BEAVER CANALS, MEADOWS, AND TRAILS. 217 



they have but to surrender themselves to the current 

 of the rivers, the Missouri for example, to propagate 

 themselves over a large part of the United States. 

 With this river, and commencing at its source, they 

 could reach, in time, every part of the area between 

 the Alleghany and the Rocky Mountains: and in like 

 manner with the Siskatchewun, commencing their 

 spread from the same mountains, they could reach the 

 chain of lakes, the St. Lawrence, and all their tribu- 

 taries upon a line of thousands of miles. The wide 

 habitat of the beaver is thus explained by his aquatic 

 habits and the remarkable connection of the river 

 systems of the continent. 



