CHAPTER XV.
THE BEAVERS.
Dona Luz gently pushed aside the branches of the willows and bending herhead forward, she surveyed the scene.
The beavers had not only intercepted the course of the river by meansof their industrious community, but, still further, all the rivuletsthat ran into it had their courses stopped, so as to transform thesurrounding ground into one vast marsh.
One beaver alone was at work, at the moment, on the principal dam; butvery shortly five others appeared, carrying pieces of wood, mud, andbushes. They then all together directed their course towards a partof the barrier which, as the lady could perceive, needed repair. Theydeposited their load on the broken part, and plunged into the water, butonly to reappear almost instantly on the surface.
Everyone brought up a certain quantity of slimy mud, which they employedas mortar to join and render firm the pieces of wood and the bushes;they went away and returned again with more wood and mud; in short, thiswork of masonry was carried on till the breach had entirely disappeared.
As soon as all was in order, the industrious animals enjoyed a moment'srecreation; they pursued each other in the pond, plunged to the bottomof the water, or sported on the surface, striking the water noisily withtheir tails.
Dona Luz beheld this singular spectacle with increasing interest. Shecould have remained the whole day watching these strange animals.
Whilst the first were amusing themselves thus, two other members of thecommunity appeared. For some time they looked gravely on at the sportsof their companions, without showing any inclination to join them; thenclimbing up the steep bank not far from the spot where the trapper andthe young girl were watching, they seated themselves upon their hindpaws, leaning the fore ones upon a young pine, and beginning to gnaw thebark of it. Sometimes they detached a small piece, and held it betweentheir paws, still remaining seated; they nibbled it with contortions andgrimaces pretty much resembling those of a monkey shelling a walnut.
The evident object of these beavers was to cut down the tree, and theylaboured at it earnestly. It was a young pine of about eighteen inchesin diameter at the part where they attacked it, as straight as an arrow,and of considerable height. No doubt they would soon have succeededin cutting it through; but the general, uneasy at the prolongedabsence of his niece, made up his mind to go in search of her, and thebeavers, terrified at the noise of the horses, dived into the water anddisappeared.
The general reproached his niece gently for her long absence; but she,delighted with what she had seen, did not heed him, and promised herselfto be frequently an invisible spectator of the proceedings of thebeavers.
The little party, under the direction of the trapper, directed theircourse towards the rancho, in which he had offered them shelter fromthe burning rays of the sun, which was now at its zenith.
Dona Luz, whose curiosity was excited to the highest pitch by theattractive spectacle at which she had been present, determined to makeup for her uncle's unwelcome interruption by asking Black Elk all theparticulars of the habits of the beavers, and the manner in which theywere caught.
The trapper, like all men who live much alone, had no objection, whenopportunity offered, to relax from the silence he was generally obligedto preserve, and therefore did not require much pressing.
"Oh, oh, senorita," he said, "the redskins say that the beaver is a manwho does not speak; and they are right--he is brave, wise, prudent,industrious, and economical. Thus, when winter arrives, the whole familygo to work to prepare provisions; young as well as old, all work. Theyare often obliged to make long journeys to find the bark they prefer.They sometimes bring down moderately large trees, cutting off thebranches, whose bark is most to their taste; they cut it into piecesabout three feet long, and transport them to the water, where theyset them floating towards their huts, in which they store them. Theirhabitations are clean and convenient. They take great care, after theirrepasts, to throw into the current of the river, below the dam, thepiece of wood off which they have gnawed the bark. They never permit astrange beaver to come and establish himself near them, and often fightwith the greatest fury to secure the freedom of their territories."
"Oh! nothing can be more curious than all this!" Dona Luz exclaimed.
"Ah, but," the trapper rejoined, "that is not all. In the spring,which is the generating season, the male leaves the female in thehouse, and goes, like a great lord, on a tour of pleasure; sometimes toa great distance, sporting in the limpid waters he falls in with, Andclimbing their banks to gnaw the tender branches of the young poplarsand willows. But when summer comes, he abandons his bachelor life andreturns to his mate and her new progeny, which he leads to forage insearch of provisions for winter."
"It must be confessed," said the general, "that this animal is one ofthe most interesting in creation."
"Yes," Dona Luz added, "and I cannot understand how people can make uptheir minds to hunt them as if they were mischievous beasts."
"What is to be said for it, senorita?" the trapper replied,philosophically; "all animals were created for man--this one aboveothers, its fur is so valuable."
"That is true," said the general; "but," he added, "how do you set aboutthis chase? All beavers are not so confiding as these; there are somethat conceal their huts with extreme care."
"Yes," Black Elk replied; "but habit has given the experienced trapperso certain a glance, that he discovers, by the slightest sign, the trackof a beaver; and although the hut be concealed by thick underwood andthe willows which shade it, it is very seldom that he cannot guess theexact number of its inhabitants. He then places his trap, fastens it tothe bank, two or three inches under water, and secures it by a chain toa pole strongly fixed in the mud or sand. A little twig is then deprivedof its bark, and soaked in the medicine, for so we call the bait weemploy; this twig is so placed as to rise three or four inches abovethe water, whilst its extremity is fixed in the opening of the trap. Thebeaver, which is endowed with a very subtle smell, is quickly attractedby the odour of the bait. As soon as it advances its snout to seize it,its foot is caught in the trap. In great terror, it tries to dive intothe water, but the chained trap resists all its efforts; it strugglesfor some time, but at last, its strength being exhausted, it sinks tothe bottom of the water, and is drowned. This, senorita, is the wayin which beavers are generally taken. But in rocky beds, where it isnot possible to fix the poles to retain the trap, we are often obligedto search for a length of time for the captured beavers, and even toswim to great distances. It also happens that when several members ofthe same family have been taken, the others become mistrustful. Then,whatever stratagems we have recourse to, it is impossible to get themto bite the bait. They approach the traps with precaution, let off thespring with a stick, and often even turn the traps upside down, draggingthem under their dam, and burying them in the mud.
