ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 433 



among our most reliable furs. They do not seem to have 

 appreciably decreased. They make rude lairs under the 

 snow near some open running water. They seem able to 

 catch fish whenever they wish to do so, summer or winter, 

 but whether they merely outswim, or simply pounce on 

 their prey like a hawk, is doubtful. They never seem 

 to starve like wolves and foxes, being almost always in 

 good condition. No water at all adheres to their coats, 

 so, unlike a dog, they appear not to " freeze up." They 

 are among our most enduring animals. A friend described 

 how he had seen a fox on one occasion sight an otter, and 

 at once attack it. The otter, however, turned on his 

 assailant and damaged him so badly that he was glad to 

 escape with his pelt in a woful condition for the fur market. 

 Their characteristic u rub" is so evident on the snow that 

 they are easily marked down, and by waiting quietly can 

 readily be shot in the water. 



I had a similar story told me of an otter and a lynx. 

 The lynx, waiting in hiding, pounced on the otter as he came 

 out of a pond with a fish. But the otter gave such a good 

 account of himself that the cat fled. 



Ursus Americanus. The black bear is one of our 

 commonest furs. As he is large and his flesh excellent eat- 

 ing, he is, unfortunately, always shot at sight, though his 

 skin in summer is practically valueless. The meat is like 

 dark mutton. He is a most harmless creature, and I can 

 get no record of even a mother with her family (generally 

 two) having been dangerous to man. A trapper on snow- 

 shoes in the spring came on a bear just out of his cave. 

 He gave chase, and, owing to the deep, soft snow, the bear 

 had no chance of getting away. Seeing that it was fight or 



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