EDWARD BURGESS. 67 



cannot but excite the highest admiration for their in- 

 dustry and skill. 



Their " lodge " or " barrow," is built sometimes upon 

 an island and sometimes on the shore. The floor is 

 placed a few inches above water level and has two 

 entrances, both under water. One may be called the 

 "wood" entrance, and descends in a straight line, but 

 on an inclined plane to the bottom of the pond. This is 

 used for carrying to the "lodge" the wood upon which 

 they feed during the winter. The other is nearly per- 

 pendicular, somewhat tortuous in shape, and like the first 

 descends to the bottom ; this is their ordinary rear way 

 for their exit and entrance. In addition to this they 

 always have an underground burrow upon the main land, 

 with an entrance under water, as a place of refuge if hard 

 pressed by their enemies. Unlike the ''lodges" which 

 are conspicuous huts, sometimes eight feet in diameter 

 and correspondingly high, these burrows have no out- 

 ward sign to indicate their existence. 



During the long winters of the northern latitudes 

 which they chiefly inhabit, they live upon the bark of 

 trees which is stored under water. The tree is cut so 

 that it will always fall in the direction of the water, and 

 thus save labor in carrying. Just before it falls they 

 scramble off to the pond and remain hidden for some 

 time after the crash, evidently thinking that the noise 

 may attract their enemies to the spot, and that they 

 must secrete themselves until the danger is over. After 

 it is felled, the smaller branches, from two to six inches 

 in diameter, are cut into suitable lengths, stripped of the 

 twigs and smaller sprouts and taken to the "lodge." 

 They are then sunk to the bottom of the pond and 

 fastened there In brushwood, the butt-ends of which are 

 driven into the mud and the sticks are then put through 

 the branches. 



It is in the construction of the dams that the beaver 



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