It sometimes happens in very
cold winters that the holes communicating with their dwellings under
the water are so blocked by ice that they cannot break through them.
When this is the case, and they have no provisions left in the house,
they begin to eat one another. At last there may be only one rat left
out of a whole lodge. They occasionally eat fish, but in general feed
very cleanly, and when fat are good eating. They are easily tamed and
soon grow fond of their owner. They are very cleanly and playful, and
'smell exceedingly pleasant of musk', but their resemblance to the rat
is so great that few are partial to them, though of course they are
much larger in size, and have webbed hind feet and a flat scaly tail.
In Canadian regions farther south the musquash no longer builds on the
ice, but in swamps, where it raises heaps of mud like islands in the
surrounding water. On the top of these mounds they build their nests,
and on the top of the musquash nest, or 'lodge', wild geese frequently
lay their eggs and bring forth their young brood without any fear of
being molested by foxes."
The YUKON territories of the Dominion, and above all the State of
BRITISH COLUMBIA, constitute a very distinct region from the rest of
British North America, not only in their tribes of Amerindians but in
their fauna, flora, and climate.
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