts having entirely healed. The meas- urements here and elsewhere given, unless otherwise specified, are in inches and hundredths of an inch, U. S. standard measure. Weights in avoirdupois pounds and ounces. Sign for inches, ”; for hundredths of an inch, ”. MALE. FEMALE. TEMALE. W’t 32 lbs. 2916 Ibs. 36 Ibs. te a mow mom Length from tip of nose to end of tail..| 42-25 42-25 42: ‘© of scaly portion of tail........... 9°75 10- 10°50 Circumference of head before ears...... 14- 13: “ behind, eanrs:.....:.scccsess+- 14-50 15-50 14-25 “ behind shoulders......... 20- 19- 21-50 “6 middle of abdomen...... 26-50 24- 27:25 es before hipse:..sc-cceteceess 25: 22:50 24-50 6 root of scaly tail.......... if 6: 8: ut middle of scaly tail...... 8-50 8-75 10-50 48 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. The body of the beaver is largest at its centre, and diminishes in size toward each extremity. The ani- mal has a ratlike appearance about the head and neck, and the smallness of the eyes and ears renders its phys- iognomy dull and uninteresting. The body is covered with reddish-brown hair of two kinds: the longer coarse hairs are about 2” in length and 740” in diameter, and the shorter, which are of a lighter color, and partly concealed by the former, are about 1” long, and 7730’ in diameter. Both kinds present an imbricate epi- dermoid structure. The beaver has the peculiar odor of the castoreum, to be hereafter described. Its head is rounded, flattened above, and the muzzle is somewhat prominent. The upper lip is emarginate to the edge of the incisor gum, where it closely ad- heres. The lower lip is loose and pendant, so that the incisor teeth are prominent features. Both lips are somewhat drawn in behind the incisors, and are slightly hairy within. From the angle of the mouth a thin line of hairs extends backward one-fourth of an inch to a quadrangular patch of thickly set hairs on the inside of the cheek, 80” in length and 32” in breadth. From the emarginate upper lip (in one beaver) the hair extends 66” to the naked muffle, which is 90” long and 22” broad, covered with rough black epidermis. In two beavers the naked portion of the muffle includes the nostrils, and extends in a narrow line to the edge of the lip. The nostrils are lateral, hairy, round when expanded, and assume a sub-triangular or crescentic form, the convexity being in front. Width between nostrils in one, 75”, in an- other, 66”; diameter of nostrils, 20”. There are five rows of bristles, the upper row having but few hairs. wv ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 49 The eyes are small, half an inch in diameter, and are midway between the nostrils and the ears; diameter of iris, 8”; length of closed eyelid, 50”. A few bris- tles over the eyes. The ears are short, very hairy on both sides, rounded and obtusely pointed. The pos- terior extremity of the beaver presents a singular formation. ‘The body diminishes in size gradually from the hips, and terminates in a flat scaly tail, which, measured from the sacrum, is about 18” in length; the first 8” being covered with hair like the rest of the body. The scaly portion commences ab- ruptly with a width of about four inches, and termin- ates with a rounded extremity. The scaly portion (Plate IL ) is slightly convex above and below, thin at the margin, and is covered with a black, tough, scaly epidermis. The scales are somewhat irregular in form and size, the most usual form being sub-hexagonal, about 32” in length, and 12” in width. They are arranged transversely in respect to length, in the so- called quincunx form, and they diminish in size to- ward the end of the tail; across the middle of the tail their number is 19 or 20 above, and 20 or 21 on the under surface. A few short, broken hairs pass out between the scales. It may be observed here that although this struc- ture is usually described as scaly, it is so only in ap- pearance. M. Sarrasin’ describes the “scales” as “cou- chées les unes sur les autres, jointes ensemble par une pellicule fort délicate, enchassés dans la peau dont 1 Histoire de Académie Royale des Sciences. Année 1704. Paris, 1745. Lettre de M. Sarrasin, médecin du Roy en Canada, touchant l’Anatomie du Castor, p. 61. 4 7 50 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. elles se séparent aisément aprés la mort de l’animal.” Thin longitudinal and transverse sections exhibit the true character of this structure. The tail is com- posed largely of a dense fatty tissue; upon this lies the derm or skin, 07” in thickness, its outer sur- face being serrated, with the points of the serratures toward the end of the tail. Over the serratures is ex- tended the tough horny epiderm, «3” to yo” in thick- ness, which is inflected under the serratures, so as to present the imbricate appearance. The longitudinal divisions are merely dips or depressions, not imbricate. HirGas Longitudinal section of scaly tail, twice the natural size. The beaver, being an aquatic as well as a land ani- mal, presents two types of structure. The arms and hands are small, are adapted to burrowing, and, being capable of partial supination, the hands may be used for holding substances between them. The hind ex- tremities are strongly developed, and are constructed after the aquatic type. The feet have been compared to those of the turtle. Each extremity has five digits. The back of the hand is thickly covered with short hairs; the palm is naked, with a tough black epi- dermis, and two tubercles, one opposite the fifth fin- ger, the other under the metacarpals of the second, third, and fourth. The fingers are furnished with long claws, of which that of the third finger is the longest, 92” long, and 20” broad. The first finger (thumb) is shorter than its claw. Next in length is ° fe ee. I ira hte ee us pe lp if ana | mayne! ta “4, . ‘ae, MSS) soar ae beth ey ‘ a HE fell shgirs / Be wile ene ho ts a] , chi : ee Wa gy ‘ Un) KAcan enti. 6 eeeregt ia) - ‘ As whee “@ . ans tye me Ary “WHAVGE LO NOLATAMS Bi td OD) KUO TOANTS T YOLGOJOY TO ULOL LiPo tele ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. ay the fourth; then the second and the fifth. Between the third and fourth fingers is a rudimentary web, ex- tending to the second phalanx, measuring on its edge 60”. The foot is 62 to7” long. The upper surface is covered with short silky hairs. Below itis naked. At the base of the first toe isa tubercle. The third toe is the longest; then in order of length the fourth, second, fifth, and first. The claws are larger than those of the hand, the third claw measuring from 87” to 1” 10” in length, and 34” to 58” in width. There is an extra flattened claw lying under the regular claw of the second toe (Fig. 2). All the toes are connect- ed, to their extremities, by a firm naked web or membrane, measuring on its margin, when the toes are spread, 74 to $2 inches. The beaver has four nipples, two be- tween the shoulders, 3” apart, and two, 3” farther back, 4” apart. Fia. 2. Inside view of double claws. OSTEOLOGY. The skeleton of the beaver, of which a representa- tion is given PI. III., affords 273 bones, including the aural ossicles and excluding the sesamoid bones. Of these there are 38 of the head, 20 teeth, and 215 bones of the trunk, tail, and extremities. The beaver has 55 vertebra, viz., cervical, 7; dorsal, 14; lumbar, 5; sacral, confluent, 4; and caudal, 25. The first and second cervical vertebrz are strong, the second and third are the smallest. Six have for- amina for the vertebral artery. The head of the first rib is articulated between the bodies of the seventh cervical and the first dorsal. The last four lumbar 52 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. vertebre have large transverse processes. The sa- crum is straight, the first bone being somewhat prom- inent anteriorly. The caudal vertebrae gradually diminish in size and lose their vertebral characters. In the sixth, the posterior lateral articulating surfaces disappear, and the spinal canal in the tenth becomes a mere groove. The spinous processes also disappear in the eighth or ninth. The transverse processes are long, broad, and toward the end of the tail are bifid or double. The lateral foramina, which begin in the sacrum at the posterior edge of the transverse pro- cesses, continue to the sixth caudal. The ribs are slender, rounded, in 14 pairs. Seven are articulated by cartilage with the sternum. The cartilages of the 8th and 9th are connected with the costal cartilages. The remaining ribs are tipped with free cartilage. The sternum is composed of five narrow slender bones; the first and fourth are the broadest. The ensi- form cartilage expands into a broad flat disk. Length of sternum and ensiform cartilage, 6”. The clavicles are strong, 2” 16” in length. The scapula is 3” 25” long, and 1” 50” broad. Its spine is prominent, and the acromion is 1” 18” in length. The humerus is 3” long; its body is triangular and compressed; the tubercle at the head is large; about the middle of the bone anteriorly is a large tubercle for the insertion of the deltoid muscle; the lower end is broad, thin, not perforated; the external condyle spreads out to a thin convex edge which passes up the middle of the posterior surface of the bone. The radius is slender, and lies close to the ulna in its whole length. The olecranon is 94” long, and the ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 5a entire ulna 4” 37”. The hands are small compared with the feet. In the upper carpal row there are two bones instead of the usual number of four. In the second row a crescentic bone connects the thumb with the lateral part of the head of the adjoining (first) metacarpal. On the head of this metacarpal are two smaller bones (trapezoids) overlying each other, and articulating with the scaphoid of the first row. On the third metacarpal is a wedge-shaped bone with the apex toward the scaphoid. Next in the row is a large bone (os magnum) receiving the heads of the 4th and 5th metacarpals. The next bone, occupying the position of the unciform, is large, and is attached to the ulnar bone of the first row, and supports the annular ligament. A third plate bone, connected by hgament with the scaphoid, hes over the root of the thumb and forms the other at- tachment of the annular ligament. The phalanges are normal, the thumb being very small. The pelvis is long; the lateral bones being 6” 50” in length, and the ilia having but rudimentary ale. The ischium and pubis are thin, and their expansion is effected by the large thyroid foramen, 2” long and 1” broad, which is destitute of ligament. Between the ischial tuberosities it is 8”; the transverse diameter of the pelvis is 2”... The greatest depth of the acetab- ulum is superiorly and anteriorly in the line of the ilium. There is the usual pit for the round ligament which is well developed and strong, although R. Wagner affirms that it does not exist in the mamma- lia, except in man’ (1. p. 15). 1 Elements of the Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrate Animals. By Rudolph Wagner. Transl. New York, 1845. 54 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. The femur is broad and very strong, 4” 10” in length. Besides the two trochanters, there is a prom- inent process on the outer margin, below the middle of the bone, from which a sharp edge extends above and below; a deep pit exists on the under side of the great trochanter. The tibia is 5” 25” long, triangular above. Its body is excavated on each side of the posterior angle; be- low it is rounded, with but small development of the malleolar process. The fibula forms a strong outer malleolar process in close apposition to the astragalus. It is attached for 1” 25” to the lower end of the tibia, and after the epiphyses become consolidated the union is by anchy- losis. The upper end of the fibula lies behind the tibia, and has a hamular process pointing outwardly and downward, which gives attachment to a strong ligament that extends from the lower part of the bone and passes from the process in question to the femur, forming an outer lateral ligament to the knee-joint. The patella is subtriangular in form with the base above. The plane of the foot is oblique with respect to the leg, requiring the feet to approximate to rest on a level surface. The tarsal bones are 8 in number. The astragalus requires no particular description. The calcaneum is flattened obliquely on its upper and under surfaces, and projects backward 84” It articu- lates with the astragalus and the cuboid. The sca- phoid has a neck and a rounded head which is seen in the bottom of the foot. A nameless bone, subcon- ical in shape, which is properly an appendage to the scaphoid, articulates with the astragalus on the inside ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 55 of the foot and receives the apex of the first cunei- form, which is flattened and notched at the distal end to receive the phalangeal bone of the first toe. A small cuneiform is articulated with the 2d meta- tarsal, and a large one with the 3d metatarsal, receiv- ing also the head of the 4th metatarsal, which is the largest of its class. A portion of this 4th metatarsal’ is articulated with the cuboid. The 5th metatarsal is joined to the side of the 4th, and has no connection with the tarsus. On the tarsal end of the first toe a movable flat bone is placed, answering by its connec- tion with muscles, the purposes of a patella. The peculiarities of the tarsal articulation are: the supplementary scaphoid bone, the form and _ position of the Ist cuneiform, and the connections of the 4th and oth metatarsals. The sesamoid bones are found as usual. The pha- langes present nothing remarkable. The terminal ones, to which the claws are attached, are furnished with a bony process to support the claw. The first toe is smallest and shortest, then the 5th and the 2d; tbe 3d and 4th are about equal in length. The claws of the Ist and 2d are placed obliquely, being turned inward, so that their points are not worn; the others become blunt and rounded at their extremities. The second toe has an extra claw growing from the skin and partly covered by the regular claw; it is flattened laterally and has a sharp edge above and a point. The claws of the fingers are about as long as those of the toes, but are much narrower and more pointed. The Ist finger is shorter than the 5th; then the 2d, the 4th, and the 3d. The hyoid bone forms a semicircle and has an an- terior projection. 56 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. THE SKULL. The skull of the beaver exceeds that of other ro- dents in solidity and strength. It is much elongated, its length being more than twice and a half its height. Its upper line is nearly plane; a parallel line below touches the condyle, the palatal bone, and the point of the incisive septum. The principal surface of the occipital bone is vertical to’ this line. The molars occupy the middle of the skull, being separated by an arched space from the incisors. Viewed from above, the skull presents quite a different outline, the width being about two-fifths of the length. These propor- tions are shown in the lateral and the top views of the skull (Plate IV.). The nasal bones occupy one-third of the length of the skull; are broadest anteriorly, and at their junc- tion in front form an obtuse point. Their outer margin is a convex curve, where they are joined to the intermaxillaries. Their posterior extremities and those of the intermaxillaries join the frontal on a line with the anterior orbital tubercles of that bone. The intermaxillaries are very strong. A nearly vertical suture connects them with the superior maxillary; a little more than half of the sheath of the incisors is formed by them. The lateral and lower part of the nasal opening in front, which has the form of the 1 References to figures of the skull, Plates [V. and V.: 1. Nasal bone. - 6. Occipital. 11. Lachrymal. 2. Intermaxillary. 7. Temporal. 12. Palatal. 3. Frontal. 8. Malar. 13. Pre-sphenoid. 4. Parietal. 9. Tympanic. 14, Post-sphenoid. 5. Interparietal. 10. Superior maxillary. 15. Ethmoid. Plate IV yy from a Phaiog » we D4 aaa ited on *. PLIa AP. PS MEL, DOT KEL. ENN TOP VIEW OF SKULL. % nat size. uty te ai ‘ae ot OA) ai es Wages | t) 4 \ ‘ f i . ts are pre ir nh eS ween er RIG a) ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. ay letter V, is formed by them. The frontal bone is flattened above. The two bones are early united, and in the adult present only the trace of a suture. The frontal is broadest anteriorly, spreading out to form the anterior orbital processes. From a rounded margin the orbital plate descends nearly vertically into the socket. This margin is a little prominent posteriorly, forming a smaller process. From this point the bone is wedge-form, passing backward between the parietals. In the orbital cavity the frontal joins the lachrymal, the superior maxillary and the ala of the pre-sphenoid. The lachrymal is triangular above, wedged in between the frontal and malar; it forms part of the inner anterior portion of the orbit. The parietal bones are about half the length of the skull. They are united in their middle third by suture, being separated anteriorly by the frontal bone, and behind by the interparietal; they extend back to the occipital and join the temporals by a longitudinal suture. Their anterior margin in the temporal fossze is inflected, roughened, forming a erest which extends on the temporal to the zygomatic process; in the fosse they join the alex of both sphe- noids; posteriorly and laterally their pointed extremi- ties extend a short distance behind the temporals. The interparietal bone is triangular, but very variable in its form in different skulls. In young subjects it is in two portions, divided by the sagittal suture; in old skulls the place of the suture is occupied by a sharp crest. The base of this bone joins the occipital. The temporal bones are lateral. The zygomatic process extends downward and outward, in a flattened form, to constitute the roof of the glenoid cavity; then 58 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. curves forward to unite with the malar—posteriorly a hooked process of the temporal winds around the back part of the auditory tube to the base of the mas- toid process. Anteriorly and inferiorly it joims the ala of the post-sphenoid, and posteriorly it embraces the tympanic bone; the sutures of this bone are squa- mous. The glenoid cavity is a flattened groove of greater width than length, its outer margin formed by the abrupt termination of the malar, the inner boundary being the vertical portion of the temporal; the lower jaw moves freely, in a longitudinal direc- tion, back into the space between the glenoid groove and the auditory tube. The vertical portion of the occipital bone is much roughened for muscular attachment. Its upper mar- gin is a sharp ridge, in front of which is the trans- verse suture. In young subjects the ridge is wanting. The occipital foramen is subtriangular or rounded— broader than its height. The condyles look down- ward, outward, and backward. The basilar portion lies between the tympanic bones, and is united in front by ligament to the post-sphenoid. An oblong, deep cavity in the basilar portion renders this bone very thin. The mastoid processes of the occipital are lateral to the condyles. In young subjects the bone consists of four portions, viz.: the upper squamous portion, the basilar portion, and the two lateral or condyloid portions. The tympanic bone is very irregular in shape. It forms a small part of the vertical extremity of the skull, and its mastoid process joins that of the occipi- tal. The bulla is thick and prominent. From the posterior part of the auditory tube, a sharp prominent ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 59 crest extends downward to the bottom of the bulla— a long, rough process at the base connects it with the basilar process and the post-sphenoid—it is separated from the ala of the sphenoid by a large fissure—the foramen lacenum basis cranil. The auditory canal is prominent, extending upward, outward, and forward. The styloid bone les in a groove of the bulla, at- tached by a ligament. The foramen for the Eustachian tube is a little above the junction of the long process of the sphenoid with this bone. The petrous portion has an uneven surface within. Above the internal auditory foramen is a pit which receives a process of the cerebellum, in the margin of which is a semicir- cular canal. The malar bones are long inferiorly. The ascending portion in front is firmly united with the transverse plate of the superior maxillary, the edge of which is seen in front of the malar. Above, the malar forms the outer third of the orbit—forming a process from which a ligament extends to the frontal to complete the orbital opening, separating the orbit from the temporal fossa—this large fossa is bounded laterally and posteriorly by the malar, temporal, and parietal bones. The superior maxillary bone extends from the pos- terior line of the molars to the interparietal, and forms about half the arch between the incisors and the molars—and less than half the sheath of the incisors. The transverse malar plate commences at the back part of the first molar, extends outwardly to the an- terior inferior angle of the malar, forming, as seen from in front, a broad arch. In front of the first molar, a ridge commences, becoming more prominent, and passing upward, parallel with the malar plate, e 60 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. crosses the suture, and is lost in the intermaxillary. The ante-orbital foramen is concealed from lateral view by the most prominent part of this ridge. The s. maxillary forms part of the orbit anteriorly. The alveolar part of this bone is more prominent on the * outer surface—posteriorly it is supported by the pterygoid bone, and the triangular palatal bone enters as a wedge from behind as far as between the second and third molars. The outer alveolar surface has a sharp slope toward the middle portion of the skull, where it joins the perforated body of the pre-sphenoid. In young subjects, before dentition is complete, the upper alveolar part is bulbous and prominent. In the orbit the maxillary touches the frontal. The palatal bone is somewhat cribriform—a ridge, commencing with a point of bone, extends from its base, and is continued along the maxillary, forming the posterior half of the septum of the incisive foramina. The pos- terior naris is nearly circular—the ascending portion of the palatal supports above the two sphenoid bodies. The sphenoid bones are distinct, and about equal in length. The outer pterygoid process is short, strong, and divergent—the inner is long, and curves backward so as to touch a process of the tympanic bone, forming thus an oval lateral opening. Where the sphenoidal bodies join, by their side, is the large sphenoidal fissure, corresponding to the oval and round foramina—the small optic foramen is seen by the side of the pre-sphenoid. Brandt! describes but one sphenoidal wing in the 1 Mémoires de l’Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint Pétersbourg. Sciences Naturelles, tome vii., 1855. Beitrige zur naihern kentniss der gattung Castor, etc. J. F. Brandt. Plate V Seuss eS iy . i 4 arts ‘ IEW OF SKULL Natsize INTERIOR V ————¥ Nat size LOWER JAW ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 61 temporal fossa. Although the sutures of the beaver’s skull become consolidated early, and are sometimes made out with difficulty, the two sphenoidal wings can be traced in many skulls. In a young skull, after the temporal and parietal are removed, the broad squamous suture which connects the two wings can be opened. Cuvier says: “Le sphenoide pos- térieur touche un peu dans le tempe au frontal” T. R. Jones, art. Rodentia in Cyc. of Anat. and Phys.,? adopts Cuvier’s description of the sphenoids. In forming the suture, the wing of the post-sphenoid is anterior, but the other wing rises higher to join the frontal—the suture of the frontal passes back some distance under the parietal, but not far enough to touch the posterior wing, although they are closely approximated. In this instance, then, the statement of Cuvier is not confirmed. The ethmoid bone has a cribriform body in. the an- terior part of the cavity that lodges the olfactory lobe. It has also a vertical plate and three sets of cells on each side, of which a representation is given (Plate V.); the vertical plate has been removed to show the cells entire. A turbinated bone in each nostril is attached by its base to the sheath of the incisor. It is formed of six or seven thin lamina of bone proceeding from its base and dichotomously subdividing and convolu- ting. This bone has been removed in Plate V. to show the sheath of the incisor. The vomer is represented in the same figure by the lower dotted lines. There ? Lecons d’Anatomie Comparée de Georges Cuvier, etc. Seconde édition. Paris, 1835 to 1846. > The Cyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology, by R. B.Todd. London. 62 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. is also attached to the under surface of each nasal a long curved bone overlapping the-turbinate, and serv- ing to retain it in its position. In addition to the ridges or crests which have been described, there are the parietal crests; these start from the interparietal crest, and, diverging, terminate at the junction of the temporals and frontal. Their usual form is represented in the top view of the skull, but it is subject to much variation. There is a straight glenoid crest at the junction of the temporal and sphenoid. The top of the hook process of the jugular bone forms a crest continuous with the sharp upper edge of the malar. Delicate ridges extend from the outer margins of the incisive foramina to the front edge of the alveolar processes, and from the temporal jugular process a crest extends backward toward the posterior point of the parietal. The incisive foramina are in the intermaxillaries midway between the incisors and the molars. The spheno-palatine foramen’ is just behind the orbital opening of the ante-orbital foramen, and opens into the nostril at the junction of the ethmoid and the s. maxillary. The small optic foramen is in the ala of the pre-sphenoid above the transverse opening in the body of the bone. The pterygo-palatine’ is lower than the optic, and opens in the anterior part of the palatal bone. The external pterygoid plate is pierced with a large foramen which communicates with the sphenoidal fissure by what Cuvier calls the Vidian canal. The condyloid foramina are in front of the 1 These foramina are named from analogy, the first is entirely in the maxillary, and the second in the maxillary and the palatal. ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 63 condyles opposite their middle. The lateral foramina in the vertical portion of the occipital are closed in the recent subject by membrane. Wormian bones are occasionally but not commonly found in the sutures. Sometimes a rounded mass of bone is imbedded in the larger mastoid process.’ The lower jaw is very massive (Plate V.). The two parts are joined in front by a long and broad sym- physis, forming below a pointed process. Its poste- rior angle is flattened into a broad process, hollowed within and tipped with a broad long crest—this part extends farther back than the condyle—at the root of the condyle on the outer side is a depression; above this the coronoid process arises and is pointed backward. The anterior line of the process passes downward and forward, the crest terminating at the extremity of the root of the first molar. The con- dyle is quadrangular, rounded, and is nearer the coro- noid process than the posterior crest. The foramina for the nutrient vessels, etc. is behind the molars and higher than their crown surfaces; the mental foramen is below the anterior face of the first molar. THE TEETH. The character of the Rodentia as a natural order is made to depend upon a peculiar kind of cutting or incisive teeth, which are separated from the grinding or molar teeth by an empty space, the canine teeth being wanting. The teeth of animals bear a defin- ite relation to their mode of subsistence, and from * For measurements of the skull, and differences in the European and the American beaver, see Appendix A. 64 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. their correspondence with other structures of the body, the comparative anatomist is able to determine, by an inspection of these organs alone, the kind of animal to which they belong. The rodents gener- ally derive their food from the vegetable kingdom. Before describing the teeth of the beaver, we may premise for the general reader a few facts in relation to the dental organs. Mammalian teeth are composed of substances essentially resembling bone, of which three kinds are usually present, viz.: the external hard covering or enamel; dentine, which forms the body of the tooth; and cementum, or crusta petrosa, which is deposited on the surface, and usually on the dentine of the root. The divisions of a tooth are the crown, or portion above the gum; the root, or part inclosed in the socket; and the neck, or point of junction between the crown and the root. ‘There are three kinds of teeth: the front, or incisive; the back, or molar; and the canine, or intermediate teeth, whose development is a striking feature in the jaws of the Carnivora. These are wanting in the Rodentia, and in the Edentata the incisive teeth are wanting. Some teeth are permanent, while others are deciduous, the so-called milk teeth, whose places are supplied by those of the permanent class. In some cases, teeth, when once formed, are unchangeable in their-develop- ment or growth, and are therefore called “rooted” teeth. In other instances the teeth are so constituted that they grow continually as they are worn by use, and are called “rootless” teeth. Rootless teeth are generally cylindric or prismatic, with an expanded open cavity, containing a pulp organ capable of sup- plying an unlimited growth, while the rooted tooth, ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 65 when once fully formed, is unchangeable, and the root serves merely as a support for the crown. The beaver has 20 teeth, viz., 2 incisors and 8 molars in each jaw. The anterior molars, 4 in all, are deciduous; the crowns of these teeth resemble the permanent ones; the upper have three divergent roots and the lower two. They are gradually protruded from their sockets by the permanent teeth rising beneath them. Whether the cutting teeth of the beaver should be regarded as canine teeth rather than as incisors, has been questioned, inasmuch as they extend back into the superior maxillary bone. Itis generally held that this relation is only to accommodate their great length, and that their uses and connection with the intermaxillaries are sufficient to sustain the ordinary view. The incisors of the beaver are nearly triangu- lar, and extend far into the jaw, with a circular curve, the upper forming more, and the lower less than half the circumference of a circle, the radius of the curve in the upper being one inch, in the lower 1”75”. They are composed chiefly of dentine, having a thin layer of orange-colored enamel on their ante- rior surface and angles. The upper incisors are con- tained in a sheath which projects into the nasal cav- ity, the end of the tooth being separated by a thin vertical plate of bone from the first molar. The lower incisors pass under the roots of the molars to a point behind them and below the posterior foramina. The dentine of the incisors, being softer than the enamel, wears away and gives to the end of the tooth a beveled or chisel form, with a sharp anterior edge of enamel, so that they are called scalpriform teeth. The portion of the tooth inclosed in the socket has 5 66 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. a conical cavity, filled with the pulp organ, which forms successive layers of dentine so that the tooth continues to grow as fast as it is worn away. As it sometimes happens that a tooth of this kind is broken off, the opposite tooth has been found to grow until its outward projection constituted nearly a circle. The incisors, it need hardly be said, are, according to the definition, “rootless” teeth. The molars are firmly and compactly set in the jaws. The upper set are supported on their outer edge by a firm alve- olar ridge, but on the inside their sockets are shallow. The lower set are more deeply and strongly implanted in the jaw. The first molars are largest and longest, and the last are the Sa smallest, and project but little from the jaw. The inner surface of the upper molars has one deep longitudinal groove extending to the end of the tooth, and the outer surface three grooves. These are similar, but reversed in the lower tooth. The surface of the crown is marked by a complicated folding of enamel, of which a diagram is given (Fig. 3). The dentine between the layers of enamel is worn so as to leave the latter in ridges. Each molar is curved so as to present two concave surfaces. The upper set curve backward and outward; the lower set forward and inward. The surface line of the upper set is slightly convex, that of the lower is concave. Their surfaces are thus brought into apposition, and the bearing of the teeth in the sockets is effected Leftupper molar, Left under molar, outside. outside. ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 67 without undue pressure on their extremities. The curves are rendered necessary also by the position of the teeth in the jaws; the distance between the upper molars, from side to side, being less than that of the lower. The lower set are also longer antero-poste- riorly by half the length of the crown of a tooth than the upper.set. The cementum is found on the out- side of the teeth and in the spaces where there are inflections of enamel; but where dentine is opposed to dentine it is not deposited in layers; and, if at all, only in a granular form. The question arises whether the molars, like the incisors, belong to the rootless class of teeth. In Prof. Baird’s elaborate Report on Mammals,’ the sub-family Castorine, embracing the genera Castor, Aplodontia, and Castoroides, is defined as having “rootless molars.” Brandt (op. cit., p. 301) defines the family Castoroides—genus Castor—as hav- ing “molares radicati’—rooted molars. If we exam- ine the molars of the beaver in the young skull, in their immature condition (Fig. 4), they are found to be prismatic; their extremities in the jaws are expanded, and present all the inflections of enamel seen on the crown surface. In this, their primitive condition, they grow as do other rootless teeth, until the jaws have attained their development. The tooth then becomes rooted (Fig. 5) and incapable of further growth—the pulp cavity contracts, the opening becomes lateral, and is sometimes entirely closed; Section of ‘‘root- less’? molar. * General Report upon the Zoology of the several Pacifie Rail- road Routes, vol. viii; Mammals. By Spencer F. Baird. Wash- ington, D. C., 1857. 68 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. the pulp organ is atrophied; the tooth is smaller within than without the socket. In a sec- NATE: tion of the tooth the tips of the enamel inflections are seen of different lengths, as they have become gradually closed. Corresponding changes have taken place in the sockets; their bulbous projec- tions in the upper jaw being no longer visible. While, therefore, the molars of the beaver are both rootless and rooted: at different stages in the growth of the animal, the latter is the characteristic of its mature condition. Section of ‘‘root- ed”’ molar, MUSCLES. It would exceed our limits to enumerate the mus- cles of the beaver. Their specification is the less ne- cessary as the muscles of the mammalia present few important variations from the human standard., They may, however, be so modified in connection with par- ticular functions as to merit notice, and for this rea- son we shall allude briefly to the muscles of mastica- tion. The power required for cutting and grinding hard ligneous substances is supplied in the beaver by the development of the masseter muscle. This mus- cle arises from the whole length of the lower part of the malar bone, and is inserted into the crest of the lower jaw, and side of the jaw to the anterior end of the crest. It is strengthened by tendinous fibres passing from the root of the crest into the body of the muscle. At the junction of the superior maxillary and malar inferiorly a tendon runs forward to the process covering the ante-orbital foramen. The inner ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 69 part of the masseter arises further forward by muscle, and still further by tendon, as far as between the Ist and 2d molar, and is inserted into the whole space of the maxillary before the transverse plate, into the an- terior surface of this plate, and its lower arched edge. By means of its anterior tendon, the muscle of one side acting, turns the jaw laterally to the opposite side; while the double action of this part of the mus- cle brings the condyle forward and fixes it in the glenoid cavity for cutting operations. The cutting and grinding power of this muscle must be very great. The temporal muscle arises from the crest on the temporal bone as far back as the occipital crest, and from the parietal bone; also from a tendinous expan- sion extending from the malar te the top of the skull, and from the internal surface of the malar; and is in- serted into the coronoid process of the lower jaw. The pterygoid muscles require no particular descrip- tion. The digastric muscles are large, and fill the space anteriorly between the lateral parts of the jaw. Their tendon in front of the hyoid bone is connected with the mylo-hyoid. Posteriorly they are smaller and are inserted at the base of the mastoid process. The tail has free motion laterally; also by exten- sion and flexion, particularly the latter. An upper lateral muscle connected with the transverse processes of the bones joins the gluteal. Another lateral mus- cle extends from the side of the tail to the tuberosity and ramus of the ischium. The flexors and exten. sors arise from the corresponding surfaces of the sa- crum, and are each in two layers. The flexors are — the stronger muscles; they extend to the commence- ment of the scaly portion of the tail, and send great 70 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. numbers of tendons to the different bones and their processes. INTERNAL ORGANS, The beaver presents many peculiarities of internal structure; indeed, as a whole, it is a unique animal; one that has hitherto baffled the skill of naturalists to classify it. The cavity of the mouth is small, and destitute of cheek pouches; the tongue is long and fleshy, and has a pointed elevation between the molars. The palate has a longitudinal ridge extending back from the in- cisors to four transverse ridges. The epiglottis is leaf-like and pointed, and the larynx is short. It is generally supposed that the rodent, in grind- ing its food, is confined to the longitudinal motion of the jaws. This is inferred from the form of the gle- noid cavities, and the condyles; and the motion in question has been adopted as a distinctive mark ‘of the rodent family. Waterhouse’ affirms that the ro- dents possess “very little lateral motion to the jaw, which, however, moves freely in the longitudinal di- rection.” At the same time he admits that the mo- tion in the hares is chiefly lateral, inasmuch as the crowns of their ntolars are never worn flat. That the articulation of the beaver jaw admits of free lateral motion is easily demonstrated in the recent subject. Neither the ligaments nor the bony struc- tures afford. any impediment, while the flattened crowns of the molars, and the muscular provisions 1 A Natural History of the Mammalia, by G. R. Waterhouse, vol. ii. Rodentia. London, 1848. ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. al would lead to the conclusion that both longitudinal and lateral motions were concerned in the grinding operations. Fra. 6. DuobENUM Stomach of beaver, inside view. One-quarter natural size. The insalivation of the dry food of the beaver is provided for by the extraordinary development of the salivary glands. The parotid and submaxillary glands, united, are very large, and cover the front and sides of the neck. The cesophageal membrane is white, thick, and loosely attached to the muscular coat. Where it enters the stomach it has a free fringed margin. The stomach is one of the most peculiar organs of the beaver; it is 10” in length and 4” in width, and when filled appears constricted in its middle portion. This is not unusual in the ro- dents, but in the beaver the structure is peculiar. At the cardiac orifice is a gland, or aggregation of folli- cles, through the margin of which the cesophagus passes. ‘This gland is half an inch in thickness and 3 inches in diameter. It is composed of compound follicles, which open by 15 or 20 orifices in parallel rows. When the stomach is distended with air, 2 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. the gland is also inflated, and shows large cells and numerous septa. The constricted appearance of the stomach is due to a triangular valve or septum pro- jecting into its cavity. The upper part of the stom- ach is doubled in, so that a triangular muscle ex- tends across its cavity, its free margin measuring 2”, thus partially dividing the cavity into two portions. A section of the stomach is represented in Fig. 6, showing the triangular muscle and the gland. The pylorus is muscular, and the orifice much smaller than the duodenum. The intestine is twice the diameter of the pylorus, and is doubled back upon the stomach. In northern regions, and in winter, the beaver must subsist either on wood or bark. The latter is com- paratively innutritious. Besides, it would involve a vast amount of labor on the part of the animal to provide a winter stock of bark, which must be trans- ported, together with its wood, to be submerged for future use. The proportion of bark to wood, of the kinds used by the beaver, is from 75 to ¢. This ques- tion is settled by examining the aliment actually con- sumed by the animal. The stomach has been found distended with finely comminuted woody fibre, and the same material was foundin the colon. In another case the contents of the stomach, partly filled, were the same, weighing 1 lb. 3 oz. The masses in the colon were of the same character. If bark were in- gested with the wood it must have been in small quantity. The conclusion, therefore, is that the beaver derives its nutriment from the vegetable gum, sugar, and albumen contained in the alburnum or sap-wood, when it cannot obtain succulent roots and vegetables. ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 73 The length and size of the intestines in animals are proportionate to the nature and nutritious qualities of their food. In the carnivora, the intestinal canal is shorter and less complicated than in the herbivora. In the beaver, the length of the small intestines averages 25 feet. They are destitute of valvulz conniventes, which are confined to man,’ but the vil- lous coat is well developed. Sixteen patches of Peyer’s glands were counted in one subject. The pancreas is long and delicate. Its duct enters the in- testine 25” from the pyloric orifice, while that of the gall-bladder enters but 4” from the pylorus. The extremity of the small intestine projects a little into the colon, and the orifice is circular. Between the colon and csecum is a circular band of muscular fibres acting both as a constrictor and a valve. The cecum is larger than the stomach. Its capacity when filled with water is 5 pints and 3 gills, and that of the stomach is 3 pints and 1 gill. The cecum is on a line with the colon for 7” or 8”, it then forms an angle, and gradually diminishes in size to its extremity. In shape it resembles a 1 “Tt is remarkable that these folds (valvule conniventes) are peculiar to the human subject. No other animal, so far as we know, exhibits any arrangement of transverse folds of the intestinal mu- cous membrane resembling them.”—‘‘ The Physiological Anatomy and Physiology of Man. By Todd and Bowman.” Phila. ed., p. 574. Nore.—In the stomach of the beaver I have found a very fine filamentous worm, 40/’’ in length, species unknown. Large num- bers of a long, slender white worm, 3/’ to 5/’ in length, were found in the peritoneal cavity (Filaria, species not known), also in the colon, and especially in the cecum, sclerostema, male and female, species not known, and the amphistoma subtriquetrum. 74 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. sickle. The follicular cavities in the cecum and colon, surrounded by columnar epithelium, give to the surface a warty appearance. The reticulated or cel- lular appearance of the colon is similar to what is usually seen in this portion of the intestine. Fig. 7. Czcum Czcum of beaver. One-sixth natural size. The greatest width of the cecum is 4”, and its length, measured on its outer surface, is 2 feet 6’. The colon, measured from the circular band to the rectum, is 7 feet 6”. Atits commencement there are two longitudinal bands, forming numerous folds and sacculi; after continuing 7’, a third band starts at an acute angle and continues 25’, terminating as it began. The colon then diminishes in size, and in place of cells is alternately expanded and contracted to adapt itself to its contents. The liver is long, flattened, with two principal lobes, two smaller ones, and several fissures. It is hardly necessary to say that glucose is obtained from it. The spleen is small, long and linear in form. In ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 75 one animal it was 32” in length, in another, 42”, with an average width of 40”. Weight of the largest spleen, 110 grains. The right lung has two lobes, one of them bifid. The left lung has four lobes. The supra-renal cap- sules in the rodents are relatively large. The kid- neys present nothing remarkable. Weight of one kidney 640 grains. The heart weighs 714 grains, and resembles the human in its cavities, valves, ves- sels, etc. In one beaver a large calcareous deposit ex- isted above the aortic valves. In another there was incipient atheroma in patches in the same situation. M. Sarrasin, in his account of the beaver, describing the heart, says the right auricle being smaller than the left, the right ventricle is filled by the conjoint action of the auricle and the vena cava inferior; the latter being at this point considerably expanded. The venous sac, he adds, is narrower by the side of the liver where it is closed by three valves, like the sigmoidal, which prevent the reflux of the blood during the act in question. M. Sarrasin’s account of the beaver is so generally correct that his misconception on this point is the more remarkable. It is well known that in diving animals, whether birds or mammals, a provi- sion exists in the venous system against the evils of suspended respiration. R. Knox, Esq., claims to have first noticed it in the case of the beaver. His account is contained in the Memoirs of the Wernerian So- ciety, vol. iv., part i1., 1823. This provision consists in an enlargement of the inferior vena cava as it passes through the fissure of the liver, constituting a sinus in which a considerable quantity of blood may be temporarily arrested. 76 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. In the beaver the inferior cava begins to enlarge opposite the kidney. The largest part of the sinus is where it receives the hepatic veins. After passing through the diaphragm it contracts to its original size. The four hepatic veins are also capable of containing a large quantity of blood, the largest readily admit- ting the adult fore finger. On opening the vena cava in its length, its linear width, opposite the kidney, is two inches; in the hepatic fissure it is three inches; and before reaching the right auricle it is two inches. The capacity of the venous sinus is not fully indi- cated by these measurements, as the vein probably yields to distention. The “sigmoid valves,” described by M. Sarrasin, are merely the openings of the three hepatic veins seen from above. The blood corpuscles of the beaver measure zs00” In diameter. The mean of 24 rodents, as given in Gerber’s Anatomy, 1s 3757”. The eye of the beaver is small. The optic nerve is but 5” in diameter. In decussating within the skull the nerve of the right side passes under the left. The reputed sagacity of the beaver is not accounted for by the size or development of the brain. The impla- cental mammals (marsupials and monotremes) are the lowest of the mammiferous class, according to Prof. R. Owen; their brains resembling those of birds, in the absence of the great commissure, or corpus callosum. The brains of rodents are a step in ad- vance. The beaver brain is entirely smooth on the surface, and, although the cerebellum is uncovered, the posterior development is greater than in the mar- supials. The olfactory lobe is large. The optic lobes are covered. Width of cerebral hemisphere, 83”; of corpus callosum, 60”; length of brain before removal, ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. fat) 1” 80”. Weight of cerebrum, 336 ers.; of cerebellum, 68 grs.; of medulla and peduncles, 69 grs.; total of encephalon, 473 grs. The proportion of the marsu- pial brain to the body in three animals, as stated by Prof. Owen, is 1 to 520, 1 to 600, and 1 to 614. In the beaver it is 1 to 532. The average of the mam- malia, according to Leuret, is 1 to 186; of birds, 1 to 212. In man it is 1 to 36. Norr.—For description of the castoreum and generative organs of the beaver, see Appendix A, Note 3. CHARTER III. BEAVER DAMS. Remarkable Beaver District—Number of Beaver Dams—Other Works— Character of the Region—Beavers now Abundant—Map of Area—Object of Dams—Their Great Age—Of Two Kinds — Interlaced Stick-Dam— Solid Bank Dam—Great Beaver Dam at Grass Lake—Its Dimensions— Surrounding Landscape—Mode of Construction—Lower Face—Water Face—Great Curve—Mode of discharging Surplus Water—Artistic Ap- pearance of this Dam—Necessity for Continuous Repairs—Measurements —Cubic Contents—Photograph—Manner of taking same—Relation of Dam below—Same of one above—Manner of Repairing Dams. THE particular beaver district which I have selected for presentation is situated upon the summit level of the coast range of hills that skirt the southwest shore of Lake Superior, immediately west of Marquette. It is the district shown upon the map. In length, from east to west, it is eight miles, and six miles broad, from north to south. This area is traversed by a small stream, known as Carp River, which empties into Lake Superior, and also by the Ely Branch of the Esconauba! River, which rises in this area and flows southward into Lake Michigan. It is, therefore, seen to embrace a portion of the dividing ridge that separates the drainage of the two great lakes, with slopes in both directions. Within this district are situated the three remarkable hills of rock iron ore, now so well known throughout the country as the Jackson, Cleveland, and Lake.Superior Iron Mines, 1 Ish-ko-nau-ba, . (78) BEAVER DAMS. 79 besides several other iron locations of great value. These are but the commencement of those vast ferru- ginous deposits which distinguish this portion of Upper Michigan over all other parts of the United States... Lake Angeline, situated upon the summit level of the coast range, is 850 feet above the level of Lake Superior, from which it is distant about sixteen miles. From the number of small lakes in this in- considerable area, from the hills and lowlands into which it is broken up, and from the number of small streams to which they give rise, it is well watered, and therefore extremely well adapted to beaver occu- pation. There are other districts of the same extent, in its immediate vicinity, particularly around Lake Michigame,’ and upon the main branch of the Esco- nauba, scarcely inferior to it in the number of beaver dams and other erections which they contain; but the one selected is sufficiently furnished in these respects to yield ample materials for the illustration of the works of the beaver. Since it is a material part of 1 The great richness of this ore is shown by the following analysis : WAT OMiscoseecse cs eceeesciccsescassy 70:22 Or Peroxide of Iron....... 90°58 OSA Eile spococnonqgegascboore: 29:53 ‘* Magnetic Oxide........ Siete) Pn SOlitpley ccs seeccsgcccae ese 20 Gee Silie deta cse coscessecoaces 20 99°55 99-55 Foster and Whitney’s Report, Geology Lake Superior Land District. Executive Doc., No. 4 (Senate), 1851, p. 74. 2 Ma-she-ga'-me, large lake. The Ojibwas classify lakes into three kinds: Sé-gd-é’-gdé, small lake; Md-she-gii’-me, large lake; and Git-ché-ga’-me, great lake. The last is applied to the “great lakes” indiscriminately, and to the ocean. . 80 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. my plan to show how completely they occupy a given district, as their numbers increase, as well as the rela- tions of their dams and other erections to each other, I have explored the area covered by the map with more thoroughness than any other, in order, as far as possible, to exhibit all of their works within its limits. Undoubtedly many of the lesser have escaped observa- tion, but the principal and most important have been found. There are within this area sixty-three beaver dams, without reckoning the smallest, from those which are fifty feet in length, and forming ponds cov- ing a quarter of an acre of land, to those which are three hundred and five hundred feet in length, with ponds covering from twenty to sixty acres of land. It also contains many acres of beaver meadows, many lodges, burrows, and artificial canals. A dense forest overspreads the land, with the ex- ception of the beaver meadows and the clearings made near the mines. Upon the margins of the principal streams the prevailing trees are the tam- arack and the spruce; upon the first rising ground, back of these, we find the white and yellow birch, the soft and bird’s-eye maple, the poplar and the ash; and upon the hills the sugar maple, the oak, and sev- eral species of pine. Among the bushes are the wil- low, the alder, and the cranberry. In this area, therefore, are assembled all the elements tending to form an inviting beaver district; namely, numerous small rivulets flowing through hard wood lands, upon the bark of the trees of which they depend. chiefly for subsistence; and shallow, sluggish rivers, suff- ciently narrow between their banks to be traversed by dams, and having deciduous trees adjacent, and BEAVER DAMS. 81 reachable by means of artificial canals cut through the lowlands and filled with water from the ponds. With the exception of Marquette, and a small set- tlement at the mouth of the Chocolate River, and with the further exception of several settlements upon the lines of the Marquette and Ontonagon, and the Peninsular Railroads, the entire region from Keweenaw Bay of Lake Superior to Green Bay of Lake Michigan, is still an unbroken and an uninhabited wilderness. Prior to the discovery of the iron deposits in this dis- trict, about the year 1846, it had scarcely been trav- ersed except by the trapper, the surveyor, and the Ojibwa Indians, the latter of whom possessed the country as a part of their hereditary domain. From the dense undergrowth of the forest, from the swampy character of a large portion of the lands, and from the numerous windfalls, extending in some places for miles, it is even now extremely difficult to traverse this region in any direction except upon Indian trails; and no one but an experienced woodman can safely undertake an expedition into this wilderness for any considerable distance. Throughout this entire area beavers are now abundant, and for the most part un- disturbed in their habitations. Their works meet the eye at almost every point on the numerous streams with which it is covered as with a net-work; and they afford to the observer the additional advantage of being in a perfect condition as well as in actual use. Each dam is not only complete in itself, but there is ‘a series of these dams, one above the other, on the same stream, so located as not to interfere with each other, and constructed so near together that the lower one of two usually sets back its pond quite near to 6 §2 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. that immediately above. In this manner every por- tion of a stream is appropriated by them for the pur- poses of habitation. The accompanying map, which embraces but a fragment of the area described, was drawn by. Mr. L. K. Dorrance, chief engineer, and afterwards revised by William H. Steele, Esq., assistant engineer of the Marquette and Ontonagon Railroad, from materials furnished by the author. Hach section delineated is a mile square, the sections corresponding with those upon the official United States Township maps. With this integer of measurement, the distances between the several dams and the size of the several ponds can be readily ascertained as well as the actual lo- cation of each. The size of some of the ponds may be somewhat exaggerated, but the map is substan- tially accurate. For convenience of reference the dams are numbered consecutively. The sites of a large number of lodges, the location of the principal beaver meadows, and of several beaver canals are also indicated on the map. The dam' is the principal structure of the beaver. It is also the most important of his erections as it 1s the most extensive, and because its production and preservation could only be accomplished by patient and long-continued labor. In point of time, also, it precedes the lodge, since the floor of the latter and the entrances to its chamber are constructed with reference to the level of the water in the pond. The object of the dam is the formation of an artificials pond, the principal use of which is the refuge it affords 1 Q-ko’-min, beaver dam. Township 48 NV Range 2¢ W Township 47 NRange 27 We New England mine RW HE HWE mY me —_ dron meinen = eming DCT ANN coal aye, LPN Sa VARA oe ASS 46 iti WAYS hy RULE ~ ROLLING GROUVD | Fy ual roe Ea Fyne ty, ” eee ” Draws vy ; JV APGE aa | W958 Explanations || Represents Beaver Dams Beave Lodges Beaver Meadows RRL CULL PR CLOT AL LOL} LKDorvance &EWillianA Steele Civil