CHAPTER XVII 



ENGINEERS 



THERE are certain animals which have justly earned the 

 title of engineers. The most noted of these ingenious 

 beasts is undoubtedly the beaver, once common in this 

 country, but now, alas ! not only a stranger to our land 

 but rapidly becoming extinct in its last remaining strong- 

 holds. In Yorkshire the beaver once held sway, and the 

 city of Beverley is so named on account of its association 

 with these animals. Other towns bear witness in the 

 same manner to the fact that beavers were once common 

 in their neighbourhoods. 



Of the two species of beaver, the European is rapidly 

 becoming extinct, and the North American will assuredly 

 enter the list of the beasts that have been, before the world 

 is many years older. There are no quadrupeds more 

 social than these ; others, it is true, live together in large 

 communities, the prairie dogs, rabbits, wolves, peccaries, 

 but none work for the benefit of the whole community as 

 do the beavers. 



That we may better understand the reason for the 

 beaver's activities, let us examine the creature himself for 

 a moment. His compact fur, his webbed feet and paddle 

 tail are all adaptations for a life in the water, and, as 

 we shall see, all the beaver's energies are devoted to an 

 attempt to provide himself with water, the element he 

 loves so well. It is customary for the beaver to dwelPin 

 a village, a village of huts built by himself and his relatives. 

 Sometimes beavers are found dwelling alone ; they are 

 lazy individuals who have been driven out of some village 

 by their more industrious fellows. In each hut there are 

 usually about six individuals, father, mother and children. 



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