le faith in the
"teeth," since I have known horses, hogs, and cattle greedily devour
both fish, flesh, and fowl.

The muskrat is easily tamed, and becomes familiar and docile. It is
very intelligent, and will fondly caress the hand of its master.
Indians and Canadian settlers often have them in their houses as pets;
but there is so much of the rat in their appearance, and they emit such
a disagreeable odour in the spring, as to prevent them from becoming
general favourites. They are difficult to cage up, and will eat their
way out of a deal box in a single night. Their flesh, although somewhat
musky, is eaten by the Indians and white hunters, but these gentry eat
almost everything that "lives, breathes, and moves." Many Canadians,
however, are fond of the flesh.

It is not for its flesh that the muskrat is so eagerly hunted. Its fur
is the important consideration. This is almost equal to the fur of the
beaver in the manufacture of hats, and sells for a price that pays the
Indians and white trappers for the hardships they undergo in obtaining
it. It is, moreover, used in the making of boas and muffs, as it
somewhat resembles the fur of the pine marten or American sable
(_Mustela martes_), and on account of its cheapness is sometimes passed
off for the latter. It is one of the regular articles of the Hudson's
Bay Company's commerce, and thousands of muskrat skins are annually
obtained. Indeed, were it not that the animal is prolific and difficult
to capture, its species would soon suffer extermination.

The mode of taking it differs from that practised in trapping the
beaver. It is often caught in traps set for the latter, but such a
"catch" is regarded in the light of a misfortune, as until it is taken
out the trap is rendered useless for its real object. As an amusement
it is sometimes hunted by dogs, as the otter is, and dug out of its
burrow; but the labour of laying open its deep cave is ill repaid by the
sport. The amateur sportsman frequently gets a shot at the muskrat
while passing along the bank near its haunts, and almost as frequently
misses his aim. The creature is too quick for him, and dives almost
without making a bubble. Of course once in the pool it is seen no more.

Many tribes of Indians hunt the muskrat both for its flesh and skin.
They have peculiar modes of capturing it, of one of which the
hunter-naturalist gave an account. A winter which he had spent at a
fort in the neighbourhoo