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li)0 FOREbT LIFE IN ACADIE. 



after in the mnnufactiire of nuifFs, trinimiiigs, and espe- 

 cially of the tall ornamental fur caps generally worn as 

 part of the winter ct)stiime in Canada. The price of the 

 skin varies according to season, good ones bringing fi-om 

 four to six dollars each. 



They are most frequently taken in winter by traps — 

 dead-falls placed over little forest brooks trickling be- 

 tween lakes, and steel-traps submerged at a hand's 

 depth close to the bank, where they come out from 

 under the ice to their paths and "rubs." These re- 

 sorts are readily detected by the tracks and stains on 

 the snow, and the smooth, shining appearance of the 

 frozen bank where they indulge in their curious amuse- 

 ment of sliding down, after the manner of the pas- 

 time termed in Canachi " trebogining." Even in con- 

 finement the animal is full of sport, and gambols 

 like a kitten. The term " otter-rub " is applied to the 

 place where they enter and leave the water, from 

 their habit of rubbing themselves, like a dog, against a 

 stump or root on emerging from the water. The 

 otter is a very wary animal, and I have rarely come 

 upon and shot them unawares, though in cruising up and 

 down runs in a canoe in spring I liave often seen their 

 victims, generally a goodly trout, deserted on hearing the 

 dip of our paddles, and still floundering on the ice. Fresh- 

 water fish, including trout, perch, eels and suckers, form 

 their usual food ; they will also eat frogs. They have 

 paths through the woods from lake to lake, often ex- 

 tending over a very considerable distance, and the 

 shortest cuts that could be adopted — a regular bee-line. 

 Their track on the snow is most singular. After a yard 

 or two of foot impressions there comes a long, broad trail. 



