THE PERSISTENT BEAVER 57 
Tree colony pond covered their houses above 
waterline with mud, which they dredged from 
the pond around the foundations of their 
houses. Sometimes this mud was moved in 
their forepaws, sometimes by hooking the tail 
under and dragging it between their hind legs. 
Then they dug a channel in the bottom of the 
pond, which extended from the houses to the 
dam. Parallel with the dam they dug out an- 
other channel; the excavated material was 
placed on the top of the dam. They also made 
a shallow ditch in the bottom of the pond that 
extended from the house to the canal that 
united the two ponds. 
The following summer was a rainy one, and 
the pond filled with sediment to the height of 
the dam. Most of this sediment came from the 
landslide débris or its sliding place. The old 
Broken Tree colony was abandoned. 
Different from most animals, the beaver has 
a permanent home. The beaver has a strong 
attachment, or love, for his old home, and will 
go to endless work and repeatedly risk dangers to 
avoid moving away. He will dig canals, build 
dams, or even drag supplies long distances by 
land through difficult and dangerous places that 
he may live on in the old place. Here his an- 
cestors may have been born and here he may 
spend his lifetime. In most cases, however, a 
