w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m
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Short, thick brown fur. Six pounds soaking
wet. Spends most of its time in and near the
water. Eats cattails and water lilies. A bit
dank and fetid. Long, scaly, hairless tail.
at's the c.v. of the muskrat, semi-aquatic rodent and denizen of the
entirety of the North American continent. e critter's common name seems
to have been inspired by its dank fetidness and its scaly rat-like tail. Easy
enough.
But not so fast.
Historical dictionaries reveal a more complex story behind the name of
this ubiquitous American rodent. As it turns out, the Algonquin-speaking
natives of the American east coast called the critter moskwas (literally "it
is red," so called for its coloration). e word, pronounced something like
"musquash" was adopted by early English colonists. at the first Algonquin
syllable matched the English "musk" was a happy coincidence for the Euro-
pean newcomers.
In 1778, American explorer and journalist Jonathan Carver offers his ob-
servation of the rodent and the origin of its name in his publication Travels
rough the Interior Parts of North America: "e Musquash or Musk-rat," he
writes, "is so termed for the exquisite musk it affords."
Other early writings suggest the muskrat was valued for both its fur and its
"exquisite musk." From 1620: "Muske Rats skins, two shillings a dozen: the
cods of them will serve for good perfumes." American surveyor John Lawson,
in his 1714 History of Carolina notes "Musk Rats frequent fresh Streams and
no other; as the Bever does. He has a Cod of Musk, which is valuable, as is
likewise his Fur."
M U S K R AT
BRETT SWAIN
THE CRITTER'S COMMON NAME
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN INSPIRED
BY ITS DANK FETIDNESS AND
SCALY RAT-LIKE TAIL
