yo HUNTING THE SEA OTTER. 



work sharply off a lee shore might at any time make all 

 the difference between safety and disaster. 



Next day the wind still blew strong from the south-east, 

 with fog and slight rain, so we employed the morning in 

 filling up with wood and water ; at noon the fog cleared 

 away, and, getting the anchor up, we set sail, and were 

 soon scudding across the bay. It was too rough to hunt, 

 so, after anchoring, the skipper and I went to explore the 

 coast, while Snow set off in another boat to try and intercept 

 a couple of bears which we had observed from the deck to 

 be making for the big bluff which terminates that side of 

 the bay. We were all in hopes of a shot, for, if success- 

 fully headed, they would either have to come down the 

 coast where the skipper and I were, or take to the 

 mountain side, which is in that part precipitous. Snow, 

 however, was too late, though by following them up he got 

 a shot at the smaller one, evidently a half-grown cub ; it 

 fell into the breakers beneath, out of our reach. 



The beach, which sloped gradually from a high bank, was 

 entirely composed of hard, white-looking stones, few 

 weighing less than a ton and many as high as a man, but 

 all beautifully smooth and rounded. On reaching the top 

 of the bank we found that a lake, about a couple of miles 

 round, occupied part of the low ground at the base of the 

 mountain, which here stood back at some distance from the 

 strand. The country was densely covered with a species 

 of reed, with laurel-shaped leaves of a green and white, 

 interspersed with stunted pine and cypress. In hopes of 

 getting a shot at some wild duck, we pressed on to the 

 margin of the lake, but found them as scarce as the " black 

 swan " of Latin grammar celebrity. Not a feather did we 

 see, save a couple of white-throated songsters observed on 

 the other side. It was late when we got on board, when we 

 stood over for the other shore and anchored for the night. 

 The fog cleared away early next morning, both wind and 

 sea having abated. An otter was soon sighted, and we 

 were congratulating ourselves on getting sport at last, when 



