44 THE BROOK BOOK 



the water was reported to have a depth of five feet. 

 Unfathomable it seemed to our inexperience. Out 

 among the bulrushes and cat-tails which sur- 

 rounded this center were mysterious mounds made 

 of coarse, dry swamp grass and larger water plants 

 and weighted down with pieces of water-soaked 

 rails, fence boards and other rubbish. These were 

 the homes of muskrats — "mushrats," the town boys 

 called them, and planned raids upon their dwell- 

 ings. Being a girl and therefore "afraid of rats," 

 I was naturally debarred from a part in these 

 sports. Nevertheless my sympathies were always 

 with the muskrats, and in many a hot argument 

 have I upheld their right to peaceful possession of 

 that part of the pond which was of no use to the 

 skaters. 



When pastures were dry with the scorching Au- 

 gust sun the slough was sought by heat-oppressed 

 cattle. The bottom was said to be inhabited by 

 myriads of bloodthirsty leeches. This was so firmly 

 believed by the children of the neighborhood that 

 only the boldest dared trust their precious bare 

 legs in the cooling water. The girls used to long 

 to wade in "Slough Creek," which ditch-like 

 followed the line of least resistance across our 

 pasture. The boys did it and told of their experi- 

 ences with "bloodsuckers," thick, soft, slimy and 

 black. Horrible thought ! With fingers in ears we 

 ran terrified from the neighborhood. Whenever 

 my natural desire to wade came near overcoming 

 my acquired habit of wearing stockings and shoes, 

 the thought of those creatures held me back. I 



