ground of the boundless forest beneath his feet, will
satisfy him. After the elk, come the Virginia, or common deer, the
wapiti deer, the black-tailed deer, and the cariboo. All these are the
prey of the hunter. Their savoury flesh supplies him with food, and
their soft skins are articles of merchandise. The mountain sheep may
often be seen skipping from one ledge to another of the rugged rocks,
and precipitous clayey cliffs of the western wilds, giving life to
the solitary place, and interest to the picturesque beauty of lonely
spots.

_Austin._ You have mentioned all the animals now, I think, that the
hunter chases; for you spoke before about beavers, badgers, foxes,
raccoons, squirrels and some others.

_Basil._ You have never told us, though, how they catch the musk-rat.
I should like to know that.

_Hunter._ Well, then, I will tell you how they take the musk-rat, but
must first speak about the prairie dog. Prairie dogs are a sort of
marmot, but their bark is somewhat like that of a small dog. Rising
from the level prairie, you may sometimes see, for miles together,
small hillocks of a conical form, thrown up by the prairie dogs, which
burrow some eight or ten feet in the ground. On a fine day, myriads of
these dogs, not much unlike so many rats, run about, or sit barking on
the tops of their hillocks. The moment any one approaches them, they
disappear, taking shelter in their burrows.

_Basil._ Oh, the cunning little rogues.

_Hunter._ The musk-rat builds his burrow (which looks like a
hay-stack) of wild rice stalks; so that, while he has a dry lodging, a
hole at the bottom enables him, when he pleases, to pass into the
shallow water beneath his burrow or lodge. In taking a musk-rat, a
person strikes the top of the burrow, and out scampers the tenant
within; but no sooner does he run through his hole into the shallow
water, than he is instantly caught with a spear. Myriads of these
little animals are taken in this manner for their fur.

_Brian._ They must be a good deal like prairie dogs, though one has
his house on the land, and the other in the water.

_Hunter._ These wide prairies, on which roam bisons and horses and
deer innumerable; and these shallow waters, where musk-rats abound,
will probably, in succeeding years, assume another character. White
men will possess them; civilized manners and customs will prevail, and
Christianity spread from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains; for
the kingdoms o