198 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAHIIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by George Shiras, 3d 



FIRST COMF FIRST SERVED 



Here a pulling string connected with a flashlight and camera was baited with carrots 

 and fish, for either mnskrats or mink. The muskrat fired the flash first, and later a mink 

 remoyed the fish, as shown by its tracks in the snow the next morning. 



that a beaver would be found at work. 

 This proved to be the case, giving much 

 encouragement for continuation of the 

 efforts the next season (see page 178). 



While luck varied during the ensuing 

 years, it was not long before I had a 

 dozen or more pictures showing some of 

 the animals erect, busy gnawing away, 

 and others walking about at the base of 

 a tree (see page 183). 



PHOTOGRAPH SOEVES A PROBEEM 



These photographs made possible the 

 determination of the much-mooted ques- 

 tion whether more than one beaver assists 

 in the cutting of a tree. In not a single 

 instance was more than one beaver shown 

 at work or in the vicinity of the tree, nor 

 was that tree touched again during the 

 same season. 



From the very beginning, the river 

 colony tried every fall to block the sluice- 

 way in an old lumber dam several hun- 

 dred yards above camp by filling it with 

 water-soaked logs and branches, the pur- 

 pose being to flood the river bottom when 

 cutting down the tree. 



Each fall and to the present time it has 

 been a case of "pull out in the morning 

 and fill in at night." This effort to utilize 

 the dam was a very practical conception, 

 only it conflicted with prior rights at camp 

 by preventing access to the lake (p. 190). 



This almost daily removal of a great 

 mass of sticks and brush caused John to 

 figure on some way of discouraging their 

 nightly activity, so a lighted lantern was 

 placed in the middle of the dam, with the 

 expectation that this would end their 

 endeavors. The first night the plan was 

 a success, but on the following one the 

 animals were busier than ever. Then 

 the lantern was lowered to the surface of 

 the water, and they paid no attention to 

 it whatever. 



WATCHING THE BEAVER AT WORK AT 

 NIGHT 



Taking advantage of this situation, we 

 visited the place at night to witness the 

 beaver at work. Such a close view and 

 under a strong light revealed perfectly 

 their methods of construction ; so a night 

 later the flashlight and camera took our 



