raised the water-level of the pond, the winter was, 

 of course, to be a long and severe one. 



Extensive autumn rambles in the mountains 

 with especial attention to beaver customs com- 

 pels me to conclude that as a basis for weather 

 prediction beaverdom is not reliable. In the course 

 of one autumn month in the mountains of Colo- 

 rado more than one hundred colonies were ob- 

 served. In many colonies work for the winter 

 commenced early. In others, only a few miles dis- 

 tant, preparations for the winter did not begin 

 until late. In some, extensive preparations were 

 made for the winter. In a few the harvest laid 

 up was exceedingly small. Thus in one month of 

 the same year I saw some beaver colonies pre- 

 paring for a long winter and others for a short 

 one, many preparing for a hard winter and others 

 almost unprepared for winter. From these varied 

 and conflicting prognostications, how was one 

 accurately to forecast the coming winter ? The 

 old prophets in one colony frequently disagreed 

 with aged prophets who were similarly situ- 

 ated, but in a neighboring colony. At one place 

 thirty or more beaver gathered an enormous 



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