Castor fiber, var. C, varia. Spotted Beaver.
Castor fiber, var. D. Castor varié. Des mare st, Mamm.
This variety is more rare than the preceding, and never came under my notice*.
Mr. Say mentions that an Indian had in the course of his life caught three
specimens of Beaver with a large white spot on their breasts.
Castor fiber, var. D, alba. White Beaver.
White beaver. Dobbs, Hudson’s Bay, p. 40.
Castor fiber, var. C. Castor blanc. Desmarest, Mamm.
Castor albus. Buisson, Reg. A n.
An albino variety of the Beaver is of very rare occurrence. Hearne saw but
one in the course of twenty years, and it had many reddish and brown hairs along
the ridge of the back,—its sides and belly were of a glossy silvery white.
When the Indians find an individual of this kind, they convert the skin into
a medicine bag, and are very unwilling to dispose of it.
[34.] 1. Fiber Zibethicus. (Cuvier.) The Musquash.
Genus Arvicola, Sub-genus Fiber. Cuvier.
Bat-musqué. Sagard Theodat, Canada, p. 771*
Castor Zibethicus. Linn. Syst., xii. 1. p. 79.
L’Ondatra. Buffon, tom. x. p. 1.
Musk-rat. Lawson, Carolina, p. 120.
Musk-beaver. Pennant, Arctic Zool., vol. i. p. 106.
Musquash. J osselyn, New England. Hearne, Journey, p. 379.
Mus Zibethicus. Lin. Gmelin, vol. i. p. 125.
Fiber Zibethicus. Sabine, Franklin's Jowrney, p. 659. Harlan, Fauna} p. 132.
Musk-rat. Godman, Nat. Hist., vol. ii. p. 58.
Ondathra. Hurons.
Musquash, watsuss, or wachusk, also peesquaw-tupeyew (the animal that sits on the ice in a
round form).. Cree I ndians.
D E S C R I P T IO N .
The Musquash, or, as it is often named, the Musk-rat, has a thick flatfish body, with a
short head, indistinct neck, thighs hid in the body, very short legs, and large hind-feet. Its
tail is compressed laterally, and has a length nearly equal to that of the body, excluding the
head. I t is furnished with large yellowish incisors, of which the upper ones are flatly rounded
anteriorly, without grooves, and obliquely truncated on the cutting edge. The lower ones are
chiselled away posteriorly, so as to come nearly to a point at the extremity, and are somewhat
longer than the upper ones. The Ups, covered with coarse hair, turn inwards. The
nose is short, thick, and obtuse, and is covered with short hair. The eyes, small and lateral,
are much hidden by the fur. The ears, low and oblong, are covered with hair like that on
the adjoining parts of the head, and are not conspicuous.
The fu r much resembles that of the beaver, but is shorter; the down is coarser and of
much less value, and the long hairs are less strong and shining, and do not form so close a
coat. Although the fur of the Musquash resists the water when the animal is alive, it is
easily wetted immediately after death. The fur on the upper parts is somewhat longer than
that beneath. Its colour externally is a dark umber-brown on the whole upper part of the
head, including the ears, between the shoulders and on the back. The sides, anterior part of
the belly, middle of the breast, lateral parts of the neck, and the cheeks, are of a shining
yellowish-brown hue, the tint being deepest on the sides, but fading on the belly and cheeks
into light wood-brown. The chin, throat, sides of the chest, and posterior part of the
abdomen, are ash-gray, owing to the down being intermixed with few long hairs, and, consequently,
more visible on those parts. The down on the upper parts exhibits, when blown
aside, a dark lead-gray or blackish-gray colour from the roots upwards, the tips alone being
tinged with brown; on the under surface of the animal the down has a lighter bluish-gray
colour, and its tips are brownish-gray.
Q 2