The Coconino sun., 1901-10-19
WAYS OF THE BEAVER
How He Hanagss to Stay Under
 Water So Long in Winter.
Psculiarities of the Interesting Little Animal Described by One Who Has Made . Study of
 His Habits.


 Canada has an article on the ha bits of the beaver, in which the writer, Frank II. Risteen, tells some interesting 2 things about the most interesting of North Amsrican animals. Of the cut ting power of the beavers teeth the writer says:
 The beaver is really sort of port able pulp mill, grinding up most any kind of wood that comes his way. once measured white birch tree, 22 inches through, cut down by beaver. A single beaver generally, if not al ways, amputates the tree, and when it comes down the whole family fall to and have a regular frolic with the bark and branches. A big beaver will bring down a fair-sized sapling, say three inches through, in about two minutes, and large tree in about an hour.
 One of the queerest facts about the beaver is the rapidity with which his long, chisel-shaped teeth will recover from an injury. l have known beav- CTS to break their teeth in biting a trap, and when l caught them again ten days afterward you couldn't see a sign of the break-the teeth had grown out to their former perfection in that short period"
 MT. Risteen's experiences have not given him a very high opinion of the beavers swimming powers. He writes:
 "As compared with the otter or mink the beaver is very slow swim mer. His front legs hang by his sides, and he uses only his webbed hind feet for the purpose of swimming. It is easy to capture one in canoe if you can find him in shoal water. He is most determined fighter, but clumsy and easy to handle. If he could get hold of you with his teeth he would al- most take leg off-so you want to watch him sharp. The place to grab him is by the tail"
 Of the ability of the beaver and some other wild animals and birds to remain a long time under water this writer says:
 ihC ol O ONoNCA to under water for long time is really not so tough a problem as it looks. When the lake or pond is frozen over beaver will come to the under sur face of the ice and expel his breath so that it will form a wide, fiat bIb- ble. The air coming in contact with the ice and water is purified, and the beaver br ,athes it in again. This operation he can repeat several times. The otter and muskrat do the same thing"
 That it is difficult to hold most of the shyer fur-bearing animals in cap tivity is known to those who have made the experiment, but the beaver evidently takes the lead in this re- spect in Mir. Risteen's estimation. as the following will show:
 "It almost takes a burglar-proof safe to hold a newly-captured beaver. I once caught an old one and two kit tens up the north branch of the Southwest. put them in barrel and brought them down to Mramichi lake. That night she gnawed hole through the barrel and cleared out, leaving her kittens. They were so young that I had no way of feeding them. Soon after that I caught big male beaver. made large log pen for him of dry spruce, but the second night he cut log out and disap- peared.
 Beavers when alarmed generally make up stream. so I went up the brook to where little branch came in and I thought would go up that & little way, and I hadn't gone more than ten rods before I came across my lad sitting up in the bed of the brook having lunch on stick he