The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-02-20
THE MUSkRAT.
Habits of the Animal and How He Makes
Himself Valuable to His Mortal Enc
Ina


mics.
The muskrat is a very dainty cater
and one of the swell members of the
animal kingdom. He not only washes
himself before and after he eats, but ho
washes all his food and observes tho
rule of cleanliness with unvarying regu-
larity. Personally he is n short
legged little animal. from twelve to fiji
teen inches long, with n tail two-third'
the length of his body. He sports six
rows of side-whiskers, and he wears a
scared, surprised sort of an expression
on his rather homely face that makes
him look as if at some time he had been
guilty of some great crime. His dress
is u e!ul rs well as ornamental. 1t is
of hair. very soft and warm, dark
brown on top, and rather lighter be-
low He is good feeder, and his bill
of fare embraces roots. grasses, vegcta-
b,es. fruits and mussels. He can shuck
n mussel as easily rs 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 skinning and cooking. If the
musk-bag is cut and the scent Is iInpart-
ed to the meat it becomes worthless.
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 50 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, CT, if she wants it TRIED,
parbo;ls it and fires it afterward. When
served hot after the foregoing treat
ment it is dish not to be de5pised.
The meat resembles the flesh of the
guinea, and tastes something like that
of the SOU rrel. 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 1t
on Goals or boil it with corn.
Muskrat hunting on mill-ponds, how.
. ever, is mere bagatelle compared with
the sport on the marshes along the great
: rivers of the Chesapeake. Tney 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 wafer, rushing through these holes,
enlarge them until they assume danger
, Gus proportions. Last winter a co!ored
: man along the Wicomico fell through
, one, got stuck in mud, and was
, drowned. The. hunters on the marshes
| have various methods of ensnaring
5 the animal One way is to place a
f lead trap in one of their burrows.
= The muskrat is not very cunning
as regards snares, and he falls prey
r easily. These traps sometimes catch
hundreds in Il single season. Another
, plan is rather a cruel one The hunter
arms himself with Il weapon consisting
, of stout handle, from which extend
| several long sharp wires, ike the or
binary gig. With this he probes the
!. muskrSt'i bed. and Woe be to the ami
4 NAL that happens to be beneath Tx
r wires But the best instrument, afte1
: all, is breech-loading shotgun, wit!
: two or three dozen shells load ed will
f coarse shot and plenty of powder t.
@ scatter item well and drive them home
f Frequently on these marshes the ole
a hunters shoot by sound, as the muskra
r can not always be seen. They have
. too. a way of calling them out by imi
/ tat.ng their noises. The best sine fo
Y shooting i; from just before dayhrcal
!. to sunrise The evening is general.
Is more convenient, but the mus&rats az
Y not stirring around as much as durln:
the early hours of morning.-COr. Bait
4 more Ame,L;dn.