﻿BEAVER 
  CANAL 
  — 
  BERRY. 
  305 
  

  

  scrub 
  willows, 
  wild 
  roses, 
  and 
  a 
  few 
  dogwoods, 
  with 
  cottonwoods 
  of 
  

   two 
  species 
  rising 
  farther 
  back. 
  Many 
  of 
  the 
  willows 
  and 
  cotton- 
  

   woods, 
  particularly 
  at 
  the 
  upper 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  slough, 
  had 
  been 
  felled, 
  

   numerous 
  slides 
  on 
  the 
  steep 
  east 
  bank 
  and 
  trails 
  leading 
  through 
  

   the 
  growth 
  of 
  willows 
  to 
  both 
  east 
  and 
  west 
  yielding 
  abundant 
  testi- 
  

   mony 
  of 
  the 
  activity 
  and 
  industry 
  of 
  the 
  rodent 
  woodsmen. 
  There 
  

   was 
  also 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  floating 
  of 
  considerable 
  quantities 
  of 
  felled 
  

   timber 
  via 
  the 
  slough 
  into 
  the 
  canal 
  and 
  thence 
  to 
  the 
  river. 
  The 
  

   attainment 
  of 
  this 
  inland 
  timber 
  was 
  of 
  course 
  the 
  principal 
  motive 
  

   for 
  the 
  building 
  of 
  the 
  canal, 
  although 
  the 
  beavers 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  

   made 
  the 
  flooded 
  slough 
  the 
  domicile 
  of 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  colony 
  at 
  this 
  

   time. 
  

  

  But 
  a 
  further 
  quantity 
  of 
  very 
  desirable 
  willow 
  and 
  cottonwood 
  

   growth 
  still 
  existed 
  farther 
  up 
  between 
  ^the 
  slough 
  and 
  the 
  hills. 
  

   I 
  had 
  previously 
  noticed 
  beaver 
  cuttings 
  as 
  far 
  beyond 
  the 
  slough 
  

   as 
  the 
  road 
  crossing, 
  on 
  numberless 
  occasions, 
  but 
  had 
  never 
  thought 
  

   to 
  associate 
  them 
  with 
  the 
  beavers 
  of 
  the 
  canal, 
  nor 
  to 
  explore 
  the 
  

   upper 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  slough, 
  at 
  any 
  rate 
  until 
  August, 
  1918. 
  At 
  that 
  

   time, 
  in 
  company 
  with 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  W. 
  Bell, 
  I 
  traversed 
  the 
  entire 
  length 
  

   of 
  the 
  slough 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  measure 
  it, 
  and 
  was 
  quite 
  unprepared 
  to 
  

   discover 
  thereupon 
  in 
  the 
  willow 
  tangle 
  at 
  its 
  head 
  a 
  continuing 
  

   canal 
  leading 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  through 
  the 
  dense 
  thicket. 
  The 
  ground 
  

   here 
  was 
  marshy 
  and 
  many 
  little 
  side 
  canals 
  had 
  been 
  pushed 
  off 
  

   into 
  the 
  willows 
  toward 
  the 
  firmer 
  ground 
  on 
  either 
  side. 
  This 
  

   canal 
  was 
  neither 
  so 
  ambitious 
  in 
  magnitude 
  nor 
  in 
  any 
  respect 
  so 
  

   finished 
  in 
  construction 
  as 
  the 
  lower 
  one. 
  A 
  narrow, 
  pebbly 
  creek 
  

   bed 
  of 
  some 
  former 
  time, 
  hardly 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  foot 
  in 
  width, 
  under- 
  

   lay 
  its 
  upper 
  reaches, 
  uncovered 
  where 
  the 
  beavers 
  had 
  pushed 
  back 
  

   the 
  swampy 
  mire 
  which 
  had 
  engulfed 
  it. 
  The 
  flooded 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   canal 
  did 
  not 
  quite 
  reach 
  this 
  point 
  when 
  I 
  saw 
  it, 
  but 
  there 
  was 
  

   evidence 
  that 
  at 
  no 
  very 
  distant 
  time 
  the 
  water 
  course 
  had 
  extended 
  

   considerably 
  farther. 
  Perhaps 
  a 
  hundred 
  feet 
  farther 
  on 
  even 
  the 
  

   pebbly 
  creek 
  bed 
  became 
  indistinct 
  where 
  it 
  traversed 
  an 
  open 
  marsh, 
  

   but 
  beyond 
  this 
  it 
  emerged 
  once 
  more 
  and 
  the 
  trail 
  continued 
  to 
  

   follow 
  it 
  very 
  plainly 
  to 
  an 
  old 
  beaver 
  slough 
  another 
  hundred 
  feet 
  

   in 
  length, 
  with 
  felled 
  trees 
  and 
  other 
  beaver 
  signs 
  all 
  about. 
  At 
  

   this 
  time 
  all 
  these 
  relics 
  were 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  weatherworn 
  and 
  very 
  

   fresh 
  indications 
  of 
  beaver 
  activity 
  were 
  quite 
  wanting. 
  Above 
  this 
  

   last 
  small 
  slough, 
  it 
  was 
  still 
  possible 
  to 
  follow 
  the 
  main 
  trail 
  for 
  

   perhaps 
  yet 
  another 
  hundred 
  feet. 
  But 
  here 
  it 
  constantly 
  grew 
  

   fainter 
  and 
  finally 
  lost 
  itself 
  entirely 
  about 
  where 
  the 
  road 
  crosses 
  

   through 
  the 
  little 
  break 
  in 
  the 
  woods 
  where 
  the 
  beaver 
  cuttings 
  had 
  

   first 
  been 
  observed. 
  

  

  