72 HUNTING THE SEA OTTER. 



quickly and plying his paddle so as to urge the boat 

 onward as near as possible before the otter should take 

 the alarm, Snow presently rose, rifle in hand, and 

 simultaneously with the report we saw the otter's head 

 disappear beneath the wave about two hundred yards in 

 advance. Quickly resuming his paddle, the boat shot 

 forward until over the place where the otter had dived, 

 while the skipper and I took our respective places 

 in the rear. For a few minutes all was eager ex- 

 pectation, the boats, about three hundred yards apart, 

 rose and fell regularly on the glassy sea, while each 

 hunter, with rifle thrown well forward and a face rigid 

 with suppressed excitement, stood erect and motionless 

 as a statute, scanning with expectant glance the sunlit 

 space; even the stolid rowers showed signs of animation 

 and interest in the result. Presently the hissing sound of 

 his escaping breath drew my attention to the otter, which 

 had risen about fifty yards to the right. Quick as thought 

 a bullet splashed up the water near him, as, alarmed by the 

 close proximity of the boat and its occupants, it dived again. 

 Pulling rapidly away, the other two boats advanced so as 

 to bring the spot where the otter had disappeared in the 

 middle of the triangle ; another interval, and the otter 

 rose close to Snow, but, instead of diving, it commenced 

 " breaching," while Snow, in full pursuit, took snapshots 

 with his Winchester every time it left the water. The 

 animal tried every artifice to elude its pursuers, dodging 

 now to the right, now to the left; but no breeze ruffled 

 the oily smoothness of the water, and a long train of 

 air bubbles that ascended from the pelt gave as sure 

 an indication of its presence and direction as if it had 

 been seen, enabling the hunter to guide the rowers 

 accordingly. This continued for some time until the 

 otter, finding such tactics useless, dived back, only to 

 emerge near me and go through the same performance, 

 then several more long dives gave opportunities for 

 steadier shots. The chase lasted four hours, most of the 



