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Some such attempt was indeed made on the present occasion, but the intense darkness was in favour of Fergus, and the searching canoes only ran into each other, while the searchers on land were still more at a disadvantage. Now, Fergus McKay was as much at home in water as an otter or a musk-rat. Indeed he had been known among his playmates in the old country as the "Water-rat."
It was very quiet along the shore of it; the frogs had long ago gone into winter-quarters, and there was not one to splash into the water when he saw me coming. I did not see a musk-rat either, though I knew where their holes were by the piles of fresh-water mussel shells that they had untidily thrown out at their front door.
Captain Bonneville immediately dispatched two spies to overtake the rival party, and endeavor to learn their plans; in the meantime, he turned his back upon the swamp and its musk-rat houses and followed on at "long camps", which in trapper's language is equivalent to long stages. On the 6th of April he met his spies returning.
Old Snow-storm most likely owed his name to a heavy fall of snow when he was a baby. I knew a chief named Musk-rat, and a pretty Indian girl who was named 'Badau'-bun' Light of the Morning." "And what is the Indian name for Old Snow-storm?" "'Be-che-go-ke-poor, my lady." "Now, nurse, will you tell me some more about Jacob Snow-storm and the otters?"
The trap was as inviting as trap could be. It said quite plainly, "Will you walk into my parlor?" and never dropped a word as to getting out again. What more could a musk-rat ask? He examined the tracks in the wet ground, but could not make out that any of them were fresh. He did not believe that anything had been near the trap during the night.
He came up blowing water from his mouth, and holloing and laughing, and took after the raft, where the other fellows were jumping up and down, and bending back and forth, and screaming and yelling at the way he looked hurrying after his pole, and then dangling in the air, and now showing his black head in the water like a musk-rat swimming for its hole.
"I almost wish I had taken up with Jack's offer," Bertie said to Charley, as they carried the musk-rat home. "What was that?" "He wanted to skin the fellow for me." "I can boss that job," said Charley. "And so can I?" That was a part both understood, and it was the only part. Bertie sharpened his knife and prepared to commence operations, Charley, Amy and Flora looking on.
Desirous to dispel entirely this timidity, and to open a trade with the simple inhabitants of the hut, who, he did not doubt, had furs somewhere concealed, the captain now drew forth that grand lure in the eyes of a savage, a pocket mirror. The sight of it was irresistible. After examining it for a long time with wonder and admiration, they produced a musk-rat skin, and offered it in exchange.
In the early part of the season, I used to make an imitation mouse of a piece of musk-rat fur. This is a killing bait for trolling either for black bass or maskilonge as the season advances, a red and white rag, or a small green-frog.
"The providence of God; usually called instinct, that guides these wild animals; doubtless it is the law of nature given to them by God. "There is a great resemblance in the habits of the musk-rat and the beaver.
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