"What do you do then?" Dona Luz asked.
"Why, then," Black Elk replied, "we have but one thing left to do, andthat is, throw our traps upon our backs, own ourselves beaten by thebeavers, and go further afield to seek others less Cunning. But here ismy rancho."
At this moment the travellers arrived at a miserable hut, made ofinterlaced branches of trees, scarcely capable of sheltering them fromthe rays of the sun, and in every respect resembling, as regardedconvenience, those of other trappers of the prairies, who are men thattrouble themselves the least about the comforts of life.
Nevertheless, such as it was, Black Elk did the honours of it verywarmly to the strangers.
A second trapper was squatting before the hut, occupied in watching theroasting of the buffalo's hump which Black Elk had promised his guests.
This man, whose costume was in all respects like that of Black Elk, wasscarcely forty years old; but the fatigue and numberless miseries of hishard profession had dug upon his face such a network of inextricablewrinkles as made him look older than he was in reality.
In fact, there does not exist in the world a more dangerous, morepain
ful, or less profitable trade than that of a trapper. These poorpeople are often, whether by Indians or hunters, robbed of theirhard-earned gains, scalped, and massacred, and no one troubles himselfto learn what has become of them.
"Take your place, senorita; and you also, gentlemen," said Black Elk,politely. "However poor my hut may be, it is large enough to contain youall."
The travellers cheerfully accepted his invitation; they alighted fromtheir horses, and were soon stretched comfortably upon beds of dryleaves, covered with the skins of bears, elks, and buffaloes.
The repast--truly a hunter's repast--was washed down with some cupsof excellent mezcal which the general always carried with him in hisexpeditions, and which the trappers appreciated as it deserved.
Whilst Dona Luz, the guide, and the lanceros, took a siesta of a fewminutes, till the heat of the sun's rays should be a little abated, thegeneral, begging Black Elk to follow him, went out of the hut.
As soon as they were at a sufficient distance, the general seatedhimself at the foot of an ebony tree, motioning for his companion tofollow his example which he immediately did.
After a moment's silence, the general said,--
"Allow me, my friend, in the first place, to thank you for your frankhospitality. That duty performed, I wish to put a few questions to you."
"Caballero!" the trapper replied, evasively, "you know what the redskinssay: between every word smoke your calumet, in order to weigh your wordswell."
"You speak like a sensible man; but be satisfied that I have nointention of putting questions to you that concern your profession, orany object that can affect you personally."
"If I am able to answer you, caballero, be assured I will not hesitateto satisfy you."
"Thank you, friend, I expected no less from you. How long have you beenan inhabitant of the prairies?"
"Ten years, already, sir; and God grant I may remain here as many more."
"This sort of life pleases you then?"
"More than I can tell you. A man must, as I have done, begin it almostas a boy, undergo all the trials, endure all the sufferings, partakeall its hazards, in order to understand all the intoxicating charms itprocures, the celestial joys it gives, and the unknown pleasures intowhich it plunges us! Oh! caballero, the most beautiful and largest cityof old Europe is very little, very dirty, very mean compared with thedesert. Your cramped, regulated, compassed life is miserable comparedto ours! It is here only that man feels the air penetrate easily intohis lungs, that he lives, that he thinks. Civilization brings him downalmost to the level of the brute, leaving him no instinct but that whichenables him to pursue sordid interests. Whereas, in the desert, in theprairie, face to face with God, his ideas enlarge, his spirit grows,and he becomes really what the Supreme Being meant to make him; that isto say, the king of the creation."
Whilst pronouncing these words the trapper was, in a manner,transfigured; his countenance assumed an inspired expression, his eyesflashed fire, and his gestures were impressed with that nobleness whichpassion alone gives.
The general sighed deeply, a furtive tear trickled over his greymoustache.
"That's true," he said, sadly; "this life has strange charms for the manwho has tasted it, and they attach him by bonds nothing can break. Whenyou arrived in the prairies, whence did you come?"
"I came from Quebec, sir; I am a Canadian."
"Ah!"
A silence of a few minutes ensued, but it was, at length, broken by thegeneral.
"Have you many Mexicans among your companions?"
"Many."
"I should like to obtain some information respecting them."
"There is only one man who could give you any, sir; and, unfortunately,that man is not at this moment here."
"And he is called?"
"Loyal Heart."
"Loyal Heart!" the general replied, warmly; "surely I know that man."
"Yes, you do."
"Good heavens! what a fatality!"
"Perhaps it will be more easy than you suppose to meet with him again,if you really wish to see him."
"I have an immense interest in wishing it."
"Then make your mind easy; you will soon see him."
"How so?"
"Oh! very simply. Loyal Heart lays his traps near me; at the presenttime I am watching them; but it cannot be long before he returns."
"God grant it may be so!" said the general, with great agitation.
"As soon as he comes I will send you word, if between this and then youhave not quitted your camp."
"Do you know where my troop is encamped?"
"We know everything in the desert," the trapper said, with a smile.
"I accept your promise."
"You have my word, sir."
"Thank you."
At that moment Dona Luz came out of the hut; after having made Black Elka sign to recommend silence, the general hastened to join her.
The travellers remounted their horses, and after thanking the trappersfor their cordial hospitality, they again took the road to the camp.
Les trappeurs de l'Arkansas. English Page 19