Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1892-06-04
HUNTING SEA OFFERS.
LONELY OCCUPATION IN THE
PACIFIC NORTHWES
Keen Workmanship and Great Persevsr"
ance Necessary to success-The
Most Expensive Fur Known
to Commerce.

1t is a fact not gArerally known
even among the residents of the state
of Washington, says the San Francisco
Chronicle, that off the coast along the
edge of the Pacific ocean. and almost
in the shadow of the majestic Olympic
range of mountains. is found, in num-
bers now rivaling the product of the
Aleutian islands, the much-pIzed sea
otter an animal which furnishes the
most expensive fur known to the COM
mercial world. The sea otter fur re-
quires no dyeing TO fit it for use like
the seal fur. and in its natural state is
worth ten or twenty times the figure
that the sealskin sells for. 1t is not
usually made into cloaks or sacques,
because too heavy as we'll as too ex-
pensive. to suit the tastes Of many.
and IL is so rare that the fur is not
often seen except as trimmings for
garments made Of sealskin.
1t is very interesting TO see the
manner In which the highly priced
sea offers are secured here on the
coast of Washington. If it were an
easy task to get a sea otter there
would no longer be any of them left
in these waters for they have been
hunted here for twenty years by white
men and hundred or more by the
Indians. The Indians hunt the sea
otter from long. heavy canoes in
which they go out through the surf,
and. cruising along mile or two,
shoot or spear the animal as he lies
sleeping in the water with only his
head in sight. Owing to his extreme
wariness 1t is hard 80 approach and
difficult to hit the animal after it is
found. 1t is only after long practice
that an Indian accustomed as he is TO
the use OF canoe, is able TO meet
with any success at all, for IL takes
great skill to shoot or spear floating
object in a choppy sea from an uncer-
tain canoe Very often hunter re-
mains out five or six days without re-
suit
1t is not however. the Indians who
secure the most sea otteSB, for there
are not many natives left and the
pursuit is hazardous one. 1t is the
white hunter or Boston man." as
the Indians call him. who has de-
vised way of getting the coveted
fur without risking his life in canoe
at sea- Along this stretch of beach
from Gray's Harbor to Point Granville
are seven or eight three-legged tow
ers. that look from a distance like
huge skeleton pile-drivers, with a
rude box at the top OF each. These
towers are called sea-otter derrickS
and they are erected as far out toward
! the breakGEs as practicable without
danger OF being washed away. The
| beach is smooth and so nearly level
that at distance of !. 600 feet from
shore the water is only two or three
feet deep.
From the tops OF these derricks the
hunters pick off the wary sea OTTER
and it is not an unusual thing for one
TO shoot and kill his game ut dis
tance OF 1000 yards sut though
these hunters are excellent rlhemen
and their weapons are the very best
they may shoot a hundred times with
out killing a single sea otter. so that
in addition to being good shots they
must possess unusual patience In
spite of the lack of liveliness in the
pursuit the sport is most attractive
Que. and the hunter who once gets
! into it seldom abandons it.
| In the locality that / have men,
toned these derricks forming a con-
spicuous feature of the coast scenery.
are scattered from two TO four miles
apart. Two of these lookouts have
been up long time. One is buile in
the tops Of two tall trees or the bank
and the other is on rock some dis
lance out the little cabin on top being
reached by a rude ladder built of
short pieces of drift wood tied to-
gether. Severe storms blow the der
ricks on the sand down every winter
but they are easily rebuilt as there are
great quantities OF driftwood handy
and no lack of standing timber within
a few rods OF the breakers Usually
two hunters build derrick together
and share in its use.
These derricks are forty feet high
and at the base are twenty -four feet
wide. On one OF the poles a rude
ladder is built and the three poles are
braced together.by cross pieces nailed
on at different points Upon the top
or apex is built box. nearly las high
as mans head open on the side
toward the sea. The ends of the
poles are sawed of and board is
nailed on top making seat for the
hunter. who sits in this wind protected
coop and. with his rifle resting on the
edge OF the box in front OF him. waits
and watches for the game He soon
learns the habits of the sea otter. and
can tell by the wind and the tide and
the currents where to look for the first
appearance OF the stubby little head
above the water.
Not one sea otter in q dozen sinks
when it is killed by bullet and the
next flood tide throws the carcass on
the beach. When a number of hun
tiers are shooting each one marks his
bullets so that the owner may be
known when the animal is found. The
hunters have implicit faith in each
other, and would not think OF taking
skins that did not belong TO them.
The Indians going up and down the
beach are EMPLOYED by some of the