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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 131 
“The Otters ascend the bank at a place suitable for their 
diversion, and sometimes where it is very steep, so that they 
are obliged to make quite an effort to gain the top; they slide 
down in rapid succession where there are many at a sliding 
place. On one occasion we were resting ourself on the bank 
of Canoe Creek, a small stream near Henderson, which empties 
into the Ohio, when a pair of Otters made their appearance, 
and not observing our proximity, began to enjoy their sliding 
pastime. They glided down the soap-like muddy surface of 
the slide with the rapidity of an arrow from a bow, [*] and we 
counted each one making twenty-two slides before we dis- 
turbed their sportive occupation. 
“This habit of the Otter of sliding down from elevated 
places to the borders of streams, is not confined to cold coun- 
tries, or to slides on the snow or ice, but is pursued in the 
Southern States, where the earth is seldom covered with snow, 
or the waters frozen over. Along the reserve dams of the rice 
fields of Carolina and Georgia, these slides are very common. 
From the fact that this occurs in most cases during winter, 
about the period of the rutting season, we are inclined to the 
belief that this propensity may be traced to those instincts 
which lead the sexes to their periodical associations.”’ 
The food of the Otter, and the manner in which it is pro- 
cured, are noted by the same author in the following terms:— 
-“The Otter is a very expert swimmer, and can overtake 
almost any fish, and as it is a voracious animal, it doubtless 
destroys a great number of fresh water fishes annually. We 
are not aware of its having a preference for any particular 
species, although it is highly probable that it has. About 
twenty-five years ago we went early one autumnal morning to 
study the habits of the Otter at Gordon and Spring’s Ferry, 
on the Cooper River, six miles above Charleston[S. C.], where 
they were represented as being quite abundant. They came 
down with the receding tide in groups or families of five or six 
together. In the space of two hours we counted forty-six. 
They soon separated, ascended the different creeks in the salt 
marshes, and engaged in capturing mullets (Mugil). In most 
cases they came to the bank with a fish in their mouth, des- 
patching itin a minute, and then hastened back again after 
more prey. They returned up the river to their more secure 
retreats with the rising tide. In the small lakes and ponds of 
the interior of Carolina, there is found a favourite fish with the 
Otter, called the fresh-water trout (@Grystes salmoides). 
*([A statement certainly too figurative for literal acceptation.] 
