The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-06
WHERE THE BEAVERS HIDE
.rrx DESOLATE sPOTs LIKE TIE
INV or THE mo GRANDK.
Nh, Two Meu Arc Known to Have Made
"" B., Tr,p through THIS Dangerous Gorge
prt.ring Its Mouth, One Must 60
n IN. whole 200 800 Miles.

]
.,I,,,ls the one which yields most readily
VIZ ~ advances Of civilization 10 the bea-
f. 10 a uroIifc beast enough, and II let
.,,,lI thrive, but it cannot live within
,,,, , man or within hearing OF mans
-, ana reason for this Is that the dam,
,i",t. ,,s home, is broken down by the white
$780,, who want a free waterway Tor their logs.
Ao,thrr reason lies in the value oil the beaver
,5, which brings ST. undrcssed. but the
,,.c., rogent ~ all Is the shJhess OF
.l, ,r,,,,l Itself. 1t will forfeit homo and
,.,spcrtty to get out Of sight OF It's mated enc
W., and It has moved SO often that 1t mas per-
,,Lrd Where formerly every clear stream OF
ono Wn,, was tuIuIous with the beaver. hardly
m. remains Fifty years ago the person In tho
N.r,hwost who predicted that the beaver could
- yer hcclm" extinct would nave been hooted
,r iI.,t The same people would have
b,,,nI the prophet Of the destruction OF the
fur,,o. The beaver. beng a water-dweller.
~. as,cd the longer. but there can be no
~ ann, that II il doomed to ultimate extinction.
Ynnotter remains though in constantly de-
,,r.,,-i q, numbers Its skin Is almost as val
S,ans a. the bpavers. but 1t is not 80 shy and
=, t. ~ wider habitat. Though not common. 1t
", To- he taken IN a.. OF the watered areas OF the
NeN md Northwest, and in certain parts of
Vino south II is plentiful enough TO make its
,ursurt aud capture worth the while. This Is
.a,,,,aIy tru. ~ tho mountains OF northern
Atd. western Arkansas. where the otter Is still
't,apred regularly. and even an occasional
l.aycr Is found in the trap. Three beavers
we're taken last winter In the Ozarks. In
Arkansas and one on tho Missouri side OF the
me- The animal is so rare. however. that the
sntdures were thought worthy OF chronicling in
,be daily press. Twenty-Five years az D In that
x-lN a VA yvn of
not much more local prominence than the man
" h. caught coon.
There may be few beavers living in the
wilder streams Of the Indian Territory. though
rherris no evidence OF 10. The redskin Is not
IA hunter Of the beaver, since its capture m cans
IA great deal OF hard work. and tho whites are
fiders after cattle or smugglers OF flrewater
In the western part OF tho Territory. however,
o., the conditions exist for the preservation OF
the shy diver. and it is not unlikely that trap
yer would be repaid by a season out there. 1t is
Thought too. that beaver could be found and
caught in the stream Of the Grand Canon OF
the Colorado. II there were any certainty of
getting out after a man once got in. but not any
one has been found bold enough to try 1t. The
ironticrsman will do a good deal for skins at So
apiece. but no has some caution left.
There is one place however. in the United
large enough to make a certain return for the
effort OF trapping. The inconvenience OF
rcaching II is great. though not unbearable.
Tut it's pers are many and it has bad name.
The place is tho canon OF the Rio Grande. OF
which probably not one American out OF a
hundred has ever heard. 1t has stood, as it
stands to-day. dark and terrible for thousands
Of years. but it has not got into the books. or
rhe romances. or the paintings or the public
prints. save in Government report printed
before the war. there is no official mention OF
Il. and since II serves no commercial purpose
bnd does not attract tourstsit Is unmentioned
even 10y those who may know Of 1t;
sixty miles south OF, FL Paso and ends 100
indies north Of Eag e Pass It's BE length may be
tn ,, between :, 70 and 500 miles For
ern boundary OF that portion of Texas which
tsknOwn as the Peninsula" a section which
has contaned as much crime as any other ter
trneI more by the six shooter than by law. On
me NrNisa can, SID" OF the river the country 70
nothing on either side Of the river except hills
aud vast rolling mesas. browsed upon by thou
and Sre a ~" on Sps veSRhsTOs S1as
crImina Is able to get into the Peninsula he
dSss hp es4s %, sse Sc onS Tn
there and il he does. and has time, he simply
rides southwark OF the Canon until he gets
not wanted at home return the com pliment by
smigrating to this side The break is about
ix THAI THIN A Am nst bns hi G do
the more Industrious and adr oft Thief -" "
The beaver POPULATION OF the CANON is great.
etitsave by entering thetremendous cash at tho
canon upper end and staying until the mouth
S, ., is stated 6{ those NJ. Who ought to
GRAN exit through its entire course. There
Tore the trapper who started after these beaver
same through to 6Stsh. si Sir sry eno o e
we canon has never been surveyed. Estimates
q rs length and width and depth are only
o. reasonably accurate. In the ftties the Gov
tsb5n nant sent Iarty Of engineers to survey
}nlles from san Antonio northwest OH horse
Iaek anu IN wagons over prairies that were
TIA" os4 Fl Paso was
me engineers found that they could survey the
S AZ a, 2n,y by entering 1t in boats and they
GU, a,,i!e. The natives assured them that they
~on l',t not 80 they contented themselves with
{aNlheandthey cut of good many bends. They
KILLED many black -tailet deer. antelopes and
some mountain sheep, but they did not see the
bottom than was TO be had by lying face down
over afa on one Of the Gins and dzzily
r., Ie.ow; There IS still plenty Of wild game in
me country, more probably than in any area
81 rs SIZE elsewhere in America. and on the
Me1can side 1he mountain sheep are not at Al
utnttHSmm9n. They appear to live in the walls
o. me canon and are not often found in the
mountains Dt the interior
Zen years ago young English ranchman
uaHeu ilppd Was running cows out on the
eastern edge Of the Peninsula" He had the
ihk.lsi'mans exporting instinct and II was
sHrI'eu iy the numerous tales Of the canon
%hGh were then and are now rife among the
MeA'hn herdsmcN, all Imaginative race who
work little and talk a great deal. He heard
seneiaI persons who had been caught in the
canon Ia one way or another, but not one OF
iintli! mao been seen again. He heard. too, OF
as 6l"I'es OF clear water and perpetual semi
f'o4H' ana wanted to see them for himself.
imn ue Iate summer. the calves having been
otahIsn me spring shipment made and tho
syrt"Il'eS having vanished he made prep
S,at'one l"t his trip Ha went to Galveston
IN mere had boat built according to his
t'eh' pl what would be needed He had been
1"H OF numerous and deadly rapids in the
ta'"h' anu H. wanted strength and stability at
."' Sactillc" 81 speed. He knew that the cur
!'"t "I thr cont rrssud water would carry him
H1NE last enough The boat was made Of
Sv"at PdHELg. hhlt an inch thick. screwed to
t'nS "l OAK set only six inches apart There
was an inner skin" OF the same material. a
quarter % an inch thick. She was thus dou BILE
..I'u ShS was 20 feet long and An feet wide in
me hiu0 .. nearly nat-bottomed and with a
feaNy I"adeu keel Her sides were 30 inches
h.EM, ahl she was the Kind Of boat that no one.
- ,W", or threGmen could turn over IN the water
y tHey tried, For ii third OF her length forward
s'e was u"cked over. and under this covering
~ stormy weather Hood was to sleep, He had
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