Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1912-12-30
PROTECTING BEAVER
Fur-Bearing Rodents to BE Safe
From Lawful Trapping in Can
ada for Three Years.


min Lawton. chief game warden for
Alberta, has issued instructions to
trappers and hunters that the closed
season for beaver protected since
1908, has been extended from De-
cember 81. 1912, to December 81,
1915. He reports also that the bea-
yer, which had an important part
in the romance of the early history
of North America, has multiplied
during the last four years, notwith-
standing raids by law-breakers. The
regular hunters and trappers in the
north country, he adds, have not
killed game out of season, but have
assisted in enforcing the laws.
There are many who believe that
the beaver, the standard by which
all other furs were rated in western
Canada until a few years ago, is
doomed to extinction. Evidences of
its fast approaching determination
al Z Sttll III bilC uCAelg ms oIuillpos Nlit
broken dams and the deserted lodges
along the upper waters of the Fraser
and Peace rivers. which may be con-
sidered the last home of the patient
animal which for more than two cen
turies contributed largely to Cana
da's most substantial advancement
and stimulated enterprises and laid
the foundation for strong CONNER
cial development.
The beaver is the largest OF the
fur-bearing rodents Perhaps no an
imal in the world has been more
widely utilized. for as a protection
from the cold the use of its pelt
dates to primitive man The rarest
peltage is pure white, fawn and
brown sprinklei with silvery hair.
Less than a score of such peits have
been found in an expectation of
100000 skins Black beaver are
more abundant Generally the color
ranges from pale yellowish-brown to
chestnut. The body measures from
II inches to three ana a half feet
in length, and the paddle-shaped tail,
covered with scale, is from nine to
II inches in length.
The external features of the bea-
yer are among its chief characteris-
tics, beginning with its wonderful
teeth and ending with its perfectly
unique tail. The incisor teeth are
strong and well developed, and are
set III a circular socket. The sharp
teeth were used as cutting instru-
ments by the Indians, who also at
tach much value to white skins. con-
Verting them into medicine bags.
The beavers head resembles that
of rat, though the nose is flatter
and makes the head appear shorter
and broader. The eyes are dark blue
and small in proportion to the size
of the animal. They are highly con-
veXed, thus enabling the animal to
use them under water. The ears are
small, quite round, and concealed in
the fur and hair. When the peltage
is prime, a shaggy loose growth of
long hair covers the head and body
to the base of the tail, diminishing
on the lips, eyelids, feet and legs.
The anterior feet are so dexter
Gus as to favor comparison with the
hands of the monkey. The creature
uses them in building the dam and
the lodge and for excavating the bur
row. They are also used TO convey
the food to the mouth in a truly as
tonishing manner. Though the front
leet are not usually employed in
swimming, there is perceptible web
Joining the third and fourth digits
winch does not seem fitted for any
apparent purpose, unless it might be
TO facilitate the handling of mud in
the plastering of the lodges or dams.
The powerful hind feet, with the
development of web extending to the
extreme points, afford the ideal
model for aquatic life. The large
heel pad and strong nails enable the
animal when on land to stand up-
right firmly, position generally as
Sumed fhen at work. On the second
toe there is most remarkable dou-
Die claw or nail, which apparently
is only used for combing the fur.
The gait OF the beaver is waddling
and slow, owing to the shortness of
It's limbs and to the outward direc-
tlon which is given to its heels to
enable its feet more efficiently to
fulfill the function of paddles in
swimming The toes alone of the am
ierlor feet and the surface of the
sole in the posterior are applied to
the ground in walking.
The awkwardness of its appear
ance in this action is, moreover
heightened by the clumsiness of its
figure and by the difficulty which it
seems to experience in dragging after
II its cumbrous tail, generally trail