132 ROBERT E. PEARY, INDOMITABLE POLAR EXPLORER 



crouched down in the boat, evidently expecting to be annihilated by 

 the furious animals that surged round. As they came up to the boat, 

 they tried to get their powerful tusks over the gunwales, and, had 

 one succeeded in doing so, there would have been little hope of any 

 one escaping. Yet to keep the angry crowd off was no easy matter. 



They swarmed all around, and not less than two hundred and 

 fifty were estimated to be engaged in the attack. Lieutenant Peary, 

 with his injured leg, sat in the stern of the boat, firing at them, and 

 the other white men also kept up a fusillade, Mrs. Peary giving 

 evidence of her strong nerve and courage by sitting beside her hus- 

 band and loading the weapons as soon as they were emptied. The 

 walrus came on in numbers to the attack, but when fired at all those 

 nearest to the boat leaped out of the water, and then plunged out of 

 sight. There was always the danger of one of the huge creatures, 

 rising under the boat, and so capsizing it ; but the occupants had no- 

 time to think of this. Directly one batch jumped and disappeared,' 

 another hastened forward to meet the volley of bullets, and be in 

 turn succeeded by another batch. 



The boat was meanwhile gradually approaching the shore, and 

 as the water became more shallow the walrus exhibited less desire to 

 come to close quarters, until, at last, the adventurers found that they 

 had beaten off the last of the swarm. The main body had retreated 

 far up the gulf, only a few remaining near. Several of those which 

 had been shot, however, were floating on the surface of the water, 

 and it was decided to go back and secure them, even at the risk of 

 another attack. Already some of them were sinking, and many must 

 have gone down while the fight was in progress. There was a 

 necessity for haste if any of the slain were to be secured, and with 

 rifles loaded and ready for a fresh attack, the boat was headed 

 towards the floating carcases. 



The operation of securing them was performed without any 

 interruption from the survivors, and a run was then made for the 1 

 shore, where the Eskimo said a lot of sealskins were "cached." This 