Engineers Te | BEAVER DAMS. 83 to them when assailed, and the water connection it gives to their lodges, and to their burrows in the banks. Hence, as the level of the pond must, in all cases, rise from one to two feet above these entrances for the protection of the animal from pursuit and capture, the surface level of the pond must, to a greater or less extent, be subject to their immediate control. As the dam is not an absolute necessity to the beaver for the maintenance of his life, his normal habitation being rather natural ponds and rivers, and burrows in their banks, it is, in itself considered, a remarkable fact that he should have voluntarily transferred himself, by means of dams and ponds of his own construction, from a natural to an artificial mode of life. Some of these dams are so extensive as to forbid the supposition that they were the exclusive work of a single pair, or of a single family of beavers: but it does not follow, as has very generally been supposed, that several families, or a colony, unite for the joint construction of adam. After a careful examination of some hundreds of these structures, and of the lodges and burrows attached to many of them, I am altogether satisfied that the larger dams were not the joint product of the labor of large numbers of beavers working together, and brought thus to immediate completion; but, on the contrary, that they arose from small beginnings, and were built upon year after year until they finally reached that size which exhausted the capabilities of the location; after which they were maintained for centuries, at the ascertained standard, by constant repairs. So far as my observations have enabled me to form an opinion, I think they were 84 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. usually, if not invariably, commenced by a single pair, or a single tamily of beavers; and that when in the course of time, by the gradual increase of the dam, the pond had become sufficiently enlarged to accommodate more families than one, other families took up their residence upon it, and afterward con- tributed, by their labor, to its maintenance. There is no satisfactory evidence that the American beavers either live or work in colonies; and if some such cases have been observed, it will either be found to be an exception to the general rule, or in consequence of the sudden destruction of a work upon the mainte- nance of which a number of families were at the time depending. The great age of the larger dams is shown by their size, by the large amount of solid materials they con- tain, and by the destruction of the primitive forest within the area of the ponds; and also by the extent of the beaver meadows along the margins of the streams where dams are maintained, and by the hum- mocks formed upon them through the annual growth and decay of vegetation in separate hills. These meadows were undoubtedly covered with trees adapted to a wet soil when the dams were constructed. It must have required long periods of time to destroy every vestige of the ancient forest by the increased saturaiton of the earth, accompanied with occasional overflows from the streams. The evidence from these, and other sources, tends to show that these dams have existed in the same places for hundreds and thousands of years, and that they have been maintained by a system of continuous repairs. In external appearance there are two distinct kinds BEAVER DAMS. 85 of beaver dams, although they are all constructed on the same principle. One, the stick-dam, consists of interlaced stick and pole work upon the lower face, with an embankment of earth, intermixed with the same materials on the upper, or water face of the dam. This species is usually found on brooks, and upon the larger streams without defined banks. The greater proportion of beaver dams are of this descrip- tion. The other is the solid-bank dam, which is usually found lower down on the same stream, where its banks have become defined, and it has a channel of some depth, and a uniform current. In such places the large amount of earth and mud, used to strengthen the work, buries and conceals the greater part of the brush and poles used to bind the embankment. to- gether; thus giving to it, in the course of time, the appearance, on both slopes, of a solid dike, or bank of earth. In the first species the surplus water per- ’ colates through the dam along its entire length, while, in the second, it is discharged through a single open- ing in the crest formed for that purpose. At the place selected for the construction of a dam, the ground is usually firm and often stony; and when across the channel of a flowing stream, a hard rather than a soft bottom is preferred. Such places are necessarily unfavorable for the insertion of stakes in the ground, if such were, in fact, their practice in building dams. The theory upon which beaver dams are constructed is perfectly simple, and involves no such necessity. Soft earth intermixed with vegetable fibre is used to form an embankment, with sticks, brush, and poles imbedded within these materials to bind them together, and to impart to them the requi- 86 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. site solidity to resist the effects both of pressure and of saturation. Small sticks and brush are used, in the first instance, with mud, earth, and stones for down weight. Consequently these dams are extremely rude at their commencement, and they do not attain their remarkably artistic appearance until after they have been raised to a considerable height, and have been maintained, by a system of annual repairs, for a number of years. The open stick-work dams are the most interesting as well as the most common, and they will be first presented. This dam, which is represented in the engraving (Plate VI.), and which is marked No. 8 upon the map, is the most remarkable of all the structures of this de- scription of which I have gained a knowledge. I have seen others that were longer, and still others that were higher for short distances, but none that united, to the same extent, the two features of great length and continuous elevation, or that contained so large an amount of solid material. It is two hundred and sixty feet and ten inches in length, measured with a tape line along the crest of the dam, and six feet and two inches in vertical height at the centre of the great curve, with a slope, at the latter point, on the lower side or face of the dam, of thirteen feet in length. The site was well selected for a structure of this magnitude. Lake Diamond is situated about half a mile to the eastward, in the midst of high hills, and maintains its level about fifteen feet higher than the level of the pond formed by the dam. Its eutlet forms a small brook a few feet over and a few inches deep, and is the commencement of the “GUuoT Feey' 092 yl ov) Ve aA el LY aD Q yA0sb00Y JV Uody ZL OB UOS OME Sf Ra) BEAVER DAMS. 87 Ely Branch of the Esconauba River. Across this brook, and about half a mile below the point where it emerges from the lake, the dam was constructed. It was undoubtedly small at first, but was raised and extended in course of time, until 1t reached the base of the hills on either side. At this point the hills approach each other within three hundred feet, while immediately above it they recede both to the right and to the left, and back, near the outlet of the lake, close in again, thus forming an amphitheatre of hills, with a slight depression at the outlet, and another de- pression to the right, and inclosing a level area of about one hundred acres of land. The large pond created by the dam, and which is known as Grass Lake, overspreads about sixty acres of this level area. A forest of heavy timber covers the whole tract with the exception of the pond, and of a narrow fringe of beaver meadow here and there. Along the skirts of the pond, in its shallowest parts, trees, though dead, are still standing, from which itis evident that the dam now maintains the pond at a higher level than in for- mer years, or, in other words, that it has been raised to a higher level within the lifetime of these trees. These several features of the landscape are distinctly seen in the engraving. For a large dam, and the formation of a large pond, which were to result from the labor of many years bestowed by many successive generations of industrious beavers, this site was not only well selected, but it afforded greater advantages than any other within the area indicated on the map. At the place where it is constructed the ground is neither soft nor alluvial, but composed of firm earth, 88 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. intermixed with loose stones, large and small. The crest line of the dam is, of course, horizontal, although sinuous, while its base line conforms to the irregulari- ties of the original surface. At the point where it crossed the thread of the stream it would necessarily be the highest. Here the difference in level between the water in the pond and the water below the dam was ascertained to be five feet; the crest of the dam rising but two inches above the level of the pond, and the water below it being twelve inches deep. The vertical height of the structure at the great curve, therefore, was six feet and two inches. This differ- ence of level decreases as either end is approached, until it diminishes to one foot. At the ends, conse- quently, the precise condition of the structure, at its lowest stages, could be seen; not as at first con- structed, but as 1t would appear after it had settled down and had been repaired and strengthened from time to time. Here it was built with small sticks, from half an inch to an inch in diameter, and from one to two and three feet in length. On the lower side, which we shall call the face of the dam, the sticks are arranged promiscuously, but usually with their lower ends against the ground, and their upper ends elevated and pointing up stream, against the water slope of the dam, thus forming an inclined bank of interlaced stick-work. Earth and mud, inter- mixed with sticks and brush, form the water face or upper slope of the dam, giving to it the nature and appearance of a solid embankment. Thus the lower face of the dam presents a mass of interlaced sticks closely banked together, but still open and loose, and free from earth, while the upper or water face is a dah at ty, . Sen ee ite” Fags > me pete» et Seer ers a eee Be 7% par bered fe maces + alti ta re ee” pevrtens Sse ~~ eat eee Lael Ce ie Se te 0% PatO Pi. ve 5 vy aeons rt 5 sad Py ca, J et iA 4 > 4 L- ‘ \ ‘ [a hh ib re en ee er ee 4 ee Ne ys ot Prev e ecg Cats ne he #, hon’ eee : + - ‘. 4 ; va y a ’ ae sd ‘ > a aoe - i : ae ss - bap? be ao : Plate VIL. PSDuvad Sorvke CoPul& Prom a Photograph SECTION of GREAT BEAVERDAM. GRASS LAKE. BEAVER DAMS. 89 solid bank of earth bound together by a mass of sticks imbedded and concealed from view. A trans- verse section, therefore, is a triangle with the base longer than either side. We thus have a section of adam about a foot high, constructed with the least amount of materials, but holding the water securely, and yet so fragile that the weight of a man would sink it below the surface of the water. At the great curve, near the centre of the dam, the minute as well as general structure of a large beaver dam can be seen to the highest advantage. The en- graving (Plate VIL) represents a section, upwards of one hundred feet wide, through the centre of the dam, including the great curve. It is engraved three-fourths the size of the photograph. Small sticks are no longer used, but billets of wood and poles trimmed of their branches and stripped of their bark, and varying in size from one to three inches in diameter, and from three to seven and ten feet in length. These short cuttings and poles, which are interlaced and arranged in every con- ceivable way, form a sloping bank at an angle of from 30° to 40°. Their main direction is from the ground upward toward the water face of the dam. They are neither parallel with each other, nor in courses, but are banked together in an irregular but compact mass, and are so adjusted as to form an innumerable series of props or braces, with their lower ends against the ground, and their upper ends incorporated in the em- bankment which forms the water face of the dam. These poles, however, formed no part of the original structure, but were added from year to year to repair the waste of the dam from settlement and decay, and to increase its height. We may therefore conceive 90 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. that the dam at this point was commenced, as near the ends, with brush and poles laid horizontally, but — lengthwise with the current, and filled in with earth and mud intermixed with roots and grass, and that as the work advanced, the upper ends became im- bedded and concealed from view, while the lower projected beyond the embankment. In course of time, by the process of enlargement and repair, it would assume its present form as shown in the engrav- ing. With its increase in height, the crest of the dam would tend to draw down stream from a line perpendicular with the original centre of its base. In — consequence of this, the open stick and pole work, which forms the face of the dam, advances upward and under the water of the pond as you descend ver- tically from its crest to the bottom of the structure. None of the poles on the face of the dam at the great curve were as long as the slope itself. They appeared to be loosely thrown together, but on attempting to raise a number of them they were found to be fast at one end cr the other, or so interlaced that it was dif- ficult to remove them. It will be observed that the dam, at the place where the greatest strength was required, is in the form of a curve, with its curvature up stream, and that the line of this curve is more than a hundred feet in length. The use of the curve in beaver dams is of very common occurrence, and it has always been regarded as a striking evidence of the intelligence of its builders. In the engraving its form does not dis- tinctly appear, from the reduced scale upon which the work is shown, but when the original photograph is placed in a camera of large magnifying power, the ye Ne "Pk ee 4 } ~ohn b= Sf 9s eee iid ts ° + P rei; M4; : ar age 14 Peak 7 7 ., Wy TAM AANA i 3 LPT) U0p FONT 9 TF Q ivy cy ga, €) \ ANI \ op \ N Cie eee D ¢: a q Chey = Ty r IX €D On eo C 3 = Lr J ff y / ESL g SS dM A \\ ) \\ XY \ \ \ SS SSAA \ \\ y YN \ \\\\ N\A Sass i” e434 aS ieee f= oO & SS W \ S \\ \ < S \ i ————— BEAVER DAMS. 91 outline of the curve is fully revealed. In order to indicate still more completely the crest line of the dam, a ground plan of the entire structure, drawn from actual measurements, is given in the engraving, Plate VIII. It is designed to show the crest line and the lower face of the dam. With the engravings, and the meas- urements in detail, hereafter given, the general ap- pearance, form, and structure of the dam will be fully understood. The curve is one of the striking features of a beaver dam. They are almost invariably found where the thread of the stream originally ran, and are restricted to the class of dams now under consideration. In the largest structures, the convexity of the curve is usually up stream, but this is not always the case. Several of those represented on the map curved down stream at the point where the dam was the highest. This one shows a reverse curve down stream nearly as large and well defined as the principal one in the opposite direction. It is generally asserted that the introduc- tion of a curve, with its convexity up stream, was the result of intelligence and design on the part of the architects; and that its use at the precise point where the pressure of the water is the greatest, affords con- clusive evidence that the beavers understood its me- chanical advantages. Whether these curves were the result of accident or of design is a question. We must suppose that this dam was commenced at the thread of the stream where the great curve is found, and it seems not improbable that its curvature may be due to the flow of the water on either side when the original channel was first obstructed by their 92 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. rising work. After a quantity of materials had be- come firmly anchored in the bed of the stream, the tendency would be to a downward movement of its margins by the force of the water, which would give to it at its commencement a curvilinear form. With the obstruction of the channel a pond would begin to rise, but the surplus water would pass by on either side at a higher level; consequently, as the work pro- eressed, the contest with the water would be renewed, with similar results at other points, and when the dam was raised sufficiently high, and extended suffi- ciently far to arrest the flow of the water in open channels, and to discharge it through the dam, it would be very sinuous throughout its entire extent. Such, in fact, is the general character of all the dams constructed upon the smaller brooks. In larger streams, with their channels deepest in the centre, we may conceive of a downward movement of their materials by the force of the current, or the pressure of the water at the point where the stream is the deepest, and that this movement may have occurred while the work of construction was in progress. A downward curve is much more common than the reverse in the larger streams. It is not a little sin- gular that the dams across the streams that discharge the largest volume of water are shorter and lower than those upon the smaller brooks, and that in the former the prevailing direction of the curve at the highest point in the structure is down stream, while in the latter it is in the opposite direction. The mode of construction undoubtedly varied with the character of the stream, and with the volume and rapidity of the current. A comparison of a large BEAVER DAMS. 93 number of these dams, constructed in very dissimilar situations, tends to show that their curvature is purely accidental. The remainder of this dam is nearly as remarkable as the central portion, and much longer as well as larger than the engraving represents (Plate VI.), unless due allowance is made for perspective. The focal point occupied by the instrument was so near the struc- ture as to depreciate quite rapidly its extreme parts. Throughout its entire extent of two hundred and sixty feet the face of the dam is composed, as at the centre, of interlaced sticks and poles, and presents the same general appearance, with a gradual abate- ment in height. On the water face of the dam neither a stick nor a pole is seen, but a regular sloping embankment of earth, from the crest downward, under the waters of the pond. This face of the dam is precisely in the form of the shelving bank of a stream. There is no opening in the top of the dam, in any part of it, for the discharge of the surplus water; neither does it pass over its crest; but it percolates through the thin bank of earth near its crest in nu- merous places along its entire length. The dams of this class all agree in this respect. In the most of these dams the rapidity or slowness with which this surplus is discharged, is undoubtedly regulated by the beavers, otherwise the level of the pond would con- tinually vary. There must be a constant tendency to enlarge the orifices through which the water passes, which, if left to itself, would in due time draw down the pond, and expose the entrances to their lodges and burrows; on the other hand, if the embankment was 94 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. made impenetrable, the water would rise and flow over its crest, to its waste and injury. At ordinary stages of the water the pond is maintained at a uni- form level; but after a sudden rise, or in time of freshet, it flows over the summit. The structure is better able to bear an overflow than rents through its embankment. This dam was rarely if ever over- flowed, for a special reason, which will be stated hereafter. Those upon the Carp, however, are sub- merged with every considerable rise of the stream, which, having a wide drainage, is subject to sudden freshets. I have seen the water run over the tops of these dams a foot deep. After the flow subsided, the rents were speedily repaired. At ordinary stages the surplus water passed through the dams by percola- tion, straining through them near the crest as though they were fine basket-work. I have visited the Grass Lake dam six different years, and at high and _low stages of the water in the neighboring streams, and always found the pond at the same level, and full to the crest of the dam, until the year 1865, when it was lower than usual, and the dam itself exhibited signs of neglect. From this fact it seemed probable that after centuries of use and maintenance by unnumbered generations of beavers, this interest- ing and remarkable structure was about to be aban- doned by its natural proprietors. At the time the photograph was taken, the water of the pond stood quite near the summit of the dam along its entire length. In some places it came within one or two inches, while in others it stood upon it and trickled over. The crest is very narrow along its BEAVER DAMS. 95 whole extent, diminishing from a few inches at its widest expanse to a mere line. It is a conspicuous feature of beaver dams of this class that they are so perfectly constructed as to hold and retain water until it rises to their very summit. A fine sod, composed of roots of grass intermixed with loam, is used to finish the water line of the dam. On taking up a handful of this sod, freeing it from earth and rinsing it clean, it yielded one-half of its original bulk of vegetable fibre, mostly fine roots and tendrils, still green and undecayed. It was thus made evident that it had been quite recently laid. Tn constructing dams, loose stones are incorporated, here and there, for down weight, and to give solidity to the structure. We found stones upon this dam which would weigh from one to six pounds. They are most frequently discovered where the dam is the lowest, although found in all parts of the work. No one standing upon this dam, and observing its fragile character, could fail to perceive that its main- tenance would require constant supervision and per- petual labor. The tendency to increased leakage from the effects of percolation, and to a settling down of the dam, as its materials decayed underneath upon its stick-work half, would demand unceasing vigilance and care to avert the consequences. In the fall of the year a new supply of materials is placed upon the lower face of these dams to compensate this waste from decay. They use for this purpose the cuttings of the previous fall, which during the winter have been stripped of their bark for food, and laid aside appar- ently for this object. It is from this practice, and the 96 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. manner of repairing their dams, that they assume, in course of time, the highly artistic appearance upon the lower slope which the engraving displays. The sticks, poles, and billets of wood, when laid upon the face of the dam, impart to this slope its regular and symmetrical form. When first constructed, as before remarked, and when at their lowest stages, they are extremely rude, and only take on the appearance in which they are usually seen after they have been maintained for a long series of years. Fresh beaver tracks are usually seen imprinted upon the soft earth on the crest of these dams, and fresh beaver cuttings are often found upon their lower faces, thus showing that they are in the constant habit of traversing and repairing the works. There is generally no difficulty in walking over the larger dams with dry feet, by keeping on the lower slope, except near the ends, where the structure is not usually strong enough to bear up the weight of a man. Upon the sloping face of the great curve of Grass Lake Dam twenty men could stand together without making any impression upon the structure. The series of dams on the Carp, shown upon the map, are similar to this, and would average about three feet in height. While fishing in this stream for brook trout, three of us found no difhi- culty in landing from our boat upon their lower slopes, and drawing the boat over without injuring them in any respect. The following measurements will indicate, in an- other manner, the size and proportion of parts of this great structure, as well as convey some impression of the amount of solid materials employed in its erection: BEAVER DAMS. 97 Length of Dam measured on the Crest Line. From Station No. 1 to Station No. 2 (See Plate VIIL.)..... 39 feet. ‘ CONS} 4 “ce “ec Ty) “cc ‘“ «6 COar “ BoP pirtemcnataveh ian5% oscshbtos 62ip <*) 10an. “ ‘ “4 e BOM Olgtecon aa sinqacrsfukssoseetae 52) «& ‘< ‘s a) ‘ Boe GRR eaa SE teen aca ctasars* oe BU oe £6 conG : CORY (etna se anes evel tele scice< cic Gy) Gt Motaleen gthrecsasse-eseasaereeeeeeratees sclteas cans csovehesaes 260 feet 10 in. Other Measurements. No. 4. No. 44. No. 3. No. 2. Height of structure from ground, OMSDASCMUN Cn... .01eccascsaceasecesiens 6 ft. 2/7) 5 ft. 3//| 3 ft. 677) 2 ft. 177 Depth of water in small pond be- MOWa Wass s.ct.ccccscascsaecaedasecnee 1 ft. 1 ft. Difference of level of water above MMOAUDCLOW QAM :..02-.0ss-«ssacacees 5 ft. 4 ft. Height of water above base line...