June 16, 1892.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



881 



HUNTING THE SEA OTTER. 



Many years before the settlement of California by the 

 Americans, Russian fur traders had trading and hunting 

 posts along the coasts of upper and lower California, for 

 the purpose of securing the pelts of these wonderful ani- 

 mals, whose fur is the most beautiful among all the fur- 

 bearing creatures of the world. 

 The enormous beds" of kelp 

 found along these shores were 

 especially adapted to the habits 

 of the sea otter, which fed on 

 the sea urchins and shellfish 

 abounding in these sea mead- 

 ows. In early times otter were 

 plentiful on the coasts of Cal- 

 ifornia, Oregon, Queen Char- 

 lotte and Vancouver islands, 

 the south coast of Alaska, and 

 they were especially abundant 

 throughout the Aleutian and 

 Kurile islands. The natives of 

 the Aleutians and Kuril es are 

 very expert with the spear, 

 which is thrown with a hand- 

 board. In hunting the otter, a 

 number of bidarkas, with two 

 men in each, go in company, 

 and when the animal is sighted 

 the canoes form in a half cir- 

 cle behind the otter, and all 

 the hunters who are near 

 enough throw a spear. Then 

 the otter dives, but as the 

 movement of the animal is 

 slow, the light skin boats of 

 the hunters can easily over- 

 take it. The otter often dou- 

 bles and comes up behind the 

 hunters, when the canoes a- 

 gain form, and the hunters 

 throw their spears whenever 

 the animal rises to the surface 

 to breathe. Being kept under 

 water so much, the otter be- 

 comes exhausted and stays 

 longer and longer on the sur- 

 face, and the hunters are able 

 to approach nearer until the 

 victim is Ptruck by a dart, 

 when its doom is sealed. The 

 fur of a prime otter is so beau- 

 tiful that no art of man can 

 add to its lustre, and it is a 

 matter of regret that the spe- 

 cies is being so rapidly exter- 

 minated. The sole occupation 

 of the natives of the Western 

 Aleutian Islands has been the 

 hunting of the sea otter, but 

 owing to the decrease of the 

 animal the government will 

 soon have to provide for these 

 people or transport them to 

 some region with greater re- 

 sources. The placing of rein- 

 deer on these islands is en- 

 tirely feasible and would greatly benefit the inhabitants. 

 These natives are intelligent enough to know that it is for 

 their interest to let the animals multiply, while the north- 

 ern Esquimaux would simply destroy them. 



The habits of the sea otter are very peculiar and inter- 

 esting; they seldom go to land— in fact never except 

 during terrible storms, when they sometimes go upon 

 outlying rocks and reefs in the ocean. Unlike the seal, 

 thev do not bear their young upon the land, but give 

 birth to them at sea. The pup is taken on the breast of 

 its mother, who floats lightly in the water, on her back 

 as a favorite position, and is caressed and cared for and 

 held in her forepaws like a child by its mother. As the 

 young one grows older it runs around on the body of its 

 mother as on a veritable island of fur. 



When frightened, the mother takes the pup in her 

 mouth and disappears, and, even when the offspring is 

 only a few days old, she will remain with it below the 

 surface fully fifteen minutes before rising again. It is 

 very interesting to see an otter with her young on her 

 breast as she swims through the rough water along the 

 shore, taking it in her arms when a breaker comes to 

 prevent it from being washed off. and so it journeys; 

 along, a strange boat with a strange crew. 



In feeding, the otter brings to the surface several shell- 

 fish, takes its favorite position on its back, lays them on 

 its breast and breaks and eats them one by one. The 

 animal is very timid, and it has been hunted so much it 

 is seldom fouud in the kelp during the day, but goes out 

 to sea and returns at night. Its cry is a sharp whistle. 

 The young have been kept on board of vessels for some 

 time and become very tame and gentle, but owing to the 

 lack of proper food they always died on the passage to 

 San Francisco. As long as the vessels remain near 



seen young of various sizes from the length of a rat to 

 half-grown individuals with their mothers at the same 

 time. E. P. Herendeen. 



Sea Otter Hunting in 1873. 

 Mr. Robert King, late of Iliuliuk, Unalaska, in 1873 had 

 charge of a hunting party of 101 bidarkas in the Kadiak 

 district, off Tugidak Island, and to him we are indebted 

 for the following account of the hunt: The party was 

 collected from seven villages on Kadiak Island, and in- 

 cluded some women and children. They had temporary 



SEA OTTER— MOTHER AND YOUNG. 



the shore where plentiful supplies of sea urchins and 

 fresh fish can be obtained , the young ones do very well. 

 At sea they become greatly attached to the sailors, often 

 sleeping in the berths with them and fighting for the 

 privilege of getting under the blankets. 

 There seems to be no regular pupping season, as I have 



SEA OTTER HUNTER'S DERRICK. 



barraboras on Tugidak Island, convenient to the hunting 

 ground, and in a place where there was plenty of water 

 and driftwood. In this year the season opened about the 

 middle of June and continued until Aug. 1. During all 

 this time there were only one whole day and two half 

 days of actual hunting, but in this brief period of time 

 375 otter skins were obtained, the animals being killed 

 with arrows and spears. Some idea of the endurance of 

 these people may be had from the fact that the hunting 

 period covered twenty- six hours, during which time no 

 food or drink was partaken of, and the hunters kept a 

 kneeling position, a posture characteristic of the Kadiak 

 people and absolutely painful to one not accustomed to it 

 even for a very short time. The feet being bent back- 

 ward and inward the weight comes on the whole surface of 

 theforeleg and there is a heavy strain upon the knees and 

 ankles. The circulation of the blood is, of course, much 

 interfered with. The training for the acquirement of 

 this position is begun in early youth. The boy, usually 

 in charge of his uncle, is made to practice two or three 

 hours daily for a long time before he is allowed to handle 

 a bidarka. 



