180 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAFHIG MAGAZINE 



Photograph by George Shiras, 3d 



NIGHT PICTURE: OP A BpAVKR PLASTERING PUS HOMp WITH MUD 



In the fall these animals renewed the covering of mud on their house, not only for com- 

 fort, but as a protection against marauding animals, which cannot tear the structure apart 

 when cemented with frozen mud. The picture shows the home of the beaver colony living 

 on the river half-way between the author's camp and Whitefish Lake (see page 197). 



40 miles, heavily forested, containing 

 lakes, ponds, and overflowing streams, 

 was always the resort of wild game, the 

 deer in particular being attracted by sev- 

 eral natural salt licks near the center of 

 the island. 



When a youth, I camped each season 

 with older members of my family on the 

 opposite shores, where so abundant were 

 the trout, deer, wild pigeons, and grouse 

 that only on rare occasions was the island 

 visited. 



thf, ispand converted into a gamp 



PRpSPRVp 



Whenever I ventured into the dark, 

 tangled forests, it seemed that the deer 

 had inherited a greater degree of sagacity 

 than those roaming in comparative safety 

 throughout the unbroken wilderness 

 ashore, due, doubtless, to the peril of 

 island segregation and the inherited fear 

 of the Indian and the fur trader, who 



made this locality a general rendezvous 

 and hunting ground. 



Providentially, in modern times this 

 beautiful island has been saved from the 

 ravages of the axe and the too deadly use 

 of the gun, for a number of years ago it 

 was acquired by a mining and lumber 

 company in the purchase of a larger tract 

 ashore. 



Unlike many of the pioneer corpora- 

 tions of the West, this company has al- 

 ways shown a commendable interest in 

 the welfare of the various communities 

 in which it has operated, leaving more 

 than a fair equivalent for that which 

 must be destroyed. It was this spirit 

 which led to an extensive effort to protect 

 the native wild game and to introduce 

 new or foreign species most likely to suc- 

 ceed in a northern country. 



Starting with a hundred or more na- 

 tive deer, moose were introduced, to- 

 gether with elk, caribou, black-tail deer, 



