[IV.
THE OTTER.]
The otter is one of the most graceful of living creatures, but as a fisherman and fishculturist, I candidly confess that I look on him as a detestable nuisance on my river. What says the poet!
“Nor spears
That bristle on his back defend the perch
From his wide, greedy jaws; nor burnished mail
The yellow carp; nor all his arts can save
Th’ insinuating eel, that hides his head
Beneath the slimy mud; nor yet escapes
The crimson-spotted trout, the river’s pride
And beauty of the stream.”