340 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



heavy pans of ice they all suddenly stood up in the 

 boat, very much excited, pointing toward three black 

 objects some distance away, which they told me were 

 walrus. 



I took an oar, Tukshu with harpoon poised planted 

 himself in the bow, while Ilabrado steered, and we 

 headed for the game. But while rounding an ice- 

 berg in our course we unexpectedly came close upon 

 three other very large walrus sleeping upon the ice, 

 and in a twinkling, before the animals awoke, Tukshu 

 had his harpoon in a big old bull the biggest of 

 the three. The other two took to the water, and we 

 sprang from the boat upon the pan, where the har- 

 poon line was made fast. The walrus put up a hard 

 fight, towing the pan upon which we were stationed 

 a considerable distance. I wished to shoot, but the 

 others warned me not to do so for fear the report of 

 the rifle might frighten the other walrus, still sleep- 

 ing on a small pan some distance away. 



After a half hour's hard fight the game was drawn 

 close enough to the pan to permit lancing. Walrus 

 are very full-blooded animals, and every time the 

 lance was thrust into it great streams of blood gushed 

 out, until all the water around was red. When 

 finally killed the body was warped upon the ice, and 

 very quickly cut into large pieces ready for loading 

 into the boat. I never ceased to marvel at the dex- 

 terity with which the Eskimos usually two of them 

 with an improvised pulley drew large carcasses, 

 weighing often, as this one did, fully two thousand 

 pounds, out of the water. 



