318 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



the bank, branching out in various directions, and having several entrances, all 

 of which open under the surface of the water. If the animal happens to live 

 upon a marshy and uniformly wet soil, it becomes a builder, and lives in curi- 

 ously-constructed huts, from three to four feet in height, plastered with great 

 neatness in the inside, and strengthened externally with a kind of basket-work 

 of rushes, carefully interlaced together. The judgment of the animal shows 

 itself in the selection of the site, invariably choosing some ground above the 

 reach of inundation, or else raising its hut on an artificial foundation; for, 

 though obliged to reside near flat, submerged banks, where the soft soil is full 

 of nourishing roots, it requires a dry home to rest in. 



In winter the musquash villages — for the huts are sometimes built in such 

 numbers together as to deserve that name — are generally covered with thick 

 snow, under which this rodent is able to procure water, or to reach the provis- 

 ions laid up in its storehouse. Thus it lives in ease and plenty, for the marten 

 is too averse to the water, and the otter too bulky to penetrate into its tunnels. 

 But when the snow melts, and the huts of the musquash appear above the 

 ground, the Indian, taking in his hand a large four-barbed spear, steals up to 

 the house, and driving his weapon through the walls, is sure to pierce the ani- 

 mals inside. Holding the spear firmly with one hand, he takes his tomahawk 

 from his belt, dashes the house to pieces, and secures the inmates. Another 

 method employed by the Indians to capture the musquash is to block up the 

 different entrances to their tunnels, and then to intercept the animals as they 

 try to escape. Sometimes the gun is used, but not very frequently, as the mus- 

 quash is so wary that it dives at the least alarm, and darts into one of its holes. 

 The trap, however, is the ordinary means of destruction. The soft and glossy 

 fur of the musquash, though worth no more than from 6d. to 9d, is still a not 

 inconsiderable article of trade, as no less than half a million skins are annually 

 imported into England for hat-making ; nor is there any fear of the musquash 

 being extirpated, in spite of its many enemies, as it multiplies very fast, and is 

 found near every swamp or lake with grassy banks as far as the confines of the 

 Polar Sea. 



