THE BEAVER.
When this country was first explored and settled, beavers were found
in good numbers throughout the United States and Canada, but at
present they are extinct in many of the states where they were once
abundant. Today they are found in fair numbers throughout the greater
part of Canada and Alaska, also in a few of the northern and western
states. There are also a few beavers found in the south at the
present time. However, many of the states, as well as some of the
provinces of Canada, have made laws prohibiting the trapping or
killing of beavers, to prevent them from being exterminated.
The beaver is an amphibious animal, resembling the muskrat in
appearance but much larger. It has the same thick, heavy body, short
neck and scaly tail. The hind feet are large and strong and the toes
are connected by a web; the front feet are small. The tail is "paddle
shaped," four or five inches wide and about ten inches long. When
full grown, the beaver will weigh from forty to fifty pounds,
although occasionally a much larger one is found. The under fur is
very fine and soft, and is mixed with longer and coarser hairs called
"guard hairs". The prevailing color is a rich, reddish brown, on the
back and sides, and ashy beneath.
The food of the beaver consists mostly of bark, of such woods as
poplar, birch, willow and cottonwood, as well as the roots of the
water lily. In the south they also eat corn.
Beavers build houses of sticks, stones, and mud, similar in shape to
the houses of the muskrat, locating usually, in the edge, of a pond
or lake, but often making a large pond to suit their requirements, by
building a dam across the stream. Even when their houses are built on
a lake or pond, they always build a dam across the outlet, so as to
raise the water two or three feet.
The dams are built of the same material as the houses. Sometimes
there are one or two small dams found below the main dam, and they
are so well made that they will last for many years, and are so tight
that the water usually drips evenly over the top.
The houses are also very well made, the walls being several feet in
thickness. There are usually two entrances, both under water. The
size and general shape of the house depends on the number of beavers
inhabiting it. The house of a full family of beavers will usually
measure about twelve feet in diameter at the water line, but will
some times be even larger, and the height is about six or seven feet.
When there are only two or three beavers, the house is much smaller,
and more pointed on the top.
A full family consists of from six to eight members. There are
usually two old beavers, two or three two year olds, and two or three
young. The reason for this is that the young beavers remain two years
with the parents, and as it requires several years for them to grow
their full size, there are always three sizes in a family. When they
have reached the age of two years, they start out and make a house of
their own, the beavers born the spring before, becoming the medium
size, and a new litter taking their place. By autumn, the beavers
that have left the main family have their house and dam completed and
a store of food laid up for winter.
Many of the beavers travel about through the summer, following the
streams, and return to their homes early in the fall. Sometimes, if
they are late in getting back they will have to work day and night,
in order to get sufficient food gathered for winter, before the ice
comes. This food consists of saplings and small trees, which they
gnaw off about a foot above the ground, drag into the edge of the
water, where they are cut up into pieces of different lengths, stored
away, under water in front of the house. Just how they cause this
wood to sink, remain in place under the water, is a mystery. The
beaver spends the entire winter under the ice. When he feels hungry
he goes out and gets a piece of wood, takes it into the house, eats
the bark, and takes the peeled stick out again. They repair the house
and dam each fall and they also make holes in the bank under water,
to which they can retreat in case the house is disturbed, or when
they hear a noise on the ice.
Trappers who are well acquainted with the habits of the beaver, can
make a fair estimate of the number of inmates of a house. It
sometimes happens that a pair of young beavers, or a lone beaver that
has escaped from some family which has been trapped, will locate in
an old deserted house, and then it is not such an easy matter. The
experienced trapper, however, is not likely to be fooled. He goes
along the shore and carefully examines the stumps, where the animals
have been cutting trees for food. The amount of stuff that has been
cut will show, usually; but he has still a better way of determining
whether the work was done by one or more beavers. He examines the
teeth marks on the stumps, and if they are all alike, he decides that
there is not a full family, but only two, or perhaps only one.
A lone beaver that has escaped from the trapper, is difficult to
trap. I remember once finding such a one, located on a large pool of
a fair sized stream. He had no dam and had only a small house along
the bank. I found him in the fall, while the water was still open,
and he was busy laying in a supply of food for winter. Well, I went
there one rainy day and set two traps. I set the traps very
carefully, fastening to sliding poles, which I had cut quite a
distance away so as not to make any noise near the house. The rain
washed the scent away in a short time, and I could see no reason why
he should take alarm; but he did, just the same. I kept those traps
set a week, but did not catch him, nor did I ever see any fresh signs
there, after I had set the traps. Apparently he had left the place
immediately after I had set the traps. An Indian trapper had trapped
several families of beavers, near there the season before, and this
beaver was one that had "given him the slip."
