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diff --git a/42282-8.txt b/42282-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a339a59..0000000 --- a/42282-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4471 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, In Beaver World, by Enos Abijah Mills - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: In Beaver World - - -Author: Enos Abijah Mills - - - -Release Date: March 9, 2013 [eBook #42282] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN BEAVER WORLD*** - - -E-text prepared by Greg Bergquist, Matthew Wheaton, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries -(http://archive.org/details/americana) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 42282-h.htm or 42282-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42282/42282-h/42282-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42282/42282-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive/American Libraries. See - http://archive.org/details/inbeaverworld00milliala - - - - - -IN BEAVER WORLD - - +-----------------------------------------+ - | By Enos A. Mills | - | | - | IN BEAVER WORLD. Illustrated. | - | THE SPELL OF THE ROCKIES. Illustrated. | - | WILD LIFE ON THE ROCKIES. Illustrated. | - | HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY | - | BOSTON AND NEW YORK | - +-----------------------------------------+ - - -[Illustration: BEAVER WORLD] - - -IN BEAVER WORLD - -by - -ENOS A. MILLS - -With Illustrations from Photographs by the Author - - - - - - - -Boston and New York -Houghton Mifflin Company -The Riverside Press Cambridge -Mdccccxiii - -Copyright, 1913, by Enos A. Mills -All Rights Reserved - -Published March 1913 - - - - - To J. Horace McFarland - - - - -Preface - - -This book is the result of beaver studies which cover a period of -twenty-seven years. During these years I have rambled through every -State in the Union and visited Mexico, Canada, and Alaska. In the -course of these rambles notice was taken of trees, birds, flowers, -glaciers, and bears, and studious attention devoted to the beaver. No -opportunity for beaver study was missed, and many a long journey was -made for the purpose of investigating the conditions in live colonies -or in making measurements in the ruins of old ones. These -investigations were made during every season of the year, and often a -week was spent in one colony. I have seen beaver at work scores of -times, and on a few occasions dozens at one time. - -Beaver have been my neighbors since I was a boy. At any time during -the past twenty-five years I could go from my cabin on the slope of -Long's Peak, Colorado, to a number of colonies within fifteen -minutes. Studies were carried on in these near-by colonies in spring, -summer, autumn, and winter. - -One autumn my entire time was spent in making observations and -watching the activities of beaver in fourteen colonies. Sixty-four -days in succession I visited these colonies, three of them twice -daily. These daily investigations enabled me to see the preparations -for winter from beginning to end. They also enabled me to understand -details which with infrequent visits I could not have even discovered. -During this autumn I saw two houses built and a number of old ones -repaired and plastered. I also saw the digging of one canal, the -repairing of a number of old dams, and the building of two new ones. -In three of these colonies I tallied each day the additional number of -trees cut for harvest. I saw many trees felled, and noted the manner -in which they were moved by land and floated by water. - -The greater number of the papers in this book were written especially -for it. Parts of the others have been used in my books _Wild Life on -the Rockies_ and _The Spell of the Rockies_. "The Beaver's -Engineering" appeared in the _Saturday Evening Post_, and I am -indebted to _McClure's_ for permission to use "Beaver Pioneers." - -Beaver works are of economical and educational value besides adding a -charm to the wilds. The beaver is a persistent practicer of -conservation and should not perish from the hills and mountains of our -land. Altogether the beaver has so many interesting ways, is so -useful, skillful, practical, and picturesque that his life and his -deeds deserve a larger place in literature and in our hearts. - - E. A. M. - - - - - Contents - - - Working like a Beaver 1 - Our Friend the Beaver 17 - The Beaver Past and Present 37 - As Others See Him 51 - The Beaver Dam 63 - Harvest Time with Beavers 81 - Transportation Facilities 99 - The Primitive House 117 - The Beaver's Engineering 137 - The Ruined Colony 151 - Beaver Pioneers 173 - The Colony in Winter 195 - The Original Conservationist 211 - Bibliographical Note 223 - Index 225 - - - - - Illustrations - - - _Beaver World_ _Frontispiece_ - _A Young Beaver on the side of a Beaver House_ 6 - _A Young Beaver Sunning Himself_ 22 - _In the Harvest-Field_ 32 - _Aspens cut by Beaver._ - _Beaver Ponds_ 42 - _A New Dam_ 66 - _Part of an Old Dam 1040 Feet Long_ 78 - _The Spruce Tree House and Food-Pile, October 12_ 92 - _Lake-Bed Canals at Lily Lake, October, 1911_ 102 - _Section of a 750-foot Canal at Lily Lake_ 102 - _Plan of Beaver Colony on Jefferson River, near - Three Forks, Montana_ 108 - _An Unplastered and a Plastered House_ 124 - _The 334-foot Canal_ 140 - _Plan of Moraine Colony, with Dead-Wood Dam_ 144 - _The Dead-Wood Dam_ 148 - _The Moraine House before and after Enlargement_ 168 - _House in Lily Lake_ 180 - _House, Food-Pile, Pond, and Dam in Winter_ 198 - _Where Beaver formerly lived and spread Soil_ 218 - - - - -Working like a Beaver - - -One September day I saw a number of beaver at work upon a -half-finished house. One part of the house had been carried up about -two feet above the water, and against this were leaned numerous -sticks, which stood upon the top of the foundation just above -water-level. After these sticks were arranged, they were covered with -turf and mud which the beaver scooped from the bottom of the pond. In -bringing this earth covering up, the beaver invariably came out of the -water at a given point, and over a short slide worn on the side of the -house climbed up to the height where they were to deposit their load, -which was carried in the fore paws. Then they edged round and put the -mud-ball upon the house. From this point they descended directly to -the water, but when they emerged with the next handful, they came out -at the bottom of the slide, and again climbed up it. - -The beaver often does a large amount of work in a short time. A small -dam may be built up in a few nights, or a number of trees felled, or -possibly a long burrow or tunnel clawed in the earth during a brief -period. In most cases, however, beaver works of magnitude are -monuments of old days, and have required a long time to construct, -being probably the work of more than one generation. It is rare for a -large dam or canal to be constructed in one season. A thousand feet of -dam is the accumulated work of years. An aged beaver may have lived -all his life in one locality, born in the house in which his parents -were born, and he might rise upon the thousand-foot dam which held his -pond and say, "My grandparents half a dozen centuries ago commenced -this dam, and I do not know which one of my ancestors completed it." - -Although the beaver is a tireless and an effective worker, he does not -work unless there is need to do so. Usually his summer is a rambling -vacation spent away from home. His longest period of labor is during -September and October, when the harvest is gathered and general -preparations made for the long winter. Baby beavers take part in the -harvest-getting, though probably without accomplishing very much. -During most winters he has weeks of routine in the house and ponds -with nothing urgent to do except sleep and eat. - -He works not only tooth and nail, but tooth and tail. The tail is one -of the most conspicuous organs of the beaver. Volumes have been -written concerning it. It is nearly flat, is black in color, and is a -convenient and much-used appendage. It serves for a rudder, a stool, a -prop, a scull, and a signal club. It may be used for a trowel, but I -have never seen it so used. It serves one purpose that apparently has -not been discussed in print; on a few occasions I have seen a beaver -carry a small daub of mud or some sticks clasped between the tail and -the belly. It gives this awkward animal increased awkwardness and even -an uncouth appearance to see him humped up, with tail tucked between -his legs, in order to clasp something between it and his belly. - -He is accomplished in the use of arms and hands. With hands he is able -to hold sticks and handle them with great dexterity. Like any clawing -animal he uses his hands or fore paws, to dig holes or tunnels and to -excavate burrows and water-basins. His hind feet are the chief -propelling power in swimming, although the tail, which may be turned -almost on edge and is capable of diagonal movement, is sometimes -brought into play as a scull when the beaver is at his swiftest. In -the water beaver move about freely and apparently with the greatest -enjoyment. They are delightfully swift and agile swimmers, in decided -contrast with their awkward slowness upon the ground. They can swim -two hundred yards under water without once coming to the surface, and -have the ability to remain under water from five to ten minutes. On -one occasion a beaver remained under water longer than eleven minutes, -and came to the top none the worse, apparently, for this long period -of suspended breathing. - -It is in standing erect that the beaver is at his best. In this -attitude the awkwardness and the dull appearance of all-fours are -absent, and he is a statue of alertness. With feet parallel and in -line, tail at right angles to the body and resting horizontally on the -ground, and hands held against the breast, he has the happy and -childish eagerness of a standing chipmunk, and the alert and -capable attitude of an erect and listening grizzly bear. - -[Illustration: A YOUNG BEAVER ON THE SIDE OF A BEAVER HOUSE] - -The beaver is larger than most people imagine. Mature male specimens -are about thirty-eight inches in length and weigh about thirty-eight -pounds, but occasionally one is found that weighs seventy or more -pounds. Ten mature males which I measured in the Rocky Mountains -showed an average length of forty inches, with an average weight of -forty-seven pounds. The tails of these ten averaged ten inches in -length, four and a half inches in width across the centre, and one -inch in thickness. Behind the shoulders the average circumference was -twenty-one inches, and around the abdomen twenty-eight. Ten mature -females which I measured were only a trifle smaller. - -There are twenty teeth; in each jaw there are eight molars and -two incisors. The four front teeth of the beaver are large, -orange-colored, strong, and have a self-sharpening edge of enamel. The -ears are very short and rounded. The sense of smell appears to be the -most highly developed of the beaver's senses. Next to this, that of -hearing appears to be the most informational. The eyes are weak. The -hind feet are large and webbed, and resemble those of a goose. The -second claw of each hind foot is double, and is used in combing the -fur and in dislodging the parasites from the skin. The fore paws of -the beaver are handlike, and have long, strong claws. They are used -very much after the fashion in which monkeys use their hands, and -serve a number of purposes. - -The color of the beaver is a reddish brown, sometimes shading into a -very dark brown. Occasional specimens are white or black. The beaver -is not a handsome animal, and when in action on the land he is -awkward. The black skin which covers his tail appears to be covered -with scales; the skin merely has this form and appearance, the scales -do not exist. The tail somewhat resembles the end of an oar. - -The all-important tools of this workman are his four orange-colored -front teeth. These are edge-tools that are adaptable and -self-sharpening. They are set in strong jaws and operated by powerful -muscles. Thus equipped, he can easily cut wood. These teeth grow with -surprising rapidity. If accident befalls them, so that the upper and -the lower fail to bear and wear, they will grow by each other and in a -short time become of an uncanny length. I have found several dead -beaver who had apparently died of starvation; their teeth overlapped -with jaws wide open and thus prevented their procuring food. For a -time I possessed an overgrown tooth that was crescent-shaped and a -trifle more than six inches long. - -Pounds considered, the beaver is a powerful animal, and over a rough -trail will drag objects of twice his own weight or roll a log-section -of gigantic size. Up a strong current he will tow an eighty- or -one-hundred-pound sapling without apparent effort. Three or four have -rolled a one-hundred-and-twenty-pound boulder into place in the dam. -Commonly he does things at opportune times and in the easiest way. His -energy is not wasted in building a dam where one is not needed nor in -constructive work in times of high water. He accepts deep water as a -matter of fact and constructs dams to make shallow places deep. - -Beaver food is largely inner bark of deciduous or broad-leaved trees. -Foremost among these trees which they use for food is the aspen, -although the cottonwood and willow are eaten almost as freely. The -bark of the birch, alder, maple, box-elder, and a number of other -trees is also used. Except in times of dire emergency the beaver will -not eat the bark of the pine, spruce, or fir tree. It is fortunate -that the trees which the beaver fell and use for food or building -purposes are water-loving trees, which not only sprout from both stump -and root, but grow with exceeding rapidity. Among other lesser foods -used are berries, mushrooms, sedge, grass, and the leaves and stalks -of a number of plants. In winter dried grass and leaves are sometimes -used, and in this season the rootstocks of the pond-lily and the roots -of the willow, alder, birch, and other water-loving trees that may be -got from the bottom of the pond. Beaver are vegetarians; they do not -eat fish or flesh. - -Apparently beaver prefer to cut trees that are less than six inches in -diameter, and where slender poles abound it is rare for anything to be -cut of more than four inches. But it is not uncommon to see trees -felled that are from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter. In my -possession are three beaver-cut stumps each of which has a greater -diameter than eighteen inches, the largest being thirty-four inches. -The largest beaver-cut stump that I have ever measured was on the -Jefferson River in Montana, near the mouth of Pipestone Creek. This -was three feet six inches in diameter. - -The beaver sits upright with fore paws against the tree, or clasping -it; half squatting on his hind legs, with tail either extending behind -as a prop or folded beneath him as a seat, he tilts his head from side -to side and makes deep bites into the tree about sixteen inches above -the ground. In the overwhelming majority of beaver-cut trees that I -have seen, most of the cutting was done from one side,--from one seat -as it were. Though the notch taken out was rudely done, it was after -the fashion of the axe-man. The beaver bites above and below, then, -driving his teeth behind the piece thus cut off, will wedge, pry, or -pull out the chip. Ofttimes in doing this he appears to use his jaw -as a lever. With the aspen, or with other trees equally soft, about -one hour is required to gnaw down a four-inch sapling. With one bite -he will snip off a limb from half to three quarters of an inch in -diameter. - -After a tree is felled on land, the limbs are cut off and the trunk is -gnawed into sections. The length of these sections appears to depend -upon the size of the tree-trunk and also the distance to the water, -the number of beaver to assist in its transportation, and the -character of the trail. Commonly a six- or eight-inch tree is cut into -lengths of about four to six feet. If the tree falls into the water of -the pond or the canal, it is, if the limbs are not too long, -transported butt foremost to the desired spot in its uncut, untrimmed -entirety. Ofttimes with a large tree the trunk is left and only the -limbs taken. - -The green wood which the beaver uses for his winter's food-supply is -stored on the bottom of the pond. How does he sink it to the bottom? -There is an old and oft-repeated tale which says that the beaver sucks -the air from the green wood so as to sink it promptly. Another tale -has it that the beaver dives to the bottom carrying with him a green -stick which he thrusts into the mud and it is thus anchored. -Apparently the method is a simple one. The green wood stored is almost -as heavy as water, and once in the pond it becomes water-logged and -sinks in a short time; however, the first pieces stored are commonly -large, heavy chunks, which are forced to the bottom by piling others -on top of them. Frequently the first few pieces of the food-pile -consist of entire trees, limbs and all. These usually are placed in a -rude circle with butts inward and tops outward. This forms an -entangling foundation which holds in place the smaller stuff piled -thereon. - -Most willows by beaver colonies are small and comparatively light. -These do not sink readily, are not easily managed, and are rarely used -in the bottom of the pile. Commonly, when these light cuttings are -gathered into the food-pile, they are laid on top, where numerous -up-thrusting limbs entangle and hold them. The foundation and larger -portion of the food-pile are formed of heavy pieces of aspen, alder, -or some other stream-side tree, which cannot be moved out of place by -an ordinary wind or water-current and which quickly sink to the -bottom. - -Among enemies of this fur-clad fellow are the wolverine, the otter, -the lion, the lynx, the coyote, the wolf, and the bear. Hawks and owls -occasionally capture a young beaver. Beaver spend much time dressing -their fur and bathing, as they are harassed by lice and other -parasites. At rare intervals they are afflicted with disease. They -live from twelve to fifteen years and sometimes longer. Man is the -worst enemy of the beaver. - -A thousand trappers unite to tell the same pitiable tale of a trapped -beaver's last moments. If the animal has not succeeded in drowning -himself or tearing off a foot and escaping, the trapper smashes the -beaver's head with his hatchet. The beaver, instead of trying to rend -the man with sharp cutting teeth, raises himself and with upraised -hand tries to ward off the death-blow. Instead of one blow, a young -trapper frequently has to give two or three, but the beaver receives -them without a struggle or a sound, and dies while vainly trying to -shield his head with both hands. - -Justly renowned for his industry, the beaver is a master of the fine -art of rest. He has many a vacation and conserves his energies. He -keeps his fur clean and his house in a sanitary condition. Ever in -good condition, he is ready at all times for hard work and is capable -of efficient work over long periods. He is ready for emergencies. - -As animal life goes, that of the beaver stands among the best. His -life is full of industry and is rich in repose. He is home-loving and -avoids fighting. His lot is cast in poetic places. - -The beaver has a rich birthright, though born in a windowless hut of -mud. Close to the primeval place of his birth the wild folk of both -woods and water meet and often mingle. Around are the ever-changing -and never-ending scenes and silences of the water or the shore. Beaver -grow up with the many-sided wild, playing amid the brilliant flowers -and great boulders, in the piles of driftwood and among the fallen -logs on the forest's mysterious edge. They learn to swim and slide, to -dive quickly and deeply from sight, to sleep, and to rest moveless in -the sunshine; ever listening to the strong, harmonious stir of wind -and water, living with the stars in the sky and the stars in the pond; -beginning serious life when brilliant clouds of color enrich autumn's -hills; helping to harvest the trees that wear the robes of gold, while -the birds go by for the southland in the reflective autumn days. If -Mother Nature should ever call me to live upon another planet, I could -wish that I might be born a beaver, to inhabit a house in the water. - - - - - -Our Friend the Beaver - - -One bright autumn afternoon I peered down into a little meadow by a -beaver pond. This meadow was grass-covered and free from willows. In -it seven or eight beaver were at work along a new canal. Each kept his -place and appeared to have a section in which he did his digging. For -more than half an hour I watched them clawing out the earth and -grass-roots and lifting it out in double handfuls and piling it in an -orderly line along the canal-bank. While I was watching a worker at -one end of this line, two others clinched in a fight. The fighters -made no sound except a subdued guttural mumbling as they rolled about -in a struggle. The other workers, to my astonishment, paid not the -slightest attention to this fight, but each attended to his own -affairs. After two or three minutes the belligerents broke away; one -squatted down breathing heavily, while the other, with bloody tail, -dragged himself off and plunged into the pond. This was the first -beaver fight that I had ever seen. - -Beaver may well be called the silent workers. No matter how numerous, -or crowded, or busy they are, their work goes on without a word and -apparently without a sign. Although I have seen them at work scores of -times, in the twilight and in the daylight, singly, in pairs, and by -the dozens, doing the many kinds of work which beaver perform, yet -this work has always gone quietly and without any visible evidences of -management. Each one is capable of acting independently. Since the -quality of his work improves as the beaver increases his experience, -it appears natural and probable that each colony of beaver has a -leader who plans and directs the work. I am familiar with a number of -instances which strongly indicate leadership. In times of emergency, -when an entire colony is forced to emigrate, a beaver--and usually an -aged one--takes the lead, and wherever he goes the others willingly -follow. - -Whatever may have been the custom of beaver in the past, at present -large numbers sometimes coöperate in accomplishing community work. It -used to be believed, and possibly it was true, that only the members -of a family, or the beaver of one house, united in doing the general -work of the colony. It was a common belief that seven beaver inhabited -a house; perhaps eight was the number of the Rocky Mountain region. At -the present time the number in a house is from one to thirty. - -Beaver have been driven from most of the streams and lake-shores, and -now maintain themselves with difficulty in the places which they -inhabit. In surviving they probably have had to sacrifice a few old -customs and to adopt some new ones, and it is likely that these -changes sometimes call for larger houses so as to care for the -increased number of beaver which conditions now compel to live in one -locality. A number of instances have come under my notice where beaver -were driven from their colony either by fire or by the aggressiveness -of trappers; these moved on to other scenes, where they cast their lot -with the beaver of another colony, and apparently were received with -every welcome. Immediately after the arrival of the immigrants, -enlargements were at once commenced, apparently to accommodate the -new-comers permanently. - -One autumn, while following the Lewis and Clark trail with a pack -horse in western Montana, I made camp one evening with a trapper who -gave me a young beaver. He was about one month old, and ate twigs and -bark as naturally as though he had long eaten them. I named him -"Diver," and in a short time he was as chummy as a young puppy. Of an -evening he played about the camp and often swam in the near-by water. -At times he played at dam-building, and frequently displayed his -accomplishment of felling wonderful trees that were about the size of -a lead pencil. He never failed to come promptly when I whistled for -him. At night he crouched near my camp, usually packing himself under -the edge of the canvas on which I spread my bedding. Atop the pack on -the horse's back he traveled,--a ride which he evidently enjoyed. He -was never in a hurry to be taken off, and at moving time he was always -waiting eagerly to be lifted on. As soon as he noticed me arranging -the pack, he came close, and before I was quite ready for him, he -rose up, extending his hands in rapid succession beggingly, and with a -whining sort of muttering pleaded to be lifted at once to his seat on -the pack. - -[Illustration: A YOUNG BEAVER SUNNING HIMSELF] - -He had a bad fright one evening. About one hour before sundown we had -encamped as usual alongside a stream. He entered the water and after -swimming about for a time, taking a dozen or so merry dives, he -crossed to the opposite side. In plain view, only fifty feet away, I -watched him as he busily dug out roots of the Oregon grape and then -stopped leisurely to eat them. While he was thus engaged, a coyote -made a dash for him from behind a boulder. Diver dodged, and the -coyote missed. Giving a wail like a frightened child, my youngster -rolled into the stream and dived. Presently he scrambled out of the -water near me and made haste to crawl under my coat-tail behind the -log on which I sat. - -The nearest beaver pond was a quarter of a mile upstream, yet less -than five minutes had elapsed from the time of Diver's cry when two -beaver appeared, swimming low and cautiously in the stream before me. -A minute later another came in sight from downstream. All circled -about, swimming cautiously with heads held low in the water. One -scented the place where the coyote had attacked Diver, and waddled out -and made a sniffing examination. Another came ashore at the spot where -Diver came out to me. Apparently his eyes told him I was a part of the -log, but his nose proclaimed danger. After three or four hesitating -and ineffectual attempts to retreat, he plucked up courage and rose to -full height on hind legs and tail to stare eagerly at me. With head -well up and fore paws drooping, he held the gaze for several seconds -and then gave a low whistle. - -At this, Diver came forth from behind my coat to see what was going -on. The old one started forward to meet him, but on having a good look -at me whirled and made a jumping dive into the water, whacking the -surface with his tail as he disappeared. Instantly there followed two -or more splashes and a number of tail-whacks upon the water, as though -a beaver rescue party were beating a retreat. - -At the end of my outing Diver became the pet of two pioneer children -on the bank of the Snake River. He