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THE ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER


The beaver lodge plastered over with the protective coating of mud, which when frozen
renders the inmates safe from any enemies except man.



Beaver in the act of cutting a branch off a lodged birch tree.
The flashlight was fired by the beaver.


THE ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER

Being the History of the Beaver in the Western Hemisphere.

By A. RADCLYFFE DUGMORE
F.R.G.S., F.R.C.S.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS FROM
LIFE AND DRAWINGS BY THE ΑUΤΗΟR


Should you ask where Nawadaha
Found these songs, so wild and wayward,
Found these legends and traditions,
I should answer, I should tell you,
In the birds’-nests of the forest,
In the lodges of the beaver.”

The Song of Hiawatha.

PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
Printed in England.

1914

CONTENTS

   INTRODUCTION

I. THE BEAVERS OF NORTH AMERICA. THEIR HABITS OF LIFE AND THEIR
          WONDERFUL ENGINEERING FEATS

II. THE LIFE OF A BEAVER COLONY

III. RESULTS OF BEAVERS’ WORK — IN WHAT WAY MAN DERIVES BENEFIT
          FROM THE ENGINEERING FEATS OF THE COUNTLESS GENERATIONS OF
          BEAVERS — METHODS FOR THEIR PROTECTION

IV. BEAVER AND CANADIAN HISTORY — SHOWING SOMETHING OF THE PART
          PLAYED BY THEM IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY

V. THE BEAVER AS A SPECIES


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE BEAVER LODGE PLASTERED OVER WITH THE PROTECTIVE COATING OF MUD,
          WHICH WHEN FROZEN RENDERS THE INMATES SAFE FROM ANY ENEMIES EXCEPT
          MAN

BEAVER IN THE ACT OF CUTTING A BRANCH OFF A LODGED BIRCH TREE

BEAVER SWIMMING

A LARGE BIRCH TREE CUT BY THE BEAVERS AND DROPPED INTO THE WATER

A BIRCH TREE OVER 60 INCHES IN DIAMETER CUT BY BEAVER

A TYPICAL LODGE READY FOR ITS FINAL COATING OF WET SOD AND MUD, WHICH IS PUT
          ON AS SOON AS THE NIGHTS ARE COLD ENOUGH TO FREEZE IT

BEAVER CLEARING A ROADWAY

BEAVER LODGE CUT OPEN TO SHOW INTERIOR

A LODGE WHICH WITHSTOOD SEVERAL WEEKS’ SUBMERGENCE DURING A FLOOD

AN UNUSUALLY LARGE LODGE (IN NEWFOUNDLAND)

BEAVER LODGE IN A SWAMP CONCEALED AMONG TAMARACK AND FIRS

A TYPICAL MUSK-RAT’S HOUSE (LONG ISLAND, N.Y.), WHICH CLOSELY RESEMBLES A
          VERY ROUGHLY MADE BEAVER’S LODGE, EXCEPT THAT REEDS INSTEAD OF LOGS
          ARE USED

POPLAR TREE CUT DOWN BY BEAVER

BEAVER ON THE TOP OF HIS LODGE A VERY MUCH CURVED DAM

AN INTERESTING AND SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL TYPE OF LODGE ON THE EDGE OF A POND
          SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM ANY TREES

SHOWS AN ISLAND LODGE IN A POND MADE BY THE BEAVER

A DAM IN ITS EARLY STAGE OF CONSTRUCTION, SHOWING HOW THE STICKS, CHIEFLY
          ALDER, ARE LAID LENGTHWAYS WITH THE STREAM

DAM BUILT ALMOST ENTIRELY OF SMALL STONES, WEIGHT OF WHICH SELDOM
          EXCEEDED 4 LBS.

WHERE THE BEAVER HAVE CUT GRASS FOR BEDDING (NEWFOUNDLAND)

A SUBSIDIARY OR SUPPORTING DAM

MENDING A BROKEN DAM

BEAVER IN THE ACT OF REPAIRING A BREAK IN THE DAM

A GATE OR SPILLWAY CUT IN THE DAM IN ORDER TO LET THE SURPLUS WATER ESCAPE

SHOWING THE FACING OF A RECENTLY ABANDONED DAM

RECENTLY MADE DAM .

