THE OTTER. 



57 



In hunting the otter you will see its 

 tracks on sand bars and places where it wal- 

 lows in the sand. It also uses steep banks 

 for its sli'de, always depositing there its dung, 

 which consists of fish scales and bones. See- 

 ing this sign, set your trap at the foot of the 

 slide, three inches under the water, and use 

 a drowning pole, placing it as far to one side 

 as the chain will permit it to go. Let the 

 upper end of the pole go under the water for 

 a foot or more. Dig a hole in the slide the 

 size of your trap, place the trap in it on a 

 level with the ground and cover it nicely 

 with the earth from the hole, leaving the 

 slide as natural as you found it. Drop the 

 bait six inches above the trap on the slide, 

 using in this place the natural bait. Now go 

 ten or twelve feet above or below the slide, 

 and with your ax make another that resem- 

 bles the original slide ; set your trap in the 

 same manner and use the bait made of the 

 musk of the skunk. 