followed the children about and -romped with them. At three years of age he was shot by a visiting -hunter. - -My experience with Diver and other beaver pets leads me to believe -that beaver are easily domesticated. One morning in northern Idaho, -the family with whom I had spent the night took me out to see a beaver -colony that was within a stone's throw of their fireplace. Three -beaver came out of the water within ten feet of us to eat scraps of -bread which the children threw on the grass for them. - -One day I placed myself between three young beaver, who were eating on -land, and the river out of which they came. They were on one of the -rocky borders of the Colorado River in the depths of the upper Grand -Cañon. They attempted to get by me, but their efforts were not of the -"do or die" nature. Presently their mother came to the rescue and -attempted to attract my attention by floating in the water near me in -a terribly crippled condition. I had seen many birds and a few beaver -try that clever ruse; so I allowed it to go on, hoping to see another -act. Another followed. - -In it an old male beaver appeared. He swam easily downstream until -within a few yards of me and then dived, apparently frightened. But -presently he reappeared near by and dived again. While I was watching -him, the youngsters edged a few yards nearer the river. To stop them -and prolong the exhibition, I advanced close to them as though to grab -them. At this the mother beaver struggled out of the water and set up -a tumbling and rolling so close to me that I thought to catch her for -examination. She dodged right and left and reached the water. While -this was going on, the youngsters escaped into the river. Mother -beaver instantly recovered, and as she dived gave the water a scornful -whack with her tail. - -The beaver is not often heard. He works in silence. When he pauses -from his work, he sits meditatively, like a philosopher. At times, -however, when, in traveling, beaver are separated from one another, -they give a strange shrill whistle or call. Occasionally this whistle -appears to be a call of alarm, suspicion, or warning. Sometimes when -alarmed, a young beaver gives a shrill and frightened cry not unlike -that of a lost human child. On a few occasions I have heard, while -listening near a beaver house in the early summer, something of a -subdued concert going on inside, a purring, rhythmic melody. They have -a kind of love ditty also. This is a rhythmic murmur and sigh, very -appealing, and it seems strangely elemental as it floats across the -beaver pond in the twilight. - -It is probable that beaver mate for life. All that is known concerning -their ways indicates that they are good parents. The young are usually -born during the month of April. The number varies from one to eight; -probably four is the number most common. A short time before the birth -of the youngsters, the mother invites the father to leave, or compels -him to do so,--or he may go voluntarily,--and she has possession of -the house or burrow, probably alone, at the time the youngsters are -born. Their eyes are open from the beginning, and in less than two -weeks they appear in the water accompanied by the mother. Often I -have investigated beaver colonies endeavoring to determine the number -of youngsters at a birth. Many times there were four of these furry, -serious little fellows near the house on a log that was thrust up -through the water. At other times from one to eight youngsters sunned -themselves on the top of the rude home. - -One May, in examining beaver colonies, I saw three sets of youngsters -in the Moraine Colony. They numbered three, and two, and five. One -mother in another colony proudly exhibited eight, while still another, -who had been harassed all winter by trappers and who lived in a burrow -in the bank, could display but one. - -It is not uncommon for young orphan beavers to be cared for and -adopted by another mother beaver. I have notes of three mothers who, -with children of their own, at once took charge of orphans left by the -death of a neighbor. One June a mother beaver was killed near my camp. -Her children escaped. The following evening a new mother, with four -children of her own adopted them and moved from her own home, a -quarter of a mile distant, to the home of her dead neighbor and there -brought all the youngsters up. - -Beaver have great fun while growing up. Posted on the edge of the -house, they nose and push each other about, ofttimes tumbling one -another into the water. In the water they send a thousand merry -ripples to the shore, as they race, wrestle, and dive in the pond. -They play on the house, in the pond, and in the sunshine and shadows -of the trees along the shore. - -Beaver are mature the third summer of their lives, and at this time -they commonly leave the parental home, pair, and begin life for -themselves. There are stories to the effect that the parents of the -youthful home-builders accompany the children to new scenes, help them -select a building-site, and assist in the construction of the new -house and dam. After this the parents return home. This probably is -occasionally true. Anyway I once saw this program fairly well carried -out, and at another time in a limited manner. - -The beaver is practical, peaceful, and industrious. He builds a -permanent house and keeps it clean and in repair. Beside it he stores -food-supply for the long winter. He takes thought for the morrow. -These and other commendable characteristics give him a place of honor -among the hordes of homeless, hand-to-mouth folk of the wild. During -the winter he has but little to do except bathe and eat his two or -three meals a day from the food he has stored in the autumn. Towards -spring, when his wild neighbors are lean, hungry, and cold, he is fat -and comfortable. In the spring he emerges from the house, but then his -only work is occasionally to cut a twig for food. In the summer he -plays tourist. He visits other colonies, and wanders up and down -streams, going miles from home. In the late summer or early autumn he -returns, makes repairs, and harvests food for winter. - -The beaver is a valuable conservationist, but there are localities in -which he cannot be tolerated. Although dead wood is rarely cut by the -beaver, many a homesteader has been disturbed by his cutting off and -carrying away green fence posts. Recently beaver have returned to a -few localities and got themselves into bad repute by felling fruit -trees. Occasionally, too, in the West, they have lost caste by -persistently damming an irrigation-ditch and diverting the water, -despite the fact that a court has given both the title and the right -to this water to some one else a mile or so down the ditch. - -In all logging operations, beaver never fail--where there is -opportunity--to cut trees upstream and float them down with the -current. Tree-cutting is an interesting phase of beaver life. A beaver -will go waddling dully from the water to a tree he is about to cut -down. All will look about for enemies; one may be wise enough--but the -majority will not do so--to look upward to see if the tree about to be -felled is entangled at the top. All appear to choose a comfortable -place on which to squat or sit while cutting. - -Commonly when the tree begins to creak and settle, the beaver who has -done the cutting thuds the ground a few times with his tail, and then -scampers away, usually going into the water. Sometimes the near-by -workers give the thudding signal in advance of the one who is doing -the cutting. Now and then no warning signal is given, and the logging -beaver occasionally fells his tree upon other workers with a fatal -result. As with axe-men, the beaver doing the cutting is on rare -occasions caught and killed by the tree which he fells. - -Rarely does the beaver give any thought to the direction in which the -tree will fall. In a few instances, however, I have seen what appeared -to be an effort on the part of the beaver to fell a tree in a given -direction. From an uncomfortable place he cut the lowest notch on the -side on which he probably wanted the tree to fall. On one of these -occasions, the aspen tree selected stood in an almost complete circle -of pines. The beaver took pains to cut the first and lowest notch in -this tree directly opposite the opening in the pines. I have seen a -number of instances of this kind. And he will sometimes leave the -windward side of a grove on a windy day, and cut on the leeward, so -that the felled trees are not entangled in falling. - -Rarely does more than one beaver work at the same time at a tree. In -some instances, however, if the tree be large, two or even more beaver -will work at once. But after the tree has been felled, ofttimes -three or four beaver will unite to roll a large section to the water. -In doing this, some may stand with paws against it and push, and -others may put their sides or hips against it. On land, as in the -water, small limb-covered trees are dragged butt foremost so as to -meet the least resistance. Sometimes the beaver drags walking -backwards; at other times he is alongside the tree carrying and -dragging it forward. - -[Illustration: IN THE HARVEST-FIELD Aspens cut by beaver] - -Early explorers say that beaver do most of their work at night. In -this they are practically unanimous. However, in Long's Journal, -written in 1820, beaver were reported at work in broad daylight. A few -other early writers have also mentioned this daylight work. They -probably work in darkness because that is the safest time for them to -be out. During dozens of my visits to secluded localities,--localities -which had not been visited by man, and certainly not by trappers,--I -found beaver freely at work in broad daylight. I am inclined to think -that day work was common during primeval times; and that, although the -beaver now do and long have done most of their work at night, in -localities where they are not in danger from man, they work freely -during daytime. - -Both the Indians and the trappers have a story that old beaver who -will not work are driven from the colony and become morose outcasts, -slowly living away the days by themselves in a burrow. I have no -evidence to verify this statement, and am inclined to think that -solitary beaver occasionally found in abandoned colony-sites and -elsewhere are simply unfortunates, perhaps weighed down with age, -unable to travel far, with teeth worn, the mate dead, without ambition -to try, or without strength to emigrate. It is more likely that these -aged ones voluntarily and sadly withdraw from their cheerful and -industrious fellows, to spend their closing days alone. Although, too, -there were among Indians and trappers stories of beaver slaves, I am -without material for a story of this kind. - -The beaver is peaceful. Although the males occasionally fight among -themselves, the beaver avoids fighting, and plans his life so as to -escape without it. Now and then in the water one closes with an otter -in a desperate struggle, and when cornered on land one will sometimes -turn upon a preying foe with such ferocity and skill that his -assailant is glad to retreat. On two occasions I have known a beaver -to kill a bobcat. - -Beaver are not equally alert. In many cases this difference may be due -to a difference in age or experience. Beaver have been caught with -scars which show that they have been trapped before, a few even having -lost two feet in escaping from traps. On the other hand, skillful -trappers have found themselves after repeated trials, unable to catch -a single beaver from a populous colony. Sometimes in colonies of this -kind, the beaver even audaciously turned the traps upside down or -contemptuously covered them with mud. - -Nor is the work of all beaver alike. The ditches which one beaver -digs, the house one builds, or the dam one makes, may be executed with -much greater speed and with more skill than those of a neighboring -beaver. Many houses are crude and unshapely masses, many dams -haphazard in appearance, while a few canals are crooked and uneven. -But the majority do good work, and are quick to take advantage of -opportunity, quick to adjust themselves to new conditions, or to use -the best means that is available. Beaver probably have made numbers of -changes in their manners, habits, and customs, and those changes -undoubtedly have enabled them to survive relentless pursuit, and to -leave descendants upon the earth. - -The industry of the beaver is proverbial, and it is to the credit of -any person to have the distinction of working "like a beaver." Most -people have the idea that the beaver is always at work; not that he -necessarily accomplishes much at this work, but that he is always -doing something. The fact remains that under normal conditions he -works less than half the time, and it is not uncommon for him to spend -a large share of each year in what might be called play. He is -physically capable of intense and prolonged application, and, being an -intelligent worker, even though he works less than half the time he -accomplishes large results. - - - - -The Beaver Past and Present - - -All Indian tribes in North America appear to have had one or more -legends concerning the beaver. Most of these legends credit him with -being a worthy and industrious fellow, and the Cherokees are said to -trace their origin to a sacred and practical beaver. Many of the -tribes had a legend which told that long, long ago the Great Waters -surged around a shoreless world. These waters were peopled with -beaver, beaver of a gigantic size. These, along with the Great Spirit, -dived and brought up quantities of mud and shaped this into the hills -and dales, the mountains where the cataracts plunged and sang, and all -the caves and cañons. The scattered boulders and broken crags upon the -earth were the missiles thrown by evil spirits, who in the beginning -of things endeavored to hinder and prevent the constructive work of -creation. - -The beaver has been found in fossil both in Europe and in America. -Remnants of the dugout and the teeth of beaver, together with rude -stone implements of primitive man, have been found in England. Near -Albany, New York, gnawed beaver wood and the remains of a mastodon -were dug up from about forty feet below the surface in sediment and -river ooze. Fossil beaver were of enormous size. - -Coming down to comparatively modern times, the animal as we now know -him appears to have been distributed over almost all Asia, Europe, and -North America. There was no marked difference in the individuals that -inhabited these three continents. The beaver is probably extinct in -Europe, but in July, 1900, I found a piece of wood floating in the -Seine that had been recently gnawed by a beaver. At this time I was -assured that not even a tame beaver could be found in Europe. It is -still found in parts of Siberia and Central Asia. That form which -inhabits South America is very unlike those in the Northern -Hemisphere, and may be called a link between the muskrat and the -beaver. - -Reference is made to the beaver in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, and -Herodotus makes repeated mention of it. Pliny also gives a brief -account of this animal. In Germany, in 1103, the right of hunting -beaver was conferred along with other special hunting privileges; and -a bull of Pope Lucius III, in 1182, gave to a monastery all the beaver -found within the bounds of its property. A royal edict issued at -Berlin in March, 1725, insisted upon the protection of beaver. - -Before the white man came, beaver--_Castor canadensis_--were widely -distributed over North America, perhaps more widely than any other -animal. The beaver population was large, and probably was densest to -the southwest of Hudson Bay and around the headwaters of the Missouri -and Columbia rivers. Their scantiest population areas in the United -States appear to have been southern Florida and the lower Mississippi -Valley. This scantiness is attributed by early explorers to the -aggressiveness of the alligators. All the southern half of Mexico -appears to have been without a beaver population; but elsewhere over -North America, wherever there were deciduous trees and water, and in -a few treeless places where there were only water and grass, the -beaver were found. Along the thousands of smaller streams throughout -North America there was colony after colony, dam after dam, in close -succession, as many as three hundred beaver ponds to the mile. Lewis -and Clark mention the fact that near the Three Forks, Montana, the -streams stretched away in a succession of beaver ponds as far as the -eye could reach. The statements made by the early explorers, settlers, -and trappers, together with my own observations,--which commenced in -1885, and which have extended pretty well over the country from -northern Mexico into Alaska,--lead to the conclusion that the beaver -population of North America at the beginning of the seventeenth -century was upwards of one hundred million. The area occupied was -approximately six million square miles, and probably two hundred -beaver population per square mile would be a conservative number for -the general average. - -In the United States there are a number of counties and more than one -hundred streams and lakes named for the beaver; upwards of fifty -post-offices are plain Beaver, Beaver Pond, Beaver Meadow, or some -other combination that proclaims the former prevalence of this widely -distributed builder. The beaver is the national emblematic animal of -Canada, and there, too, numerous post-offices, lakes, and streams are -named for the beaver. - -[Illustration: BEAVER PONDS] - -Beaver skins lured the hunter and trapper over all American wilds. -These skins were one of the earliest mediums of exchange among the -settlers of North America. For two hundred years they were one of the -most important exports, and for a longer time they were also the chief -commodity of trade on the frontier. A beaver skin was not only the -standard by which other skins were measured in value, but also the -standard of value by which guns, sugar, cattle, hatchets, and clothing -were measured. Though freely used by the early settlers for clothing, -they were especially valuable as raw material for the manufacture of -hats, and for this purpose were largely exported. - -From this animal were prepared many remedies which in former times -were believed to have high medicinal value. Castoreum was the most -popular of these, and from it was compounded the great cure-all. The -skin of the beaver was thought to be an excellent preventive of colic -and consumption; the fat of the beaver efficient in apoplexy and -epilepsy, to stop spasms, and for various afflictions of the nerves. -Powdered beaver teeth were often given in soup for the prevention of -many diseases. The castoreum of the beaver was considered a most -efficient remedy for earache, deafness, headache, and gout, for the -restoring of the memory and the cure of insanity. Next in importance -to its skin, the beaver was valued for the castoreum it yielded. - -The old hunters, trappers, and first settlers forecast with confidence -the weather from the actions of the beaver. This animal was credited -with being weather-wise to a high degree. From his actions the nature -of the oncoming winter was predicted, and plans to meet it were made -accordingly. Faith in the beaver's actions and activities as a basis -for weather-forecasting was almost absolute. If the beaver began work -early, the winter was to begin early. If the beaver laid up a large -harvest, covered the house deeply with mud, and raised the -water-level of the pond, the winter was, of course, to be a long and -severe one. - -Extensive autumn rambles in the mountains with especial attention to -beaver customs compels me to conclude that as a basis for weather -prediction beaverdom is not reliable. In the course of one autumn -month in the mountains of Colorado more than one hundred colonies were -observed. In many colonies work for the winter commenced early. In -others, only a few miles distant, preparations for the winter did not -begin until late. In some, extensive preparations were made for the -winter. In a few the harvest laid up was exceedingly small. Thus in -one month of the same year I saw some beaver colonies preparing for a -long winter and others for a short one, many preparing for a hard -winter and others almost unprepared for winter. From these varied and -conflicting prognostications, how was one accurately to forecast the -coming winter? The old prophets in one colony frequently disagreed -with aged prophets who were similarly situated, but in a neighboring -colony. At one place thirty or more beaver gathered an enormous -quantity of food, sufficient, in fact, to have supplied twice that -number for the longest and most severe winter. The winter which -followed was as mild a one as had passed over the Rocky Mountains in -fifty years. Not one tenth of the big food-pile was eaten. - -I have not detected anything that indicates that the beaver ever plan -for an especially hard winter. Goodly preparations are annually made -for winter. Apparently the extent of the preparation in any colony is -dependent almost entirely upon the number of beaver that are to winter -in that colony. Winter preparations consist of gathering the -food-harvest, repairing and sometimes raising the dam, and commonly -covering the house with a layer of mud. Beaver display forethought, -intelligence, and even wisdom, but being weather-wise is not one of -their successful specialties. Local beaver now and then show unusual -activity, and unusually large supplies are gathered and stored for the -winter. This kind of work appears to be local, not general. The cases -in which unusually large preparations were made for the winter could -have been traced to an increased population of the colony that showed -these activities. On the other hand, colonies with less preparations -one year than on the preceding one probably had suffered a decrease of -population. Increase of population in a beaver colony may be accounted -for through the growing up of youngsters, or by the arrival of -immigrants, or both; where the temporary inactivity of trappers in one -locality might allow the beaver colony in that region to increase in -numbers; or where the beaver population of that colony might be -increased by the arrival of beaver driven from their homes by -aggressive hunters and trappers in adjoining localities. At any rate, -in the beaver world, some colonies each year commence work earlier -than do others, and some colonies make extensive preparations for the -winter, while others make but little preparation. This preparation -appears to be determined chiefly by the number of colonists and the -needs of the colony. - -The beaver hastened, if it did not bring, the settlement of the -country. Hunters and trappers blazed the trails, described the natural -resources, and lured the permanent settlers to possess the land and -build homes among the ruins left by the beaver. Early in the fur -industry companies were formed, the Hudson's Bay Company becoming the -most influential and best known. Its charter was granted by Charles II -of England on the 2d day of May, 1669. This company finally developed -into one of the greatest commercial enterprises that America has ever -known. The skin of the beaver furnished more than half its revenue. -There are many features in the history of this company that have never -been surpassed in any land. For more than two hundred years it held -absolute sway over a country larger than Europe, and for the first one -hundred and fifty years of its existence it was the government of the -territory where it ruled, and thus determined the social and other -standards of life within that territory. One of the early officials of -this company declared that they were on the ground ahead of the -missionaries, and said that the initials "H. B. C." on the banner of -the company might well be interpreted as "Here before Christ." - -Kingsford's History of Canada says that in the eighteenth century, -Canada exported a moderate quantity of timber, wheat, the herb called -ginseng, and a few other commodities, but from first to last she lived -chiefly on beaver skins. Horace T. Martin, formerly Secretary of -Agriculture for Canada, calls the beaver's part in Canadian -development "a subject which has from the inception of civilization -been associated with the industrial and commercial development, and -indirectly with the social life, the romance, and to a considerable -extent with the wars of Canada." - -The American Fur Company and the Northwestern Fur Company were two -large fur-gathering enterprises whose trappers ranged afar and who -left their mark in the history and the development of the Northwest. -The colossal Astor fortune really had its beginning in the wealth -which John Jacob Astor amassed chiefly through the gathering and the -sale of beaver skins. Beaver skins are now economically unimportant in -commerce, but their value has already led to the establishment of a -few beaver farms. - -To-day beaver are apparently extinct over the greater portion of the -area which they formerly occupied, and are scarce over the remaining -inhabited area. Scattered colonies are found in the Rocky Mountains -and in the mountains of the Pacific Coast, and there are localities in -Canada where they are still fairly abundant. In many places in the -Grand Cañon of the Colorado they are common. A few are found in -Michigan and Maine. Some years ago a few brooks in the Adirondacks -were successfully colonized with these useful animals. They have -reappeared in Pennsylvania, and there probably are straggling beaver -all over the United States which, if protected, would increase. - -There is a growing sentiment in favor of allowing the beaver to -multiply. In 1877 Missouri passed a law protecting these animals; so -did Maine in 1885 and Colorado in 1899. Other States to the total -number of twenty-four have also legislated for their protection. The -Canadian government has also passed protective laws. A noticeable -increase has already occurred in a few localities. Beaver multiply -rapidly under protection, as is shown in the National Parks of both -Canada and the United States. - - - - -As Others See Him - - -For three hundred years the beaver has been a popular subject for -discussion. Fabulous accounts have been given concerning his works, -and that which he has done has been exaggerated beyond recognition. -Many of the descriptions of him are grotesque, and many accounts of -his works are uncanny. His tail has been made to do the work of a -pile-driver, and some of the old accounts credit him with driving -stakes into the ground that were as large as a man's thigh and five or -six feet long. Stories have been told that his tail was used as a -trowel in plastering the house and the dam. A few writers have stated -that he lived in a three-story lodge. More than a century ago Audubon -called attention to the enormous mass of fabrications that had been -written