A PROLONGED RAIN FLOODED THE STREAM AND THREATENED TO CARRY AWAY THE
          DAM, SO THE BEAVER MADE AN OPENING THROUGH WHICH THE WATER ESCAPED
          AND THE DAM WAS SAVED

THE SAME DAM AS SHOWN IN PREVIOUS ILLUSTRATION, BUT SEEN FROM ABOVE IN
          ORDER THAT THE OPENING MADE BY THE BEAVER MIGHT BE MORE CLEARLY SEEN

TWO SUBSIDIARY OR SECONDARY DAMS

IN THIS RAPID STREAM (NEWFOUNDLAND) THE BEAVER SELECTED THE ONLY POSSIBLE
          PLACE FOR THEIR DAM

THE LOG (CUT BY LUMBER-MEN) SEEN IN THE FOREGROUND EVIDENTLY SUGGESTED
          TO THE BEAVER THE SITE FOR THEIR DAM, AND IS AN ILLUSTRATION OF HOW THEY
          TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CONDITIONS

A BIRCH TREE THAT LODGED

AN ABANDONED BEAVER DAM OVER 300 FEET LONG

STUMP ON A DAM CUT FROM THE SURFACE OF SNOW

A TREE WHICH WAS EVIDENTLY CUT WHEN THE GROUND WAS COVERED WITH SNOW,
          AS THE TOP OF THE STUMP IS OVER 4 FEET HIGH

BEAVERS’ BLAZING OR MARKING ON A BIRCH TREE

A MOST INTERESTING EXAMPLE OF BEAVER CUTTING

THIS SHOWS THAT SECOND THOUGHTS ARE BEST

A BEAVER DAM ABOUT 500 FEET LONG BUT ONLY 4 1/2 FEET IN HEIGHT

BIRCH TREE PARTLY CUT THROUGH BY BEAVER

A LODGE BUILT ON THE BANK OR SANDY RIVER (NEW FOUNDLAND), WITH A LARGE
          STORE OF LOGS AND BRUSH PILED IN THE WATER, FOR WINTER USE

BEAVER SHORT-CUT PATH FROM POND TO RIVER SHOWN IN DIAGRAM

A BEAVER’S ROAD FROM THE WOODS TO THE WATER

BEAVER STRIKING THE WATER WITH HIS TAIL AS A SIGNAL OF ALARM

THE END OF THE SPLASH AS THE BEAVER DISAPPEARS AFTER SOUNDING THE SIGNAL
          OF ALARM

LODGE BUILT AMONG ALDERS

THE ORDINARY TYPE OF DAM FOUND IN A FAIRLY FLAT DISTRICT (NEWFOUNDLAND)

PART OF A POPLAR GROVE WHICH WAS COMPLETELY CUT DOWN BY A SMALL COLONY
          OF BEAVER

THE BEAVERS’ DINING PLACE SHOWN BY THE PEELED STICKS

THE BEAVERS’ SUMMER HOME

BEAVER CUTTINGS, SEVEN-EIGHTHS NATURAL SIZE

A LARGE BIRCH TREE VERY CLUMSILY CUT

BEAVER CUTTING UP A BIRCH BRANCH

BEAVER’S LODGE WHICH HAS RECEIVED PART OF ITS WINTER COAT OF MUD AND SOD

THREE POPLARS CUT FROM A SINGLE STUMP

BEAVERS’ ROAD FROM THE WATER TO A GROVE OF POPLARS

BEAVER INSPECTING THE DAM WHICH HAS BEEN BROKEN IN ORDER THAT THE PICTURE
          MIGHT BE SECURED

A DAM MADE CHIEFLY OF LARGE LOGS, THE SlZE OF WHICH IS SHOWN BY COMPARISON
          WITH MAN

THE SAME DAM AS THAT SHOWN IN PREVIOUS ILLUSTRATION, PHOTOGRAPHED FROM
          THE LOWER SIDE; THE MAN, WHO IS OVER 6 FEET TALL, GIVES AN IDEA OF THE
          SIZE OF THE STRUCTURE

A DAM WHEN KEPT IN REPAIR RETAINS THE WATER OF THE POND ALMOST TO
          ITS EXTREME CROWN

AS ADAM FALLS INTO DECAY THE SITE BECOMES OVERGROWN WITH ALDERS
          AND WILLOWS

THIS DAM, NO LONGER KEPT IN REPAIR, WILL LET THE WATER ESCAPE, AND BEFORE
          LONG WILL LOSE ALL SEMBLANCE OF ITS ORIGINAL FORM

