AS man becomes civilized and improved, other animals are repressed and
degraded. Reduced to servitude, or treated as rebels, and dispersed by
force, all their societies are dissolved, and their talents rendered
nugatory; their arts have disappeared, and they now retain nothing
but their solitary instincts, or those foreign habits which they have
acquired by example or human education. For this reason there remain no
traces of their ancient talents and industry, except in those countries
where man is a stranger, and where, undisturbed by him for a long
succession of ages, they have freely exercised their natural talents,
brought them to their limited perfection and been capable of uniting
in their common designs. The beaver seems to be the only remaining
monument of that intelligence in brutes, which though infinitely
inferior in principle to that of man, supposes common projects and
relative views; projects which having society for their basis, and for
their object the construction of a dike, the erection of a residence,
or the foundation of a republic, imply some method of understanding
each other, and of acting in concert.
The beaver is said to be among quadrupeds what the bee is among
insects. Of societies there are three species in nature which we ought
to consider attentively before we begin to compare them; namely, the
free society of man, to which, next to God, he is indebted for all
his power; the constrained society of large animals, always rendered
transitory by the human species; and the forced society of certain
little animals, which, coming into existence at one time, and in the
same place, are obliged to live together. An individual, solitary as he
comes from the hands of the Creator, is a sterile being, whose industry
is confined to the use of his senses; nor is man himself, in a state of
pure nature, unassisted by the aids of society, capable of multiplying
or of being edified. All society, on the contrary, necessarily becomes
fruitful, provided it be composed of beings of the same nature. From
the necessity of seeking or avoiding each other, a succession of common
movements will follow, from which frequently some work will result that
has the appearance of having been conceived, conducted, and executed
with intelligence. Thus the labours of the bee, which in a given place,
such as a hive, or the hollow of an old tree, forms its own cell; those
of the Cayenne fly, which is not only the architect of its own cell but
the hive which is to contain it, are labours purely mechanical, and
suppose no intelligence, no concerted project, no general views, but
nothing more than physical necessities. A result of common movements,
is at all times and places, performed in the same manner, by a swarm
of little creatures not assembled from choice, but united by the force
of nature. It is not society but numbers that operate in this case;
it is a blind power which cannot be compared to that light by which
all society is directed; I speak not of that pure light, that ray of
divinity which has been communicated to man alone, and of which the
beaver is certainly as destitute as any other animal. As their society
is formed rather by a kind of choice than necessity, so it supposes at
least a general concurrence and common views; it implies also a beam
of intelligence, which, though widely different from that of man in
principle, produces effects so similar as to warrant a comparison, not
indeed with society, as it is found among civilized nations, but as it
appears among savages just emerging from absolute solitude; a society
which, with propriety, can alone be compared with that of animals.
Let us then examine the produce of these societies, let us inquire how
far the art of the savage extends, and where the talents of the beaver
is limited. To break down a branch, to use it as a staff, to build a
hut and cover it with leaves for shelter, to collect moss or hay, and
to make a bed of them, are acts common to the animal and to the savage.
To rub a stone so as to render it an edged instrument for cutting or
stripping the bark of trees, for sharpening arrows, for flaying an
animal, in order to make a covering of its skin; to make bow-strings
of its sinews, to fix those sinews to a thorn or bone, and use them as
needles and thread, these are acts which may all be performed by a man
in a state of solitude, and without assistance from others, since they
depend solely on his conformation, and only suppose him to have the use
of his hands. But, to cut down, and transport a large tree, to raise
a mole, or build a village, are, on the contrary, operations which
necessarily suppose common labours and concerted views; these are the
only performances which result from immature society in savage nations;
while the operations of the beavers are the fruits of a perfected
society among those animals; for it is to be observed, that they never
attempt to build but in countries where they are in no danger of having
their tranquillity interrupted.
