The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1902-03-14
THE BEAVER IN WINTER.
Has n Curious Method of Storing
Away Air for Breathing
Under the Ice.

''The beaver is really sort of port
able pulp mill, grinding up most any
kind of wood that comes his way. l
once measured white birch tree, %
inches through, cut down by beaver,
says writer in Rod and Gun. A
single beaver generally, if rot always,
amputates the tree, and when it comes
down the whole family fall to and have
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 recover from
an injury. 1 have known beavers to
break their teeth in biting trap. and
when I caught them again ten days aft
erward you couldn't see sign of the
break-the teeth had grown out to
their former perfection in that short
period.
GAS 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 purposes of swimming. 1t is easy
to capture one in canoe il 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 almost
take leg off, so you want to watch
him sharply. The place to grab him is
by the tail.
1.-THE ability of beaver to remain
under water for long time is really
not so tough a problem as it looks.
When the lake or pond is frozen over,
a beaver will come to the under surface
of the ice and eXpel his breath, so that
it will form wide, fiat bubble. The
air, coming in contact with the ice and
water, is purified, and the beaver
breathes it again. This operation he
can repeat several times. The otter
and muskrat do the same thing.
sit almost takes burglar proof
safe to hold a newly-captured beaver.
/ once caught an old one and two kit
tens up the north branch of the Sou
West, put them in a barrel and brought
them down to Miramichi lake. That
night she gnawed hole through the
barrel, and cleared out, leaving her
kittens. They were so young that
had no way of feeding them, 80 | re.
leased them in the hope that the
mother might find them. Soon after
that | caught big male beaver. l
made a large log pen for him of dry
spruce. but the second night he cut a
log and disappeared,
"Beayers, when alarmed, generally
make up stream, SO ] went to the
brook where little branch came in,
and l thought would go up that q
little way, and l hadn't gone more
than ten rods before l came across my
lad sitting up in the bed of the brook
having lunch on a stick he had cut.
He actually looked as if he knew he
was playing truant when he caught
sight of me out of the side of his eye.
81 picked him up by the tail, brought
him back, put him in the pen, supplied
him with plenty of fresh poplar, and
he seemed as tame as possible, and
never gave me any more trouble.
brought him out to Stanley. where he
lived a long time. Turnbull had a
mongrel dog, which was jealous of
the beaver, and one day attacked him.
He did that only once, for the beaver
nipped the dogs tail off quicker'n a
cat would catch a mouse"