Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-10-24
Hunting the Beaver,

Have you ever hunted them yourself? y
asked Willie
" once. when quite young man JON
ed hunting expedition with number Of
others, some of whom were Indians and
experienced trappers," answered his I'M
Gle.
Tell us all about it, Uncle" said both
boys in the same br ath. 1t must have
been famous sport
For us it certainly was" said Uncle
George, laughing; but, whether the bea
vers enjoyed it us well, leave you to i'm
agine. We started out armed with spears
and other necessary instruments, and hav-
ing arrived at a collection Of their houses,
we proceeded first to stake the river all
the way across, to prevent them from pass
ing. This done, the more experienced of
the number walked along the edge OF the
banks, knocking repeatedly against the Ice
with chisel attached to the end of IL staff
four or five feet long, with which each
was provided Those accustomed to ii
can tell ut once when they strike opposite
any of the holes which form the beavers
retreats, and an opening was made in the
ice, large enough to admit an old beaver
In this way they proceeded until all, or ut
least, as many as possible of the holes had
been discovered While this was being
done by the principal men, the others, in
cluding myself were busy breaking open
the houses, aud assure you we ionnd il
no easy work, for some were five or six
feet thick, and one no less than eight ferI
/ thick on the crown. We could easily tel
when the beavers retreatcd TO their holes
in the bank for shelter, hy the motion o
the water. This being seen, the entrance
was blocked up with stakes Of wood, after
which the animal was dispatched with !
spear, and drawn up by the hand, if h'
could be reached; if moi, by means Of :
hook fastened to the end Of II stick in n'end
ed for that purpose, Sometimes, however
they are caught in nels, and in summer
very frequently caught in traps"
Fred, who was very fond of animals
and possessed pets fall kinds, now wisheC
to know if they were ever tanned.
9, Yes" said Uncle George. d" had on
given to me, which had been trappe"
when | was youth, At fl st confneC
~ III IL VIII Cite,t, Duu tlISl ""hS IL h'N''tli
50 tame that it would answer to its nam,
and follow me around like II dor. If
was absent it evidently missed me, ant
upon my return showed unmistakabl
signs of pleasure. We were often amused
by the fellows antics, and. one day, on re
turning, found that he had woven tin
branches given him to nibble upon through
the bars of his cage, forming II dam; hav
ing filled up the holes by pieces of carrot
and other vegetables, giveh us food, bltol
into the required size and shape. Belor
this he sat down with II 'tistied air, IL
though he had performed as necessary
task us the same would have been had
been erected in IL lake or river. This fra
was afterwards repeated several times il
our sitting-room, where | kept him dnrini
the winter; the dam being made of sue
articles as he could contIive to lay hold o
thus showing that the beaver, ingeniou
and clever us he most assuredly is, must b
guided entirely by instinct, and not by rea
son." A Visit to The BearcrS," IN Nc,
Dominion Monthly for October.