ORDER OF EODENTIA. 
473 
in proportion as the latter began to improve his weapons and his 
method of hunting, the Beavers increased in prudence, in cunning, 
and in sagacity. A communal life entailed too great dangers, 
and it was necessary to renounce the amenities of association. 
The families dispersed, and no longer finding security in those 
huts which attract the notice of their enemies, the Beavers have 
taken refuge in the rocky crevices that overhang streams. 
“ Thus it is that this animal has given up a social existence, 
that it has adopted manners and customs which are altogether 
novel to it, that it has created a new occupation for itself, and 
that the builder has become a miner. In this way it has acted 
in quite a contrary fashion to Man, who at first hid himself 
underground in caverns, but at a later period constructed huts on 
the surface as soon as he had no longer to fear the attacks of 
ferocious beasts.” 
Many people are not aware that Beavers are still to be 
found in France ; and yet such is the case. Certainly they are 
very few, but their existence nevertheless cannot be contested. 
The southern portion of the Rhone, and accidentally the entrance 
of its principal affluents, such as the Isere, the Grardon, and the 
Durance, are where French Beavers are to be found. Un- 
fortunately, everything leads to the belief that they will not 
long enjoy this privilege ; the avidity excited in Man for pos- 
session of these creatures will infallibly bring about their com- 
plete annihilation. 
The Beavers of the Rhone chiefly frequent islets. As these are, 
for the most part, uninhabited, they find themselves more secure 
there than on the banks. Their burrow communicates with the 
stream by a long gallery, which always opens below the surface of 
the water, so as to hide their dwelling from malevolent eyes. 
This burrow is sometimes very large, and affords an asylum to 
many individuals. On a property in the department of the 
Card, a bank having fallen in, exposed one of these subterranean 
abodes. It measured fifty feet in length, and was partitioned off 
into several compartments. 
Colonies of Constructive Beavers are yet to be found in Europe. 
This fact was noted in 1787 by a German observer, not far from 
Magdeburg, on one of the affluents of the Elbe. A number 
had collected in this place, and had built huts in every respect 
