The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-20

westward around Lake Winnebago, and
all the lakes chat have made this part
of Wisconsin famous. These marshes
cover thousands upon thousands CT acres.
Ihey are grown up to wild rice, PUSHES
and flags, whose cat tails rise brown and
pretty as far as the eye can see.
Inc residents of these. marsh regions
are picturesque characters. In early days
when the French were pushing their way
as trappers, explorers and fur dealers
down the st. Lawrence, the great lakes
and the Mississippi, these swamps gain
ed their first inhabitants. later civili-
eaton came and surrounded the marshes
with enterprising men who made farms
on every bit of good ground. They pros
pered, and the SWamp-dwcllers might
nave followed their example, but they
preferred the swamps There was some
thing in their blood, something handed
down from the adventurous French faith
ers and the Indian mothers, that chained
them to the SWampS and their traps
Living where the ground rose higher
than usual on the banks Of bayous or
on muddy islands which here and there
dotted the marsh, they pushed about the
channelS and ponds in canoes setting
their traps or catching fish or shooting
ducks Many became locally famous as
guides to parties who came out from tho
city to go duck hunting. In the region
OF Lake st. Clair some of them went
farther, and from taking hunter into
their cabins now and then to board for
a rev days, increased the capacity Of
into quaint old innkeeperS.
But these are the exceptions. The aver
age sWamp-dWeller is entirely lacking in
ambition and is content with the lot that
musk rat not merely for the income
which they derive from the sale of peltry
but also for it's eating qualities. The
animal lives on vegetables almost, if not
quite, altogether, and its flesh certainly
looks like good eating. Dinners of musk
rat long ago became famous in the
marshes. Now and then hunter from
the outside world would accept an in
vitation to be present Stories are com
mon too, of hunters who ate what they
supposed to be squirrels and after ex-
pressing satisfaction learned that the dish
was musk rat
These swamp people have not realized
the Importance of preserving the re-
sources of the marsh. They have slaugh-
tered the ducks in season and out. They
nave killed them with every sort Of
weapon from the smooth bore musket to
the swivel gun. They have speared pike,
bass and sturgeon recklessly. Now they
are in a fair way to eXterminate the
musk rats.
The slaughter takes place in winter.
The trapper kills rats by the legitimate
methods as long as the waters remain
open. When the sWamps freeze over, steel
traps are of little use and the slaughter
begins. The hunter takes a long one-tin-
ed spear, heavy and very sharp. With
this he approaches the musk rats house
S>h'
may send the rats into the water Then
raising the spear in both hands he drives
it through the house from top to bot
tom, aiming to penetrate the nest that
lies hidden within. If he does so he will
probably feel the writhing of an impaled
rat.
A companion is at hand with an ak
aud pitchfork He tears away the top
of the house and the rat is dispatched.
Then the slayers move on to the next
attack. In the course of an afternoon
from a dozen to twenty houses will be
destroyed. Usually there will be several
rats in each. AS one or two are all that
can be impaled at a stroke, the rest, rem
dered homeless, dive and for the time
escape: But they are pretty certain to.
die. They can remain under water for
a short time only. Thee are two ways
in which they may get air They may
rise at an air hole or they may go into
some other house. If they attempt the
former they are met with a charge OF
shot from gun in the hands of the man
who carries the ak and pitchfork. If
they go into other houses their refuge
is only temporary, for the hunters go
there also. Every morning after days
hunt the ratcatchers go out upon the ice
looking for frozen rats. Often they find
almost as many as they have killed dur
ing the hunt.
Driven to despair, the rats sometimes
find strange hiding places. A farmer near
this place one morning found a homeless
rat cuddled up and sleeping costly with a
DfQON OF S6IIer pups. IL IS not uQcOIu-
mon for them to leave the marsh and to
make homes in some barn, or pig pen.
In one or two cases they have gone into
cellars, and once a rat went into a kitch-
en- through the cathode and was busily en-
gagged in making a nest in basket of
carpet rags when the matron entered and
alarmed the rat and family alike with
her shrieks.
This slaughter of the animals threatens
to make a decided scarcity in muskrat
fur. If it continues at the present rate
for few years the rats will be prac-
tically eXterminated in the marshes of
the lake region. Then there will be a
jump in price and pelts will become so
valuable that the rats will be hunted
and trapped on every stream and pond,
with the result that their extinction will
be a mere matter of time.
The law now forbids the destruction of
mCskrat houses. The swamp jewellers are
not law-abiding, however. A few of the
sportsmen's club have taken the matter
up. and by giving one man the trap
ping rights on condition that he shall
keep trappers off, and that he shall pro-
tect the muskrats, have checked the
slaughter SO far as their own preserves
are concerned. This, however, is only
very small beginning and unless some
better method of protection is devised
the muskrat is doomed to go the way of
the otter.