American Big Game in its Haunts 



cord attached to its middle, soon tires the otter 

 out. The seal spears, used for the finishing coup, 

 are made in the same way, and in addition have at- 

 tached to the long shaft a bladder, which contin- 

 ually draws the animal to the surface. So expert are 

 the natives, that, after shooting several arrows, 

 they gather them all up together in one hand as 

 they sweep by in a baidarka. The arrow is not 

 sent straight to the mark, but describes a consider- 

 able curve. Good bows are valued very highly, 

 and on an otter expedition will not be swapped 

 even for a rifle. 



On a favorable morning the baidarkas leave the 

 schooners, and, holding their direction so as to 

 describe a large fan, can view a good piece of 

 water. A paddle held high in air shows that 

 game has been sighted, and a large circle, perhaps 

 a mile in circumference, is at once formed around 

 the otter, each baidarka trying to get in the first 

 successful shot. To the man who first hits home 

 belongs the skin, but as an otter can stay under 

 water twenty minutes, and when rising for air ex- 

 poses only his nose, a long and exciting chase 

 follows. 



Some natives patrol the small island shores, and 

 during the winter make a good harvest picking up 

 dead otters which have washed ashore. This hap- 



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