72 SIDE-LIGHTS ON THE PEARY EXPEDITION 



hunts, and dogs and men had sirloin and tenderloin all the time. As 

 none of us had had any fresh meat in three months, it was more 

 than good. I got mixed up in one herd of sixteen, and took somei 

 good photos of them. Then we killed them all by gun. I beat all 

 records, Duffy's included, when I got within ten feet of a big bull, 

 held at bay by two dogs, to take his photo, and he charged the dogs, 

 which happened to be on a line between us. I only hit the high 

 spots for a hundred yards or so. 



"Coming back we made what I believe is a world's record in 

 sledge traveling. The last two days or so we were all more or less 

 snow blind. Rested up one week, then went off on a hunting trip. 

 Killed four musk oxen, 100 miles away, and brought back a calf on 

 the sledge alive to the boat, only to have it die the next day. When 

 we got down to Eskimo land we put in about four days walrus 

 hunting. In all, about seventy-two were secured. Some very 

 exciting scenes occurred. Once a bull walrus, when we had engaged 

 a herd of fifty, came up alongside of me, got his tusks on the gunwale 

 of the boat so close to me that, to hit him with my rifle, I had to let 

 her go off at port arms, as, if I fired it from my shoulder, the muzzle 

 would have been beyond his head. It was exciting, all right, to have 

 his great, ugly face right alongside of me, when it would have been 

 easier to smash him with my fist than gun. 



"On another occasion a big bull dived and put a large hole in 

 the bottom, which, owing to its being double, we couldn't repair, 

 and one man had to be kept baling. The walrus came up again, and 

 I hit him in the head, wounding him badly but not killing him. He 

 stayed down twenty minutes, and while we were all looking for him, 

 smash! rip! bang! he came up under the stern, nearly knocked the 

 bo's'un overboard, put a hole you could put both fists through just 

 above the water line, dived, came up just fifteen yards off, gave his 

 fierce battle cry of 'Huk! Huk! Huk!' and charged us. I got my 

 artillery in action, and sunk him for keeps before he could do any 

 more. When we reached the 'Roosevelt' we were half full of water. 

 He was a scrapper, and don't you forget it. 



