SWIMMERS CONCLUDED 



He appeared a good deal put out whenever the 

 leaves stuck to his face, and would sit upright and 

 hurl them in all directions with his paws, or slap 

 them off with a side-stroke. His appetite seemed 

 perfectly inexhaustible, and, finally, as my muscles 

 began to rebel at being obliged to maintain the 

 same cramped position for so long without relief, 

 I purposely moved my head slightly, to see what 

 effect it might have on him. He dived instantly 

 with a splash, and sank to the bottom, where the 

 water was about six inches deep, and refused to 

 come to the surface, though I tried to raise him 

 with a stick. There he lay, and as often as I 

 tried to lift him, simply slipped off the stick to 

 one side or the other, in the most aggravating 

 manner, but apparently with no intentional effort 

 on his part. So, fearing that he might persist too 

 long for his own good, I left him in order that he 

 might have a chance to come up into the air and 

 resume his breathing. 



The muskrats that dwell in the tide-water 

 173 



