CHAPTER VI. 



I SHALL now proceed to describe the boats, their equip- 

 ment, rifles, etc., and give an account of the modus 

 operandi in hunting the sea otter followed by ourselves 

 and others employed on the same errand, whose vessels, 

 schooners, and sloops we subsequently met with at various 

 periods during our cruise. The boats were sharp at both 

 ends like those used in whaling, and about fourteen feet long 

 and five feet beam, carvel built, strongly made and low in the 

 water, so as to admit of paddling when necessary; the bow 

 was covered in for about three feet so as to provide a rest 

 for the rifles, ammunition, etc., the under part forming a 

 locker for provisions and spare ammunition. When not on 

 the look-out, the hunter sat on the foremost thwart facing 

 the bow, with his rifles, two heavy muzzle-loaders and a 

 seventeen-shot Winchester, with cartridges, bullets, and 

 powder before him. The next two thwarts were occupied 

 by the rowers, each pulling a long oar; the steersman, 

 sitting right aft, with a spare thwart before him, used to 

 trim the boat when sailing, and underneath this was a small 

 drawer carrying a boat compass, an absolute necessity 

 where fogs were so sudden and so frequent. Each boat 

 had a slight keel to admit of sailing, and when fully 

 equipped carried three natives and one European ; three 

 rifles, two heavy muzzle-loaders, and a seventeen-shot 

 Winchester for "breaching" otters, and four hundred 

 rounds of ammunition, a pair of extra thole pins more 

 easily made and replaced than iron a mast and sprit, sprit- 

 sail and jib, oars, paddles, and a compass. The provisions 

 consisted of rice and fish for the natives, salt junk, bread or 

 biscuits, and cheese for the hunter. 



