THE WALRUS. 80 



when she will revenge herselfe upon the boates, 

 or make resistance against them, then she caste 

 her young ones from her againe, and with all 

 her force goeth toward the boate, (whereby 

 our men were once in no small danger, for 

 that the sea-horse had almost stricken her 

 tcetli into the sterne of their boat,) thinking 

 to overthrow it, but by means of the great 

 crie that the men made, she was afraide, and 

 swomme away againe, and tooke her young ones 

 againe in her armes. They have two teeth 

 sticking out of their mouthes, on each side one, 

 each being about halfe an ell long, and are 

 esteemed to be as good as any ivarie or ele- 

 phants' teeth."* 



The walruses are more numerous on the 

 western coast of Spitzbergen than in Baffin's 

 Bay, Behring's Strait, or in any other part of 

 the Arctic seas with which I am acquainted, 

 Cherie Island perhaps excepted ; and, in fine 

 weather, resort to large pieces of ice at the 

 edge of the main body, where they may be 

 seen in herds, consisting occasionally of up- 

 wards of a hundred animals each. 



In these situations they appear greatly to en- 



* Three voyages made by the Dutch into the northern 

 seas. Translated by Phillips, 1607. 



