Beaver 475 



the pond. But the latter has found a simple way of dispersing 

 the mob, that I would commend to the notice of our city- 

 authorities. When tired of the annoyance he gives a flirt 

 with his tail that sends up a shower of spray on his tormentors 

 and drenches them so thoroughly they are glad to go back to 

 the bushes and mind their own business. 



The intellisence of the Beaver has been much discussed, intel- 



_,, ... • 1 1 -11 LIGEXCE 



T.here was a tmie when it was considered on a par with that 

 of man, and tales marvellous and preposterous were told in 

 verification. A reaction set in and it became generally ac- 

 cepted that the Beaver, being in the Rabbit and Porcupine 

 class, was of no heavier mental calibre than they. Now, 

 thanks to such observers as Hearne and Morgan, we are reach- 

 ing the true line and find it as usual in the middle of the 

 road. 



While of a low, general mentality, the Beaver has a wonder- 

 fully developed instinct for the building of dams and water- 

 ways. A quickness to take advantage of little things and a 

 ready adaptability to change of surrounding that in this 

 special department puts it in the highest class of low animal 

 intelligence. A case parallel with that of the ants indeed ; which, 

 though so low in organization, have acquired extraordinarily 

 complex instincts, whose history affords one of the most 

 wonderful ** fairy tales of science." 



On the land the Beaver is but a poor traveller and in the speed. 

 water it is not one of the swift swimmers. It seems to me to go 

 no faster than a dog, and two miles an hour is, I should think, 

 its fast speed. But Its diving power is remarkable. 



On Yellowstone Lake, August 5, 1897, I saw a Beaver a 

 good quarter mile from shore; it dived and was seen no more. 

 The water was like a mirror, so we should have seen it had it 

 reappeared short of the land. 



The trappers generally credit the Beaver with power to 

 swim a quarter of a mile without coming up to breathe, which 

 implies that it can go fully 5 minutes without breathing. 



