BEAVERS—THEIR WAYS. 63 
damage toit. This of itself had exasperated him and 
to spite them he tore away their dam in divers places. He 
then reset his net and the result was the beavers played 
tit for tat and placed the net out of business in great 
style. It was after this happening that he tried wire 
netting, and to put quietus on things and gain the sup- 
port of two neighbors for his candidacy to the office he 
sought, and they being professional trappers, he had 
given them permission to trap the animals. 
The candidate dropped his discussion on the beavers 
for a few minutes to announce his business. He had 
just bought Editor Walker’s Stanton Pilot, and as that 
gentleman had said I had made him a handsome offer, 
and he had come to offer press, material, subscription 
list and good will at much fairer figures than my offer 
to Mr. Walker, providing I would assist him in his po- 
litical asperations. 
‘*But the beavers,’’ I said. 
«*Oh, they are all dead now—eleven of them.” 
‘‘The trappers killed them P” 
‘“*Yes, cleaned them all out! What would the fine be 
according to law?” quered the office seeker with a 
show of innocent inquisitiveness. 
‘One hundred dollars each—or eleven hundred dol- 
dars in all,” I answered, “and I cannot consider your 
newspaper proposition—for I could not advocate the 
claims of a boasted law breaker to a public office when 
I know it, and your statement is sufficient in this case.” 
It is some satisfaction to the friends of the Hazen 
beaver colony to know that the instigator of their de- 
struction was so badly ‘‘snowed under” at the polls that 
no party thereafter would burden itself with even the 
consideration of his name—Dennis. 
