124 HUNTING THE SEA OTTER. 



fetid odour exhaled by its larger relations, with the hot sun 

 shining upon them in the boats. 



Pup skins, after the long dirty-white hairs have been 

 pulled out, make very good caps, the pelt beneath being 

 very thick and soft. I have heard this long hair described 

 as coarse, but this is not the case, examination proving it 

 to be both fine and soft, with a very slight tendency 

 to curl. 



Two fine days in succession would have been too much 

 to expect on such a coast, where fog reigns almost supreme ; 

 and, even when clear, wind and sea are often adverse to 

 the hunter, so that we were not surprised to hear the wind 

 whistling shrilly through the rigging long before daylight, 

 while the cold, damp air that shot down the companion 

 told the usual tale of mist and rain. But yesterday, what 

 the Portuguese would call a " furious calm," to-day a cold, 

 wet drizzle, accompanied by a fog as thick as a feather-bed. 

 So we spent the morning in dressing skins, and in the 

 afternoon amused ourselves catching albatrosses (Diomedea 

 fuliginosa}. We began by throwing overboard pieces of 

 bread and biscuit until we had several of them congregated 

 right astern ; the hook, baited with a piece of fat pork, was 

 laid on a small piece of board and floated down among 

 them. A long fishing-line attached gave the sportsman 

 above command of this novel floating fly. There was a 

 rush at this delicious morsel as soon as it was seen, when 

 the sharp point of the hook, catching in one or the other 

 of their strong mandibles, enabled us to drag them on 

 board without injury to anything but their dignity. So 

 tame were these birds, that, by hauling the first few 

 captured quietly along, the rest followed without suspicion 

 until they were right under the counter, so that at last the 

 bait would be seized before it had time to reach the water, 

 and the floating board was no longer needed. When once 

 on deck, like the rest of their kind, they were quite unable 

 to fly, or, indeed, to stand upright for any length of time; 

 and they seemed to be thoroughly aware of their inability 



