THE OTTER PLAYS ON 71 
this struggle commonly a conqueror. “Yes,” 
said a lazy but observing trapper one evening 
by my campfire, “the otter has more pecu- 
liarities than any other animal of the wilderness. 
Concealed under his one skin are three or four 
kinds of animals.” And this I found him. 
Doubtless there are many interesting unre- 
corded and unseen customs concerning this 
inscrutable and half-mysterious animal. 
Possibly the otter heads the list in highly de- 
veloped play habit. Sometimes numbers gather 
in advance to prepare a place on which to play. 
The otter slide rivals the beaver dam when wild 
folks’ ways are discussed. It is interesting that 
this capable animal with a wide range of effi- 
cient versatility should be the one that appears 
to give the most regular attention to play. 
