AND THE WALRUS 



bitten by one, and a seal's bite is rather worse than that 

 of a bulldog, and a seal has the same affectionate way of 

 clinging to anything that happens to come between its 

 teeth. Its nails, too, are not to be lightly considered, 

 seeing that with them it can tear a large cod piecemeal. 



When the prisoners see that there is no escape, their 

 first instinct is to huddle together as closely as possible ; 

 this is the hunter's safeguard, for if that instinct bade 

 the animals open out and make a concerted attack, they 

 could soon tear a small body of their would-be slayers to 

 pieces. 



Gradually the circle closes in, and the outer rank of 

 seals, howling with rage and fear, spring up on their hind- 

 quarters and prepare to do battle. The springing up is 

 rather like the bending of the salmon or the dolphin, for 

 it is done by means of the backbone, which is so flexible 

 that the animals can bend themselves almost at a right- 

 angle, the upper part of the body being kept perpen- 

 dicular while the lower remains horizontal. 



If you want to kill a seal quickly, hit him on the nose 

 with a stout stick if he will let you get near enough to 

 him. One would naturally suppose that a long spear 

 would be most effective ; but the seal is far from being a 

 fool ; in nine cases out of ten he will be sharp enough to 

 seize the shaft between his teeth, and even if he do not 

 snap it, there is no getting it away from him ; moreover, a 

 spear-point would have to be driven very deeply to do 

 him much harm. Often the Eskimos find that the best 

 plan is to let the animal occupy himself with a pole or 

 harpoon while they club him across the nose or head. 



301 