In cutting timber, the beaver takes the wood in small chips, gnawing
all around the tree, until it falls. He knows absolutely nothing
about throwing the tree in the direction in which he wishes it to
fall, but lets it fall just as it is inclined to go. I have seen
where a tree had lodged, refusing to fall, and the beaver had stood
up and cut several pieces off the butt, and as the tree still refused
to fall, he had let it remain hanging. It was a case of hard work and
no pay.
When one finds a family of beavers, and expects to trap the same
ground each season, he should not attempt to catch them all, as by
leaving a few to breed, he is sure of getting beavers each season.
The Indians, in such cases, trap the old beavers only, which they do
by setting the traps a good distance from the house, for the young
beavers never venture far away.
Many beavers are trapped in the fall just before the ice forms, but
their fur is not prime until mid-winter. In the north they remain in
good condition until the first of June; in the south they would
probably not be good after the middle of April.
Beaver castors have a market value, usually selling for seven or
eight dollars a pound. In preparing them, they should be dried
slowly, in a shady place. Most trappers prefer to keep the castors
for scent, as it is attractive to many animals. The Indians sometimes
combine the two scents by making a hole in the beaver castors, and
squeezing the contents of the oil castors into them. The castors are
then hung up and allowed to dry. This is more or less attractive to
all animals, only a small piece being used in connection with the
bait.
The best traps for beavers are the Nos. 2 1/2, 3, 3 1/2 and 4
Newhouse, the No. 4 Victor, the No. 4 Oneida Jump, and Blake & Lamb.
[Illustration: Trap Set for Beaver--Sliding Pole.]
The following methods of trapping are for use in open water, in
either the fall or spring. The first method given is usually
considered best:
Find a place where the bank bluffs a little and the water is of good
depth. Make a little pocket in the bank, several inches deep, and set
the trap in the water directly in front of this pocket, where the pan
of the trap will be about two inches under water. Take a piece of
beaver castor and fasten it to the bank with a stick, about fourteen
inches above the water, and as far back in the pocket as possible. If
you are using some other scent instead of beaver castor, just dip a
small stick in the scent and fasten it to the bank. Fasten the trap
so that the beaver will drown; the sliding pole is best. Be sure to
use a dead pole or stake, as if a green pole is used the other
beavers may carry it away, trap and all. This is a very good method
for spring and fall, or at any time when there is open water:
Here is another method for the same kind of place:
Set the trap under water at the foot of a steep bank, and fasten a
couple of green poplar or cottonwood sticks on the bank, directly
over the trap, so that the beaver will step into the trap in trying
to reach them. Have the fresh cut ends of the sticks showing plainly,
and make your set near the house or dam so that the beavers are sure
to see it. Fasten trap so that the captured animal will be sure to
drown. No covering is needed on traps when they are set under water.
Look for the beaver's slides or trails where he drags his food into
the water, and if the water is deep enough to drown him, set the trap
under about two inches of water, just where he lands on the bank.
This set is all right in the fall, when the beaver is laying in his
food for the winter, but is not much good in the spring. Some
trappers set the trap a foot or more from the shore, where the water
is about six inches deep, as by so doing the beaver is caught by the
hind foot, and is not so likely to escape. When using a set of this
kind, it is best to use a number 3 1/2 or 4 trap, as the No. 3 is too
small for the beaver's hind foot.
Beavers usually have a slide or trail over the center of the dam, and
this makes a very good place to set a trap. Set the trap under water
on the upper side of the dam, just where the trail leads over. Be
sure to fasten the trap so that the animal will drown, as if it is
not drowned, it is almost certain to escape, and even if it does not,
the others will be frightened and you will have a hard time to get
them.
In the spring, after the ice has gone, it is a good plan to set a few
traps along the stream, baiting with beaver castor, as the beavers
are traveling at this time, and you are likely to catch one almost
anywhere along the streams. When setting traps in this way, it is
best to drench the set with water to remove the human scent. The
beaver is seldom afraid of human scent, but there is likely to be an
otter along that way, and you stand a good chance of catching him in
a trap baited with beaver castor.
