ONE September day I saw a number of beaver 

 at work upon a half - finished house. One 

 part of the house had been carried up about two 

 feet above the water, and against this were leaned 

 numerous sticks, which stood upon the top of the 

 foundation just above water-level. After these 

 sticks were arranged, they were covered with turf 

 and mud which the beaver scooped from the bot- 

 tom of the pond. In bringing this earth covering 

 up, the beaver invariably came out of the water 

 at a given point, and over a short slide worn on 

 the side of the house climbed up to the height 

 where they were to deposit their load, which was 

 carried in the fore paws. Then they edged round 

 and put the mud-ball upon the house. From this 

 point they descended directly to the water, but 

 when they emerged with the next handful, they 

 came out at the bottom of the slide, and again 

 climbed up it. 



The beaver often does a large amount of work 

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