The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1899-03-30
RAISING MUSKRATS.
Inc Crop Is Large in the Marshes
Of Maryland.
|,s.usanda Of Acres Are Devoted
solely to the Farming of the AMI
mails for Their Fur - How
They Are Caught.

mails for Their Fur - How
They Are Caught.
In the vast marshes of the county OF
nOrchester. stretching from Fishing
hay. near the Chesapeake on the west,
"a the Delaware line ON the east. ID
larves,ed Maryland's great muskrat
crop. Last year the catch aggregated
10000 rats, and this year, judging from
,be start already made. the crop will
he even larger. The hunting season be-
rins January and closes March 81.
The great marsh section Of Dor
chester county borders mainly on the
glsckwater, Transquakin and Chica-
.omico rivers. in the election districts
trown as Lake. Drawbridge ard Buck
,ovn. where for miles the country is
mopo,onous level. the high grass shut
ting out from view the inky waters OF
,he rivers. which. though extremely
narrow, are navigable., A few years
,ro much of the land was looked upon
IS an irredeemable waste, and it re-
NAMED part of the public domain. be-
iug the property Of the state. Farm
srs pastured their hogs upon the grass
and there was no thought that other
use might be found for these tracts.
The increase in the demand for musk
rat skins as well as for the fur of the
otter and mink changed all this, and
within the last few years the Maryland
land Office has issued patents to thou
sands of acres taken up solely with
view to muskrat farming. There are
still thousands of acres of these marsh
lsnds in the possession of the state,
more than even the land commissioners
can trace. and all to be had merely for
,he asking. Should Germany and Rus
sa, which now manifest such fond
ress for the skins OF the American
muskrat, continue to take all that we
can ship. there is no doubt that all
these waste lands will soon have own
srs. In these marshes otter and minks
we're almost as plentiful as muskrats.
but in recent years the latter have had
almost undisturbed possession and
have been protected by legislation.
The typical muskrat hunter is as pc
cular product of this region as is the
muskrat. Though he lives in a section
that is fairly reeking with malaria, the
home of chills, fever and ague and
mosquitoes. he is a picture of rugged
health. and is hardy and long lived.
The people of these marshes are plain
and simple and very hospitable. Their
homes are small and rude built, usually
one story in height and containing but
Two or three rooms. The children are
/. hardy as their parents, though in
this country q stranger can no more
Mep in good health than he can in
Cuba during the rainy season. The
muskrat builds his house in the shape
Of a mound and aims to make it high
enough to be safe from the highest
tide, but in the spring and fall tidal
waves sometimes food the little struc-
lures. drowning the young, and then
follows a shortage in the muskrat crop.
The houses are built of grass, woven
Ito sort of cloth.
There are several methods of catch
ing the little animals, the most common
being by the use Of the ordinary steel
trap and gigging. The traps are set
in the paths made by the rats in their
travels through the marshes. Gigging
furnishes the most interesting and ex-
citing sport. The gig is weapon
about three feet long, having five or
six sharp steel prongs, each 21a feet in
length and several inches apart. This
weapon is made just long enough for
a man to easily thrust it through the
grassy home of the muskrat. The hunt
W must approach these little houses
against the wind. and a windy day is
much the best for successful work.
The animals sense of smell is acute,
and on detecting the approach OF hu-
man being all the rats scamper from the
upper chamber Of the house to the
lower ones, where they are out OF reach
Of the gig. When the hunter ap-
proaches a muskrat house properly it
is not unusual for him to catch q rat
on each prong of the gig. But no mat
ter how many there may be in the
house, the first throw Of the gig is the
hunters only successful one, for those
he fails to catch then make their es-
cape.
The days hunt over, the trapper re-
turns to his home and prepares both
the fur and the flesh of the animal
for market. With remarkable rapid
ity the skin is removed. An expert
can skin a muskrat in less than half
minute. After the skin is removed
h is stretched over shingle to dry or
cure. This process requires about four
days. The outside of a rat trap
per's cabin Is always hung with punches
Of skins, and on the inside they are fire.
quently hung from the rafters. The
meat Of the rats is washed and pre-
pared for buyers who visit the marshes
almost daily. and they find ready mar
ket for the meat in nearby towns and
\ in Nam Vork and other cities The