The Porpoise, the Walrus, the Nanvhal and the Seal. 203 



thrives. They eat herrings, pilchards, sprats, and a host of other 

 fish, which flee before those vast destroyers in great terror. They 

 are clumsy looking creatures, but they can turn and twist and leap 

 with such wonderful agility that they often catch salmon and other 

 such fish. 



The porpoise is seldom seen in very deep water, and generally 

 keeps pretty close to the coast, frequenting bays, inlets, and the 

 mouths of large rivers. They generally ascend the rivers with the 

 tide, but will never go further than the tidal flow, and will always 

 stop when it stops, and descend when it descends. 



THE WALKUS. 



They are very fat and contain blubber similar to the whale, which 

 is very valuable. A good sized porpoise is worth about $75. 



The walrus belongs to the seal family, and presents, as one 

 writer has put it, a " terribly grotesque appearance." Its most 

 conspicuous part is its head, with its ugly nose bristling with long, 

 wiry hairs, and its fearf ully long canine teeth or tusks,, always 

 visible, projecting from the upper jaw. These tusks, in large ones, 

 measure from fourteen inches to two feet in length, the girth at the 

 base being five or six inches, and the weight about eight or ten 

 pounds each. The ivory of which these tusks are composed is of a 

 very superior quality, and commands a high price in the market. 



