Show she wouldn't bring them to me — not during their first few weeks of life I decided to go to them youngsters would line up on the dam beside me to comb their fur and often their mother joined them Meanwhile the drought was having drastic effects on our stream No rain came and the water level dropped steadily By the first of September the beavers were wallowing through mud to get to the brief exciting ride across the surface on her tail Whiskers taught mostly by example but on The old lodge was dry and deserted but downsion she admonished them with a sharp hiss Both she one chinked and plastered and her brood talked together in soft murmur and stream I saw a brand-newith fresh mud From inside came the frenzied mewwhines The little ones' voices became strident only when disputing ownership of a stick They loved to ing of beaver kittens Then while I sat in polite silence on the root of a big wl--cedar tree two baby :r7)4 beavers popped out They swam around awkwardly i$ tipping from side to side 4 their fur fluffy and buoyant They looked less than The e Ingredient a foot long with their tiny secis heat paddle tails 1 occa- w dam ti r! his lodge Evidently construction was far from finished for he labored day after day often at noon usually building up one side at a time A favorite material was old cedar roots from the bottom of the creek Equipped with furry folds which may be closed be- hind his cutting teeth a beaver can gnaw comfort- ably while submerged And he can hold his breath for ten minutes or more The rasp of Greenbrier's teeth came muffled and hollow as he gnawed at underwater roots One evening four babies came out Three wore conventional dark brown The fourth had honey-blond- e fur — I named her Goldy The kits were about a month old by then still awkward and Broken dams had let the water rush away in flood 1 LI Then time and piles of dry ii ' branches showed where ancient food tufts Ns:uhere : II -'— moo"' F LI ) 4e -- fi e I! ' - - z) - I ' l i 1- 104""4'41:10104 s4t1 tt :I al-b174tfli- c191 " ' 0 iC- - w 0 4 1 ''''4 1 - — - 0- ''- - ' a ri c '' " Ahoa0oNA - 0 4 k:- -- i 1 i ' ' it ' ' 1 I ' : ' ! I ) Now - ' : A t ' 1 - - r 1 J I k:4:Z t ' ? 1'4 11'1 ''':'71 'qPJ I ' t t Po'''''''''''''''- - -- - ' 1 if crumbing away never en b had ytsh ewthrifty oonnees 14 Q i ( --"-- -"' ‘ j 0 '' t k Il N i i " - - rirre:' t - -- :11a 4- ''''''''76a15e — t E - - - tIIIIINIO ONOIESUN INAMOUUS sr ' k- 471' 1 "Arlit N itt tal Cason" - — - ----- Walls al 68 k - ' t eTpit 0011 CINICAL CO 44444 Allnew j Ii '11 -- 11PILW If 1 i 4 pREHEAT OVaile one POtolos sssisssmssome - - Dow Oven Cleaner teams up with the heat of your oven 1f lt t Dow Oven Cleaner with ammonia teams up with the 2000 heat of your own oven! Result: oven cleaning that's quicker and easier than you ever had it before No gloves needed either when used as directed It works in all gas and electric ovens—in 5 minutes And Dow Oven ma'am we mean works! Powerful Cleaner Now at stores right near you Get a can—and' you'll never want to clean a cold oven again I --4 tt't - -- - all-ne- k anbd up y tookagain and one beaver-witchin- g after- - noon I made a trip pt downstream to discover how the water was holding out There had been only a few sprinkles of rain and the upereek and main pond were still dry Below all was different A series of small new dams cut the 8 creek at intervals of about oo feet and each held back its share of water in a generous pool All a:ang the bank on each side gleamed new-cstumps Piles of Whiskers and of white chips showed the her clan For nearly a mile there was an abundance hadn't come of water conserved though In one of the pools Fluffy appeared swimming beside me He circled in the water regarding me with interest "Hi!" I called "You're doing a great (THE END) And I left the stream to his care 1 artratn:-mnammrensmialrav hesitant in their movements They ate clumsily holding poplar twigs in delicate hands tussling over disputed sticks with vexed whines Sometimes one would drop his twig then examine empty hands in a puzzled manner The mother often joined them and they greeted her with eager whines She liked to cuddle one in her arms and roll over and over in the water Sometimes one of the babies climbed onto her back or took a eat- - with them the drought in- surance they had once so aptly provided No wonder our big pond was dry with the ghost of a channel winding through it I returned home much disturbed Where was Whiskers and her family? Then below the main dam at the pond I suddenly found fresh ruud plastered on an old beaver lodge and one afternoon saw a little blonde beaver swimming in a quiet pool It was Croldy I tendered her a willow branch but she edged away so I left In an hour I tiptoed back to find her eating She soon became friendly as ever A few days later the whole family were assembled to partake of my bounty Works in 5 minutes! f they destroyed and isolated pools of stagnant mud - Greenbrier the arrived and work on his lodge With his mouth he towed a stick diving along the way to gather a big armload of mud Rising on his hind feet he stalked up the steep side of the lodge carrying the mud in his arms the stick trailing from his mouth I watched him for an hour or more while the sky darkened and the moon shone He often stopped for refreshment feeling small ilex stems and alder bushes from which he ate offberries and leaves working the leavings into Suddenly stopped coming I walked three or four miles up the dry stream bed looking for them past old beaver works long since h roll floating logs nudging them along with a as well as deft paws They engaged in many a wrestling bout both in the water and out Before the summer had passed the boldest whom I had named Fluffy would paddle up to the dam: clamber over and make straight for my bonanza of poplar branches — while I held him in my lap and scratched behind his ears Sometimes at dusk all four nose-pus- ut teeth-mar- ks sky-wat- er job" 4 THIS WEEK Magazin Nord 20 19645 - IS |