222 
IN FORBIDDEN SEAS 
in the morning for breakfast, and were very tired 
after our nineteen hours in the boats. 
August was a lean month for otters, four only 
being added to our catch. In other ways it was 
somewhat eventful. We had lots of fishing, getting 
all the cod, halibut, salmon, and trout, we cared for. 
The waters hereabouts teem with fish. Occasionally 
in the smaller rivers and streams, when the salmon 
and salmon-trout are “ running,” there is more fish 
than water. I have often waded into the streams 
and kicked the salmon out on to the banks in dozens. 
It is then the bears have a good time, and they 
surfeit themselves with fish, much to the detriment 
of their flesh from a culinary point of view; for the 
meat then takes on a rank, fishy flavour by no 
means appetizing. At other times, when the bear 
lives on berries and roots chiefly, his flesh is very 
good. 
Do animals reason ? From instances that have 
come under my personal observation, I am inclined 
to believe that to a certain extent they do. I may 
relate what occurred with my own dog Nell: she 
was a nearly pure-bred Sussex spaniel of good stock, 
was only eight months old, and had never had any 
training ; nevertheless, she would hunt and retrieve, 
and was always delighted to go on shore hunting 
with me. One day we landed on Shumshir, where 
a very small stream runs into Mairuppu Bay, to get 
some salmon, which were just beginning to “ run.” 
The stream was so small that in places the fish had 
to run over the shallows with their backs out of the 
water. Several of us had spears, with which we 
were trying to capture the fish as they came up one 
or two at a time. We had taken about half a dozen, 
