The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-05-15
HUNTING SEA OTTER.

HUNTING SEA OTTER,
An Exciting and Dangerous Sport at Gray's
Hnrbor.
Especial Corrcspondence.l
TACOMA, May 5.-From May to
October is a busy time with sea otter
hunters on the shores of Gray's harbor.
1t is not generally known that large
percentage Of the fur of that animal
comes from that locality, but it is n
fact. For good many years large
number Of men have enjoyed large in
como each year from the sale Of the
pelts Of sea offers killed along the rocky
shores Of Gray's harbor.
The hunting ground extends from Da-
mons point to Point Greenville, and it
is for the most part dreary stretch of
rocky coast beaten by heavy surf
The coat Of the SEQ otter is one of the
most valuable Of furs It requires no
plucking or coloring. Many of the hairs
are tipped with white or silver, giving
1t kind of luster or sheen that no 9TH
er fur possesses The pelts are readily
sold at from $3.50 at $500 each, and the
majority Of them go to Europe, where
they arc wrought into garments for the
nobility.
The method employed In hunting the
animal Is peculiar and possesses an ele-
ment Of danger that renders it exciting.
The offers are secured by shooting, and
as they are too shy to expose themselves
to the aim of the hunter by leaving
the water the hunter ia obliged to find
All elevation that will give him clear
view Of the surf
For this purpose he erects on the shore
three strong poles, usually the trunks
of pine trees They are set firmly in the
sand in tho form Of a triangle 20 feet
apart The poles arc set on slant, so
that the tops approach each other close
ly. Strong girders arc fastened to the
poles. and ON the top Of them floor is
laid
Around the floor wall of strong
planks is built Short cloats of stout
wood are nailed to the inshore pole
about two feet apart These form lad
der that leads to the box at the top BY
this means the hunter is elevated 40
feet above tho shore, and as the poles
are set at point midway between high
and low tide he is often surrounded by
u stretch of tuinbling water that shakes
his rooSt as If it was reed
1t IS during storm, when the water
is the roughest and the danger greatest,
that the hunters chances for securing
the game are best Occasionally tower
Is wrcnchcd from its foundation by the
waves, and then the hunter has hand
to hand struggle for his life, but he
I v Nn,.tr re- hl
mcnt is . life preserver that he wears at
times when the waves threaten his perch.
At low water the hunter climbs up to
his lookout armed with rifle and car
rying a fieldglass- AS the tide begins
to rise the hunter sweeps the water
with his iieldglass, searching carefully
the swell just outside the breakers 1t
is III that locality that the dark head of
tho game is first seen bobbing up and
down with the swing of tho water
At first the range is about 600 yards,
but as tho tide rises it is brought down
to hundred yards When al otter is
sighted, the hunter takes careful aim at
it and does his best to send q ball into
the bobbing head
That is q very difficult feat to accom-
pllSu III SOllSctl llcuCC Oh Lilc HlOLlOu Oh
the target and the trembling of the
perch under tho pressure of the wind or
waves 1t is necessary for success that
the hunter be first class marksman,
and then it is estimated that not more
than one i'll a hundred shots takes effect.
The bodies of offers that are killed
arc cast up by the tide, where they are
found by the hunters, who identify them
by means of marked bullets BY an az
rangement between the hunters tho tow
ers are set along the shore at distance
of half mile apart
1t sometimes happens that hunter
will climb to his perch and watch
through the tides for a week without
getting shot, and it is not an uncom-
mon occurrence for o hunter to work
the season through without securing a
single pelt but the possibility Of get
ting hundreds of dollars easily and
quickly lures him to his "crow's nest"
as regularly as the seasons come. OF
late the game has grown scarce and if
hunter secures four pelts during the
season he is satisfied. Many of them,
however, if the season is ono in which
there are few storms and they are lucky
as we'll as careful in making shots, como
out at the end of the season with from
So, 500 to IS, 600 worth of fur to theil
credit. THOMAS HOLMES.