520 CHARACTER STUDY OK A 1?KAVKU. 



^^'itll thourrivul of sprint- it wust'oinid that the Ix^uvorsliiuliiu'ivusod 

 ill nuin])ers, vorv imu'h to the delight of all coiu'in'ned; Imt the follow- 

 iiio- year, whoii thov \voro all full-grown, the rules and regulations of 

 beaverdoni were jnit in fore(\ It was decided that there was one 

 beaver too many, and aeeording to tluMr laws he must either betnke 

 himself to some other locality or subnut to an untimely death. Now, 

 the victim chosen whether by ballot or l)v what other means, Avho 

 shall sayi' — was our old friend, and as it was impossible for him to 

 leave the colony of his own accord, death woidd have ])een his lot had 

 he not been saved by the keej>er. For a short time he was kept in a 

 cage, until a suitable place could be mad(> n^ady. and the })lace selected 

 was the inclosure in which I found him leading his lonely life, 



Reinga solitary l)achelor, he had not as yet gone in for regular house- 

 keeping. Perhaps he thinks it scarcely worth while building a house 

 until he has a mate. As it is. he has made a burrow in the bank with 

 the entrance at the level of the water. In this he spends his days, sel- 

 dom coming out at all before sunset, and freiiuently nnich later. On 

 leaving his underground house he invariably goes directly to the fence 

 cornel", where he stands watching his former companions for as nuich 

 as half an hour at a time. They, on the contrary, seldom i)ay the least 

 attention to him. 



On the oci-asion of my setond visit T l)rought my camera, though I 

 was told how little thance there Avas of being able to secure i)hoto- 

 graphs of him. and certainly the conditions were far from being 

 favorable. It was nearly .") o'clock (November 1) before he made hi.-^ 

 a])pearance. and then, as on the previous day. after emerging from his 

 undergrounil home, he lay. log-like, on the wat(>r. taking in tlu> situa- 

 tion before venturing ashore. 



After satisfying himself that all was well he landed, and walking 

 past the t-amera (which had l)een placed in position on tiie chance of 

 his following his usual routine) took his plac(^ at the fence corner. 

 There he stood erect as on the previous day, watching vainly for his 

 old playmates, who had not yet made their appearance. From their 

 lodge came the sound of nuitHed voices. Evidently they were holding 

 an animated conversation in beaver language. It is a strange-sound- 

 ing tongUi> like a mixture of subdued children's voices and the crying 

 of a very young pupjiv. Whether or not our ])eaver understood the 

 drift of their discussion would be dithcult to say, l)ut certain it is that 

 he seemed to be very much interested by it all. 



While he stood there, showing no sign of movement. I was aide to 

 make several exposures. })ringing the camera nearer each time. When 

 within about 5 feet he turned around to examine the queer one-eA^ed 

 machine that approached so quietly on its three legs. Evidently he 

 was puzzled, without being frightened, for after a few seconds' delib- 



