92 WALRUS SHOT. \_AllffUSt, 



safely. But it was not a little amusing to watch the 

 countenances of some of the party ferried, more doubt 

 than confidence prevailing. Here we encamped until 

 Commander Richards returned, or until the following 

 morning, during which time I succeeded in shooting four 

 walrus, two of which I was enabled to secure, but, Dyak 

 fashion, their heads only were at this time taken. During 

 our absence on this journey one of the beheaded carcases 

 floated near the ship on the floe-piece where I had left 

 him, and was captured, but not, I believe, without fur- 

 ther expenditure of ammunition : of this I have no par- 

 ticular evidence : he had no head to speak for himself, 

 and no such trophy was produced. It is not pleasant 

 to narrate acts which bear the impress of cruelty, and I 

 must confess that, on reflection, the killing of four of these 

 animals, without securing them for use, was unnecessary : 

 the sportsman seldom thinks of this. The death of 

 monkeys or parrots, and turtle, where they could not be 

 consumed, has often brought me to the same reflection. 

 But without dwelling further on acts or motives, the duty 

 of naturalist compels me to notice the conduct of these 

 warm-blooded animals on being wounded. The father, 

 mother, and cubs were of the party. On the death of 

 the mother, or rather on receiving her wound in the 

 neck, it was painfully interesting to notice the action of 

 her young : one literally clasped her round the neck, 

 and was apparently endeavouring to aid in staunching 

 the blood with its mouth or flipper, when at a sudden 

 convulsive pang she struck at her infant with her tusks, 

 and repeating this several times with some severity, pre- 

 vented its further repetition. The male, with a very white 



