172 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 



understood the meaning of those splashes, for he 

 instantly made for the water, utterly regardless of 

 his newly dried jacket about which he had taken 

 so much trouble, and seizing one of the loaves of 

 bread in his hands swam to a shallow part of the 

 pond to eat it. He held the bread in his hands, 

 much after the manner in which a squirrel holds a 

 nut, but the bread being wet began to fall apart 

 so he made a bowl of his hands and lapped the soft 

 bread out of it ; in this way not a particle was lost. 

 Piece after piece of bread was eaten, after which 

 he came ashore and made short work of the carrots 

 and potatoes. It was quite dark by this time, and 

 as it was impossible to see anything more I was 

 forced to leave him, with the hope that in the near 

 future I might continue the acquaintance so plea- 

 santly begun. When that day comes let us hope 

 he will no longer be solitary but will have taken to 

 himself a mate whose disposition will be as good 

 as his own. 



From what has been said in the preceding pages, 

 it will be seen that the beaver is a gentle creature, 

 free from desire to harm anybody. As pets they 

 become extremely affectionate and dependent on 

 their masters. Mills* describes an interesting 

 experience with a pet beaver to which he became 

 deeply attached. " Atop the pack on the horse's 

 back he travelled, a ride which he evidently 



* " In Beaver World." 



