58 THE STORY OF THE BEAVER. 



the stream from the lodge. The entrance, of course, is under water and the 

 burrows extend back and gradually slope upward for a distance of ten or 

 fifteen feet. Above the water line a place is scooped out by the busy little 

 paws large enough for an entire family of beavers. The upper part of the 

 chamber is near the ground, usually under the roots of a large tree, where a 

 few little holes that would not be noticed from outside afford ventilation. 



It is hard work digging this secret chamber, for most of it is under 

 water, and every few minutes the beavers have to come to the surface for air. 



The lodges and secret chambers are then supplied with soft grasses for 

 beds and sticks of birch and willow enveloped in the juicy bark which is 

 the beaver's principal food. His delicacy, however, is the root of the yellow 

 water lily which he finds in the bottom of his dam, even in winter when 

 the surface is covered with ice. 



Beavers work only at night, and rarely are seen during the day. Not- 

 withstanding their industry they are fond of play, and will chase each other 

 round and round in the water, pushing each other off of logs and indulging 

 in swimming and diving races. 



The beaver is trapped for his fur which is valuable and is used principally 

 in the manufacture of winter garments. The fur consists of a fine wool 

 mixed with long and stiff hairs. The hairs are useless but the fur is toothed 

 on the surface and easily penetrates and fixes itself into the felt which forms 

 the body of a hat. 



Formerly the great demand for beaver fur was for the manufacture of 

 hats, but silk has largely taken its place of late years. 



The Hudson Bay Company, a great corporation formed for trapping fur- 

 bearing animals for their skins, has greatly decreased the number of beavers 

 and they are rapidly becoming extinct. The number of beaver-skins sold 

 by the Hudson's Bay Company averages about 55,000 a year, while in the 

 year 1743 upwards of 127,080 were imported into Rochelle alone. The price 

 varied from $1.25 to $1.50 per skin. The incisor teeth of the beaver were 

 used by the North American Indians, and also by some of the ancient 

 inhabitants of the Old World, as cutting instruments, the bases being fixed 

 into a wooden handle with the aid of twine or thongs. 



The primitive form of trapping beavers was to cut holes in the ice around 

 their lodges in which nets were placed and the lodges torn open. The white 

 trappers then introduced steel traps, but it was a long time before a suitable 

 bait could be found. Finally it was discovered that the beaver is fond of 



