THE LIFE OF A BEAVER COLONY 91 



to their island. That again served a two-fold 

 purpose ; it made a deep place close to the house 

 in which the winter food could be stored well below 

 ice, and was the best of building material. The 

 mud packed well among the woodwork, and the 

 roots held it together and helped to prevent 

 cracking. All this work was done with their hands, 

 the clumps of sod being carried in their arms 

 against the chin, and forced into position with the 

 hands and nose. They did not follow the story- 

 book method of patting it down with their tails. 

 Very little mud was used in the centre of the lodge, 

 as that was the ventilating flue. 



The woodwork was laid apparently in a very 

 haphazard way, but always with the idea of making 

 a rounded dome of tangled material which could 

 not easily be torn apart. With surprising speed 

 this grew, and within two weeks it had reached a 

 height of over three feet and a maximum circum- 

 ference at the base of about twenty feet. The 

 inside in the meantime had been cut out over the 

 land entrance of the tunnel, leaving a domed cavity 

 twenty-three inches high and four feet across. Even 

 in its rough condition, the lodge was quite suitable 

 for a summer home, but as a precautionary measure, 

 a second tunnel was made to enable the inmates to 

 escape rapidly in case of emergency, and they never 

 could tell at what moment an otter might make his 

 way in. They are unwelcome visitors and are so 

 quick and strong that the beavers, notwithstanding 



