Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-17
c,5ApTER xIx-(Continued).

,n,s.ned ,ns the usual law OF nature. would
q io.o" ., mated and left the colony to build
p,sr, and lodges of their own Ihey
# ted but did not emigrate'
mh.eu' ovt year the second generation OF
.ss.n now four years old mated, but
en.., Ieave. SO that In this early summer
nio ~ sixth year the colony was very
oi % ute a great city that had been
mu ~ hssleped by an enemy 1t numbered
. wsssages and over 100 beavers, not count
y, nc fourth babies which had been born
lns ~ March and April. The dam had
81 ourhs, s,onotbened until 1t was fully 20C
~ ~. IN length Water had been made to
81 !a. ~ large areas of birch and poplar and
Ed n,ad nvvu swamps of tender willow and
ins ~. EVEN with this food was growing
sr.rrs sS and the lodges we're overcrowded.
81 -A,s ,vas because beavers are almost
Il an in their love for home. Broken
raa,hs lodge was fully nine feet long
~ seyen wide inside, and there were
Il ssr living in It children and grandchil-
4 Am 10 the number of ~ For this rea-
~ Broken Tooth was preparing to break
~ ~ nrecedent Of his tribe. When Kazan
W VA sray Wolf shifted carelessly at the
s,sarg scents of the beaver city. Broken
T.oth was marshaling his family and
Il - of his sons and their families for
4 the exodus.
A.. 20, Broken Tooth was the recognized
n ,.ador In the colony. NO other beaver had
srovn 10 his size and strength. His
E ss,cr body was fully three feet long. He
& reIehed at least 60 pounds. mis- tail was
!. inches In length and FIVE In width. and
- q stsi night he could strike the water
hJon, that could be heard a quarter of
mile away. His webbed hindfeet were
tw,ce as large as his mates and he was
i s,silv the swiftest swimmer In the colony.
Eoilovng the afternoon when Gray
troIf and Kazan struck into the north
came the clear still night when Broken
Tooth climbed to the top of the dam,
sbook himself. and looked down to see
that his army was behind him. The star
/ Il, water of the big pond rippled and
dashed with the movement of many
/ bodies few of the older beavers
. siambered I'D after Broken Tooth and
,hatold patriarch plunged down into the
narrow stream on the other side OF the
I dam Now the shining silken bodies OF
ma emigrants followed him in the star
\ light. In ones and twos and threes they
\ climbed over the dam, and with them
\ went dozen children born three months
before Easily and swiftly they began
4 ,be Journey downstream, the youngsters
+ swjnming furlously to keep up with their
pafents In all they numbered 10. Broken
Tooth swan well in the lead with his
/ older workers and battlers behind him.
In the rear followed mothers and children.
All of that night the journey continued.
The otter, their deadliest enemy-dead-
Her even than man-hid himself in
thick cump of willows as they passed
Nature which sometimes sees beyond the
vision OF man, had made him the enemy
Of these creatures that were passing his
f hiding place in the night. - fish-feeder.
he was born to be a Conserver as well as
destroyer Of the creatures on which he
fed
Perhaps nature told him that too many
beaver dams stopped the run of spawn
j ing fish, and that where there were many
beavers there were always few tsh.
Maybe he reasoned as to why fsh-hunt-
Ing was poor and he went hungry. So
unable toSGope singly with whole tribes
Of his enemies. he worked to destroy
their dams How this, in turn, destroyed
he beavers will be seen in the feud In
Z which nature had already schemed that
! fs should play a part with kazan and
& Gray Wolf
dozen times during this night Broken
Tooth halted to investigate the food sup
Plies along the banks. But in the two
/ tf three places where he found plenty
] Of the bark on which they lived 1t would
/ have been difficult to have constructed
dam. His wonderful engineering in
stinets rose even above food instincts
And when each time he moved onward
no beaver questioned his Judgment by
remaining behind. In the early dawn
they crossed the burn and came to the
edge of the swamp domain of Kazan and
Gray Wolf. BY right of discovery and
Possession that swamp belonged to the
dog and the wolf. In every part of it
hey had left their mark of ownership.
But Broken Tooth was creature OF the
water and the scent of his tribe was not
IIo lad SLOWLY
When they entered the timber Just be-
low the windfal home of Kazan and
Gray Wolf he halted, and clambering
tshore balanced himself upright on his
lsebbed hindfeet and broad four-pound
lail. Here he had found ideal conditions,
a dam could be constructed easily across
me narrow stream and the water could
be made to flood big supply OF poplar,
birch, willow and alder. Also the place
was sheltered by heavy timber, so that
NE winters would be warm. Broken
Tooth quickly gave his followers to un-
aerstand that this was to be their new
home. On both sides of the stream they
warmed into the nearby timber. The
babies began at once to nibble hunsrily
I the tender bark of willow and alder
me older ones, every one of them now
working engineer, Investigated excited
y, breakfasting by nibbliny off a mouth
il Of bark now and then.
Nhdl udy the MOrk OF hOme-D DulldlnB
psgan, Broken Tooth Himself selected a
plg birch that leaned over the stream,
anq began the work of cutting through
ne ten-lnch butt with his three long
'seth Though the old patriarch had lost
one tooth, the three that remained had
ne1 deteriorated with age. Tho outer
sqse OF them was formed of the hardest
Mtmel the inner side was OF soft ivory.
.hsE were like the finest steel 'chisels,
'ns enamel never wearing away and the
sQ'lef ivory replacing itself year by year
was consumed. Sitting ON his hind
.ss9, with his forepaws resting against
rs rs Tree and with his heavy tail giving
e.n q nrm balance, Broken Tooth began
s4ning narrow ring entirely around
~ nee He worked tirelessly for sew
~ hours. and when at last he stopped
rest another workman took up the
-e Meanwhile dozen beavers were
sIa az work cutting timber. Long be-
we Broken Tooth's tree was ready to
~ 4efoss the stream a smaller poplar
.esnea into the water. The cutting on
ne dig birch was in the shape of an
sYaf-siass. In 20 minutes II fell straight
eeeross the creek. While the beaver pre-
-s te do most of his work at night he
day iaborer as well. and Broken
t'plh gave his tribe but little rest dur
~ me days that followed. With almost
k.'4an intelligence the little engineers
tesN ~, Al their task. Smaller trees were
ee'sa, and these were cut into four or
s--sioot lengths. One by one these
ls.ns were rolled 10 the stream. the
sefs pushing them with their heads
~ aorepaws. and by means OF brush
-A4 small hmbR thew were fastened Sc