concerning this animal, and in 1771 Samuel Hearne of the -Hudson's Bay Company denounced a beaver nature-faker in the following -terms: "The compiler of the Wonders of Nature and Art seems to have -not only collected all the fictions into which other writers on the -subject have run, but has so greatly improved on them that little -remains to be added to his account of the beaver beside a vocabulary -of their language, a code of their laws, and a sketch of their -religion, to make it the most complete natural history of that -animal." - -One might read almost the entire mass of printed matter concerning the -beaver without obtaining correct information about his manners and -customs or an accurate description of his works and without getting at -the real character of this animal. The actual life and character of -the beaver, however, the work which he does, the unusual things which -he has accomplished, are really more interesting and place the beaver -on a higher plane than do all the fictitious tales and exaggerated -accounts written concerning him. - -Mr. Lewis H. Morgan in his "American Beaver and his Works" says: "No -other animal has attracted a larger share of attention or acquired by -his intelligence a more respectable position in the public estimation. -Around him are the dam, the lodge, the burrow, the tree-cutting, and -the artificial canal, each testifying to his handiwork, and affording -us an opportunity to see the application as well as the results of his -mental and physical powers. There is no animal below man in the entire -range of Mammalia which offers to our investigation such a series of -works, or presents such remarkable material for study and illustration -of animal psychology." - -Mr. Morgan was for years a capable and painstaking student of the -beaver. That which he has written is so important a contribution -concerning the beaver that no one interested in this animal can afford -to be unacquainted with it. In the preface of his book he says: "I -took up the subject as I did fishing, for summer recreation. In the -year 1861, I had occasion to visit the Red River Settlement in the -Hudson's Bay Territory, and in 1862, to ascend the Missouri River to -the Rocky Mountains, which enabled me to compare the works of the -beaver in these localities with those on Lake Superior. At the outset -I had no expectation of following up the subject year after year, but -was led on, by the interest which it awakened, until the materials -collected seemed to be worth arranging for publication." - -The greatest admirers of the beaver are those who know him best. He -bears acquaintance. This cannot be had by merely looking at the -animal, nor by sympathetically studying his monumental works. These -works will of course impress one, but they give one at best only a -traveler's impression. Long and repeated visits to the colony in its -busy season appear to be the best way to get at the character of the -beaver. The cubical contents of a dam may not even suggest the -obstacles overcome in its construction, the labor of getting the -material, the dangers avoided, the numerous unexpected difficulties -overcome. Five cords of green poles and limbs in a neat pile in the -pond by the beaver house may tell that the harvest has been gathered, -but it does not tell that a part of this harvest may have been -gathered a mile away and skillfully transported to the house with -difficulty and amid dangers. A part of the food-pile may have been -dragged laboriously uphill and along trails which required months of -labor to open; or numerous pieces in this pile may have been floated -through a canal of such magnitude that a generation was required to -construct it. Altogether, harvest-gathering is interesting and heroic -work on the part of the beaver. In doing it he takes large risks, for -the harvest is usually gathered far from the house and on the -dangerous beaver frontier. - -For more than a quarter of a century I have been a friendly visitor to -his colonies, in which I have lingered long and lovingly. That he -makes mistakes is certain, but that he is an intelligent, reasoning -animal I have long firmly believed. As I said in "Wild Life on the -Rockies,"--"I have so often seen him change his plans so wisely and -meet emergencies so promptly and well that I can think of him only as -a reasoner." - -As evidence that he sometimes reasons, it may be cited that he -occasionally endeavors to fell trees in a given direction; that he -often avoids cutting those entangled at the top; that sometimes he -will, on a windy day, fell trees on the leeward side of a grove; that -he commonly avoids felling trees in the heart of a grove, but cuts on -the outskirts of it. He occasionally dams a stream, digs a canal, -leads water to a dry place, and there forms and fills a reservoir and -establishes a home. Often his house is built by a spring and thus the -danger from thick ice avoided. These are some of the reasons for my -believing him to be intelligent. - -Morgan speaks of the beaver as "endowed with a mental principle which -performs for him the same office that the human mind does for man," -and says, "The works of the beaver afford many interesting -illustrations of his intelligence and reasoning capacity," also, "In -the capacity thereby displayed of adapting their works to the -ever-varying circumstances in which they find themselves placed -instead of following blindly an invariable type, some evidence of -possession on their part of _free intelligence_ is undoubtedly -furnished." - -Mr. George J. Romanes has the following opinion of the beaver: "Most -remarkable among rodents for instinct and intelligence, unquestionably -stands the beaver. Indeed there is no animal--not even excepting the -ants and bees--where instinct has risen to a higher level of -far-reaching adaptation to certain constant conditions of -environment, or where faculties, undoubtedly instinctive, are more -puzzlingly wrought up with faculties no less undoubtedly -intelligent.... It is truly an astonishing fact that animals should -engage in such vast architectural labors with what appears to be the -deliberate purpose of securing, by such artificial means, the special -benefits that arise from their high engineering skill. So astonishing, -indeed, does this fact appear, that as sober minded interpreters of -fact we would fain look for some explanation which would not -necessitate the inference that these actions are due to any -intelligent appreciation, either of the benefits that arise from -labor, or of the hydrostatic principles to which this labor so clearly -refers." - -Mr. Alexander Majors, originator of the Pony Express, who lived a -long, alert life in the wilds, pays the beaver the following peculiar -tribute in his "Seventy Years on the Frontier": "The beaver, -considered as an engineer, is a remarkable animal. He can run a tunnel -as direct as the best engineer could do with his instruments to guide -him. I have seen where they have built a dam across a stream, and not -having sufficient head water to keep their pond full, they would cross -to a stream higher up the side of the mountain, and cut a ditch from -the upper stream and connect it with the pond of the lower, and do it -as neatly as an engineer with his tools could possibly do it. I have -often said that the beaver in the Rocky Mountains had more engineering -skill than the entire corps of engineers who were connected with -General Grant's army when he besieged Vicksburg on the banks of the -Mississippi. The beaver would never have attempted to turn the -Mississippi into a canal to change its channel without first making a -dam across the channel below the point of starting the canal. The -beaver, as I have said, rivals and sometimes even excels the ingenuity -of man." - -Longfellow translates the spirit of the beaver world into words, and -enables one in imagination to restore the primeval scenes wherein the -beaver lived:-- - - "Should you ask me, whence these stories? - Whence these legends and traditions, - With the odors of the forest, - With the dew and damp of meadows, - - * * * * * - - 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 bird's-nests of the forest, - In the lodges of the beaver.'" - -And the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis, fleeing from the wrath of Hiawatha, -ran,-- - - "Till he came unto a streamlet - In the middle of the forest, - To a streamlet still and tranquil, - That had overflowed its margin, - To a dam made by the beavers, - To a pond of quiet water, - Where knee-deep the trees were standing, - Where the water-lilies floated, - Where the rushes waved and whispered. - On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, - On the dam of trunks and branches, - Through whose chinks the water spouted, - O'er whose summit flowed the streamlet. - From the bottom rose the beaver, - Looked with two great eyes of wonder, - Eyes that seemed to ask a question, - At the stranger Pau-Puk-Keewis." - - - - - -The Beaver Dam - - -Millions of beaver ponds graced America's wild gardens at the time the -first settlers came. These ragged and poetic ponds varied in length -from a few feet to one mile, and in area they were from one hundred -acres down to a miniature pond that half a dozen merry children might -encircle. These ponds were formed by dams built by beaver, and the -dams varied greatly in size and were made of poles variously combined -with sticks, stones, trash, rushes, and earth. - -In the Bad Lands of Dakota I saw two dams that were made of chunks of -coal. This material had caved from a near-by bluff. I have noticed a -few that were constructed of cobble-stones. The water-front of these -dams was filled and covered with clay, and they were the work of -"grass beavers,"--beaver that subsist chiefly on grass, and that live -in localities almost destitute of trees. - -It is doubtful if a dam is ever made by felling logs or large trees -across the stream. I have, however, seen a few real log dams, but in -these the logs were placed parallel to the flow of water. One of these -was in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Here a snow-slide swept -several hundred trees down the mountain. This wreckage was piled on -the bank of a stream. Beaver in a colony a short distance away -accepted this gift of the gods, and of these unwieldy logs built a dam -about two hundred feet downstream from where the avalanche had piled -the logs. This dam was a massive affair, about forty feet long and -eight feet high. It really appeared more like a log jam than a dam, -but it served the purpose intended and raised the level of the river -so that the water overflowed to one side and spread in a broad sheet -against a cliff and through a grove of aspens, which the beaver -proceeded to harvest. - -The majority of dams are made of slender green poles which are placed -lengthwise with the flow for the bottom, and set braced with the end -upstream a foot or so higher than the downstream end. With these there -are occasionally used small limby trees. The large end of the tree -is placed upstream, and the small bushy end downstream. If in a -current these sometimes are weighed down with mud or stones. Short, -stout sticks and long, slender poles are deftly mingled in the dam as -it rises. The poles overlie, and many completed dams appear as though -made of gigantic inclined half-closed shears and compasses of poles. -Thus a dam is doubly braced. The weight against it is resisted both by -the end-on poles that are parallel to the flow and by those set at an -angle to it. - -[Illustration: A NEW DAM] - -The shape and the material of a dam are dependent on a number of -things: the nature of the place where built, the kind of materials -available for its building, the purpose it is intended to serve, and -the relation it may have to dams already constructed. Sometimes a -small dam will be made--that may ultimately become a big one--by -simply digging a ditch across the stream or basin and piling the -excavated material into a dam. - -Beaver, like men, are unequal in their skill, both in planning and in -doing work, and the work of most beaver falls short of perfection. -Errors are not uncommon. More than one colony has commenced a dam -apparently without knowing that there was not sufficient available -material to complete it. Others have built in the wrong places, and -have thus failed to flood the area which they desired to reach or -cover with water. Occasionally the difficulties of construction have -been too great for the beaver who attempted it, and the dam has been -abandoned in an incomplete state. Now and then a weak dam breaks, or a -strong one is swept out by a flood. - -But why do beaver need or want the pond which the dam forms? They need -it for the purpose of maintaining water of sufficient depth and area -to enable them to move about in safety, and to transport their -food-supplies with the greatest ease. Above all, the pond is a place -of refuge into which the beaver can constantly plunge and have -security from his numerous and ever watchful enemies. The -house-entrance must be kept water-covered. In the water the beaver is -in his element. On the land he is a child lost in the wilds. He has -extremely short legs and a heavy body. His make-up fits him for -movement in the water. He is a graceful swimmer, and in the water can -move easily and evade enemies; while on land he is an awkward lubber, -moves slowly, and is easily overtaken. Water of sufficient depth and -area, then, is essential to the life and happiness of the beaver. To -have this at all times it is necessary, in localities where the supply -is at times insufficient, to maintain it by means of dams and ponds. - -Deep ponds are needed around the house; shallow ponds with shores in -near-by groves facilitate far-away logging. Dams are placed across -streams whose waters are to be led away through new channels and made -to serve elsewhere in canals or ponds. Dams are made across inclined -canals to catch and hold water in them. Streams are beaver's avenues -of travel. Along shallow streams in a beaver country it is not -uncommon to see an occasional short dam which forms a deep hole, which -apparently is maintained as a harbor or place of safety into which -traveling beaver may dive and be made safe from pursuit. - -Most beaver dams are built on the installment plan. They are the -result of growth. The new dam is short and comparatively low. It is -enlarged as conditions may require. As the trees in the edge of the -pond are harvested, the dam is built higher and longer, so as to flood -a larger area; or as sediment fills the pond, the dam is from time to -time raised and lengthened in order to maintain the desired depth of -water. Thus it may grow through the years until the possibilities of -the locality are exhausted. The dam may then be abandoned. It may be -used for a few years or it may be used for a century. A gigantic -beaver dam may thus represent the work of several generations of -beaver. It often occurs that one or more generations may use a dam and -yearly add something to its size. By and by these beaver may die or -emigrate. The old dam remains, falling to ruin in places. Years go by -and other beaver come upon the scene. The old dam is then used for the -foundation for a new one. The appearance of some old dams indicates -that they have been repeatedly used and abandoned. - -New dams, being made largely of coarse materials, appear very unlike -old ones. Decay, settling, repairs, and other changes come rapidly. -The dam is built of poles to-day; it speedily becomes earthy and is -planted by nature to grass, willows, and flowers. On old, large dams -it is not uncommon to see old forest-trees. The roots of these -entangle the constructive materials, penetrate deeply, and help to -anchor securely the entire dam. - -In only a few cases are the water-fronts of dams at once plastered or -filled in with mud. This is done only where there is a scarcity of -water. It is the aim of the beaver to raise the water in the pond to a -certain height and there maintain it, the chief purpose of the dam -being to regulate the height or the depth of the water. The water, in -streaming through new dams, deposits therein quantities of sticks, -trash, and sediment, so that in a year or two these choke the holes, -almost stop the leakage of the water, and help to solidify the dam. -The discharge from dams is regulated by the beaver. In some instances -water leaks through a dam in numerous places from bottom to top; in -others it seeps through only close to the top; and in still others the -dam is so solid that the water pours over the top in a thin sheet. In -some cases, however, instead of the water pouring over the entire -length of the dam the beaver force it to pour over in a given stretch -at one end or the other, or sometimes through a hole or tunnel. The -concentration of the overflow at some one point in the dam is commonly -done either for the purpose of using it in transportation or to force -the water to outpour on a spot where it will least erode the -foundation of the dam. Occasionally beaver compel the water to flow -round the end of a dam, which they raise sufficiently high for that -purpose. Sometimes they dig a waste-way for the water. - -European beaver appear to have barely developed to the dam-building -stage. Rarely did they build even a small, unimportant dam. Nor did -all the American beaver build dams. At the time the beaver population -was most numerous and widely distributed, probably not more than half -of them used the dam. However, those not using the dam were living in -places where the dam and consequent pond were not needed. Dam-building -enormously increased the habitable beaver area. There were, and are, -thousands of brooks which each year cease to flow for a period, yet -on these brooks are all other beaver requirements except a permanent, -sufficient water-supply. By dam-building water is stored for -to-morrow, or stream-courses changed, and with the assistance of -canals water is diverted to a dry ravine where a colony is -established. - -The dam is the largest and in many respects the most influential -beaver work. Across a stream it is an inviting thoroughfare for the -folk of the wild. As soon as a dam is completed, it becomes a -wilderness highway. It is used day and night. Across it go bears and -lions, rabbits and wolves, mice and porcupines; chipmunks use it for a -bridge, birds alight upon it, trout attempt to leap it, and in the -evening the graceful deer cast their reflections with the willows in -its quiet pond. Across it dash pursuer and pursued. Upon it take place -battles and courtships. Often it is torn by hoof and claw. Death -struggles stain it with blood. Many a drama, romantic and picturesque, -fierce and wild, is staged upon the beaver dam. - -The beaver dam gives new character to the landscape. It frequently -alters the course of a stream and changes the topography. It -introduces water into the scene. It nourishes new plant-life. It -brings new birds. It provides a harbor and a home for fish throughout -the changing seasons. It seizes sediment and soil from the rushing -waters, and it sends water through subterranean ways to form and feed -springs which give bloom to terraces below. It is a distributor of the -waters; and on days when dark clouds are shaken with heavy thunder, -the beaver dam silently breasts, breaks, and delays the down-rushing -flood waters, saves and stores them; then, through all the rainless -days that follow, it slowly releases them. - -Most old colonies have many dams and ponds. A dam is sometimes built -for the purpose of forcing water back and to one side into a grove -that is to be harvested for food. In many cases water flows round the -end of a dam, and in making its way back to the main channel is -intercepted by another dam, then another; and thus the water from one -small brook maintains a cluster or chain of pondlets. - -The majority of beaver dams are as crooked as a river's course. Now -and then one is straight. A few are built from shore to a boulder, -from the boulder to a willow-clump, and finally, perhaps, from -willow-clump to some outstretching peninsula on the further shore. It -is not uncommon for a short dam to be built and afterwards lengthened -with additions on each end which may curve either down or up stream. -Sometimes a dam is built outward from opposite shores simultaneously -by separate but coöperating crews of beaver. In swift water these ends -are forced downstream in building, so that when they are finally -joined midstream the dam curves noticeably downstream. - -On one occasion I watched beaver commence and complete a dam in -moderately swift water that when finished bowed strongly _upstream_. -This, however, was not the intention of the builders. The material for -this dam consisted of willow and alder poles that were cut some -distance upstream. These were floated down as used. This dam was begun -against a huge boulder near midstream, and built outward -simultaneously toward both shores. Despite the repeated efforts of -the builders to extend it in a straight line to the shore, the flow of -the water pushed these outbuilding ends downward, and when they -finally reached the shore this fifty-odd feet of dam with the boulder -for a keystone had an arch that was about fifteen feet in advance of -the bases. - -Not far from where I lived in the mountains when a boy, the beaver -built a dam. This had a slight arch upstream. A few years later the -dam was doubled in length by building an extension on the end which -bowed downstream. It thus stood a reverse curve. Later the dam was -still further lengthened by a comparatively straight stretch on one -end, and by a short, down-bowing stretch on the other. Recent -additions to this dam consist of wings at the end which sweep -upstream. The dam as it now stands reaches about three fourths of the -way around the pond which it forms. - -It is not uncommon for a dam to be planned and built with an arch -against the current or against the water which it afterwards impounds. -The most interesting dam of this kind that I ever saw was one across -the narrow neck of a rudely bell-shaped basin that was about two -hundred feet in length. The material for this dam came from a grove of -aspens that extended into one side of the basin. The floor of this -basin was partly covered with a few inches of water. In starting the -dam the beaver evidently knew where they wanted to build it. This was -not by the aspen grove where the materials were convenient, where the -dam would need to be about one hundred and twenty feet long, but was -about fifty feet farther on, where a dam of only forty feet was -required. This dam when completed bowed seven feet against the -enclosed water. The beaver commenced building at the end nearest the -grove of aspens, pulling and dragging the poles the fifty feet to it. -They laid these aspen poles, which were two to five inches in diameter -and from four to twelve feet in length, at right angles to the length -of the dam, and usually placed the large end upstream or against the -current. But the water was shallow, and the transportation of these -poles to the dam was difficult. Accordingly a ditch or canal was dug -from the grove to the place by the dam where the work was going on. -This ditch was about twenty-five inches wide and fifteen deep. The -waters filled it and thereby afforded an easy means of floating or -transporting the poles from the grove to the place where they were -being used. This ditch was carried forward along the upper line of the -dam, and several feet in advance of the spot where the outbuilding -work was advancing. Upon the earth thrown up from this were laid the -upper or high ends of the poles. When the dam was finally completed, -it was approximately eight feet wide on the base and stood four feet -high. As soon as it was completed, the beaver stuffed the water-front -with mud and grass roots, which were obtained by digging from the -construction ditch immediately in front of the dam. In other words, -they enlarged their pole-floating ditch above the dam into a deeper -and wider channel, and used this excavated material for strengthening -and waterproofing the dam. - -The longest beaver dam that I have ever seen or measured was on the -Jefferson River near Three Forks, Montana. This was 2140 feet long. -Most of it was old. More than half of it was less than six feet in -height; two short sections of it, however, were twenty-three feet wide -at the base, five on top, and fourteen feet high. - -[Illustration: PART OF AN OLD DAM 1040 FEET LONG] - - - - -Harvest Time with Beavers - - -One autumn I watched a beaver colony and observed the customs of its -primitive inhabitants as they gathered their harvest for winter. It -was the Spruce Tree Colony, the most attractive of the sixteen beaver -municipalities on the big moraine on the slope of Long's Peak. - -The first evening I concealed myself close to the beaver house by the -edge of the pond. Just at sunset a large, aged beaver of striking, -patriarchal appearance rose in the water by the house, and swam -slowly, silently round the pond. He kept close to the shore and -appeared to be scouting to see if an enemy lurked near. On completing -the circuit of the pond, he climbed upon the end of a log that was -thrust a few feet out into the water. Presently several other beaver -appeared in the water close to the house. A few of these at once left -the pond and nosed quietly about on the shore. The others swam about -for some minutes and then joined their comrades on land, where all -rested for a time. - -Meanwhile the aged beaver had lifted a small aspen limb out of the -water and was squatted on the log, leisurely eating bark. Before many -minutes elapsed the other beavers became restless and finally started -up the slope in a runway. They traveled slowly in single file and one -by one vanished amid the tall sedge. The old beaver slipped -noiselessly into the water, and a series of low waves pointed toward -the house. It was dark as I stole away in silence for the night, and -Mars was gently throbbing in the black water. - -This was an old beaver settlement, and the numerous harvests gathered -by its inhabitants had long since exhausted the near-by growths of -aspen, the bark of which is the favorite food of North American -beaver, though the bark of the willow, cottonwood, alder, and birch is -also eaten. An examination of the aspen supply, together with the -lines of transportation,--the runways, canals, and ponds,--indicated -that this year's harvest would have to be brought a long distance. The -place it would come from was an aspen grove far up the slope, about a -quarter of a mile distant from the main house, and perhaps a hundred -and twenty feet above it. In this grove I cut three notches in the -trunks of several trees to enable me to identify them whether in the -garnered pile by a house or along the line of transportation to it. - -The grounds of this colony occupied several acres on a terraced, -moderately steep slope of a mountain moraine. Along one side rushed a -swift stream on which the colonists maintained three but little used -ponds. On the opposite side were the slope and summit of the moraine. -There was a large pond at the bottom, and one or two small ponds, or -water-filled basins, dotted each of the five terraces which rose -above. The entire grounds were perforated with subterranean -passageways or tunnels. - -Beaver commonly fill their ponds by damming a brook or a river. But -this colony obtained most of its water-supply from springs which -poured forth abundantly on the uppermost terrace, where the water was -led into one pond and a number of basins. Overflowing from these, it -either made a merry little cascade or went to lubricate a slide on -the short slopes which led to the ponds on the terrace below. The -waters from all terraces were gathered into a large pond at the -bottom. This pond measured six hundred feet in circumference. The -crooked and almost encircling grass-grown dam was six feet high and -four hundred feet long. In its upper edge stood the main house, which -was eight feet high and forty feet in circumference. There was also -another house on one of the terraces. - -After notching the aspens I spent some time exploring the colony -grounds and did not return to the marked trees until forty-eight hours -had elapsed. Harvest had begun, and one of the largest notched trees -had been felled and removed. Its gnawed stump was six inches in -diameter and stood fifteen inches high. The limbs had been trimmed -off, and a number of these lay scattered about the stump. The trunk, -which must have been about eighteen feet long, had disappeared, cut -into lengths of from three to six feet, probably, and started toward -the harvest pile. Wondering for which house these logs were intended, -I followed, hoping to trace and trail them to the house, or find them -_en route_. From the spot where they were cut, they had evidently been -rolled down a steep, grassy seventy-foot slope, at the bottom of this -dragged an equal distance over a level stretch among some lodge-pole -pines, and then pushed or dragged along a narrow runway that had been -cut through a rank growth of willows. Once through the willows, they -were pushed into the uppermost pond. They were taken across this, -forced over the dam on the opposite side, and shot down a slide into -the pond which contained the smaller house. Only forty-eight hours -before, the little logs which I was following were in a tree, and now -I expected to find them by this house. It was good work to have got -them here so quickly, I thought. But no logs could be found by the -house or in the pond! The folks at this place had not yet laid up -anything for winter. The logs must have gone farther. - -On the opposite side of this pond I found where the logs had been -dragged across the broad dam and then heaved into a long, wet slide -which landed them in a small, shallow harbor in the grass. From this -point a canal about eighty feet long ran around the brow of the -terrace and ended at the top of a long slide which reached to the big -pond. This canal was new and probably had been dug especially for this -harvest. For sixty feet of its length it was quite regular in form and -had an average width of thirty inches and a depth of fourteen. The mud -dug in making it was piled evenly along the lower side. Altogether it -looked more like the work of a careful man with a shovel than of -beaver without tools. Seepage and overflow from the ponds above filled -and flowed slowly through it and out at the farther end, where it -swept down the long slide into the big pond. Through this canal the -logs had been taken one by one. At the farther end I found the -butt-end log. It probably had been too heavy to heave out of the -canal, but tracks in the mud indicated that there was a hard tussle -before it was abandoned. - -The pile of winter supplies was started. Close to the big house a few -aspen leaves fluttered on twigs in the water; evidently these twigs -were attached to limbs or larger pieces of aspen that were piled -beneath the surface. Could it be that the aspen which I had marked on -the mountainside a quarter of a mile distant so short a time before, -and which I had followed over slope and slide, through canal and -basin, was now piled on the bottom of this pond? I waded out into the -water, prodded about with a pole, and found several smaller logs. -Dragging one of these to the surface, I found there were three notches -in it. - -Evidently these heavy green tree cuttings had been sunk to the bottom -simply by the piling of other similar cuttings upon them. With this -heavy material in the still water a slight contact with the bottom -would prevent the drifting of accumulated cuttings until a heavy pile -could be formed. However, in deep or swift water I have noticed that -an anchorage for the first few pieces was secured by placing these -upon the lower slope of the house or against the dam. - -Scores of aspens were felled in the grove where the notched ones were. -They were trimmed, cut into sections, and limbs, logs, and all taken -over the route of the one I had followed, and at last placed in a pile -beside the big house. This harvest-gathering went on for a month. All -about was busy, earnest preparation for winter. The squirrels from the -tree-tops kept a rattling rain of cones on the leaf-strewn forest -floor, the cheery chipmunk foraged and frolicked among the withered -leaves and plants, while aspens with leaves of gold fell before the -ivory sickles of the beaver. Splendid glimpses, grand views, I had of -this strange harvest-home. How busy the beavers were! They were busy -in the grove on the steep mountainside; they tugged logs across the -runways; they hurried them across the water-basins, wrestled with them -in canals, and merrily piled them by the rude house in the water. And -I watched them through the changing hours; I saw their shadowy -activity in the starry, silent night; I saw them hopefully leave home -for the harvest groves in the serene twilight, and I watched them -working busily in the light of the noonday sun. - -Most of the aspens were cut off between thirteen and fifteen inches -above the ground. A few stumps were less than five inches high, while -a number were four feet high. These high cuttings were probably made -from reclining trunks of lodged aspens which were afterward removed. -The average diameter of the aspens cut was four and one half inches at -the top of the stump. Numerous seedlings of an inch diameter were cut, -and the largest tree felled for this harvest measured fourteen inches -across the stump. This had been laid low only a few hours before I -found it, and a bushel of white chips and cuttings encircled the -lifeless stump like a wreath. In falling, the top had become entangled -in an alder thicket and lodged six feet from the ground. It remained -in this position for several days and was apparently abandoned; but -the last time I went to see it the alders which upheld it were being -cut away. Although the alders were thick upon the ground, only those -which had upheld the aspen had been cut. It may be that the beaver -which felled them looked and thought before they went ahead with this -cutting. - -Why had this and several other large aspens been left uncut in a place -where all were convenient for harvest? All other neighboring aspens -were cut years ago. One explanation is that the beaver realized that -the tops of the aspens were entangled and interlocked in the limbs of -crowding spruces and would not fall if cut off at the bottom. This and -one other aspen were the only large ones that were felled, and the -tops of these had been recently released by the overturning of some -spruces and the breaking of several branches on others. Other -scattered large aspens were left uncut, but all of these were clasped -in the arms of near-by spruces. - -It was the habit of these colonists to transfer a tree to the harvest -pile promptly after cutting it down. But one morning I found logs on -slides and in canals, and unfinished work in the grove, as though -everything had been suddenly dropped in the night when work was at its -height. Coyotes had howled freely during the night, but this was not -uncommon. In going over the grounds I found the explanation of this -untidy work in a bear track and numerous wolf tracks, freshly moulded -in the muddy places. - -After the bulk of the harvest was gathered, I went one day to the -opposite side of the moraine and briefly observed the methods of the -Island beaver colony. The ways of the two colonies were in some -things very different. In the Spruce Tree Colony the custom was to -move the felled aspen promptly to the harvest pile. In the Island -Colony the custom was to cut down most of the harvest before -transporting any of it to the pile beside the house. Of the one -hundred and sixty-two trees that had been felled for this harvest, one -hundred and twenty-seven were still lying where they fell. However, -the work of transporting was getting under way; a few logs were in the -pile beside the house, and numerous others were scattered along the -canals, runways, and slides between the house and the harvest grove. - -[Illustration: THE SPRUCE TREE HOUSE AND FOOD-PILE, OCTOBER 12] - -There was more wasted labor, too, in the Island Colony. This was -noticeable in the attempts that had been made to fell limb-entangled -trees that could not fall. One five-inch aspen had three times been -cut off at the bottom. The third cut was more than three feet from the -ground, and was made by a beaver working from the top of a fallen log. -Still this high-cut aspen refused to come down and there it hung like -a collapsed balloon entangled in tree-tops. - -Prowling hunters have compelled most beaver to work at night, but the -Spruce Tree Colony was an isolated one, and occasionally its members -worked and even played in the sunshine. Each day I secluded myself, -kept still, and waited; and on a few occasions watched them as they -worked in the light. - -One windy day, just as I was unroping myself from the shaking limb of -a spruce, I saw four beaver plodding along in single file beneath. -They had come out of a hole between the roots of the spruce. At an -aspen growth about fifty feet distant they separated. Though they had -been closely assembled, each appeared utterly oblivious of the -presence of the others. One squatted on the ground by an aspen, took a -bite of bark out of it, and ate leisurely. By and by he rose, clasped -the aspen with fore paws, and began to bite chips from it -systematically. He was deliberately cutting it down. The most aged -beaver waddled near an aspen, gazed into its top for a few seconds, -then moved away about ten feet and started to fell a five-inch aspen. -The one rejected was entangled at the top. Presently the third beaver -selected a tree, and after some trouble in getting comfortably seated, -or squatted, also began cutting. The fourth beaver disappeared and I -did not see him again. While I was looking for this one the huge, aged -beaver whose venerable appearance had impressed me the first evening -appeared on the scene. He came out of a hole beneath some spruces -about a hundred feet distant. He looked neither to right nor to left, -nor up nor down, as he ambled toward the aspen growth. When about -halfway there he wheeled suddenly and took an uneasy survey of the -open he had traversed, as though he had heard an enemy behind. Then -with apparently stolid indifference he went on leisurely, and for a -time paused among the cutters, which did nothing to indicate that they -realized his presence. He ate some bark from a green limb on the -ground, moved on, and went into the hole beneath me. He appeared so -large that I afterward measured the distance between the two aspens -where he paused. He was not less than three and a half feet long and -probably weighed fifty pounds. He had all his toes; there was no white -spot on his body; in fact, there was neither mark nor blemish by -which I could positively identify him. Yet I feel that in my month -around the colony I beheld the patriarch of the first evening in -several scenes of action. - -Sixty-seven minutes after the second beaver began cutting he made a -brief pause; then he suddenly thudded the ground with his tail, -hurriedly took out a few more chips, and ran away, with the other two -beaver a little in advance, just as his four-inch aspen settled over -and fell. All paused for a time close to the hole beneath me, and then -the old beaver returned to his work. The one that had felled his tree -followed closely and at once began on another aspen. The other beaver, -with his aspen half cut off, went into the hole and did not again come -out. By and by an old and a young beaver came out of the hole. The -young one at once began cutting limbs off the recently felled aspen, -while the other began work on the half-cut tree; but he ignored the -work already done, and finally severed the trunk about four inches -above the cut made by the other. Suddenly the old beaver whacked the -ground and ran, but at thirty feet distant he paused and nervously -thumped the ground with his tail, as his aspen slowly settled and -fell. Then he went into the hole beneath me. - -This year's harvest was so much larger than usual that it may be the -population of this colony had been increased by the arrival of -emigrants from a persecuted colony down in the valley. The total -harvest numbered four hundred and forty-three trees. These made a -harvest pile four feet high and ninety feet in circumference. A thick -covering of willows was placed on top of the harvest pile,--I cannot -tell for what reason unless it was to sink all the aspens below reach -of the ice. This bulk of stores together with numerous roots of willow -and water plants, which are eaten in the water from the bottom of the -pond, would support a numerous beaver population through the days of -ice and snow. - -When I took my last tour through the colony everything was ready for -the long and cold winter. Dams were in repair and ponds were brimming -over with water, the fresh coats of mud on the houses were freezing to -defy enemies, and a bountiful harvest was home. Harvest-gathering is -full of hope and romance. What a joy it must be to every man or -animal who has a hand in it! What a satisfaction, too, for all -dependent upon a harvest, to know that there is abundance stored for -all the frosty days! - -The people of this wild, strange, picturesque colony had planned and -prepared well. I wished them a winter unvisited by cruel fate or foe, -and trusted that when June came again the fat and furry young beavers -would play with the aged one amid the tiger lilies in the shadows of -the big spruce trees. - - - - -Transportation Facilities - - -Two successive dry years had greatly reduced the water-level of Lily -Lake, and the consequent shallowness of the water made a serious -situation for its beaver inhabitants. This lake covered about ten -acres, and was four feet deep in the deepest part, while over nine -tenths of the area the water was two feet or less in depth. It was -supplied by springs. Early in the autumn of 1911 the water completely -disappeared from about one half of the area, and most of the remainder -became so shallow that beaver could no longer swim beneath the -surface. This condition exposed them to the attack of enemies and made -the transportation of supplies to the house slow and difficult. - -In the lake the beaver had dug an extensive system of deep -canals,--the work of years. By means of these deep canals the beaver -were able to use the place until the last, for these were full of -water even after the lake-bed was completely exposed. One day in -October while passing the lake, I noticed a coyote on the farther -shore stop suddenly, prick up his ears, and give alert attention to an -agitated forward movement in the shallow water of a canal. Then he -plunged into the water and endeavored to seize a beaver that was -struggling forward through water that was too shallow for his heavy -body. Although this beaver made his escape, other members of the -colony may not have been so fortunate. - -The drouth continued and by mid-October the lake went entirely dry -except in the canals. Off in one corner stood the beaver house, a tiny -rounded and solitary hill in the miniature black plain of lake-bed. -With one exception the beaver abandoned the site and moved on to other -scenes, I know not where. One old beaver remained. Whether he did this -through the fear of not being equal to the overland journey across the -dry rocky ridge and down into Wind River, or whether from deep love of -the old home associations, no one can say. But he remained and -endeavored to make provision for the oncoming winter. Close to the -house he dug or enlarged a well that was about six feet in diameter -and four feet in depth. Seepage filled this hole, and into it he piled -a number of green aspen chunks and cuttings, a meagre food-supply for -the long, cold winter that followed. Extreme cold began in early -November, and not until April was there a thaw. - -[Illustration: LAKE-BED CANALS AT LILY LAKE, OCTOBER, 1911] - -[Illustration: SECTION OF A 750-FOOT CANAL AT LILY LAKE Here five feet -wide and three feet deep] - -Before the lake-bed was snow-covered, all the numerous canals and -basins which the beaver had excavated could be plainly seen and -examined. The magnitude of the work which the beaver had performed in -making these is beyond comprehension. I took a series of photographs -of these excavations and made numerous measurements. To the north of -the house a pool had been dug that was three feet deep, thirty feet -long, and about twenty wide. There extended from this a canal that was -one hundred and fifty feet long. The food basin was thirty feet wide -and four feet deep. This had a canal connection with the house. In the -bottom of the basin was one of the feeble springs which supply the -lake. Another canal, which extended three hundred and fifty feet in a -northerly direction from the house, was from three to four feet wide -and three feet deep. The largest ditch or canal was seven hundred and -fifty feet long and three feet deep throughout. This extended -eastward, then northeasterly, and for one hundred feet was five feet -wide. In the remaining six hundred and fifty feet it was three to four -feet wide. There were a number of minor ditches and canals connecting -the larger ones, and altogether the extent of all made an impressive -show in the empty lake-basin. - -Meantime the old beaver had a hard winter. The cold weather persisted, -and finally the well in which he had deposited winter food froze to -the bottom. Even the entrance-holes into the house were frozen shut. -This sealed him in. The old fellow, whose teeth were worn and whose -claws were bad, apparently tried in vain to break out. On returning -from three months' absence, two friends and I investigated the old -beaver's condition. We broke through the frozen walls of the house and -crawled in. The old fellow was still alive, though greatly emaciated. -For some time--I know not how long--he had subsisted on the wood and -the bark of some green sticks which had been built into an addition -of the house during the autumn. We cut several green aspens into short -lengths and threw them into the house. The broken hole was then -closed. The old fellow accepted these cheerfully. For six weeks aspens -were occasionally thrown to him, and at the end of this time the -spring warmth had melted the deep snow. The water rose and filled the -pond and unsealed the entrance to the house, and again the old fellow -emerged into the water. The following summer he was joined, or -rejoined, by a number of other beaver. - -In many localities the canals or ditches dug and used by the beaver -form their most necessary and extensive works. These canals require -enormous labor and much skill. In point of interest they even excel -the house and the dam. It is remarkable that of the thousands of -stories concerning the beaver only a few have mentioned the beaver -canals. These are labor-saving improvements, and not only enable the -beaver to live easily and safely in places where he otherwise could -not live at all, but apparently they allow him to live happily. The -excavations made in taking material for house or dam commonly are -turned to useful purpose. The beaver not only builds his mound-like -house, but uses the basin thus formed in excavating earthy material -for the house for a winter food depository. Ofttimes, too, in building -the dam he does it by piling up the material dug from a ditch which -runs parallel and close to the dam, and which is useful to him as a -deep waterway after the dam is completed. - -In transporting trees for food-supply, water transportation is so much -easier and safer than land, that wherever the immediate surroundings -of the pond are comparatively level the beaver endeavors to lead water -out to tree groves by digging a canal from the edge of the pond to -these groves. The felled trees are by this means easily floated into -the pond. One of the simplest forms of beaver canal is a narrow, -outward extension of the pond. This varies in length from a few yards -to one hundred feet or more. - -Another and fairly common form of canal is one that is built across -low narrow necks of land which thrust out into large beaver ponds, or -on narrow stretches of land around which crooked streams wander. - -The majority of beaver ponds are comparatively shallow over the -greater portion of their area. In many cases it is not easy, or even -possible, to deepen them. They may be so shallow that the pond freezes -to the bottom in winter except in its small deeper portion. The -shallow ponds are made more usable by a number of canals in the -bottom. These canals assure deep-water stretches under all conditions. -Most beaver ponds have a canal that closely parallels the dam. In some -instances this is extended around the pond a few yards inside the -shore-line. Two canals usually extend from the house. One of these -connects with the canal by the dam, the other runs to the place on the -shore (commonly at the end of a trail or slide) most visited by the -beaver. - -In Jefferson Valley, Montana, not far from Three Forks, I enjoyed the -examination of numerous beaver workings, and made measurements of the -most interesting system of beaver canals that I have ever seen. The -beaver house for which these canals did service was situated on the -south bank of the river, about three feet above the summer level of -the water and about two hundred feet north of the hilly edge of the -valley. From the river a crescent-shaped canal, about thirty-five feet -in length, had been dug halfway around the base of the house. -Connected with this was a basin for winter food; this was five feet -deep and thirty-five feet in diameter. From this a canal extended -southward two hundred and seven feet. One hundred and ten feet distant -from the house was a boulder that was about ten feet in diameter. This -was imbedded in about two feet of soil. Around this boulder the canal -made a detour, and then resumed its comparatively straight line -southward. - -Over the greater portion of its length this canal was four feet wide, -and at no point was it narrower than three feet. Its average depth was -twenty-eight inches. For one hundred and forty-seven feet it ran -through an approximately level stretch of the valley, and seepage -filled it with water. A low, semi-circular dam, about fifty feet in -length, crossed it at the one hundred and forty-seven-foot mark, and -served to catch and run seepage water into it, and also to act as a -wall across the canal to hold the water. The most southerly sixty feet -of this canal on the edge of the foothills ran uphill, and was about -four feet deep at the upper end, four feet higher than the end by the -house. The dam across it was supplemented by a wall forty-eight feet -further on. This wall was simply a short dam across the canal, in a -part that was inclined, and plainly for the purpose of retaining water -in the canal. The upper part of the canal was filled with water by a -streamlet from off the slope. Apparently this canal was old, for there -was growing on its banks near the house, a spruce tree, four inches in -diameter, that had grown since the canal was made. - -[Illustration: Beaver Colony on Jefferson River near Three Forks, -Montana] - -The wall or small dam which beaver build across canals that are -inclined represents an interesting phase of beaver development. That -these walls are built for the purpose of retaining water in the canal -appears certain. They are most numerous in canals of steepest incline, -though rarely less than twenty feet apart. I have not seen a wall in -an almost dead-level canal, except it was there for the purpose of -raising the height of the water. This wall or buttress is after all -but a dam, and like most dams it is built for the purpose of raising -and maintaining the level of water. - -Extending at right angles westward from the end of the old canal was a -newer one of two hundred and twenty-one feet. A wall separated and -united the two. One hundred and sixty feet of this new canal ran along -the contour of a hill, approximately at a dead level. Then came a -wall, and from this the last sixty-one feet extended southward up a -shallow ravine. In this part there were two walls. The upper end of -the sixty-one-foot extension was nine feet higher than the house, and -four hundred and twenty-eight feet distant from it. The -two-hundred-and-twenty-one-foot extension was from twenty-six to -thirty-four inches wide, and averaged twenty-two inches deep. The -entire new part was supplied with spring water, which the beaver had -diverted from a ravine to the west and led by a seventy-foot ditch -into the upper end of their canal. Thirty feet from the end of the -canal were two burrows, evidently safe places into which the beaver -could retreat in case of sudden attack from wolves or other foe. -There were two other of these burrows, one at the outer end of the old -canal and the other alongside the boulder one hundred and ten feet -from the house. - -At the time I saw these canals, the only trees near were those of an -aspen grove which surrounded the extreme end. It was autumn, and on -both tributary slopes by the end of the canal, aspens were being cut, -dragged, and rolled down these slopes into the upper end of the canal, -then floated through its waters, dragged over and across the walls, -and at last piled up for winter food in the basin by the house. In all -probability this long, large canal had been built a few yards at a -time, being extended as the trees near-by were cut down and used. - -Where beaver long inhabit a locality it is not uncommon for them to -have two or three distinct and well-used trails from points on the -water's edge which lead into neighboring groves or tree-clumps. These -are the beaten tracks traveled by the beaver as they go forth from the -water for food, and over which they drag their trees and saplings -into the