Our next day's march was unenlivened by any particular incident. We had left behind us the heavy timber, and again travelled through the "oak openings." Not an animal was started during the whole day, and the only one seen was a muskrat that took to the water of a small creek and escaped. This occurred at the spot where we had halted for our night-camp, and after the tents were pitched, several of the party went "rat-hunting." The burrow of a family of these curious little animals was discovered in the bank, and an attempt was made to dig them out, but without success. The family proved to be "not at home." The incident, however, brought the muskrat on the _tapis_. The "muskrat" of the States is the musquash of the fur-traders (_Fiber sibethicus_). He is called muskrat, from his resemblance to the common rat, combined with the musky odour which he emits from glands situated near the anus. Musquash is said to be an Indian appellative--a strange coincidence, as the word, "musk" is of Arabic origin, and "musquash" would seem a compound of the French _musque_, as the early Canadian fur-traders were French, or of French descent, and fixed the nomenclature of most of the fur-bearing animals of that region. Naturalists have used the name of "Musk Beaver" on account of the many points of resemblance which this animal bears to the true beaver (_Castor fiber_). Indeed, they seem to be of the same genus, and so Linnaeus classed them; but later systematists have separated them, for the purpose, I should fancy, not of simplifying science, but of creating the impression that they themselves were very profound observers. The teeth--those great friends of the closet naturalist, which help him to whole pages of speculation--have enabled him to separate the beaver from the musquash, although the whole history and habits of these creatures prove them to be congeners, as much as a mastiff is the congener of a greyhound--indeed, far more. So like are they in a general sense, that the Indians call them "cousins." In form the muskrat differs but little from the beaver. It is a thick, rounded, and flat-looking animal, with blunt nose, short ears almost buried in the fur, stiff whiskers like a cat, short legs and neck, small dark eyes, and sharply-clawed feet. The hinder ones are longest, and are half-webbed. Those of the beaver are full-webbed.