Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-01-31
Thousands of Them taken on
The Maryland Marshes.
Dorchester County Leads
in This Profitable Industry.

ped to Baltimore and other large cities.
where the furriers work them into shape
for the decoration and comfort of milady
The meat is sold to the people Of the
county, who find it rich and wholesome
So between its value as an edible and its
value as IA fur producer the muskrat is II
source of considerable income to the
county, and the Importance of the i'll
dustry is far greater than might be sup
posed at first thought.
Men who formerly followed the oyster
industry have now taken to the capture
of muskrats as more remunerative.
The depletion of the oyster lands is
due to the fact that they are public
property upon which any and all can
prey The marshes. on the other hand.
where muskrats breed. are held i'll fee
simple, and the number of hunters is
limited to land owners or their tenants
The muskrat hunter is careful each year
to leave enough old rats i'll his marsh to
stock it the following year
Young muskrats have several enemies
in the animal kingdom besides man.
Formerly foxes destroyed large numbers
of them, but they themselves have been
killed out to such an extent that they
are no longer dangerous to the mnskrat
crop. Dogs also often prowl over the
rat marshes and kill and eat the young
rats. But the principal enemy that the
young rat now has to fear is the hog
In the summer time droves of hogs in
fest nearly all the marshes and soon
learn that young muskrat is dainty
morsel.
There are three methods by which the
Dorchester trapper catches the muskrat
trapping. gigglng and shooting. The
trapping is done with spring steel traps
or with chokers The choker is made
by putting a brass wire with slipnoose
in one end on long. springy pole. One
end of this pole is stuck into the ground
and the other pulled down and fastened.
straightens up aud the slipnoose catches
the rat around the neck and chokes him.
The gig is IA steel or iron instrument
with bunch of forks or prongS about
two and one half feet long. The hunter
creeps stealthily up to house where he
thinks th.re is game, and, holding his
g.sr hn,. IL. 1,.s,..
into the house. If he has struck any
rats they begin TO squeal and wriggle,
and the hunter then tears open the
house with fork he carries for the pur-
pose and kills all the transfxed rats
with blow on the head.
The life of muslrat hunter is any.
success he richly deserves it. He leaves
his home in the morning as soon as he
can see how to walk the marshes, and
begins the round of his traps. If he
has Il good catch he soon finds himself
loaded with - or 100 rats weighing TWO
or three pounds each, and with these in
saddle bags he starts for home. jumping
from tussock to tussock with an easy
step that would soon leave the unin'ti-
ated far in the rear. All marsh that is
good for rafting is cut up i'll series of
small ''islands," varying from the size
of ones head TO ten or fifteen square
feet, and i'll walking one must step on
an island" A misstep will land him
i'll a mass of mud and ooze from knee
deep to ten, fifteen, or perhaps in some
places twenty feet deep.
At home the hunter skins his game
and stretches the hides on boards to dry.
BY the time this task is finished he is
ready to go around to his traps again
and set them for the night This is his
daily routine during the hunting season
In former years only the hide of the
muskrat was valuable and the meat
was thrown away as a waste product.
but now many people consider muskrat
a delicacy, and dealers from the neigh
DOrlnp country anu JOWnS take all the
muskrat meats the trappers can spare
The catch of each hunter varies from
few hundred to several thousand IA
year, according to the industry of the
individual and the productiveness of
the marsh One hunter has gotten
more than 5000 rats in one season.
The hides or furs are purchased by
the agents of large city dealers i'll furs,
among whom there is frequently great
deal of rivalry to obtain this valuable
product.
On account of the cold weather which
has thus far obtained since the opening
of the season only a few rats have been
caught, bnt all indications point IN Il
prosperous year, and the fur will fly as
soor as the weather is mild enough to
permit trapping.
Be Sure and use that old and well-tried
remedy, Mrs WINSLow'S SOOTHING
SYRUP for children teething. Ii soothes
the child. ,softens the gums, allays all
pain, cures wind collie and is the best
remedy for diarrhaGa. Twenty five
cents bottle. III Is THE BEST OF
ALL.