St. Paul daily globe., 1889-01-12
HOW TO CATCH BEAVERS.
Mr.. Heller's Experience On Upper Pine
Creek.
A NUMBER OF WISE BEAVERS
Lie in Wait for Wolf and Put an End
to His Life in Short
Order.

w n6n was WORKING 1Or the Deld-
croix Timber company in Canada," said
M. w. Heller, now superintendent of
the Kimbark mills on Upper Pine
creek, this county, 81 noticed many
curious things about beavers, which
were then numerous along Weifer's
river, and one of them was that thair
meat was the choicest morSel that the
vicious and always hungry gray wolf
could capture for his prey. Both beaver
and the gray wolf are now scarce, but it
IS a fact that if you ever do come across
signs of beaver you may be sure that
the wolf is also lurking in the vicinity,
although he may not have been there
before. | witnessed little affair be-
tween big gray wolf and a beaver
some years ago which convinced me that
a beavers cunning is not all in timber
chopping and dam building.
.'When [ was the agent of the timber
company in Canada West [ discovered
one day that timber thieves were cut
ting some thrifty young cedar trees
along Weifer's river. l could get no
trace of the thieves. One moonlight
night watched the timber. [ had not
been long in the spot before | saw
dark object rise on the bank of the
river, and as it came up in the moon
l knew at once that fOur-footed thieves
had taken the cedars. AS | had never
seen beaver cut down tree | thought
| would witness the operation. This
beaver selected goOd-siZed cedar near
the river bank, and at once began work.
The rapidity with which he cut through
that trunk with his great teeth was al
most Incredible. Almost as quickly as
chopper with an AK could have done it
that beaver felled the tree. just
before it fell the beaver gave
cry that made me jump,
and he scurried down the bank and
plunged into the stream. The tree fell
into the river, and under cover OF the
noise it made | crept quickly to the
bank to see what the beaver would do
further. The falling tree lodged in the
water, and the beaver came to the sur
face and began looping off the branches.
In this work it was joined by three or
and the noise they made with their
teeth could have been heard long dis
tance. They Topped off those branches
as if they were working with hatchetS,
and in short time 4he bare trunk of
the tree was stretched across the
stream. Then the beavers went to
work OH the trunk, and they cut it up
in lengths of probably four feet. AS
length was cut off it floated down the
stream until tree and beaver disap-
peared.
"Of course this was all very interest
ing, but as it was not very profitable to
the owners of the timber, and beaver
pelts were worth heap of money, |
concluded to put a stop to the timber
stealing, and also to gather in that
beaver colony for my own benefit il L
could. Next day l started down the
river on a tour OF investigation. Three
miles down | came in sight of the place
where the beavers had stretched dam
across, made of cedar. worth its weight
in silver almost. [ got down on my
hands aud knees. and, hidden from view
by high bushes, crept toward the dam.
Peering through the bushes, L saw that
the beavers had utilized an old log that
lay across the stream in making their
dam. Then my eye fell on one OF the
largest gray wolves ever saw. He was
-cr0uching on the log, and looked part
of it, so motionless did he lie: but his
sharp eye was fixed on the water, and
it actually blaZed with expectancy. The
hungry chap was there fishing for
beaver, and lay still to see what luck
he had.
II watched the wolf for, guess, ten
minutes before anything occurred. In
all that time he never moved muscle
or winked an eve. Then | saw a long,
undulating ripple start from the bank
on the opposite side of the stream and
follow the surface of the water toward
the log. There was no change in the
wolf except that his eye might have
perhaps blazed brighter. The ripple
ceased at the log. The water broke and
the broad head of beaver appeared.
heard loud splash and saw that the
wolf and beaver had disappeared. but
with such rapid velocity had the wolf
sprung from the log that | had not seen
the movement. supposed it was all
up with that beaver, of course. but in
few seconds the wolf came along TO the
surface, blew the water from his nose
with two or three loud SnOrts, and
swan back to the log He had missed
his prey, but tufts of fur that he swept
from his ugly-looking jaw with his paws
showed that the beavers escape had
been a narrow one.
''The wolf shook the water from his
hide, took another position on the log
and began another watch. This time
he crOuched on the log nearer the shore,
where the water was ShallOWer, evil
dently thinking that he would have
better chance there. didn't think so,
for it was out of the line where the
beavers would be apt to swim and
climb on the dam. In the light of sub
sequent events there was no doubt but
what my opinion was correct. The
wolf had barely settled himself on tie
log when the telltale ripple broke again
and set right toward the shallOwest part
of the water, near the shore, within
three feet Of the wolf. was so much
excited by this time that l came near
yelling right out and spelling all the
fun. | did grind my teeth, however,
and said to myself:
"'Is it possible that beaver can
know so much and still be such an in
fernal fO0l?'
"But the ripple kept on. The water
broke and there was the beaver. Whizz!
went the wolf through the air and
plunked squarely down on the foolish
beaver. | jumped up with the inten-
ton of pitching into the wolf and
saving the beaver anyhow, but didn't
have to. The instant the wolf stuck
his claws in his prey there rose up on
every side apparitions with fierce
whiskerS, rows of teeth like fence |
pickets and great bales of fur. The |
wolf was in an ambuscade of beaver.
Not less than thirty enraged dam
builders rushed to the aid of their COM
panion. They tore and CRASHED the
wolf numerically. He dropped his
prey and made desperate fight, but it |
was like a ranchman's cabin in the |
track of cyclone. In quarter of a |
minute there was nothing left of the |
wolf but fragments of hair and hide. |
The screams of the beavers and snarls |
and yelIs of the wolf were enough to |
frigh ten an Apache.
: s'You would naturally think that ami
mails with wisdom enough to put up |
such job as that-for it was a put-up |
iob Of oOurSn-UOuld no TN smart tO |