LITTLE BEASTS OE EIELD AND WOOD 



failed to kill him, for I had number four shot in 

 my right barrel, and number one In my left, and 

 a gun that shoots close and hard. But I have 

 since talked with an old hunter who claims to 

 have killed several, and he tells me that I might 

 as well have loaded with sand. According to his 

 accounts, buckshot is the only suitable size for 

 shooting otters with, and even then one must get 

 as close as possible. 1 certainly hope that what 

 he says is true, and that the otter is still able to 

 attend to his fishing. 



That was the only time that I am certain of 

 having seen a live otter at liberty in his native 

 haunts ; but several years ago I followed one's 

 tracks until it terminated at a slide on the bank 

 of a tide-water stream, where a space several 

 yards wide, reaching from the top of the high 

 bank to the water, was swept clear of snow by 

 their sliding. 



The top of the bank was covered with trees, 

 beneath whose roots a kind of natural cavern 



144 



