THE TAKING OF THE BEAVER 199 



plastered clay till the conical wattled roof — never more than two 

 feet thick — will support the weight of a moose. 



All work is done with mouth and fore paws, and not the tail. 

 This has been finally determined by observing the Marquis of Bute's 

 colony of beavers. If the family — the old parents and three 

 seasons' offspring — be too large for the house, new chambers are 

 added. In height the house is seldom more than five feet from 

 the base, and the width varies. In building a new dam they begin 

 under water, scooping out clay, mixing this with stones and sticks 

 for the walls, and hollowing out the dome as it rises, like a coffer- 

 dam, except that man pumps out water and the beaver scoops 

 out mud. The domed roof is given layer after layer of clay till 

 it is cold-proof. Whether the houses have one door or two is dis- 

 puted ; but the door is always at the end of a sloping incline away 

 from the land side, with a shelf running round above, which serves 

 as the living-room. Differences in the houses, breaks below water, 

 two doors instead of one, platforms like an oven instead of a shelf, 

 are probably explained by the continual abrasion of the current. 

 By the time the ice forms, the beavers have retired to their houses 

 for the winter, only coming out to feed on their winter stores and 

 get an airing. 



But this terrible thing has happened ; and the young beavers 

 huddle together under the ice of the canal, bleating with the cry 

 of a child. They are afraid to run back; for the crunch of feet 

 can be heard. They are afraid to go forward ; for the dog is whin- 

 ing with a glee that is fiendish to the little beavers. Then a gust 

 of cold air comes from the rear and a pole prods forward. 



The man has opened a hole to feel where the hiding beavers are, 

 and with little terrified yelps they scuttle to the very end of the 

 runway. By this time the dog is emitting howls of triumph. 

 For hours he has been boxing up his wolfish ferocity, and now he 

 gives vent by scratching with a zeal that would burrow to the 

 middle of earth. 



The trapper drives in more stakes close to the blind end of the 