There are beavers in Languedoc, in the islands of the Rhone, and many
in the northern provinces of Europe; but as all those countries are
inhabited, or at least frequented by men, the beavers there, as well as
all other animals, are dispersed, forlorn, and timid creatures. There
they have never been known to assemble, or undertake any common work:
whereas in desert regions, where human society was formed later, where
some few vestiges of savages alone could be traced, beavers were every
where seen united, forming societies, and constructing works which were
the admiration of every beholder. Of this I shall endeavour to quote
such testimonies as are most judicious and least liable to censure,
and shall only consider as certain those facts which are confirmed by
common consent. Less inclined to indulge admiration, perhaps, than some
writers, I shall not hesitate to doubt, and even to criticise, whatever
may seem too improbable to demand our belief.
It is generally allowed that the beaver, far from having a superiority
over other animals, seems to be inferior to many of them, in his merely
individual qualities; and this fact I am enabled to confirm, by having
had a young beaver, which was sent me from Canada, in 1758, alive in my
possession for more than a twelvemonth. This animal is mild, peaceable,
and familiar; it is rather inclined to be gloomy and melancholy; it has
no violent or vehement passions, its movements are slow, it makes few
efforts, unless to gain its liberty, which it frequently attempts by
gnawing the gate of its prison, but without violence or precipitation.
In other respects it seems to be perfectly indifferent, forming no
attachments,[Q] and is as little inclined to offend as to please. He
is inferior to the dog in the relative qualities which might make
him approach to man; he appears formed neither to serve, command,
or even to associate with any species but his own. His talents are
repressed by solitude, and it is by society with his own kind they are
brought into action. When alone he has little industry, few tricks,
and not sufficient distrust to avoid the most obvious snares. Far from
attacking any other animal, he has scarcely art to defend himself;
always preferring flight to combat, he only resists when driven to an
extremity, and then bites very hard with his teeth.
[Q] M. Klein, however, says that he kept a beaver for several years,
which followed and would go in quest of him, as dogs search for their
masters.
If then we consider this animal, in a state of nature, or rather in his
dispersed and solitary state, we shall find that his internal qualities
are not superior to other animals; he has not the genius of a dog,
the sense of an elephant, nor the cunning of a fox; and he is rather
remarkable for external singularities than for any apparent superiority
of internal qualities. The beaver is the only animal who has a flat,
oval tail, covered with scales, which serves as a rudder to direct his
course in the water; the only one that has his hind-feet webbed, and
the toes of his fore-feet separate, which he uses to convey food to his
mouth; the only one which resembles a land animal in the fore parts,
and approaches the nature of an aquatic one in the hinder, in short
he forms the same shade between quadrupeds and fishes, as the bat
forms between quadrupeds and birds. But these singularities would be
rather defects than perfections, if the beaver did not derive from this
conformation peculiar advantages which render him superior to all other
animals.
The beavers begin to assemble in June or July in order to form
themselves into a society. They arrive in numbers from all sides, and
soon form a company of two or three hundred; the place of meeting is
generally that where they intend to fix their abode, and is always by
the side of some lake or river. If it be a lake wherein the waters
always remain upon a level they dispense with making a dam; but if it
be a running stream, subject to floods and falls, they build a bank
or pier quite across so as to secure a piece of water always at the
same height, and this bank is frequently from 80 to 100 feet long, and
ten or twelve thick at the base. If we compare the greatness of the
work with the size[R] of the architect, it will appear enormous, but
the solidity with which it is constructed is still more astonishing.
They commonly choose that part of the river which is most shallow,
and if possible, where some large tree is growing by the side of the
stream; this they instantly set about cutting down, and although it is
sometimes much thicker than a man's body, they very soon accomplish it
without any other instrument than their four incisive teeth; and they
always contrive to make it fall across the stream; they next cut off
the top branches to make it lie level. These operations are performed
in common. Several are employed at the foot of the tree in gnawing it
down, others sever the branches, while others are, at the same time,
engaged in parties along the banks of the river in cutting smaller
trees, from the size of a man's leg to that of his thigh; these being
cut to a certain length, they drag, by land, to the brink of the river,
and then by water to the place allotted for their building; having
pointed them at one end, they sink them down at small distances from
each other, and then interweave them with pliant branches; the placing
of these piles is the most difficult part of their operations, but
they accomplish it by one party supporting the thick end with their
teeth, while others plunge to the bottom and dig holes with their feet
to receive the points that they may stand upright. While some are thus
employed, others bring earth and clay, which they prepare for their
purpose with their feet and tails; and they transport it in such large
quantities, that they block up all the intervals between the piles.
