OTTER, 
265 
These creatures are very harmless, and so singu- 
larly affectionate to their young, that they never 
desert them, and will even pine to death for their 
loss. They are said to produce but one at a time, 
which they fondle between their fore-feet ; and be- 
fore the young can swim, they carry them in their 
paws, lying in the water on their backs, in which 
posture they can swim very swiftly. As they never 
make any resistance when attacked, they endea- 
vour to save themselves by flight ; and, after they 
have escaped to some distance, they will stop and 
look back at their enemy, holding one of their fore- 
feet over their eyes as a shade to defend them from 
the glare of light, which their weak sight cannot 
bear. 
They are taken in several different ways, and 
their flesh is preferred to that of seals by the na- 
tives of Kamtschatka. The unfortunate crew com- 
manded by Captain Bering, however, found it in- 
sipid, and so hard and tough that they were 
obliged to cut it into small pieces before they could 
eat it. They resemble seals, in being almost al- 
ways in water, as well as in the form of particu- 
lar parts of their bodies. They are such excellent 
swimmers that they have sometimes even been seen 
at the distance of a hundred leagues from the 
land. 
Their skins are exceedingly valuable, and are 
sold in great quantities to the Chinese. Some of 
them will fetch from fourteen to twenty-five pounds 
