212 WITH GUN AND GUIDE 



strong. He's good company, doesn't have much to say 

 and all of us like him." 



We reached our second stopping place at dark, after 

 a nine-mile push up the river. The current was so 

 swift that the pole had to be used all of the way up. 

 The sand beaches on the sides of the river bore the im- 

 prints of grizzly bears' feet, and most of them were 

 fresh. A few moose tracks were visible where they 

 had crossed the river, and beaver tracks and musk 

 mounds were very plentiful. 



Kibbee says that on these musk mounds, built of 

 small gravel stones, the beavers squeeze out their ex- 

 cess of the substance which is called musk. This musk 

 is valuable, and is used in the manufacture of perfumes 

 and in medicines, and brings, according to demand and 

 quality, $4.50 to $16 per pound. 



It is contained in a sack, and its trade name is " cas- 

 torium." Trappers have found out that they can set a 

 beaver wild by removing a portion of his mound as 

 each beaver has its own and putting in a little oil of 

 aniseed and a few drops of rum. 



The beaver realizes the first thing that here is a 

 strange "musk," because he knows his own musk too 

 well to believe that the strange odor is his. He 

 evidently thinks some other beaver has done this to 

 spite him, so he gets mad all through and tears his 

 whole mound down and builds a new one. 



In doing this he gets so reckless that he forgets his 



