In Beaver-Land 157 



colony were all employed in tree cutting for 

 that night and were about to descend, when 

 we noticed several short logs floating down to- 

 wards the dam; they seemed to be floating 

 much faster than the current would naturally 

 carry them and we were at first unable to ac- 

 count for it, but when the logs got nearer to 

 the dam we made out the dark head of a 

 beaver floating behind each log and the rapid- 

 ity with which the logs had floated was ex- 

 plained. Each was being pushed by an en- 

 ergetic log driver. 



When within about a hundred feet of the 

 dam the beavers evidently discovered the 

 damage that we had done, for they left their 

 logs and swam hurriedly to the break. One 

 climbed into the crevasse and tried to pull the 

 ends of projecting sticks together. All 

 seemed much excited, for they swam to and 

 fro, now disappearing under the water, as 

 though they had dove to the bottom to see how 

 far down the break extended, and then re- 

 appearing in the break. We thought we 

 counted half a dozen, but they disappeared so 



