RESULTS OF BEAVERS’ WORK 151 
considered. Every portage, when canoeing, is an 
undesirable change from the quiet monotony of 
paddling, 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- 
