REPAIRING THE DAM. 263 



work in the leartli, and claj and grasses are 

 stuffed and plastered in between the sticks, 

 roots, and branches, in so workmanlike a way 

 as to render the structure quite water-tight. 

 The dams are sometimes seven or eight feet 

 high, and are from ten to twelve feet wide at 

 the bottom, but are built up with the sides 

 inclining towards each other, so as to form a 

 narrow surface on the top. They are occa- 

 sionally as much as three hundred yards in 

 length, and often extend beyond the bed of 

 the stream, in a circular form, so as to over- 

 flow all the timber near the margin, which the 

 beavers cut down for food during winter, heap 

 together in large quantities, and so fasten to the 

 shore under the surface of the water, that even 

 a strong current cannot tear it away ; although 

 they generally place it in such a position that 

 the current does not pass over it. These piles 

 or heaps of wood are placed in front of the 

 lodges, and when the animal wishes to feed, he 

 proceeds to them, takes a piece of wood, and 

 drags it to one of the small holes near the 

 principal entrance running above the water, 

 although beneath the surface of the ground. 

 Here the bark is devoured at leisure, and the 

 wood is afterwards thrust out, or used in re- 

 pairing the dam. These small galleries are 

 more or less abundant according to the num* 