water. On steep slopes by the water these are called slides. -This name is also given to places in the dam over which beaver -frequently pass in their outgoings and incomings. Commonly these -trails avoid ridges and ground swells by keeping in the bottom of a -ravine; logs are cut through and rolled out of the way, or a tunnel -driven beneath; obstructions are removed, or a good way made round -them. Their log roads compare favorably with the log roads of woodsmen -who cut with steel instead of enamel. - -In most old beaver colonies, where the character of the bottom of the -pond permits it, there are two or more tunnels or subways beneath the -floor of the principal pond. The main tunnel begins close to the -foundation of the house, and penetrates the earth a foot or more -beneath the water to a point on land a few feet beyond the shore-line. -If there are a number of small ponds in a colony that are separated by -fingers of land, it is not uncommon for these bits of land to be -penetrated by a thoroughfare tunnel. These tunnels through the -separating bits of land enable the beaver to go from one pond to -another without exposing themselves to dangers on land, and also -offer an easy means of intercommunication between ponds when these are -ice-covered. Pond subways also afford a place of refuge or a means of -escape in case the house is destroyed, the dam broken, or the pond -drained, or in case the pond should freeze to the bottom. Commonly -these are full of water, but some are empty. On the Missouri and other -rivers, where there are several feet of cut banks above the water, -beaver commonly dug a steeply inclined tunnel from the river's edge to -the top of a bank a few feet back. - -Most of this tunnel work is hidden and remains unknown. A striking -example was in the Spruce Tree Colony, elsewhere described. These -colonists, apparently disgusted by having their ponds completely -filled with sediment which came down as the result of a cloudburst, -abandoned the old colony-site. A new site was selected on a moraine, -only a short distance from the old one. Here in the sod a basin was -scooped out, and a dam made with the excavated material. The waters -from a spring which burst forth in the moraine, about two hundred -yards up the slope and perhaps one hundred feet above, trickled down -and in due time formed a pond. The following year this pond was -enlarged, and another one built upon a terrace about one hundred feet -up the slope. From year to year there were enlargements of the old -pond and the building of new pondlets, until there were seven on the -terraces of this moraine. These, together with the connecting slides -and canals, required more water than the spring supplied, especially -in the autumn when the beaver were floating their winter supplies from -pond to pond. Within the colony area, too, were many water-filled -underground passages or subway tunnels. One of these penetrated the -turf beneath the willows for more than two hundred feet. - -While watching the autumnal activities of this colony, as described in -another chapter, I broke through the surface and plunged my leg into -an underground channel or subway that was half filled with water. -Taking pains to trace this stream downward, I found that it emptied -into the uppermost of the ponds along with the waters from a small -spring. Then, tracing the channel upwards, I found that, about one -hundred and forty feet distant from the uppermost pond, it connected -with the waters of the brook on which the old colony formerly had a -place. This tunnel over most of its course was about two feet beneath -the surface, was fourteen inches in diameter, and ran beneath the -roots of spruce trees. The water which the tunnel led from the brook -plainly was being used to increase the supply needed in the canals, -ponds, and pools of the Spruce Tree Colony. The intake of this was in -a tiny pond which the beaver had formed by a damlet across the brook. -That this increased supply of water was of great advantage to the busy -and populous Spruce Tree Colony, there can be no doubt. Was this -tunnel planned and made for this especial purpose, or was the -increased water-supply of the colony the result of accident by the -brook's breaking into this subway tunnel? - -The canals which beaver dig, the slides which they use, the trails -which they clear and establish, conclusively show that these animals -appreciate the importance of good waterways and good roads,--in other -words, good transportation facilities. - - - - -The Primitive House - - -The Lily Lake beaver house, in which the old beaver spent the drouthy -winter, was a large roughly rounded affair that measured twenty-two -feet in diameter. It rose only four feet above the normal water-line. -This house had been three times altered and enlarged, and once raised -in height. Its mud walls were heavily reinforced with polelike sticks, -which were placed at the junctures of the enlargements. The one large -room was more than twelve feet in diameter. Near the centre stood a -support for the upper part of the house. This support was about one -and a half by two and a half feet, and was composed for the most part -of sticks. But few houses have this support; commonly the room is -vaulted. The room itself averaged two and a half feet high. It had -four entrances. - -A house commonly has two entrances, but it may have only one or as -many as five. Thus the way to the outer world from the inside of the -house is through one or more inclined passageways or tunnels. The -upper opening of these entrances is in the floor a few inches above -the water-level, and the lower opening in the bottom of the pond under -about three feet of water. These extend at an angle through the solid -foundation of the house, are about one foot in diameter and four to -fifteen feet long, and are full of water almost to floor-level. This -dark, windowless hut has no other entrance. - -Most beaver houses stand in a pond, though a number are built on the -shore and partly in the water, and still others on the bank a few feet -away from the water. The external appearance and internal construction -of the houses are in a general way the same, regardless of the -situation or size. Most beaver houses appear conical. Measured on the -water-line, they are commonly found to be slightly elliptical. The -diameter on the water-line is from five to thirty-five feet, and the -height above water is from three to seven feet. - -A house may be built almost entirely of sticks, or of a few sticks -with a larger proportion of mud and turf. In building, a small opening -is left,--or built around and over,--which is afterwards enlarged -into a room. - -Houses that are built in a pond usually stand in three or four feet of -water. The foundation is laid on the bottom of the pond, of the size -intended for the house, and built up a solid mass to a few inches -above water-level. This island-like foundation is covered with a crude -hemisphere or dome-shaped house, the central portion of the foundation -forming the floor of the low-vaulted room which is enclosed by the -thick house-walls. In building the house the beaver provide a -temporary support for the combined roof and walls by piling in the -centre of the floor a two-foot mound of mud. Over this is placed a -somewhat flattened tepee- or cone-shaped frame of sticks and small -poles. These stand on the outer part of the foundation and lean inward -with upper ends meeting against and above the temporary support. The -beaver then cover this framework with two or three feet of mud, brush, -and turf, and thus make the walls and the roof of the house. When the -outer part of the house is completed, they dig an inclined -passageway, from the bottom of the pond up through the foundation, -into the irregular space left between the supporting pile of mud and -the walls. And of this space they shape a room, by clawing out the -temporary support and gnawing off the intruding sticks. This -represents the most highly developed type of beaver house. - -In most houses the temporary support is not used, but a part of the -wall is carried up to completion, and against it are leaned sticks, -which rest upon the edge of the remaining foundation. A finished house -of this kind has a slightly elliptical outline. However, many a house -is a crude haphazard pile of material in which a room has been -burrowed. - -The room is from one to three feet high, and from three to twenty feet -across. The room is a kind of a burrow and is without either door or -window. Half-buried sticks make a comparatively dry floor, despite the -fact that it is only a few inches above water-level. Beaver sleep on -the floor, usually with tail bent along the side after the fashion of -a dozing cat, in a nest of shredded wood, which they patiently make by -thinly splitting and paring pieces of wood. Just why this kind of -bedding is used cannot be said, but probably because this material -dries more quickly, is more comfortable and more sanitary, and harbors -fewer parasites. However, a few beds are made of grass, leaves, or -moss. - -But little earthy matter is used in the tip-top of the house, where -the minute disjointed air-holes between the interlaced poles give the -room scanty ventilation. - -Except in a few cases where house-walls are overgrown with willows or -grass, the erosive action of wind and water rapidly thins and weakens -them. Hence the house must receive frequent repairs. Each autumn it is -plastered or piled all over with sticks or mud. The mud covering -varies in thickness from two to six inches. The mud for this purpose -is usually dredged from the bottom of the pond close to the foundation -of the house. It is carried up, a double handful at a time, the beaver -waddling on his hind legs as he holds it with his fore paws against -his breast. A half-dozen or more beaver may be carrying mud up at -once. The covering not only thickens the walls and increases the -warmth of the house, but also freezes and becomes an armor of stone -that is impregnable to most beaver enemies. The "mudding" of the house -is a part of the natural and necessary preparation for winter. It may -also be a special means of protection deliberately carried out by the -beaver. The fact that an occasional thick-walled or grass-covered -beaver house was not thus plastered in autumn--perhaps because it did -not need it--has led a few people to affirm that beaver houses are not -mud-covered in the autumn. Many years of observation show that most -beaver houses do receive an autumnal plastering, and the few that do -not have this attention usually have thick, well-preserved walls and -do not need it. - -One autumn in Montana, of twenty-seven beaver houses which I examined, -twenty-one received mud covering; three of the others were thickly -overgrown with willows and two were grass-grown. Only one thin-walled -house that needed reinforcement did not receive it; and this one, by -the way, was broken into by a bear before the winter had got fairly -under way. - -[Illustration: AN UNPLASTERED AND A PLASTERED HOUSE] - -In the autumn of 1910 I made notes concerning eighteen houses. These I -watched during October and November. Thirteen were plastered; a -willow-grown one and a weed-grown one, both of which had thick walls, -were not plastered. The remaining three were not greatly in need of -additional thickness, so received only a scanty covering of sticks. -Two of these were broken into by some animal during the winter, while -none of the others were disturbed. - -Beaver frequently show good judgment in that important matter of -selecting a site for the house. Ice and sediment are two factors with -which the beaver must constantly contend. In the pond the house is -commonly placed in deep water, and apparently where the depth around -it will not be rapidly reduced by the depositing of sediment. Keeping -the house-entrance, the harvest-pile basin, and the canals from -filling with sediment is one of the difficult problems of beaver life. - -To guard against the rapid encroachments of the deposits of sediment, -one group of beaver, apparently with forethought, built a dam that -formed a pond from the waters of a small spring which carried but -little or no sediment. I have noticed a number of instances in which a -pond was made on a small streamlet with greater labor than it would -have required to form a pond in a near-by brook. As there were a -number of other conditions favorable to the brook situation of the -house, the only conclusion I could reach was that these selections for -colony-sites were made with the intention of avoiding the -ever-encroaching sediment,--for in some beaver ponds this sediment is -deposited annually to the depth of several inches. - -Ice is one of the troubles of beaver existence. It is of the utmost -importance to the beaver that he should have his house so situated -that the ice of winter does not close the entrance to it, and also -that the deep water in which his pile of green provisions is deposited -does not freeze solid and thus exclude him from the food-supply. The -ice fills the pond from the top and compels him to be constantly -vigilant to save himself from its encroachments. Many a beaver home -has been built alongside a spring, around which the beaver dredged a -deep hole and in this deposited the winter food-supply. The constant -flow of the spring water prevented thick ice from forming, both around -the food-pile and between it and the house-entrance. - -Large numbers of beaver do not possess a house. Beaver who live -without a dam or pond commonly do not build a house, but are content -with a burrow or a number of burrows in the banks of the waters which -they inhabit. In the severe struggle to live, there is a tendency on -the part of the beaver to avoid the building of dams and houses, as -these reveal their presence and put the aggressive trapper on their -trail. - -Many colonies have both houses and burrows. Apparently the houses were -used in the winter-time, the burrows in summer. One beaver burrow -which I examined was about one foot above the level of the pond and -twelve feet distant from it. The entrance tunnels were sixteen feet in -length, and began a trifle more than three feet under water near the -edge of the pond. This burrow measured five and a half feet long, -about half as wide, and seventeen inches high. It was immediately -beneath the outspreading roots of an Engelmann spruce. The majority -of beaver burrows are about two thirds the size of this one. - -One November I examined more than a score of beaver colonies. There -was no snow, but recent cold had covered the pond with ice and -solidified the miry surroundings. Over the frozen surface I moved -easily about and made many measurements. One of these colonies was a -fairly typical one. The colony was on a swift-running stream that came -down from the snowy heights, three miles distant. The top of Long's -Peak and Mt. Meeker looked down upon the scene. The altitude of this -colony was about nine thousand feet. The ponds were in part surrounded -by semi-boggy willow flats, with here and there a high point or a -stretch of bank that was covered with aspens. The tops of a few huge -boulders thrust up through the water. All around stood guard a tall, -dark forest of lodge-pole pines. These swept up the mountainside, -where they were displaced by a growth of Engelmann spruce which -reached up to timber-line on the heights above. - -This colony had a number of ponds, with a few short canals extending -outward from them. A conical house of mud and slender poles stood in -the larger pond. Above this pond there were half a dozen pondlets, the -uppermost of which was formed across the brook by a semi-circular dam. -Over the outward ends of this dam the water flowed and was caught in -other ponds; these in turn overflowed, the water traversing two other -ponds, one below the other, just above the main one. Below the large -pond were three smaller ones in close succession. The dam of each pond -backed the water against the dam above it. - -The dam of the main pond was two hundred and thirty feet long. Each -end bent upward at a sharp angle and extended a number of yards -upstream. This dam measured five feet at its highest point, but along -the greater portion was only a trifle more than three feet high. The -central part was overgrown with sedge and willows and appeared old; -but the extreme ends appeared new, and probably had been in part -constructed within a few weeks. The whole dam was formed of earth and -slender poles. The pond formed by it was one hundred and eighty feet -wide, and had an average length up and down stream of one hundred and -ten feet. The average depth was only two feet. - -Near the centre of this large pond stood the house, a trifle nearer to -the dam than to the upper edge of the pond. I measured it on the -water- or rather the ice-level. It took twenty-six feet of rope to go -around it. The top of the house rose exactly five feet above the ice. -The house was built of a mixture of sods and willow sticks. The ends -of the sticks here and there thrust out through the three-or-four-inch -covering of mud which the house had recently received. Wondering how -much of the house was in the water below the level of the ice, I -thought to measure the depth by thrusting a pole through the ice to -the bottom. Holding it in an upright position, I raised it and brought -it down with all my strength. The pole went through the ice and so did -I. The water was three feet deep. This depth covered only a small area -around the house and was maintained by frequent digging. The house is -often plastered with this dredged material. Altogether, then, the -house from its lowest foundation on the bottom of the pond to the -conical top was eight feet high. The foundation of this house was made -of turf, masses of grass roots, and a small percentage of mud thickly -reinforced with numerous willow sticks. The floor was mostly sticks. -As the entrance tunnels were filled with water to a point about three -inches below the floor-level, and as these were the only entrances or -openings into the house, friend or foe could enter only by coming up -through one or the other of these water-filled tunnels from the bottom -of the pond. - -The single, circular, dome-like room of this house was four and a half -feet in diameter and about two feet in height. Its ceiling was roughly -formed by a confused interlacing of sticks, which stood at an angle. -The spaces between were filled with root-matted mud. The walls were a -trifle more than two feet thick, except around the conical top. Here -was a small space, mostly of interlacing sticks, the thickness of -which was but one foot. As very little mud had been used in this part, -there were thus left a few tiny air-holes. As I approached, there -could be seen arising from these holes the steamy and scented breath -of the beaver inhabitants within. Since the ventilation of beaver -houses is exceedingly poor, and as this animal probably does not -suffer from tuberculosis, it is possible that ventilation is assisted, -and some of the impure air absorbed by the water, which rises almost -to the floor in the large entrance-holes. - -The early trappers from time to time noted extended general movements -or emigrations among beaver, which embraced an enormous area. They, as -with human emigrants, probably were seeking a safer, better home. Some -of these movements were upstream, others down; commonly away from -civilization, but occasionally toward it. For this the Missouri River -was the great highway. Limited emigrations of this kind still -occasionally occur. - -The annual migration is a different affair. This has been noted for -some hundred and fifty years or more, and probably has gone on for -centuries. This peculiar migration might be called a migratory outing. -In it all members of the colony appear to have taken part, leaving -home in June, scattering as the season advanced. Rambles were made up -and down stream, other beaver settlements visited, brief stays made at -lakes, adventures had up shallow brooks, and daring journeys made on -portages. The country was explored. The dangers and restrictions -imposed during the last twenty-five years appear in some localities to -have checked this movement, and in others to have stopped it -completely. But in most colonies it still goes on, though probably not -usually enjoyed by mothers and children except to a limited extent. - -By the first of September all have returned to the home, or joined -another colony or assembled at the place where a new colony is to be -founded. This annual vacation probably sustained the health of the -colonists; they got away from the parasites and the bad air of their -houses. The outing was taken for the sheer joy of it. Incidentally, it -brought beaver into new territory and acquainted them with desirable -colony-sites and the route thereto,--useful information in case the -colonists were compelled suddenly to abandon the old home. - -It is natural for the beaver to be silent. In silence he becomes -intimate with the elements, and, while listening, hears and -understands all moods and movements that concern him. He is a master -in translating sound. It wakens or warns, threatens or gladdens, and -woos him back to slumberland. - -On the wild frontier in his fortress island home in safety he sits and -sleeps in darkness. He cannot see outside, but the ever-changing -conditions of the surrounding outer world are revealed to him by -continuous and varying sounds that penetrate the thick windowless -walls of his house. He hears the cries of the coyote and the cougar, -the call of moose, the wild and fleeting laugh of the kingfisher, the -elemental melody of the ouzel, and many an echo faintly from afar. He -hears the soft vibrations from the muffled feet of enemies; and, above -his head, the raking threat of claws upon the top of his house. -Endlessly the water slides and gently pours over the dam, and softly -ebbs around the pond's primeval shores. The earthquake thunder warns -of storm, the floods roar; then through day and night the cleared and -calmed stream goes by. The wind booms among the baffling pines, and -the broken and leafless tree falls with a crash! There is silence! -Along the stream's open way through the woods numberless breezes -whisper and pause by the primitive house in the water. - - - - -The Beaver's Engineering - - -Realizing that the supply of aspens near the waters of the Moraine -Colony close to my home was almost exhausted, I wondered whether it -would be possible for the beavers to procure a sufficient supply -downstream, or whether they would deem it best to abandon this old -colony and migrate. - -Out on the plains, where cottonwoods were scarce, the beavers first -cut those close to the colony, then harvested those upstream, -sometimes going a mile for them, then those downstream; but rarely -were the latter brought more than a quarter of a mile. If enemies did -not keep down the population of a colony so situated, it was only a -question of time until the scarcity of the food-supply compelled the -colonists to move either up or down stream and start anew in a place -where food trees could be obtained. But not a move until necessity -drove them! - -Not far from my home in the mountains the inhabitants of two old -beaver colonies endured hardships in order to remain in the old place. -One colony, in order to reach a grove of aspens, dug a canal three -hundred and thirty-four feet long, which had an average depth of -fifteen inches and a width of twenty-six inches. It ended in a grove -of aspens, which were in due time cut down and floated through this -canal into the pond, alongside the beaver house. The other colony -endured dangers and greater hardships. - -During the summer of 1900 an extensive forest fire on the northerly -slope of Long's Peak wrought great hardship among beaver colonies -along the streams in the fire district. This fire destroyed all the -aspens and some of the willows. In order to have food while a new -growth of aspens was developing, the beavers at a colony on the -Bierstadt Moraine were compelled to bring their winter supply of -aspens the distance of a quarter of a mile from an isolated grove that -had escaped the fire. This stood on a bench of the moraine at an -altitude about fifty feet greater than that of the beaver pond. Aspens -from the grove were dragged about two hundred feet, then floated -across a small water-hole, and from this taken up the steep slope of -a ridge, then down to a point about one hundred feet from the pond. -Between this place and the pond was a deep wreckage of fire-killed and -fallen spruces. To cut an avenue through these was too great a task -for the beavers; so with much labor they dug a canal beneath the wide -heap of wreckage, and through this, beneath the gigantic fallen trees, -the harvested aspens were dragged and piled in the pond for winter -food. The gathering of these harvests, even by beavers, must have been -almost a hopeless task. In going thus far from water many of the -harvesters were exposed to their enemies, and it is probable that many -beavers lost their lives. - -[Illustration: THE 334-FOOT CANAL] - -Beavers become strongly attached to localities and especially to their -homes. It is difficult to drive them away from these, but the -exhaustion of the food-supply sometimes compels an entire colony to -abandon the old home-site, migrate, and found a new colony. Some of -the beavers' most audacious engineering works are undertaken for the -purpose of maintaining the food-supply of the colony. It occasionally -happens that the food trees near the water by an old colony become -scarce through excessive cutting, fires, or tree diseases. In cases of -this kind the colonists must go a long distance for their supplies, or -move. They prefer to stay at the old place, and will work for weeks -and brave dangers to be able to do this. They will build a dam, dig a -new canal, clear a difficult right-of-way to a grove of food saplings, -and then drag the harvest a long distance to the water; and now and -then do all these for just one more harvest, one more year in the old -home. - -The Moraine Colony had lost its former greatness. Instead of the -several ponds and the eight houses of which it had consisted twenty -years before, only one house and a single pond remained. The house was -in the deep water of the pond, about twenty feet above the dam. A -vigorous brook from Chasm Lake, three thousand feet above, ran through -the pond and poured over the dam near the house. The colony was on a -delta tongue of a moraine. Here it had been established for -generations. It was embowered in a young pine forest and had ragged -areas of willows around it. A fire and excessive cutting by beavers -had left but few aspens near the water. These could furnish food for -no more than two autumn harvests, and perhaps for only one. Other -colonies had met similar conditions. How would the Moraine Colony -handle theirs? - -The Moraine colonists mastered the situation in their place with the -most audacious piece of work I have