The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1913-07-11
BEAVERS ARE
INDUSTRIOUS
Act Very Much Like Human
Beings.
Waste Nothing and Never Make
House Except With Dry
Sticks.

Having as boy read many won
,derful stories about beaver. since
coming to the States l have often
wished could get pair, 30 might
see them at work. My desire was
realized year ago when l obtain
cd pair from the Canadian comis-
.stcper Of mines. from the algonquin
park In northern Ontario, at q cost
only sufficient to cover cost of trap
ping, boxing In q wire netting lined
box and market value Of skins.
put the pair In small lake Of
about two acres stocked with several
varities Of water lilies, calamus and
bulrushes with willows along the
bank. The beaver appeared to think
1t an ideal place. and soon grew
comparatively tame. coming regular
.ly to q certain place about shutdown
to eat Gull apples.
At the end Of August they made a
burrow about ten feet back under
the bank. Then to prevent any ami
NAL digging into their living room
they covered q space OF ten feet over
1t with. brush and sticks which they
then daubed with mud. repeating the
layers till the dome OF the house
is now three feet above the level OF
the bank. The inlet to the house
from the water, they also covered the
same way, extending 1t as the pond
got lower and digging and deepen
Ing q canal from the level OF the
lake to the mouth of the burrow, SO
they would always have water to
navigate In.
II was noticed however that they
used nothing In their house con-
struction which might serve as food
only dead limbs or such as they had
eaten the bark off, and all the trash
they could get, and SO interviewer
and plastered as to be impregnable
to dogs and In a bear country to
bears. especially after frost.
They made no move towards cut
ting down willows till the leaves
fell. Then they cut one or two
(about six inches In diameter, every
night. trimming all the brush off,
floating 1t down and stacking 1t In
front Of their house with the butts
up SO that the fine brush was all
submerged 80 1t could be reached
when ice covered the surface of the
lake. Seeing their design I had sew
eral loads of cottonwood, willow.
cherry, etc.. hauled to the edge Of
the water. this also was promptly cut
up and placed In their larder.
When ice came they broke holes
from underneath close to the edge
wherever they wished. but after 1t
got over an inch or 30 thick they
kept breathing holes open along the
bank. and could be seen swimming
ander ice after lily roots. Apparent
" they only used their store of
brush in extreme weather.
Although the lake Is filled with
poultry netting they got out several
times in the spring. The first night
they cut an apple tree down so
had to put protectors round any in
the danger zone. using scraps OF
poultry netting, old iron roofing. and
even barrel slaves as they do not
care to gnaw dry wood. and have too
much regard for their teeth to cut
even the finest wire.
Finding this they did no further
damage and were always back home
before day. did not close their out
Let and they soon found the lower
lake below their own. where finding
water running out the spiilway they
promptly damned this up. e.
might have mentioned they nightly
did to spillway Of their own lake 90
effectually that one could only clear
It out with Q potatoe hook. Appar-
emily they could not stand idle
seeing water wasting. but they never
interfered with the Inlet. Water
coming In was all right.
About the middle Of June. four
young beaver appeared swimming
Out at shutdown about the size of
half grown rabbits and ! should cay
four weeks old. They sit up In the
edge of the water and eat cut
apples. They cannot yet bite
whole one. They roll II around In