BEAVER DAMS. 109 



meadows ; but; it was, nevertheless, spacious from its 

 length and from the depth of the water, since the 

 dam set back the pond more than a quarter of a mile, 

 and was in places where depressions existed in the 

 bed of the river, ten or twelve feet deep. A short 

 distance above the lodge there is a beaver canal of 

 considerable size running back to the hard wood 

 lands. The beaver lodge belonging to this dam is 

 seen upon the bank on the left side of the engraving, 

 with a brush pile in the water immediately in front, 

 the uses of which will be hereafter explained. 



There are four dams below this shown on the map 

 of the same general character and size, except that 

 they were shorter. They were so near each other 

 that each dam set back the water to the one imme- 

 diately above. When I first saw them in 1860, they 

 had been cut through by the miners, and were de- 

 serted, and when I last saw them, two years later, they 

 were wasting away. 



Upon small brooks, having defined banks and some 

 depth of water, dams of this description are occasion- 

 ally found. The one represented in the engraving 

 (Plate X.), and which is No. 49 on the map, is situated 

 upon an affluent of the Carp, a short distance above the 

 boat station. It is fifty-five feet long, extending upon 

 the bank on either side, and nearly three feet high. 

 The embankment was several feet wide and composed 

 of earth, the brush and poles having decayed and dis- 

 appeared externally. Upon its top and lower face 

 alder bushes had germinated and produced a hedge so 

 dense that it was extremely difficult to penetrate it 

 sufficiently for the inspection and measurement of 

 the work. Near the north end was the usual open- 



