86 HUNTING TRIPS 



and houses. It would seem to be a simple 

 feat to break into a beaver house, but in re- 

 ality it needs no little toil with both spade 

 and axe, for the house has very thick roof 

 and walls, made of clay and tough branches, 

 twisted together into a perfect mat, which, 

 when frozen, can withstand any thing but 

 the sharpest and best of tools. At evening 

 beaver often come out to swim, and by 

 waiting on the plank perfectly quietly for 

 an hour or so a close shot can frequently be 

 obtained. 



Beaver are often found in the creeks, not 

 only in those which always contain running 

 water, but also in the dry ones. Here they 

 build dams clean across, making ponds which 

 always contain water, even if the rest of 

 the bed is almost dry; and I have often 

 been surprised to find fresh traces of beaver 

 in a pond but a few feet across, a mile away 

 from any other body of water. On one oc- 

 casion I was deer-hunting in a rough, 

 broken country, which was little more than 



