UNITED STATES. 



The front teeth, says capt. Cartwright, are very 

 strong, and well adapted to the purpose of gnawing 

 wood. They feed on leaves and the bark of trees ; 

 and when they eat, they sit upright, and carry the 

 food to their mouth, in the same manner as the 

 squirrel tribe. It has long been observed, that of 

 all the trees growing in Newfoundland or Labrador^ 

 they like the aspen best, and next to that the birch. 



The beavers live in general in associated commu- 

 nities, of two or three hundred ; inhabiting dwellings, 

 which they raise to the height of six or eight feet 

 above the water. They select, if possible, a large 

 pond, and raise their houses on piles^ forming them 

 either of a circular or oval shape, with arched tops, 

 which give them on the outside, the appearance of 

 a dome, whilst within they somewhat resemble an 

 oven. The number of houses is, in general, from 

 ten to thirty. If they cannot l^.nd a pond to their 

 liking, they fix on some flat piece of ground, with 

 a stream running through it. In making this a 

 suitable place for their habitations, a degree of sa- 

 gacity and intelligence, of intention and memory, 

 is exhibited, nearly equal to that of some part of the 

 human race. 



If the pond be deep close to the bank, and that 

 free from rocks, they begin under water, at the 

 foot of the bank, and scoop out a hole, rising gradu- 

 ally to the surface; carrying all the earth which 

 they dig out there to the top, and mix abundance of 

 sticks, and even stones among it. The sticks which 

 they make use of on this occasion, are of all sizes, 

 from the thickness of a man's ancle to his little 

 finger, but very seldom of larger dimensions. They 



