MUSK-RAT. Ill 



farm, " Mill-Grove," situated at the confluence of the Schuylkill river 

 and the Perkioming creek. 



On the latter, above a mill-dam which then existed, there was an is- 

 land, divided from the shore on the southerlj' side by a small channel not 

 more than twenty-five or thirty feet in width, in which we had occa- 

 sionally observed Musk- Rats swimming. Having a friend at our house 

 for a few weeks, we one evening persuaded him to accompany us to this 

 spot, with the view of procuring a few of these animals. Accordingly, 

 after due preparation, we made our way toward the creek. We ap- 

 proached the bank quietly, and seated ourselves on some moss-covered 

 stones, without disturbing the silence of the night ; the only interruption 

 to which was the gentle ripple of the pure stream, which, united with 

 the broader Schuylkill, still flows onward, and conveys to the now great 

 city of Philadelphia, that inestimable treasure, pure water. Here then, we 

 waited, long and patiently — so long, that our companion became restless, 

 said that he would like to smoke a cigar, and accordingly lighted a 

 " fragrant Havana." We remained watching, but saw no Musk-Rats 

 that evening, as these cunning animals no doubt observed the light 

 at the end of my friend's cigar. We have since that time known many a 

 sportsman lose a shot at a fine buck, by indulging in this relaxation, while 

 at a " stand" as it is generally termed. To return to our Musk-Rats, we 

 went home disappointed, but on the next evening proceeded to the same 

 spot, and in less than an hour shot three, w-hich we secured. Next day 

 we made a drawing of one of them, which was afterwards lost. We 

 have now in our possession only two drawings of quadrupeds made by us 

 at this early period ; one of which represents the American otter, and 

 the other a mink. They were drawn with coloured chalks and crayons, 

 and both are now quite rubbed and soiled, like ourselves having suffered 

 somewhat from the hand of time, and the jostling we have encountered. 



We have sometimes, when examining or describing one of our well- 

 known animals, allowed ourselves to fall into a train of thought as we 

 turned over the pages of some early writer, which carried us back to the 

 period of the discovery of our country, or still earlier explorations of 

 wild and unknown regions. We have endeavoured to picture to our- 

 selves, the curiosity eagerly indulged, the gratified hopes, and the various 

 other feelings, that must have filled the minds of the adventurous voyagers 

 that first landed on America's forest-margined coast. What were their 

 impressions, on seeing the strange objects that met their eyes in all 

 directions ? what thought they of the inhabitants they met with ? and 

 what were their ideas on seeing birds and quadrupeds hitherto unheard 

 of and unknovm ? The most indifferent or phlegmatic temperament 



