150 A RACE FOR A WALRUS. 



CHAP. X. 



Boat-race. Visit. Ingenious Harpoon. Hippopotamus. 

 Phoca Yitulina, or Little Seal. Phoca Hispida, or Jan 

 Mayen Seal. Dreadful Smell of Cargo. Ferocity of 

 young Bear. Drift-ice. Stones and Clay on Icebergs. 

 &quot;Warm Day. Beautiful Caverns in the Ice. Upset 

 of an Iceberg. Young Ice. Noises from Glacier. 

 Crimping a &quot;Walrus. Ivory Gulls. See a Bear. 

 Curious Delusion. Gulf-stream and Arctic Current. 

 Danger of getting embayed. Narrow Escape. 



28th. FOG in the morning confined us to the 

 sloop during the early part of the day. 



When it cleared, a schooner was in sight 

 not far off, and a herd of walruses on the ice, 

 about equidistant from the two vessels. We 

 lowered a boat with all despatch ; but the 

 schooner s people, seeing us do so, lowered 

 away also, and we had a rather exciting race 

 up to the walruses. The rival boat, being 

 rather lighter than ours, got a length or two 

 ahead of us, and we lay on our oars, so 

 as not to spoil the chance for them ; but the 

 walruses took the alarm, and neither of us 

 got any. 



