154 Trails to Woods and Waters 



though the beaver could plan for himself, 

 were certain breakwaters running out into the 

 stream above the upper lake. They were al- 

 ternated, and the guide said they were to break 

 the force of the ice during the high water in 

 springtime and to keep it from rushing down 

 upon the dams and demolishing them. An* 

 other clever piece of work in beaver-land is a 

 channel that is sometimes cut around the end 

 of a dam, so that the water may flow off in a 

 waste-water, and not wash the dam by its con- 

 tinual flow. 



The beavers caused us four hard portages 

 around their dams that day, but by twilight 

 we camped upon the lower of the five lakes 

 close to the dam. The same evening after we 

 had eaten our supper of broiled fish, biscuit 

 and coffee, we drew our canoe up on the bank 

 of the lake and prepared to watch the opera- 

 tion of dam building, which, from the newly 

 cut logs and fresh mud that we saw upon the 

 dam, we knew was going on. 



We tried the old ruse of displacing some 

 logs and sods, in hopes that the little builders 



