GIBB ON THE MOSTELIDJi: OF NORTHUMBERLAND. 399 



lie could not be found. " Sam" was also trained to " fish" and during 

 the autumnal floods which brought the salmon up the river in great 

 numbers to deposit their spawn on its pebbly bed, was very successful in 

 his fishing raids, and brought to land many a noble fish to the profit and 

 infinite amusement of its owner. 



The otter feeds generally on fish, and possesses a most fastidious 

 palate, having a great penchant for the finest " tit bits" of the salmon, 

 to wit, the flaky parts of the shoulder, the remainder, where fish are 

 plentiful, being unceremoniously rejected by him, hence it follows that 

 great numbers of the finny tribe fall victims to his epicurean and discrimi- 

 nating taste. He seems partial to eels, and in those waters where the 

 salmon and trout are not abundant, they form the principal item of his 

 daily diet — nor does he reject water rats and water hens, and in the 

 winter when the rivers are bound up with ice and snow, he will betake 

 himself to adjacent gardens, where he plays sad havoc amongst the 

 culinary herbs, cabbages, &c., these being preferred by him to anything 

 else. A few winters ago, a Mr. Bradley, whose domicile abuts on the 

 banks of the Aln, had his garden ransacked every night by some unknown 

 animal, and so frequent and persistent did these nocturnal visits become, 

 that a member of his household ultimately placed a trap in the garden, 

 and on visiting it the next morning, he found the depredator — a fine 

 female otter in " durance vile." — When food fails them in one particular 

 stream, or should they be driven thence as is sometime the case, if they 

 are too persistently chased with hounds, they will travel a great distance 

 to some more propitious place, and on their way thither, possibly over a 

 tract of country destitute of rivers, they will enter rabbit burrows, and 

 even farm yards to secure a passing meal. 



There are various opinions as to the mode of the otter capturing its 

 prey. Some assert that it secures the fish by its superior speed in the 

 water — but with due deference to such an opinion, I must confess myself 

 rather sceptical. The adaptability and form of fish for rapid aquatic 

 locomotion, is unquestionably j^a)- excdlance ; points in which the otter, 

 though likewise admirably formed for it, falls immeasurably short, nor do 

 I think it natural for the former to be outdone in their own element and 

 by the same means used by a partial intruder, if such I may be allowed to 

 term the latter. There are others again who imagine that the tail renders 

 no small assistance to the successful capture of a fish, believing that he 

 drives them to their hold — say to a large stone at the bottom of the water, 



