ALONG FOUR-FOOTED TRAILS 



Dry slough-grass was now placed on the plat- 

 form, then the animals dived and pulled up the 

 rushes and lilies by the roots with large masses 

 of the earth adhering and built them into the 

 house, plastering the hut on the outside in a 

 crude way with the mud from the roots. They 

 now burrowed into their newly made hut near 

 the bottom, digging upwards to above the water 

 level ; here they dug a small chamber a foot 

 across, over the spot where they had placed the 

 dry slough-grass. A similar passage was dug 

 down the opposite side, making an avenue some- 

 what the shape of the letter U turned upside 

 down. The southeast side was dug much nearer 

 the surface than the others to admit air. A 

 number of other entrances were made under the 

 water by which to escape in time of danger. 

 Many of these homes were built over the slough. 

 In the bend of the river two of the muskrats 

 built their home between two crooked forks of 

 a willow tree that had been submerged by the 

 water, cutting a new channel and causing it to 

 flow around a bend where the loose soil and 

 sand had been washed away by previous spring 

 freshets. 



