122 



Disposal of the Walrus. 



[December, 1864. 



tliiouiih liis wliite-wallod moutli a frightful Stream of hot life-blood, and as the 

 hungry dogs rushed u]) iearlessly to the very i'ouutain Avhence the luscious, sa- 

 vory gore issued, the dying walrus quickly raised his head and struck it forward 

 Avith tremendous force, though to little purpose, as the dogs were too quick dodg- 

 ing the bloAvs. Shoo-shc-((rl--7iooJv- at last cut a gash in the neck with his pelond 

 (long knife) and thrust the point into the very marrow of the spine. 



A fresh opening was now made in the ice, and to this the carcass 

 was towed. Then the hne, made fast to the tough skin on the nose, 

 was taken to the point of a small hummock five fathoms distant, and 

 back again through a hole in the same tough skin. With this pur- 

 chase, five of the party pulled away on the line, gradually sliding the 

 carcass upon the ice. It weighed about 2,200 pounds. 



This done, each In- 

 nuit sprang to the task of 

 cutting open the carcass from 

 head to tail, that it might 

 cover over as large an area 

 as possible on the ice. Yet 

 the moment they commenced 

 to haul up, the ice began to 

 bend, and by the time the 

 walrus was disemboweled, the water covered it G inches deep. He 

 was now cut up, longitudinally, into three parts, without being 

 skinned, and wliile this cutting was going on, the dogs acted like so 

 many devils, and it was impossible, even with a spear, to keep them 

 away from tlio blood and flesh. The backbone, the lights, and a small 

 ])nrti<m of tlie entrails only were thrown away. The edges of the 

 lonultudlnal parts were then placed together by lines, to give each 

 mass a )-ound('(l shape. The paunch accidentally fell in the water, 



IIKAU OF A WALRUS. 



