70 ODOB^NUS ROSMARUS ATLANTIC WALRUS. 



Kane and Hayes, during the years 1853 to 1855, found the 

 Walrus very abundant about Port Foulke, on the western coast 

 of Greenland, in latitude 79, but they seein to have, since 

 that date, greatly decreased in numbers along the whole of the 

 Greenland coast. Captain Feilden, in his paper on the "Mam- 

 malia of North Greenland and Grinnell Land," observed in 1875 

 by the British Arctic Expedition, after alluding to their former 

 abundance about Port Foulke, as observed by Kane and Hayes, 

 says: " Curiously enough, we did not see one of these animals 

 in the vicinity of Port Foulke nor in Smith Sound, until we 

 reached Franklin Pierce Bay. There, in the vicinity of Nor- 

 man Lockyer Island, we saw several Walruses, and killed two 

 or three. . . . Near Cape Fraser I saw a single Walrus; 

 but as far as my observation goes, it does not proceed further 

 north than the meeting of the Baffin Bay and Polar tides near 

 the above mentioned Cape." * 



Mr. Ludwig Kurnlien, naturalist of the Howgate Polar Ex- 

 pedition of 1877, states :t "The Walrus is quite common about 

 Cape Mercy and the southern waters of Cumberland Sound, 

 but at the present day rarely strays up the Sound. Their re- 

 mains, however, are by no means rare, even in the greater 

 Kingwah, and many of the old Eskimo hut foundations contain 

 the remains of this animal. The Eskimo say they got mad and 

 left. Certain it is, they are found around Annanactook only 

 as stragglers at the present day. Considerable numbers were 

 observed on pieces of floating ice near Cape Mercy, in July. 

 About Nugumeute they are largely hunted by the Eskimo living 

 there." 



Respecting their occurrence more to the southward, on the 

 Greenland coast, Dr. Eink states: "The Walrus is only rarely 

 met with along the coast, with the exception of the tract between 

 66 and 68 N. lat., where it occurs pretty numerously at times. 

 The daring task of entering into contest with this animal from 

 the kayak on the open sea forms a regular sport to the natives 

 of Kangamiut in 66 N. lat. The number yearly killed has 

 not been separately calculated, . . . but they can hardly 

 exceed 200." f 



The westernmost point at which it has been observed is said 

 to be the western shore of Hudson's Bay. Mr. J. C. Eoss states 

 it to be an inhabitant of the west coast of Baffin's Bay and 



* The Zoologist, 3d ser., vol. i, p. 360, September, 1877. 



t In MSS. notes lie has kindly placed at my disposal. 



J Danish Greenland, its People and its Products, pp. 126-127, 1877. 