A BEAVER POND SEEN FROM AN ELEVATION. THE LODGES ARE SEEN ON THE EXTREME
          RIGHT

A COMPARATIVELY NEW BEAVER POND FILLED WITH TREES WHICH HAVE BEEN KILLED
          BY THE WATER

WHEN THE DAM BEGINS TO DISINTEGRATE THE POND RAPIDLY DWINDLES TO AN
          INSIGNIFICANT SlZE

EVENTUALLY NOTHING OF THE POND REMAINS, AND THE STREAM RESUMES ITS
          LONG-INTERRUPTED COURSE

WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY FOREST LAND, THEN FOR MANY YEARS A BEAVER POND OR
          LAKE, BECOMES A RICH MEADOW, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY DEVOTED TO THE USE OF           MAN

AN EXAMPLE OF A DIMINISHING LAKE AND CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN THE SIZE
          OF THE “BEAVER MEADOW”

A BEAVER POND WHICH MAY EVENTUALLY BECOME MEADOW LAND

A FRESH BEAVER-CUT STUMP SHOWING THE KEEN CUTTING THROUGH THE HARD BIRCH

LODGE BUILT BY BEAVER IN THE WASHINGTON ZOO

DAM BUILT BY BEAVER IN THE WASHINGTON ZOO

THE OUTCAST

A ROUGH EXAMPLE OF BEAVER LODGE IN WHICH VERY LITTLE SOD OR MUD HAS AS YET BEEN USED

TYPE OF LODGE BUILT ON AN ISLAND

REPAIRING A BROKEN DAM

A SUBSIDIARY OR SECONDARY DAM BUILT TO SUPPORT THE MAIN STRUCTURE, WHICH
          MAY BE SEEN ON THE MIDDLE AND RIGHT SIDE OF THE UPPER PART OF
          THE PICTURE

A FINE EXAMPLE OF A WOODLAND DAM, 365 FEET IN LENGTH, OF WHICH ABOUT 70
          FEET WAS OVER 7 FEET HIGH

IN SPITE OF THE TIMIDITY OF BEAVER THEY SOME TIMES SELECT CURIOUSLY
          PUBLIC PLACES FOR THEIR SCENE OF OPERATIONS

BEAVERS’ ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE ON MAN’S WORK

WORKING ON THE LODGE AND CARRYING BRANCHES TO THE WINTER STORE, WHICH
          IS PLACED IN THE WATER AND QUITE NEAR THE HOUSE. (Painting)

THE WINTER LIFE OF THE BEAVER. (Painting)

CANAL MADE BY BEAVER IN ORDER TO ENABLE THEM TO TRANSPORT THEIR
          WOOD CUTTINGS FROM THE SOURCE OF SUPPLY TO THE POND IN WHICH THE
          WINTER FOOD SUPPLY is STORED. (Painting)

ROLLING A LOG DOWN THEIR ROADWAY TO THE POND, WHEN IT WILL BE FLOATED
          TO THE WINTER STORE. (Painting)

BEAVERS GATHERING THEIR SUPPLY OF WOOD. (Painting)

BEAVERS WORKING ON THEIR DAM. (Painting)

Castor fiber — EUROPEAN BEAVER

Castor canadensis — CANADIAN BEAVER

Castor fiber — EUROPEAN BEAVER

Castor canadensis — CANADIAN BEAVER

LE BEAU’S MARVELLOUS VISION, PUBLISHED IN 1738

IN BIRCH BARK CANOES LIKE THIS THE BEAVER SKINS WERE CARRIED FROM THE
          WILDS TO MONTREAL AND OTHER CENTRES


ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

A BEAVER LODGE

SECTION OF BEAVER DAM

ARRANGEMENT OF MAIN AND SUBSIDIARY DAMS IN PLAN AND SECTION

A BEAVER POND IN NORTH ONTARIO SHOWING HOW THE COURSE OF A STREAM
          WAS DIVERTED

DIAGRAM OF BEAVERS’ POND

THE BEAVER AND PECULIAR IDEAS OF LODGES

LABEL OF THE HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY, AS USED AT THE PRESENT TIME

FEET OF ADULT MALE BEAVER (LEFT SIDE)

BEAVER TAIL

LOWER JAW OF BEAVER WITH THE NEAR SIDE OF JAW CUT AWAY IN ORDER TO
          SHOW THE TOTAL LENGTH OF THE INCISOR TOOTH AND THE COMPARATIVELY
          SMALL AMOUNT THAT PROJECTS

SKELETON OF BEAVER


DEDICATED
BY
SPECIAL PERMISSION TO
H.R.H.
THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT,
K.G., K.T., K.P., P.C., ETC.,
GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA.


