THE BEAVER AND THEIR ANCESTORS. 179 



exist. Their dwelling had been abandoned ages ago, 

 for the house had become a grassy mound on the dry 

 land, and the dam in front a green and solid bank. 



On Dog River, a small tributary of the Sas- 

 katchewan, a colony of these animals still survived. 

 We found fresh tracks along the bank, and a few^ 

 small trees cut down ; and following these indica- 

 tions up the stream, we came upon the dam. This 

 was a weir of trunks and branches, over which the 

 water poured gently, to resume a more rapid course 

 below. In the quiet pool above, and close to the 

 opposite bank, stood the beaver house, a conical 

 structure of six or seven feet in height, formed of 

 poles and branches plastered over with mud. We 

 watched long and silently, hid amongst the bushes 

 which fringed the stream, hoping for a sight of 

 some of the tenants, but in vain. This settlement 

 must have been in existence a very long time, for 

 we saw stumps of trees which had been cut down 

 by them, now moss-grown and rotten. Some of 

 these were of large size, one measuring more than 

 two feet in diameter. The beaver had fallen off 

 wofully from the glory of their ancestors, not only 

 in the number and size of the communities, but in 

 the magnitude of their undertakings. 



The trees cut down more lately were all com- 

 paratively small, and it would seem as if a number 

 of beaver worked at the same tree, and a weak 

 colony felt unequal to attempt one of the giants 

 which their forefathers would not have hesitated to 

 attack. JSTor did we ever discover any considerable 



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