These piles are formed by a number of stakes in several rows, exactly
of a height; they are placed opposite to each other, and extend across
the river: that this embankment may sustain the weight of the water,
it is made sloping, so that although it is twelve feet at the base, it
is not more than three at the top; from which ingenious contrivance it
has not only the requisite thickness and solidity, but also a form of
others the most proper for confining the water, maintaining its weight,
and baffling its attacks. Near the top of this bank they make two or
three openings for the superfluous water to escape, and which they
occasionally enlarge or contract as the river rises or falls; and when
by any sudden inundations their work is damaged on the retreat of the
waters they repair it with the utmost diligence.
[R] The largest beavers weigh from 50 to 60 pounds, and are seldom more
than three feet in length, measuring from the tip of the nose to the
insertion of the tail.
After this display of their public labours, it would be superfluous
to add a description of their private constructions, were it not
necessary that, in history, an account should be given of every fact,
and where not this first great work of the beaver, made with an uniform
intention to render their smaller habitations more commodious. These
habitations are partly built upon piles on the banks of the river, and
have two openings, one for the purpose of land, and the other for water
excursions; they are either round or oval, and are of various sizes,
from four to eight or ten feet in diameter; some of them consist of
three or four stories, and their walls are about two feet thick, raised
upon planks, which serve at once for foundations and floors. When they
consist of but one story, the walls are only a few feet perpendicular,
and then raised in a curve, which terminates in a doom or vault, and
serves as a covering. They are constructed with such solidity as to be
impenetrable to the heaviest rains, to defy the most impetuous winds,
and are plastered with excessive neatness, both within and without,
as much so as if they were actually done by the hand of man; yet they
use no other instrument for the preparation of this mortar than their
feet, or for its application than their tails. They chiefly use wood,
stone, sandy earth, and such materials as are not easily dissolved with
water; for the wooden work they take such trees as grow on the banks
of rivers, which are more easily cut down, stripped of their bark, and
carried, than solid timber, all which they are sure to accomplish
upon a tree which they have once attacked. They begin to cut a tree
at the distance of a foot, or a foot and a half from the ground, and
they sit as they work, for besides the advantage of this convenient
posture, they have the pleasure of continually gnawing fresh bark and
soft wood, both of which they prefer to most other kinds of aliment;
and of these they provide an ample store for their subsistence during
winter[S], being averse to dry wood. It is in the water, and near
their habitations, that they establish their magazines; there is one
allotted to each cabin, proportioned to the number of its inhabitants,
to which they have all a common right, and never plunder their
neighbours. Some hamlets, if we may so call them, are composed of 20
or 25 cabins, but such large settlements are rare; generally they do
not consist of more than ten or a dozen families, each of which has its
own district, magazine, and habitation; nor will they allow strangers
to come into their neighbourhood. The smallest dwellings contain two,
four, or six; and the largest eighteen, twenty, and it is even asserted
thirty beavers; and it very seldom happens, that the males and females
are not of an equal number. Moderately speaking, therefore, their
society may be said frequently to consist of 150 or 200, who having at
first exerted their united industry in raising a great public work,
afterwards form themselves into different bodies to construct private
habitations.
[S] The space allotted for the provision of eight or ten beavers is
from 25 to 30 feet in length, and eight or ten feet broad and deep.
