run miAi'im as a builder 



49 



of the poplar, maple, birch and willow, 

 and in the fall they ent down and haul 

 to the water large quantities of these 

 trees and shrubs, felling them, by 

 means of two notches they gnaw into 

 the tree, just as an axe-man notches a 

 spruce with his axe. They can 

 generally arrange so that the tree shall 

 fall about where they want it, but not 

 always, as one finds sometimes a large 

 poplar left where it fell, because it was 

 in such an awkward situation that the 

 beaver could not cut it into logs and 

 drag it down to the pond. These food 

 supplies are stored in the pond and 

 underneath the ice, and are hauled into 

 the house as occasion demands. 



Most of the winter is passed in 

 sleep, yet the beaver often comes 

 out early in the spring, long before 

 the snow has disappeared, as I have 

 seen their tracks frequently. In ad- 

 dition to the beavers that live in colo- 

 nies and build houses, there are the 

 bank beavers that seem to lead a soli- 

 tary existence, and are said by the 

 Indians to be morose old bachelors, but 

 as to this I cannot say. My personal 

 opinion; though I am open to convic- 

 tion, is that the reason these beavers 

 have their houses in the banks is that 

 there exists already sufficient water for 

 their purpose without house building. 

 Consequently, they do not need to club 

 together in order to build. 



Beavers usually cut down trees less 

 than eight inches in diameter, but they 

 have been known to cut them as large 

 as fourteen or fifteen inches. The larger 

 trees are usually felled in order to get 

 at the branches. Logs that are cut to put 

 in the dam are generally from four to 

 five inches in diameter, and not exceed- 

 ing four feet in length. These logs are 

 cut so near the water that the beavers 

 are generally able to slide them into the 

 pond, though, occasionally, they have to 

 leave some behind, as everyone who has 

 studied the workings of the beaver 

 knows. You will find that they usually 

 cut down trees so that the logs fall upon 

 ground that is slanting towards the 

 water. One or two beavers then fasten 



their teeth in the log and shake it, pull- 

 ing it at the same time. Thus the log 

 is moved to the pond. 



Sometimes the houses are built about 

 the roots of a large tree; and again they 

 are often built among the alder bushes. 

 Green poplar does not float, and the ba- 

 sis of their house is generally made of 

 this tree. 



The young beavers work alongside 

 their parents in the construction of the 

 dam, but the old ones do most of the 

 work, and afterwards carefully attend 

 to any damages that may have happened 

 through floods or accident, until the ice 

 is set for the winter. 



The beavers work according to a cer- 

 tain system. Once they have fixed a 

 number of logs, both horizontal and 

 perpendicular, in their dam, they stop 

 all the gaps with stones and mud, and, 

 possibly, with water-soaked timber. 

 Even grass leaves may be worked in. 

 A discharge is always left in the dam, 

 a foot or two below the general level. 

 A heavy coating of mud is relied upon 

 as a final waterproof covering to the 

 dam. This mud is generally scratched 

 up from the bottom of the stream, above 

 the dam, and the water holds it in sus- 

 pension, so that the current carries the 

 fine mud against the face of the dam. 

 Also, they carry mud clasped between 

 their forefeet and their breasts. 



The favorite hours of work are be- 

 tween sunset and dawn, but in the au- 

 tumn, when the nights are long, they 

 do not work so late. In the spring and 

 early summer they are out by four in 

 the afternoon, and may work long after 

 sunrise on dark, rainy mornings. 



Although the beaver is a very strong 

 animal for its size, it does not often 

 carry a stone weighing more than four 

 or five pounds ; and, it must be remem- 

 bered that these stones are usually han- 

 dled in the water, when their weight 

 .would be much reduced. 



The dam is needed in order to make 

 a pond for winter use. The floods in 

 spring pass over the dam, sometimes in 

 a sheet of solid water, several feet deep ; 

 but the beavers are not put out thereby, 



