Muskrat 



543 



" May 1 7, 1 905. To-day as I approached the bridge on the 

 main drive in Wyndygoul Park I saw a Muskrat on the opposite 

 bank busy collecting grass, and as I stood quietly to watch, he 

 rushed down the bank, apparently in a great hurry, with the 

 grass protruding from either side of his mouth, and swam 

 vigorously across the pool to the near shore where I stood; he 



Fig. 15s — Log that was a favourite landing place and news-depot of the Muskratson a small stream 40 miles east 

 of Kippewa, Que. With illustrations of their scatology (natural size). 



was quickly followed by another, also with a load of grass. 

 Both swam straight under the bank near where I was and 

 dived. They soon reappeared and again set out for more 

 grass, bringing it back in their mouths as before. This they 

 did 4 times, and seemed to be working very hard. The 

 fourth time, the first to reach the shore disappeared with its 

 burden under the bank as before, but his companion suddenly 

 turned to the right and dived into the waterway at another 



