HUNTING THE SEA OTTER. 57 



otter from taking alarm until it is hit. And in nine cases 

 out of ten when it is hit in the head, which is all that 

 is exposed, the shot is fatal, and the hunter waits until 

 the surf brings his quarry in, if it is too rough for him 

 to venture out in his bidarka. This shooting is kept 

 up now the whole year round. 



" The spearing surround is the orthodox native system of 

 capture, and reflects the highest credit upon them as bold, 

 hardy watermen. A party of fifteen or twenty bidarkies 

 with two men in each as a rule, all under the control of a 

 chief elected by common consent start out in pleasant 

 weather, or when it is not too rough, and spread themselves 

 out in a long line, slowly paddling over the waters where 

 sea otters are most usually found. When any one of them 

 discovers an otter asleep, most likely in the water, he makes 

 a quiet signal, and there is not a word spoken or a paddle 

 splashed while they are on the hunt. He darts towards the 

 animal, but generally the alarm is taken by the sensitive 

 object, which instantly dives before the Aleut can get near 

 enough to throw his spear. The hunter, however, keeps 

 right on, and stops his canoe directly over the spot where 

 the otter disappeared. The others, taking note of the 

 position, all deploy and scatter in a circle of half a mile 

 wide around the mark of departure thus made, and patiently 

 wait for the reappearance of the otter, which must take 

 place within fifteen or thirty minutes for breath ; and, as 

 soon as this happens, the nearest one to it darts forward 

 in the same manner as his predecessor, when all hands 

 shout and throw their spears to make the animal dive again 

 as quickly as possible, thus giving it scarcely an instant to 

 recover itself. A sentry is placed over its second diving 

 wake as before, and the circle is drawn anew ; and the 

 surprise is often repeated, sometimes for two or three hours, 

 until the sea otter, from interrupted respiration, becomes so 

 filled with air or gases that he cannot sink, and becomes at 

 once an easy victim. 



" The clubbing is only done in the winter season, and 



