An episode appeared twice a month
in The Michigan Farmer magazine.
Uncle Joe Takes a Hand
"Who got to the beaver dam first, Uncle Joe?" Jerry asked
the next day.
"Well," said Uncle Joe, "it was a pretty close race
for a while, but as they got nearer to Friendly Creek it was more difficult
for the man to run. The ground was soft and mushy and he floundered
around making very little headway.
"When Flattail reached Friendly Creek he didn't pause in his headlong
rush. He was in the water in an instant and he was swimming towards
the beaver lodge for dear life. When the man came up to the beaver dam
a minute later there was only the still water with the beaver lodge
sticking up out of it."
Jerry let out a big sigh. "I'm glad that's over with," he
said. "I thought for a while that Flattail wouldn't make it."
Uncle Joe smiled. "But it really wasn't all over," he said.
"It was really only the beginning. The man was more determined
than ever to get a beaver for himself. The way he went at it, he didn't
seem to care whether he got one dead or alive. He seemed furious. When
I saw what he was up to I called Mrs. Spence to the tower and I left.
She told me what happened between the time I left and when I arrived
at the beaver dam.
"The man tried wading out into the water towards the beaver lodge.
The water was too deep and he went back to the bank again. He shook
his fist at the beaver lodge. I don't know what Flattail and the other
beavers gathered there thought but they weren't kept in suspense long."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Uncle Joe," I said, "but what
does the inside of a beaver lodge look like?"
Uncle Joe paused a moment. "A beaver lodge is hollowed out in
the center with the floor a little above high water line," he explained.
Often there is but one room. Sometimes there are more. There is at least
one front door and one back door with a passageway leading up to the
room from under the water. A couple of holes in the roof about the size
of your largest finger furnish ventilation."
"Aren't there any windows?" Jerry asked.
Uncle Joe shook his head. "None except the holes in the roof.
That was why the beavers could tell very little about what was going
on outside. They may have had sentinels posted in hidden spots outside
but I doubt it. They were too frightened by this time, undoubtedly.
"The man, seeing that he could not get to the lodge, now went
to the dam. With the pole of the net he started to make a hole in the
dam. At first the water ran through a small hole. He made it larger.
The stream of water running over the dam increased in size. The man
shoved some of the tree limbs out of the way. The water carried the
mud with it.
"The man must have been working fifteen minutes or more when I
arrived. He didn't see me because he was chuckling to himself. The water
by then was quite low and he started out towards the beaver lodge."
"Didn't you stop him, Uncle Joe?" Jerry asked excitedly.
"Yes," said Uncle Joe. "I had to or he would have destroyed
the beaver lodge. If it had been winter, he couldn't have hurt either
the dam or the lodge. They would have been frozen solid."
"What happened to the man?" I asked.
"He was given a heavy fine; and being unable to pay, he was sent
to jail," Uncle Joe replied.
Click HERE to read "Flattail
Learns About Beaver Dams"
If you have questions or comments
about this Web page or site, e-mail: mary@vanmeer.com
© 2004 Leo VanMeer
|
