404 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



for a little I wondered at his delay. Then all at 

 once he began paddling very fast and in an instant 

 fixed the harpoon in a big cow with a fine pair of 

 tusks. He had been awaiting an opportunity to se- 

 lect for me a good head. 



The moment the harpoon was placed the Eskimo 

 turned and made for our boat as hard as he could 

 paddle, with four large bellowing walrus in close 

 pursuit, while several others of the herd turned to 

 fight the float attached to the harpoon line. The 

 four walrus were close behind Kulutinguah. He 

 reached the boat not a moment too soon, sprang 

 aboard, drew his kayak after him, and was safe by 

 a hair's breadth. The enraged animals, still bellow- 

 ing, came right at the boat. One big cow almost 

 got her tusks over the gunwale, in an effort to bear the 

 boat down. I stuck my rifle muzzle in her mouth, 

 fired and killed her instantly. The harpoon was in 

 the bottom of the boat, and before the excited Eski- 

 mos could make her fast she sank and was lost. 



The other three left us and we gave chase to the 

 cow Kulutinguah had harpooned, which had traveled 

 a long distance off-shore. When she was at length 

 overtaken I 'killed her with one shot, then harpooned 

 her calf, which was a good-sized one, and Kuluting- 

 uah shot it when it came to the surface to blow. 



The calf was hauled into the boat with some diffi- 

 culty, for it was bulky, after which the Eskimos cut 

 slits in the skin of the old one, by means of which 

 inflated sealskins were fastened as floats to keep the 



