2o6 TPIE ADVENTURES OF A NATURE GUIDE 



with all attention across a beaver pond. Making 

 a quiet detour through the primeval forest I found 

 that he was watching a number of otter playfully 

 coasting on their sUde. 



The smooth, slippery, wet slide, about forty 

 feet long, came down the steeply wooded slope into 

 the south shore of the pond. The slide was well 

 worn and testified to the strong play habits of these 

 animals. Each coasting otter ended with a merry 

 splash as he slid into the water. The glimpses 

 that I had of the coasters showed that they were all 

 enjoyment. The grizzly, all the time I watched, 

 was giving the otter enthusiastic attention. But 

 he was only one of many spectators. A flock of 

 wild ducks sat motionless in the pond observing the 

 players. The coasting suddenly stopped and the 

 otter disappeared in the water. A squirrel on a 

 spruce limb overhanging the slide had also been a 

 wondering spectator of the play, and with jerky, 

 hesitating chatter of a bark expressed his disap- 

 pointment and disapproval because the perform- 

 ance was ended. 



The characteristic play of co5'otes is nois3^ 

 They have concerts full of howls, barks, and yelps, 

 in ever-varying combinations. These players have 

 regular places for assembling and both singly and 

 collectively send their wild notes flying at dif- 

 ferent angles off into the night. There are weird, 

 ventriloquial effects which sometimes multiply 

 and reproduce one yapping, yelping entertainer 



