162 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 
taken until they are thoroughly established and 
really abundant, neither should they ever bemolested 
in the reserves under any conditions, in order that 
people might have the opportunity of seeing them 
living peacefully and without suspicion. For- 
tunately they are amenable to protection and they 
adapt themselves readily to new conditions. In 
zoological gardens and private parks they do re- 
markably well, even though they can never be 
said to be show animals in any sense of the word 
when in captivity, owing to their crepuscular 
and nocturnal habits. 
The following account of an experience I had 
with beaver in the Washington Zoological Gardens 
may be of interest, for even though it was published 
elsewhere many years ago it still shows something 
of the animal in captivity, 
THE OUTCAST * 
A TRUE STORY OF A CAPTIVE BEAVER 
It is difficult to imagine a more pathetic sight 
than that of the poor old beaver solitary and so 
entirely alone, within sight of his comrades yet not 
among them, unable to join in their games and 
their work, living his lonely life like a hermit ; 
within sight of his fellow men, but separated by a 
barrier as strange as it was secure. After I had 
waited for many hours watching quietly in the 
* First published in Hverybody’s Magazine. 
