134 ODOBJENUS EOSMARUS ATLANTIC WALRUS. 



inferior iii quality to Elephant ivory, is used for nearly the same 

 purposes. It is said, however, to sooner become yellow by ex- 

 posure, to be of coarser texture, and hence to have less commer- 

 cial value. I have met with no statistics relating to the amount 

 annually obtained, or the price it brings in market. * 



The flesh of the Walrus is sometimes used as food by Arctic 

 voyagers, and forms an important article of diet with the Esqui- 

 maux and Tschuchchis. Captain Hall states that while his 

 party remained at Cape True they were never in want of food, 

 "Walrus," he says, "was abundant, and was indeed almost 

 exclusively our diet. We had Walrus brains for supper ; stewed 

 Walrus, or Walrus boiled, for dinner ; but always Walrus, and 

 no bread."! Eichardsou states that "their flesh is preferred 

 by the Esquimaux before that of the Small Seal (Phoca liispida), 

 their feet or fins are considered delicacies, and the heart and 

 liver were pronounced by our navigators to be excellent. The 

 tongue is said to be good when fresh, but becomes oily by keep- 

 ing." \ In the narrative of Cook's last voyage it is stated that 

 the fat of the Pacific Walrus " is as sweet as marrow," but that 

 it soon grows rancid unless salted, when it will " keep much 

 longer." The lean flesh is described as being coarse and black, 

 and as having a rather strong taste, but the heart is said to be 

 "nearly as well tasted as that of a bullock." Captain Parry, 

 in a passage already quoted (antea, p. 119), states that the meat 

 was not only eaten by his men, but was " eagerly sought after 

 on this and every other occasion throughout the voyage, by all 

 those among us who could overcome the prejudice arising chiefly 

 from the dark color of the flesh. In no other respect that I 

 could ever discover, is the meat of the Walrus when fresh-killed 

 in the slightest degree offensive or unpalatable. The heart and 

 liver are indeed excellent." || 



FOOD. The food of the Walruses has long been a subject of 

 dispute, not less from the varied character of the substances 



* Mr. Lament says, respecting products of the Walrus and their value : 

 "Curiosity led me ouce to weigh and value the marketable parts of a large 

 bull Walrus, and the following results were arrived at : Weight of Walrus 

 blubber = 520 pounds, about one fifth of a ton, which at 407. a ton is worth 

 81. ; 300 pounds of skin at 2d. a pound = 2?. 10s., and 8 pounds of ivory at 5s. 

 a pound = '27., giving a value of 127. 10s." Yachting in the Arctic Seas, p. 89. 



t Arctic Researches, etc., p. 557. 



tSuppl. Parry's Second Voyage, p. 338. 



Cook's Last Voyage, vol. ii, p. 457. 



II Narrative of Parry's Second Voyage, p. 268. 



