HOW I HUNTED THE SEA-OTTER 4S 
a single otter. The constant strain of being on the 
look-out begins to tell, and the hunter gets dull and 
the boat’s crew listless. To give a better chance of 
seeing something, the boats have probably spread 
out to double the usual distance, so that the “ rais¬ 
ing ” signal cannot be readily seen, and the boat, 
which has at last come across an otter or a 46 school ” 
of them, has to go on without support from the 
others. Suddenly a shot rings out from this boat, 
and the others, hearing it, wake up, and all hands 
settle down to oars and paddles, and make the boat 
fly through the water to get into position. All 
fatigue is forgotten the moment the music of the 
rifle-shot is heard. 
The chase of the otter is not the only thing which 
makes sea-otter hunting so attractive. When there 
is too much wind to hunt, it is usual for the schooner 
to seek shelter under the lee of the land, and anchor. 
Here, whilst the crew is replenishing the supply of 
wood and water, the hunters take their rifles or shot¬ 
guns, and try for a bear, reindeer, mountain-sheep, 
or some geese, duck, grouse, or other feathered 
quarry, whilst others engage in fishing. If the 
season is right, sea-birds’ eggs are gathered in thou¬ 
sands, and stored in barrels in sand, each egg being 
stood on its end, as in that position they will keep 
for a long time. Birdskins and insects may be 
collected, and photographs taken, and in the berry¬ 
ing season one can go on shore and feast on delicious 
wild berries of several kinds. 
There is a reverse to all this, of course—the thick 
fogs, the heavy blows with thick, dirty weather, the 
rainy, dark, stormy nights, in which one must get 
under way and beat off a lee shore, etc.—but the dis- 
