building, and they seem to have been influenced in their choice from finding that two of the entrances to it were supplied with doors, and, therefore, that less labour would be required in rendering it fit for their occupation. The other side, which has two enclosed entrances, is turned by them into a store-house; they convey thither the supplies of wood and bark which are given them as food, and preserve them there until needed. The animals have covered over the two doors of their dwelling apartment, but have left open the entrance which faces a small tank or pool of water, contained within the enclosure where they are confined. I was curious to examine the materials of which the little plasterers had availed themselves in their operations. I found that they had procured mud from the bottom of the tank, bringing up handfuls at a time. This they had carefully tempered and intermixed with thin shreds, and splinters of wood, the remains of the faggots which had been given them as food, and from which they had gnawed all the bark and nutritious portions, leaving only the woody fibres,

which, however, they turned also to account. The use of the introduction of these shreds was evidently to give stability to the plaster, to make the mud bind; and in this respect they served the same purpose as the straw which the Egyptians employed as one of the necessary ingredients in the composition of bricks. As the object to be gained by the beavers was merely to render the door weather-tight, no sort of frame-work was required in this process, and they seem to have used very few large sticks, but merely this kind of mortar, consisting of the mud interspersed with woody fibres. Independent of these external arrangements in order to make themselves more comfortable, they have effected what may be styled the fitting-up of the inside of their house. They have introduced from time to time large quantities of supple twigs, or any soft substance that happened to fall within their reach, so as to form a bed, which they have heaped up nearly a foot from the floor, so that it is on a level with the top of the door-way; it slopes down, however, gradually towards the entrance. An advantage is

gained by this contrivance; this elevation places them in a certain degree out of the influence of the cold air; and the declination of the bed towards the water looks like a precaution derived from their situation in North America, a provision to guard against the sudden inroads of water caused by the swelling of the stream on whose banks they may have settled. Though there is no risk of an irruption of the pond which now lies at their door, the instinct which teaches them to provide against such an event still remains. Among other extraordinary assertions it has been said that the animal makes use of its tail as a trowel to work up the materials with which it builds, but during the process of last winter's building the animal employed its tail in no such hard service.

"All their materials were conveyed in their forepaws, and, though these are small, yet the animals managed, by holding them together and close up against the throat, to transport considerable masses of mud at once. The tail is, however, by no means a useless member. In its shape it bears some resemblance to the blade of an oar, or paddle;

and, like it, is adapted to take hold of the water. On land it is a clumsy animal, slow in its movements, and easily overtaken by its enemies. Conscious of this, its first impulse when an alarm is given, or an enemy at hand, is to plunge into the water. There it dives and swims with great facility, and it may easily be supposed how advantageous it is to the creature to possess so powerful a rudder as its broad, flat tail. By means of this instrument it is enabled to sink to the bottom, or pursue its course under water with the greatest celerity, and with equal quickness to raise itself to the surface, when out of the reach of its enemies. The root also (Nuphar luteum), which composes great part of the creature's food, grows at the bottom of streams of water, where are also placed the stores and branches of trees, which the animal collects as part of the provision for winter. The beaver appears to be singularly scrupulous in preserving the inside of its house perfectly clean and dry. I have observed it on leaving the water to enter its hut, pause on the threshold until it had shaken off all the drops of water from its sides and

tail, after which it betook itself contentedly to its couch."

Indians are the most common beaver-hunters, and it requires great experience to become successful. The hunt takes place in winter, and the hunter is furnished with an ice chisel, lashed to a handle four or five feet in length; with this instrument he strikes the edges of the banks as he goes along. The hollow sound produced by the blow. tells him when he is opposite one of the washes. Previously to this he has staked the river across to prevent the animals from escaping. The most expert hunters, assisted by the women, break into the beaver-houses, and the persecuted inhabitants take refuge in their washes; but although not so much exposed to observation, they are discovered with ease, and the poor animal is captured, with a hook designed for this use.

The Indians of the Missouri and Mississippi take the beavers principally by trapping, and are generally supplied with steel traps by the traders, who do not sell, but lend them, in order to keep the Indians dependent, and also to lay claim to the