170 THE MINDS AND MANNERS 



house. A good, practicable tunnel was built to an under- 

 water entrance. 



Upon that our men set a square, bottomless house of wood, 

 with walls two feet high, and a low roof sloping four ways. 

 Over all this the men piled in a neat mound a lot of tree branches 

 of kinds suitable for beaver food; and with that we left the situa- 

 tion up to the beavers. The finish of our work was made on 

 October 28. 



For a week there were no developments. The beavers made 

 no sign of approval or disapproval. And then things began to 

 happen. On November 5 we saw a beaver carrying a small 

 green branch into the house for bedding! That meant that our 

 offering was going to be accepted. 



The subsequent chronology of that beaver house is as 

 follows: 



Nov. 10. The beavers pulled all our brush away from the 

 house, back to a distance of six or seven feet. The house stood 

 fully exposed. 



Nov. ii. They began to pile up mud and sticks against 

 the base of the south wall. 



Nov. 15. Mud-building to cover the house was in full pro- 

 gress. 



Nov. 17. Much of our brush had been placed in the stock 

 of food wood being stored for winter use in the pond west of 

 the house. 



Nov. 29. The outside of the house was completely covered 

 up to the edges of the roof. The beavers were working fast 

 and hard. No freezing weather yet. 



Dec. 15. The roof was not yet covered. Ice had formed on 

 the pond, and house-building operations were at an end until 

 the spring of 1922. 



