RESULTS OF BEAVERS' WORK 151 



considered. Every portage, when canoeing, is an 

 undesirable change from the quiet monotony of 

 paddUng, so the wise man chooses, so far as he is 

 able, a route which will allow the canoe to remain 

 in the water as much as possible. Such a man 

 knows the value of going through beaver country. 

 Streams which might otherwise be dry, especially 

 during the summer months, can usually be counted 

 on to have enough water to float a canoe if the 

 beavers' dams are in repair, and so many a weary 

 mile of portaging is avoided. Hundreds of miles 

 have I travelled by canoe either alone or with some 

 hardy woodsman, and hundreds of times I have 

 blessed the little beaver for the streams he has kept 

 filled. During such journeys, each time a dam is 

 reached the canoe is hauled over it so that it shall 

 do as little damage as possible, and by the paint 

 marks on the sharp-pointed sticks I have known 

 that many another man has had reason to bless the 

 builders of those dams. 



One other man who has reason to wish the 

 preservation of the beavers is the fisherman, as the 

 deep pools made along the waterways offer a cool 

 retreat for the trout during the hot weather, and 

 even though it may be said that the dams restrict 

 the freedom of the fish in going up and down 

 stream there are opportunities during the course of 

 each year when the water overflows to such an 

 extent that they can get past almost any dam. 

 The fishermen, therefore, should use their influ- 



