AMONG THE WALRUS HERDS 413 



proach and capture. Kulutinguah, however, con- 

 cluded to try his fortune, and paddled toward them 

 in his kayak. Standing upon the highest point on the 

 island I watched his movements through my glasses. 

 As he approached the seals he manipulated his kayak 

 very cautiously, in endeavors to steal upon them, but 

 in spite of his caution it soon became evident that he 

 could not get within harpooning distance. Finally 

 he abandoned these tactics, and, concentrating his at- 

 tention upon one large fellow which he singled out, 

 began firing at it as often as it came to the surface to 

 blow. At the fifth shot he wounded it slightly, and 

 after that it did not remain long under water be- 

 tween blowing periods. This enabled Kulutinguah to 

 approach more closely and presently he had it har- 

 pooned. 



We soon had the seal ashore and upon the rocks. 

 It was a big, fierce looking beast, as large as a fair- 

 sized walrus. Its head had a particularly ugly ap- 

 pearance, accentuated by long whiskers. Because of 

 its whiskers sailors frequently call the square flipper 

 the "bearded seal." Its flippers are very large, and 

 armed with long claws. 



Unlike the method employed in skinning any other 

 of the seals or sea animals, this one was not slit down 

 the stomach, but the skin cut around the neck, and 

 removed whole by pulling it down over the body to- 

 ward the tail. This is the usual method of skinning 

 square-flipper seals, and is done that long harpoon 

 lines and sled lashings may be cut from the skin, 

 when it is cured, in continuous strips. The head and 



