52 BEAVERS—THEIR WAYS. 
ly to its change of feed, and started into the winter in 
poor condition, and lost flesh gradually the long winter 
through. On the night of the 24th of March, 1897— 
it will be remembered—murcury in North Dakota went 
down 40 degrees below zero. The beaver had been 
placed in the celler under Dr. Forbes’ drug store in the 
village of Washburn, and was by no means a comforta- 
able place. but the early setting in of winter left but lit- 
tle choice, andit was hoped he would get through the 
winter there without serious injury. But in the evening 
of that cold night in question, the door leading down 
the stairway to the beaver’s quarters had been thought- 
lessly or carelessly left ajar, and the water froze down 
and while the beaver endeavored to excavate itself into 
warmer quarters into the hard wall, its weakened condi- 
tion was a bar, and with the morning light, the beaver’s 
tail was found to be partly frozen—and thereafter abso- 
lutely refusing to eat anything, a few days later it suc- 
cumbed in death. 
My experiment in this case was so unfortunate, I felt 
as guilty as an experimental viviscetionist should feel at 
the suffering wrung from the unfortunate victims by his 
experimental work horrors. I had remembered with 
regret at the beaver’s many attempts to follow me up 
the stairway when I brought him food and water as 
though he would gladly flee from the miseries and ter- 
rors of his lonely vigil, and further the poor animal’s 
detention could be of no especial import to the informa- 
tion desired. From that time henceforth I resolved to 
take no more harmless animals from good homes to try 
experiments upon, even though in the hope of bettering 
their future condition or hoping against hope in staying 
the exerminating hands of my fellows. 