However numerous the society may be, peace and good order are uniformly
maintained; their union is strengthened by a common quantity of toil,
and confirmed by the conveniences they have jointly procured; and
the abundance of provisions which they amass and consume together,
render them happy within themselves. Having moderate appetites, and
an aversion to flesh and blood, they have not the smallest propensity
to hostilities or rapine, but actually enjoy all those blessings
which man knows only how to desire. Friends to each other, if they
have threatened enemies abroad they know how to avoid them; and on
the first alarm they give notice of their mutual danger by striking
the water with their tail, the sound of which is heard in their most
distant dwellings; immediately each provides for himself as he thinks
most expedient; some plunge into the water, others conceal themselves
within the walls of their own habitations, which is in no danger but
from the fire of heaven, or weapons of man, and which no animal dares
attempt to open or overturn. These asylums are not only secure but neat
and commodious. The floors are covered with verdure; young branches of
the box and fir serving them for carpets, and upon which they do not
suffer the smallest dirt. The window that fronts the water they use
as a balcony to enjoy the fresh air, and to bathe, which they do the
greatest part of the day, sitting in an upright posture in the water,
with their heads and fore parts only visible. This element appears
so necessary, or at least so pleasing, that they seem unable to do
without frequent immersions in it; therefore, in making this window,
they are very careful to guard against its being blocked up by the
ice; when the river is frozen over, they make an opening in it, and
swim a considerable way under the ice; at which times they are easily
taken, by attacking the dwelling on one hand, and at the same time
lying in wait for them at a hole purposely made in the ice at some
distance, and to which they are obliged to come for breath. The habit
of continually keeping their tails and hinder parts in the water, seems
to have changed the nature of their flesh: that of the fore parts,
as far as the reins, has the taste and consistency of the flesh of
land-animals, while the tail and posteriors have the smell, savour,
and other qualities of fish. As for the tail it is even an extremity,
an actual portion of a fish fixed to the body of a quadruped; it is a
foot long, an inch thick, and five or six inches broad; it is entirely
covered with scales, and has a skin altogether the same as that of a
large fish. These scales may be scraped off with a knife, and then the
impressions are to be seen on the skin as in all scaly fishes.
It is in the beginning of summer that the beavers assemble; they employ
July and August in the construction of their banks and habitations;
in September they collect their provisions of bark and wood, and
afterwards, enjoying the fruits of their labour, they experience the
sweets of domestic tranquillity; this is the time of repose, and what
is more the season of love. Acquainted with, and prepossessed in favour
of each other, from habit, from the pleasures and fatigues of a common
labour, no couple is formed at random, nor by physical necessity, but
by inclination and choice. Happy in each other, they pass the months
of autumn and winter together, and scarcely ever separate. With every
thing at home they can wish for, they never go out but upon agreeable
and useful excursions; on which occasions they bring home fresh bark,
which they prefer to what is too dry, or has been too much soaked
in water. The females are said to go four months with young; they
bring forth towards the close of winter, and have two or three at a
time. Nearly at this period the males leave them, and retire into the
country to enjoy all the sweets of the spring; they pay occasional
visits to their habitations, but reside there no more. The females,
however, remain in them employed in sucking, tending, and rearing their
young, who are in a condition to follow them at the expiration of a
few weeks; at which time they, in their turn, make some excursions,
feeding on crabs, fishes, and bark of young trees; and pass the whole
of the summer upon the water or in the woods. They are not thoroughly
collected again till autumn, unless their bank, or dwellings, should
happen to be damaged by an inundation, in which case they assemble
betimes to make the necessary repairs. They are more fond of residing
in some places than others, and have been observed to return every
summer, after their works have been repeatedly demolished, to repair
them, till harassed by this persecution, and weakened by the loss of
several of their troop, they have, with one consent, deserted it, and
retired to some more secure and less frequented neighbourhood.
