ELK LAND. 



289 



BEAVER CHIP, EXACT SIZE. 



alone seemed interested in repairing the 

 dam, and he worked " like a beaver " the 

 whole time, digging mud out of the bottom 

 of the pond and pounding it into the dam 

 wherever he fancied the water was running 

 over. It never seemed to occur to him 

 that the water must go over somewhere; 

 so the work of stopping the supposed leak 

 goes on indefinitely, the dam grows bigger 

 and the observant Indian remarks: 



" Beaver work all time; him dam fool, 

 all same white man." 



Frequently when 2 beaver would meet 



in the pond, i.e., the street, they would kiss 

 each other on both cheeks and make a 

 chattering noise just like Frenchmen. 



There are several good reasons why I 

 took no photographs. One is the beaver 

 were so busy they had not time to " sit " 



tiftLM/J/s- 



SNAP SHOTS. 



for me. Another, the light was too poor 

 for snap work, as the beaver do not come 

 out till sundown. 



It is no easy matter to say anything new 

 about beavers' habits after reading Mor- 

 gan's book on " The Beaver and his 

 Work " ; but I noticed these creatures are 

 proud of th^ir work. They are very jealous 

 of intrusion and not without, curiosity. 

 When I sat on the bank, perfectly still for 



TWIG OF QUAKING ASP (POPUKUS TREMU- 

 LOIDES.) THE PRINCIPAL FOOD OF THE 

 BEAVER. 



a time, they swam nearer and nearer, in- 

 specting me closely. If I moved, suddenly, 

 or frightened them, down they went, with 

 a slap of their tails that was a signal heard 

 and understood by every beaver in the 

 pond. But they soon came up again and 

 seemed to fully realize we were in the 

 Yellowstone Park, whence traps and guns 

 are banished. 



