ere
beaver-dams have accumulated deposits of greater or less extent than
those on the Grand River.

Only a few beaver remain, and though much of their work will endure
to serve mankind, in many places their old work is gone or is going
to ruin for the want of attention. We are paying dearly for the
thoughtless and almost complete destruction of this animal. A live
beaver is far more valuable to us than a dead one. Soil is eroding
away, river-channels are filling, and most of the streams in the
United States fluctuate between flood and low water. A beaver colony
at the source of every stream would moderate these extremes and add to
the picturesqueness and beauty of many scenes that are now growing
ugly with erosion. We need to cooeperate with the beaver. He would
assist the work of reclamation, and be of great service in maintaining
the deep-waterways. I trust he will be assisted in colonizing our
National Forests, and allowed to cut timber there without a permit.

The beaver is the Abou-ben-Adhem of the wild. May his tribe increase.

The Wilds without Firearms

Had I encountered the two gray wolves during my first unarmed
camping-trip into the wilds, the experience would hardly have
suggested to me that going without firearms is the best way to enjoy
wild nature. But I had made many unarmed excursions beyond the trail
before I had that adventure, and the habit of going without a gun was
so firmly fixed and so satisfactory that even a perilous wolf
encounter did not arouse any desire for firearms. The habit continued,
and to-day the only way I can enjoy the wilds is to leave guns behind.

On that autumn afternoon I was walking along slowly, reflectively, in
a deep forest. Not a breath of air moved, and even the aspen's golden
leaves stood still in the sunlight. All was calm and peaceful around
and within me, when I came to a little sunny frost-tanned grass-plot
surrounded by tall, crowding pines. I felt drawn to its warmth and
repose and stepped joyfully into it. Suddenly two gray wolves sprang
from almost beneath my feet and faced me defiantly. At a few feet
distance they made an impressive show of ferocity, standing ready
apparently to hurl themselves upon me.

Now the gray wolf is a powerful, savage beast, and directing his
strong jaws, tireless muscles, keen scent, and all-seeing eyes are
exceedingly nimble wits. He is well equipped to make the severe
struggle for existence which his present environmen