| 6 ft. 5 ft. 8 ft. 2//| 2 ft. Approximate width of base, trans- WELREISECHIONS sas secace.sosseceeeeee 18 ft. 15 ft. - |12 ft. 6 ft. Length of slope of poles, lower PA COMOLp CATs. snc .c<-aeme coeclseaccons 18 ft. It ft, 974) Ott: 6 ft. Length of slope of water face of | GATT otcose vcnobadop ab sanonbcendeouonue: i fe6/7 58 tt: 7 ft. 4 ft. Depth of water in pond at the end | DEPT t so eees hk ctns coicisscucceconee 4 ft. 83 ft. 6//| 8 ft. P ft. The following figure represents a transverse section of the dam at the head of the great curve, Station No. 4, and distinguishes the part which is a solid embank- ment from that which consists of sticks and poles free from earth. Fic. 8 GLA £ Lye pe LL = ILA M$ K]S yet tg ZY 3 |% LZ Ziff a) EEL YALL Z Oye LE LEE Fi Zig =ls YZ Z 7 LAL ipAn- ZA Pole & Stick wark BASE /8 Fr. Solid Bank Transverse section. A computation made from the preceding, and some additional measurements, shows that this dam con- i 98). THE AMERICAN BEAVER. tains upwards of seven thousand cubic feet of solid materials, all of which were transported and wrought into this structure by its industrious and ingenious architects. The photograph of this dam, from which the en- eraving was made, was taken by Mr. James A. Jenney in August, 1861, upon four plates, each eight by ten inches in dimensions; and from one position, in order to show the dam, the pond, and the background in one symmetrical picture. As a preparatory measure, the trees, for fifty feet immediately below the dam, were cut down and removed, the under-brush was cleared, and the weeds and grass, which were growing through the dam, were pulled out, that the work might be shown free from all obstructions. A. scaffold for the instrument was then erected in front of the creat curve, about sixty feet distant from it, and twelve feet high. It was my first intention to have the dam photographed in four sections, with the in- strument placed immediately in front of each, thereby sacrificing the background in order to show the rela- tive size of all the parts of the dam. ‘The first two plates were taken on this plan. But the other method was finally substituted for the reason that it would show the central portion of the dam perfectly, while the imperfect and reduced appearance of the re- mainder would, it was believed, be more than com- pensated by the completeness of the representation as a whole. These photographs, when adjusted together, make a picture thirty-six inches in length by seven in width, and, in all respects, faithfully and strikingly reproduce the original in miniature form. I esteemed it, at the time, peculiarly fortunate that I was able to BEAVER DAMS. 99 secure an exact representation of this great structure while it was in a perfect state, although not then as well assured, as at present, that it is not surpassed in magnitude by any other beaver dam in North America. Two adjuncts of this dam remain to be noticed. Of these, the first is a remarkable effort of engineering skill, if from the end it subserves we are at liberty to infer an intention on the part of the beaver to produce that end. It is a second dam, in two sections, each twenty-five feet long and two feet high, constructed across the thread of the stream, and about one hun- dred feet below the great curve. It is shown in Plate VIII. At this point, the waters that flowed through the dam above have again become collected into a small running stream. This low dam forms a shallow pond, in itself of no apparent use for beaver occupation, but yet subserving the important purpose of setting back water to the depth of twelve or fifteen inches in the great curve. At this point the pressure of the water in the pond against the dam is the greatest, because here the bed of the channel is the lowest, and the structure the highest; and the small dam, by maintaining the water a foot deep below the great dam, diminishes, to this extent, the difference in level above and below; and neutralizes, to the same extent, the pressure of the water in the pond above against the main structure. Whether the lower dam was constructed with this motive, and for this object, or is explainable on some other hypothesis, I shall not venture an opinion. I have found the same precise work repeated below other large dams. The second is also a dam which is constructed across the outlet of Lake Diamond at the place where 100: THE AMERICAN BEAVER. it issues from the lake. It performs the important office of protecting the great dam below from the effects of a sudden rise of the waters of the lake. In construction, it is in all respects like the Grass Lake dam. It is ninety-three feet long, and two and a half feet high at the centre, from which it diminishes gradually te the ends. I first saw it in 1860, and last in 1866, when it was still in good condition. A dam at this point is apparently of no conceivable use to improve the lake for beaver occupation. It has ene feature, also. in which it differs from other dams except those upon lake outlets: and that consists in its elevation, at all points, of about two feet above the level of the lake at ordinary stages of the water. In all other dams except those upon lake outlets, and in most of the latter, the water stands quite near their crests, while in the one under consideration it stood about two feet below it. This fact suggests, at least, tne inference, although it may have but little of prob- ability to sustain it, that it was constructed with special reference to sudden rises of the lake in times of freshet, and that it was designed to hold this sur- plus water until it could be gradually discharged through the dam into the great pond below. It would, at least, subserve this purpose very efficiently, and thus protect the dam below it from the effects of freshets. To ascribe the origin of this dam to such motives of intelligence is to invest this animal with a higher degree of sagacity than we have probable reason to concede to him; and yet it is proper to mention the relation in which these dams stand to each other, whether that relation is regarded as acci- dental or intentional. BEAVER DAMS. 101 I have now given a full as well as somewhat de- tailed description of a beaver dam of the ordinary kind constructed by this architectural mute. This explanation, and the engravings together, will render unnecessary a special description of other dams of the same class. In the remaining dams noticed, I shall limit the description to the special features or differ- ences by which they are distinguished, giving, at the | same time, ground plans and measurements for the purpose of comparison. New dams are occasionally commenced, and old ones, previously abandoned for some cause, are re- paired and reoccupied, in beaver districts which are undisturbed except by trappers. The increase or decrease of beavers in numbers, influences, to some extent, their movements in these respects. The sea- son preferred for this work is during the months of September and October, after the strong currents have run out of the streams, and they have subsided to their lowest levels. It is also the period during which they cut and store their winter wood, with the im- mersion and safety of which their ponds are intimately connected. Hence we find that the active season for beaver work is late in the fall; and that it is per- formed with reference to the approaching winter, of which they are not unmindful. These several subjects will be elsewhere considered. For the purpose of ascertaining how beaver dams are commenced, and especially to find whether an attempt is made to insert any portion of the materials in the ground, as a means of holding them in their places, | have taken up to the bottom both old and new beaver dams, and examined, with some care, the 102 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. disposition and arrangement of the materials. The — result demonstrated that neither stakes, brush, nor poles were inserted or imbedded in the ground, but on the contrary that they were laid flatwise upon the bed of the channel, and held down with mud and earth carried in and deposited upon them. A new dam was commenced a year ago on the main branch of the Carp, close beside the track of the Marquette and Ontonagon Railroad, about twenty-three miles out from Marquette. At the point selected for the dam the Carp is a mere brook, and the railroad embank- ment, which passes parallel with, and a few feet from it, seemed to the observant eye of the beaver to afford some advantages as a barrier, upon one side, to their proposed pond; and notwithstanding the daily passage of trains over the road, they commenced the dam, and raised it about a foot high across the channel of the stream. A conflict of interests thus arose between the beavers, on the one hand, and one of the chief commercial enterprises of the country, on the other. The track-master, fearing the effects of an accumula- tion of water against the railroad embankment, cut the dam through the centre, and thus lowered the water to its original level. As this was no new ex- perience to the beavers, who were accustomed to such rents, they immediately repaired the breach. For ten or fifteen times it was cut through, and as often repaired before the beavers finally desisted from their proposed work. On taking up the remains of this dam the present season (1866), I found that it was commenced with brush and poles, with the bark on, from ten to twelve feet in length, and that they were arranged horizontally upon the bed of the channel, BEAVER DAMS. 103 and lengthwise with the flow of the stream instead or transversely. In general the large ends of the poles, and of the limbs with their branches attached, were up stream, which of itself would tend to strengthen their hold upon the bottom. Upon these materials, which were compactly arranged, earth and mud, in small quantities only, were accumulated for down weight, and to fill up the intervening spaces; but it was confined to the central and upper portions. On the upper margin, which was to form the water face of the dam, small sticks were used, together with loam, intermixed with fine roots, for the purpose of arresting the flow of the water through the rudely- arranged materials of the dam. At this stage it was extremely rude, and devoid of those striking charac- teristics which these dams assume with age. The manner in which they repair their dams is both curious and interesting. It will be sufficient here to state that ordinary repairs are made, when- ever they seem to be required, by each beaver acting independently, and without any concert with his mates. In case of a breach in the structure, several of them have been seen working together for its restoration. They usually go down to the dam nightly, one after the other, and as they pass along its margin, each, upon his own motion, does such work upon it as he chooses to perform. In another connection some facts will be stated upon this subject. CHA han LV. BEAVER DAMS—(CONTINUED). Solid-bank Dams—Places where constructel—No Dams in deep Water— Where impossible, the Beavers inhabit River Banks—Description of Solid- bank Dam—-Opening for Surplus Water—Pond confined to River Banks— Similar Dam with Hedge-—Fallen-tree Dam—Use of Tree accidental— Spring Rill Dam—Series of Dams on the Carp—Dams in a Gorge—Lake Outlet Dams—High Dam—Long Dam—Description of same—Manner of Photographing same—Dams in other Districts of North America—Petri- fied Peaver Dams in Montana. Tue solid-bank dam, which we are next to consider, although constructed upon the same principles as the kind previously described, presents a very different appearance. This difference of external form is the result of the altered conditions under which it is erected, occasioned by a gradual transformation in the character of each particular stream in its descending course. In the capacity thereby displayed of adapt- ing their works to the ever-varying circumstances in which they find themselves placed, instead of follow- ing blindly an invariable type, some evidence of the possession, on their part, of a free intelligence, is un- doubtedly furnished. After a stream has emerged from its sources in the hills, and acquired volume with its onward flow, it soon begins to develop banks as well as a broader channel, and these banks assume a vertical form in the level areas where the soil is alluvial. Such are the changes which occur on the Ely Branch of the (104) BEAVER DAMS. 105 Esconauba after it has passed dam No. 13, and on Carp River after passing dam No. 39. The channel of the first-named stream will then average seventy feet in width, with vertical banks from three to four feet high, and with a depth of water of about twenty inches at its lowest stages, and in its shallowest parts. Through the level areas it moves also with a sluggish current. It will be seen, therefore, that in building a dam across such a channel, it must be done in deep water as compared with brooks; and further than this, that the difficulty of construction increases with the increase of the depth of the water, until it finally becomes insurmountable. For this reason there are no dams on the Carp below No. 50, and none on the Hsconauba below the junction of the Ely Branch with the main stream. There is no instance within the area represented by the map where a dam has been constructed across a stream having a greater depth than two feet at the site of the structure when the water is at its lowest level. It thus becomes apparent that beaver dams are necessarily confined to the sources of the principal rivers and to the small tributaries which flow into them along their courses; and that some change in the character of the dams would be rendered necessary by the transformations which occur with their increase in size or depth. Where beavers inhabit rivers too large for dams, they burrow in their banks, for which reason they are distinguished by the trappers under the name of bank beavers. These general considerations will serve to explain the manner in which given districts are occupied by beavers; the circumstances which render some localities more favorable than others; and the 106 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. influence of topographical features upon the character of their dams. The first solid-bank dam to be described (Plate IX.) is in the Ely Branch of the Esconauba River, and is marked as No. 14 on the map. When photographed it was not in a perfect condition. It had been cut through in two places by the miners, some three years before, to draw off the water from the beaver meadows pre- paratory to cutting the grass from these meadows for hay, and had thus been exposed to waste. The water in the pond then stood but a few inches above its natural level, leaving the dam mostly uncovered on both slopes, and its lower face littered with loose materials from these breaches. It exhibited the re- mains only of what originally was one of the most perfect structures of its kind. Upon the right bank of the stream (left side of the engraving) was the lodge, with its heap of brush, for the lodgment of cut- tings, sunk in the pond immediately in front, and rising above the surface; and on the opposite side was a beaver meadow of considerable extent, back of which was the forest. The dam is constructed at a bend in the stream, where the channel is about seventy feet wide and of uniform depth, and where the bottom is smooth and hard. It is substantially a solid embankment, and 1s thrown across the stream diagonally, but in a straight line, from bank to bank. Between these banks it is seventy-five feet long. On the right side it is built into the bank, and, rising above it, is extended, as a low dam, for thirty feet beyond, and on the left for fifteen feet, thus giving to the structure a total length of one hundred and twenty feet. Between the banks, pre WVCd HaHAVU A fay ce POS ee) vi 3 y 8 I RY 9 af cS) 8 8 ae tana 7 BEAVER DAMS. 107 the dam was of uniform width and height, as the bed of the channel was level. At the base of the struc- ture its average width transversely was sixteen feet, diminishing to twelve feet at the original surface level of the stream, which here was twenty inches deep, and to four feet in width at the height of three feet from the bottom. Above this last level the crest was rounded up about sixteen inches higher, where it was still two feet wide, the embankment having a total height of four feet and four inches. In constructing dams where the water is of such depth, larger quantities of brush and poles are used than in dams of the other class, and it is also neces- sary to use larger amounts of earth. The brush is required to hold the earth where it is placed, which otherwise would be dissolved and flow away with the current: and the earth in turn anchors the brush, and when packed around it, the two together form a firm and solid embankment. The principle on which brush and sticks are used for their binding properties is the same which led to the use of straw in mud brick. Neither, separately, would answer the end designed. So much earth was used upon this dam that the brush and poles upon the lower face, as well as on the water slope, were buried and concealed from view, except the ends which projected in different places. So firm and solid had the embankment be- come, and such was its breadth near the summit, that a horse and wagon might have been driven across the river upon it in safety, but for the opening on the left side for the passage of the surplus water. The only differences, therefore, in the two species of dams, consist in the filling in of the interstices on the lower 108 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. face with mud and earth, which turns it into a solid embankment on both slopes, and throughout its whole extent, and in the special method resorted to for dis- charging the surplus water, which remains to be noticed. From the solidity of these dams the water is not able to percolate through them as before stated, neither was it allowed at ordinary stages to pass over their summits. é i te am / >a Uf NN ea : }) 1} }) } SS . wae Pese a are Rati * H)))//) | AS Sane =e Ta Fab MMI y) i H if is { say ne Saute Wy) { = ES By fy; / / SVT ARN\ a “ESN uaynly/ s0-00-er-cs 0 3 feet high. Second CCF Mill OOM i teeeeteases vers oo sesssscrealsson 2 ce Third CORP SOO Mecemetne sales ) No. 1) was. 6 fet) Migs form Roof of Lodge. long, about 2 inches thick, and extended entirely across the chamber into the walls on either side. No. 2 was 4 feet 3 inches long, about 2% inches thick, and rested upon the wall and also upon pole Nol. And No. 2 was 4 feet long, of the same thickness, and rested the one end upon the wall and the other upon No. 2. Upon these was a network of smaller poles and sticks filled in with muck. The three principal poles formed a perfect and well-contrived support for the roof. Whether this was a new or an old lodge we had no means of ascertain- ing; and, therefore, it did not necessarily follow that they were so arranged by design. If an old lodge, these poles were probably once upon the top, and had come into their present position by the gradual pro- gress of the settlement and decay of the materials underneath, which was followed by their removal from the roof of the chamber within as it was built upon above. The magnitude of the canal is an evidence of its great age, but this again is no evidence of the age of the lodge, which may have been erected after the latter was excavated. An examination of beaver lodges shows quite clearly that they can be continued Fig. 12. — CHAMBER BEAVER LODGES AND BURROWS. 153 for centuries by the simple process of repairing. Such is doubtless their history. New lodges would be de- manded with an increase in numbers up to a certain limit, but otherwise they would not, in all probability, be constructed. Around the outer rim of the chamber (Fig. 13) there was fresh dry grass for beds, which had evidently been recently cut from the meadows. In the centre of the floor there was a large quantity of old and de- cayed grass, damp and wet, on the removal of which a considerable depression of the floor was observable. Ground Plan of Lodge. The above diagram shows the chamber and the position of the entrances. Measurements. Diameter of chamber parallel with canal............. 6 feet 5 inches. MrANSVELSe | CIAMELEY. Jt.ccanesqnacnesssitoreseomeen sees ees. Once Height of chamber at centre.............0c-csccsscercees 1 foot 9 inches. Level of floor below ground)... -t..cci7scesseeceas-c0ss> ee Height of floor above water in entrances............. a For the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the floor we made an excavation, 1 foot and 9 inches deep, 154 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. through a mass of small beaver cuttings imbedded in loam, of which it was composed, before we came to clear earth. They were mere twigs a few inches long and a quarter of an inch in diameter, and packed down in a solid mass. As the floors of beaver lodges are usually but three or four inches above the level of the water, and so near it as to become thoroughly saturated, it is extremely probable that they are, in all cases, made firm and solid in this way, partly by accident and partly by design. Without some such solidifying process these floors would soon turn into soft mire, and the chambers become uninhabitable. The two entrances, as in the other cases, were the most interesting portions of the structure. One en- tered the canal, and from thence the river to go up stream; the other the river direct for going down stream. The former was nearly straight, with its bottom out to the canal a gentle slope; while the other descended quite abruptly as it emerged from the lodge, and then turning to the left, nearly at right angles, ran straight to the river. Both were neatly constructed, but one only, that which terminated in the canal, was adapted to the purposes of a wood entrance. We were able to run a pole through this passage from the point where it entered the chamber out into the canal, and obtain its length, together with its other dimen- sions, which were as follows: Measurements of Wood Entrance. Length of passage from rim of chamber to canal............ 7 feet 11 inches. Width of same where it entered chamber...............sseeee0s 2 ee Width throughout to the canal, about..../.2....2.....scsen-0--rs ign Depth of water in entrance just without chamber............ 114“ Roof of entrance above level of water, at same point........ L foot 5 ‘“* Total height of entrance at same point.............. sscesceeees LEAN EERE Depth of soil and roots above passage without lodge....... Ay ees seyret vice BEAVER LODGES AND BURROWS. 55 The roof of the passage-way within the walls of the lodge, and for a short distance without, was rounded or arched quite regularly, and constructed with sticks; but for the remainder of the way to the canal it was ground excavation, the roof being strengthened by the roots of alder bushes under which it ran. After leaving the chamber, the roof of the passage-way descended so as to intersect the water at a distance of 32 feet, after which the pas- sage was full of water out to the canal, which it en- tered 3 feet below the surface. The floor of the en- trance or passage-way, just out of the chamber of the lodge, was sprinkled over with short and slender twigs of willow, about 6 inches long and # of an inch thick, which were evidently designed for young beavers. They were green and fresh cuttings, some of them peeled of their bark and thrown out of the chamber, and others with the bark on ready for use. I made a small bundle of these tit-bits for young beavers, and preserved them as a memorial of this lodge. The other, or beaver entrance, opened out from the chamber on the canal side, and, after descending for a short distance, turned abruptly to the left, after which it ran under ground nearly in a straight line to the river, as before stated. Measurements of Beaver Entrance. Width at edge of. chambers. ..c.sast«ssecmeestccesess 1 foot 8 inches. Depth of water im same; at Gitto..... 2. .-cccses-scauces. 1) ce Height of entrance above water..........ssscss.ssseseee Cenc Total height from bottom to roof of entrance....... lfoot4 <« Length of passage-Way........c,cecccccncos sccscsncssseneell feet 6 &° Short cuttings might have been carried into the chamber through this passage, but not those of any 156 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. length. Besides this, as they almost invariably trans- port their cuttings down stream, the other, from its location, was the proper wood entrance. As the river was too shallow, on the lodge side, for their conceal- ment, the beavers had excavated a channel, about 2 feet deep, in its bed for a distance of 25 feet out into deep water. The artificial character of this channel was perfectly manifest. We piled up the sticks and poles taken from this lodge, and estimated the contents at half a cord. It was of the average size, and a fair specimen of these structures. With the minute description, now concluded, of island and bank lodges, it will be unnecessary to enter into details with reference to other varieties, except to point out differences where they exist. Fia. 14. Lake Lodge. Ground Plan. It has elsewhere been stated that beavers inhabit the small lakes as well as the flowing streams. They construct lodges upon their shores, which, as they are usually shelving and have a hard bottom, render some further variation in structure necessary. The lodge represented in the above ground plan (Fig. 14) is situated upon the south shore of Lake Diamond, a few BEAVER LODGES AND BURROWS. Lan rods above its outlet. ‘Two-thirds of it were built out upon the lake for the obvious purpose of covering the entrance as well as for its extension into deep water. It measured, on the line of the shore, seventeen feet over its summit, and twenty-four feet in the trans- verse direction, and was three feet and a half high. The chamber was between the five trees which were growing through the lodge and connected with the lake by a long passage-way within the lodge. It was constructed of sticks and poles in the usual man- ner. “SUMAVAE “4 109 SHTHL INCE ila SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 171 while evergreen trees are the principal forest growth, deciduous trees are sufficiently abundant for all the purposes of beaver maintenance. There was scarcely any portion of the original forest area of North America, except the exclusively pine tracts, where beavers could not sustain themselves in considerable numbers. Their greatest numbers, however, were found in those particular districts of country where the trees, whose bark was preferred, were found in the greatest profusion. The engraving (Plate XV. Fig. 1) is from a photo- graph of an original specimen now in my collection. It was in the process of being cut down by the beavers in October, 1862, when my attention was called to it by some woodmen, who had observed it on the south shore of Lake Flora, near dam No.2. I went to the place and secured it before the beavers had an oppor- tunity to finish their work, which another night would probably have consummated, to the destruction of the symmetry of the cutting. The tree is a yellow birch, thirteen and a half inches in diameter below the in- cision, and twelve inches above, with a circumference of something over three feet. As the tree was green, and this part was removed before it had been exposed to the weather, the marks of the teeth are seen with entire distinctness over every part of the cut surface. The width of the incision up and down is eight inches, and it was commenced seven inches above the ground. It is evident that the process of cutting is round and round the tree continuously, and that the reduction is uniform until itis cut on all sides more than half way to the centre. After that, the remainder of the cut- ting varies; in some cases it is uniform until the tree 172 ' THE AMERICAN BEAVER. falls, while in others it is the deepest on one side, toward which it is then most likely to fall; and from which the inference is drawn, with some degree of probability, that it was the intention of the beavers to fell it in that direction. Where the tree leans slightly, the deepest cutting is on the side opposite to the direction of its fall; and where it stands upon a side hill, itis often, when the tree is small, cut entirely upon the upper side. While gnawing down a tree, they sit up erect on their hind féet, which, being plan- tigrade, renders this posture natural and convenient for the body. Although I have not succeeded in wit- nessing the act, on the part of the beavers, of felling a tree, I have obtained the particulars from Indians and trappers who have. The usual number engaged in the work is but two, or a pair; but they are some- times assisted by two or three young beavers. It thus appears to be the separate work of a family, instead of the joint work of several families. One tree of the size of this would furnish a sufficient amount of small cuttings for their winter supply. When but two are engaged they work by turns, and alternately stand on the watch, as is the well-known practice of many animals while feeding or at work. When the tree begins to crackle, they desist from cutting, which they afterward continue with cau- tion until it begins to fall, when they plunge into the pond, usually, and wait concealed for a time, as if fearful that the crashing noise of the tree-fall might attract some enemy to the place. The next move- ment is to cut off the limbs, such as are from two to five and six inches in diameter, and reduce them toa proper length to be moved to the water and trans- SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 173 ported thence to the vicinity of their lodges, where they are sunk in a pile as their store of winter pro- visions. Upon this work the whole family engage with the most persevering industry, and follow it up, night after night, until the work is accomplished. The greatest number of beavers ever seen thus en- gaged by any of my informants was nine, while the usual number is much less. These somewhat minute particulars are so far important as they tend to show the existence of the family relation, as well as the number of the family; and they also have some bear- ing upon the question of the recognized right of prop- erty incuttings. A fair consideration of ascertained facts tends to the inference that each family is left to the undisturbed enjoyment of the fruits of their toil and industry. The manner of reducing and remoy- ing limbs of trees will be further explained when we take up that class of cuttings. Another and a larger tree cutting of the kind above described, I found the present season (August, 1866), and sent it to the Commissioners of the Central Park, New York. It is a yellow birch, seventeen inches in diameter below the incision, fourteen inches above, and shows a cutting entirely around the tree four and a half inches deep. The incision was not as deep relatively as in the other case; but it removed the whole of the sap-wood and a portion of the duramen. It was cut thus far in the spring of the present year, as the tree was still alive and in full leaf; and with- out doubt for the purpose of eating the chips, as few or none were found at the foot. The second engraving (Fig. 2, Plate XV.) is also from a photograph of an original specimen in my col- 174 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. lection. As the tree lodged in falling, it did not breaix at the point where it was cut. This tree was also a yellow birch, and stood on the border of Grass Lake, a few rods above the great dam. Since the deepest incision was upon the pond side of the tree, it seemed to have been their intention to fell it into the pond; but their expectations in this respect, if indulged, were disappointed; and further than this, their labor was lost by the lodgment of the tree. It measures seven- teen inches in diameter below the incision, and ten and a half above it, with a circumference at the place where it was made of three feet four inches. The cut was commenced six inches above the ground, and was twelve inches wide up and down the trunk of the tree. This tree cutting was two years old when I brought it away in 1861. It is quite a common prac- tice with beavers to fell trees into ponds and lakes for the purpose of submerging their branches, and thus preserving them, with all their small shoots and twigs, under water, where they may be accessible throughout the winter under the ice. Along the skirts of large ponds, where deciduous trees are found growing, numbers of trees thus fallen into the pond are seen; their conical stubs showing quite plainly by whom they were cut down. [I have a second tree cutting precisely similar to this, the parts being un- separated by the fall, measuring sixteen inches in diameter below the incision, thirteen above it, and three feet three inches in circumference at the point where the incision was made. Beavers