84 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 



them a space of about six feet, which they so 

 ingeniously fill in with stones, clay, and branches 

 that one would expect nothing better from the 

 most skilful architect. The length of the structure 

 is greater or less, according to the size of the stream 

 which they wish to restrain. Dams of this kind 

 a fifth of a mile long are sometimes found." This 

 is a strange mixture of truth and error which is 

 difficult to account for. The double barrier and 

 rampart filled in with stones and clay and branches 

 is very far from the actual construction. As a 

 matter of fact, the building of an ordinary dam 

 consists originally of a number of sticks and brush 

 being laid (no stakes are driven) in the water with 

 the butts up-stream. When slightly weighted 

 with sod, stones, and water-soaked billets of wood 

 they become anchored, each projecting twig acting 

 as a brace against the bottom. Little by little 

 more material of the same description is added 

 until from shore to shore there is an unbroken 

 line which at first only slightly retards the flow 

 of the stream. Then sod and muck, with roots 

 and grass, are laid against the upper side or face. 

 By the force of water all this material is worked 

 in among the network of sticks, the beavers assisting 

 the water by pushing clots of fibrous muck, usually 

 gathered from the bottom of the pond, into the 

 openings until gradually the face of the dams 

 assumes a smooth appearance levelled to an angle 

 of about forty-five degrees. If the work is properly 



