32 
ANIMALS OP NORTH AMERICA, 
northward yearly. In places where it used to be most abun- 
dant, no trace of it is now found, except in the names of 
streams or localities, such as Otter Creek, Otterville, &c. 
It is very sagacious and wary ; its fur ranks next in quality 
to that of the beaver, and is greatly used in the manufacture 
of hats. The otter is too wary to touch baited traps ; they 
are accordingly placed in the water at the foot of their slides, 
for which they have a curious fondness. These slides are 
thus formed : a number of them (for they live frequently 
in families like the beaver) will select a spot where the river 
