Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-05-07
HOMES OF THE BEAVERS.
FAST DISAPPEARING BEFORE THE
VANGUARD OF CIVILIZATION.


The beaver is another of the ami
mails which are fast disappearing be-
fore the barbarian vanguard OF civil
iZation. From a common AMI widely
distributed animal, he has become
rare and local, and in most parts Of
the United States he is already but a
faint memory, kept alive by such
names as Beaver Falls, Beaver Dam
and Beaver Brook, given to places
which he formerly inhabited. His
beautiful fur coat was coveted by
man, and according to the universal
law of nature he died because it was
tC the immediate interest of a more
powerful animal to kill him. Per
haps he has fulfilled his mission; at
any rate, few animals have lone more
toward forming the contour of the
country. Wherever he has been he
has left lasting monuments to his in
iustry in the form of meadows, ponds
and waterfalls, and his name will al
ways be associated with peaceful, in
telligent labor.
In appearance, the beaver reminds
us somewhat of a muskrat and some
what of a woodchuck, though he is
larger than either of them. In length
he measures something over two feet,
from the tip of his blunt nose to the
root of his TAIL His body is roughly
cone-shaped, being largest in the rear,
and covered with the rich, shining fur,
which is at once his wealth and his
death warrant This fur is of two
kinds, one composed of long, coarse,
glossy chestnut hair, which is short,
thick, soft and silky. The nose of the
animal is blunt, the eyes small, and
the ears short AMI rounded. The fore
feet are short and slender, but the
mind feet are large and web-bed to
the toe nails. The former serve the
animal in place of hands, while the
latter are the propellers which urge
him through the water. But the most
peculiar part of a beavers anatomy
is his tail. This appendage is fiat
and broad, and it's horizontal outline
foot long and three and half inches
wide. 1t is about an inch thick and
covered with angular scales. 1t is
used by the beaver as a ruider to
guide him while swimming, not as a
tray on which to carry building mate
rials, nor as trowel to plaster the
walls of his dwelling, as some old
writer's would have us believe. The
beaver also uses it to slap the water
as a signal to his companions when
there is danger in the wind.
The beavers chief title to distinc-
tion rests on his ability as an engi-
neer, which is perhaps unequalled by
any other fourfooted creature. When
colony of beavers take possession of
body of water, usually small clear
river or brook, they first of all make
a dam, which throws the water back,
flooding the surrounding land AMI
creating pond the site of future
beaver city. The dam is made of mud,
small stones, moss grass and the
branches of trees which have been
cut down by the sharp and powerful
incisor teeth of the beavers. The
branches form the frame work of the
dam, and the mud, stones, moss and
grass are plastered in between the
sticks, forming strong water-tight
structure. Such a dam is sometimes
eight feet high AMI almost a quarter
of mile in length, extending far be-
ycnd the original banks of the stream.
1t Is perhaps ten or twelve feet wide
at the bottom, but much narrower at
the top, as tne sides slope toward each
other.
In the pond thus formed the beav-
ers make their lodges or houses, great
dome-shaped structures, six or eight
feet high, AMI some of tnom from
twelve to twenty feet in circumfer-
ence. The doorways are under the
water, and in front of each the beav-
ers scratch away the mud, forming a
deeper channel that they may sink
the wood intended for winter food
without danger of it's being frozen in,
and that they may pass freely in and
out, even when the ice is thick upon
the pond. the tops of the houses are
made of branches matted together and
plastered with mud and moss, and
when this is all frozen together it
forms an almost impregnable fortress.
Sometimes as many as ten or twelve
beavers occupy a single lodge, each
with a separate bed near the walls,
and each sharing the laborious work
which is necessary to the welfare of
every beaver community. When an
accident happens to dam or to one
of the houses, the little animals are
quick to repairit, realizing, apparently,
the value of "a stitch in time" Hunt
ers used to take advantage of their
thrifty habits to work their destruc-
ton. After breaking down portion
of dam they would sometimes hide
In silence until the little citizens
turned out to repair the damage. and
then shoot the beautiful creatures in
cold blood At other times they would
set steel traps under the water, and
the swimming beavers would be
caught by the leg. In the struggle for
freedom which followed, the limb was
F..-< A1.K A~.-