St. Landry democrat., 1885-03-07
THE MusKRAT.

Habits of the Animal and How He Makes
Himself Valuable to His Mortal Enc
mics.
The muskrat is very dainty cater,
and one of the swell members OF the
animal kingdom. He not only washes
himself before and after he eats, but he
washes all his food and observes the
rule Of cleanliness with unvarying regu-
larity. Personally he is short
legged little animal, from twelve to fif-
teen inches long, with a tail two-thirds
the length of his body. He sports six
rows,of side-whiskers, and he wears
scared, surprised sort Of an expression
on his rather homely face that makes
him look as # at some time he had been
guilty of some great crime. His dress
IS useful as well as ornamental. It is
of hair, very soft and warm, dark
brown on top, and rather lighter be-
low. He is a good feeder, and his bill
of fare embraces roots, grasses, Vegeta-
bles, fruits and mussels. He can shuck
mussel as easily as a champion
shucker can handle an oyster. Some
times he eats meat, but this is rare. He
is mainly vegetarian. At this sea-
son, however, he goes rather heavy on
mussels, and, for evident reasons, he
always takes them raw.
The uses of the muskrat are twofold.
Its hide is sold to furriers. Formerly,
when muskrat was fashionable, the hides
easily brought twenty-five or thirty
cents, but nowadays ten or fifteen cents
is all they are worth. As food the ex-
cellence of the meat depends altogether
on the SHINING and cooking. If the
musk-bag is cut and the scent is impart-
ed to the meat it becomes worthless. l
asked a colored woman who is some
what noted for her success in making
muskrat palatable, how she treated the
animal. She said she skinned it very
carefully; washed it well in fresh water;
soaked it for several hours in salt water,
and then, if the weather was cold
enough. hung it in the air so that it
would freeze. The longer it is allowed
to freeze the better it gets. The cold
takes away the wild taste. After this
she either steWs it, or, if she wants fried,
parboils it and fries it afterWard. When
served hot after the foregoing treat
ment it is dish not to be despised.
The meat resembles the flesh of the
guinea, and tastes something like that
of The squirrel. The gentleman, over
whose kitchen the cook alluded to pre-
sided, says that between turkey and
muskrat he prefers muskrat all the
time The way the Indians used to
treat this animal was either to toast it
on Goals or boil it with corn.
Muskrat hunting on miL-ponds, how
ever, is mere bagatelle compared with
the sport on the marshes along the great
rivers of the Chesapeake. They are
around by hundreds and thousands.
They make immense burrows, often rum
ming forty or fifty feet, in which there
are nests of reeds, where the animals
sleep. Sometimes they make tunnels
through the marsh hills; and frequently
the water, rushing through these holes,
enlarge them until they assume danger
GUS proportions. Last winter colored
man along the Wicomieo fell through
one, got stuck in mud, and was
drowned. The hunters on the marshes
have various methods of ensnaring
the animal. One way is to place a
lead trap in one Of their burrows.
The muskrat is not very cunning
as regards snares, and he falls prey
easily. These traps sometimes catch
hundreds in single season. Another
plan is rather cruel one. The hunter
arms himself with weapon consisting
Of stout handle, from which extend
several long sharp wires, like the or
binary gig. With this he probes the
muskrat's bed, and woe be to the ami
NAL that happens to be beneath the
wires. But the best instrument, after
all. is breech-loading shotgun, with
two or three dozen shells loaded with
coarse shot and plenty of powder to
scatter them well and drive them home.
Frequently on these marshes the old
hunters shoot by sound, as the muskrat
can not always be seen. They have,
too. way of calling them out by imi-
tating their noises. The best time for
shooting is from just before daybreak
to sunrise. The evening is generally
more convenient, but the muskrats are
not stirring around as much as during
the early hours of morning. Cor. BGItt-
more american.
ENcuI0M ANN nnMNHaN cENcE