MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER. 223 



was gratified. He was particularly attached to the 

 half-blood boy with whom he was nursed and grew 

 up — following him on all occasions wherever he went. 

 He was also a great favorite in the camp of the trap- 

 pers, as the care taken of him sufficiently shows. 



Beavers are often seen sunning themselves on the 

 bank of a stream, lying side by side, but head and 

 tail: their relative positions seeming to indicate a 

 double degree of watchfulness. When they come 

 out of the water and intend to rest, they first dry 

 or drip themselves; after which they comb the hair 

 about their heads with their paws, and with the 

 extra claws on the hind feet they comb each side of 

 their bodies alternately. Occasionally they indulge 

 themselves at play, for which a formal preparation is 

 made. After selecting a suitable place upon dry 

 ground near the pond or stream, they void their cas- 

 toreum here and there upon the grass, and, in the 

 musky atmosphere thus created, spend some hours at 

 play or basking in the sun.^ The trappers call these 

 play-grounds "Musk Bogs." Two or three of them 

 are often seen at play in the water — diving, swim- 

 ming around, and ducking each other. 



In building a dam in deep water they commence 

 with brush, preferring alder, from the small amount of 

 its foliage, which they cut on the adjoining banks, and 

 move by water, holding it by their teeth, to the place 

 selected. The brush is arranged in parallel courses, 

 as near as may be, lengthwise with the flow of the 



^ The castoreum sacs are inclosed in muscular cavities, so that 

 a portion of their contents can probably be voided at the pleasure 

 of the animal. 



