had been stripped from it down to the 

 smallest twig and it appeared white and 

 conspicuous when seen from a distance 

 of fifty yards. 



Proceeding on our way toward the 

 fishing ground, we presently saw the 

 head of some animal above the surface. 

 It was swimming toward us and waves 

 were spreading out fan wise in its wake, 

 on the smooth surface of the pond. 

 Instantly we became motionless and 

 watched its approach. When within 

 fifteen or twenty yards of our boat it 

 stopped, eyeing us curiously, then swung 

 to the right and again to the left, appar- 

 ently for the purpose of viewing us from 

 different angles. Its back appearing 

 above the surface was covered with a 

 reddish brown fur with long grey hairs 

 showing at intervals. There was a large 

 white spot on the top of his head (this 

 we later learned was not a character- 

 istic marking, a white spot being quite 

 unusual on animals of this family, and 

 it enabled us to recognize our first 



11 



