In Beaver-Land 153 



said it was hard to tell why the beaver built in 

 this way, but his own theory was that the 

 wise builder kept the upper lake as a reservoir, 

 for he always built his house in the lower lake, 

 with this second lake at his command, if the 

 first dam sprung a-leak and the water fell so 

 as to expose the beaver houses to attack, the 

 beaver could repair the leak in the dam, and 

 immediately fill the lower lake from the 

 upper, without waiting for it to fill in the 

 natural way. If this is the real secret for 

 these double lakes, it looks very much as 

 though the beavers were capable of planning 

 on their own account. When we saw cords 

 and cords of poplar and maple wood, cut into 

 pieces about three feet in length piled up in 

 front of each dam, we were again forced to 

 believe that the beaver is a planner. 



Some of the beaver houses which were old 

 were so overgrown with water grasses that 

 they looked like small hillocks in the lake, 

 while others were smooth and symmetrical, as 

 though they were fresh from the mason's 

 trowel. Another thing that looked much as 