ever known beavers to plan and -accomplish. About one hundred and thirty feet south of the old pond -was a grove of aspens. Between these and the pond was a small bouldery -flat that had a scattering of dead and standing spruces and young -lodge-pole pines. A number of fallen spruces lay broken among the -partly exposed boulders of the flat. One day I was astonished to find -that a dam was being built across this flat, and still more astonished -to discover that this dam was being made of heavy sections of -fire-killed trees. Under necessity only will beavers gnaw dead wood, -and then only to a limited extent. Such had been my observations for -years; but here they were cutting dead, fire-hardened logs in a -wholesale manner. Why were they cutting this dead wood, and why a dam -across a rocky flat,--a place across which water never flowed? A dam -of dead timber across a dry flat appeared to be a marked combination -of animal stupidity,--but the beavers knew what they were doing. After -watching their activities and the progress of the dam daily for a -month, I realized that they were doing development work, with the -intention of procuring a food-supply. They completed a dam of dead -timber. - -At least two accidents happened to the builders of this dead-wood dam. -One of these occurred when a tree which the beavers had gnawed off -pinned the beaver that had cut it between its end and another tree -immediately behind the animal. The other accident was caused by a tree -falling in an unexpected direction. This tree was leaning against a -fallen one that was held several feet above the earth by a boulder. -When cut off, instead of falling directly to the earth it slid -alongside the log against which it had been leaning and was shunted -off to one side, falling upon and instantly killing two of the logging -beavers. - -The dam, when completed, was eighty-five feet long. It was about -fifty feet below the main pond and sixty feet distant from the south -side of it. Fifty feet of the new dam ran north and south, parallel to -the old one; then, forming a right angle, it extended thirty-five feet -toward the east. It averaged three feet in height, being made almost -entirely of large chunks, dead-tree cuttings from six to fifteen -inches in diameter and from two to twelve feet long. It appeared a -crude windrow of dead-timber wreckage. - -[Illustration: Moraine Colony with Dead-Wood Dam] - -The day it was completed the builders shifted the scene of activity to -the brook, a short distance below the point where it emerged from the -main pond. Here they placed a small dam across it and commenced work -on a canal, through which they endeavored to lead a part of the waters -of the brook into the reservoir which their dead-wood dam had formed. - -There was a swell or slight rise in the earth of about eighteen inches -between the reservoir and the head of the canal that was to carry -water into it. The swell, I suppose, was not considered by the -beavers. At any rate, they completed about half the length of the -canal, then apparently discovered that water would not flow through -it in the direction desired. Other canal-builders have made similar -errors. The beavers were almost human. This part of the canal was -abandoned and a new start made. The beavers now apparently tried to -overcome the swell in the earth by an artificial work. - -A pondlet was formed immediately below the old pond by building a -sixty-foot bow-like dam, the ends of which were attached to the old -dam. The brook pouring from the old pond quickly filled this new -narrow, sixty-foot-long reservoir. The outlet of this was made over -the bow dam at the point nearest to the waiting reservoir of the -dead-wood dam. The water, where it poured over the outlet of the bow -dam, failed to flow toward the waiting reservoir, but was shed off to -one side by the earth-swell before it. Instead of flowing southward, -it flowed eastward. The beavers remedied this and directed the flow by -building a wing dam, which extended southward from the bow dam at the -point where the water over-poured. This earthwork was about fifteen -feet long, four feet wide, and two high. Along the upper side of this -the water flowed, and from its end a canal was dug to the reservoir. - -About half of the brook was diverted, and this amount of water covered -the flat and formed a pond to the height of the dead-wood dam in less -than three days. Most of the leaky openings in this dam early became -clogged with leaves, trash, and sediment that were carried in by the -water, but here and there were large openings which the beavers mudded -themselves. The new pond was a little more than one hundred feet long -and from forty to fifty feet wide. Its southerly shore flooded into -the edge of the aspen grove which the beavers were planning to -harvest. - -The canal was from four to five feet wide and from eight to twenty -inches deep. The actual distance that lay between the brook and the -shore of the new pond was ninety feet. Though the diverting of the -water was a task, it required less labor than the building of the dam. - -With dead timber and the canal, the beavers had labored two seasons -for the purpose of getting more supplies without abandoning the -colony. If in building the dam they had used the green, easily cut -aspens, they would have greatly reduced the available food-supply. It -would have required most of these aspens to build the dam. The only -conclusion I can reach is that the beavers not only had the -forethought to begin work to obtain a food-supply that would be needed -two years after, but also, at the expense of much labor, actually -saved the scanty near-by food-supply of aspens by making their dam -with the hard, fire-killed trees. - -A large harvest of aspen and willow was gathered for winter. Daily -visits to the scene of the harvest enabled me to understand many of -the methods and much of the work that otherwise would have gone on -unknown to me. Early in the harvest an aspen cluster far downstream -was cut. Every tree in this cluster and every near-by aspen was -felled, dragged to the brook, and in this, with wrestling, pushing, -and pulling, taken upstream through shallow water,--for most mountain -streams are low during the autumn. In the midst of this work the -entrance or inlet of the canal was blocked and the bow dam was cut. -The water in the brook was almost doubled in volume by the closing -of the canal, thereby making the transportation of aspens upstream -less laborious. - -[Illustration: THE DEAD-WOOD DAM, LOOKING SOUTH] - -When the downstream aspens at last reposed in a pile beside the house, -harvesting was briskly begun in the aspens along the shore of the new -pond. Then came another surprise. The bow dam was repaired, and the -canal not only opened, but enlarged so that almost all the water in -the brook was diverted into the canal, through which it flowed into -the new pond. - -The aspens cut on the shore of the new pond were floated across it, -then dragged up the canal into the old pond. Evidently the beavers not -only had again turned the water into the canal that they might use it -in transportation, but also had increased the original volume of water -simply to make this transportation of the aspens as easy as possible. - -Their new works enabled the colonists to procure nearly five hundred -aspens for the winter. All these were taken up the new canal, dragged -over the bow and the main dams, and piled in the water by the house. -In addition to these, the aspens brought from downstream made the -total of the harvest seven hundred and thirty-two trees; and with -these went several hundred small willows. Altogether these made a -large green brush-pile that measured more than a hundred feet in -circumference, and after it settled averaged four feet in depth. This -was the food-supply for the oncoming winter. The upper surface of this -stood about one foot above the surface of the water. - -Five years after the completion of this dead-wood dam it was so -overgrown with willows and grass that the original material--the dead -tree-trunks that formed the major portion of it--was completely -covered over. The new pond was used but one season. All the aspens -that were made available by the dam of the pond were cut in one -harvest. The place is now abandoned, old ponds and new. - - - - - -The Ruined Colony - - -Twenty-six years ago, while studying glaciation on the slope of Long's -Peak, I came upon a cluster of eight beaver houses. These crude -conical mud huts were in a forest pond far up on the mountainside. In -this colony of our first engineers were so many things of interest -that the fascinating study of the dead Ice King's ruins and records -was indefinitely given up in order to observe Citizen Beaver's works -and ways. - -A pile of granite boulders on the edge of the pond stood several feet -above the water-level, and from the top of these the entire colony and -its operations could be seen. On these I spent days observing and -enjoying the autumnal activities of Beaverdom. - -It was the busiest time of the year for these industrious folk. -General and extensive preparations were now being made for the long -winter amid the mountain snows. A harvest of scores of trees was being -gathered and work on a new house was in progress, while the old -houses were receiving repairs. It was a serene autumn day when I came -into the picturesque village of these primitive people. The aspens -were golden, the willows rusty, the grass tanned, and the pines were -purring in the easy air. - -The colony-site was in a small basin amid morainal débris at an -altitude of nine thousand feet above the sea-level. I at once -christened it the Moraine Colony. The scene was utterly wild. Peaks of -crags and snow rose steep and high above all; all around crowded a -dense evergreen forest of pine and spruce. A few small swamps reposed -in this forest, while here and there in it bristled several gigantic -windrows of boulders. A ragged belt of aspens surrounded the several -ponds and separated the pines and spruces from the fringe of -water-loving willows along the shores. There were three large ponds in -succession and below these a number of smaller ones. The dams that -formed the large ponds were willow-grown, earthy structures about four -feet in height, and all sagged downstream. The houses were grouped in -the middle pond, the largest one, the dam of which was more than -three hundred feet long. Three of these lake dwellings stood near the -upper margin, close to where the brook poured in. The other five were -clustered by the outlet, just below which a small willow-grown, -boulder-dotted island lay between the divided waters of the stream. - -A number of beavers were busy gnawing down aspens, while others cut -the felled ones into sections, pushed and rolled the sections into the -water, and then floated them to the harvest piles, one of which was -being made beside each house. Some were quietly at work spreading a -coat of mud on the outside of each house. This would freeze and defy -the tooth and claw of the hungriest or the strongest predaceous enemy. -Four beavers were leisurely lengthening and repairing a dam. A few -worked singly, but most of them were in groups. All worked quietly and -with apparent deliberation, but all were in motion, so that it was a -busy scene. "To work like a beaver!" What a stirring exhibition of -beaver industry and forethought I viewed from my boulder-pile! - -At times upward of forty of them were in sight. Though there was a -general coöperation, yet each one appeared to do his part without -orders or direction. Time and again a group of workers completed a -task, and without pause silently moved off, and began another. -Everything appeared to go on mechanically. It produced a strange -feeling to see so many workers doing so many kinds of work effectively -and automatically. Again and again I listened for the superintendent's -voice; constantly I watched to see the overseer move among them; but I -listened and watched in vain. Yet I feel that some of the patriarchal -fellows must have carried a general plan of the work, and that during -its progress orders and directions that I could not comprehend were -given from time to time. - -The work was at its height a little before mid-day. Nowadays it is -rare for a beaver to work in daylight. Men and guns have prevented -daylight workers from leaving descendants. These not only worked but -played by day. One morning for more than an hour there was a general -frolic, in which the entire population appeared to take part. They -raced, dived, crowded in general mix-ups, whacked the water with -their tails, wrestled, and dived again. There were two or three -play-centres, but the play went on without intermission, and as their -position constantly changed, the merrymakers splashed water all over -the main pond before they calmed down and in silence returned to work. -I gave most attention to the harvesters, who felled the aspens and -moved them, bodily or in sections, by land and water to the harvest -piles. One tree on the shore of the pond, which was felled into the -water, was eight inches in diameter and fifteen feet high. Without -having even a limb cut off, it was floated to the nearest harvest -pile. Another, about the same size, which was procured some fifty feet -from the water, was cut into four sections and its branches removed; -then a single beaver would take a branch in his teeth, drag it to the -water, and swim with it to a harvest pile. But four beavers united to -transport the largest section to the water. They pushed with fore -paws, with breasts, and with hips. Plainly it was too heavy for them. -They paused. "Now they will go for help," I said to myself, "and I -shall find out who the boss is." But to my astonishment one of them -began to gnaw the piece in two, and two more began to clear a narrow -way to the water, while the fourth set himself to cutting down another -aspen. Good roads and open waterways are the rule, and perhaps the -necessary rule, of beaver colonies. - -I became deeply interested in this colony, which was situated within -two miles of my cabin, and its nearness enabled me to be a frequent -visitor and to follow closely its fortunes and misfortunes. About the -hut-filled pond I lingered when it was covered with winter's white, -when fringed with the gentian's blue, and while decked with the -pond-lily's yellow glory. - -Fire ruined it during an autumn of drouth. One morning, while watching -from the boulder-pile, I noticed an occasional flake of ash dropping -into the pond. Soon smoke scented the air, then came the awful and -subdued roar of a forest fire. I fled, and from above the timber-line -watched the storm-cloud of black smoke sweep furiously forward, -bursting and closing to the terrible leaps of red and tattered flames. -Before noon several thousand acres of forest were dead, all leaves -and twigs were in ashes, all tree-trunks blistered and blackened. - -The Moraine Colony was closely embowered in a pitchy forest. For a -time the houses in the water must have been wrapped in flames of -smelter heat. Could these mud houses stand this? The beavers -themselves I knew would escape by sinking under the water. Next -morning I went through the hot, smoky area and found every house -cracked and crumbling; not one was inhabitable. Most serious of all -was the total loss of the uncut food-supply, when harvesting for -winter had only begun. - -Would these energetic people starve at home or would they try to find -refuge in some other colony? Would they endeavor to find a grove that -the fire had missed and there start anew? The intense heat had -consumed almost every fibrous thing above the surface. The piles of -garnered green aspen were charred to the water-line; all that remained -of willow thickets and aspen groves were thousands of blackened -pickets and points, acres of coarse charcoal stubble. It was a -dreary, starving outlook for my furred friends. - -I left the scene to explore the entire burned area. After wandering -for hours amid ashes and charcoal, seeing here and there the seared -carcass of a deer or some other wild animal, I came upon a beaver -colony that had escaped the fire. It was in the midst of several acres -of swampy ground that was covered with fire-resisting willows and -aspens. The surrounding pine forest was not dense, and the heat it -produced in burning did no damage to the scattered beaver houses. - -From the top of a granite crag I surveyed the green scene of life and -the surrounding sweep of desolation. Here and there a sodden log -smouldered in the ashen distance and supported a tower of smoke in the -still air. A few miles to the east, among the scattered trees of a -rocky summit, the fire was burning itself out; to the west the sun was -sinking behind crags and snow; near by, on a blackened limb, a -south-bound robin chattered volubly but hopelessly. - -While I was listening, thinking, and watching, a mountain lion -appeared and leaped lightly upon a block of granite. He was on my -right, about one hundred feet away and about an equal distance from -the shore of the nearest pond. He was interested in the approach of -something. With a nervous switching of his tail he peered eagerly -forward over the crown of the ridge just before him, and then crouched -tensely and expectantly upon his rock. - -A pine tree that had escaped the fire screened the place toward which -the lion looked and where something evidently was approaching. While I -was trying to discover what it could be, a coyote trotted into view. -Without catching sight of the near-by lion, he suddenly stopped and -fixed his gaze upon the point that so interested the crouching beast. -The mystery was solved when thirty or forty beavers came hurrying into -view. They had come from the ruined Moraine Colony. - -I thought to myself that the coyote, stuffed as he must be with the -seared flesh of fire-roasted victims, would not attack them; but a -lion wants a fresh kill for every meal, and so I watched the movements -of the latter. He adjusted his feet a trifle and made ready to spring. -The beavers were getting close; but just as I was about to shout to -frighten him, the coyote leaped among them and began killing. - -In the excitement of getting off the crag I narrowly escaped breaking -my neck. Once on the ground, I ran for the coyote, shouting wildly to -frighten him off; but he was so intent upon killing that a violent -kick in the ribs first made him aware of my presence. In anger and -excitement he leaped at me with ugly teeth as he fled. The lion had -disappeared, and by this time the beavers in the front ranks were -jumping into the pond, while the others were awkwardly speeding down -the slope. The coyote had killed three. If beavers have a language, -surely that night the refugees related to their hospitable neighbors -some thrilling experiences. - -The next morning I returned to the Moraine Colony over the route -followed by the refugees. Leaving their fire-ruined homes, they had -followed the stream that issued from their ponds. In places the -channel was so clogged with fire wreckage that they had followed -alongside the water rather than in it, as is their wont. At one place -they had hurriedly taken refuge in the stream. Coyote tracks in the -scattered ashes explained this. But after going a short distance they -had climbed from the water and again traveled the ashy earth. - -Beavers commonly follow water routes, but in times of emergency or in -moments of audacity they will journey overland. To have followed this -stream down to its first tributary, then up this to where the colony -in which they found refuge was situated, would have required four -miles of travel. Overland it was less than a mile. After following the -stream for some distance, at just the right place they turned off, -left the stream, and dared the overland dangers. How did they know the -situation of the colony in the willows, or that it had escaped fire, -and how could they have known the shortest, best way to it? - -The morning after the arrival of the refugees, work was begun on two -new houses and a dam, which was about sixty feet in length and built -across a grassy open. Green cuttings of willow, aspen, and alder were -used in its construction. Not a single stone or handful of mud was -used. When completed it appeared like a windrow of freshly raked -shrubs. It was almost straight, but sagged a trifle downstream. Though -the water filtered freely through, it flooded the flat above. As the -two new houses could not shelter all the refugees, it is probable that -some of them were sheltered in bank tunnels, while room for others may -have been found in the old houses. - -That winter the colony was raided by some trappers; more than one -hundred pelts were secured, and the colony was left in ruins and -almost depopulated. - -The Moraine Colony site was deserted for a long time. Eight years -after the fire I returned to examine it. The willow growth about the -ruins was almost as thrifty as when the fire came. A growth of aspen -taller than one's head clung to the old shore-lines, while a close -seedling growth of lodge-pole pine throve in the ashes of the old -forest. One low mound, merry with blooming columbine, was the only -house ruin to be seen. - -The ponds were empty and every dam was broken. The stream, in rushing -unobstructed through the ruins, had eroded deeply. This erosion -revealed the records of ages, and showed that the old main dam had -been built on the top of an older dam and a sediment-filled pond. The -second dam was on top of an older one still. In the sediment of the -oldest--the bottom pond--I found a spearhead, two charred logs, and -the skull of a buffalo. Colonies of beaver, as well as those of men, -are often found upon sites that have a tragic history. Beavers, with -Omar, might say,-- - - "When you and I behind the veil are past, - Oh but the long long while the world shall last." - -The next summer, 1893, Moraine site was resettled. During the first -season the colonists spent their time repairing dams and were content -to live in holes. In autumn they gathered no harvest, and no trace of -them could be found after the snow; so it is likely that they had -returned to winter in the colony whence they had come. But early in -the next spring there were reinforced numbers of them at work -establishing a permanent settlement. Three dams were repaired, and in -the autumn many of the golden leaves that fell found lodgment in the -fresh plaster of two new houses. - -In the new Moraine Colony one of the houses was torn to pieces by some -animal, probably a bear. This was before Thanksgiving. About -mid-winter a prospector left his tunnel a few miles away, came to the -colony and dynamited a house, and "got seven of them." Next year two -houses were built on the ruins of the two just fallen. That year's -harvest-home was broken by deadly attacks of enemies. In gathering the -harvest the beavers showed a preference for some aspens that were -growing in a moist place about one hundred feet from the water. -Whether it was the size of these or their peculiar flavor that -determined their election in preference to nearer ones, I could not -determine. One day, while several beavers were cutting here, they were -surprised by a mountain lion which leaped upon and killed one of the -harvesters. The next day the lion surprised and killed another. Two or -three days later a coyote killed one on the same blood-stained spot, -and then overtook and killed two others as they fled for the water. I -could not see these deadly attacks from the boulder-pile, but in each -case the sight of flying beavers sent me rushing upon the scene, where -I beheld the cause of their desperate retreat. But despite dangers -they persisted until the last of these aspens was harvested. During -the winter the bark was eaten from these, and the next season their -clean wood was used in the walls of a new house. - -One autumn I had the pleasure of seeing some immigrants pass me _en -route_ for a new home in the Moraine Colony. Of course they may have -been only visitors, or have come temporarily to assist in the -harvesting; but I like to think of them as immigrants, and a number of -things testified that immigrants they were. One evening I had been -lying on a boulder by the stream below the colony, waiting for a gift -from the gods. It came. Out of the water within ten feet of me -scrambled the most patriarchal, as well as the largest, beaver that I -have ever seen. I wanted to take off my hat to him, I wanted to ask -him to tell me the story of his life, but from long habit I simply lay -still and watched and thought in silence. He was making a portage -round a cascade. As he scrambled up over the rocks, I noticed that he -had but two fingers on his right hand. He was followed, in single -file, by four others; one of these was minus a finger on the left -hand. The next morning I read that five immigrants had arrived in the -Moraine Colony. They had registered their footprints in the muddy -margin of the lower pond. Had an agent been sent to invite these -colonists, or had they come out of their own adventurous spirit? The -day following their arrival I trailed them backward in the hope of -learning whence they came and why they had moved. They had traveled in -the water most of the time; but in places they had come out on the -bank to go round a waterfall or to avoid an obstruction. Here and -there I saw their tracks in the mud and traced them to a beaver -settlement in which the houses and dams had been recently wrecked. A -near-by rancher told me that he had been "making it hot" for all -beavers in his meadow. During the next two years I occasionally saw -this patriarchal beaver or his tracks thereabout. - -It is the custom among old male beavers to idle away two or three -months of each summer in exploring the neighboring brooks and -streams, but they never fail to return in time for autumn activities. -It thus becomes plain how, when an old colony needs to move, some one -in it knows where to go and the route to follow. - -[Illustration: THE MORAINE HOUSE BEFORE AND AFTER ENLARGEMENT] - -The Moraine colonists gathered an unusually large harvest during the -autumn of 1909. Seven hundred and thirty-two sapling aspens and -several hundred willows were massed in the main pond by the largest -house. This pile, which was mostly below the water-line, was three -feet deep and one hundred and twenty-four feet in circumference. Would -a new house be built this fall? This unusually large harvest plainly -told that either children or immigrants had increased the population -of the colony. Of course, a hard winter may also have been expected. - -No; they were not to build a new house, but the old house by the -harvest pile was to be enlarged. One day, just as the evening shadow -of Long's Peak had covered the pond, I peeped over a log on top of the -dam to watch the work. The house was only forty feet distant. Not a -ripple stirred among the inverted peaks and pines in the clear, -shadow-enameled pond. A lone beaver rose quietly in the scene