

122 IN THE LAND OF THE GREAT SPIRIT 



by and dropping into the water, would rise again 

 presently and fly off. 

 ^ The quaint antics of the musk rats interested me 



very much. This creature is common in the marshy 

 grounds of Manitoba. In general appearance it is 

 like a miniature beaver, excepting that its tail is 

 flattened from side to side and not from above 

 downwards. When the lakes are frozen it still 

 manages to keep its breathing holes open, by 

 stuffing them with mud or moss. But it has the 

 I most extraordinary power of remaining for a long 

 . time under water. And I have more than once 

 ^ seen a startled musk rat come up under the clear 



ice, and remaining there for a few seconds dive 

 down again. Under these circumstances it is 

 supposed to exhaust the air in the lungs, breathing 

 it in again as soon as it has been "converted by 

 the oxygen in the water." But surely a suffi- 

 cient explanation is this simpler one, that under 

 the ice are many air bubbles to which the beast's 

 instinct directs it. This animal builds from the 

 , bottom a large structure of reeds in the top of which, 

 clear of the water, is its nest. There are no galleries, 

 -■ but only an entrance and a pophole. 



But we wanted ducks for the pot, so presently, just 



