Vlll PREFACE. 



miles, and opened a country which, but for its mineral deposits, 

 would have been pronounced unfit for human habitation. With 

 its unequaled summer climate, and its unlimited mineral wealth, 

 it has now become one of the most attractive regions within our 

 national limits. 



It so happened that this Railroad passed through a beaver dis- 

 trict, more remarkable, perhaps, than any other of equal extent 

 to be found in any part of North America. By opening this wil- 

 derness in advance of all settlement, the beavers were surprised, 

 so to speak, in the midst of their works, which, at the same time, 

 were rendered accessible for minute and deliberate investigation, 

 in a manner altogether unusual. A rare opportunity was thus 

 offered to examine the works of the beaver, and to see him in his 

 native wilds. 



Having been associated in this enterprise from its commence- 

 ment, as one of the directors of the Railroad Company, and as one 

 of its stockholders, business called me to Marquette, first in 1855, 

 and nearly every summer since to the present time. After the 

 completion of the Railroad to the iron mines, it was impossible to 

 withstand the temptation to brook-trout fishing, which the streams 

 traversing the intermediate and adjacent districts offered in ample 

 measure. My friend, Gilbert D. Johnson, Superintendent of the 

 Lake Superior Mine, had established boat stations at convenient 

 points upon the Carp and Esconauba Rivers, and to him I am 

 specially indebted first, for a memorable experience in brook-trout 

 fishing, and secondly, for an introduction to the works of the 

 beaver within the areas traversed by these streams. Our course, 

 in passing up and down, was obstructed by beaver dams at short 

 intervals, from two to three feet high, over which we were com- 

 pelled to draw our boat. Their numbers and magnitude could 

 not fail to surprise as well as interest any observer. Although 

 constructed in the solitude of the wilderness, where the forces of 

 nature were still actively at work, it was evident that they 

 had existed and been maintained for centuries by the permanent 

 impression produced upon the rugged features of the country. 

 The results of the persevering labors of the beaver were suggest- 

 ive of human industry. The streams were bordered continuously 

 with beaver meadows, formed by overflows by means of these 

 dams, which had destroyed the timber upon the adjacent lands. 

 Fallen trees, excavated canals, lodges, and burrows, filled up the 