from the -water near the house. Swimming noiselessly, he made a circuit of the -pond. Then for a time, and without any apparent purpose, he swam back -and forth over a short, straight course; he moved leisurely, and -occasionally made a shallow, quiet dive. He did not appear to be -watching anything in particular or to have anything special on his -mind. Yet his eyes may have been scouting for enemies and his mind may -have been full of house plans. Finally he dived deeply, and the next I -saw of him he was climbing up the side of the house addition with a -pawful of mud. - -By this time a number of beavers were swimming in the pond after the -manner of the first one. Presently all began to work. The addition -already stood more than two feet above the water-line. The top of this -was crescent-shaped and was about seven feet long and half as wide. It -was made mostly of mud, which was plentifully reinforced with willow -cuttings and aspen sticks. For a time all the workers busied -themselves in carrying mud and roots from the bottom of the pond and -placing these on the slowly rising addition. Eleven were working at -one time. By and by three swam ashore, each in a different direction -and each a few seconds apart. After a minute or two they returned from -the shore, each carrying or trailing a long willow. These were dragged -to the top of the addition, laid down, and trampled in the mud. -Meantime the mud-carriers kept steadily at their work; again willows -were brought, but this time four beavers went, and, as before, each -was independent of the others. I did not see how this work could go on -without some one bossing the thing, but I failed to detect any beaver -acting as overseer. While there was general coöperation, each acted -independently most of the time and sometimes was apparently oblivious -of the others. These beavers simply worked, slowly, silently, and -steadily; and they were still working away methodically and with -dignified deliberation when darkness hid them. - - - - - -Beaver Pioneers - - -I often wish that an old beaver neighbor of mine would write the story -of his life. Most of the time for eighteen years his mud hut was among -the lilies of Lily Lake, Estes Park, Colorado. He lived through many -wilderness dangers, escaped the strategy of trappers, and survived the -dangerous changes that come in with the home-builder. His life was -long, stirring, and adventurous. If, in the first chapter of his -life-story, he could record some of the strong, thrilling experiences -which his ancestors must have related to him, his book would be all -the better. - -"Flat-top," my beaver neighbor, was a pioneer and a colony-founder. It -is probable that he was born in a beaver house on Wind River, and it -is likely that he spent the first six years of his life along this -crag and aspen bordered mountain stream. The first time I saw him he -was leading an emigrant party out of this stream's steep-walled upper -course. He and his party settled, or rather resettled, Lily Lake. - -Flat-top was the name I gave him because of his straight back. In most -beaver the shoulders swell plumply above the back line after the -outline of the grizzly bear. Along with this peculiarity, which -enabled me to be certain of his presence, was another. This was his -habit of gnawing trees off close to the earth when he felled them. The -finding of an occasional low-cut stump assured me of his presence -during the periods I failed to see him. - -The first beaver settlement in the lake appears to have been made in -the early seventies, long before Flat-top was born, by a pair of -beaver who were full of the pioneer spirit. These settlers apparently -were the sole survivors of a large party of emigrants who tried to -climb the rugged mountains to the lake, having been driven from their -homes by encroaching human settlers. After a long, tedious journey, -full of hardships and dangers, they climbed into the lake that was to -them, for years, a real promised land. - -Driven from Willow Creek, they set off upstream in search of a new -home, probably without knowing of Lily Lake, which was five miles -distant and two thousand feet up a steep, rocky mountain. These -pilgrims had traveled only a little way upstream when they found -themselves the greater portion of the time out of water. This was only -a brook at its best and in most places it was such a shallow, tiny -streamlet that in it they could not dive beyond the reach of enemies -or even completely cool themselves. In stretches the water spread -thinly over a grassy flat or a smooth granite slope; again it was lost -in the gravel; or, murmuring faintly, pursued its way out of sight -beneath piles of boulder,--marbles shaped by the Ice King. Much of the -time they were compelled to travel upon land exposed to their enemies. -Water-holes in which they could escape and rest were long distances -apart. - -This plodding, perilous five-mile journey which the beaver made up the -mountain to the lake would be easy and care-free for an animal with -the physical make-up of a bear or a wolf, but with the beaver it is -not surprising that only two of the emigrants survived this supreme -trial and escaped the numerous dangers of the pilgrimage. - -Lily Lake is a shallow, rounded lily garden that reposes in a glacier -meadow at an altitude of nine thousand feet; its golden pond-lilies -often dance among reflected snowy peaks, while over it the granite -crags of Lily Mountain rise several hundred feet. A few low, sedgy, -grassy acres border half the shore, while along the remainder are -crags, aspen groves, willow-clumps, and scattered pines. Its waters -come from springs in its western margin and overflow across a low -grassy bar on its curving eastern shore. - -It was autumn when these beaver pioneers came to Lily Lake's primitive -and poetic border. The large green leaves of the pond-lily rested upon -the water, while from the long green stems had fallen the sculptured -petals of gold; the willows were wearing leaves of brown and bronze, -and the yellow tremulous robes of the aspens glowed in the golden -sunlight. - -These fur-clad pioneers made a dugout--a hole in the bank--and busily -gathered winter food until stopped by frost and snow; then, almost -care-free, they dozed away the windy winter days while the lake was -held in waveless ice beneath the drifting snow. - -The next summer a house was built in the lily pads near the shore. -Here a number of children were born during the few tranquil years that -followed. These times came to an end one bright midsummer day. Lord -Dunraven had a ditch cut in the outlet rim of the lake with the -intention of draining it that his fish ponds, several miles below in -his Estes Park game-preserve, might have water. A drouth had prevailed -for several months, and a new water-supply must be had or the fish -ponds would go dry. The water poured forth through the ditch, and the -days of the colony appeared to be numbered. - -A beaver must have water for safety and for the ease of movement of -himself and his supplies. He is skillful in maintaining a dam and in -regulating the water-supply; these two things require much of his -time. In Lily Lake the dam and the water question had been so nicely -controlled by nature that with these the colonists had had nothing to -do. However, they still knew how to build dams, and water-control had -not become a lost art. The morning after the completion of the -drainage ditch, a man was sent up to the lake to find out why the -water was not coming down. A short time after the ditch-diggers had -departed, the lowering water had aroused the beaver, who had promptly -placed a dam in the mouth of the ditch. The man removed this dam and -went down to report. The beaver speedily replaced it. Thrice did the -man return and destroy their dam, but thrice did the beaver promptly -restore it. - -The dam-material used in obstructing the ditch consisted chiefly of -the peeled sticks from which the beaver had eaten the bark in winter; -along with these were mud and grass. The fourth time that the ditch -guard returned, he threw away all the material in the dam and then set -some steel traps in the water by the mouth of the ditch. The first two -beaver who came to reblockade the ditch were caught in these traps and -drowned while struggling to free themselves. Other beaver heroically -continued the work that these had begun. The cutting down of saplings -and the procuring of new material made their work slow, very slow, -in the face of the swiftly escaping water; when the ditch was at last -obstructed, a part of the material which formed this new dam consisted -of the traps and the dead bodies of the two beaver who had bravely -perished while trying to save the colony. - -[Illustration: HOUSE IN LILY LAKE] - -The ditch guard returned with a rifle, and came to stay. The first -beaver to come within range was shot. The guard again removed the dam, -made a fire about twenty feet from the ditch, and planned to spend the -night on guard, rifle in hand. Toward morning he became drowsy, sat -down by the fire, heard the air in the pines at his back, watched the -star-sown water, and finally fell asleep. While he thus slept, with -his rifle across his lap, the beaver placed another--their -last--obstruction before the outrushing water. - -On awakening, the sleeper tore out the dam and stood guard over the -ditch. All that afternoon a number of beaver hovered about, watching -for an opportunity to stop the water again. Their opportunity never -came, and three who ventured too near the rifleman gave up their -lives,--reddening the clear water with their life-blood in vain. - -The lake was drained, and the colonists abandoned their homes. One -night, a few days after the final attempt to blockade the ditch, an -unwilling beaver emigrant party climbed silently out of the uncovered -entrance of their house and made their way quietly, slowly, beneath -the stars, across the mountain, descending thence to Wind River, where -they founded a new colony. - -Winter came to the old lake-bed, and the lily roots froze and died. -The beaver houses rapidly crumbled, and for a few years the -picturesque ruins of the beaver settlement, like many a settlement -abandoned by man, stood pathetically in the midst of wilderness -desolation. Slowly the water rose to its old level in the lake, as the -outlet ditch gradually filled with swelling turf and drifting sticks -and trash. Then the lilies came back with rafts of green and boats of -gold to enliven this lakelet of repose. - -One autumn morning, while returning to my cabin after a night near the -stars on Lily Mountain, I paused on a crag to watch the changing -morning light down Wind River Cañon. While thus engaged, Flat-top and -a party of colonists came along a game trail within a few yards of me, -evidently bound for the lake, which was only a short distance away. I -silently followed them. This was my introduction to Flat-top. - -On the shore these seven adventurers paused for a moment to behold the -scene, or, possibly, to dream of empire; then they waddled out into -the water and made a circuit of the lake. Probably Flat-top had been -here before as an explorer. Within two hours after their arrival these -colonists began building for a permanent settlement. - -It was late to begin winter preparation. The clean, white aspens had -shed their golden leaves and stood waiting to welcome the snows. This -lateness may account for the makeshift of a hut which the colonists -constructed. This was built against the bank with only one edge in the -water; the entrance to it was a twelve-foot tunnel that ended in the -lake-bottom where the water was two feet deep. - -The beaver were collecting green aspen and willow cuttings in the -water by the tunnel-entrance when the lake froze over. Fortunately for -the colonists, with their scanty supply of food, the winter was a -short one, and by the first of April they were able to dig the roots -of water plants along the shallow shore where the ice had melted. One -settler succumbed during the winter, but by summer the others had -commenced work on a permanent house, which was completed before -harvest time. - -I had a few glimpses of the harvest-gathering and occasionally saw -Flat-top. One evening, while watching the harvesters, I saw three new -workers. Three emigrants--from somewhere--had joined the colonists. A -total of fifteen, five of whom were youngsters, went into winter -quarters,--a large, comfortable house, a goodly supply of food, and a -location off the track of trappers. The cold, white days promised only -peace. But an unpreventable catastrophe came before the winter was -half over. - -One night a high wind began to bombard the ice-bound lake with heavy -blasts. The force of these intermittent gales suggested that the wind -was trying to dislodge the entire ice covering of the lake; and indeed -that very nearly happened. - -Before the crisis came, I went to the lake, believing it to be the -best place to witness the full effects of this most enthusiastic wind. -Across the ice the gale boomed, roaring in the restraining forest -beyond. These broken rushes set the ice vibrating and the water -rolling and swelling beneath. During one of these blasts the swelling -water burst the ice explosively upward in a fractured ridge entirely -across the lake. In the next few minutes the entire surface broke up, -and the wind began to drive the cakes upon the windward shore. - -A large flatboat cake was swept against the beaver house, sheared it -off on the water-line, and overturned the conelike top into the lake. -The beaver took refuge in the tunnel which ran beneath the -lake-bottom. This proved a death-trap, for its shore end above the -water-line was clogged with ice. As the lake had swelled and surged -beneath the beating of the wind, the water had gushed out and streamed -back into the tunnel again and again, until ice formed in and closed -the outer entrance. Against this ice four beaver were smothered or -drowned. I surmised the tragedy but was helpless to prevent it. -Meanwhile the others doubled back and took refuge upon the ruined -stump of their home. From a clump of near-by pines I watched this wild -drama. - -Less than half an hour after the house was wrecked, these indomitable -animals began to rebuild it. Lashed by icy waves, beaten by the wind, -half-coated with ice, these home-loving people strove to rebuild their -home. Mud was brought from the bottom of the pond and piled upon the -shattered foundation. This mud set--froze--almost instantly on being -placed. They worked desperately, and from time to time I caught sight -of Flat-top. Toward evening it appeared possible that the house might -be restored, but, just as darkness was falling, a roaring gust struck -the lake and a great swell threw the new part into the water. - -The colonists gave up the hopeless task and that night fled down the -mountain. Two were killed before they had gone a quarter of a mile. -Along the trail were three other red smears upon the crusted snow; -each told of a death and a feast upon the wintry mountainside among -the solemn pines. Flat-top with five others finally gained the Wind -River Colony, from which he had led his emigrants two years before. - -One day the following June, while examining the lilies in the lake, I -came upon a low, freshly cut stump;--Flat-top had returned. A number -of colonists were with him and all had come to stay. - -All sizable aspen that were within a few yards of the water had been -cut away, but at the southwest corner of the lake, about sixty feet -from the shore, was an aspen thicket. Flat-top and his fellow workers -cut a canal from the lake through a low, sedgy flat into this aspen -thicket. The canal was straight, about fourteen inches deep and -twenty-six inches wide. Its walls were smoothly cut and most of the -excavated material was piled evenly on one side of the canal and about -eight inches from it. It had an angular, mechanical appearance, and -suggested the work not of a beaver, but of man, and that of a very -careful man too. - -Down this canal the colonists floated the timbers used in building -their two houses. On the completion of the houses, the home-builders -returned to the grove and procured winter supplies. In most cases the -small aspen were floated to the pile between the houses with an adept -skill, without severing the trunk or cutting off a single limb. - -The colonists had a few years of ideal beaver life. One summer I came -upon Flat-top and a few other beaver by the brook that drains the -lake, and at a point about half a mile below its outlet. It was along -this brook that Flat-top's intrepid ancestors had painfully climbed to -establish the first settlement in the lake. Commonly each summer -several beaver descended the mountain and spent a few weeks of -vacation along Wind River. Invariably they returned before the end of -August; and autumn harvest-gathering usually began shortly after their -return. - -Year after year the regularly equipped trappers passed the lake -without stopping. The houses did not show distinctly from the trail, -and the trappers did not know that there were beaver in this place. -But this peaceful, populous lake was not forever to remain immune -from the wiles of man, and one day it was planted with that barbaric, -cruel torture-machine, the steel trap. - -A cultured consumptive, who had returned temporarily to nature, was -boarding at a ranch house several miles away. While out riding he -discovered the colony and at once resolved to depopulate it. The -beaver ignored his array of traps until he enlisted the services of an -old trapper, whose skill sent most of the beaver to their death before -the sepia-colored catkins appeared upon the aspens. Flat-top escaped. - -The ruinous raid of the trappers was followed by a dry season, and -during the drouth a rancher down the mountain came up prospecting for -water. He cut a ditch in the outlet ridge of the lake, and out gushed -the water. He started home in a cheerful mood, but long before he -arrived, the "first engineers" had blocked his ditch. During the next -few days and nights the rancher made many trips from his house to the -lake, and when he was not in the ditch, swearing, and opening it, the -beaver were in it shutting off the water. - -From time to time I dropped around to see the struggle, one day coming -upon the scene while the beaver were completing a blockade. For a time -the beaver hesitated; then they partly resumed operations and carried -material to the spot, but without showing themselves entirely above -water. When it appeared that they must have enough to complete the -blockade, I advanced a trifle nearer so as to have a good view while -they placed the accumulated material. For a time not a beaver showed -himself. By and by an aged one climbed out of the water, pretending -not to notice me, and deliberately piled things right and left until -he had completed the ditch-damming to his satisfaction. This act was -audacious and truly heroic. The hero was Flat-top. - -In this contest with the rancher, the beaver persisted and worked so -effectively that they at last won and saved their homes, in the face -of what appeared to be an unconquerable opposition. - -A little while after this incident, a home-seeker came along, and, -liking the place, built a cabin in a clump of pines close to the -southern shore. Though he was a gray old man without a family, I -imagined he would exterminate the beaver and looked upon him with a -lack of neighborly feeling. - -Several months went by, and I had failed to call upon him, but one day -while passing I heard him order a trapper off the place. This order -was accompanied by so strong a declaration of principles--together -with a humane plea for the life of every wild animal--that I made -haste to call that evening. - -One afternoon in a pine thicket, close to the lake-shore, I came upon -two gray wolves, both devouring beaver, which had met their death -while harvesting aspens for winter. The following spring I had a more -delightful glimpse of life in the wilds. Within fifty feet of the -lake-shore stood a large pine stump that rose about ten feet from the -ground. Feeling that I should escape notice if I sat still on the top, -I climbed up. Though it was mid-forenoon, the beaver came out of the -lake and wandered about nibbling here and there at the few green -plants of early spring. They did not detect me. They actually appeared -to enjoy themselves. This is the only time that I ever saw a beaver -fully at ease and apparently happy on land. In the midst of their -pleasures, a flock of mountain sheep came along and mingled with them. -The beaver paused and stared; now and then a sheep would momentarily -stare at a beaver, or sniff the air as though he did not quite like -beaver odor. In less than a minute the flock moved on, but just as -they started, a beaver passed in front of the lead ram, who made a -playful pretense of a butt at him; to this the beaver paid not the -slightest heed. - -During the homesteader's second summer he concluded to raise the -outlet ridge, deepen the water, and make a fish pond of the lake. -Being poor, he worked alone with wheelbarrow and shovel. The beaver -evidently watched the progress of the work, and each morning their -fresh footprints showed in the newly piled earth. Shortly before the -dam was completed, the homesteader was called away for a few days, and -on his return he was astonished to find that the beaver had completed -his dam! The part made by the beaver suited him as to height and -length, so he covered it over with earth and allowed it to remain. -His work in turn was inspected and apparently approved by the beaver. - -How long does a beaver live? Trappers say from fifteen to fifty years. -I had glimpses of Flat-top through eighteen years, and he must have -been not less than four years of age when I first met him. This would -make his age twenty-two years; but he may have been six years of -age--he looked it--the morning he first led emigrants into Lily Lake; -and he may have lived a few years after I saw him last. But only the -chosen few among the beaver can succeed in living as long as Flat-top. -The last time I saw him was the day he dared me and blockaded the -drain ditch and stopped the outrushing water. - -Flat-top has vanished, and the kind old homesteader has gone to his -last long sleep; but the lake still remains, and still there stands a -beaver house among the pond-lilies. - - - - -The Colony in Winter - - -In the Medicine Bow Mountains one December day, I came upon a beaver -house that was surrounded by a pack of wolves. These beasts were -trying to break into the house. Apparently an early autumn snow had -blanketed the house and thus prevented its walls from freezing. The -soft condition of the walls, along with the extreme hunger of the -wolves, led to this assault. Two of these animals were near the top of -the house clawing away at a rapid rate. Now and then one of the sticks -or poles in the house-wall was encountered, and at this the wolf would -bite and tear furiously. Occasionally one of the wolves caught a -resisting stick in his teeth, and, leaning back, shook his head, -endeavoring with all his might to tear it out. A number of wolves lay -about expectant; a few sat up eagerly on haunches, while others moved -about snarling, driving the others off a few yards, to be in turn -driven off themselves. Shortly before they discovered me, there was a -fierce fight on top of the house, in which several mixed. - -Even though they had broken into the house, it would have availed them -nothing, for in this, as in all old colonies, there were safety -tunnels from the house which extended beneath the pond to points on -shore. In these tunnels the beaver find safety, if by any means the -house is ruined. Although carnivorous animals are fond of beaver -flesh, they rarely take the useless trouble of digging into a house. -Occasionally a wolverine or a bear may dig into a thin-walled house or -one not frozen, then, after breaking in, lie in wait, and endeavor to -make a capture while the beaver are repairing the hole. Beaver are -more secure from enemies during the winter than at any other time. It -is while felling a tree far from the water or while following a -shallow stream that most beaver are captured by their enemies. - -Many a time in winter I have made a pleasant visit to a beaver colony. -One day, a few hours after a heavy snowfall, I came out of a dark -forest and stood for a time on the edge of the snow-covered pond. -Around were the firs and spruces of the forest, moveless as statues -and each a pointed cone of snow. Around the small snowy plain of the -pond, the drooping snow-entangled willows held their heads together in -contented and thoughtful silence. Everything was serene. - -[Illustration: HOUSE, FOOD-PILE, POND, AND DAM IN WINTER] - -A clean fox track led from the woods in a straight line across the -snowy surface of the pond to the house, which stood near the centre of -this smooth white opening. The tracks encircled the house and ascended -to the top of it, where the record imprinted in the snow told that -here he watchfully rested. Descending, he had sniffed at the bushy -tips of the winter food-pile that thrust up through the ice, then -crossed the dam to plunge into the snowy tangle of willows. - -Water was still pouring and gurgling down a steep beaver slide. This -was ice-and-snow-covered except at two points where the swift -splashing water dashed intermittently from a deep icy vent. While I -was examining the beauty of the upbuilding icy buttresses by one of -the vents, a water-ouzel came forth and alighted almost within reach. -I stood still. After giving a few of his nodding bows, he reëntered -the vent. Presently he emerged from the lower vent and, alighting -upon an ice-coated boulder, indifferent to the gray sky from which -scattered flakes were slowly falling and despite a temperature of five -below zero, he sang low and sweetly for several seconds. - -Beaver do not surrender themselves to the confines of a house and pond -until cold solidly covers the pond with a roof of ice. The time of -this is commonly about the first of December, but the date is of -course, in a measure, dependent upon latitude, altitude, and the -peculiar weather conditions of each year. Most beaver return to the -old colony, or start a new one by the first of September. They have -had a merry rambling summer and energetically take hold to have the -house and dam ready and a harvest stored by the time winter begins. - -But they are not always ready. Enemies may harass them, low water -delay them, or an unusually early winter or even a heavy snow may so -hamper them that, despite greatest effort, the ice puts a time lock -upon the pond and closes them in for the winter without sufficient -supplies. - -Early one October an early snowfall worked hardship in several -colonies near my home. Fortunately the ponds were not deeply frozen, -and those colonies which had aspen groves close to the water succeeded -in felling and dragging in sufficient food-supplies