Beavers may be caught in mid-winter and early spring, by setting
baited traps under the ice. It is not much use to set traps under the
ice in early winter, as the beaver's food is still in good condition,
and they will not take bait well; moreover you are likely to frighten
them and make them harder to trap later on. The following methods are
among the best for use under the ice, the one first given, being most
used, and is probably the best:
Go close to the beaver's house where the ice is thin, and by cutting
small holes in the ice, find a place where the water is about twelve
inches deep. Having found such a place, enlarge the hole until it is
about sixteen by twenty inches in size, making a pen the same size as
the hole, by shoving down dead sticks about four inches apart. If the
bottom is very hard, you will have to freeze the sticks to the ice,
to hold them in place. This may be done by throwing snow in the
water, and packing it around the sticks and against the edge of the
ice. When the pen is completed, cut a piece of green poplar about 1
1/2 or 2 inches thick and two or three feet long, and fasten it to a
stake by one end--the poplar being placed at a right angle to the
stake. This green poplar is for bait, and the stake should be driven
down in one corner of the pen so that the bait is within two or three
inches from the bottom, and close along one side of the pen,
extending a foot or more beyond the entrance.
[Illustration: Beaver Trap Set Under Ice.]
The trap should be staked and set well inside of the pen, and quite
close to the bait, so that the jaw of the trap will just clear the
bait. This set will be readily understood by referring to the cut. If
the bottom is of thin mud, as is often the case, you will have to
make a bed for the trap, by sinking a bunch of evergreen boughs
inside of the pen. It is also best to fasten the bait near the
entrance to prevent the beaver from swinging it around. When the set
is completed, cover the hole with evergreen boughs, bank it with
snow, to keep it from freezing.
It is best to let this set go for about a week before looking at it.
The beavers will be frightened and will not approach the set for a
few days, but finally one of them musters up courage enough to try to
pull the bait out of the pen. When he finds it fast, he cuts it off
at the entrance of the pen, takes it to the house to eat it; this
sharpens his appetite, makes him more courageous, and he finally
ventures into the pen for the balance of the bait. In attempting to
cut the bait, he places one front foot on the bait and the other one
in the trap. When using this set you should use three or four sets at
each house.
Another good ice method is as follows: Find the proper depth of
water, about fourteen inches, and make a pen of dead sticks arranging
them in the form of a half-circle. Now take some green poplar and
shove them down firmly into the bottom, about six inches apart, close
up to the stakes, on the inside of the pen. These bait sticks must be
long enough to reach above the ice, so that they will freeze fast at
the top. Stake the trap and set it in the center of the enclosure,
with the pan about nine inches from the center bait. Throw some snow
in the hole, so that it will freeze and hold the bait sticks
securely.
The following method is one of the best for use in deep water: Cut a
dead pole about four inches in diameter and six or seven feet long.
Flatten the pole at one end, and loop the trap chain around the pole;
then set the trap on the end of the pole and tie it with a string, to
hold it in place. Now, cut an oblong hole in the ice, and place the
pole in the water in an inclined position so that the trap is about
twelve inches below the ice. Pack wet snow around the pole to hold it
in place, fasten two sticks of green poplar in the ice over the trap,
one on either side. In attempting to cut the bait, the beaver will
put his foot in the trap.
Always fasten your trap to a dead stick or pole, for if a green stake
is used, the beavers are likely to carry it away, trap and all.
Poplar and cottonwood make the best baits, but in case they cannot be
obtained, use birch, willow or black cherry.
When setting traps near the house, in open water, make as little
noise as possible, and do not remain in the vicinity longer than
necessary.
When trapping in open water, never camp or make a fire near the pond
where the beavers are located. In winter, after the ice has formed,
it does not matter.
If you find a beaver house in winter when the snow is deep, and wish
to know if it is inhabited, examine the house, and if the snow is
melted on the top, you may be sure there are beavers in it.
Another way to tell whether a house is inhabited, is to cut a hole
through the ice and shove down a piece of green poplar, filling the
hole with snow. Examine it in about a week, and if the poplar has
been cut, you may be sure you have found beavers.
The track of the beaver is seldom seen as they do not move about much
in winter and on their trails their tracks are obliterated by the
food which they drag into the water. The trapper does not look for
tracks, but for more conspicuous signs, such as houses and dams with
fresh cut wood.
[Illustration: The Muskrat.]