Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 25.djvu/23

Rh position, but not inclined to be social except among immediate relatives. They are also the perfection of neatness and cleanliness, possessed of very acute sight, hearing, and smell; and, when domesticated, very interesting and even affectionate pets.



During the summer they are more inclined to solitary habits, except where a new settlement demands their energies; but in autumn they appear in families, which remain unbroken until the following spring. About the middle of August the busy season begins, and each and every one, both great and small, assist in repairing the dam and dwellings, which for some months have been allowed to fall into neglect and unrepair. Trees are felled and cut into suitable lengths, and, along with stones and clods, dragged laboriously to the scene of labor until all is made again secure against ice and cold. Other trees, such as larch, willow, birch, and aspens, are cut up into billets and twigs, and stored for the food their bark affords, against possible want. Their perseverance in this work, the labor expended, and the strength of teeth and jaws, may be fairly estimated by the stumps that remain, as they are found of all diameters, from the smallest brush-wood to growths a foot or more in diameter. I have seen stumps that measured but a fraction less than sixteen inches.

It is with the front or incisor teeth that the cutting is done, and they are eminently adapted to the work, being long, square-crowned, and with edges beveled in the same way as is the carpenter's chisel known as a "firmer"; and the rapidity with which the work is performed may well astonish one who is fortunate enough to witness their proceedings.

Commencing at a height of twelve or fourteen inches from the