for the winter. As -snow drifted into the groves, many of the trees harvested were cut -from the tops of snowdrifts, and thus left high stumps. The following -summer a number of these stood four feet above the earth and presented -a striking appearance alongside the sixteen-inch stumps of normal -height. - -One of these storm-caught colonies fared badly. The inhabitants were -obliged to go a long distance from the water for trees, and their all -too scanty harvest was gathered with some loss of life. Apparently -both wolves and lions discovered the unfortunate predicament of the -harvesters, and lay in wait to catch them as they floundered slowly -through the snow. The following winter these colonists tunneled -through the bottom--perhaps the least frozen part of the dam--and came -forth for food long before the break-up of the ice. The water drained -from the pond, and after the ice had melted, the bottom of the pond -revealed a torn-up condition as though the starving winter inmates had -dug out for food every root and rootstock to be found in the bottom. - -While visiting ponds at the beginning of winter, I have many times -noticed that, shortly after the pond was solidly frozen over, a hole -was made through the dam just below the water-surface of the pond. -This lowered the water-level two inches or more. Did this slight -lowering of the water have to do with the ventilation of the -ice-covered pond, or was it to put a check on deep freezing, or for -both purposes? - -In the majority of cases these holes were made from ponds which, -during the winter, received but a meagre inflow of fresh water. -Naturally, ponds receiving a strong inflow of water would be better -ventilated, and would freeze less swiftly and deeply than those whose -waters became stagnant. This drawing-off of water after a few inches -of ice had formed, would, in some places, despite the settling of the -ice, form an air blanket that would delay freezing, and thus possibly -prevent the ice from forming so thickly. The air admitted by drawing -off the water would be inclosed beneath the ice, and might thus be -helpful to the beaver inclosed in house and pond. In only a few cases -were these holes made from ponds which had subway tunnels,--tunnels -which run from alongside the house through the bottom of the pond to a -point above water-level on the shore. In a few instances the beaver, I -do not know how many, came out of this hole, cut and ate a few twigs, -and then returned and closed it. Twice this was used as a way out by -beaver who emerged and went to other colonies. In one case the beaver -entered the other pond by making a hole through the dam. In the other -they entered the pond through a subway tunnel. While these holes which -lower the pond-level may have chiefly to do with ventilation, or may -be for the purpose of putting a check on freezing, my evidence is not -ample enough for final conclusions. - -A sentence of close confinement for about a third of the year for an -animal that breathes air and uses pure water, is simply one of the -strange ways that work out with nature. While winter lasts, a beaver -must spend his time either in the dark, ill-ventilated house or in the -water of the pond. Apparently he does much sleeping and possibly has -a dull time of it. No news, no visitors, and apparently nothing to do! -Still a beaver has food, and when dangers surround the wild folk -outside the pond's roof of glass, he would be considered a good risk -for life insurance. - -Although the pond is commonly covered with snow, or the ice curtained -with air bubbles, there have been numerous times during which I have -had clear views into the water, and could see and enjoy all that was -going on within, as completely as though looking at fish or turtles -through the glass walls of an aquarium. Often I have peered through -the ice which covered the most used place of a winter beaver -pond,--the area between the house-entrance and the food-pile. The -thinness of the ice over this place was maintained by spring-water -which came up through the bottom, and the beaver had so arranged their -affairs that they made the best use of this shallow-freezing water. Of -course most ponds are without springs. - -Many a time I have seen a beaver come out of the doorway of his house -and go swimming toward the food-pile with his hands against his -breast. At the pile, if there was nothing small or short enough, he -set to work and gnawed it off. The piece secured was taken into the -doorway either in his hands or in his teeth. Afterward a beaver--the -same one, I suppose--came out of the doorway, and cast the clean bone -of the stick, from which the bark had been eaten, into the bottom of -the pond. - -When there is nothing else to do, the beaver apparently comes into the -pond a few times each day for a swim. In the midst of swimming he -rises at times to the under surface of the ice and, with his nose -against it, exhales a quantity of air. After remaining with nose at -this point a few seconds, the action of the air bubbles indicates that -he is inhaling the purified air. - -The rootstocks of the water-lily are sometimes dug from the bottom of -the pond. At other times the beaver eats the stalks of plants that -grow in the water, or digs out willow or other roots around the edge -of the pond. Numbers of trout frequently lie in the water close to the -doorway of a beaver house or around the food-pile. Possibly the -beaver dispense tidbits of food that are liked by the trout. -Occasionally grubs fall from the holes in wood from which beaver have -eaten the bark. While beaver are digging in the bottom of the pond -they doubtless unearth food-scraps that are welcome to trout, for -these often hover in numbers on the outskirts of the muddy water which -beaver roil while digging. - -Although it appears that beaver have dull winters with but little to -do but eat, sleep, and swim, it is probable that some of their time is -spent at work. A part of their tunneling and pond-bottom canal-digging -is done in winter. I have known of their extending canals in the -bottom of the pond and making submarine tunnels while the pond was -ice-covered. - -There are times when the dam has sprung a leak and must be repaired on -the inside beneath the ice. Early thaws and spring freshets sometimes -wreck a dam beyond repair, or do extensive damage to the house or dam -at the time when beaver enemies are likely to be at their leanest. The -house and dam are sometimes ruined when the streams are so low and icy -that it is not safe for beaver to go about. I know of two colonies -that were crushed out of existence by snow-slides. - -The dam is on rare occasions broken by late spring ice-jams. Sometimes -the ice-cakes pile up on the dam and raise the water in the pond to -such a height that it rises in the house and drives the beaver forth. -A few beaver houses that are situated in places where the ice or -spring floods may raise the water much above normal level are shaped -to meet this trouble. The house is built higher and the room -internally is twice the usual height. Thus there is space for the -beaver to build a "platform bed" on the floor and thus raise -themselves a foot or more above the common level. Despite all pains, -floods sometimes drive beaver to the housetops. - -By laying up supplies, and by the help of artificial pond, canal, and -house, the beaver is able to spend his winter without hunger and with -comfort and far greater safety than his neighbors. The winds may blow -and blinding snow or flying limbs may endanger those outside; snow may -bury the forage of bird and deer, and make the movement of beasts of -prey slow and difficult; the cold may freeze and freeze and strew the -wilds with lean and frozen forms; but the beaver beneath ice and snow -shelter serenely spends the days with comfort and safety. - -The winter, with its days long or short, never comes to an end, -however, quite early enough to suit the beaver. They emerge from the -pond at the earliest moment that frozen conditions will allow. If -their subway is choked with ice, and food becomes exhausted, they will -sometimes bore holes through the base of the dam. - -Apparently, too, holes of this kind are bored through, or a section -cut through the dam to the bottom, for the purpose of completely -draining the pond. As this appears to be most often done with ponds -that are full of stagnant water, or water almost stagnant, this -draining may be a part of the beaver's sanitary work,--done for the -purpose of getting filth and stale water out and also that the sour -bottom may be sterilized by sun and wind. - -Conditions determine the length of time before the dam is repaired and -the pond refilled. In some cases this is done after the lapse of a few -weeks and in others not until autumn. Ponds that have large pure -streams running through them do not need this emptying, but -occasionally they accidentally have it. Most beaver colonies are -deserted in summer, and fall thus into temporary decline. - -By late summer or early autumn the beaver have assembled at the place -where the winter is to be spent. There are patriarchs, youngsters, and -those in the prime of life. Around the old home are many who set forth -from it when the violets were blooming, when the grass was at its -greenest, and when mated birds were building. During the summer a few -perished, while others cast their lot with other established colonies. -A few of the younger make a start for themselves in new scenes,--found -a new colony. Again the dam is repaired and the house recovered; again -the harvest home, and again a primitive home-building family are -housed in a hut that willing hands have fashioned. Again the pond -freezes, and again the snow falls upon a home that stands in a valley -where countless generations of beaver have lived through ice-bound -winters and the ever-changing happy seasons. - - - - -The Original Conservationist - - -To "work like a beaver" is an almost universal expression for -energetic and intelligent persistence, but who realizes the magnitude -of the beaver's works? What he has accomplished is not only monumental -but useful to man. He was the original Conservationist. An interesting -and valuable book could be written concerning the earth as influenced -and benefited by the labors of the beaver. The beaver is intimately -associated with the natural resources, soil, and water. His work is -not yet done, and along the sources of innumerable streams he will -ever be needed to save soil, to regulate stream-flow, and to provide -pools for the fish. - -The beaver's conservation work is accomplished by means of the dams he -constructs across streams of flowing water and the ponds that are thus -formed. These dams and ponds render a number of services: first, they -save soil; second, they check erosion; third, they reduce flood -damage; fourth, they store water and help to sustain stream-flow; -fifth, they provide water-holes for fish; and sixth, they are helpful -in maintaining deep waterways by reducing the extremes of both high -and low water, and also by reducing the quantity of sediment carried -down into river-channels. - -I had enjoyed the ways of "our first engineers" before it dawned upon -me that their works might be useful to man, and that the beaver -through his constructive handling of the natural resources might -justly be called a conservationist. One dry winter the stream through -the Moraine Colony ran low and froze to the bottom, and the only trout -in it that survived were those in the deep holes of beaver ponds. -These ponds offer many advantages to fish multiplication. Much food -acceptable to the fish is swept into these ponds. Altogether a beaver -pond is an excellent local habitation for fish. - -One gray day while I was examining a beaver colony there came another -demonstration of the usefulness of beaver ponds. The easy rain of two -days ended in a heavy downpour--a deluge upon the mountainside a mile -or so upstream. There was almost nothing on this mountain either to -absorb or delay the excess of water which was speedily shed into the -stream below. Flooding down the stream's channel above the beaver -pond, came a roaring avalanche of water, or water-slide, with a -rubbish-filled front that was five or six feet high. This expanded as -it rolled into the pond, and swept far out on the sides, while the -water-front, greatly lowered, rushed over the dam. A half a dozen -ponds immediately below sufficed so to check the speed of this water -and so greatly to reduce its volume that as it poured over the last -dam of this colony it was no longer a flood. - -The regulation of stream-flow is important. There are only a few rainy -days each year, and all the water that flows to the sea through -river-channels falls during these few rainy days. The instant the -water reaches the earth it is hurried away by gravity, and unless -there are factors to delay this run-off, the rivers would naturally -contain water only on the rainy days and for a little while -thereafter. A beaver dam and pond together form a factor of importance -in the keeping of streams ever flowing. The pond is a reservoir which -catches and retains some of the water coming into it during rainy days -and which delays the water-flow through it. A beaver pond is a leaky -reservoir, a kind of spring as it were, and if stored full during -rainy days the leakage from it will help maintain stream-flow below -during the dry weather. Beaver works thus tend to distribute to -streams a moderate quantity of water each day. In other words they -spread out or distribute the water of the few rainy days through all -the days of the year. - -A river which flows steadily throughout the year is of inestimable -value to mankind. If floods sweep a river, they do damage. If low -water comes, the wheels of steamers and of factories cease to move, -and a dry river-channel means both damage and death. Numerous beaver -colonies along the sources of countless streams that rise in the hills -and the mountains would be helpful in equalizing the flow of these -streams. I hope and believe that before many years every rushing -care-free brook that springs from a great watershed will be steadied -in a poetic pond that is made, and that will be maintained by our -patient, persevering friend the beaver. - -In the West beaver are peculiarly useful at stream-sources, where -their ponds store flood waters that may later be used for stock water -or for irrigation purposes. There are a number of localities in New -Mexico, South Dakota, and elsewhere in the West where beaver receive -the utmost protection and encouragement from ranchers, whose herds are -benefited by water conveniently stored in beaver ponds. A few power -companies in the country have commenced to stock with beaver the -watersheds which supply them with water. They do this because they -realize that countless small ponds or reservoirs are certain to be -constructed by these little conservationists. - -Running water dissolves and erodes away the earthy materials with -which it comes in contact. The presence of a beaver pond and dam -across a stream's highway prevents the wearing and the carrying away -of material. They not only prevent erosion or wearing away, but they -take soil and sediment from the water which comes to them and thus -cause an upbuilding. Hence the presence of beaver ponds along streams -causes an accumulation of sediment and soil. In time these fill rocky -channels and cañons, widen and lengthen valleys, and thus extend the -productive area of the earth. - -Beaver ponds are settling-basins, and in them are deposited the -heavier matter brought in by the stream. In time the pond is filled, -and if the beaver do not raise the height of the dam, the accumulated -earthy matter becomes covered with flowers or forests. - -On the headwaters of the Arkansas River in Colorado some placer miners -found gold in the sediment of an inhabited beaver pond. In washing out -the deposit of the pond they broke into an enormous amount of loose -material beneath, that apparently had been piled in there by glacial -action. This material, when removed, was found to have been resting in -an ancient beaver pond that was about thirty feet below the one at the -surface. - -[Illustration: WHERE BEAVER FORMERLY LIVED AND SPREAD SOIL] - -A few centuries ago there were millions of beaver ponds in North -America; most of these were long since filled with sediment. Since -then, too, countless others have been formed and filled. This -soil-saving and soil-spreading still goes ever on wherever there is a -beaver pond. - -Many of the richest tillable lands of New England were formed by the -artificial works of the beaver. There are hundreds of valleys in -Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, and other States whose rich -surface was spread upon them by the activities of beaver through -generations. In the Southern States and in the mountains of the West, -the numbers of beaver meadows are beyond computation. The aggregate -area of rich soil-deposits in the United States for which we are -indebted to the beaver is beyond belief, and probably amounts to -millions of acres. - -The beaver have thus prepared the way for forests and meadows, -orchards and grain-fields, homes and school-houses. In the golden age -of the beaver, their countless colonies clustered all over our land. -These primeval folk then gathered their harvest. Innumerable beaver -ponds, which then shone everywhere in the sun, slowly filled with -deposited, outspreading soil,--and vanished. Elm avenues now arch -where the low-growing willow drooped across the canal, and a populous -village stands upon the seat of a primitive and forgotten colony. - -A live beaver is more valuable to mankind than a dead one. As trappers -in all sections of the country occasionally catch a beaver, it is -probable that there still are straggling ones scattered along streams -all the way from salt water up to timber-line, twelve thousand feet -above sea-level. These remaining beaver may be exterminated; but if -protected they would multiply and colonize stream-sources. Here they -would practise conservation. Their presence would reduce river and -harbor appropriations and make rivers more manageable, useful, and -attractive. It would pay us to keep beaver colonies in the heights. -Beaver would help keep America beautiful. A beaver colony in the wilds -gives a touch of romance and a rare charm to the outdoors. The works -of the beaver have ever intensely interested the human mind. Beaver -works may do for children what schools, sermons, companions, and even -home sometimes fail to do,--develop the power to think. No boy or girl -can become intimately acquainted with the ways and works of these -primitive folk without having the eyes of observation opened, and -acquiring a permanent interest in the wide world in which we live. A -race which can produce mothers and fathers as noble as those beaver in -the Grand Cañon who offered their lives hoping thereby to save their -children is needed on this earth. The beaver is the Abou-ben-Adhem of -the wild. May his tribe increase! - - -THE END - - - - -Bibliographical Note - - -Beaver literature is scarce. The book which easily excels is "The -American Beaver and his Works," by Lewis H. Morgan. Samuel Hearne has -an excellent paper concerning the beaver in "Journey from Prince of -Wales Fort to the Northern Ocean," published in 1795. Good accounts of -the beaver are given in the following books: "Beavers: their Ways," by -Joseph Henry Taylor; "Castorologia," by Horace T. Martin; -"Shaggycoat," by Clarence Hawkes; "The House in the Water," by Charles -G. D. Roberts; and "Forest Neighbors," by William Davenport Hulbert. -There are also admirable papers by Ernest Thompson Seton in his -"Life-Histories of Northern Animals," by W. T. Hornaday in his -"American Natural History," and by Baillie-Grohman in "Camps in the -Rockies." - - - - -Index - - - Accidents, 144. - - Age, 14, 193. - - Air, blanket over pond, 202, 203. - - American Fur Company, 49. - - Arkansas River, 218. - - Astor, John Jacob, 49. - - Attitudes, 6. - - Audubon, John James, 53. - - Autumn activities, beginning of, 200. - - - Bad Lands, 65. - - Basins, food, 108. _See also_ Wells. - - Beaver, a tame, 22-25. - - Beaver, aged, of the Spruce Tree Colony, 83, 84, 95, 96; - of Lily Lake, 102-105; migrating to the Moraine Colony, 167, 168. - - Bedding, 122, 123. - - Bierstadt Moraine, 140. - - Bobcat, 35. - - Burrows, 110, 111; a substitute for houses, 127, 128. - - - Canada, emblem of, 43. - - Canals, 77, 78, 88, 141, 145-149, 187; at Lily Lake, 103, 104; - importance, 105; use of excavated material, 105, 106; forms of, - 106, 107; system at Three Forks, Mont., 107-111; dug in winter, - 206 - - Castoreum, 43, 44. - - Chasm Lake, 142. - - Civilization, the beaver's influence on, 47-49. - - Color, 8. - - Colorado River, 25, 50. - - Coöperation, 171. - - Coyotes, 23, 102, 161-163, 166. - - Cry, 27. - - Cutting trees, methods of, 10-12, 31, 32; intelligence shown in, 57, - 91; operations observed, 86, 90-96; accidents in, 144. - - - Dams, materials, 65-67; construction, 66, 67; uses, 69; growth, 69, - 70; new and old, 70, 71; discharge from, 71, 72; not all beaver - build, 72; thoroughfares, 73; effect on topography, 73, 74; shape, - 75-77; an interesting dam, 76-78; waterproofing, 78; dimensions of - a long dam, 78, 79; dimensions of other dams, 86; across - canals, 108-110; the dead-wood dam, 143-150; across a drainage - ditch, 180, 181; across an irrigation ditch, 189, 190; a - homesteader's dam completed by beaver, 192, 193; effect on - stream-flow, 213-217. - - Day, working by, 33, 94, 156. - - Death, 14. - - Ditch, struggle over a, 179-182. - - Ditches. _See_ Canals. - - Diver, the young beaver, 22-25. - - Domestication, 25. - - Dunraven, Lord, 179. - - - Ears, 7. - - Enemies, 14; times of danger from, 198. - - Engineering, 139-150. - - Erosion, checked by beaver, 214, 217, 218. - - Errors, 67, 68. - - Estes Park, 179. - - Europe, the beaver in, 40, 41. - - Exploration, 168, 169. - - Eyesight, 8. - - - Fabulous accounts, 53. - - Feet, uses of, 5, 6; form of, 8. - - Feigning injury, 25, 26. - - Felling trees. _See_ Cutting trees. - - Fence posts, 30. - - Fighting, 19, 20, 34, 35. - - Fire, 158-163. - - Fish, water-holes for, 214. - - Flat-top, a beaver pioneer, 175, 176, 183-193. - - Floods, 206, 207; damage prevented by beaver, 214, 216. - - Food, 10, 84, 205. - - Food-piles, 12, 13, 88, 89, 97, 150, 169. - - Fossil beaver, 40. - - Fox, 199. - - Fruit trees, 30. - - - Geographical distribution, 40-42, 49, 50. - - Gold, 218. - - Grand Cañon, 25, 50. - - - Hands, uses of, 5; form of, 8. - - Harvest, a year's, 97; a large, 169. - - Harvest-gathering, 83-98, 148-150, 157, 158. - - Hearing, 8. - - Hearne, Samuel, quoted, 53. - - History, the beaver in, 41-44. - - Homesteader, a friendly, 190-193. - - Houses, building, 3; occupants, 21; dimensions, 86, 119, 120, 130, - 131; mud plastering, 97, 123-125; construction, 119-123, 130, - 131; entrances, 119, 120; situation, 120, 125-127; burrows a - substitute for, 127, 128; a typical house, 130, 131; ventilation, - 132; enlargement, 169-171; security, 197, 198; shaped to meet - floods, 207. - - Hudson's Bay Company, the, 48. - - - Ice, a trouble of beaver existence, 126, 127; a catastrophe caused - by, 184-186; on the pond, 200, 202-206; casualties caused by, 207. - - Indians, their legends about the beaver, 39. - - Individuality, 35, 67. - - Industry, 36. - - Intelligence, 46, 57-60. - - Irrigation-ditches, 31. - - Island Colony, harvesting methods of, 92, 93. - - - Jefferson River, 11, 78, 107, 108. - - - Kingsford, William, his History of Canada, 48. - - - Land, beaver seen on, 191, 192. - - Leadership, 20. - - Legends, 39. - - Lewis and Clark, 42. - - Life, the beaver's, 14-16. - - Lily Lake, beaver at, 101-105; beaver house at, 119; the pioneer - beaver of, 175-193; description of, 178. - - Lily Mountain, 182. - - Lion, mountain, 160-162, 166. - - Local attachment, 141, 142. - - Long, Stephen Harriman, his Journal, 33. - - Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, his _Hiawatha_ quoted, 60, 61. - - Long's Peak, 140, 153. - - Love ditty, 27. - - - Majors, Alexander, his _Seventy Years on the Frontier_, 59, 60. - - Martin, Horace T., 49. - - Mating, 27. - - Medicine Bow Mountains, 197. - - Migration, 20, 21, 132, 133, 141, 161-163, 167-169, 175-177, 182, - 183. - - Mischief, 30, 31. - - Moraine Colony, engineering of, 139, 142-150; discovery and - observation of, 153-158; homes destroyed by fire, 158, 159; - migrating, 161-163; new site, 163, 164; old site resettled, 165; - later fortunes, 166-171. - - Morgan, Lewis H., his _American Beaver and his Works_, 54, 55, 58. - - - Night, working at, 33. - - Northwestern Fur Company, 49. - - - Old, the, 34. - - Outcasts, 34. - - Ouzel, water, 199. - - - Parasites, 14. - - Physical make-up, 5-9, 68. - - Pipestone Creek, 11. - - Place-names taken from the beaver, 42, 43. - - Play, 29, 156, 157. - - Ponds, early abundance, 42; size, 65, 86; uses, 68, 69; chains or - clusters of, 74; depth, 107; canals in bottom, 107; spring-filled, - 113, 114; lowering the level under ice, 202, 203; draining, 208, - 209; effect on stream-flow, 213-217; leaky reservoirs, 216. - - Population, changes in, 46, 47. - - Protection, 50, 217, 220, 221. - - - Reason, evidences of, 57, 58. - - Romanes, George J., on the beaver, 58, 59. - - - Sanitation, 208. - - Sawtooth Mountains, 66. - - Sediment, a problem of beaver life, 125, 126. - - Sheep, mountain, 192. - - Size, 7. - - Skins, 43, 44, 48, 49. - - Sleep, 122. - - Slides, 87, 112, 199. - - Smell, sense of, 7. - - Snake River, 25. - - Soil, the beaver's conservation of, 214, 217-220. - - Sounds and silence, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 133, 134. - - Springs, use of, 204. - - Spruce Tree Colony, harvest time with, 83-98; tunnels in, 113-115. - - Stream-flow, effect of beaver on, 72-74, 213-217. - - Strength, 9. - - Subways. _See_ Tunnels. - - Swimming, method of, 6. - - - Tail, uses of, 5, 6, 11; form and covering, 8; signalling with, 24, - 31, 96; fabulous accounts of the uses of, 53. - - Teeth, 7-9. - - Three Forks, Montana, 42, 79; canal system at, 107-111. - - Trails, 111, 112. - - Transportation of dam and food material, 86-90, 92, 93; canals used - in, 106-115; trails and slides used in, 111, 112, 115; tunnels - used in, 112-115. - - Trappers, 164, 189-191. - - Traps, 35, 189. - - Trees, cutting. _See_ Cutting trees. - - Trimming trees, 12, 96. - - Trout, 205, 206. - - Tunnels, 85, 112-115, 198, 203, 206. - - - Water. _See_ Stream-flow. - - Water-ouzel, 199. - - Water-supply, 85, 86. - - Weather-wisdom, 44-47. - - Weight, 7. - - Wells, food, 103, 104. _See also_ Basins. - - Whistle, 26, 37. - - Wildcat, 35. - - Willow Creek, 176. - - Wind River, 102, 175, 182, 188. - - Winter, beaver life in, 197-209. - - Wolves, gray, 191, 197. - - Wood, dead, 143, 144. - - Work, accomplished by beaver, 3-5. - - - Young, birth and care of, 27, 28; growth and play of, 28. - - -The Riverside Press -CAMBRIDGE . 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