36 BEAVERS—THEIR WAYS. 
corners of Oliver, Mercer, Burleigh and Wells counties, 
and it is the largest county it is state. 
It has but one town. Washburn, the county seat. 
The Missouri river runs along the western border of 
the county, and innumerable streams flow into it from 
among the sterile hills to the north and east. 
The banks of these streams are fringed with cotton- 
woods and a species of elm that has a warped and stunt- 
ed growth. These small streams and the trees that grow 
along their banks are the valuable feature of the beaver 
farms. The former gives the shy animal concealment 
and the latter gives it an opportunity to demonstrate its 
woodchopping abilities. 
While the wheat-grower in about every other county 
in the state is crying ruin and deploring the low price 
of wheat, the beaver farmer of McLean county is enjoy- 
ing himself, and rolling up a bank account that is inno 
way threatened by dry seasons, hail storms or a dem- 
Oralized market. There is always a demand for beaver 
fur, and for the good article the price is always satis- 
factory and unvarying. 
With $500 in his pocket when he reaches McLean Co. 
a man establishes a beaver farm that will in two years, 
pay him from $500 to $2,000 annually. He first pur- 
chases from ten to fifteen acres of land through which 
runs a stream. Ata point where the stream is narrow 
and the banks steep, adam is built. This is quickly 
done by felling a few trees across the bed of the stream 
and filling in with dirt and stones. In this way the water 
is held back so that two or three acres of land is over- 
flown. 
