NORTHERN OCEAN 349 



water, both in woods and on open plains, as well as on the 

 ice of large lakes ; but it is not known what has led them 

 to such places : perhaps merely for amusement, for they are 

 not known to kill any game on the land during that season. 

 If pursued when among the woods in Winter, (where the 

 snow is always light and deep,) they immediately dive, and 

 make considerable way under it, but are easily traced by the 

 motion of the snow above them, and soon overtaken. The 

 Indians kill numbers of them with clubs, by tracing them in 

 the snow ; but some of the old ones are so fierce when close 

 pursued, that they turn and fly at their pursuer, and their 

 bite is so severe that it is much dreaded by the Indians. 

 Besides this method of killing them, the Indians have 

 another, which is equally successful ; namely, by concealing 

 themselves within a reasonable gun-shot of the Otters 

 usual landing-places, and waiting their coming out of the 

 water. This method is more generally practised in moon- 

 light nights. They also shoot many of them as they 

 are sporting in the water, and some few are caught in 

 traps. 



The Otters in this, as well as every other part of the bay, 

 vary in size and colour, according to age and season. 

 [376] In Summer, when the hair is very short, they are almost 

 black, but as the Winter advances, they turn to a beautiful 

 dark auburn, except a small spot under the chin, which is 

 of a silver gray. This colour they retain all the Winter ; 

 but late in the Spring (though long before they shed their 

 coat) they turn to a dull rusty brown ; so that a person who 

 is acquainted with those changes can tell to a great nicety, by 

 looking at the skins, (when offered for sale,) the very time 

 they were killed, and pay for them according to their 

 value. The number of their young is various, from three 

 to five or six. They unite in copulation the same as a 

 dog, and so do every other animal that has a bone in the 

 penis. I will here enumerate all of that description that I 



