MAN KILLED BY A WALKTJS. 79 



About ten days after the exciting chasse 

 which I have just described, the skyppar of a 

 small schooner, which was in sight, came on 

 board to ask us for the loan of a gun, as he had 

 broken all his, and he told us that a boat be 

 longing to a sloop from Tromsoe had been 

 upset two or three days before in our im 

 mediate vicinity, and one of the crew killed by 

 a walrus. It seemed that the walrus, a large 

 old bull, charged the boat, and the harpooner 

 as usual received him with his lance full in the 

 chest, but the shaft of the lance broke all to 

 shivers, and the walrus, getting inside of it, 

 threw himself on the gunwale of the boat and 

 overset it in an instant. While the men were 

 floundering in the water amongst their oars 

 and tackle, the infuriated animal rushed in 

 amongst them, and selecting the unlucky 

 harpooner, who, I fancy had fallen next him, 

 he tore him nearly into two halves with his 

 tusks. The rest of the men saved themselves 

 by clambering on to the ice until the other 

 boat came to their assistance. 



Upon another occasion, I made the ac 

 quaintance of the skyppar of a sloop, who had 

 been seized by a bereaved cow- walrus, and by 

 her dragged twice to the bottom of the sea ; 