Before starting to fish or hunt the astronome, or old 

 weather prophet, is called upon for the indications, 

 which, if favorable, are followed by the assembling cry, 

 "We go to fish." The cry, "We go to hunt" is not used, 

 as the hunters say the spirits would hear it and tell the 

 otter, which could not then be found. As soon as the 

 cry is sounded the leaders of the villages enter their bid- 

 arkas and paddle out from shore a distance of 100yds., 

 where they raise their paddles and utter the assembling 



When an otter is sighted the discoverer makes a pecu- 

 liar sound and the hunters all rush in the direction indi- 

 cated. If the animal is still in sight a volley of arrows 

 is sent after him, even at a distance of 100yds., but the 

 chances are against his being hit at the first discbarge. 

 The hunters hurry to the spot where the otter dives and 

 the one reaching the place last takes his position there 

 and holds up his paddle to show where the animal disap- 

 peared. The remaining hunters then form a circle 

 around the place, say at a distance of 50yds. from the up- 

 lifted paddle, and wait for a reappearance of the otter, 

 which they know must soon come up to breathe. The 

 shooting is repeatad until the animal is struck, and it is a 

 point of honor among these people that no one claims to 

 have struck an otter unless he is positive of the fact. 

 The otter belongs to the first man who strikes him. When 

 they are plentiful, he who first shoots one offers a pre- 

 mium of from $2 to $10, according to the size and vigor 

 of the otter, for the second arrow, because the animal 

 with two arrows in it is considered secure. So the otter 

 is half-killed, half-worried to death. It must come to 

 the surface to breathe, and if made to dive frequently 

 and without sufficient time to properly respire, it soon 

 becomes an easy prey to the hunters, who thrust into it 

 a spear having an inflated bladder attached. 



The arrows are ingeniously constructed; fastened to 

 the shaft by a bridle is a detachable barbed point, called 

 the nosok, which gives the arrow a latitudinal motion 

 through the water, the better to arrest the otter. 



After spearing the otter, he is dispatched with a club 

 and the arrows are carefully removed, an operation some- 

 times made very difficult by the entanglement of the 

 weapons. Two of the skin canoes are then brought close 

 together to insure their stability, and the animal is placed 

 in the lap of one of the hunters, who sits on the hatch to 

 receive it. By putting the crotch of his club under its 

 jaw he shoves the otter either into the front or back of 

 the bidarka in such a way as to trim the craft properly. 

 When two hunters strike an otter at the same time, the 

 prize belongs to the one who struck nearest the tail; 



BIDARKA AND CREW. 



there is, however, considerable local variation in this re- 

 spect. It is not essential that the arrows should be dis- 

 charged at the same instant, but they must strike on the 

 same breach of the otter, and they must stick, the pres- 

 ence of the point or nosok in the skin being necessary to 

 substantiate the hunter's claim. The string may be bit- 

 ten off by the otter, but the arrow point cannot readily 

 be removed. When in use, the nosok is ground upon a 

 whetstone until she edges are very sharp, but at other 

 times it is made blunt, in order to avoid the danger of 

 its cutting the canoe. As a matter of course, the nosois 

 are often highly prized and bring fancy prices. A sea 



THE SURROUND— WAITING FOR AN OTTER TO RISE AGAIN. 



cries of their respective villages. Then the people hurry 

 out as quickly as possible and form in a line around their 

 leaders. The bidarkas are arranged side by side, each 

 man holding on to the hatch of his neighbor's bidarka. 

 After the villagers comes the astronome, to see that all 

 are afloat, and then in his own bidarka goes to join his 

 village. Finally he gives the signal for the start, when 

 they leave the beach the villages depart at different 

 angleB, and divide into groups as they approach the otter 

 grounds, five being the usual number of bidarkas to the 

 otter, but fewer when the game is abundant. A large 

 hunting party may extend in this way over as much as 

 twenty miles, the groups being out of sight of one 

 another, but not beyond hearing distance, so that they 

 can be brought together at any time by the assembling 

 cry. In calm weather this cry can be heard at a con- 

 siderable distance. When the homeward journey is 

 begun the groups all unite and go home together. Dur- 

 ing the hunt no talking is done, but loud cries are 

 uttered. The hunters claim that the otter can under- 

 stand words and attribute to it most extraordinary 

 powers. They consider the ach-an-ah, or sea woman, 

 the most intelligent of all marine animals and the bear 

 the wisest of land animals. 



otter skin has sometimes been exchanged for a nosok of a 

 particular pattern. There are also lucky nosoks, and their 

 purchase involves diplomacy and substantial returns. 



The otters are taken ashore to be skinned. The fat is 

 first removed and this involves great difficulty on account 

 of the tough fibers by which it is interlaced. The skin is 

 stretched, with the fur side in, by means of two pieces of 

 wood which are placed at an angle. The tail is spread by 

 means of wooden strips and the lower end of the skin is 

 fastened to the frame with pegs. After drying thor- 

 oughly, which will require two favorable days, the skin 

 is removed from the frame, reversed, and hung loosely 

 on the stretcher to dry the fur. It is then turned again 

 to protect the fur from sunlight, folded in three folds, 

 marked for ready identification, and held for conveyance 

 to the trading station. 



The Sea Otter Derrick. 



On the coast of Washington, between Point Greenville 

 and Gray's Harbor, there is a small bay in which the sea 

 otter survives and furnishes the object of a unique and 

 precarious mode of hunting. From the smooth beach the 

 water is very shoal for a distance of several hundred 



