inhabitants of two old beaver colonies endured 

 hardships in order to remain in the old place. 

 One colony, in order to reach a grove of aspens, 

 dug a canal three hundred and thirty-four feet 

 long, which had an average depth of fifteen inches 

 and a width of twenty-six inches. It ended in a 

 grove of aspens, which were in due time cut down 

 and floated through this canal into the pond, 

 alongside the beaver house. The other colony 

 endured dangers and greater hardships. 



During the summer of 1 90x3 an extensive forest 

 fire on the northerly slope of Long's Peak wrought 

 great hardship among beaver colonies along the 

 streams in the fire district. This fire destroyed 

 all the aspens and some of the willows. In order 

 to have food while a new growth of aspens was 

 developing, the beavers at a colony on the Bier- 

 stadt Moraine were compelled to bring their 

 winter supply of aspens the distance of a quarter 

 of a mile from an isolated grove that had escaped 

 the fire. This stood on a bench of the moraine at 

 an altitude about fifty feet greater than that of 

 the beaver pond. Aspens from the grove were 

 dragged about two hundred feet, then floated 



140 



