advance, just as his four-inch aspen settled over 

 and then fell. All paused for a time close to the 

 hole beneath me, and then the old beaver re- 

 turned to his work. The one that had felled his 

 tree followed closely and at once began on an- 

 other aspen. The other beaver, with his aspen 

 half cut off, went into the hole and did not again 

 come out. By and by an old and a young beaver 

 came out of the hole. The young one at once 

 began cutting limbs off the recently felled 

 aspen, while the other began work on the half- 

 cut tree; but he ignored the work already done, 

 and finally severed the trunk about four inches 

 above the cut made by the other. Suddenly 

 the old beaver whacked the ground and ran, 

 but at thirty feet distant he paused and nerv- 

 ously thumped the ground with his tail, as his 

 aspen slowly settled and fell. Then he went 

 into the hole beneath me. 



This year's harvest was so much larger than 

 usual that it may be the population of this col- 

 ony had been increased by the arrival of emi- 

 grants from a persecuted colony down in the 

 valley. The total harvest numbered four hun- 



65 