INTRODUCTION

THE object of this little book is two-fold: first, as people of nearly all classes and ages appear to be interested in the life and habits of the beaver, to provide a book on the subject free from exaggeration, and not too technical; secondly, to call attention to the question of protecting the most interesting animal to-day extant. We are apt to drift along so busied by our own affairs that the future is too often forgotten, as indeed is the immediate present, except in so far as it intimately affects us and our daily lives.

Occasionally we wake up — some of us at least — and realise with a shock that something is slipping from our grasp, that the world is in imminent danger of losing some particular and interesting form of life, for once a species is gone no power of man will ever recall it. If our awakening is not too late, and our energies are sufficient, we make a great cry that is heard far and near and the species is perhaps saved. If our cry is only half hearted, the disappearance of the bird or animal is arrested, and we are satisfied; but apathy follows only too often, and then more than likely the destruction continues, and at our second awakening we are probably too late.

We owe a great deal to those who follow us, for we are the stewards into whose keeping the world is entrusted; we populate the world with our children who have the right to ask an account of our stewardship, and their children, and their children’s children after them. As we build museums and libraries to store away and preserve to the best of our ability those things which though perishable, we believe to be of interest, so must we do all in our power to protect the birds and animals that are practically imperishable except through man’s too frequent destructive agency. Some animals are probably doomed to extermination, as wild creatures at any rate, and perhaps also as captives; among these are the lions, leopards, rhinoceroses and others, whose methods of use are not conducive to human advancement and comfort. They can only be preserved as mounted specimens and in photographs; such pictures whether single or cinematographs will be of untold interest to those who follow us and we should feel the obligation of not only securing really good negatives but of having those we have got properly cared for. Too often have I urged this and yet how little is being done! With the beaver it is not so much a question of securing photographs, for the beaver do not lend themselves to pictorial efforts. It is a question of securing for him proper protection. What Colonel Roosevelt, Dr. W. T. Hornaday (of the New York Zoological Society), the Audubon Societies, the Museum of Natural History of New York and other organisations and individuals have done for birds, and some animals, should be done for the beaver. The perpetuation of the species could be carried on with so little trouble, and the results would repay the efforts ten-thousandfold.

If this little book does anything to call attention to the question of adequate protection either in the United States, Canada, Newfoundland, and else where, the many years of hard work will be more than amply repaid. In treating the subject I have avoided all mention of methods of trapping as it is intended as a constructive and not a destructive work. Someone will come after me who will no doubt treat the subject of beaver life far better and with greater thoroughness. That work will, I trust, be received with gratitude. In the mean time those who are interested in the subject will perhaps experience some slight pleasure from this effort to call attention to the beaver, his work, and its far-reaching effects.

Among those to whom I am indebted for information are many who have passed to the land of shadows, but have left behind them the results of their observations. I therefore offer my thanks, both to the living and the dead — most conspicuous among them being Lewis H. Morgan, for “The American Beaver and His Works” (published in 1868 by J. B. Lippincott & Co.), Horace T. Martin, F.Z.S., &c., for “Castorologia, or the History and Traditions of the Canadian Beaver” (1892), Ernest Thompson Seton for “Life Histories of Northern Animals,” and Enos A. Mills for “In Beaver World” (1913), and to the Jesuit fathers.

For the photographs which illustrate this volume I can but say that I have done my best, and have never spared myself in my efforts to get the most satisfactory results. Some of the photographs of the animals themselves have been slightly retouched. It is my first offence in this direction, and has only been done because after careful consideration it seemed so very necessary. The reader will never realise the amount of labour that has been devoted to securing the pictures given, for they are illustrations rather than pictures. Let him therefore pass over their defects with a kindly consideration and not be too severe if in the text he finds statements which do not agree with his own ideas and experiences.

A. RADCLYFFE DUGMORE.
CRETE HILL,
SOUTH NUTFIELD.

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