Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1894-06-30
THE SEA OTTER.
HE Fur che cestilest In che World.
Shot from Osrrieks.

His Fur che costliest In che World.
Shot from Dsrrleks.
Just ut the present the Sea Otter is
the favorite of the millionairess, and
his fur Is the costliest in the world.
I wonder IL any Of the wearers of this
beautiful fur-so costly that the price
Of one set would feed n hungry family
for two whole years-ever stop to
find out how the first wearer was born
on u bed Of kelp, floating out in the
open sea, on the Icy cold waters OF
the Pacific, and literally crooked in
the cradle Of the deep;" how he was
brought up on the heaving pillows,
and, when bedtime came, found soft
resting place on his mothers breast,
while she floated upon her back and
clasped him with her paws rs he slept !;
how the only land he ever saw was the
rugged, rock-bound shores Of Alaska
or Washington. Now and then, when
the ocean was very rough, and before
the hunters were SO bad, he used to
crawl out upon o rock and lie there,
while the roar OF the breakers doomed
In his ears and the breakers dashed
over him In torrents. But then, IL Is
probable that not one woman out Of
every five hundred takes the trouble
to learn the life history OF the crea-
ture whose furry coat she wears.
The Sea Otter Is the largest Of the
Marten family, and Is very unlike the
family after which the family Is
named. 1t has a thick, clumsy body,
which, with the round, blunt head,
Is from three and q half to four feet
In length. Unlike those OF all other
offers, the tail is short and stumpy,
being about one-Hfth the length Of
the head and body. As II to increase
It's value, and hasten its destruction,
the skin Is much larger than the
body, like misiit coat. and lies loose
~ upon IL in many folds. For this
reason the stretched pelt Is always
much wider and longer than the ami.
nal that wore 1t.
The coat OF the full.grown Sea
Otter Is very dense, very fine, and Its
color Is shimmering, lustr6us black.
Ever since the earliest discovery OF
the Sea Otter by the Russians, Its
fur has been eagerly sought by them,
and the cash prices OF skins have
always been SO high that there Is
not, In the whole United States, q
museum rich enough to afford good
series Of specimens. Mr.. Charles H.
Townsend, the naturalist OF the
United States Fish Commission,
writes me that In 1891 the price OF
the best skins had reached 500 each,
and their value has been since In.
creasing. On the northwest coast OF
the State OF Washington, where Sea
Offers IRE still found along q thirty.
mile strip OF coast (from Gray's Har.
Dor, halfway to Cape Flattery), they
are shot by hunters from tall der.
ricks" from thirty to forty feet high,
erected In the surf halfway between
high tide and low tide, and the
hunter who kills four Offers In q
year considers his work successful.
Owing to the persistent hunting
that has been going on ever since
Alaska came into our possession, the
Sea Otter Is rapidly following the
buffalo to the State Of Extermina.
ton.
The favorite food Of the Sea Otter
Is not fish, rs one might suppose
from the habits OF the common
Otter, but clans, crabs, mussels, and
sea-urchins. Its molar teeth are OF
necessity very strong, for the grind
ing up OF this rough fare, and the
muscles OF the jaws are proportion
atcly POWERFUL st. Nicholas.