escape their greatest enemy--the mink; though wolves, fishers, foxes,
otters, as well as birds of prey and Indians are always glad to have a
muskrat for dinner.

But to return to our muskrat hunt: Oo-koo-hoo, stringing his bow and
adjusting an arrow, let drive at one of the little animals as it sat
upon some drift-wood. The blunt-headed shaft just skimmed its back and
sank into the mud beyond; the next arrow, however, bowled the muskrat
over; and in an hour's time The Owl had eleven in his canoe. When I
questioned him as to why he used such an ancient weapon, he explained
that a bow was much better than a gun, as it did not frighten the other
muskrats away, also it did not injure the pelt in the way shot would
do, and, moreover, it was much more economical.

Occasionally Oo-koo-hoo would imitate the call of the muskrats;
sometimes to arrest their attention, but more often to entice them
within easy range of his arrows. If he killed them outright while they
were swimming, they sank like stones; but when only wounded, they
usually swam round on the surface for a while. Once, however, a
wounded one dived, and, seizing hold of a reed, held on with its teeth
in order to escape its pursuer; Oo-koo-hoo, nevertheless, eventually
landed it in his canoe.

In setting steel traps for them the hunter placed the traps either in
the water or on the bank at a spot where they were in the habit of
going ashore, and to decoy them to that landing Oo-koo-hoo rubbed
castoreum on the branches of the surrounding bushes--just in the same
way as he did for mink or otter. Another way he had of setting traps
was to cut a hole in the side of a muskrat's house, so that he could
thrust in his arm and feel for the entrance to the tunnel, then he