[243] Chapter 18

Voyage in the backcountry continued; Discovery of a village of grey beavers; The author sets them to work; He kills one; Description of their lodges

As we continued, always toward the North, we began to see flocks of swans in the air, ascending to the limit of our sight and announcing their passage by piercing cries.  For several days we followed a river, walking on a flat ridge which paralleled it so as to reach the source of the river and pass around it.  The woods, which follow the banks of rivers in this country, guided us, even if we could not see the river itself, and our view was not cut off by these woods, because the two bluffs on either side of the river were higher than the trees in the valley.  We were hoping to arrive at the source of the river the following day, when the discoverer who followed the woods in the bottom of the valley [244], came to us to tell me that, having seen clearings in the woods, as if in the neighborhood of a village, and even seeing several downed tree trunks, he approached carefully to see if anyone inhabited this place, but found only a village of beavers.  Knowing that I had not yet seen any, he had thought that I would be pleased to do so.

            Although it was only three o'clock in the afternoon, I made the signal to regroup, and my other discoverers returned to my side.  We camped within reach of this beaver retreat, far enough that they could not see our fire.  I put my people on their guard against making any noise, or firing their guns, for fear of scaring these animals, and thought it even necessary to forbid them from cutting any wood, and to go search for firewood so as not to cut any, all to conceal our arrival.

            Having taken all of these precautions, we dined early, so as to be able to sleep before moonrise, which would come at about 11 o'clock [245].  Before nightfall, I had taken the trouble to cut several branches of green wood.  We were up and about before the moon shone brightly, and posted ourselves in a place which was equally far from the lodges of the beavers, and from the dam that held back the waters around it.  I brought my gun and my game-bag, as it was my habit never to be without them, but I allowed my naturals only the small hatchet that all voyagers carry, and which they call a tomahawk ["casse-tete"="head breaker"].  After having pointed out to the others where to hide, and told them where to place the green branches, I took the eldest of my party, went to the middle of the dam, and had him open a small channel, about a foot wide, with his hatchet.  He began on the outside of the dam and cut through it towards the water, lifting out the earth with his hands.  As soon as the channel was cut and the water began to flow through it, we quickly and silently retreated to our blind, to watch what the beavers would do to repair this disorder [246].

            A little after we were got behind our screen of boughs, we heard the water of the gutter begin to make a noise: and a moment after, a beaver came out of his hut and plunged into the water.  We could only know this by the noise, but we saw him at once upon the bank or dam, and distinctly perceived that he took a survey of the gutter, after which he instantly gave with all his force four blows with his tail; and had scarce struck the fourth, but all the beavers threw themselves pell-mell into the water, and came upon the dam: when they were all come thither, one of them muttered and mumbled to the rest (who all stood very attentive) I know not what orders, but which they doubtless understood well, because they instantly departed, and went out on the banks of the pond, on party one way; another, another way.  Those next us were between us and the dam, and we at the proper distance not to be seen, and to observe them.  Some of them made mortar, others carried it on their tails [247], which served for sledges.  I observed they put themselves two and two, side by side, the one with his head to the otherÕs tail, and thus mutually loaded each other, and trailed the mortar, which was pretty stiff, quite to the dam, where others remained to take it, put it into the gutter, and rammed it with blows of their tails.

            The noise which the water made before by its fall, soon ceased, and the breach was closed in a short time: upon which one of the beavers struck two great blows with his tail, and instantly they all took to the water without any noise, and disappeared.  We retired, in order to take a little rest in our hut, where we remained till day; but as soon as it appeared, I longed much to satisfy my curiosity about these creatures.

            I wanted to kill one, but waited until the next day, because I was planning something more than was the work of one night, and which would better satisfy my curiosity.  If I had shot at them, I would have risked driving all the rest into the woods.  We stayed in the blind until daylight, but as soon as it came, I was avid to satisfy my curiosity, and left two of my men to charge the rifles.  As soon as they had done so, they left the guns came join us, because we had no fear of thieves where we were [248].

            My people together made a pretty large and deep breach, in order to view the construction of the dam, which I shall describe presently: we then made noise enough without further ceremony.  This noise, and the water, which the beavers observed soon to lower, gave them much uneasiness; so that I saw one of them at different times come pretty near to us, in order to examine what passed.

            As I apprehended that when the water was run off they would all take flight to the woods, we quitted the breach, and went to conceal ourselves all round the pond, in order to kill only one, the more narrowly to examine it; especially as these beavers were of the grey kind, which are not so common as the brown.

            One of the beavers ventured to go upon the breach [249], after having several times approached it, and returned again like a spy.  I lay in ambush in the bottom at the end of the dam: I saw him return; he surveyed the breach, then struck four blows, which saved his life, for I then aimed at him.  But these four blows, so well struck, made me judge it was the signal of call for all the rest, just as the night before.  This also made me think he might be the overseer of the works, and I did not choose to deprive the republic of beavers of a member who appeared so necessary to it.  I therefore waited till others should appear: a little after, one came and passed close by me, in order to go to work; I made no scruple to lay him at his full length, on the persuasion he might only be a common labourer.  My shot made them all return to their cabins, with greater speed than a hundred blows of the tail of their Overseer could have done.  As soon as I had killed this beaver [250], I called my companions; and finding the water did not run off quick enough, I caused the breach to be widened, and I examined the dead.

