150 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. 



of interlaced sticks, filled in with loam, and forming 

 a perfect roof; and the bed of each passage-way was 

 composed of earth, made solid by imbedded sticks, 

 and 2;raded with a regular descent. There is nothinsr 



(DO ~ 



— I repeat the statement — connected with the lodge 

 which excites so much astonishment as the mechan- 

 ical skill displayed in the construction of these en- 

 trances.^ 



In lodges situated like this the entrances are called 

 the "angles" by the trappers. These angles had been 

 "staked out," to use the phrase of the trappers, some 

 years before, and the stakes still remained. Two 

 rows led up to each entrance, and were thus driven 

 in for the purpose of compelling the beavers, on en- 

 tering the lodge, to pass through a narrow way, within 

 which the traps were to be set for their capture. 

 This is the usual method of trapping beavers at the 

 lodge. 



A beaver lodge, from its dome-shaped form, makes 

 a very conspicuous appearance, particularly when it 

 is symmetrically formed and in perfect repair. But 

 they are neither as high nor as narrow at the base as 

 they have been usually represented; and the greater 

 proportion of them are much inferior to those de- 

 scribed. 



Lodges are more frequently situated a few feet 

 back from the edge of the bank than in any other 

 position. They are erected and maintained with less 

 labor, but they are usually smaller, and not as con- 

 veniently connected with the water as the varieties 



^ They are called Ah-me-ko-ish' by the Ojibwas, which signifies 

 " beaver door-way." 



