Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1890-06-06

fers somewhat in appearance from the 9TH
ers, both in form and fur. The common OF
ters are aquatic in their habits, aud have
webbsd toes and slightly fattened tall,
largo blunt head and short ears. The sea
otter lives in the water, and differs from the
the head and the finer texture Of Its fur. A
singular peculiarity of this animal IL the
looseness Of its skin. The skin can be gath
cred in folds on any portion of the body in
the same way az on the neck of puppy,
and an otter only three feet long, from snout
to the base Of the tail, will often have skin
that will measure I've feet in length when re-
moved.
Skins of this rare animal are valued at
from fifty to one hundred and twenty-five
dollars, and extra fine enes of the silver
tipped variety are werth one hundred and
fifty dollars. When properly prepared and
worked up into garments this value Is en-
hanoed to seven hundred dollars, quite
eclipsing the ssalskin in this respect es we'll
as in beauty Of appearance. In both color
and texture the fur Is exsuisitely rich and
fine. Shining jet black IL the color of the
best skins, though the majority are Of a
dark, rich brown, the inferior ones being of
lighter shade Of brown-generally the
skins of young animals. A peculiar mark
ing of one variety of sea otter ia the little
silver colored tips of hairs feeking the fur,
much enhancing its beauty and richness.
The habitat of the sea otter is the North
Paoifc ocean, On the coast Of America and
Asia. They were formerly abundant as far
south as lower California, but are now sell
dom seen south of the Columbia river. An
animal of great value, and occupying so
comparatively limited area, cannot hope to
escape determination to such an extent as to
render it extremely rare; and this is the fate
that has overtaken the otter. In former
years they sHarmed about the Alaskan is
lands, and the early Russian traders reaped
rich harvest. The first year after the discov-
cry of the Prybsloy islands two men took Eve
thousand skins, valued at two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. Cooks inlet yielded
three thousand and Gahkulat gulf two thou
sand the first season.. It took but short
time to reduce their numbers materially, and
In @ few years they abandoned St. Paul is.
land, the member of the Prybalov group
where the two sailars made such remarka-
BILE catch, and have never returned, though
fur seals still swarm upon it's barren rocks.
In like manner they have disappeared from
all points along the coast, and now but few
are captured annually by the sealing and
whaling fleets, by hunters who watch for
them along the shore, and by the natives OF
the Aleutian islands.
In former years offers were hunted In
boats, the came as seals are at the present
tine, but they are now SO rare that this style
of hunting has ceased to be profitable. De-
oasionally the sealing boats come across an
otter and eecure him, but the majority OF
these animals are shot by hunters from the
beach. Otters are hunted along the coast of
Washington, between Gray's Harbor and the
Straits of Fuca, and at no other point ia 1t
done as regular vocation. The hunter pa
trolls the beach, or sits in his tower and
watches closely for his game. Only the ami
oil hos above the water aeemiuQ
like little black ball at the usual distance
of from three to six hundred yards. It CON
readily be imagined that none but an expert
marksman can shoot at such target with
any hope Of success, and, indeed, the most
skiful otter hunter often misses twenty
shots before he suoceeds In putting a bullet
into his floating mark; but he can well at
ford the loss of ammunition and time when
success means SO much. 1t would be well
| for some of our rifemen who boast of four
bulls eyes in five shots to try their hands at
| this style Of shooting. Let them put 6
| wooden block four inches In thickness on thu
surface Of the heaving ocean, at distance O
FIVE hundred yards, and see how often the!
could hit it, with strong wind blowing ane
the moving breakers confusing their eyes
| Hitting the otter with the bullet by no mean
| secures the game, for the hunter must wal
| for it to drift upon the beach, and this Otter
| does not occur until darkness sets in, whel
it may fall into the clutches of some one be
sides the successful marksman.
There is no way of proving property iF
dead otter unless the hunter has kept his ey
on it constantly. In good weather the own
er Of the cabin on the crest Of "Coph Palis
keeps lookout from his perch for the bob
bing heads of offers, and when he has sue
eeeded In killing one he signals to some In
dian assistants on the beach, who watch fo
the game and secure 1t when it drifts ashore
Most hunters would find this rather nonoto
nous sport, as day after day often passe
without successful shot being made, ani
the result of whole seasons hunting ma.
be but twenty-five skins.