            I observed these beavers to be a third less than the brown or common sort, but their make the same; having the same head, save sharp teeth, same beards, legs as short, paws equally furnished with claws, and with membranes or webs, and in all respects made like the others.  The only difference is, that they of an ash-grey, and that the long pile, which passes over the soft wool, is silvered, or whitish.  After all the descriptions of beavers which have appeared, that which I have just given seems to me sufficient.

            During this examination, I caused my people to cut boughs, canes, and reeds, to be thrown in towards the end of the pond, in order to pass over the little mud which was in that place; and at the same time I caused some shot to be fired on the cabins that lay nearest us.  The report of the guns, and the rattling of the shot on the roofs of the cabins [251], made them all fly into the woods with the greatest precipitation imaginable.  We came at length to a cabin, in which there were not six inches of water.  I caused to undo the roof without breaking any thing, during which I saw the piece of aspen-tree, which was laid under the cabin for their provisions.

            I observed fifteen pieces of wood, with their bark in part gnawed.  The cabin also had fifteen cells round the hole in the middle, at which they went out; which made me think each had his own cell.

            I am now to give a sketch of the architecture of these amphibious animals, and an account of their villages; it is thus I call the place of their abode, after the Canadians and the Indians, with whom I agree; and allow, these animals deserve so much the more to be distinguished from others, as I find their instinct far superior to that of other animals.  I shall not carry the parallel any farther, it might become offensive.

            The cabins of the beavers are round, having about ten or twelve feet in diameter, according to the number, more or less, of fixed inhabitants.  I mean, that this diameter is to be taken on the flooring at about a foot above the water, when it is even with the dam: but as the upper part runs to a point, the under is much larger than the flooring which we may represent to ourselves, by supposing all the upright posts to resemble the legs of a great A, whose middle stroke is the flooring.  These posts are picked out and we might say, well proportioned, seeing, at the height this flooring is to be laid at, there is a hook for bearing bars, which by that means form the circumference of the flooring.  The bars again bear traverses, or cross pieces of timber, which are the joists; canes and grass complete this flooring, which has a hole in the middle to go out at, when they please, and into this all the cells open.

            The dam is formed of timbers, in the shape of St. AndrewÕs cross, or of a great X, laid close together, and kept firm by timbers laid lengthwise, which are continued from one end of the dam to the other, and placed on the St. AndrewÕs crosses: the whole is filled with earth, clapped close by great blows of their tails.  The side of the dam, next the water, is almost perpendicular; but on the outside it has a great slope, that grass coming to grow thereon, may prevent the water that passes there, to carry away the earth.

            I saw them neither cut nor convey the timbers along, but it is to be presumed their manner is the same as that of other Beavers, who never cut but a soft wood; for which purpose they use their fore-teeth, which are extremely sharp.  These timbers they push and roll before them on the land, as they do on the water, till they come to the place where they want to lay them.  I observed these grey Beavers to be more chilly, or sensible of cold, than the other species: and it is doubtless for this reason they draw nearer to the south.

            A friend of mine, having heard tell of these animals, in the same manner as I have just given this account, told me that a certain respected modern author writes on the topic quite differently than I have, and that in truth, this author has never traveled, and that he can only have written of the beaver based on what he read in others' accounts.  I have read this author with pleasure, and I perceived that on several occasions, he had been falsely accused [252].  This is why I am going to describe the architecture of these amphibious animals and their towns: I name thus the place of their residence, in accordance with the Natives and Canadians of the country, who agree that these animals deserve to be distinguished from others, that I find their instincts far superior to those of other animals.  I will not push the parallel further, as it will become offensive.

            The beaver cabins are round and about ten to twelve feet in diameter, according to the number who have to live there.  I understand that this diameter has to be taken from the flooring, about a foot above water, but as the top comes to a point, the bottom is much bigger than this flooring.  Thus, the pillars of the cabin are like a capital A, and the middle rung is the flooring [253].  These pillars are chosen, and one could say carefully measured, because at the point where the flooring has to be there is a hook to accept the beams that support the flooring.  These beams carry the cross-members that are the joists. The canes and sticks cover the floor, which has a hole in the middle as an exit when they need one.

            The dam is formed of wood beams in crosses like a capital X, placed side to side and anchored by wood beams which extend along its length, and which continue from one end to the other, and are laid across the crosses of the X. All of this is filled with earth and packed down with blows of their tails. The inside of the dam, the side beneath the water, is simply a slope of talus rocks, but these are flat on the top, so that when grass grows out of these rocks, it prevents the water from carrying away the dirt.

            I did not see them cutting the wood, nor carrying it, but I assume that they do this work like the other beavers do, who only cut tender young trees, and use for this purpose their four large shovel-shaped front teeth. They push and roll these logs in front of them along the ground, and also pull them across the water, to the place where they want to use them. I have observed that these grey Beavers are more sensitive to the cold than those of the other species. It is for this reason, no doubt, that they live farther South.