134 ODOBiENUS EOSMARUS ATLANTIC WALEUS. 



inferior in quality to Elex)liant ivory, is used for nearly the same 

 purposes. It is said, liowever, to sooner become yellow by ex- 

 I)osure, to be of coarser texture, and hence to have less commer- 

 cial value. I have met with no statistics relating to the amount 

 annually obtained, or the price it brings in market. * 



The tlesh of the Walrus is sometimes used as food by Arctic 

 voyagers, and forms an important article of diet with the Esqui- 

 maux and Tschuchchis. Captain Hall states that while his 

 party remained at Cape True they were never in want of food. 

 "Walrus," he says, "was abundant, and was indeed almost 

 exclusively our diet. We had Walrus brains for supper; stewed 

 Walrus, or Wakus boiled, for dinner; but always Walrus, and 

 no bread."! Eichardson states that "theii- flesh is preferred 

 by the Esquimaux before that of the Small Seal {PJioca Mspida)^. 

 their feet or fins are considered delicacies, and the heart and 

 liver were pronounced by our navigators to be excellent. The 

 tongue is said to be good when fresh, but becomes oily by keep- 

 ing," I In the narrative of Cook's last voyage it is stated that 

 the fat of the Pacific Wakus " is as sweet as marrow," but that 

 it soon grows rancid unless salted, when it will "keep much 

 longer." The lean flesh is described as being coarse and black, 

 and as having a rather strong taste, but the heart is said to be 

 "nearly as well tasted as that of a bullock." Captain Parry,, 

 in a passage already quoted {antea, p. 119), states that the meat 

 was not onlj' eaten by his men, but was " eagerlj^ sought after 

 on this and every other occasion throughout the voyage, by all 

 those among us who could overcome the prejudice arising chiefly 

 from the dark color of the flesh. In no other respect that I 

 could ever discover, is the meat of the Walrus when fresh-kiUed 

 in the slightest degree offensive or unpalatable. The heart and 

 liver are indeed excellent," || 



Food, The food of the Walruses has long been a subject of 

 dispute, not less from the varied character of the substances 



* Mr, Lament says, resj)ectiiig products of the Walrus and tlieir value : 

 "Cvtriosify led me ouce to weigh aud value the marketable parts of a large 

 bull Walrus, aud the following results were arrived at : Weight of Waliais 

 blubber = 520 jiouuds, about one fifth of a ton, which at 401. a ton is worth 

 81. ; 300 pounds of skin at 2d. a pound := 27. 10s., and 8 jiounds of ivory at 5s.' 

 a pound = 27., giving a value of 127. 10s." Yachting in the Arctic Seas, p. 89, 



t Arctic Eesearches, etc., j). 557. 



tSuppl. Parry's Second Voyage, p, 338. 



^ Cook's Last Voyage, vol. ii, j). 457. 



II Narrative of Parry's Second Voyage, p. 268. 



