Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1919-11-20

/. tive race of people OF peaceful uIsposi-
ON and few wants, Industrious and
practical in their affairs, and appar-
emily depending more upon reason
and less upon instinct than do any OF
the forest folk. Many of their habits
reflect so much of intelligence that
some writer's credit them with poss-
essing real intelligence, and many OF
their peculiar customs would seem
Ito bar out this claim. But careful
Istudy of them indicates that their
acts, habits and customs are all in
stinctive, as they have in no way i'm
proved or advanced from their orig
inal customs since the discovery of
the species. They build their dams
and lodges provide their food supply
and pursue the same course as they
did 100 years ago, while If they were
possessed of intelligence they would
certainly have made some advance
ment somewhere.
1t is claimed by close observers that
beaver WOO, love and mate, and
choose a partner which becomes a
life companion, and at once begin
the establishment of a home. 1t is not
unusual, however, to find an occasion
al lonesome and forelorn bachelor
beaver domiciled in the bank of some
lonely stream Or lake where he is
spending his life in lonely seclusion,
indicating that his affections were
blasted and that his ideal lady beaver
had forsaken him for another whose
more charming disposition had won
her affection.
We have never, however, found a
lady beaver leading that sort Of life
She is only found with companion
and the epithat "old maid" cannot
be applied to her The reverse of this
is true, however Of the muskrat as the
forelorn old maid is not uncommon
while the bachelor muskrat is not to
be found
| The first task of the beaver in the
establishment of a home, after select
ing a location, is to construct dam
which they do by cutting or gnawing
down trees adjacent to the stream
land cutting them into lengths suit
able to be dragged down to the water
The dam is made of these short logs
and trunks waited together and filled
in with stones and earth, the whole
cunningly bent against the current to
hc4a aG
The original dam is frequently rein
forced by other dams just below that
back up the water against the first
and relieve it of part of the pres
sure.
AS the water rises the beaver watch
the shore carefully and every depres-
sion in the bank likely to lead the
water to one side is promptly damned
and the pond at last brough to the de-
sired level. After the dam is complet-,
ed they begin at once to build their
thatched and mud plastered cabin on
the margin of the pond. Each cabin
has sleeping compartment which is
high and dry, and is usually lined
with moss and dry grass that furnish
es comfortable sleeping quarters.
Here their families are raised usual
~ in broods of from six to eight beav-
ers and but little disturbance is occa-
stoned from the first family increase,
but when the next brood appears the
family domicile usually becomes
crowded and the parent beaver i'm,
mediately set out to find a suitable
location where the young folks can
be comfortably located, and immedi-
ately begin the obstruction of dam
and erection of house. AS soon as
the young family is comfortably domi-
ciled in their new home the parent
beavers return to their old home and
pursue the even tenor Of their way.