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TIIK XATIOXAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by George Shiras, 3d 



THE BANK ON THE LEFT, COVERED WITH SECOND-GROWTH TREES, IS AN ANCIENT 



BEAVER DAM 1,500 EEET LONG, PROBABLY 4OO YEARS OLD, AND 



FORMING THE LAKE ORIGINALLY 



The picture shows the western end of Echo Lake, which occupies a mile in the center of 

 Grand Island. It is largely frequented by deer and elk. 



the lack of skill in cooking or from care- 

 lessness in skinning the animal. It can 

 be fried, roasted, or stewed, only having 

 a slightly gamy flavor, which can be re- 

 moved by soaking the meat over night in 

 salt water. 



I have found it comparable to tender 

 chicken. For years it has been served, 

 highly seasoned and flavored, under the 

 name of "Maryland terrapin," without 

 exciting any suspicion on the part of 

 connoisseurs, who pay a fancy price for 

 it. The use of a few terrapin bones in 

 the dish when served has likely aided in 

 this deception. 



In some of the Eastern States the 

 carcass brings from 30 to 40 cents, more 

 than double the price once paid for its 

 pelt. It seems unfortunate, therefore, 

 that several million pounds of available 

 food must go to waste annually ; yet for 

 many years its coat was rated among 

 those of the humblest of fur-bearers, and 

 at times the traders of the North refused 

 to take them from the trappers, the skins 

 being practically valueless in the market. 



In recent years the really beautiful fur 

 of these animals has become more and 

 more appreciated. 



In 1920, at the crest of high prices, 

 muskrat skins were sold in fur auctions 

 up to a maximum price of $7.50 each. 

 Today the muskrat, on account of the 

 enormous number of its skins and their 

 appreciated price, has become the most 

 important of North American fur- 

 bearers. 



Thus it is apparent this American fur- 

 bearer has reached the top in the total 

 value of its pelts and in striking contrast 

 to its status a few years ago. 



Restore to it the old Indian name of 

 musquash and the prejudice against the 

 use of its fur or its flesh for food will 

 rapidly disappear. 



BIRDS AND ANIMALS MULTIPLY IN CUT- 

 OVER AREAS 



Partly because the subject has seldom 

 been considered in print, and again be- 

 cause its significance is so little under- 

 stood, the wonderful part that second- 



