THE PACIFIC WALRUS FISHERY. 317 



ami Sweden, where they are made into harness and sole leather; sometimes they are boiled into 

 Slue. But whalers care nothing for the hides, their purpose being to get as much oil and ivory as 

 possible. Having prepared the blubber, heads, and tusks for transportation to the vessel, they 

 are loaded in the whale-boats, which are capable of carrying the products of eight or ten walrus. 



Arrived on board the vessel, the blubber is prepared for the try-pot. The horse pieces are 

 spread on a cutting table, and with an ordinary skinning knife, having a blade 8 inches in length, 

 the hide is separated from the blubber. The cutting table is usually of triangular shape, made of 

 two boards nailed together at the edges, the ends generally resting oil the top of casks, and the 

 pieces of blubber are thrown over the upright edge of the table. 



The next operation is to set the table up on one edge, and to cut the strips of blubber into small 

 pieces, au inch or two in width, ready to be thrown into the try-pot. A few years ago the general 

 custom was to put the skinned blubber in a shallow tub and mince it with a spade, but now the 

 cutting table is almost universally used. 



5. WALRUS IVORY. 



The tusks of the walrus vary much, both in quality and weight, in the different animals. The 

 tusks of the male sometimes weigh 16 or 18 pounds each, though often not more than one-quarter 

 of a pound. 



In the season of 1869, 3,000 pounds of ivory were secured from 700 walrus, averaging about 4f 

 pounds to each animal. The tusks of the male are large and of a much coarser texture than those 

 of the female, which are generally fine and free from cracks. The male tusks are less valuable 

 than those of the female, the proportion of pith to sound exterior ivory being far greater in a large 

 than in a small tusk. This ivory is better in some respects than elephant ivory, and is used for 

 nearly the same purposes; but the pith spoils it for many uses, since it is slightly discolored and 

 as the ivory becomes yellow by exposure it is not so valuable as that of the elephant. Among the 

 articles made from it are knife handles, small brushes, umbrella handles, tally balls, dice, dog 

 whistles, and small ornaments. Globular cane handles and parasol handles have been made from 

 the pith alone, which presents a mottled appearance and is very pleasing. The Innuits near the 

 Arctic sometimes dig out the tusks for drinking vessels, and also use them as implements of chase. 



A large part of the walrus ivory received in the markets of the world during the past ten years 

 has been supplied by the Arctic whaling fleet. It is received at San Francisco and transshipped 

 by rail or vessel to New York, China, Japan, and London, where it is manufactured into various 

 articles by the ivory workers. Walrus ivory is no harder to manipulate than elephant ivory, and 

 is worked by the same methods. 



The value of this ivory varies according to the quantity received in the market; in the year 

 1880 it was worth $1 to $1.25 per pound, while in 1879, when the supply was greater, it sold at 45 

 and 50 cents per pound. Nordenskiokl, in his " Voyage of the Vega," says the largest walrus tusks 

 he ever saw were two of a male purchased at Saint Lawrence Island in 1879. They were 830 and 825 

 millimeters in length, 227 and 230 millimeters in circumference, and weighed together 6,680 grams.* 

 The tusks of a female were seen of nearly the same length , but much more slender. " The surface 

 is always full of cracks, but under it there is a layer of ivory free of cracks, which again incloses a 

 grained kernel of bone which at some places is semi-transparent, as if drenched with oil." 



Walrus ivory often serves as the spare change of the whalemen. Whenever the vessels touch 

 at the Sandwich Islands or other ports it is used to buy provisions or pay for repairs. 



* A little more than 26 pounds. 



