AND KAYAK 151 



be quite ready to embark in his kayak and 

 hunt the walrus in its native element. A 

 walrus is, no doubt, a formidable beast ; its 

 ferocious eyes and bristling whiskers and great 

 gleaming tusks make a terrible picture ; and 

 the very weight of its tremendous rush would 

 be enough to frighten most folks, quite apart 

 from the uncanny agility the huge animal 

 displays. But the Eskimo in his kayak is a 

 match for the walrus ; he is every whit as 

 active, and twice as sharp-witted ; and if the 

 men at the sina see a walrus disporting him- 

 self in the water they are after him like a 

 shot ; and though they do not often have the 

 chance that my Killinek guide had, paddling 

 into the middle of a school of walruses and 

 calmly harpooning the old bull because he 

 had the best tusks, they seldom let the odd 

 ones and twos escape if they get within strik- 

 ing distance. 



Landing a walrus is no joke. I say " land- 

 ing " because it is the only word to convey 

 the idea of hauling the great carcase out of 

 the water on to the ice, and the ice is every 

 bit as good as land to the Eskimos. What a 

 walrus weighs I do not know, but it stands 

 to reason that a creature fourteen feet long 

 and fourteen feet round the middle is an 

 enormous lump to lift. 



