304 KIVERBY 



to him than the air, as his coat is perfectly water- 

 proof. 



On another pool farther up the track reappeared, 

 and was rubbed out here and there by the same 

 heavy dragging in the snow, like a chain with a long 

 solid bar at regular distances- in place of links. At 

 one point the otter had gone ashore and scratched a 

 little upon the ground. He had gone from pool to 

 pool, taking the open rapids wherever they appeared. 



The otter is a large mink or weasel, three feet 

 or more long and very savage. It feeds upon fish, 

 which it seems to capture with ease. It is said that 

 it will track them through the water as a hound 

 tracks a fox on land. It will travel a long distance 

 under the ice, on a single breath of air. Every now 

 and then it will exhale this air, which will form a 

 large bubble next the ice, where in a few moments 

 it becomes purified and ready to be taken into the 

 creature's lungs again. If by any accident the bub- 

 ble were to be broken up and scattered, the otter 

 might drown before he could collect it together again. 

 A man who lived near the creek said the presence of 

 the otter accounted for the scarcity of the fish there. 



The other day one of my farmer neighbors asked 

 me if I had seen the new bird that was about. This 

 man was an old hunter, and had a sharp eye for all 

 kinds of game, but he had never before seen the 

 bird, which was nearly as large as a robin, of a dull 

 blue or slate color marked with white. 



