i 



The Fur Animals of Louisiana 



375 



I he muskrat pelt on the left, from Cameron parish, Louisiana, is the so-called 

 "Texas 'rat" of the fur trade. It is contrasted in size and color with a skunk from the 

 central section of the coastal muskrat marshes. 



The pelt on the left, taken in Terrebonne parish illustrates the three grades of fur 

 secured from a Louisiana muskrat, the back, which gives the "beige" fur; the sides, 

 furnishing the "golden muskrat;" and the belly skin from which the "silver muskrat" is 

 secured. On the right is a Louisiana muskrat pelt plucked, sheared and dyed which makes 

 it a "Hudson Seal," or as it is now called by the furriers "Seal-dyed muskrat. 



