Cautiously approaching, when near 

 the brook, I heard sounds of splashing 

 in the water. Creeping on hands and 

 knees, then slowly on stomach, I reach- 

 ed a position where, through the bushes, 

 the surface of the pool came into view, 

 when, crawling up the opposite bank, 

 I saw a long, slender, shiny, water soak- 

 ed, fur coated body which was sur- 

 mounted with a cat-like head; the legs 

 were so short they were invisible and 

 the body appeared to drag upon the 

 ground, while a tapering tail about a 

 foot long followed in the rear. The 

 Otter, including tail, was about three 

 feet long and he had a trout in his mouth 

 which he deposited on the ground and 

 immediately slid down the bank and 

 disappeared under the water. In less 

 than a minute he crawled up the bank 

 again with another fish in his mouth, 

 which was dropped by the first one and 

 the operation was repeated. 



27 