Winter is the season principally allotted for hunting them, as it
is then only that their fur is in perfection; and when, after their
dwellings are demolished, a number of them are taken, their society
is never restored; but those which escape captivity or death, become
houseless wanderers. Their genius is overcome by apprehension, and
they never more attempt to exert it, but conceal themselves in holes
under ground, and reduced to the condition of other animals, they lead
a timid life, employing themselves only to satisfy their immediate
and urgent wants; nor do they any longer retain those qualities which
they so eminently possess in their social state. However marvellous
the description we have just given of the society of the beaver may
appear, it is beyond a doubt strictly consonant to truth. A number of
ocular witnesses have agreed in their writings to every fact I have
mentioned; and if the present recital differs from some authors whom I
have followed, it is only in such points as appeared to me to be too
marvellous and improbable to be believed. Many writers, not content
with ascribing to the beaver social manners, and evident talents for
architecture, have attributed to them general ideas of policy and
government. They have asserted that when their society is formed, they
reduce travellers and strangers of their own species into slavery; that
they employ them in carrying their clay and wood; that they treat in
the same manner the idle who will not, and the old who cannot, work;
that is, they throw them upon their backs, and use them as so many
vehicles to carry their materials; that they never assemble in an
even number, for the purpose of having, in all their deliberations, a
casting voice; that each tribe has its peculiar chief; that they have
sentinels established for the public security; that when chased they
tear off their testicles to satisfy the avarice of their pursuers;
that when thus mutilated they turn about and present themselves to
obtain mercy,[T] &c. Although we discredit these exaggerations, yet
we must not reject those facts which have been established by moral
certainties. A thousand times have the works of the beaver been
viewed, overturned, measured, designed, and engraved; and every doubt
is banished, by some of their fabrics still subsisting; for though
less common than when North America was first discovered, the latest
missionaries and travellers, who have visited the northern parts of
that continent, unanimously concur in having met with them.
[T] This is affirmed by Ælian, and all other ancient writers, Pliny
excepted, who absolutely denies it.
We are told by these that, besides the beavers who live in societies,
there are others which lead a life of solitude; having been rejected
from the body, for being guilty of some crime against it, and therefore
are not allowed to partake of its advantages; they have neither house
nor magazine, and are forced to live, like the badger, in holes under
ground. They are easily distinguished, from their coats being always
dirty, and their hair rubbed off by the friction of the earth. Like
the otters they inhabit the edge of rivers, where some of them dig a
ditch several feet deep, in order to make a pond that may reach to the
mouth of their hole, which has an internal ascent; there are, however,
others which live at a considerable distance from the water. All the
European beavers are solitary, and their fur is by no means so fine as
that of those who live in society. They differ in colour according to
the climate they inhabit. In the northern countries they are black,
and those are the finest, although among those there are some found
entirely white, some grey, and others with red spots. The further
they are removed from the north the more bright and varied we find
their colour. In the north part of Canada they are chesnut, and among
the Illinois they are yellow, or olive-coloured. There are beavers in
America from the 30th degree of north latitude to beyond the 60th.
They are common in the north part, and gradually decrease towards the
south. This is also the case in the Old Continent; we never find them
numerous except in the northern countries; in France, Spain, Italy,
Greece, and Egypt, they are very rare. They were known to the ancients,
and by the religion of the Magi it was forbidden to kill them. Upon
the borders of the Euxine sea they were common, and were called _canes
pontici_; but it is probable they did not enjoy much tranquillity in
the neighbourhood of this sea, (which from the earliest time has been
frequented by mankind) since none of the ancients speak either of their
society or labours. Ælian, in particular, who had such a propensity
to the marvellous, and who I believe was the first who mentioned
their dismembering themselves to delay the hunters, would never have
omitted enlarging on the wonders of their republic, and genius for
architecture. Would Pliny, whose bold, gloomy, and sublime genius was
always bent upon degrading man to exalt Nature; would he have forborne
to have compared the labours of Romulus with those of the beavers? It
seems, therefore, that their industry, and talents for building were
unknown to the ancients; and although in latter ages, beavers have been
found in Norway, and other northern parts of Europe, with habitations
of their own construction; and though there be no reason to doubt the
ancient beavers did not build as well as the modern, yet as the Romans
did not penetrate so far north, it is not surprising they should have
been unnoticed by their writers.
Several authors have said, that the beaver, being an aquatic animal,
could not live solely on land; but this opinion is erroneous, for the
young beaver sent me from Canada was reared in the house, and when
taken to the water was afraid of it, and refused to go in; when plunged
into the bason, there was a necessity to hold him there by force; but
in a few minutes he became perfectly reconciled; afterwards, when left
to his liberty, he would frequently return to it of himself, and even
roll upon the dirt and wet pavement. One day he escaped and descended
by a stair-case into the subterraneous vaults in the Royal Garden, and
swam a considerable time in the stagnant water at the bottom of them,
yet no sooner did he see the light of the torches, which were brought
to search for him, than he returned, and suffered himself to be taken
without the smallest resistance. He is familiar without fawning, and is
sure to ask for something to eat from those he sees at table, which he
does by a small plaintive cry, and some gestures with his fore paws.
