THE OTTER. 265 



I recollect a very large one that carried his trap into the 

 deep for Thomas, like a knowing otter-trapper, never fast- 

 ened it. A heavy rain all that night and next day raised the 

 loch, and prevented him from " looking the trap." When 

 the weather cleared he found it gone, and no float in the 

 water to mark where it was. Phlegmatic Thomas immedi- 

 ately knew that the string was too short from the loch being 

 so high ; so he " consulted his raison," settled where the trap 

 should be, kept his secret till the loch grew less, then returned 

 and found the float within ten yards of the spot he had calcu- 

 lated, and the otter fast in the trap at the bottom of course 

 drowned. 



One day in July, when going to fish, I perceived an otter 

 perfectly still on the top of the water in Loch Vennachar. 

 It was a good way from the shore, and just opposite some 

 steep rocks, where the black deep water was much frequented 

 by salmon. It seemed on the watch like a cat, and it occurred 

 to me that possibly it might be looking out for the rise of a 

 fish, after the manner of seals. The renter of a stake-net 

 fishery told me, that once, when watching the gambols of a 

 large salmon, a seal put up its head at the distance of a mile, 

 swam up in an incredibly short time, and caught the salmon. 

 The seal has this advantage over the otter, that it can seize 

 fish with its paws, and also break nets with them. 



Great numbers of otters resort to the lochs of Lubnaig 

 and Vennachar, and come down in hard weather to the 

 streams that flow out of them. I used to be much annoyed 

 in the winter mornings, when ranging Lennie and Garwhinnie 

 waters for ducks, by people getting down before me to secure 

 the salmon which the otter had " ta'en oot." Of course they 

 put up all the wild-fowl. After a powdering of snow, the 

 mark of a hobnailed shoe was sure to turn my course from 

 these rivers to Loch Vennachar, as I knew full well that the 

 enormous foot would plod down Lennie water, and up Gar- 

 whinnie to the very loch, without leaving a nook undis- 