occasionally cut the wild-cherry tree, al- though it is somewhat doubtful whether they eat its bark. I found one of this description on the upper rr ae SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. its part of Carp River, the present summer, which meas- ured eighteen inches in its greatest diameter below the incision, and fourteen above. They had com- menced and cut round the tree in two places higher up, finally completing the work at a third and lower place. It is an interesting specimen for this reason, although somewhat weather-worn, since it shows the appearance of a tree cutting at different stages of its depth. None of its branches were either cut or re- moved by the beavers. These rings show that the cutting was commenced near the close of winter, in deep snow; and that the deepest and lowest cutting was made after the snows had wasted nearly to the ground. As few chips remained, it was evident that the incision was made for the purpose of eating the wood. ‘This specimen is now in the State Collection at Albany. The foregoing are fair specimens, as to size, of the tree cuttings in the Lake Superior region, and are among the largest of the hard-wood trees usually cut down by the beavers. I have a number of speci- mens of all sizes from six to eighteen inches in diameter, all of which were cut in the same manner, and present the same external marks and conical form at the cut ends. Those described are not un- usually large. I have seen many others of equal size at places inconvenient for removal. One yellow birch at the head of Lake Flora, partly cut down, measured five feet and four inches in circumference below the incision, and four feet and six inches above, with but nine inches in diameter at the centre still uncut. The chips at the foot of a fresh cut tree are quite abundant, as well as objects of curiosity. I have 176 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. an assortment of them, some of which measure three and a half inches in length, from an inch to an inch and a half in width, and about a quarter of an inch in thickness. Fig. 20. Beaver Chip. Natural size. The above representation (Fig. 20) shows the inner face of one of these chips. Upon the end to the right are six distinct cuts, the first two of which are but half the width of a single tooth; while on the other, which is the thickest end, there are eight, some of which are, in like manner, but half the width of a single tooth. It is made evident by running the inferior incisive teeth in a beaver’s skull over these several cuts, that the upper incisors are used for holding, while the cutting is done by the inferior; and more than this, that but a single tooth is used at a time, the other following in the space made by the previous bite. There is another fact which tends to confirm this explanation of the manner of cutting, which is that the chip is split inward toward the centre with each cut. If both of the inferior incisors were cutting at the same time, the split would occur with each alternate cut; otherwise one of the teeth would be sprung. These chips also show that the gnawing process is one of splitting as well as cutting. The crowning surface of © SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. PAG each cut is found to fit exactly the slight concavity in the inner side of the incisor. It will be observed from the sloping edges of the chip that each cut penetrated deeper than the one preceding it as they severally ap- proach the centre, and that the split surface in the centre is less than an inch in length. From the size of this chip, and the number of distinct cuts upon it, some impression may be formed of the number and power of the bites necessary to gnaw down a tree of the diameter of either of those described; and yet it is said, by those who have witnessed the performance, that a pair of full-grown beavers will accomplish the work in two or three nights. Cottonwood-trees are soft and easily cut. The largest trees ever fallen by the beavers are of this kind. J have seen them on the banks of the Upper Missouri twenty inches and two feet in diameter. One specimen in my collection, which I brought down this river from a point about a hundred miles east of the Rocky Mountains, measures sixteen inches in diameter, and was an ordinary specimen. It is re- presented in the group of cuttings (Plate XVI), but partly concealed from view. Father De Smet, the well-known missionary to the Indians of the Columbia River, informed me that he had seen cot- tonwood-trees, cut down by beavers, thirty inches in diameter; and Dr. F¥. V. Hayden, that he had meas- ured a cottonwood-tree, on the Yellowstone River, after it was cut down by them, of the same diameter. Lewis and Clarke, remarking upon the tree cuttings at the mouth of the same river, state that ‘the beavers have committed great devastation among the 12 178 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. trees, one of which, nearly three feet in diameter, had been gnawed through by them.”! After passing Fort Randall, in ascending the Missouri, the cottonwood- tree cuttings are seen in places in great numbers along a distance of a thousand or more miles to the mountains. At some points, as elsewhere stated, they are cut down in such quantities as to form piles of timber; but where these occur, the trees are usually small. On the Yellowstone River, where the quan- tity of cotton-wood is small and confined to the bottom lands, the beavers were making such havoc at the time of my visit (1862) that the Crow Indians had become seriously concerned about their own supply of wood. This may seem extravagant, and it probably was an unnecessary alarm: but it is also easy to dis- cover that with beavers very numerous and the sup- ply of wood limited, they might draw overlargely upon the supply. Smail trees and the limbs of large trees are cut into pieces of convenient length for transportation, and consequently must bear a definite relation to the physical powers of the animal. It is necessary to move them on land, from where they are cut, to the nearest accessible point in the pond, whence they are floated to the place where they are to be sunk to form a magazine of provisions for the winter. The larger, therefore, the limb is in diameter, the shorter must be the cutting in order to be movable. A comparison of a large number of these cuttings shows that when five inches in diameter, they are usually about a foot long; when four inches in diam- 1 Travels, etc. Longman’s ed., p. 146. eumray ah ~ TET eset) a oad ioia Mel is apee® 4 be mg whee ~COOM YALNIM SONILLAD YAAVAE ene Sy ei eee Re, TAX 932 1d ' SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 179 eter, they are about a foot and a half long; and when three inches in diameter, they are about two feet long. Poles from one to two inches in diameter are often found eight, ten, and twelve feet in length; and also cut up into short lengths from a few feet to a few inches long. Short cuttings of these dimensions they are able to roll for considerable distances, or drag with their teeth to the water; after which they are easily transported to the vicinity of their lodges and there sunk. I have, in my collection, a large assortment of these cuttings of every size and variety, a selection from which is represented in Plate XIV., engraved from a photograph of the originals. The four separate pieces shown in the engraving which are marked No.1, are bird’s-eye maple denuded of bark. This portion of the tree was six feet long before it was cut into lengths, and from five to six inches in diameter. It will be observed that the cut ends are conical, showing that the beavers cut round and round, in the process of doing which it is neces- sary to turn the stick. One turning would probably suffice to cut a limb three inches in diameter; but one of the size of this would require several. The small tree from which these cuttings were made grew upon the border of the pond, and formed the part nearest to the root. While the remainder of the tree was cut up and removed, these were left from inability to take them away. Near the root of the tree there was a depression in the ground across which it fell, and when cut into lengths the pieces rolled down into the basin. The largest weighed eleven pounds and a half in its dry state, and the smallest six. Finding their removal impossible, they were stripped of their bark 180 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. and abandoned. In moving cuttings of this deserip- tion, they are quite ingenious. They shove and roll them with their hips, using also their legs and tails as levers, moving sideways in the act. In this man- ner they move the larger pieces from the more or less elevated ground, on which the deciduous trees are found, over the uneven but generally descending sur- face to the pond. The tree cuttings are usually within a few rods of the water, and are rarely found at any great distance unless upon side hills which favor their easy descent. After one of these cuttings has been transported to the water, a beaver, placing one end of it under his throat, pushes it before him to the place where it is to be sunk. How they sink them is a question. The yellow birch, when fresh cut, is of nearly the same specific gravity as water. On trying the experiment with a piece of the size of an ordinary cutting, | found that it would barely float, the whole of it becoming submerged except a small portion at one.end. It was evident that a few hours of soakage would carry it to the bottom. It is sufficient to state the fact that piles of these cuttings are found, late in the fall, sunk near their lodges in the ponds,—except where brush piles are found, the uses of which will hereafter be explained. In amount they vary from one-quarter to three-quarters of a cord, while in occasional instances a full cord has been found. Pole cuttings, short bits, and brush are dragged to the water with their teeth, and are gener- ally moved through the water held in the same man- ner. In swimming, the upper part of the head and a small part of the shoulders only are out of water; so that they are often seen with a stick or piece of brush SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 181 held in the teeth at one end, with the remainder passing diagonally across the back. Captain Johnson once saw a beaver swimming in Grass Lake, in the daytime, with a small bundle of grass upon the top of his head, which he was evidently transporting to his lodge. Beaver stick No. 2 in the engraving is a very in- teresting specimen, since it illustrates an intermediate stage of the process of cutting branches of trees into short lengths. It is a yellow birch, seven feet and a half long, with an average of three and a half inches in diameter. They commenced cutting it into seven pieces, of which the first four were each about a foot long, and the remaining three each about twenty inches; and the work was going on at all of these in- cisions at the same time. Some of them were cut about half through, the others less or more. The stick, in other words, was ready to be turned for the com- pletion of the work. To cut it entirely through from the upper side would require an incision of such width as to involve a loss of labor. Among the piles on piles of cuttings seen and examined, I do not recol- lect of ever finding one of hard wood of the thickness of this cut entirely through from one side. There was a prong at each end of this stick, the longest of which is not seen in the engraving, which evidently defeated their efforts to turn it over. Finding this impossible, the stick was abandoned after stripping off the bark on its upper surface. This specimen is in- teresting from the revelation it seems to make of the manner of reducing the branches of trees. In the first place, after felling a tree, they cut off from the trunk such limbs as are of suitable size to be cut into lengths 182 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. for transportation, which is but a small part of a large tree. They next trim each limb by cutting off, close to the body, the small branches and twigs, thus free- ing it of brush. There are nine such, large and small, cut off from this stick. How the limbs are cut into sticks of the length of this Iam unable to state, but it must be effected before they are brought, by the re- moval of the branches, prone upon the ground. After that they can only be gnawed upon the top and sides, and the stick must be turned to complete the work. Whenever, from any cause, they are unable, as in this case, to turn it over, they are forced to abandon it, or finish their labor in an unusual manner. That they rarely fail is shown by the scarcity of these abandoned cuttings. Ihave found but three, two of which are in my collection, and the third was left to be brought in, but the person sent after it was unable to retrace the route. The short cutting, No. 3 in the engraving, was taken from the top of the lodge at dam No. 14. Both ends are conical, showing that it was turned while being gnawed. There are two extra cuts, which on close examination show the same fact. The only ex- planation which can be offered for these extra inci- sions is that the wood itself was eaten. Stick No. 4, which is a poplar, is marked in precisely the same way. These apparently unnecessary gnawings are often found on beaver cuttings. No, 5 is the stub of a small tree, with two deep incisions around it, while it was taken off at a third place above. These are the only evidences found upon the cuttings themselves that they ever eat clear wood. It was stated by some of the early writers that the beaver subsisted upon SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 183 wood as well as bark,’ but the former fact appears to have been overlooked in the more recent articles upon this animal, until the statement became general that he lived upon bark and the roots of certain plants. The three beavers sent down for dissection last win- ter were taken in February and March, at the time when, their store of provisions being the lowest, they might, if ever, be expected to eat clear wood. Dr. Ely found their stomachs filled with lignine, with a slight intermixture of the tendrils of forest trees, and no perceptible remains of bark. The commuinuted particles were so clearly of wood as to leave no doubt upon the question. The contents of the caecum dis- closed the same fact, as the digestive process simply removed the saccharine materials from the wood. At the same time the beavers were in excellent condition. Trees are often found in the spring gnawed around, and no chips at the foot. It was evident from the leaves that the work was done after the sap had started, and for the purpose of eating the wood. Additional evidence, tending to confirm the fact of wood-eating, may be derived from a comparison of the amount of bark upon the usual stock of winter cuttings with the necessary wants of a beaver family of six or eight individuals. It would afford to each but a small amount of sustenance. While it is generally understood that beavers never eat the bark of evergreen trees, for which they have an aversion, they sometimes cut them down; and it may be done for the purpose of eat- 1M. Sarrasin, Histoire de Académie Royale des Sciences. Année 1704. 184 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. ing the wood. Dr. Newberry, in his Report re- ferred to (supra, p. 165), remarks as follows upon the tree cuttings in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon: “From the point where their burrows terminate in the water, trails lead off to the thickets of willow or pine, where the beavers find their food. These thick- ets exhibit the most surprising proofs of the power and industry of these animals; whole groves of young pine-trees cut down within a few inches of the ground, and carried off bodily. * * * We often saw trees of considerable size cut down by the beaver; the largest of which I noticed was a spruce pine, twelve inches in diameter.” In the Lake Superior region no species of evergreen tree is ever cut by them; except occasionally a young spruce, and in these cases the Indians affirm that they are cut down for the gum exuded from the tree. A Missouri trapper informed me that he had seen pine-trees that had been cut down by beavers, but he observed, that he never could find a place where a limb or a twig had been cut off from such a tree. There is a possibility that the evergreen trees, referred to by Dr. Newberry, were cut down by the beavers to obtain the nutritious mosses which grow upon certain species of these trees in great profusion; or for the sweet gums they afforded. Upon the pines west of the mountains there is a moss, erowing as a parasite, which the Indians collect in large quantities and bake in ground ovens for winter food. It is cooked or baked in the same manner as the Kamash, which is one of their staple articles of consumption. A “moss glue,” as it is commonly called, is thus obtained, which is both palatable and nutritious. ‘The inner bark of the gum-pine tree also, SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 185 is sweet flavored, and used by the Indians for food. Undoubtedly the beavers of the west coast have special inducements to attack the evergreen trees which do not exist in other parts of their habitat. Pole cuttings of different lengths are often found in their piles of winter wood, but they are generally cut for present use. Fresh cuttings are rarely found between the commencement of vegetation in the spring and the first appearance of frost in the fall. When the trapper begins to find them, he regards it as a sign that they have commenced their fall work. After their cuttings of various lengths and sizes have performed the first office for which they were collected and stored, they are in the condition to be most useful for repairmg their lodges and dams. Most of the sticks and poles found upon the tops of their lodges and upon the lower faces of their dams show conclusively that they were first cut and stored for winter subsistence, then carried into the lodge and the bark eaten off, after which they were thrown out into the pond, to be again gathered and applied to the purposes named. This is not always the case with respect to their lodges, some of which I have found covered with a mass of poles of black alder, with the bark on; upon their dams, also, brush and drift-wood are often found; but these cuttings are the usual materials used for repairing both. There is another class of brush cuttings, the prin- cipal object and use of which are involved in some doubt. In streams having considerable volume, which are liable to rise suddenly after rains or thaws, and develop currents more or less strong, a brush-heap (Fig. 21) is almost universally found sunk in the pond 186 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. immediately against, or slightly above each lodge. There is a strong current, at such times, in Carp River below dam No. 30, and in the Esconauba below dam No. 13. On the other hand, these brush piles are rarely, if ever, found connected with lodges situated upon the margins of ponds formed by dams across Fig. 21. Brush-heap near Lodge. small brooks, or near island lodges in large ponds, or near the lake lodges. In the ponds of the small streams there is little or no current, and none that is perceptible in the small lakes. As a confirm- ation of the supposed relation between these currents and the brush heaps, the latter were found con- nected with all of the lodges on the Carp below the point named, while none were to be seen near the lodges in Grass Lake, nor in the pond at the Long Dam, nor at any of the lake lodges. The same is SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 187 equally true with reference to the four lodges on the margin of the natural pond hereafter described. The brush-heap represented in the figure was in front of the lodge at dam No. 34. It was simply a pile of brush, composed of alder bushes and the small branches of deciduous trees, sunk to the bottom of the pond in water about four feet deep, with a portion of the pile rising above the surface. To form these heaps, they tow in the brush to the place, piece by piece, and sink it in some way in a well-compacted pile, which after a short time becomes firmly anchored in the mud below. A Missouri trapper informed the author that he had seen beavers, while performing this work, swim to the place towing a piece of brush, and then, holding the large end in their mouths, go down with it to the bottom apparently to fix it in the mud-bottom of the pond. An ordinary pile covers an area from ten to fifteen feet in diameter, and rises a few feet above the surface of the water, and contains the substance of half a cord of wood. Both the Indians and the trappers regard these brush-heaps as their winter supply of provisions. Whether the old brush is removed each fall, and its place supphed with fresh, I have not been able to ascertain with any certainty, but it is very doubtful. I have seen the same brush piles at the same lodges in different years, on the Carp, the brush itself being old and decayed; but without knowing whether the lodges were still occupied. In any event it would be necessary to replenish the supply at times, to make good the waste by decay. While the brush was fresh they would be certain to use it for food, but whether it is their supply for the winter, is made doubtful by 188 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. the presence of short cuttings lodged here and there in the pile. Having in repeated instances seen and pulled out of these brush-heaps short cuttings of the kind found in their store piles in the large ponds and lakes, with the bark still upon them, the fact of their presence suggested the probability that the principal object of these brush-piles was to afford a safe lodg- ment for short cuttings, upon which they mainly rely. Without some such protection they would be liable to be floated off by the strong currents, and thus be lost to the beavers at the time when their lives might depend upon their safe custody. A resort to a brush-pile, anchored in the bed of the channel in the manner described, as a means to the safety of their winter wood, displays remarkable forecast and intelligence. It may also throw some light on the false lodges of the Upper Missouri, which may have been constructed in part for a similar object. Whe- ther this is the true explanation of their object is not entirely certain; but it seems to be extremely probable. The otter is a rapid and splendid swimmer, possess- ing such agility of movement that he is able to catch the quickest fish. It is doubtful whether the beaver is quick enough in his motions, were he inclined to _ adopt this mode of subsistence. There is no evidence that he ever attacks or feeds upon fish. When domesticated he will eat some kinds of animal food; but he prefers farinaceous substances, and soon devel- ops a special fancy for sugar. The flesh of the beaver has no particular excellence to attract the epicure. It is used acceptably, how- ever, in the same forms as the flesh of other animals. SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 189 The tail, which is composed largely of dense, fatty tis- sues, is regarded as a delicacy. It is rather remarkable, on general considerations, that the shallow ponds made by beaver dams do not freeze to the bottom during the cold winters of the high northern latitudes. The fact that they remain unfrozen to this extent, even around Hudson’s Bay, is wellestablished. Captain Wilson informed me that he had found open water along the crest of the dam at Grass Lake, and generally at the lodge before described, in the coldest part of the winter, the ther- mometer in this region standing at an average of 5° below zero for weeks together. There are special reasons for this, among which is the deep covering of snow throughout the winter, which protects the water from the severe temperature of the atmosphere. The first fall of snow lies in the pond partly con- gealed, and afterward freezing at the surface, bears up the subsequent deposits. From this, or some other cause affecting the temperature of the water, the ice formed is not always strong enough in the coldest weather to bear up the weight of a man. Another curious fact observed by the trapper is, that thin ice is usually found over their piles of winter wood. As these ponds are rarely over six feet deep in any part of their area, the consequences of their wood becom- ing ice-bound would not be less fatal than the forma- tion of solid ice in the entrances to their lodges. There are undoubtedly local causes affecting the tem- perature of ponds and of their different parts, such as springs rising through their beds with their waters at a relatively higher temperature, of the knowledge of which the beavers avail themselves in selecting the 190 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. places of deposit for their winter subsistence, as well as the sites for their habitations. Strangely as it may appear to us, the winter life of the beaver, while shut up in the seeming darkness of a pond covered over with its white mantle of ice and snow, is made a season of security, of comfort, and of pleasure. Thus we see, on every hand, how the Divine Author of ex- istence has hedged about the lives of these remembered creatures with His protecting care. Nore.—It is a peculiarity of the languages of our Indian na- tions that, while they are barren of terms to express metaphys- ical or abstract conceptions, they are opulent in terms for the designation of natural objects, and for expressing relative differ- ences in the same object. In the Ojibwa, for example, there are different names for the beaver according to his age, and com- pound terms to indicate sex, as follows: Specific name, Ah-mik’. Year old and under, Ah-wa-ne-sha/, Two years old, O-bo-ye-wa’!. Full grown, or old, Gi-chi-ah’-mik. Male beaver, Ah-yii-ba-mik’. Female beaver No-zha-mik’, Their terms for the works of the beaver are the following : O-ko’-min, beaver dam; Wig-e-wam’, beaver lodge; O-wazhe’, beaver burrow; O-de-ni-o/-nane, beaver canal—literally, “made channel to travel in;” O-da-be-naze’, lodge chamber—literally, “lodging place ;” Pa-piéi-num-wad’, snow chimney over lodge—lit- erally, ‘‘ where they let off their breath.” They have names, also, for the different kinds of cuttings; but they are descriptive rather than specific terms. (a,asinale; a, asin father; &,asinat; i, asin ice; i, as in 7%.) CHAPTER VII. BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. Beaver Canals—Their Extraordinary Character—Originated by Necessity— Their Uses—Evidences of their Artificial Character—Canals at Natural Pond—Their Form and Appearance —Canal on Carp River—Use of Dams in same—Canal across Bend of Esconauba—Same across Island in Pond —Beayer Meadows—How formed—-Their Extent—Beaver Slides on Upper Missouri—Scenery on this River—Bluffs of Indurated Clay—Bad Lands—-White Walls—Game--Connection of River Systems with Spread of Beavers. In the excavation of artificial canals as a means for transporting their wood by water to their lodges, we discover, as it seems to me, the highest act of intelli- gence and knowledge performed by beavers. Remark- able as the dam may well be considered, from its structure and objects, it scarcely surpasses, if it may be said to equal, these water-ways, here called canals, which are excavated through the low lands bordering their ponds for the purpose of reaching the hard wood, and of affording a channel for its transportation to their lodges. To conceive and execute such a design presupposes a more complicated and extended pro-, cess of reasoning than that required for the construc- tion of a dam; and, although a much simpler work to perform, when the thought was fully developed, it was far less to have been expected from a mute ani- mal. When I first came upon these canals, and found they were christened with this name both by Indians (191) 192 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. and trappers, I doubted their artificial character, and supposed them referable to springs as their producing cause; but their form, location, and evident object showed conclusively that they were beaver excava- tions. They are not mentioned, as far as I am aware, in any of the current accounts of this animal, for which reason, as well as their extraordinary character, they are deserving of more than a general notice. From the preceding engravings an impression has been obtained of the character of the forest in the vicinity of dams and ponds. It will be observed that the tamarack and spruce are the prevailing trees upon the borders of the streams. These evergreen trees are themselves indicative of swamp lands. Both the Ksconauba and the Carp flow through low grounds, which, widening out in places into flats, are invariably covered with these trees; with the exception of the areas of the. beaver meadows. Birch, maple, poplar, and ash are found upon the first high ground; but often at the distance of several hundred feet from the original channel of the stream. In some places these rivers cut the high banks, thus bringing the deciduous trees within reach; but the latter are some distance back at the greater proportion of the ponds shown on the map. itis one of the principal objects of dams on the small streams, which are without defined banks, to flood the low grounds with a pond, and thus obtain a water connection with the first high ground upon which the hard wood is found. Where the pond fails to accomplish this fully, and also where the banks are defined and mark the limits of the pond, the deficiency is supplied by the canals in question. On descending surfaces, as has elsewhere been stated, 7 f é be or . see ay ? og, al ee at ae wat J ine ‘ * Ay» 7 ne 4 f : Mn Ware Pua. ioe Bre key ae : << ban j st, Aw fey Wn 2 Y » Pe gy) ~ NO LI> nae > ZN » aw Ran! are yy —Pond 3s Z OAcres. — arcs aS NS ; uPA ee CPEFLI 2... Natu ee Fit. aos | | PS Duval, Sore Co.Pril® NATURAL POND and BEAVER CANALS.. a BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 193 beavers roll and drag their short cuttings down into the ponds. But where the ground is low, it is gener- ally so uneven or rough as to render it extremely dif- ficult, if not impossible, for the beavers to move them, for any considerable distance, by physical force. Hence the canal for floating them across the inter- vening level ground to the pond. The necessity for it is so apparent as to diminish our astonishment at its construction; and yet that the beaver should devise a canal to surmount this difficulty is not the less remarkable. The area represented by the map is not more abundantly supplied with dams, lodges, and burrows than with artificial canals. It contains within its limits nearly every variety of the works of the beaver found in North America, some of which, as the Grass Lake dam, are unequaled in their magni- tude and completeness. Beaver canals are very nu- merous within this area. Many of them are small and unimportant; but the great length of some of them is the striking feature which invests them, as artificial works, with a high degree of interest. Immediately north of the Cleveland Iron Mine there is a natural pond (Plate XVII.) covering about forty acres of land. It is bordered on all sides, except at its outlet, with rising ground at the distance of a few hun- dred feet from its margin. The intermediate ground is level, and rises but a few inches above the surface of the pond. On this low land there is first a border of moss turf entirely skirting the pond, and spreading out in different places from fifty to two hundred or more feet. Without this, tamarack, spruce, and pine are found; and upon the rising ground, birch, ash, and 13 194 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. maple. The pond is shallow, and thickly sprinkled over in the summer with water lilies; while in the moss turf, the unique Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia Pur- purea) grows in the greatest profusion. This turf, which is saturated with water, and yields under the feet, spreads out like a carpet on the skirts of the pond. These particulars have been mentioned to show that there was not a spot of solid earth imping- ing upon the water in which the beavers could con- struct a burrow. It is well known that they never risk their personal safety upon the lodge alone, which is conspicuous to their enemies, but rely upon con- cealed burrows as the places of final resort.’ In addi- tion to the principal use of a canal to reach by water the hard-wood lands, it was also necessary to their inhabiting this pond that they should be able, by its means, to reach burrowing ground. These canals are about three feet wide and about three feet deep, with a depth of water varying from fifteen to thirty inches. They are made by excava- tion. The earth, which is more or less soft from sat- uration, is removed by being thrown out on either side, or carried out into the pond. In some places it appears to have been placed on the bank, but nearly all of these canals are so old that no signs can now be observed of the places where the excavated materials were deposited. Their artificial character is demon- strated by other proofs. In the first place, they are filled with water from the ponds up to the first of the dams, which are sometimes built across them; and where there are none, then to the end of the excava- tion. The banks, in the second place, are vertical, showing none of the marks of water flowing in a ‘ 7 T= * i » ‘ ’ eo = ~ . i in ee ore # PlateXVII OWS ater 777 WW OEAUTTNS Pe ai i\\\ oy ee olIS © Pools G3 fey €- D Gley ua 9e Ka eae Yam {//1/ © DAT ge OPO! | Ba | Se Nee © (e) IED o vp €)ohneg 7" My a 4} ah AR mrs hea as ey qr ie f © x MGR UE? o 6 or Wo 12 8 5 Sig a i i e ae ce ees C re ace : i & Bi) ee J va Cf ipo i PRG ates. a & § So eS WM ye HI? 6G @ Wy) Age Cin Depthe-if. Water. in ] i) £ &Co a fe? Gy f)) Jf wide & aS WY, &F , Wi 2-feDepth e Pe reg Ovo REDS? B Gb: wep yp © ia ; / Vie 6 in. Depth of Wedler. Eos SRD Bo, if te ¢O "9 Qa 4 (3 fe wide > CE A a 4 BUSY Ki yy, Ne oSe, Bey CONES fe yy Cio tadabye 7 TS (ge i 7, 9.in Depth. wD tac 230 OO 5 v 47 ft.9.ir. Dep nF MSS Cee, weer t> os 3 2D Ro One ae Boe fi bop wide ral Re es ce : Ce OCS Gc Wi, fs ED 2 s Se 63 ud), ean , oR si 5 naa e. CCS : c i, lf IinDepth . + ee on 2 2p ee &3 ce & £8: Ox } If Be eS a ‘ale, as CoS. SAN SY fAo oc es =~ ———T @ 100 bE « cy o>. oS BN Cae a Mb 4 38 EE AM. © eG SNOD Oe ( nC. is ae i my XM C. aos | 0) 0) 3) €5 & 7 } | 5 ft. wide 1 5 va) Of 3 4 ie ( 0 Gy eJ i : ) tft. 8.in Depth of Waten A { \ Pie} : 4ft.6. tre Depth of Water \ 3% wide DW A MHL Wee BEAVER CANAL, South Side. BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 197 Not the least interesting fact connected with this canal is that of the great amount of labor necessary for its excavation. It must have required many years of continuous effort before it was brought into its pres- ent completed condition, both as to length and depth. The canals are most likely cleaned out and deep- ened from time to time, as materials from the surface fall into them and obstruct the channel. The bottom was covered with fine fibres and tendrils of tree roots, and with decayed leaves, which made it soft and yield- ing to the depth of a foot below the apparent bottom. There are several canals connected with this pond, of which the four largest commence near the four lodges situated upon its borders. It will be sufficient to de- scribe one of those remaining, taking that immediately opposite on the south side of the pond (Plate XIX.). This canal is also excavated through the low ground, and is filled to its extreme ends with water from the pond. At the distance of one hundred and fifty feet it reaches the first rise of ground, and the hard-wood land, where it branches into two canals, one of which is continued for one hundred feet, and the other for one hundred and fifteen feet along the base of high and dry ground, covered with deciduous trees. Both branches terminate with a vertical cut in dry sandy soil, and are carried through the same low ground as the main trunk, the surface rising but a few inches above the level of the pond. Of its artificial char- acter there can be no doubt. The measurements are given upon the ground plan. This canal passed a number of knolls surmounted with trees, under many of which burrows had been ex- cavated. Hvidences of this underground work were 198 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. apparent in many places. One of these burrows, that nearest to the pond, is described with a diagram (supra, page 163). At the distance of about seventy feet from the pond, this canal widens out to five feet, and then bears a little to the left. The engraving (Plate XX.) is from a photo- graph taken from this point, and looking down toward the pond. It shows the pond and about seventy-five feet of the canal. The lodge is mostly concealed behind the clump of small trees upon the right. The engraving is inaccurate in one respect. It shows the ground too much elevated above the level of the water in the canal. There is one feature of this canal deserving of at- tention. After the rising ground, and with it the hard-wood trees, were reached at the point where it branched, there was no very urgent necessity for the branches. But their construction along the base of the high ground gave them a frontage upon the canal of two hundred and fifteen feet of hard-wood lands, thus affording to them, along this extended line, the great advantayes of water transportation for their cuttings. If we are to regard these extensions as a further expression of their appreciation of the uses of a canal, it must increase our estimate of their powers of reflec- tion. “Instinct,” as that unfortunate and blundering term is understood by those who comprehend its mean- ing, would have fully performed its office when the canal had been carried to the point of contact with the high ground. Any progress of the work beyond this must be referable to the exercise of a free intelligence.’ 1 The lodges upon this pond were of the usual size, measuring from fourteen to sixteen feet over their summits, and from three tagraph. > z, 21g froma Side an UL S0u BEAVER CANAL a See a ve wm) BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 199 There is an extensive canal on Carp River a short distance below the bend represented in Plate XIV. It runs through low, swampy ground, which is covered, for one-quarter of its length, with a thicket of alder so dense that it was difficult to follow the channel for the purposes of measurement. The river, which at this point is a hundred feet wide, more or less, is bordered with alder and cranberry bushes, and with a forest of tamaracks. Back of these, some six hundred feet, is the first rising ground covered with deciduous trees; to reach which the canal was constructed. At the dis- tance of one hundred and eleven feet from its com- mencement in the river there was a rise in the surface level of about a foot, which made necessary either a dam, or an additional foot of excavation, to furnish a sufficient depth of water. A dam twenty-five feet long, across the canal and the grounds adjacent, was the ex- pedient adopted. The second level of the canal, thus raised a foot above the first, continued one hundred and seventy-eight feet, where a second rise occurs of about the same amount, and where a second dam was constructed thirty feet long. As the ground on both sides of the canal was swampy, with water in pools here and there, it was only necessary to exca- vate a channel of the requisite depth to obtain a suffi- cient supply of water by filtration from the adjoining lands. Up to the first dam the canal was filled from the river, and consequently varied in depth with the rise and fall of the stream; but above this, where it feet to three feet six inches in height. The chamber of the lodge at the canal last described was four feet nine inches in its largest diameter, four feet six inches in its transverse, and one foot three inches high. 260 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. depended upon the dam, and the source of supply before named, it was uniformly about eighteen mches deep. From the second dam the canal continued at a foot higher level for the distance of two hundred and ninety feet, where it terminated at the base of the hard-wood lands at a distance of five hundred and seventy-nine feet from the river. Its average width was about four feet, and it had an unobstructed chan- nel of about eighteen inches deep from one end to the other, with the exception of the dams. The run-ways of the beavers over these dams were very conspicu- ous. They were shown, as in the other cases, by a depression in the centre formed by traveling over them in going up and down the canal. At the mouth of the canal the river was not deep enough for a beaver to swim below its surface out into the stream. To obviate the difficulty, a channel, twenty-five feet long and a foot or more deep, was excavated in the bed of the river far enough out to carry them into deep water. The materials were thrown up in an embankment on the side below the excavation, ap- parently lest the current of the stream should carry them back into the channel. The excavation and the embankment, which were plainly to be seen side by side, the latter in places coming up to the surface of the water, presented another striking illustration of the industry as well as intelligence of the beaver. It is manifest from the form and general appearance of this canal (Plate X XI.) that it is artificial. In ad- dition to the uniformity and depth of its channel, its vertical banks, the absence of a current, the sources whence the water is obtained, and its actual use as a channel for the transportation of wood cuttings, there Plate XXI. WW 4 ( Uy if Br (( Eee wride ‘a. Xx eo @), = Mf WAT 5 wi &) (an) Cir 47 €3 cre Ee) fone ; ©» Ve c He A Bas GO Cone @ 638) ces Pe e. GPE IAR 868 Boe oOo QA? © a, fie 7 O XS 3 § Sa pees! 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Sey7 wwe a & Bee FD ane wh Es abs ne Ee af me oy Se a) : Ruy C oe Ag? Sp ood a ,e8"" & 6 2G " Ore Ge rte: A = ie a pS are “ cy te bo OY eee Bg Qa b} ee 2 49" aus , ay Oe ‘ — A Soh Seale 700 ft to7inch) * gre ‘e se § 6 > gies A * YE On ate ty i2 oe ore TOPE BEAVER CANAL, CARP RIVER. Naryhy ¢ (A eid nee Gro ted ates Sse ye De arg ia a4 on watt Ag midgut PID wie ’ id pf a ee The Ta encase aan vay ‘tie ¥ * Se f era > J Cy sh chads eee : ES op ot stab Wits bean mom ie dna pete be, ene SR ante te - Z ea Maia tA "i ay '* one « ewe rte: is ene tes i = ap 2 " ha BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 201 is still other evidence tending to the same conclusion. Along the canal there are roots from two to four inches in diameter cut off at the bank on opposite sides, below the surface of the water, and removed. Alder bushes in great numbers, even when branching across the canal several inches above the ground, are found cut off to free the channel from obstructions. Besides these several considerations, the canal term- inates in dry ground; and the intermediate space through which it is carried is of such a character as to preclude the possibility of the formation of such a channel by natural causes. This canal may be regarded as typical of these works. They are usually cut through low, swampy ground where the supply of water is obtained by fil- tration from the adjacent lands, after forming a chan- nel for its reception. With dams at each change of level to prevent the channel from drawing off the water, they can be carried as far as pools of surface water can be found. It is not uncommon to find, at bends in streams, canals cut across the neck, apparently to shorten the distance in going up and down by water. One of this kind has been shown (Plate XIV.) in connection with a lodge. There are a number of these canals within the area of the map, three of the largest of which are shown in sections 4 and 28. The engraving (Plate XXII.) is from a photograph of one on the section last named, and it is introduced to show the beaver mead- ows on the Esconauba as well. It is a view across a bend in this river, showing the stream in the foreground passing by from right to left, and again in the back- ground flowing in the opposite direction. The canal 202 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. is excavated across the neck, and appears in the right side of the engraving. It is one hundred and eighty- five feet long, three feet wide, and about fifteen inches deep. When the dam below (No. 14) was in repair and the pond full, it would be about four feet wide and three feet deep. No other object for these exca- vations can be assigned, except to shorten the distance in going up and down the river. There was no hard wood in its vicinity. Alder bushes were growing on both sides of the canal, which were cut away on one side to show the water within it. The evidence is less conclusive that these excavations are artificial than in the case of the canals before described.’ In some cases similar excavations are made across islands in their ponds, where they are long, for the obvious purpose of saving distance in going around. In the Chippewa River, in Lower Michigan, there is a pond, covering several hundred acres of land, formed by a beaver dam, in which there is a low island of firm earth nearly a mile in length. Across this island there are two such canals about five hundred feet long, exca- vated by the beavers for the purpose of a water transit over the island. They were described to me, with their dimensions, by the Rev. Mr. Johnson, for many 1 The Ojibwas discriminate this variety of canal from the other, and call it o-ne-ge’-gome (from nee-geek’, otter), signifying ‘“ otter crossing,” from the use the otter is known to make of them. The otter is a “gay and festive” animal. He does not slide down hill upon-the frozen snow after the fashion of the Polar bears described by Dr. Kane; but, coiling himself up in the form of a hoop, with his tail in his mouth, he will roll down a hill upon the snow-crust with great velocity. Father De Smet, be- fore referred to, witnessed this performance of an otter in Wash- ington Territory. ‘TVNVO PUP SMOCVIW YUFTAVEA Py HOLLOROY IV UloLy Nd Oa UOS TORNG SZ » ye oe et ee Vesa the * sp eee ht ap! PR Pre ee et Lg Si ven ie eras: Vers Seri cgnits or eo ae as wher ie Tere 46 ‘4 -_ Le 4 ; cot seas etre See ert rs BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 203 years a missionary among the Ojibwa Indians, who went upon the island and examined them. Beaver excavations on a large scale are very common in dis- tricts favorable for their occupation, and they are greatly diversified in character. At the upper end of the principal pond at the gorge, where the series of dams are found, there is a canal two hundred and fifty feet long, which enters the pond where it is too shallow for a beaver to swim below the surface of the water. To correct this inconvenience a channel was excavated in the bed of the pond for about fifty feet in length, the materials from which were thrown up on either side. Beaver meadows are properly among the works of the beavers, although consequences, merely, of their labor for other objects. Where dams are constructed, the waters first destroy the timber within the area cov- ered by the ponds. When the adjacent lands are low, they are occasionally overflown after heavy rains, and are at all times saturated with water from the ponds. In course of time, the trees within the area affected are totally destroyed; in place of which a rank, lux- uriant grass springs up. A level meadow, in the strict and proper sense of the term, is thus formed; although much unlike the meadow of the cultivated farm. At a distance they appear to be level and smooth; but when you attempt to walk over them, they are found to be a series of hummocks formed of earth and a mass of coarse roots of grass rising about a foot high, while around each of them there is a narrow strip of bare and sunken ground. The bare spaces, which are but a few inches wide, have the appearance of innumerable water-courses through 2.04 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. which the water passes when the meadows are over- flowed. A beaver meadow, therefore, may be likened to the face of a waffle-iron—the raised eminences of which represent the hummocks of grass, and the in- dentations the depressions around them for the pas- sage of water. In Plates IX. and XXII., which are engraved from photographs, a small portion of the beaver meadows are shown. The amount of lands in a beaver district thus turned into meadows is large, when the conditions under which they are produced are considered. On the Carp and Esconauba Rivers, within the area of the map, there are about ninety acres, in the aggre- gate, of beaver meadows; the situation and bound- aries of which are indicated by dotted lines. There are other districts, particularly on the main branch of the Esconauba, where the amount is much larger. These meadows are very common in the vicinity of beaver dams. When iron mining operations were first commenced in the Lake Superior region, the grass upon these meadows was the main reliance of the miners for hay for their winter stock. In 1866, Captain Johnson, superintendent of the Lake Supe- rior Mine, cut fifty tons of hay upon a single beaver meadow on the main branch of the Esconauba. In addition to the nutriment which the roots of these grasses afford to the beavers, the meadows them- selves are clearings in the wilderness, by means of which the light, as well as the heat of the sun, is let in upon their lodges. Beaver trails are quite numerous, as well as con- spicuous, along the margins of their ponds. They show their run-ways back into the woods, and the chee Nee 2 rr ‘ oS + ar avr : ¢ begs tp a thy und “earpfal Fi ~q ot iy tote ak fv ay 7 | eal ees, wri PM TION YUde MAMTA "7 SHUPTS WaAVEE | THX X 221d BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 205 lines on which they move their cuttings into the ponds. They are narrow, well-beaten paths for a short distance from the ponds, but soon lose their dis- tinctness and disappear altogether. They are chiefly interesting as indications of their numbers, and of the long periods of time each dam has been main- tained, and each pond inhabited. On the Upper Missouri we meet with another form of trail, which is called a “beaver slide.” It is de- signed to maintain, as well as afford, a ready connec- tion between the river and its banks. On both sides of this river, for miles together, the banks are vertical, and rise, at ordinary stages of the water, from three to eight feet above its surface. It would, consequently, be impossible for the beavers to get out of the river upon the land except by excavating a passage-way through the bank, from the river to the surface, or by the construction of the inclined or graded way, known as a “beaver slide.” The latter expedient was adopted and made the ordinary run-way to and from the river, and the bottom lands upon its border. They are sim- ple excavations in the bank, in the form of a narrow passage-way, inclined at an angle varying from 45° to 60°, so as to form a gradual descent from a point a few feet back of the edge of the bank to the level of the river. Several of them are often seen in the bank, within ten feet of each other, as shown in the Plate. (Plate XXIII.)' They are first seen near the 1 In the foreground in this engraving is shown the “ Bull Boat” of the Upper Missouri, used by the Mandans, Minnitares, Crows, and Blackfeet, for crossing the river. It is made of a single raw hide of a buffalo, unhaired and stretched over a dome-shaped frame of splints. It is safe, convenient, and portable; and it will carry two persons. 206 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. mouth of the Big Sioux River, from which point to the mountains they are observed in great numbers, in places where beavers are most numerous. They fur- nish another conspicuous illustration of the fact that they possess a free intelligence, by means of which they are enabled to adapt themselves to the circum- stances in which they are placed. This great river, which has been so frequently re- ferred to in these pages, presents to the tourist many striking features. I am tempted to make a digression for the purpose of noticing a few of them. It runs for three thousand miles through the great central prairie area of the continent without being inter- rupted by a waterfall, or traversed by a mount- ain chain. It is a great river from its mouth to the Falls of the Missouri, which are within the Rocky Mountain chain; and itis navigable at certain seasons by steamers of the first class, within forty miles of the falls. In width it varies from a mile and a half toa third of a mile, rarely contracting its channel within a quarter of a mile when its banks are full. Its cur- rent, which is rated by river men at from four to five miles per hour, exceeds, in rapidity, that of any other navigable river within the United States. By means of its powerful current it is able to hold in suspension the great amount of earthy materials that impart to its waters their deep yellowish color. From this cir- cumstance, also, it derived its aboriginal name, Ne- shod'ja, which, in the dialect of the Kaws, signifies “the muddy river.” 1«“With reference to the range of the Missouri between low and high water, but little can be said. It is about thirty-five feet at the mouth; twenty feet at St. Joseph’s, Missouri; and still —— BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 207 Its “bluffs” testify to the long series of centuries during which this river has flowed from the mountains to the sea, and measure the enormous amount of solid materials which it has transported to the Mississippi and thence to the Gulf. For the first thousand miles these bluffs are, upon an average, upwards of four miles apart; for the second thousand, upwards of three miles; and for the remainder of the distance to the falls, upwards of one. They bound the valley ex- cavated by the river, and mark the limital range of its flow. The tops of the bluffs, which are on a level with the prairies, are from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the river, from its mouth to the confluence of the Yellowstone; while above the latter point they rise three hundred feet high and upwards for miles together. The lands between the bluffs are level, rising but a few feet above the river, and are called “Bottom jess above, being at Fort Benton only about six feet. Ice dams in the spring sometimes occasion great local rises. “Tts high water width, for so long a river, is remarkably uni- form. In the vicinity of Fort Benton it varies from five hundred to one thousand feet. Near the mouth of Milk River it has in- creased to fifteen hundred feet. Below the Yellowstone it is about two thousand feet. From this vicinity the river gradually attains an average width of about three thousand feet, which it holds for some six hundred miles to its mouth. “Its annual discharge is about four trillions of cubic feet, or about one-fifth of that of the Mississippi. “At Fort Benton it is two thousand eight hundred and forty- five feet above the Gulf, and at its mouth, three hundred and eighty-one feet.”.—Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River. Published by the War Department, 1861, p. 61. The June rise of the Yellowstone is about ten days in reaching St. Louis, or in moving a little over two thousand miles. 208 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. Lands.” It is a striking fact with reference to these lands, that they have been literally made by the river to the depth of its channel from bluff to bluff; and that they are still undergoing the process of being cut away and reformed with each successive flood. Al- though the river to-day cuts against one of its bluffs, while the opposite one may be four miles distant, the time has been when it also impinged on the other,— having removed in its course all the intermediate soil to the depth of its channel. As it cuts away on one side, it throws up materials on its receding bed in the form of a sand-bar, which is afterward raised by the slow process of surface deposits by successive floods to the common level of the bottom lands. With every change of level in the river it shifts its channel more or less, as the direction and force of the pressure upon its banks change with the rise and fall of the stream. The rapidity with which this river, when in flood, cuts away its banks, which it is seen are sedi- mentary, is quite remarkable. It is not uncommon for a farmer on the Lower Missouri to lose forty acres of his farm in the bottom lands in a single night. At such times there is a constant splash of earth falling into the river, carrying with it the tallest cottonwood- trees, whose age measured the interval since the river, cutting its way in the opposite direction, had cast up the sand-bar upon which they afterward took root. I have seen trees falling in, one after another, while still others in a leaning position were just ready to follow. The mud deposited on their foliage soon brings them to anchor, after which they are stripped, in course of time, of both limbs and bark; and thus, with one end imbedded in mud and the other rising toward the sur- a BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 209 face of the water and pointing down stream, become the “‘snags” which have made this river famous for its steamboat disasters. The river banks are usually from five to eight feet high when the channel is full, and always vertical. Any person falling into this river, in time of flood, is pretty certain to be drowned, unless he can reach a sand-bar, or the side opposite the one against which the current is running.’ From the mouth of the Missouri to Kansas City, there is a belt of forest on both sides of the river sev- eral miles wide; but above this point the belt con- tracts rapidly in width, the prairie coming occasion- ally to the bluffs, as at Fort Leavenworth and at Omaha. Above the last-named place the forest con- tinues to decrease to the confluence of the Big Sioux River, after which, for the remainder of the distance of about two thousand miles to the mountains, it is confined to the bottom lands and the declivities of the bluffs. All without is open prairie, with the excep- tion of narrow belts of forest along the margins of the tributary streams. For the last fifteen hundred miles the bottom lands are but partially wooded; and ’ Where the channel is narrow and the current swift and full, the most powerful swimmer is unable to keep himself above the surface of the water, its whirling and eddying motions tending to draw him under. In 1862, I saw five men drown at mid-day in this river just below Fort Benton, which is but thirty-six miles below the Falls of the Missouri. Six men were capsized in a rapid in a small boat, and were one after the other soon drawn under. Of these, four came to the surface once, and again went under; three came up a second time, and one a third. He alone was saved, by means of a small boat, which went to their relief within two minutes of the accident. 14 210 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. the country, in other respects, is unfavorable for set- tlement. The scenery upon the Missouri is monotonous un- til the confluence of the Yellowstone is approached. This is owing to the fact that at the river level we are shut in from the magnificent summer landscape of the prairies, of which the eye never wearies; and are confined to the narrow range of the bottom lands and bordering bluffs, which have few attractive feat- ures. One of the most remarkable regions of the earth is thus traversed without being seen. From the old village of the Mandans, and particularly above the Great Bend of the Missouri, the scenery changes and assumes more imposing forms. First there are high banks of indurated clay, seamed with lignite, which rise three hundred feet high and assume gro- tesque architectural forms from the effects of rain and frost. These, with more or less uniformity in appear- ance, border the river for five hundred miles until the Bad Lands are entered, which, commencing about fifty miles above the confluence of Milk River, continue for upwards of three hundred miles. The “Bad Lands” (mauvaises terres), so called, are sterile, rounded mud hills, of a dingy-brown color, thickly studded together, and rising, with deep chasms between, two hundred or more feet high. They are composed of adhesive clay, which, softening to a considerable depth under every rain, are destitute of every species of vegetation ex- cept an occasional sage-tree or dwarf cedar, and a straggling cactus. This assemblage of conical hills presents the most dreary landscape within the limits of our Republic, the deserts of the Colorado Basin not excepted. Silence and desolation reign throughout BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 21] their area. They form a narrow belt along this por- tion of the Missouri, from which they stretch south- ward across the Yellowstone, and terminate in the Black Hills in the central part of Nebraska. About one hundred miles from the foot of the Rocky Mountains we find the most remarkable forma- tion upon the river, and the most striking scenery upon its borders. Lewis and Clark, who passed through this region in 1805, called this formation the “White Walis’—a not inapt designation. Prince Maximilian, in his “Travels in North America,” also describes them; but any description, however minute, must fail to convey more than a faint general impres- sion of their actual appearance. They are continuous for about forty miles, first appearing as the north bluff of the river, then upon both sides, and afterward on the north side alone. The river cuts through the formation, which is a whitish friable sandstone, so slightly cemented that small pieces are readily pul- verized ‘with the fingers, and yet it retains the form of solid rock. Its opposite bluffs here approach within half a mile of each other; and rising about two hun- dred feet high, are buried but a few feet below the level surface of the prairie. The extraordinary ap- pearances of these “walls” are the effects, in a great measure, of frost and rain, which, having disinte- grated portions of the rock, have wrought out the marvelous results presented to the eye. A steep bank first rises from the river, which is composed of the comminuted materials of this rock, colored a dingy brown by washings from the soil above. This, ascend- ing about a hundred and fifty feet, at an angle of 60° or more, is destitute of vegetation, and has a smooth, pe ke THE AMERICAN BEAVER. uniform surface. Out of this bank rises the “ White Walls” in perpendicular cliffs from fifty to seventy feet high. In some places, masses of this rock abut against the face of the bluff; in other places, detached masses are exposed on two and sometimes on three sides; and in still other places, solitary walls, in the form of masonry, rise in stupendous magnitude. Ra- vines here and there break .through the formation at right angles with the river, exposing two and some- times three sides of a great square; while in other places there are wide openings in the rock, more or less parallel, which assume somewhat the appearance of great streets. To complete the illusion, there are rents In some of the narrow walls having the sem- blance of gateways, doors, and windows. The effects of atmospheric causes in disintegrating this unequally cemented sandstone have been extremely curious, giv- ing rise to every conceivable form. Buttresses, tur- rets, pinnacles, and spires meet the eye on every side, together with massive walls, rent and perforated, and standing like piles of masonry. In the distance the effect is truly imposing, suggesting very naturally the presence of great cities in ruins. Some of the detached masses have been christened by tourists, among which are the “Castle,” the “Cathe- dral.” and the “Steamboat.” The last is a huge pile of whitish rock, exposed on three sides for about five hundred or more feet, and, rising about sixty feet in height, presents the general form of a Missouri steamer, with its saloon deck, smoke-stacks, and pilot- house traced in dim outline. In addition to the white sandstone, of which nine- tenths of this formation is composed, there is another BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 213 stone of a reddish-brown color, the nature of which I was not able to ascertain, which assumes not less re- markable forms. It crops out in the form of narrow, long, and low stone walls, with horizontal lines of strat- ification or seams distinctly visible; and vertical rents here and there, from top to bottom, which give to it the appearance of dry stone walls. In some places, gateways through them, formed with the most perfect regularity, are seen. These brown-stone walls run parallel with the river in some places, and in others diagonally up its banks. In Arabia Petreea there is a white wall formation very similar to the one here imperfectly described. In future years, when the Upper Missouri region becomes more accessible, a summer expedition to the “white walls” will abundantly reward the tourist. This river is also celebrated for its game. All of the principal animals of the North American Continent are found upon its banks. The buffalo, elk, red and black-tailed deer, antelope, grizzly and black bear, ? Lieutenant Grover, after first referring to the ‘white walls,” speaks of this brown rock as volcanic. ‘“ The bluffs,” he remarks, “are now more abrupt, and crowded the river; colonnades and odd detached pillars of partially cemented sand, capped with huge globes of light brownish sandstone, tower up from their steep sides to the height of a hundred feet or more above the water. Then the action of the weather upon the bluffs in the background has worn them into a thousand grotesque forms, while lower down their faces seams of volcanic rock from three to six feet thick, with a dip nearly vertical, and no uniform strike, beaten and cracked by the weather, rising from six to eight feet above the surface, run up and down the steep faces and projecting shoulders of the cliff—a most perfect imitation of dry stone walls.”— Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River, p. 58. 214 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. beaver, and the gray wolf are seen from the mouth of Cannon-ball River, where game first becomes abund- ant, through all the intermediate region to the mount- ains, with the exception of the Bad Lands. Buffaloes are the most numerous, and are often seen in herds of several thousands. They are easily shot from the deck of a steamboat, while swimming across the river. However eager a person may be for buf- falo-shooting, he will find it in such ample measure on this river that he will finally put aside his gun from mere weariness.’ The grizzly bear is the great animal of North Amer- ica, not excepting the buffalo or the moose. We first saw this monster among the “white walls,” galloping along the sloping banks beneath them. His bulky and powerful form gave him a dangerous as well as commanding appearance. Among the lesser animals upon this river is the prairie dog, a rodent resembling the squirrel. We stopped at one of their “villages,” as a collection of their burrows is familiarly called, and were not a little surprised at the number and spread of their habitations. The antelope is the most beautiful animal of the plains. We often saw them in small herds of one or 1 When the first pair of buffaloes had been shot and taken on board the steamer, at the time I went up the river, the mate called upon the trappers on board for volunteers to dress the animals. Two men stepped forward, one of them a Frenchman, as might have been expected, but the other, strange to say, was a Greek, born at Athens, as he afterward informed me. For two years he had been pursuing the vocation of a trapper in the Rocky Mount- ains. He found his way to New Orleans in a merchant vessel, and thence went to the mountains as an adventurer. BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 215 two hundred. Their flesh, upon which we occasion- ally feasted, is superior to that of the elk or the buf- falo. Elks were frequently seen in small herds of twenty or thirty. Another characteristic animal of the Upper Mis- souri is the mountain sheep. They were formerly found as low down as the confluence of Cannon-ball River, but now they are rarely seen below the Bad Lands. We first saw them arhong the “ white walls,” in flocks of from ten to twenty. They are of a brown color, somewhat larger than the common sheep, and of tim- orous disposition. Along the faces of the steepest cliffs, where the slightest footing can be had, they run with assurance and rapidity, working their way up through places apparently impassable. Fig. 22. ° = ° RY Se Trails of Mountain Sheep on Bluffs near confluence of Muscle Shell River. Above the “white walls,” where the bluffs rise in places three hundred feet high, the footprints or trails of the mountain sheep are very frequently seen on their steep declivities. A representation of these trails is given in the figure (Fig. 22). The banks rise pre- cipitously, apparently at an angle of 70° or 80°, with a smooth surface and devoid of vegetation. No animal found in the region, except the mountain sheep, could either ascend or move in a horizontal line upon such bluffs and maintain his footing. These footprints 216 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. appear to be a series of alternating footholds sunk in the bank by long use, rather than continuous depres- sions in the form of a sunken trail. Their lines along the bluffs can be seen as distinctly in the clear atmos- phere of this region, for a quarter of a mile, as a chalk line upon a black-board immediately before the eyes. The preceding diagram, in two sections, is from a rough sketch made while we were passing the bluffs at the distance of a few hundred feet. It seems probable that the mountain sheep resort to these precipitous banks for safety as well as rest, since while upon their dizzy declivities they could enjoy the consciousness of perfect security.’ From this long digression I return once more to the beaver, to make a brief reference to the connection of the great river systems of North America with the spread of this animal. The true habitat of the beaver is near the sources of streams, where they are small and easily spanned with dams. This transfers them to the mountain and elevated areas as their appropr- ate home. And yet, as they are migrating animals, 1 The least reputable animal of the Missouri is the gray wolf, the largest of his genus in North America, and the most insatiable of the carnivorous genera. They are very numerous, following the buffalo in their migrations, and preying upon their young as well as upon the wounded and decrepid. The *wariness of the wolf was well illustrated to us, one day, by his manner of drinking. We saw one jump down the bank of the river, which was about five feet high, upon a piece of fallen earth just above the water, and lap the water for about five seconds, and then jump up again upon the bank to see whether any one was approaching. After this he returned and drank again for the same length of time, and again ascended the bank to repeat his observation. These proceedings were repeated six or eight times before his thirst was satisfied. BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 217 they have but to surrender themselves to the current of the rivers, the Missouri for example, to propagate themselves over a large part of the United States. With this river, and commencing at its source, they could reach, in time, every part of the area between the Alleghany and the Rocky Mountains: and in like manner with the Siskatchewun, commencing their spread from the same mountains, they could reach the chain of lakes, the St. Lawrence, and all their tribu- taries upon a line of thousands of miles. The wide habitat of the beaver is thus explained by his aquatic habits and the remarkable connection of the river systems of the continent. CHARTER V lit MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. Other Habits of the Beayer—Indications of Age—Tame Beavers—Nursed by Indian Women—Building and Repairing Dams—Great Beaver Dis- tricts—Hudson’s Bay Company—American Fur Company—Private Ad- venturers—The Steel Trap—Trapping Season—Trapping at the Dam— At the Lodge—Traps sprung—Whether the Beaver when caught bites off his Leg—Trapping under the Ice—Catching in a Pen—Trapping Bank Beavers—Catching in Burrows—Trappers as a Class—Custom of hang- ing up Skulls—Statistics of Fur Trade—Early and Recent Exportations— Immense Numbers of Beavers. BrroreE taking up the subject of trapping, there are a few remaining facts relating to the habits of the beaver which it may be well to embody in a general statement. His personal acts, as far as they can be ascertained, are not less essential to the completeness of his natural history than his works, or his anatomi- cal structure. Our knowledge of these acts, although more ample than in relation to most animals, is still very limited; wherefore each additional item must be considered in the light of a substantial gain. Some of the facts about to be stated are upon the au- thority of the Missouri and Lake Superior trappers, others were obtained from Indian sources, and the re- mainder were derived from personal observation. The beaver, in moving, never steps backward, but turns round, as his tail drags on the ground. While walking, his back arches slightly; when standing still, its curvature is much increased. In running, his (218) MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 219 quickest movement is by a gallop, or a series of jumps, which take him along, notwithstanding his clumsy frame, at a rapid rate. When swimming with a part of his head out of water, the tail is extended motionless behind; but when he is entirely under, and swimming at the most rapid rate, it is swung from side to side with a peculiar diagonal stroke; that is, it is raised in a partly vertical position, and then moved upward and to the side, when the relative position of the edges of the tail are re- versed, and it is swung in the opposite direction. It is the precise movement by which a boat is sculled with an oar. I have not seen this tail movement, but make the statement upon the authority of Indians by whom it has frequently been observed. By means of his tail used as a scull, and his webbed hind feet, the propelling power of the beaver in swimming is very great. They carry small stones and earth with their paws, holding them under the throat, and walking on their hind feet. Large stones, weighing five or six pounds, of which size they are found on dams, they push along in different ways—with the shoulder, with the hip, and with the tail. They work the tail under a stone, and give it a throw forward. In moving ma- terials of various kinds they are very ingenious and persevering. It is said by the trappers, with how much of truth I cannot affirm, that they will place earth and sod upon each other’s backs and tails, to be thus transferred to the dam. They handle a stick with their paws as dextrously as a man would with his hands, turning it at pleasure while cutting it in two or eating off the bark. Taking one end of a short cutting in their teeth, and rising up on their 220 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. hind feet so as to bring it across their back, they will carry it, with the opposite end dragging on the ground, for a considerable distance, walking nearly erect on their hind feet. Their tracks in the snow are often seen, with the marks of a bush or limb by their side, showing that it was held in the mouth and passed across the shoulder, the ends dragging on the snow upon the side opposite to that on which it was held. They have also been seen swimming in their ponds, carrying small branches in the same manner. In cutting down trees, they either sit or stand upon their hind legs, and placing their fore feet against the tree, gnaw round and round, making the first incision about three inches wide and an inch deep, and each successive one wider and deeper until the tree falls. I have found these trees in all stages of their progress in cutting. Three beavers have been seen at work together gnawing at the same tree, which is as many as could conveniently find a place. With this num- ber, two nights at most would give ample time to fell a tree a foot in diameter. After the tree falls, they retire for a short time, until the woods are again still, when the whole family come out and commence cut- ting off and reducing the limbs to short lengths to be carried to the pond, and thence to the winter pile. A small portion only of the limbs of a large tree are used. They select such as are most convenient for cutting and removing, or are preferred for other reasons. Small trees, a few inches in diameter, are removed bodily. The number of trees of different sizes cut down each season in a well stocked beaver district is surprisingly great. In places they obstruct the passage through the woods, although this occurs MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. pap infrequently. While the surveys on the Marquette and Ontonagon Railroad were progressing, a small party encamped upon the main branch of the Esconauba, near its source, counted nineteen treefalls, which they heard in a single night, between the hours of seven and twelve o’clock. Along the margins of streams inhabited by beavers, the stubs of trees cut down by them are very numerous. They are met at almost every step. This might be expected, since a number of years are required to obliterate the evidences of their work. Many trees partially cut and abandoned are also found, as well as many that have lodged in falling. The usual number of beavers in a litter, as else- where stated, is from three to five, but it is occasion- ally greater. William Bass, before mentioned, found eight young beavers in a foetal state in one female, and eight young beavers born alive in a single lodge. He had also found six young ones a number of times, and all the numbers below this down to a single young beaver. With reference to the duration of their lives it is difficult to ascertain any facts tending to establish its limit. There are no indications to be found on their teeth by which their age can be de- termined; but their tails grow stout with age, and become grayish or light colored on the under side. Their teeth file down and lose their sharpness, and they become lean and their flesh tough as they grow old; but these are relative indications only. Bass in- formed me that he once caught a part of a beaver’s foot in a trap, taking four of the five claws; and that eight years afterward he caught a beaver in the same trap- ping district with the corresponding foot mutilated in 222 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. a manner so exactly agreeing with it that he felt per- suaded it was the same beaver. This would have made him not less than eleven years old. He had also seen others apparently several years older than this. From such imperfect data as they possess, the Indians believe he lives from twelve to fifteen years. Young beavers are easily domesticated; and al- though active and mischievous, they are affectionate and harmless. When captured very young, the In- ’ dian women, if they desire their preservation, nurse them until they are old enough to feed upon bark. At six weeks of age, a young beaver will wean itself and take to bark. When brought up in an Indian family they become very much attached to all its members, and are entirely contented in their domesticated con- dition. A Missouri trapper mentioned to me the cir- cumstance of a young beaver captured by his partner, and nursed by the wife of the latter, who was an In- dian woman, that followed them on their trapping rounds, wherever they went, for several successive years. They shifted their camp frequently, and moved long distances, always taking the beaver with them as one of the family. When they commenced breaking up their camp he understood the movement immediately, and showed, by unmistakable signs, his desire to accompany them. After securing two packs upon a horse, he was placed on top, between them, which was his usual place, and rode for miles, from camp to camp, on many different occasions. When- ever they stopped, he fed himself upon bark, but he would eat their food as well. He soon manifested a great passion for sugar, and whenever it was shown to him he was extremely troublesome until his desire MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. Qos was gratified. He was particularly attached to the half-blood boy with whom he was nursed and grew up—following him on all occasions wherever he went. He was also a great favorite in the camp of the trap- pers, as the care taken of him sufficiently shows. Beavers are often seen sunning themselves on the bank of a stream, lying side by side, but head and tail: their relative positions seeming to indicate a double degree of watchfulness. When they come out of the water and intend to rest, they first dry or drip themselves; after which they comb the hair about their heads with their paws, and with the extra claws on the hind feet they comb each side of their bodies alternately. Occasionally they indulge themselves at play, for which a formal preparation is made. After selecting a suitable place upon dry ground near the pond or stream, they void their cas- toreum here and there upon the grass, and, in the musky atmosphere thus created, spend some hours at play or basking in the sun." The trappers call these play-grounds “Musk Bogs.” Two or three of them are often seen at play in the water—diving, swim- ming around, and ducking each other. In building a dam in deep water they commence with brush, preferring alder, from the small amount of its foliage, which they cut on the adjoining banks, and move by water, holding it by their teeth, to the place selected. The brush is arranged in parallel courses, as near as may be, lengthwise with the flow of the 1 The castoreum sacs are inclosed in muscular cavities, so that a portion of their contents can probably be voided at the pleasure of the animal. 224 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. stream, and with the large ends facing the current. It is begun literally at the surface of the water, and the first courses are sunk to the bottom by successive deposits upon them. I have seen such dams when first commenced, and when the brush filled but a small part of the channel. At first the brush makes a loose dam, through which the water flows without sensible obstruction; but when the materials, by their increase in quantity, begin to check the flow of the water and to experi- ence, in consequence, an increase of pressure, they commence carrying in and depositing upon them earth, sods, and stones, for down-weight to anchor them, as well as to fill up the interstices. The first season the beavers content themselves with a low dam, rising about a foot above the original level of the water, and afterward raise it from year to year until it reaches its natural limitations. In this manner the small dams on the main branch of the Esconauba, near its sources, were constructed. For several miles this stream passes through comparatively level land, with a channel about thirty feet wide and from one to two feet deep, and with defined banks about three feet high. Dams are found at short intervals upon its entire course, and also upon its small tributaries; but those upon the former are short, low, and inferior struc- tures. Beaver meadows border this river continu- ously for miles. As places of concealment, they are equivalent to thousands of burrows. These meadows show of themselves how completely the stream has been appropriated, in past times, for beaver habitation. The persevering industry of beavers in repairing their dams is well established. Many successive MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 225 breaches must be made in these structures before they abandon the work of their restoration; and even after deserting the place, either they or other beavers are sure to return when circumstances become favorable. The instances are rare in which they are seen, for any length of time, while engaged upon this work. Captain Daniel Wilson informed me that he had seen beavers at work on the Grass Lake dam, making ordinary repairs, on several different occasions, while watching at night for deer, in one of the trees grow- ing in its crest. They came down to the dam singly, and swam along its line from one end to the other. When any work seemed to be needed, each one, upon his own motion and without any concert with others, devoted himself to the task of setting it right. They brought sticks in their mouths, and mud with their paws held under the throat. When these were ar- ranged and the mud deposited upon them, they gave the latter a heavy stroke with the tail to pack it firmly in its place. Four or five beavers came down each night, at intervals of half an hour apart; each and all of whom performed more or less work upon the dam, and did it in the same manner. One night, while I was watching upon the same dam, the first beaver made his appearance about eleven o’clock, and swam across the pond near the crest of the dam, com- ing within a few feet of the place where I was par- tially concealed. Having discovered the intrusion, he went under immediately, giving the alarm signal with his tail. After this he went behind the grass island upon which the lodge represented in Plate XIII. is situated, and repeated these signals at intervals for more than an hour; thus preventing other beavers 15 226 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. from showing themselves that night near the dam. By cutting their dams and lowering their ponds, they are easily compelled to come out of their lodges to dis- cover the cause. But it is not as easy to witness, undiscovered, the process of their repair. When a branch of the Marquette and Ontonagon Railroad was extended to the Esconauba River, in 1862, dams number 11 and 12 were cut through, and abandoned in consequence by their proprietors. Two years afterward, this end of the road being disused, a pair of beavers returned to the lower pond and re- paired the dam. With the hope of witnessing the process of repairing a dam, several large openings were made in it to draw off a part of the water; a scaffold was erected in one of the trees overlooking these breaches, and at nightfall my friend Johnson and myself were established in this lookout for the night. About one o'clock, two beavers came down together to ascertain the cause of the lowering of their pond, and to repair the mischief; but they discovered us in our imperfect concealment, when within a few feet of the dam, and avoided coming any nearer. They remained swimming about the pond, with a part of their heads above the water, for about an hour, and being afraid to undertake the work, they then retired. In the clear atmosphere of this region you can almost read print by the light of the moon. The ripples in the water, made by the beavers, were seen by us before the animals themselves were discerned. These two were probably the sole occupants of the pond, where they had shortly before