202 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



"On the way I saw a Musk Rat hunt. Some of these 

 animals are as large as rabbits; they have very long 

 tails. When they appear in the water the Savages fol- 

 low them in their little canoes ; these rats, upon seeing 

 themselves pursued, immediately dive into the water, 

 their enemies hurrying quickly to the place where they 

 expect them to come up again to take breath ; in short, 

 they pursue them until they are tired out, so that they 

 must remain above the water for a little while, in 

 order not to suffocate; then they knock them down 

 with their paddles, or kill them with arrows. When 

 this animal has gained the land, it usually saves itself 

 by hiding in its hole. 



"It is called Musk Rat because, in fact, a part of 

 its body smells of musk, if caught in the Spring — at 

 other times, it has no odor." 



Or, as expressed in French: 



"On Vappelle Rat musque, parce qu'n effect une 

 partie d,e son corps prise an Printemps feut a muse, 

 en autre elle n'a point d'odeur." 



It was the same Jesuit, it is believed, who set down, in 

 about 1656, the following passage: 



"There are found in these regions of America, 

 animals to which the French have given the name of 

 Musk Rats, because in truth they resemble the rats 

 of France — except that they are much larger — and 

 smell of musk in the Spring. The French are very 

 fond of this odor; the Savages dislike it as if it were 

 a stench." 20 



In order to prove that the French-speaking inhabitants 

 of Canada were responsible for the designation of "Musk 

 Rat," it might not be amiss to quote from La Honton, 1687, 

 who, in his "Travels in Canada," set down: 



"In the same place we killed some Musk Rats 

 (Rat Musque) or a sort of animals which resemble a 

 rat in their shape, and are as big as a rabbit. The 

 skins of these rats are very much valued, as differing 

 but little from those of beavers." 





2e Jes. Rel. Vol. 44, p. 277. 



