254 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



of these canals, the runways and holes into the levees made 

 by muskrats could be easily seen. Many of the latter, of 

 course, would be under the surface of the water in times of 

 normal water level. Availing themselves of the low water 

 level canal crews were engaged in making necessary repairs, 

 including the digging out of these burrows and rebuilding 

 of the canal banks at those points. On five different days 

 (March 13, 17, 18, 27, and April 9, 1925) I accompanied 

 these crews and watched the operations. In one instance 

 no muskrats were unearthed, but in the others a total of 12 

 were secured, (2, 5, 3, and 2). 



"The crews engaged in this work become expert and 

 seldom fail to locate and dispose of the offending 'rats. The 

 first step involves the closing of all visible openings at the 

 base of the bank which, under the conditions then present- 

 ing themselves, were just about at water level. To make 

 certain that all openings at water level had been closed, a 

 semi-circular dam is thrown up in front of one of these 

 openings, making a barrier against the influx of canal water 

 at that point. Then the water contained in the small pocket 

 behind the dam is baled out with shovels. If a decrease 

 is noted in the level of this impounded water and no flow 

 occurs out of the burrow it is a sign that all subaquatic 

 passages have been blocked. 



"When this is accomplished, digging starts at one end 

 of the tunneled area. Each lateral as it is reached is fol- 

 lowed to its end and when there are several branches all 

 but the one on which work is being done are temporarily 

 closed to prevent escape of the rats. It is surprising how 

 succesful the rats are in eluding their captors until the last 

 blind runway has been reached. 



"On the several occasions that I accompanied these canal 

 crews four to six men were engaged and it usually meant 

 the work of several hours. The most extensive piece of 

 digging I witnessed involved the excavating of probably 

 100 linear feet of runway that cris-crossed 40 feet of canal 

 bank. This work yielded three 'rats. Thereafter the bank 

 had to be repacked before water could be put into the canal. 