When he obtains a morsel he carries it off and conceals it, that he
may eat it at his ease. He sleeps pretty often, and then lies upon his
belly. No food comes amiss to him, meat excepted, which he constantly
refuses either raw or dressed. He gnaws every thing he comes near, and
it was found necessary to line with tin the barrel in which he was
brought over.
Though the beavers prefer the borders of lakes, rivers, and other fresh
waters, yet they are sometimes found on the sea-shores, especially
mediterranean gulphs, which receive great rivers, and where the waters
are less salt. They are professed enemies to the otters, whom they
hunt, and will not even permit them to appear in the waters which they
frequent. The fur of the beaver is more beautiful and thick than that
of the otter; it is composed of two sorts of hair, the one short,
bushy, soft as down, and impenetrable to the water, which immediately
covers the skin; the other longer, bristly, and shining, but thinner,
which serves as an upper coat, and defends the former from filth and
dust. The latter is of little value, it is the first alone which is
used by our manufacturers. The blackest furs are generally thickest,
and consequently most esteemed; nor is the fur of the solitary beavers
equal to that of those who live in society. These animals, like all
other quadrupeds, shed their hair in summer, and therefore the furs
of such as are taken in that season are of little value. The fur of
the white beaver is esteemed because of its rarity; and the perfectly
black is nearly as uncommon as the white. But, independent of the fur,
which is the most valuable article, the beaver furnishes a substance
which has been considerably used in medicine; it is known by the name
of _castoreum_, and is contained in two large bladders, and which the
ancients mistook for the testicles of this animal; but as they are
to be found in every pharmacopæia, it is unnecessary to give here a
description of them or their uses[U]. The savages are said to obtain
an oil from the beaver's tail, which they apply as a topical remedy
for different complaints. The flesh of this animal, though fat and
delicate, is yet bitter and disagreeable to the palate. It is affirmed
that its bones are of an excessive hardness, a circumstance which we
are unable to determine, having never dissected but one, which was very
young. Their teeth are very hard, and so sharp, that the savages use
them to cut, hollow, and polish their wood; they also clothe themselves
with its skin, and in the winter wear it with the hair next their
bodies.
[U] It is pretended, that the beavers extract this liquid by pressing
the bladders with their feet, and that it gives them an appetite when
disgusted with food, and that the savages to entrap them, wet the
snares with it. But it is more certain, that the animal uses it to
grease its hair.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
[Illustration: FIG. 94. _Beaver_]
[Illustration: FIG. 95. _Raccoon_]
The beaver uses its fore-feet like hands, with as much facility as
a squirrel; the toes of the hind-feet being connected by a strong
membrane, supply the place of fins, and expand like those of a goose,
which the beaver somewhat resembles in its walk. He swims much better
than he runs; and as his fore-legs are much shorter than his hind ones,
he always moves along with his head very low and his back arched.
His senses are very acute, and that of smelling so delicate, that he
will not permit any dirt or filth to remain near him. When kept in
confinement too long, and he is under the necessity of voiding his
excrements, he drops them close to the threshold of the door, and as
soon as that is opened pushes them out. This habit of cleanliness
is natural to them, and our young beaver never failed to purify his
apartment in this manner. At the age of one year he gave a sign of
ardour for a female, which seems to be a proof he had then nearly
attained his full growth; therefore their duration of life cannot be
very long, and it is probably wrong to extend it to fifteen or twenty
years. The beaver I had was very small for his age; a circumstance that
is not surprising, since he had been in perpetual confinement from his
earliest days, and from being unacquainted with water until he was nine
months old, he could be expected to grow and expand like those who,
while they enjoy their liberty, range at pleasure in that element which
seems to be almost as necessary to them as that of land.