tirely without hair, of a dark
colour, and looking as though it was covered with the well-known
substance shagreen. It was about a foot in length, several inches broad
and thick, and not at all unlike a cricket bat--except that it appeared
heavier and more oval-shaped at the end. The animals were somewhat
larger than otters, not so long, but much thicker and heavier in the
body.

"I had never seen such creatures before, but I knew at once what they
were--for although I had neglected my other studies, natural history had
always been my favourite, and I had made some progress in that. I knew,
then, that the strange beings before me were _beavers_--the _castor
fibre_ of the naturalists.

"The whole mystery was now explained. A colony of beavers had migrated
into the valley, and constructed their dam; and this it was which had
caused the sudden inundation.

"I remained for some time, after I had made the discovery, watching
these creatures and their interesting movements. The breastwork
appeared to be quite finished; but this did not follow from the fact
that the animals were no longer at work upon it, as it is only by night
they perform such labour. In fact, they are rarely seen except by
night, in countries where they have been disturbed or hunted; but here
they were evidently unaccustomed to man. They appeared to be resting
after their night's work, it is not likely that they had built the whole
breastwork during that one night, but had only put on the finishing part
which had produced the sudden flood. As the glade above where they had
dammed the rivulet was nearly level, a very small stoppage in the stream
sufficed to inundate a large extent of ground, as it had actually done.

"Some of the beavers were sitting upon the newly-raised work, gnawing
the leaves and twigs that stuck out from the mud; others were washing
themselves, disporting playfully through the water; while others
squatted upon logs that lay along the edge of the dam, every now and
again flapping their heavy tails upon the water, like so many
laundresses beating out their wet linen.

"It was a curious and comical sight; and, after having enjoyed it for
some time, I was about to step forward to witness what effect my
presence would produce, when, all at once, I perceived that some other
object had created a sudden commotion among the animals. One of them,
who had been stationed upon a log at some distance up the lake, and
apparently acting