Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1915-04-29
BEAVER FERRY BOAT
Youngster Made Good Use Of
Mothers Back.
Lover Of Animals Gives Some Inter
estins Particulars Of the Life in a
Colony Of the industrious
Little AnimaIa

One May morning I concealed my.
self behind a log BY the pond. within
twenty feet OF the largest beaver
house. hoped { see the young
beavers.
Presently a brown nose appeared
between the house and my hiding
place As a mother beaver climbed
upon m Of the spruce logs thrust out
Of the water. her reflection in the wa
ter mingled with spruces and the
white clouds in the blue field above.
She commenced to dress her fur-to
make her toilet After preliminary
scratching and clawing with a hind
foot. she rose and combed with fore
claws; a part Of the time with both
forepaws at once.
a few mornings later the baby
beavers appeared The mother al
tracted my attention with some make
believe repairs on the farther end Of
the dam. and the five youngsters
emerged from the house through the
water and squztted on the side OF the
house before I Nv them For a mo-
meut all sat motionless. By and BY
one climbed out on a projecting stick
and tumbled into the water. The 9TH
ers showed n surprise at this acci-
dent
The N in the water did not mind
but swan outward. where he vas
czught In the current that started to
carry him river the dam At this stage
hi mncher appe1xed- She simply rose
beneath him He accepted the oppor
runiry and scuatfed upon her back
with that expressionless face which
beavers carry most Of the time. The
youngster sat on his mothers back as
though asleep while she van with
him TO the house Here he climbed OF
In a mattsr-of-fact way. as though a
ride On a ferry boat was nothing new
to him
During the summer. a majority OF
the Broken Tree beavers abandoned
the colony and moved to other scenes
A number built a half-miIe doWr
stream. while the others. with one ex
eeption. travelled to an ahandone,
beaver colony On the first stream Z
the north Overland this place Ma
only half u mile from the Broken Tres
but by water route. down stream 70 III
forks. then up the other stream to Ii
: colony. the distance was three mile.
/ This was an excellent place to nv,
and with but little repair an old aba.
doned dam was made better than
/ new one All summer a lone beave
Of this colony rzubled about One
> he returned 10 the Broken Tree CO
ony. Finally he east his lot with Il
. long established colony several mile
down rea
Occasionally the remaining Broke
Tree beavers did daytime work Viii
. I was On the lookout one afternoon. q
: old beaver wzddled Up the slope ar
: stopped by a large aspen that h
been left standing by the other wor
: FRS The bottom Of this tree vi
! heavily swollen The old beaver to-
a esre OF its bark and ate with an e
= ~pressionIsss face Evidently II ",
good. for after eating the old feIIo
!, scratched a large pile Of trash again
the base Of a tree. md from this ola
r form mawed the tree Of above Il
swollen base While ne was gnawi:
4 splinter OF wood wedged between b
n upper front teeth This was pick
cut by catching IL with the douh
II nails of the second toe on the rig
,e hind foot This aspen was ten inch,
In diameter at the point cut OF tt
N diameter OF trees usually cut is fro
d. three to six inches The largest
their cutting that ! eve measured vi
a cottonwood with a diameter Of
inches-Enos A Mills. in the cou
m tryside Magazine.