60 BEAVERS—THEIR WAYS. 
foilowing taken from the columns of the Washburn 
Leader, of November 28, 1896, is a fair illustration 
of the merciless persecution that met these savants of ~ 
the animal kind, turn what way they may. 
I quote the Leader of the above mentioned date: 
‘‘The subject of beaver raising came up for discus- 
sion recently inthe Merchants Hotel in Washburn, Her- 
bert Bartron told the following incident coming from 
Mercer County,on the west side, the fact of which he is 
for the most part familiar: 
At the HA stock ranch on the North Fork of Big 
Knife River, and within ten miles of Kill Deer Mount- 
ain, there is located a living spring. The ranch was 
built within afew hundred yard sof the spring. About 
five or six years ago a pair of beavers hunted out from 
the lower stream by merciless trappers appeared at this 
spring and finding themselves undisturbed by the resi- 
dent stockman proceeded to build there and dredge out 
and dam up the spring. These animals with their great 
intelligence seemed to have divined the minds of their 
human neighbors and while naturally timid of man, in 
the presence of these stockmen they ignored fear and 
became industrious co-workers. Ina few years the bea- 
ver family had increased to 15 or 20 members. 
The business of the stock range demanded a change 
of headquarters. Mr. Arnot the manager while moving 
his location, posted notices at his vacated ranch and 
otherwise sent out notification to people not to disturb the 
beaver family. Last winter two strangers appeared at 
the ranch and in a few weeks they had sent a report to 
imir. Arnot that the beavers had all been destroyed. 
They claimed that the bad work was done by some trap- 
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