THE OTTER. 333 



Its limbs are short, thick, and muscular, set very wide apart, 

 its neck is also immensely powerful. The otter is a very 

 hard animal to skin as the body is all covered with a 

 coating of muscular fat which has to be cut through with 

 the knife. This muscular fat is considered by the Indians 

 an excellent poultice for a strain or sprain. The eyes 

 are very small, and its sight is not quick above water, 

 though it must be remarkably good underneath. Its sense 

 of smell is extremely acute. The best trap for the otter is 

 the wooden deadfall constructed on his portage road. A 

 small bush fence is made on either side of the trap to pre- 

 vent his going round it. Great nicety is required in 

 making an otter trap, which should be constructed in such a 

 way that a musquash or small animal can pass through it 

 without springing the deadfall, which should be made to 

 fall as nearly as possible on the middle of the otter's back. 

 When the trap is completed it is splashed all over with water 

 to take away the human scent. The steel trap is set for otter 

 in much the same way as for beaver, only that it need not 

 be so deep in the water, as an otter is as easily held by the 

 fore as the hind leg. The best season for trapping otters 

 is in the fall. They frequent the heads of rivers and lakes 

 at this time of year, and are assiduous in their attentions to 

 breeding salmon and trout. In the winter they can only 

 be taken with the steel trap, which is usually set in the 

 little spot of open water which is frequently seen at the 

 inlets and outlets of lakes, and where there is nearly always 

 an otter slide. These slides are made by the otter lying on 

 its belly and sliding down snow banks. This they do for 

 sport, as the boys of Canada slide down the hills on coasters. 

 When they come out of the water otters roll like dogs to 



