Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1903-08-31


fish; for / knew that the clever fisher
was also enjoying the fruits of his
labor.
Years afterward, in Connecticut. on
the shore Of Long Island sound. / had
the pleasure Of watching some wild.
furry fisherfolk. I was sitting on the
brow of a low bun when 7 noticed a
dark creature, es long as a large cat,
but more slender. She crept quietly
along the bank above high tide line.
turning often and looking back. In q
moment I discovered two young ones
following her The baby offers frol-
licked and played with each other
much as kittens do. When they were
about thirty feet from me the mother
otter took hand in the game of romp.
II was a pretty sight The soft, grace.
ful bodies moved like a flash. as they
sprang upon each other. and twined
around IN their affectionate play. The
deep brown of Their fur looked almost
like polished black. in contrast with
the yellow sand around them. Their
heads were broad and fiattened above.
their feet were webbed, although
might not have noticed this peculi-
arity if | had not been looking for If
| watched them in breathless silence
lest they should see me and be
alarmed. There was a bank of loose
sand near them, up whose side one of
the kittens bounded; then, sitting in
a crouching position. with forepaws
doubled under, it began to slide. Sun
posing this was an accident. / looked
10 see the little creature run away:
but as soon as the sand stopped NOV
ing it sprang again to the top of the
mound. Then the mother and brother
Joined in the fun. Sometimes they
slid and sometimes they rolled: but il
made no difference how they reached
the bottom, they were always ready to
spring again to the top of the bank.
This fine sport may have continued
twenty minutes. for neither the r6mp-
ers nor myself were taking any note
or time. Suddenly a breeze must have
whispered to the mother that a human
being was within seeming distance.
for she lifted her head. with nose
pointing in my direction. then sprang
away, with her kittens following her.
| searched long and carefully to find
some trace of their home. Doubtless
the entrance to the nest was under
water, and the small opening of the
air fiume was cleverly hidden under
some thick brush, according to the
ancient and time honored custom of
the offers.
Wonderful tales are told about Of
tiers. They are taught to come when
called, to fetch and carry like a dog.
while they seem to grow fond of the
one who is teaching them. Fishing is
the natural trade of all offers. so they
do not need any man to teach them
how TO catch their scaley game: but
they have to learn TO share with
others. A piece of leather, the shape
of fish, is given the young learner.
He is taught to pick this up and bring
1t to his master whenever he hears the
word of command. When that first
lesson is thoroughly learned, his
master losses the leather into the
water, telling the otter to leap into
the pond and bring the mock fish to
shore. Next a real fish. but a dead
one. is tossed into the water. When
the otter has learned to bring this TO
his teacher, without taking a single
bite for himself. he is almost ready for
graduation. Finally the owner takes
his otter with him in boat and drops
him overheard where fishes are sup
posed to abound. Following his natur-
al instinct, the fisher in fur goes to
work. The master watches him care
fully and repeatedly gives him the
well learned call; then it brings any
live fish it may have caught as readily
as it did the dead one width which
they have been practicfng.
1t was in the early summer when
| saw the otter mother and her babies.
1t was in the autumn when again
had a glimpse of some Of these Jolly
l was looking from a win
dow in the old deserted grist mill
which stands at the southern end of
Chapman's pond, where the outlet
for the sea. The well wooded eastern
shore rose abruptly into a rolling
hillock. while meadows and pasture
lands covered the level western side.
1t was nearing sunset time. so the
rays of light fell upon the wooded
shore, bringing to view new beauty IN
the mass Of autumn foliage and clearly
revealing every little ripple and insig-
nificant lly-pad upon the narrow lake.
l saw in the distance something that
looked like a large watersnake swim
ming toward the old mill. / gazed
a field glass until I discov-
cred that the round fat head belonged
to an otter instead of a serpent. But
what made it seem so long? Then I
saw that another otter was following
close in the wake of the first one. Ia
the deepest part of the pond. lust
above the dam, and not more than a
hundred foot from tho mill @bor- bor-,r