tails and swim with their cargoes elevated above and free from the water.  When they arrive at an unfinished point of the dam they dump the mud and mould it in place.  Their houses they have previously built in the river banks.  These consist of holes which lead into large and airy subterranean rooms, and which are above the water-mark.  In these houses they are said to sleep and live in pairs; and, if we could believe the story of the trapper related many pages back, they imitate human beings in managing their household and in keeping house.  The main object they have in staying the progress of the current of the river is to afford a deep place where, having fallen numbers of trees, the deep water will preserve tender and fresh the limbs and shrubs on which to subsist during, not only time present, but also time to come.  It is well known that fresh branches of trees and young willows, when placed in water, will keep up partial life for a considerable length of time.  On this principle, the beaver acts in submerging his food deep in the water where it will retain its verdure and where the freezing process that is going on at the surface of the river will not bar his efforts in getting at his store of provisions during the winter season.  It is said that the beaver goes so far as to bundle up small branches of trees and willows which he stows away in the muddy bottom of the river.  The trapper, in his wondrous yarns, insists that there are grades of society among beavers the same as among men; and he will have it that they have their “head chiefs,” and that often individuals among them roll in wealth and that they have slaves who stand ready to do their master’s bidding at a moment’s warning; for instance, to bring them a bundle of green twigs on which to feast.  According to their imaginative stories, the life of a beaver cannot be rivaled in happiness; and if we could put full credence in their descriptions of the pastimes of the animal, his palaces and luxuries, we could only compare a beaver to a citizen of Venice in her most palmy days—­the difference between the two being, that the former enjoyed himself more in the water than the latter did on it in his favorite gondola.

The beaver, when captured young, can be sufficiently domesticated to make him a pet; but their unattractive form is anything but an ornament to the house.  With young children, they are very friendly, though their disposition is amiable to any one.  They are very neat in their person and, when moved from their comrades and domiciled with human beings, nothing do they so much like as being allowed the daily privilege of taking a clean bath.  When thus engaged, they are a curiosity to look at, as they are very agile and particular in removing every particle of dirt.  We remember seeing one of these pets in the Mexican town of Culebro thus enjoying himself.  His owner hesitated not in taking the animal to the river, which was close by, and giving him his freedom.  On finishing his ablutions the beaver returned to where his owner was standing, without making an effort to escape, and by a look as much as said, “I am ready to return to your home.”