West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-08-28
BEAVERS.
The Charmed Life "a Solitary Member OF
the Family Led.

There were very few beavers left in
the waters Of this State or Pennsylvania
in 1894, when Benjamin Patterson.
noted hunter and trapper of those days.
discovered a colony in Mud Creek.
tributary Of the Upper Chemung River
This was the first colony of beavers
that had been found thereabout for
some years. Patterson set his trap.
and caught q beaver every night for
seven nights. On the eighth night
beaver escaped from the trap. and lcft
one Of its hind legs in it.
IL Is popularity of the beaver family
that If all the members OF colony but
one are captured or die, the survivor
will never again seek another colony or
follow the regular life Of beaver. but
viii become a wanderer, hiding where
ever it can, and displaying q cunning
and sagacity that were strange TO IL
when it lived in colony. After find
ing the beavers leg i'm his trap, and
failing 20 capture any more OF the ami
mails, Patterson knew that he had taken
all but one of the entire colony, and
that that one had become a crippled
wandcrer.
These solitary beavers were called
tramps by some trappers, and bachelors
by others. Patterson lost track of the
missing beaver, but the next year he
came upon signs of IT, lie could not
find his hiding place. however, and for
five years he followed the crippled
beaver up and down the Chemung and
it's branches, always on its trail, but
never succeeding in outwitting its cum
ming. At the end of five years Patter-
son declared that the beaver bore a
charmed life, and that there was no use
i'm wasting time on it, His brother
Richard thought differently, and con-
tinued the search for the bachelor bea-
Yer. 1t was heard OF all over the val
ley, first in one place and then in an
other but Patterson had no better luck
in trapping for it than his brother had,
and in 1907 all signs of the wandering
beaver disappeared 1t was thought
that it had died or left the locality.
In 1909 Richard Patterson was trap
ping on the very headwaters OF the
Chcmung and he discovered signs of
beaver. He could not locate it in any
one spot, and it kept moving down the
stream. Patterson followed it all the
way TO Newton, where Elmira now
stands, without getting sight of it.
At Newton Eddy the beaver left the
stream, and Patterson discovered by
its tracks in the snow that it had but
three legs, and he made up his mind
the crippled bachelor beaver of 1894
had turned up again. The trail led
across country seven miles to another
stream, where it disappeared, and all
trace of the beaver was lost.
Nothing was heard or seen of it
again for nearly four years. In 1912
benjamin Patterson was fishing in the
Iioga River, near Painted Post, and
was surprised to see n beaver crawl out
from clump of willows near by him
and draw itself up the bank. One of
It's hind legs was gone, and Patterson
felt that he was once more in the pres
ence of the charmed beaver. He
picked up Il club and sprang toward
the animal, but it quickly disappeared
in the water. Patterson ran to house
near by and got rifle. When he re-
turned to the river the beaver was in
the middle of the river, swimming
toward the other shore. Patterson
took good aim and fired at it, 1t dis
appeared beneath the water. Pater-
son, believing that ne had killed the
beaver at last, jumped into boat and
started out to look for its body. Before
he had gone far he saw the beaver
climb up the bank on the other side
and disappear. Patterson then swore
that he would never again make any
attempt on the life of the bachelor
beaver
Ali sign Of the mysterious tramp was
again lost In the spring of 1914 there
was an unusually large fire shet in the
Chcmung Ira Mapes, father of Orvin
Mapcs, was working or a raft with two
Other men some distance above New
town. The Hood became so strong that.
just after the men had gone to theiT
raft TO work early one morning, the
rope broke and they were carried down
stream. The raft landed on an island
near Newtown. A crop of corn had been
raised on the island the year before.
and some of the shocks of stalks had
been left standing. The weather was
very cold, and Mapes and the men
started for one of tho corn shocks TO
shelter themselves until they could be
taken oil tie island There had been a
slight tall Of snow during the night.
and The mon noticed q peculiar track
shock toward which they were ooino.
The track had been made by an animal
with but three feet The mon picked
up clubs. and, surrounding the corn
shock, routed the animal out
10 was q very large and q very gray
beaver, aud it was soon killed. One Of
TO- hind legs was gone. and the men
then knew that Che crippled bachelor
beaver that he'd foiled all tho best
irappcrs for twenty years had met it,
death at their hands Mapcs bought
al. interest I'm Che beaver for two dol
lais. and subsequently had the fur
made into o cap. - COr. ~ r. Sun.
To requires an amount OF nerve
which most amateur fru.tgrowcrs do
NOT possess 90 thin out their apples.
pear and peaches while they are young
iu order iO ccurc larger and finer fruit