HOW I HUNTED THE SEA-OTTER 41 
lively tame and plentiful, each boat was manned by 
two or three men and the hunter. At first all used 
paddles, but these were soon abandoned for oars. 
As the otters got scarcer, faster, and more difficult 
of approach, bigger boats were used, with more men, 
so that in later years most of the boats were manned 
by six men, including the hunter. Four men rowed, 
and the boat-steerer used a paddle, with which he 
also helped the boat along when chasing an otter. 
From these fast boats, so long as the water was 
smooth, no otter could get away, and its capture 
was only a question of time. 
Hunting cannot be pursued when the sea is the 
least bit rough, or during foggy weather when the 
fog lies right down on the water. A “ lifted 55 fog— 
that is, when it hangs some 50 or 60 feet or more 
above the water, leaving it clear below—makes ideal 
hunting weather, as it gives the sea a milky appear¬ 
ance, and a black object like an otter can be then 
seen a long way off. Generally speaking, the night 
will give indications of what the next morning will 
be like. If it promises to be hunting weather, all 
hands are warned to be on the alert and ready to 
lower boats at daybreak. The cook has to be up 
and have breakfast ready an hour before that. 
The boats are lowered, rifles, ammunition, boat- 
compasses, lunch-boxes, a keg of water, oilskins, 
fog-horn, etc., placed in them, with some spare food 
to provide against such contingencies as not finding 
the vessel on the return, owing to fog, or having to 
haul out on shore in consequence of bad weather 
coming on unexpectedly when a long way from the 
vessel; but often this precaution was neglected, as 
hunters dislike to lumber up their boats. In case 