established themselves for the winter. Their presence also tends to show that they live in pairs and families, and not in colonies or com- munities. MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. DOF It has elsewhere been stated that beavers never eat the bark of evergreen trees, although they cut down pine and spruce in certain places. Pine-trees have been found cut down in Oregon, without showing a limb or a twig removed. They cut the fir-tree, commonly called the balsam-fir, in the Lake Superior region, generally taking the smallest. I have short cuttings of this fir—single cuttings made from single young trees, trimmed of their branches. The Indians affirm that they are cut for the balsam. Whether beavers eat it, my informants were unable to state; but they believe it is used to heal their wounds; with how much of truth I cannot say. There is no doubt that evergreen trees are cut for some other purpose than their bark, but with what object appears to be as yet unknown; unless it be for their gums and mosses, as elsewhere suggested. A knowledge of the habits of beavers is neces- sary to the trapper to enable him successfully to pur- sue his vocation. During the aboriginal period, this animal was of no use except for his flesh, which was not of much request; and the Indians had no method of taking him except by the bow and arrow. After the colonization of North America commenced, a new value was given to the beaver for his fur, which was chiefly used, as is well known, for making hats. From their excessive numbers and wide distribution, their pelts were among the first, and for a number of years the largest, exportations of the colonists. The settlers as well as the Indians united in the business of trap- ping, which they pursued with such diligence that, about the year 1700, beaver pelts ceased to be ex- ported, to any considerable extent, from the New 228 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. England and Middle States. At this early period, their numbers had become so greatly reduced by cap- ture and dispersion that the business of the trapper, within these areas, ceased to be remunerative. In the regions around Hudson’s Bay and Lake Superior; upon the head waters of the Missouri and Siskatch- ewun, and upon the Columbia and its tributaries, it has continued through all the intermediate period to be, and still is, a profitable vocation. After the substitution of silk for fur in the manufacture of hats, the value of beaver peltry greatly declined; thus affording a respite to this persecuted animal, under the effects of which he is now increasing in numbers in certain localities. This is particularly the case on the Upper Missouri and in the great forests around Lake Superior: but it is not at all probable that they will ever recover, in any locality, their former numbers. In 1862, beaver pelts were worth, at Fort Benton, on the Upper Missouri, one dollar and a quarter per pound against seven and eight dollars per pound fifty years ago. They are now worth two dollars per pound on the south shore of Lake Superior. An ordinary pelt weighs from 12 to 12 pounds. The Hudson’s Bay Company, chartered May 2d, 1682, and the American Fur Company, organized in the early part of the present century, have been the principal organizations engaged in the fur trade in North America. Instead of ravaging their districts, as the colonists did, they early adopted a protective system, not only with reference to the beavers, but also to other fur-bearing animals, that their numbers might not become exhausted. Among other regula- MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 229 tions of the Hudson’s Bay Company, an interval of five years is allowed to elapse, after a season’s hunt in a particular beaver district, before it is again resumed. While these companies have prosecuted their opera- tions upon a vast scale, they have by no means en- joyed a monopoly of the business. Private adven- turers in large numbers have engaged in trapping, and followed it year after year asa regular pursuit. Our Indian nations, also, whose territories produce fur- bearing animals, trap more or less for the means of subsistence. Within our national limits there are hundreds, and even thousands of men, who now make trapping their exclusive business. As success in trapping depends very much, as before remarked, upon the knowledge the trapper has of the habits and mode of life of the several animals he seeks to capture, an examination of the methods resorted to in trapping beavers will develop some of the habits of this animal not before introduced. It is for this reason exclusively that the subject will be considered. Fia. 23. Newhouse’s Trap. The steel trap came into use when the systematic pursuit of the fur-bearing animals commenced. Its form is well known. The most perfect instrument, 230 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. however, is of recent introduction, and is known as the “Newhouse Trap,” of which the foregoing cut is a representation. The jaws are smooth, and spread six inches and a_ half, of the size best adapted for taking beavers. Its chief merits, as an improvement upon the old form, are said to consist in such an adjustment of the form of the jaws, and of the bow of the spring to each other, and the further adaptation of the power of the spring to both, as to secure in the highest degree the two qualities of a good catcher and a sure holder. These traps are used without bait, and operate on the principle of an inadvertent tread upon the pan. The trapping season commences about the first of November and ends about the first of April, during which period the different fur-bearing animals are in the best condition with respect to their fur. But it is pursued more or less at all seasons of the year, by persons who are more reckless of the waste of animal life than the regular trappers. In the spring, summer, and fall, the usual place of setting traps for beavers is upon the dam. The trapper avails himself of the well-known habit of this dam builder to repair at once any breach made in the structure, over which his su- pervision is constant. He therefore makes one or more openings in the crest of the dam, four or five inches deep, and sets a trap in the pond at each one, about a foot back of the breach and a few inches below the surface of the water. By means of a chain the trap is then secured to a stake driven into the bed of the pond, about four feet back of the trap and out in the pond, where the water is of some depth. When a beaver ascertains that the level of his pond is subsiding, which MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. Pas is shown by the fall of the water in the lodge entrances, he goes to the dam, after night has set in, and com- mences its repair. While thus engaged, he is in constant _ danger of springing the trap by stepping on its pan inadvertently. If taken by either of the fore feet, he is very apt to break the bones in turning around the trap, thus freeing himself; but if caught by either hind leg, his case is hopeless. He immediately plunges into the deep water of the pond, where his course is soon arrested by the stake and chain. It is a part of the trapper’s merciless plan to drown the animal, for the double purpose of preventing him from breaking away and of saving his body under water, where it will be inaccessible to beasts of prey. To accomplish this end, two contrivances are resorted to, of which the most simple is an extra stake set a short distance beyond the first, around which the beaver is quite cer- tain to coil the chain, and thus drown himself, in his attempts to escape; and the other is the pole-slide. A dry pole, ten or twelve feet long, with a prong at one end to prevent the ring of the chain from slipping off, is secured to the bank or dam by a hook driven down into the ground near the trap. The small end of the pole—the ring being run up to the large end near the hook—is then immersed in the pond as far out as it will reach. When a beaver is caught, he dives and swims in the direction to which the pole leads, the ring sliding down to the end. In the deep water thus reached, the weight of the chain and trap, by which his motions are embarrassed, prevents his rising to the surface, and he is soon an unresisting victim of the trapper’s art. Captain Wilson, before referred to, on one occasion Dax, THE AMERICAN BEAVER. set three traps in this manner on the Grass Lake dam, using stakes instead of the pole-slide, with the following results. Two days afterward he found, on going to the traps, the three breaches fully repaired. Two of the traps held each a beaver, and both drowned; but notwithstanding the calamity that had befallen them, other beavers had finished their work. The third trap had disappeared from sight. He found the chain still held by the stake, which showed, on running it up, that the trap was buried in the breach made in the dam, under the materials used in its repair. Upon drawing it out, he discovered a duck in the trap, which had been caught and drowned, and that both the duck and the trap had been carried by the beavers into the breach and there buried. Trapping at the lodge is another of the common methods. Two parallel rows of stakes are driven in from the mouth of each entrance for some distance out into the pond, thus forming two narrow channels, through one of which the beavers must pass to enter the lodge. A trap is set in each passage-way, and secured by a chain and stake in the usual manner. In Fig. 11, supra, page 149, these rows of stakes are shown. Traps set in this way are often found sprung and empty, which has given rise to an opinion, more or less prevalent among the trappers as well as the Indians, that they are deliberately sprung by the beavers. There is not only no foundation for this conceit, but, on the contrary, the beaver is a remark- ably dull animal with reference to precautions against the trap. A sufficient explanation is probably found in their manner of disposing their fore feet while MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 255 swimming, which are pressed back against the body, so that in passing over the trap the abdomen instead of the feet comes in contact with the pan, causing the trap to spring. As the trap cannot hold upon a broad flat surface, the beaver escapes. There is another belief, universally adopted by both Indians and trappers, which also admits of question, namely, that when a beaver is caught by either fore leg, he bites it off and thus frees himself from the trap. Beavers are frequently taken with one and sometimes both fore legs gone, and others with the hind feet mutilated in various ways. Two of the three beavers sent down to me from Lake Superior last winter, for the purpose of dissection, had lost each a fore leg, one the right and the other the left, apparently cut off close to the shoulder, with the stumps perfectly closed over with skin and healed. The beaver represented in Plate I. is one of them, and has his lost leg restored by borrowing the re- maining one of his neighbor. A beaver was taken on the Upper Missouri, in 1860, with but one perfect foot remaining. Both fore legs were wanting, and one of the hind feet was in part cut off. Captain Wilson caught a beaver on the Esconauba River, in 1862, with but one perfect foot, and that, one of the fore ones, by which he was captured. The other fore leg was gone, apparently cut off close to the shoulder, and the stump healed; one hind foot was cut off across the middle of the webbed portion; and the other diagonally across the same, leaving one toe and its claw. This beaver had evidently been caught four times in traps, from three of which he had escaped. ‘rappers expect to lose most of the beavers 234 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. taken by the fore leg,—that is, they catch a foot in- stead of the animal,—and they endeavor so to set their traps that the hind feet will be most likely to tread upon their pans. The true explanation of their ex- trication from traps, when caught by the fore legs, is probably found in the relative smallness of the bones of these legs, and in their frantic efforts to escape. Running around the trap would easily snap them off, after which the rending of the skin would be quickly effected. That such is the true explanation, receives confirmation from the fact that the tendons of the leg are usually found pulled out from the shoulder, and still attached to the foot in the trap; which would have been severed by the teeth before the bones of the leg, had the beaver attempted to bite off the latter. Beavers caught in traps, and not drowned, some- times become entirely tame from the effects of ex- haustion. Mr. Atchinson, before mentioned, informed the author that he once found a beaver alive in his trap, and completely tamed. He said, to use his own language, “that it looked at him with such an entreat- ing and submissive expression, that he could not find it in his heart to kill him.” He resolved to save his life, and take him to the museum at Marquette. On placing his hand upon the beaver’s head, and passing it along his back, the latter showed no disposition to bite, or aversion to this familiarity. After taking him out of the trap, he held and fed him in his lap; and then carried him on his back for sixteen miles, through the forest, to the railroad station. The journey proved too rough for the exhausted beaver, and he died the following morning. This tameness was un- MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 230 doubtedly the result of physical exhaustion, which deprived the animal of all power of resistance, as well as carried him beyond the sensation of fear. Rarey’s system of taming horses is founded upon the same principle.’ In the winter, which is the season for trapping, after the ponds are frozen over and the beavers are housed for the winter, other methods are resorted to, among which is the following: the trapper selects a place in the vicinity of a lodge, cuts a hole through the ice, and puts down into the pond a fresh-cut pole of birch or poplar about ten feet long. While the small end is pushed out into the water, the large end is securely fastened in the edge of the bank, and a trap is set immediately under the place where it is secured. This fresh cutting the trapper knows will 1 That great fear will produce nearly the same results is shown by the peaceful gathering together of different species of wild ani- mals in South America, when the annual rains deluge the pampas. Upon this subject Lieut. Gibbon remarks: “The Indian builds his hut on those elevated places which remain islands. When the great floods of water come down, crickets, lizards, and snakes crawl into his thatched roof; and droves of wild cattle surround his habitation. Armadillos rub their armor against the pottery in the corner of his hut, while the tiger and the stag stand tamely by. The alligator comes socially up, when the ‘gran bestia’ seats himself on the steps of the door. The animal fam- ily congregate thus strangely together under the influence of the annual deluge. Those of dry land meet where the amphibious are forced to go; and as the rains pour down, they patiently wait. Birds fly in and light upon the trees and top of the hut, while fish rise out of the rivers and explore the prairie lands. The animals begin to seek a place of refuge in the month of Jan- uary, when the soil becomes gradually covered.”—Ezploration of the Valley of the Amazon, Part II. p. 253. 236 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. soon be discovered, and seized with avidity for trans- portation to the lodge. When a beaver has thus found it, and ascertained that it is fast at one end, he follows it up for the purpose of cutting it off—very naturally desiring to secure the whole of the stick. This brings him immediately over the trap; and if the trap is judiciously piaced, it will be next to a miracle if the unsuspecting victim does not step upon its pan before the stick is severed. This has always been found one of the most successful methods of trapping. After a trap has been set in this way, the trapper throws snow into the hole cut through the ice, to hasten the freezing over of the opening, and leaves the place to quiet until his next round among his traps brings him again to the spot. Another method, of Indian invention, and which, for its deliberate wickedness, surpasses all others, if the business itself admits of gradations in cruelty, con- sists in staking around the pile of winter wood of a beaver family, for the purpose of forcing the whole of them, one after the other, by hunger, into the death- pen thus contrived for their ensnarement. By sound- ing on the ice, they are able to discover where these piles are deposited; after which stake-holes are cut through the ice, and dry stakes are driven in so as to form a palisade entirely around their stock of winter provisions. On the line of their run-way from the lodge to this pile one of the stakes is pulled out, and a light, dry twig is put down loose in its place. When these arrangements are completed, the trapper rolls himself up in his blanket and lies down upon the ice to watch for a movement of the twig, which must oc- cur whenever a beaver enters the inclosure. If he is MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. pe if fortunate in point of time, that is, if there is a present want of a cutting at the lodge, he has but a short time to wait. A beaver goes out from the lodge to bring back a cutting from the pile, and, finding a barrier around the magazine, he seeks and finds the only opening left, through which he passes into the inclos- ure. As he enters, the light twig is moved, disclos- ing to the trapper above his presence within the pen; whereupon the latter restores the stake to its place, and the fate of the luckless beaver is sealed. When he finds his return to the lodge cut off, he swims around the circuit of the stakes until he comes back to the place where he entered, and there resigns him- self to death. After he is drowned, the trapper takes him out of the pond, removes the stake, restores the twig, and again lies down to wait the coming of the second beaver. The same necessity which sent out the first soon sends out another upon the same errand, to experience the same fate. One after the other the remainder of the family, under the pressure of the same hunger, and perhaps to discover the cause of the absence of those who went before them, go forth from the lodge and enter the fatal prison-house of the trap- per. Itis said that if he takes the first beaver by this device, it is almost certain that he will capture the entire family. The drawback to this manner of entrapping is the danger of alarming their fears by the presence of the palisade around their pile of cuttings, at which, if the first beaver turns back, the rest will keep at a distance. It is further stated that they in- variably drown at the stake where they entered. In trapping bank beaver, they use various kinds of scents to attract them to the place where the trap is 238 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. set, which is usually near the bank, and a few inches below the surface of the water. Gum camphor is one, a piece of which is inserted in the split fork of a stick, and the latter is then set in the bank so as to bring the camphor immediately over the trap, but above the water. A beaver, when he scents the pungent odor of the camphor, follows it up until he discovers the sub- stance; whereupon he rises up to reach it, in doing which he is liable to step on the pan of the trap with his hind foot, and thus pay for his curiosity with his life. Trappers also use castoreum, cinnamon, cloves, and oil of juniper for the same purpose. Cloves and cinnamon are dissolved in alcohol and made into a kind of paste, which, when smeared over a stick ad- justed in the same manner, is found to answer equally well as a bait. Traps are also set, at a venture, upon their run-ways, particularly on their solid-bank dams, which always, by some depression, show where they pass in going up and down stream. When set. in such places, it is necessary to make a slight excava- tion for the reception of the trap, and to cover it with leaves. They are also set in the water at points where the land juts out into the pond, along which beavers are apt to pass in going up or down the pond. Whenever the trapper discovers a trail, or well- marked line on which beavers travel, either on land or in the water, he avails himself of the knowledge to conceal a trap under their footsteps. Another method of catching beavers where they are very numerous, is to drive them from their lodges to their burrows, and having closed the entrances, to open the burrows and pull them out with hooks or by hand. This mode of hunting them was formerly MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 239 practiced extensively in the Hudson’s Bay territory. The Indians ascertained the situation of their burrows by sounding the ice along the margins of the ponds with ice chisels, the sound of the stroke revealing in some way the presence of a chamber in the bank. After the burrows were found, an opening was made in the ice over the mouth of each entrance, for the double pur- pose of discerning by the movement of the water when a beaver had entered, and of closing it up behind him. The next step was to stake across the stream, where it entered the pond, to prevent their escape out of the pond. After these preparations were completed, and a person was stationed on the ice near each entrance, the lodges were broken open to drive out their in- mates and force them to take refuge in their burrows. As soon as the motion of the water showed that one or more of them had entered a burrow, its mouth was closed, and every one thus entrapped was sure to be taken. After they were thus locked up, the next movement was to open their burrows from above, whereupon, without resistance, they were captured and dispatched. Hearne, from whose work the above account is taken, remarks: “‘ When their houses are broken open, and all their places of retreat are dis- covered, they have but one choice left, as it may be called, either .to be taken in their houses or their vaults; in general they prefer the latter; for where there is one beaver caught in the house, many thou- sands are taken in their vaults.”* When beavers are shot in the pond, they sink to the bottom and are thus lost, for which reason the gun is * Hearne’s Journey, etc., p. 235. 240 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. rarely used in the beaver hunt. West of the Rocky Mountains, however, where the ponds are shallow and small, and the danger of losing the animal after being caught in a trap is greater, the gun is often used. Robert Meldrum, for many years a trapper in this mountain region, and now one of the factors of the American Fur Company, informed me that when he hunted beaver west of the mountains he preferred the gun for the reasons stated. He mentioned that on one occasion he found three lodges on a pond upon one of the tributaries of the Columbia, where he “shot twenty-one beavers and left three.” His estimate of the total number was upon the assumption of eight to a lodge, the well-known rule among Rocky Mountain trappers. It is amusing to find how systematic this class of men become in their calculations. Trappers often associate for the purpose of extend- ing their operations over a larger area, in which case they establish and provision camps, and assign the several branches of the work to different persons. When two or more are engaged in the same vicinity, and not associated, they adopt certain independent lines or routes, so that neither may interfere with the other. It is a custom among the trappers of the Rocky Mountains to recognize in each other proprie- tary rights in certain beaver districts. When a trap- per finds a new stream well stocked with fur-bearing animals, it takes his name, and is regarded as his ex- clusive range so long as he chooses to occupy it. Among such of the Ojibwa Indians on Lake Superior as engage in trapping, there is a similar custom. They divide the principal districts among themselves, after which each leaves to the others the undisturbed MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 241 enjoyment of their respective beats. Each trapper, or - family, or association, therefore, has a special round, upon which they make repeated expeditions during the season of the hunt. On the first journey, they carry in and distribute their traps, select and provision their camps, and prepare generally for an arduous winter's work. A single trapper can manage from fifty to seventy traps upon a line thirty or forty miles in circuit. At regular intervals, the traps, after being set, are visited, the captured animals removed, and the traps reset. This round of the traps, with the curing of the skins, fills out their time, and furnishes sys- tematic employment for the season. The life of the trapper, although one of hardship and privation, is full of adventure. They lead, to a greater or less extent, a life of solitude in the track- less forests, encountering dangers of every kind, en- during fatigue and hunger, and experiencing, in return, the pleasures, such as they are, afforded by the hunt. As a class they are generous, reckless, and intelligent, and very companionable. From their relations to each other of their adventures, and of their observa- tions upon the habits of animals, a kind of “animal lore” has been developed and propagated of very ample fullness and range, which, in course of time, may be considered worthy of perpetuation in written form. Their conclusions are not always veritable, as they are prone to be over-credulous; neither are their speculations always sound; but in both they display much acuteness and ingenuity. The regular trappers are an original and peculiar class of men, whose tend- encies of mind have led them away from human society, into a life substantially with the wild animals, 16 242 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. and with Nature in her most rugged forms. Many of them, by natural endowments, were deserving of a higher destiny. It is one of their customs, and one which served me a useful purpose, to hang up the skulls of captured animals upon bushes and limbs of trees on the lines of their routes. This practice is alluded to by Samuel P. Ely, Esq , in the following letter, which I take the liberty to insert for its humorous reference to this custom. Having written to him for some beaver skulls to complete my collection, his answer came under date of February 26, 1866, as follows: “I can obtain the skulls, and have arranged with two differ- ent trappers for thirty each. If they both fulfill their engagements, your craniology of the beaver will be unimpeachable. Accompanying them will be an oc- casional mink, otter, and lynx skull, which may be useful for purposes of comparison. It is fortunately quite easy to procure these skulls. It appears that a custom is quite prevalent among trappers to hang up, among the bushes on their line, the skulls of the animals whose fur and flesh they have appropriated; and it is nothing more than the collection of them on one of their tours to get thirty or forty specimens. Since nothing of this kind is done without motive, I present you gratuitously my theory on that point. Ist. It is subjectively encouraging to the trapper, when the hunt fails him for a time, and his traps are empty, tolook upon the memorials of his past success. “2d. It is objectively calculated to produce on the living animals, which also view these relics, a feeling of resignation to the fate, which, once deemed finally inevitable, they are the less careful to avoid. MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 243 “Tt is interesting, however, that so remarkable a custom should furnish immediately such a mass of materials for scientific investigation. Think of sixty skulls off-hand? They are promised to me without fail. Do not, however, count them already sure, because these sons of the forest, as a general thing, fail to apprehend the relation between a promise and its fulfillment, which the more civilized man finds it convenient to observe.” The number of beavers taken during a season’s hunt varies, of course, with the skill of the trapper and the supply within his district. On the south shore of Lake Superior, an Indian family of four effective persons will capture from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty, if their hunting grounds are well stocked. Fifty and a hundred are not an uncommon number.” But the business must be assiduously fol- lowed to secure any degree of success. The statistics of the fur trade sufficiently prove that beavers existed in immense numbers in different parts of North America at the several epochs of their set- tlement. — - un Po = ad ee i ae a? oat Ss a ae we a ete > aprons tea ee Y ea nips os . pe ae . ree ey iw aca ea a Pd a ax feu ee a > Ak ah aed come i es > ee ete cof ay Sr 3, yee ae .. pe : S é Fa ss es } Cra oY oe a . a a by 7 ee Mah aoe — . te cle Ee Mit abt ie ra, Ca) aa af ; ie ‘ ay. o* ret - ‘fe eed I>. q ees . a gee Se a ; 3; dee y re i