The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-06-19

enough, with a little crowdlng, to ac-
conlnodateS whole family II beavers.
There was only one other heavy task,
and that was the gathering Of the wood
which, with it's bark, was to serve as
food through the winter. This, too, was
finally finished, and the very last things
that the beavers did that fall were to
put another coat OF mud on the outside
of the lodge and to see that the dam was
in the best possible condition. No re-
pairing could be done after the ice made;
and If the dam should give way at any
time during the winter the pond would
be drained and the entrances Of the lodge
and the burrow would be thrown open
to any proving marauders that might
happen to pass that way. So 1t was Inn
perat.ve to have things In good order
before cold weather came on.
# 1t was a peaceful time q time OF rest
from the labors of the past year and of
growing fat and strong for those OF the
year to come. We have much goods laid
up for many months let us eat, drink
and be merry, and hope that the trappers
Will not come Tomorrow
The babies came In May, and sup
pose that the young father and mother
were almost as proud and happy as
some of you who are in similar circum-
stances. The beaver did not wander very
far from home that spring and summer,
nor was he away very long at time.
There were five of the Children and
they We're very pretty-about as large
as rats, and covered with thick, soft.
silky, reddish-brown fur, but without
any Of tho longer coarser. chestnut-col-
ored hairs that formed their parents
outer coats They were very playful too,
as the father and mother had been in
their own youthful days. For a while
they had to be nursed, like other ba-
bies: but by and by he old beavers be-
gan to bring In little twlgs for them,
about the size Of lend-pencils; and If you
had been there. and your eyes had been
sharp enough to pierce the gloom. you
might have seen the youngsters exercs-
TO nlt np and hold sticks In their baby
hands while they ate the bark.
Ono OF the children was killed by an
otter before the summer was over but
I am glad to say that the other four
grew up and were a credit TO their par
ents,
The babies were not the only addition
to the new city during that year, for
about midsummer another pair Of bcav-
ers came and built n lodge near the
upper end Of the pond. It was busy
season for evcrybody--for our old friends
as we'll as for the newcomers. The food
sticks which had been peeled Of their
bark during the winter furnished q good
supply of construction material, and the
dam was built up several inches higher
and was heightened to the buttress tree
on one slide and for n distance Of two or
three rods on the other SO as to keep
the water from flowing around the ends.
AS tho water level rose 1t became ncces-
sary to build up the floor of the lodge In
order to keep 1t from being Hooded and
that, In turn. necess.tated raising tho
ne Go EI r,lc
1t out from within and adding moro ma
terlal on the outside. In the same way
the lodge waa made both longer and
broader, to accommodate the growing fam
lily and the still further increase that
was to be expected the following spring,
More burrows wcre dug In the shore OF
the pond--you can't have too many OF
them-and a much larger stock of food
wood was gathered, for there were six
mouths instead of Two, to DO fed through
The coming winter, The father and moth
er worked very hard, and even the babies
helped with the lighter tasks, such as
carrying home small branches and mend
ing leaks in the dam, The second pair
of beavers was also busy With lodge and
burrow and storehouse, and SO the days
slipped by very rapidly,
Only once that year did n man come
10 town, and then he did not do anything
very dreadful. He was not q trapper,
he was only an amatler naturalist who
wanted to see the beavers at their work,
and who thought he was smart enough
to catch them at it, HIS, plan was simple
enough; he made breach III the dam
one night, and then climbed q tree and
waited for them to come and mend u.
It was bright moonlight, and she thought
he would see the WHOLE thing and learn
come wonderful secrets.
The beaver was at work In the woods
not very far away, and presently he
came down to the edge of the pond,
rolling a heavy birch cutting before him,
He noticed at once that the water Was
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