The sun., 1901-10-06
KILLING OFF The MUSK RATS.
DANCER or THEM EXTINCTION
ALONG THE GREAT LANES.
Like the Besvers They Are Great Bul,ders
Their Houses In the s~sn,p- iesped
20 Settle the West Methods Of Hunt.
ers That Threaten Their Extermin atIep.

'u' "'a'fr AZ" hhHlfd a. what looks Ike
the probable determination within the
next score OF years OF the musk rats and a
movement b under way 10 secure the pa.-
sage OF laws for their protection
The musk rat resembles the beave more
nearly than any other animal bu, tho re-
semblance Is only a very general one. Il
h three or four times a- large ~ its nani,-
sake. the Common house rat Its fur is
brown and its tail fa,. barc Of fur and
pointed. something more than half an
inch In width. In habits IL rc-emtIes tho
beaver. living IN stroams. and lakes and
swampe II does not cut down large tres.
nor make dams like the beaver. vet /, ia a
great builder,
It's dwellings may bc seen on anv marsh
which 1t inhabi,s looking much Hike hay
cpcks rising OUT ~ the water II il in
| tercsting to watch the building Of the.s
houses One NAV do ~ II he will take
his station on tn. t,lge Of such marsh nt
twilight or in the early dawn or on a moon
light night. Lot him keep perfectly still
and he will 80" the animals at work HIS
| first ghmpses will bc Of rats swimming
One OF the animals IN the water looks
! like n short and narrow black stick Then
there appears a waving something on tho
surface Of the water Just behind the stick.
! This u the animals tail. Swimming TO the
shore or 10 some bunch of grass that rises
/ from the water the rat will bite IN a few
rIshc- or flags and aking them In his mouth
| will swim away Ia the place where his house
l. being built There they are worked
into the pile that makes the home Of the
| musk rat family
II the watcher makes n noise or IA any
way reveals himself he will tho rear
part of the swimming stick arise while the
/ front disappears u ndcrreath tho water
! Then there l. splash, a chug. and tho
rat is gone. He will not appear again for
some time nj least, not that he can remain
indefinitely under water for such l. not
the case hut be will come up IN one Of hl'
houses or In a hole In the bank
Thess houses are masa.s ~ reeds and
grass, resting on the bottom and rising
two feet or more above the water Wien
the animal enters huu-" he dives and
approaches the entrance. which IL always
under " a;cr By this he rises 80 the centre
of the pile - reeds which maacs up the houss
and there finds himself above the water
line la "A snug nest hnci With the softest
grass that the sw a!sp anords
On streams the musk rH, has different
sort - residence There he u cave
dwellcr. He digs holes In the hank with
an entrance underneath the water This
entrance IL generally Invisible from above
and the rat Is not 80 easily discovered "a
IN his house His den In the bank il gen
orally roomy and well lined with grass
The legitimate me'hod II taking IN"
animals Il with tho steei trap The trap
must b. set where there l. water deep
enough to drown the rat II IL generally
surrounded on three sides with pen. made
10y driving sticks In the ground. tn"
trap II -et at the open side of the prn. and
behind II are placed. sticking up above
the trap on short sticks, one OF two sliCs-
of one ~ the vegetables the rats like
The-s are preferably carrots OF parsnips or
sweet apples
/ The raj steps into the trap in his aitcmp,
20 get the halt. then plunging Ia the end
~ the chain and diving into he deep water
he finds himself So hamper~f by the weight
81 the trap that he browns Every trapp"r
learns early In his career that the matter -
having deep water To- drown the rat ~ on"
Of the e--en initials IL there IL not water
enough the capturd animal will, min"
times out ~ ten, twist and gnav at hir foot
until the latter l. left IN the trap and the
| rat goes away on thrne legs On creek
where the professional trapper does not
60 and where the small boy IL the only
/ one who does any trapping there will
ba more thr~e-legg'Si rats than there arr
crpplei army veterans In th. usual village
II would not be- at all inexact Ia say that
the muskrat has played an important part
In American civilization. Tor lts pr~-.nc"
| In the unsettled regions 81 the Middle West
was a decided help 10 the pioneers. many
| of whom spent the au'umn- IN trapping
| and thus made money To- help themselves
/ along the struggle with the forest and ia"
seasons Of crop failure lts fur is not ~
valuable a. that Of mink, coon or skunk
B In fact 10 cents a pelt l. a very good average
price, though from midwinter until early
! spring. when the cold weather has brought
/ the fur To prime condition, II often brings
D a. much a. rs or even 10 cents The anima j.
were In early DAYS numerous that ihcr"
| was money in their trapping. and the "S-
| pert Would often take two dozen or more
| In q single night
While found on almost all streams
! throughout the country the great hon"
| of the musk rat l. In the marshes that bofder
! the Great Lakes Along the southwestern
shores 81 Lake Erie are almost endless
swamp They extend from Ssndusky
Raw "a Monroe on the western end Of IN"
lake and from Monroe follow northward
along the Detroit River 20 the famous
| ~ Clair Flats.
On Lake Michigan i!sewis- the marshes
are extensive. Most important ~ all ar"
I tho-e on the west shorr of that lake They
surround Green Bay ard cXt"nd westward
around Lake MinD-hagp and all the lakes
that have made this part of Wisconsin
famous These marshes cover thousands
upon thousands of acres They arr grown
up 10 wild rice, riHhcs aud Tags who's"
"a tails MS" brown and pretty a. far a.
III" eve can se~
Thc rcsdents of thc.-s marsh regions are
lictur"sque charact"rS In early days
whom ID" French werc pushing their way
n trapI-rs. explorers and fur dealers
down the ~. Lawrence. the Great lakes
and tho Mississippi, thesc -wamp- gained
their h-st Inhabitants. A later CiViliza-
tlon came ana surrounded th" marshes
with en'erprsing men who made farms on
cv"rN Et ~ good ground Thev pros
prr~d and the swamp -dw"llers might have
followed their example bui they preferred
The sNamps Thcw was something m their
blood. something handed down froin adj
vrnturous French fathers and the Indian
moth"rs that chained them TO tho swanI-
and their traps
Living where tho ground rose higher
than usual on the banks ~ hayous 80 on
muddy Islands which hcrr and there dotted
th" marsh they pushed about th" chaisl.l-
ana i@ndS ~ 'ano"s. --i'ing their 'rau-
] - catching fish ~ shooting luck- MANY
l-noat" locally iamous a. giud,-- tu Iarti-s
Who cam" cut nom IA" city tc q, duck
hunting Ia the region of Iak. II Clair
som" ~ tlirin went farther and from tax
ing a hunter into their cabins TOW aud then
to brand for a frw davs increased th,
T CAPACITY - their dw"lilng~ ard in tim,
lHussoincd into quaint ODD inn k~-I-rs
Bat ih~~c sr" itH exceptions IL. aver
aFr eguuf-dN ssllHr T. sfftf.IN l.,Ltvy a.,