This was made alongside the main pond and 

 about fifty feet distant from it. A low ridge 

 separated the two. As it was nearly one hun- 

 dred feet from the stream, a ditch or canal was 

 dug from the stream, below the main pond, to 

 fill it. The new pond was made for the purpose 

 of reaching with a waterway an aspen grove on 

 its farther shore. 



The making of the dam showed more fore- 

 thought than the getting of the water into the 

 pond. With the exception of aspen, no dam- 

 making material such as beavers commonly use 

 was to be found. The population of the colony 

 was now large, while aspen, the chief food-sup- 

 ply, was becoming scarce. Would the beavers 

 see far enough ahead to realize this? Evidently 

 they did ; at any rate not a single precious aspen 

 was used in making the dam. Close to the dam- 

 site was a supply of young lodge-pole pines; but 

 it is against the tradition of the beaver to cut 

 green pines or spruces. Two of these lodge-poles 

 were cut, but evidently these pitchy, smelly 

 things were not to the beavers' taste and no 

 more of them were used. 



45 



