THE OTTER. 169 



taken in a naked trap, set in the pathway between its 

 hole and the water, but seldom in a baited one, as it 

 is not fond of any prey but that which it catches for 

 itself. Instances are mentioned, in which it has been 

 said to be taken by seizing the minnows with which 

 people have been fishing, but the accounts are not very 

 well authenticated. 



The fishings of the otter are not confined to, though 

 they be chiefly carried on in, fresh waters. In the 

 Shetland Islands, it frequents the shores of the sea, 

 and fishes along with the seals. 



When the otter is " frozen out," by the snow storms, it 

 is forced to enter upon a new course of life. It will then 

 travel to a considerable distance, attack lambs, poultry, 

 and sucking pigs ; and is very destructive to rabbits, as it 

 follows them through all the windings of their burrows. 

 These are the times at which it is most successfully 

 hunted, and the time too at which the skin, which is a 

 very excellent fur, is the most valuable. When the 

 water is not frozen, the otter is difficult to capture, 

 unless it can be shot, as it takes to the water, and only 

 occasionally " vents," as the hunters call it that is, 

 raises its nose to the surface to breathe. The old 

 hunters, who set more value upon the difficulty of the 

 capture, than on the prey itself, attack the otter in 

 posse comitatus, beat the banks with dogs, hedge in a 

 space with nets, and assail the otter with clubs and 

 spears, when he comes up to breathe. In catholic 

 times, the otter was eaten, and was ranked among fish, 

 of which it has the smell and taste, certainly ; and 

 therefore it was a feast in Lenten days. Now it is 

 caught only for the skin, which is valuable at all times, 

 Q 



