Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1891-09-01
BEAVER FARMING.

That's queer. But have always been
surprised that some of you newspaper
fellows haven't been down to write it
up" The speaker, says the Chicago
Inter Ocean, was old Mud Cat'' Will
haIns, who has been fisherman In the
southeast Georgia streams for forty
years.
"Dicl's going to make pile of money
this year," he continued, ION account
OF this country and England getting
together and agreeing to 4 closed sea.
son In I'chring sea. You sec there will
not be any seal skins for market next
season, and beaver skins. which make
q splendid substitute, will be largely
used, and will bring about ten dollars a
skin in New York.
'Dicls has about two hundred beavers,
young and old. but there arc not moro
than twenty to be killed for their skins
this year. It's 4 new industry, IN OK
pertinent with him, and he don't want
to kill any except the surplus males for
the present. But suppose you go out
with me and sec the farm"
A drive Of ten miles through the
swamps along Driar creek and the Kill
gore place, or Beaver Dam Hollow, was
reached.
'Now, here's the farm, said Williams,
pointing to the creek, across which
every few yards were rough dams and
above them, in the almost still water,
We're mounds of earth, rocks and sticks
coming out a few feet above the surface
of the water,
"Tou know beavers don't show them
selves much in the day. They do their
~ irrbf II.
thousand acres running up and down
tho creek. he has tho land posted and
kceCs everybody off. but it Is not fenced.
Fcnccs would not keep the beavers in,
but'therc is no danger of them going
OF, Tor this IS q natural home for them,
and every beaver here knows old Dick.
lilo feeds them every night and they
corac when he calls. just like hogs"
kilGorc has boon IL farmer down here
Tor years, and beavers lave been in the
creek for all time; bat it was not until
recently that he began to protect and
caro- for them with IL view to making
boavcr-rais.ng Il regular business 1t
will be n profitable business, for the
scarcity Of seal skins has increased the
valuo of beaver skins, and they will
continue to increase year by year. A
few years ago beaver skins sold as low
as four dollars per skin, but they should
now bring ut least ten dollars each.
Beaver skins sent to London and
properly dyed IL seal brown, arc splen-
did limitations Of the SEAL Tho seal fur,
you know, Is naturally n gray. They
arc sent to London and there dyed q
seal brown. The reason l say scnd
beaver skins to London is because that
ia tho only place IN the world, 1t seems,
that frr3 can be properly dyod. How
over, the fur OF the beaver is naturally
reddish brown, and 10 bcauiiiui rur
Just rs it Is, ~
Eutto the farm: 4
Tho beaver Is {; queer little nnirnn,.
when full grown it weighs from fifty to
sixty pounds It's hind legs arc it's prin.
cipal proDcllcrs, both when in and out
Of tho water, The hind feet arc vcbbcd
and tho front ones havo claws, which
orc about Us convenient to tho beaver
as monkeys hands arc to him. They
can carry stones and sticks about in
them with case. In the water, especial
~, q beaver can carry O quantity of
freight, for he swims with his hind feet
nNd ,carrics his load in his mouth and
claws.
just nftcr darl: Mr.. Kilgorc went
down to the cdgc Gf the stream to feed
tho beavers.
81 don't often feed them in the sum
MGR" he said, 'tfor they get all they
want along the banks of the strcam.
They cat bark off the trees, and 1T this
scn%on there is an abundance Of fresh,
tcndcr bark and grasses and roots. In
the winter they lay up supply OF food
for themselves along the banks and in
their holes il the dams, which thcy
build of roots and sticks and stones. /
feed them nearly all the time in winter,
when they flock together and unite in
building dams, but in summer they scat
ter7-cvcry follow for himsclf--and only
anll thcm up occasionally, just enough
10 keep them tame. AS they arc scat
tered off for miles around but fcw will