THE WALRUS 133 



believe. The fury with which two walruses 

 attacked our boat off Koldewey Island, when 

 they were not even harpooned, and the rage 

 with which the female, one of whose young we 

 had harpooned in Hamilton Canal, came at 

 us, first revealed to me the real dangers of this 

 sport. A furious walrus will upset a boat with 

 the greatest of ease, provided the men are not 

 armed with guns and quick to use them, for 

 with a single blow of its tusks it will smash 

 the bottom and sink the boat. Numerous indeed 

 are the walrus hunters who have perished in 

 this way. 



Jackson and Koldewey write of two occasions 

 when hunters, standing on ice several inches 

 thick, suddenly saw a walrus smash the ice 

 beneath their feet in order to get at them, and 

 when they ran for safety, follow them by 

 swimming beneath the ice-field, from time to 

 time smashing the ice with a blow of its head 

 at places where it hoped to find the men. 

 Jackson even affirms that he once saw a walrus 

 fling itself from the water on to the ice to 

 charge some hunters. I have never heard, 

 however, of another instance of a walrus landing 

 to fight. On the contrary, hunters generally 

 agree that a walrus on the beach or on ice is 

 almost completely disarmed. Nor have I even 



