THE OREGON NATURALIST. 
43 
approaches again at anearer point: makes a close 
examination of the ground, then divesting him- 
self of all extra garments he commences the 
final stalk. 
The howl of the winter gale: the roar of the 
breaking surf; the rugged nature of the coast 
are allin the hunters favor yet his task is neither 
an easy or a pleasant one. 
His object is to get between the otter and 
the sea. Cautiously he works his way along 
until he has gained the position desired when 
he approaches the otter; makes a quick dash; 
there is a sickening whack as the heavy club 
crashes in the skul] and another innocent life 
falls a victim to the decrees of fashion. 
During winter storms nearly the whole coast 
line is patrolled in this manner. 
Excepting in places where otter are not so 
numerous and the danger of alarming others is 
not great the winchester rifle takes the place of 
the club. 
PEDESTAL HUNTING 
This is the method most used along the Oregon 
and Washington coasts; particularly along that 
stretch of coast extending from Gray’s Harbor 
to Cape Flattery in Washington. 
The hunter erects a scaftolding of long poles 
twenty or thirty feet high, on these a platform 
is built and cleats are nailed to oneof the poles 
by which to ascend. 
These pedestals are built about low water 
mark and on likely days the hunter takes his 
stand on the platform with a long range rifle 
when the tide is out, the tide rising he is soon 
outside the line of breakers and if an otter 
comes within range he is often able to get two 
or three shots at it before the otter finds out 
what has happened, yet the chances are five to 
one that the otter This method is 
mostly practiced by men who have farms along 
the coast and is not much in use by professional 
escapes. 
hunters. 
SCHOONER HUNTING 
The writer can only give a very rougli estt- 
mate of the number of schooners owned in Ore, 
and Wash. that are employed in sea otter hunt- 
ing but in round numbers fifty would be below 
the mark. Of these three fifths wiJl hail from 
Puget Sound. British Columbia will add at 
least another twenty to the list while Alaska has 
several hundred craft that follow the same oc- 
cupation. The vessels range fiom the rickety 
old ten tonners with their crew of Indians and 
half breeds to the hundred ton clippers with six 
or eight steam launches, but the actual method 
of hunting is the same iu all. 
The methods all ready described are practiced 
in s!ormy weather and mostly in winter while 
schooner hunting is carried on during the sum- 
mer months and can only be successfully prac- 
ticed when the sea is calm. 
Each schooner carries as many boats as can 
possibly be stowed on deck and on arriving on 
the banks or grounds the boats are put off as 
soon as the weather is calm. Each boat carries 
three men; a hunter, a boat puller and a steerer. 
‘The hunter takes his place in the bow of the 
boat and for equipment has a shot gun, rifle and 
The 
and steerer take their respective places and the 
a pair of field glasses. boat puller 
fleet of boats form in a line each boat b ng sit- 
uated about two hundred yards from the next. 
In this manner they advance until one of 
them sights an otter when he signals to the 
others by holding up his right hand when the 
whole fleet hasten to form into an ever decreas- 
ing circle around the otter. In the meanwhile 
the hunter who has seen the otter sends a rifle 
his head, 
which is frequently for the otter is not capable 
of remaining long under water. As the other 
boats approach they follow the same tactics un- 
ball at him whenever he shows 
til the circle is formed when the rifle is aband- 
oned and shot guns used as being less liable to 
hurta fellow hunter. Sometimes a hunter will 
come suddenly upon an otter and kill him at 
the first shot, and sometimes the otter will es- 
But 
When steam launch- 
cape when entirely surrounded by boats. 
generally he is captured, 
es are used the only difference is in the mode 
of propulsion. 
BIDARKA HUNTING 
A Bidarka (pronounced Bi-dar-ky) is the 
double ended skin boat used by the Aleuts of 
Western Alaska and the methods employed in 
hunting the otter are similar to those adopted 
