80 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



foot or two of thin mud. On these occa- 

 sions it is customary to build dams that it 

 may be rendered navigable by the accumu- 

 lation of its waters. As the beavers per-* 

 form this operation very effectually, endea- 

 vours have been made to encourage them to 

 breed in this place, but it has not hitherto 

 been possible to restrain the Indians from 

 killing that useful animal whenever they 

 discover its retreats. On the present oc- 

 casion there was no want of water, the 

 principal impediment we experienced being 

 from the narrowness of the channel, which 

 permitted the willows of each bank to meet 

 over our heads, and obstruct the men at the 

 oars. After proceeding down the stream 

 for some time, we came to a recently-con- 

 structed beaver-dam, through which an 

 opening was made sufficient to admit the 

 boat to pass. We were assured that the 

 breach would be closed by the industrious 

 creature in a single night. We encamped 

 about eight miles from the source of the 

 river, having come during the day seventeen 

 miles and a half. 



