The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-04-20
NATURES ODD FREAKS.
QUEER WAYS OF WILD ANIMALS
AND HARMLESS INSECTS.
The Architecture of the Beavers-The
Alaska Raven-Famous Dogs-Ihe
Water Beetle - Fig, Rabbit and

@-~N
Coon.
From Forest and Stream.
SO much has been written about the
habits of the beaver that almost every one
knows something about the animal, and
everybody is acquainted with the fact that
it builds dams and houses to dwell in.
Their dams are exceedingly strong and
durable, and they are prompt in repairing
any injury to them. A dam cut during
the day will usually be repaired the same
night, and in the morning viii be as good as
new. l remember an instance of this sort
which occurred on San Juan Island. An
old Englishman named John Wooton, who
new to the country, wished to get rid Of a
colony of beavers that lived on his place,
and one day cut their dam. The next
morning he found it repaired and cut it
again, and this time to brighten away the
animals when they should come 10 rebuild
1t, he set up green cottonwood pole on the
dam and hung mis- overcoat on IL. The fol
lowing day on visiting the place he not only
found the dam in its usual good condition.
but the cottonwood pole and his overcoat
had gone TO help stop the gap he had made,
and were now in the dam.
1uS houses OlILeI d ROOu uedl III Size, lOCd-
ton and shape. Some are as large, though
of course less high, than a small haystack,
others are hardly more than six feet through
at the base. They may stand either wholly
on land or partly in the water and partly
on the bank, or wholly in the water.
They are never placed in very deep water,
for a base must be built for the house to
stand on, reaching up TO the surface, since
the chamber inhabited by the occupants
must be dry The shape OF those houses
which | have seen on the shore approaches
the conicaL Those in the water are more
irregular, sometimes only rounded, others
long and rather fiat on top. Within
each house, and connected with the
water by concealed passage,
through which the beavers pass to and fro,
is the chamber which is the animals dwell
ing place. 1t is large enough to contain
seven or eight Of them, and high enough to
permit beaver to conveniently sit up on
its launches. 1t is warm, dry and clean,
for the beaver is extremely neat in all its
habits.
The food of the beaver consists chiefly of
the green bark Of twigs and young limbs of
various trees. Cottonwood bark is pre-
ferred, then comes willow, then alder, but
the bark of almost any tree may be eaten.
have known them to eat pine and white
cedar. The beavers often cut down
trees Of very considerable size to
get at the smaller limbs, which they
eat. | have seen cottonwoods twenty
inches in diameter SO cut, and once on Van
couver Island, near Johnstons straits,
found a cedar 215 feet through which they
had gnawed down. This work of cutting
down a large tree is done by single ami
NAL. have seen the beaver engaged in the
operation, which is performed as follows:
The beaver sits up on its launches facing
the tree and with its fore
paws resting against it. With his head
turned on one side he cuts a groove above
and then one below and bites out the chip,
taking it off almost the same way an axe
man would. He thus saves himself the
trouble of gnawing all the wood up into
fine cuttings. When the tree is felled the
whole community attack and cut up the
tender limbs, carrying them away to the
cache.
Unlike many Of our gnawing animals, the
beaver does not sleep through the winter.
He remains active, often venturing abroad
during the whole of the cold weather. He
must therefore have food, and large part
of the summer and autumn is devoted to Sc
curing this food and depositing it in caches
This food consists of the limbs and twigs of
the trees most preferred by the beaver.
They are cut from III to 8
feet long, stripped of their leaves and
smaller twiggs, carried to the water and
hoated to the cache, where they are sunk
And here comes very curious point
These sticks are foated TO the cache and
are sunk by the beaver to the bottom of the
water, where they remain without any
apparent anchorage. They are not stuck
In the mud of the bottom, nor held down
by weights. If you lift one to the surface
it will float, but you may move it about on
the bottom without its rising.
THE BABY MONKEY.
There was an exciting time among the
monkeys out at the Geological Garden yes
terday. says the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Since the birth Of the cunning little one
several weeks ago great CONSERVATION has
prevailed in the evolutionary family. 1t
seems to be not only the idol of its fond
parent, but also the joy and pride of the
entire group. Different ones share in
fondling and coddling it. and the quarrels
and knock-downs which have occurred in
the efforts of the other monkeys to get pos
ably ludicrous scenes.
One OF these funny incidents took place
early yesterday, frightening one of the
night watchmen half out of his wits. Just
before he was about rounding the garden
on the last patrol of his beat Watchman
Shuman had his attention directed to the
monkey house by a terrific commotion.
oO BIodU dLlu uuuSudl was the uDTOar
that the man was startled. Nearly every
morning the monkeys welcome the day
with a general clatter, but this time
the noise was appalling All sorts of
sounds. such as only monkeys with good
lungs can produce, mingled with shrill
piercing yells and loud scr cams, were issuing
from the quarters, giving the Waterman
the impression that some small animal of
prey had got into their cage and was
Strengthening the monkeys, or else deadly
battle among themselves, such as has oc-
CURED several times was in progress.
fastening in as fast as his feet would
carry him he found the army of monkeys
formed in a circle around one of their num-
Der, chattering and shrieking, while they
clambered over one another, rolled about
the floor and INDUCED in other and unao-
countable antics. If bedam had been
turned loose in the big cage the confusion
and uproar could cot have been greater or
the scene more ludicrous.
For several moments the Waterman stood
an amused spectator, astonished and bewil-
dered at the strange performance, when sud-
denly one of the larger Of the cunning
creatures advanced to the monkey ia the
center. Selling the infant, which up to
this time was not observed by the man, the
large monkey gave big leap and made Off
with it. Up the side of the cage he ran like
a squirrel, holding the baby in one arm and
climbing with the other, while fifty more
monkeys, with lungs like brass tea-kettles.
followed in hot pursuit with the frenzied
mother all screaming, chattering or